CHAPTER 17:
REPELLING THE INVADERS
A common truism on both Nosgoth and Earth is to avoid awaking a sleeping beast. Whether it be lion, dragon, whatever have you, consequences and regrets will follow upon awakening it. Usually involving becoming the beast's next meal.
These clichés apply to All Might and Janos. True, they are rather proactive in their work in their field, but they are also those whose wrath you do not wish to rouse. It is hard to kindle Janos' wrath, true, and indeed, given how Vorador spoke to me of his life, I had thought it non-existent after the war between the Ancient Vampires and the Hylden. But in fact, it is still there. And even I have forgotten at times that, for all his pacifistic ways, Janos was a warrior back during that war, and becoming a Pro-Hero rekindled those skills…and his wrath.
And as for All Might? Well, the hotblooded fool is surprisingly hard to truly anger. But as Tomura Shigaraki would learn, that was not necessarily a good thing. For All Might, despite his blood running hot, his anger often ran surprisingly cold…
"Aizawa," All Might said, his tone clipped and professional. "Status report."
Aizawa scoffed quietly. "It's a SNAFU. The kids are scattered, with groups of Villains attacking them. Midoriya decided to play the hero, though he managed to incapacitate most of the Villains with his Light Glyph."
"All Might…Janos…that thing there…it's called a Nomu," Izuku said. "It has a regeneration Quirk, and I wouldn't be surprised if it has super-strength on top of it. And that Kurogiri, the one wreathed in black mist…he can make portals, but he has a physical body. Look for a metal collar thing. And the Salty Handyman there…"
"My name is Tomura Shigaraki, you green-haired griefer," rasped the hand-covered Villain.
"…The Salty Handyman can disintegrate what he touches, presumably with his hand," Izuku said, trying to keep his tone calm.
"…Izuku," Janos said quietly. "Go back up the stairs. You'll get in our way. The rest of the faculty will be here very soon. Aizawa, can you still fight?"
"Yeah. Midoriya's intervention gave me a chance to catch my breath. You heard Janos, Midoriya, get back to Thirteen and the others. That's an order."
"…Can I still snipe at them with the Soul Reaver if I have a clear shot?"
"Only if there's a clear shot."
Izuku nodded, and backed away, not turning his back to the Villains, only checking over his shoulder to ensure there weren't any waiting to ambush him. Only when he reached the stairs did he hurry up the stairs. He wished he could do more…
Janos glared at the young man who called himself Tomura Shigaraki. Something about the deranged young man seemed scarily familiar, and he couldn't figure out why. The young man with the pale blue hair chuckled. "So, Nephilim has some balls after all. I wonder…are you any relation to that freak Kain?"
"Not by blood," Janos said.
"Heh. That coward refused to join us. That vampire wannabe is overhyped. I'll bet he didn't kill Overhaul at all. Hell, I've heard rumours he didn't finish the job."
Toshinori noticed something, and then whipped by him at speed, before fetching a trio of students from the water. Janos recognised them from the files of 1-A as Tsuyu Asui, Denki Kaminari, and Minoru Mineta. However, in the process, Shigaraki's face-covering hand was knocked off, and while Toshinori hastened the students away, Shigaraki fumbled for the hand, his face exposed.
Janos couldn't help but gasp in horror. Though his face was nominally young, it was still careworn, covered in wrinkles and signs of dehydration, including chapped lips. He whimpered, softly, "I'm sorry, father," before placing the hand back into place over his face. "Brutalising people to save others…gotta love the hypocrisy of state-sponsored violence." He glared at the three Pro-Heroes. "All Might, you're getting slower, aren't you? That was too fast to keep up with, but slower than your norm?"
Janos frowned. Did Shigaraki get information from somewhere of All Might's condition? Janos himself remarked, "Villains who cry out against the supposed hypocrisy of violence inflicted on them come in two flavours. The truly idealistic, and the hypocritical. You fall squarely into the latter category. You inflict violence on others because you derive pleasure from it, so do not bemoan the supposed injustice of your situation when you take the initiative in inflicting pain."
"…Guess you saw through me," Shigaraki chuckled.
"Like a window," Aizawa said dryly.
"All Might…Aizawa…the children…" Janos said, realising that the majority of the students were probably still fighting the groups of Villains. "And Nezu's still mobilising the others…"
"Go help them, Janos," Aizawa said.
"…You are sure?" Janos asked. As much as he wanted to help the children, he didn't want to lose Aizawa or Toshinori to their battles.
Aizawa nodded. Janos then said, "Stay alive." Then, he spread his wings, and shot into the air…
Izuku watched from the top of the stairs as Janos flew into the air, and began going to other areas of the USJ. To rescue his classmates, Izuku realised, and he kicked himself, even as he readied the Soul Reaver to snipe the Villains below. Izuku should have thought of that himself, and sooner. All Might blurred, and most of the remainder of the Villains, save for Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and the Nomu, were knocked out.
