He said he was disappointed at meeting me? Like I gave a damn about what a murderer thought.

"I do not know how it was you came off your path, but I still think you can turn back. Leave this place now and I will spare your life in the hopes that you may yet become a true hero."

"Did you give Iida that option too?" I retorted.

"I did, actually. The situation was unfortunate."

"I won't leave until you're dead."

"That's tragic. Since you won't leave I have no choice but to cut you short. Perhaps it is for the better. I had expected more of you, it seems that you are of the same stock as that boy. Fake Heroes of your sort need to be culled, and I will not refuse when you come to me directly."

"I'll remember you saying that when I leave you bleeding in the street." I meant every word too.

Then, reminiscent of All for One, Stain just disappeared from vision. It wasn't some sort of trick or part of his quirk. It was just pure speed.

It was really impressive. It was also really pointless. "You wont be able to cut me." I said, just as his sword bounced harmlessly off my arm.

I had taken a page out of my new teacher's book. He had showed me how, instead of relying on a singular quirk for a single characteristic- like strength for example- he would combine multiple similar quirks to create something more than the some of its parts. If I ever managed to multiply the strength of a quirk to the levels he had implied I could it may not be necessary for me to stack quirks like this, but for right now it gave me a strength boost that was ridiculous.

"You know what my quirk does?" The flitting image of Stain asked.

"Blood-based paralysis. It's why you carry around all those sharp objects and why you've managed to go on the hero killing spree you have. A single cut is enough to end a fight."

It was why I'd needed to copy five quirks for defense. A side effect of all those quirks was that my skin was now a mottled green and blue and had patches of scales randomly scattered across.

"You have me at a disadvantage. You know what my quirk does and I know little of yours. Why not level the playing field?"

I couldn't blame him for asking. He was in a pretty deep bind. He couldn't cut me. He couldn't get close to me long enough to actually fight with hand to hand. To put it simply, he was scissors and I was rock. I'd deliberately put him into a situation where all of his skill meant nothing.

"I'll tell you what my quirk does… It consumes the quirks around it, and in an environment like this… Surrounded by this buffet of quirks… I am invincible."

In a show of force I simultaneously cataloged and copied as many beneficial quirks as I could. And, flanked on either side by high-rise apartment buildings, there were a lot of quirks to go through. My already altered body strained to keep up with the speed of modification, burning with the sort of pain I hadn't thought I could feel anymore. Maybe it was because I was more furious than I had ever been, maybe it was some weird kink of my quirk, but right then my quirk field stayed relatively stable, letting me pick and choose as many of the surrounding quirks as I liked. Pops and cracks sounded as I grew, taller and wider, taking full advantage of the moment. A horn grew out of my head and the shape of my legs changed to something more feline. My fingernails lengthened to claws.

I must have looked like some freak two-legged offspring of a crocodile and a unicorn. I grinned at him, showing three rows of jagged teeth.

If my showing had taken Stain off his game he didn't show it. He disappeared from view, leapfrogging between the alley walls so quickly he was a blur even to me.

Instead of going for another cutting blow Stain grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled, trying to get me to the floor.

Two spikes grew from each foot, anchoring me. Yet another bone-spike from said grabbed shoulder forced him to pull away. A clink and my head being knocked to the side was my notice that he had just tried to lob my head off.

Another spike shot out from my back All it caught was cloth.

"Why don't you try that again?" I asked, smiling hatefully.

He did, cutting at my arm. I didn't even try to dodge, even though I could have. The sword just clanged, bouncing off me. The only harm to me was the cut to my hoodie. Another spike jutted out from the shoulder. If I timed it early enough, got my spike off just as he was making to cut me, I would be able to impale him, get him in my grasp.

I couldn't beat him with speed, that was his game. I wasn't about to play his game.

"Third time's the charm?" I asked.

Stain seemed more hesitant now though, leaping away. In the same movement, so smoothly that I didn't even see his hands make for it, he drew a throwing knife and threw it at my head.

He must have been testing for weaknesses.