Tsuyu, Ochako and Mineta were standing nearby, watching the fight, while Thirteen tended to Kaminari, who was showing a rather derpy face, and emitting a subdued, slurred cheer, a side-effect of overusing his Quirk. "Hey, Izuku," Tsuyu asked. "What do you think? Can All Might win against that thing?"
"I don't know. I think that thing is a bioengineered monster with multiple Quirks," Izuku said. "That's their trump card against All Might." He frowned when he heard Shigaraki crowing about the Nomu having shock absorption. "Three Quirks at the bare minimum: super-strength, shock absorption, and regeneration."
Mineta frowned, even as he shivered in fear. "Three Quirks? Isn't that impossible?"
"I wouldn't call it impossible," Izuku said. "Only that it'd take a lot of money and covert research into how Quirks work if it is possible."
Tsuyu frowned. "Something was up, though. They may be well-funded, ribbit, but their planning was sloppy." When Ochako and Izuku looked to the frog-faced girl, she shrugged. "They dumped me, Kaminari and Mineta into the Flood Zone, right? I'm pretty good in the water, ribbit, and Kaminari…well, he's basically a toaster dropped into a bathtub. He helped us get away."
"Yaaay," Kaminari slurred in agreement. Or something like it.
"…I get it," Izuku said. "They stole the class schedules to be sure where All Might was teaching…but they didn't take the dossiers of the students. So they didn't know your Quirks, and hoped to overwhelm you with numbers and experience."
"If they're that well-funded if they have that Nomu thing, but so sloppy when they executed this plan…" Mineta's eyes widened. "They're a front for someone else?"
And I think I know who, Izuku thought with a sudden realisation. He looked down at the Nomu, even as All Might suplexed the Nomu, sending up a massive cloud of dust. Giving that monster multiple Quirks would be simple if All for One was involved. All Might's probably thinking the same thing by now...
Janos had to sigh in relief as he went from section to section of the USJ. The students Aizawa taught had held their own, even succeeded in defeating the Villains in a few case. Janos merely had to act as a deus ex machina to help a few. However, Bakugou, Todoroki, and Kaminari were already making their way to the plaza, to interfere with the fight going on there.
Still, something about Tomura Shigaraki was bothering him. It wasn't the deranged psychopathic manchild attitude that bothered him most, the attitude of a gamer, nor was it the disintegration Quirk. No, it was something else, something on the tip of his tongue.
It wasn't until he was flying away from the Ruins Zone, a decimated urban landscape, that it hit him. He looked down at one building in particular, little more than rubble. He remembered photographs of a ruined neighbourhood, and then, the known photographs of a missing boy, someone missing, and, by most, presumed dead. He saw the boy older, with pale blue hair, and a face that looked prematurely aged, chapped and lined, not through the ravages of time, but by something else. He saw the young man's face, and compared it to the face of a smiling woman, a woman who had been forced to adopt out her family to keep them safe…and died to All for One. He remembered what Izuku said about a disintegration Quirk, something that, if going out of control, could have caused the damage in the photos. A perverse and possibly intentional irony, that the grandson of that woman had become their foe, assuming he was correct.
"Tomura Shigaraki…Tenko Shimura…" Janos murmured to himself in dawning horror.
He shook his head. It was only a hypothesis, mere supposition, and for now, his priority was to save the children. He heard an explosion from the plaza. In the distance, he saw Bakugou tackling Kurogiri to the ground, and then Todoroki freezing the Nomu, which was trying to pull Toshinori into the portal. He needed to make haste, and help any more who were in need…though he was sure Nezu was coming soon…
Izuku cursed Bakugou in his head as he attacked Kurogiri. True, Bakugou and Todoroki's actions had saved All Might, but Bakugou hadn't done it out of altruism, but out of pride, and seeking glory. Still, that, plus Todoroki's intervention, allowed All Might to break free from the Nomu's grip, and Izuku adjusted his aim. The Nomu attacked Bakugou, and Izuku was ashamed that, inwardly, a part of him hoped that the Nomu would turn him into paste. Instead, All Might intervened. Aizawa had his hands full trying to deal with Shigaraki. The deranged Villain had a surprising amount of combat skill, and Kurogiri had been helping Shigaraki deal with it until now.
But even as All Might skidded back, Izuku had a bead on the Nomu…specifically its head, with the exposed brain. But before he could fire, he heard a voice behind him. "Stand down, pardner, and watch and learn."
Izuku had enough time to see the gasmasked figure of Snipe, before the cowboy-like Pro-Hero began firing bullets. Alongside him were the other teachers…Cementoss, Midnight, Power Loader, Present Mic, Ectoplasm, and Vlad King, with Nezu perched on his shoulder. Tenya was present, looking exhausted.
Shigaraki looked at them, cradling his wounded arms, before screaming, like a petulant child, "NOMU! FORGET ALL MIGHT! KILL THE GATECRASHING SCRUBS FIRST!"
The creature charged, and Kurogiri opened up a portal, dropping it overhead. But even as it brought its fists together, ready to smash down on the gathered teachers and students, Izuku knew, with a startling clarity, what he had to do. He thought back to the mugger he had killed. Even with these Pro-Heroes here, the likelihood that someone would be badly injured, if not dead, if he didn't act was high. He brought back the Soul Reaver, gathering energy…
…And lunged.
With a sound like a crack of thunder, the Soul Reaver rammed home, impaling the falling Nomu. For a moment, the Nomu hung there, impaled on the spectral blade…before it began to writhe and bulge…and then exploded in a fountain of gore and offal. The bio-engineered monstrosity was no more.
But Izuku barely noticed. He felt the soul of the Nomu crash into him. He screamed in absolute agony as the powers flowed through him, as if his very veins had become filled with napalm. Vomit gouted from his mouth in an acidic tide. The last thing he heard before everything went black were Ochako and Tenya screaming his name…
Janos saw it happen, just as he was approaching the plaza. He saw the Nomu being teleported to the gathered teachers and students. He saw Izuku rear back with the Soul Reaver…and kill it. And then, he saw the soul of the Nomu go into him, only, Izuku's reaction was terrifying. He was in agony, vomiting, before collapsing. Even as he fell unconscious, he was convulsing and spasming.
Seeing Shigaraki and Kurogiri present, Janos dived from the sky with a furious roar. He saw Shigaraki beat a hasty retreat through one of Kurogiri's portals, before the mist entity disappeared as well. Janos roared an expletive in the Ancient Vampire tongue, before he turned to Aizawa and Toshinori. "Aizawa, All Might…Izuku is in trouble. He killed the Nomu, but he's had a bad reaction. He needs medical attention right away."
"You should let Deku die."
The three teachers stiffened, and then turned to Bakugou, who wore an ugly sneer. Aizawa, his voice cold, said, "Would you care to repeat that, Bakugou?"
"I said, you should let Deku die," Bakugou said unrepentantly. "In fact, you should have killed them all. All of them." He spread his arms wide, encompassing the plaza, which was strewn with unconscious Villains. "You see these freaks? They came here to kill us! They're Villains, and just sending them to prison just gives them an opportunity to break out again! And you let two of the fuckers get away! How many nearly died because you guys were pussies?!"
"Bakugou, killing them when they're defenceless is the work of a butcher," Toshinori said.
"It's smart," Bakugou retorted. "They're all Villains. Killing them is a service to the world. Being a Hero means stopping Villains. And that should mean permanently." His eyes looked over to the top of the stairs. "You have to stop Villains before they can harm anyone. You should have locked Deku away years ago at the least. But no, you let him into this school, a school for Pro-Heroes. What does that say about you?" He shook his head. "I used to look up to you, All Might. But you know what? You're a pathetic Hero if you're too soft to deal with Deku. And you'll have wished you did that."
Aizawa stepped up to Bakugou. "That's enough. You are making death threats, and what sound like serious ones at that, against a fellow classmate who is trying their hardest to be a Hero. You demean the process of law and order that every Pro-Hero is sworn to uphold, Bakugou. One more word out of you, and I will be putting you into detention. In fact, I think I should assign you to counselling sessions with Hound Dog…and should you ever try to follow through with your threats against Midoriya, or any student of this school who should have every right to be here…expulsion will be the least of your worries. You'd better think long and hard about what it means to be a Pro-Hero before you come back to class. Am I understood?"
Bakugou spat to the side, making his feelings clear, before walking away. Aizawa snapped, "Am I understood, Bakugou?"
"I understand you very clearly, Eraserhead," Bakugou retorted, sneering contempt dripping from every syllable.
As the belligerent teenager stormed away, Toshinori pinched the bridge of his nose. "…I knew the relationship between them was bad, but to wish for his demise so strongly? I can understand a Pro-Hero wanting to kill Villains, even if I cannot condone it. But to condemn a child whose only crimes were to kill in self-defence?"
"No…it is the Soul Reaver's properties that unnerved him so, though this vehemence surprised even I," Janos said. "I thought he had gone to counselling."
"You should know, Janos, the old joke. How many psychiatrists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only one, but the lightbulb has to want to change," Aizawa remarked. "Bakugou doesn't want to change. I think it's more than just the abilities of the Soul Reaver. I think part of it is that he can't stand Midoriya being better than him in any way."
"I hope you're wrong, Aizawa," Toshinori said quietly. "Janos…the Nomu…if it had multiple Quirks…"
"I know. But…there's something else. Shigaraki…I have a rather nasty suspicion I know who he is…and you're not going to like it…"
CHAPTER 17 ANNOTATIONS:
So, there you have it. The USJ invasion has been repelled, with less injuries than in canon…except, while Izuku may have gained the Nomu's Quirks, it's had some nasty side-effects, especially where Bakugou is concerned. And Janos has stumbled onto the truth.
The UA staff got there before All Might's big punch up with the Nomu (sorry, no playing of You Say Run here) because, thanks to Izuku texting Janos, Himiko and Hitoshi, the UA staff were alerted earlier, and so arrived earlier. In addition, because Janos carried All Might to the USJ sooner, Aizawa wasn't injured anywhere near as much as he was in canon.
No numbered annotations this time.