Could my armored skin only last for a set time period? Was it focused uniformly? Did I have to actively anticipate his attack and actively control the reinforcement? These were the questions a good fighter would test.

Grinning with the rush of power, I let the knife hit. I didn't even blink. It fell, clattering, to the ground.

"You'll have to try something else. I'll give you a hint though, to speed this up. Nothing's going to work."

I threw his knife right back at him, telepathically. He used another throwing knife to knock it off course.

"Real skill overcomes raw power. My knives aren't something you can just toss around without any thought." He said, then his eyes went wide.

I was, after all, controlling the knife telepathically. It didn't exactly need momentum or even an accurate throw, and so after being knocked off course I'd made it boomerang to the back of Stain so that I'd get him unawares. Somehow he still managed to sensed the movement, stepping to the left.

It still cut him though, even if it went from a sure takedown to barely grazing his arm. I'd planned for something like that too.

"You're tossing those knives of yours at a waterfall. Overwhelming power is overwhelming, who gives a damn if I can do knife tricks or not." I said, perhaps overconfidently.

Commanding the knife to shoot back to me, I grabbed it as it hovered within arm's reach. Then, hesitantly, licked it.

"What are you-"

"Didn't think I would copy your quirk too? Don't know why people always assume that." I said, recalling Setsuna's downfall.

I could see the effect wasn't completely paralyzed and pinned down as I would have been had he gotten to me. Still, he was noticeably slower, obviously so. His hand movements, previously undetectable, were slowed to an almost crawly as he reached for another of his knives. He was probably around the same speed an average guy off the street would be, but for someone so fast their movements were a blur It was as if he was moving through custard. 20% Unlock was a success.

"Say your prayers, bastard. You'll be in hell by the end of the hour."

He made a break for it, running away. There was no attempt made to do that ninja-like jumping from wall to wall, as he was now doing something like that was plainly impossible.

"Coward…" I spat, letting him get a bit further along before trying anything. Winding my shoulder like a baseball pitcher, I yeeted a ball of electricity at his retreating back.

He fell, yelping, into the street.

I flicked my hands and two knives flew out, pinning his arms to the asphalt, then I stalked my way over. I would make him suffer the indignity of a slow death, no less than he deserved.

"It's fitting- pinned down by the same knives you're so proud to use."

He didn't answer, just staring at me.

I leaned over and pulled another knife from a holster on his waist, then held it to his neck.

"This is for Tenya."

This was it. I would slit his throat then stare in his eyes and watch the life slowly drain from his body as he gurgled on his own blood.

But my hands shook. All it would have taken was one swipe- there were two inches between me and getting vengeance for Iida's still warm corpse... But I couldn't do it.

I let the knife fall from my hands and clatter on the ground. "Maybe you should be killed for what you've done… No, you definitely should be. But I can't be the one to decide that."

His eyes widened. "You… It looks like I was twice mistaken… You really do have the heart of a true hero."

I couldn't stand it, being praised by the man who had killed my friend.

So I knocked him out.

I sat in the rain, holding the end of a cable that attached to a bound Stain. It would let me know if he so much as twitched so I could quickly send him back to the land of the unconscious. Still, I had taken other precautions. I'd stripped him of all his weapons- and he'd carried a lot of them. His rusty looking sword was but the cherry on top of the cake of folding knives, throwing knives and daggers. The lot had been chucked behind a dumpster, out of easy reach.

I maintained the electricity quirk so that if he tried anything or I felt any odd movement I could give him a good zap for his effort.

I had already called the cops and even with all they must have been dealing with tonight the chance of possibly capturing someone as high-profile as Stain would be a top priority, even if it turned out that this was some sort of prank call they would still send out a few competent officers to check it out.

So I felt pretty comfortable in leaning back against the wall of a pet-store and resting, as much as I could without nodding off. I'd been really spoiled by having a regeneration quirk right on hand. I wish it was within range right now, but All for One wouldn't be coming within a ten mile radius of me then, not so soon after my fight with Stain. The place would be swarmed with cops in minutes, he couldn't just teleport in to take me back to the warehouse for our next training session. I could only wait and hope that the cops would be here soon so I could hand this bastard over and get out of here as soon as possible.

I blinked.

"Inasa?" I wondered

Sure enough, Galeforce was coming within range. I could tell a regular wind manipulation quirk apart from Inasa's pretty easily, I was familiar enough with using it after all. Honestly, being able to tell them apart wasn't all that impressive. It was like telling the difference between a candle and a forest fire.

Seconds after I'd felt him incoming I saw him, even through the terrible visibility of the black sky and pouring grey clouds. Like something out of a movie Inasa was soaring through the air, the rain parting neatly in a bubble around him, a sphere of wind keeping him dry. He moved quickly, with a stern expression, and I was even more displeased at this effortless show of coolness when a bolt of lightning flashed in the background behind him. The thunder-crack that followed was perfectly timed with his landing.

"Showy bastard…" I mumbled, before being heaved off the ground into a bone-aching hug.

"Izuku, you're okay!" Inasa yelled, sounding relieved.

"Why are you here? More importantly, how did you find me?"

"Hatsumei. I called her when I couldn't get a hold of you and she managed to track your phone."

I raised an eyebrow.

"She's an inventor, not a hacker. How did she manage to get that right?"

Hatsumei's disembodied voice came from Inasa's pocket. "I put a tracking device in your phone. And I do know quite a bit of programming, just to let you know. It's sort of a requirement for robot building,unfortunately. And you should know that by now! You saw me working on programs already!"

I wasn't ashamed to say that I nearly leapt out of my shoes in fright when I heard Hatsumei.

"You've been tracking me?! That's a huge invasion of privacy, Mei. I didn't think even you would go that far!"

"Your mom said it was fine…" Mei sniffled.

"Of course." I said, annoyed. Damn if my mom wasn't a willing co-conspirator. "And I suppose that all you have to do is share that information with her, right?"

"That's for higher-ups to know." She said

I groaned. "Just… Just shut up for a bit, Mei. I'm worked up enough as it is right now."

Inasa punched me. Right in the chest. "There's no need to snap at her Izuku. She was really worried about you. And she supposed to do nothing instead?"

I rubbed at my chest, then jabbed a finger at the still unconscious Stain. "It worked out pretty alright for me, didn't it? I didn't need any help."

"You're an idiot." Inasa said "Just because you were lucky and it all turned out fine doesn't mean it was a sure thing."

I bristled at being called an idiot. "So what, I should have just let this go? I shouldn't have given a damn about what happened to Iida? Is that what you're saying?"

Inasa laid a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down. "That's not what I'm saying Izuku. I was upset about what happened to Iida too. That doesn't mean that I wanted to go out chasing the guy who didn't on some stupid quest for revenge."

I yanked his hand off. "Don't you go calling it stupid. You weren't the one who promised to look out for him, you don't know what it's like."

"Who could have honestly expected you to promise something like that? How could you have tracked his every movement, known exactly what he was up to? There were other heroes around here too, what about the guy who was supposed to be his mentor for the week? Someone else should have handled it."

"I expected it out of myself. And if Mei can know what I'm up to all the damn time why couldn't I know what he was doing? Why couldn't I have made an effort?!"

"This had nothing to do with you Izuku! This wasn't your fault."

I knew how wrong he was though. "Shut the fuck up, Inasa." I said, shoving him back.

Inasa's nostrils flared, eyes widening. Even he had a limit. "… Why don't you make me?"

I was too upset, too angry to be calm about this whole thing. Iida was dead, I hadn't had the guts to give his murderer what he deserved, I would have to face his brother knowing that I had failed to keep my promise and I was just so damn tired right now and I hadn't even been given twenty minutes to myself, to think all this through.

"Maybe I will." I said, getting into stance.

Inasa mirrored me, though I was upset to see that his own looked a lot more polished and professional than my own must have. "I'm not afraid to knock some sense back into you, Izuku. You'd better think this through and calm down before you get hurt."

"What's going on here?" came a nasal adult voice.

An officer, nearly as tall as Inasa and with a magnificent beard that curled at both ends was walking towards us with deliberate steps.

"Oh, nothing. I've just been waiting on you to finish your tea break and get over here after I've handled your damn job for you." I said, my anger spilling over. I yanked the cable that held Stain.

The officer's eyes widened in shock.

"Come on, don't just stand there gaping. Get out your cuffs or something. I have other places to be."

Another officer, one I recognized from the day I met All Might and dealt with the possessed Bakugou turned up. "Not this time son. You're in a heck of a lot of trouble."

"What's the problem, sir?" Inasa asked, anger already replaced with concern.

The man, Tsukauchi I think his name was, looked Inasa up and down."And you… What are you doing in that outfit? Were you involved in this?"

"He's a weirdo. Dresses up like this to feel cool." I said.

"Masquerading as a hero is a minor offense. I would take you in if I didn't have to deal with this little vigilante over here."

"Could you hurry it up already? I don't have time for this."

Tsukauchi raised a brow. "I don't think you know the severity of your actions. This is the second time in a year that you've taken it upon yourself to fight a villain, and this time you don't have the luxury of claiming to have gotten caught up in a bad situation. You actively went after Stain. Even if you're underage and a hero student, this could mean serious jail time. You'll be coming with us to the station, immediately."

I was cuffed in the Hosu Police Department's interrogation room. A table and chairs made of steel were bolted into the ground, to prevent any unaware officer from being hit in the back of the head with a room fixture.

"Is all of this really necessary?" I asked, grimacing.

Detective Tsukauchi, seated across from me, thought it was. "Do you think this is some sort of joke?"

"Yes. You don't think that there are more important things you and officer hairy out there could be doing right now? Hours after a city-wide attack?"

"The capture of one of the three confirmed perpetrators of the tonight's attack on the city, by a high school student is important."

"Well, he's captured. What more do you want from me?"

"You're supposed to be a smart kid. Why aren't you taking this more seriously? Do you not know how severe a penalty you would be facing for taking down a villain without a heroes license?"

"Maybe I'm a bit out of it, because, you know... My classmate was just killed by one of those damned perpetrators!" I said, banging my fists on the table.

Tsukauchi respectfully stayed silent.

"How... How am I supposed to act after he- we hadn't known one another that well, or that long but he was still my friend... I was supposed to visit his place after Golden Week..." I wiped the corner of my eyes. "You tell me how I'm supposed to act after all that. I'm trying to become a hero, but what's the point if I can't save anyone?"

"... I'm sorry about all of this, Izuku."

"Don't be sorry. Do something! Go out there and look for the rest of those bastard villains that did this!"

"The entire force is out there right now, struggling just to get things back to normal. I don't expect any of us to get much sleep for the next few days. We're stretched too thin."

"So you'd rather go after me, after I took down Stain without any of your help?"

"If you would just listen for a minute you'd realize that I don't want you charged either. I can't pretend to understand how you feel right now but you need to get your head together."

I stilled and he nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright... Now, if word gets out that you were the one who took down Stain on your own there are going to be a whole lot of people who will want you persecuted with the full might of the law."

Seeing that I was still listening Tsukauchi continued.

"... We can't let it get out that you were the one who managed to finally get hold of him."

"How are you going to do that? Claim that someone else - a pro- did it? Someone who was already seen in the area?"

"And powerful enough that his participation in bringing down the hero-killer won't be questioned." Tsukauchi nodded, looking impressed.

"Then who?..."

"Endeavor. His agency is right here in Hosu and he lead the resistance against the group of Noumu loosed on the city. He was all over the place tonight, and as the second best hero in Japan him taking down Stain is almost expected."

"So what, you just need me to go along with it and say that Endeavor was the one who got him? I don't have a problem with that. I couldn't care less about taking credit."

"It's not that simple. Your presence in the city at all needs to be a secret. As far as the public knows you were tucked in bed all night. There shouldn't even be a rumor bouncing around that you were in any way involved." "

"Who would believe that I was anyway?"

A first year student at UA taking down arguably one of the most infamous villains of recent years- it would have been laughable if it wasn't true.

"You'd be surprised at how popular you are already. Not a peep of this to anyone-not your mom, not your friends, not your girlfriend. Nobody hears of this understood?"

"Since Inasa saw me holding him on a leash that's not going to be so straightforward."

"I should have brought him in too... Too late now. I'll call him personally to ensure word doesn't get out."

"I can forward you his number."

"No. The desk will get it for me. Yours too. I'll let you know how our cover up is progressing via text, I'll send you a confirmation text after we discreetly drop you back home. If you urgently need to call me make sure you do so in a secure area without any chance of being overheard or recorded."

"Got it. Could we leave now?"

"No, we need to go over your cover."

"What cover? I just need to say that I was at home the night of the attack."

"It may seem too much, but if you don't rehearse your response to questions you'll find yourself leaking sensitive information without intending to."

I still thought it was too much but the quicker I followed along the sooner I'd be done with all this.

The door to the interrogation room swung open violently, I jerked around to see the mustachioed officer hurrying in, his face red and his phone in hand.

"What's the problem, Barnes?" Detective Tsukauchi asked.

"Looks like you'll have to rethink your plan, Tsukauchi."

The detective frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Look at this." Officer Barnes said, sliding his phone onto the table and pressing play.

Immediately Tsukauchi paled. I craned my head to look at the screen. There, evident even upside down, was the scene of me fighting Stain in the alley. The bubbling and growing of me copying dozens of quirks looked even more horrific than I had thought. It was honestly a pretty terrifying sight, even for me.

"How bad is it?..."

"Kid's trending." Barnes replied. "Number seven already, and going up fast.

Tsukauchi held his head in his hands, defeated. "This is going to be problematic..."

That was under selling it.

"OK. New plan. This is what we're going to have to do."

Yes, the fight against Stain was really one-sided. Izuku is noticeably more skilled in the use of his quirk than he was when dealing with the Noumu in USJ, and here he's also deliberately chosen a method of dealing with his opponent that minimizes their skills. There wasn't much of anything Stain could do against someone he couldn't cut, couldn't get near to.

For anyone wondering why Izuku's power seems to fluctuate so widely, it should already be made evident that he is subservient to the people around him. Give him a good bag of building blocks and he can go toe-to-toe with very powerful opponents. Give him a shit bag and he is worse than an average first-year hero student. He is getting steadily better though, and once he gets to the point that he can overload a copied quirk to many times stronger than the original that wont be a problem anymore.

The fact that he didn't kill Stain may be seen as a bit unfortunate, but in the heat of the moment when actually faced with a shot at murdering someone he didn't have the heart to follow through. Or rather he had the heart not to follow through. Does that make sense?

Anyway. Whether it makes sense or not it's there, and I'm not going to agonize over it much more.

Izuku almost fought with Inasa in this chapter too. His emotions behind doing so were made clear in the chapter, but I think that some may feel that Inasa was too heated as well. Understand that he is terrified that his best friend, to the best of his knowledge, would have been killed that night just like Tenya was. Having Izuku not take that seriously put him on edge too. Mei, I hope, showed that she was worried about Izuku too. Her deliberate attempts at goading him are ways she, socially inept as she is, shows her affection.

I didn't mean to leave this chapter on a cliffhanger but the explanation of Tsukauchi's plan is going to be in the next scene with All for One and it would have run too long had I included it. That scene, and indeed the entire first draft of the next chapter, has already been completed. It only needs some final editing and I'll have it out, possibly by tomorrow morning, and that's all thanks to the great feedback you've been giving me from the last few chapters. It's inspired me to work harder and really spend more time on this project whenever I can.

I've had to give up watching a lot of my videos and listened to a few less albums this week, but seeing real, concrete metrics that other people enjoy it makes it all worth it.

So please, if you've enjoyed this chapter or the story so far leave a review, favorite or follow. It's the wax I need to keep burning the candle at both ends without being snuffed out. Thanks!