(Authors Note: Heyo! No excuses on it being kinda late in the week. While I did have a bit of wrist pain, I was more addicted to that new Hades game than anything, so I forgot to pick this up until a couple days ago. Glad I set the update schedule in a vague: "once a week" format. Thanks for reading!)

In the exact 5 seconds that it took for Tomura to activate his quirk, four things happened. The first and foremost was that everyone turned to look at the new threat. Upon seeing who exactly had showed up to the operation, the more informed heroes moved to either dodge, or use their abilities. A majority of this group would find that their abilities would fail them here, in the moment they needed them most. The reason was because of the second thing that happened, that being Eraser Head activating his own ability.

Shota Aizawa was a much more model hero than one would assume. However, in the past few weeks, Aizawa had been on somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster. Had events not played out around his life the way they had, he might not have made this critical error in the snap of a moment. However, in that moment, he was in a sense "blinded" by his newfound grudge in the League of Villains, the recovery of his supposedly dead and tortured childhood friend the main cause of it. As his quirk washed over Tomura, so too did it affect a majority of his fellow nearby heroes, who were primed to fire on the intruder.

But not Cementoss, who had recently arrived and stood behind Eraser. The second thing to happen was that he doomed them all by accident. Sensing the danger of the villain's ability, he drove a wall of thick concrete between the heroes and Tomura. As the wall came up, it blocked Eraser Head's vision of the villain, leaving nearly a fourth of their gathered forces completely defenseless without eyes on their target. A calamitous moment from a group already on edge.

The third thing that happened was that Deku's quirk had a second awakening while standing with the rest, too crowded and far back to enter combat effectively against the lone villain. This awakening was the result of a latent ability, a "danger sense" of sort, picking up on the fact that almost everyone present may have been about to die, a tragedy powerful enough to send it to the forefront of One for All. In the moment, the absolute fear that Izuku felt caused his perception of time to slow, giving him an ample opportunity to use his blackwhips to grab everyone nearby that he could support with movement, and then jump away.

The fourth thing that happened was that Tomura spoke a single sentence:

"Sorry, I'm not letting this end yet."

Immediately following the words, his power activated.

The annihilation wave raced outward, and just as people found their abilities failing them, the remainder of the concrete wall turned to ash. Some turned to run, others, including Gang Orca and a few mutation types, physically threw comrades out of the way as others were not even given time to scream as they disintegrated. A few farther back did manage though, yelling in fear as they were given a split second to see what was about to happen. Eraser Head stopped his quirk by closing his eyes, but it wasn't enough to stop the initial casualties as the wave continued forward at a slight angle.

Aizawa found himself being thrown away as others lobbed blasts into the effect, only to find that they too turned to dust. Hawk's feathers had shot out to grab others out of the way, him being one of them. For every hero saved, another died. Deku seemed to almost vanish with speed as the wave reached the back lines, stragglers catching the effect as it just kept going. Racing out towards the only target that mattered.

The Titan was lifted into the air, caught completely by Thirteen's power. Just as it was about to be taken apart, the blast reached Thirteen, oblivious to the danger. He vanished in a puff of ash, and his power went with him. With a colossal crash, the monster fell back to the ground with it's effect slowly reforming itself, a good 50% of it's mass now lost. In truth, had the right people survived the villains' attack, it might've proved enough to stagger the thing, to make it flee. As it rose to it's pillar-like feet, it unflinchingly walked forward, careening though the westernmost part of the camp, ignoring everyone as it crashed towards it's target.

Sobs and screams surrounded the heroes, where some had avoided the worst of the attack, but still were tagged as they escaped. Particularly bad were those bisected, the dust breaking free to reveal a flood of blood and viscera. The next moment was utter chaos, some fleeing in panic at the sight. Nerves cracked under the pressure, and the heroes seemed to break ranks as the chain of command was severed.

Tomura simply slipped away in the confusion, the few remaining with wits about them directly confronting him as the black fluid spilled forth to envelop him. He vanished, and took their hope with him.

Deku, in the meantime, had just gone into a panic of his own, the sight of the disaster rattling his nerves to the point that he was speechless. Who had he managed to grab? Looking in front of him, he counted the people still in whiplash from the speed of his maneuver. Iida, Tsuyu, Sero, Bakugo, Mina, Kirishima, Koda, Jiro, Sato. A few other people that he didn't know were all climbing to their feet too, more people in his reach that he'd saved.

He looked about. Tokoyami was there, patting Dark Shadow, the veneer of darkness cracked as he looked away from the death site. Bakugo and Todoroki were under the arms of Endeavor, who looked dead serious as he set them down, before flying up.

"ATTENTION!" He roared over the cacophony of terror. It died down as people took notice of him, and he grimly let out commands.

"The plan has failed! Rescue any survivors, and fall back! I need anyone that can still fight to come with me!"

Deku looked around. Where was Ochako, Mineta, Hagakure, Ojiro, Shoji? He knew that Uravity was right next to him when he'd moved. The idea that he overlooked such a critical detail was unfeasible. He scanned the crowds, still searching as the others stood, shaken.

"Mi-midoriya, thanks for the save...I thought it was over for me." Mina spoke up as his eyes darted faster over the ash zone. There was no indication of anything, not even a hint of cloth.

"We gotta get moving! More people need our help!" Kirishima stood up, a determined face hiding his fear as people began to reform ranks and teams.

The words reached him, and he was shaken out of his haze. "Ok." Was his response as he walked over towards Endeavor. Iida stopped him.

"Oi, Midoriya, what are you doing?" Deku couldn't meet his eyes as he pushed past him.

"Deku!" Iida seemed angry as Izuku forged on. He held up his hand, his left ribs aching as he called back quietly:

"Look for Uraraka for me, would you?"

There was no response as he walked onward. It was a mixture of faith and ignorance that prevented him from breaking down in the moment. Faith that his classmates had made it out of the blast zone, ignorance of what no trace of them might've meant.

0

Endeavor, Eraser Head, a very injured Itsuki, and Midnight all stood around the makeshift war-table, the rest of their gathered forces outside awaiting orders. They convened the meeting, Midnight asking with solemn politeness:

"Who did we lose?"

Recovery Girl, head bowed slightly, looked over her chart as she addressed the room.

"Normally, I wouldn't answer such a question in an ongoing crisis. However...you need to know exactly what we don't have for the upcoming fight, and I'm in no place to not answer." She sighed.

"Confirmed fatalities so far are: Kamui Woods, Cementoss, Ectoplasm, Thirteen, Gang Orca, Uwabami..."

The list of those lost to the cowardly attack grew longer and longer as they held back emotions. Eraser Head seemed the most mournful of them all, his unwitting mistake replaying in his head as he listened. Finally, Recovery Girl stopped her reading, before closing off with:

"You should also know that the damage Mt. Lady took in her final exchange ensures that she'll need a colostomy bag, her intestines were downright mangled, and I will not allow her to fight again. Along with the countless others that sustained life-altering damage from the attacks."

Itsuki went to grab a glass of water, and found that his missing hand prevented him from from grabbing it. He scowled before reaching with his right hand.

"Well. Seems as though were looking at a worst case scenario." He spoke up.

No one said a thing as he took a swig. There was an unspoken fact that everyone seemed to grasp, that this would've been preventable. If they'd been less focused on the monster, if they'd been just a little more on top of their game, this wouldn't even be half as bad. Who could have expected that Tomura had developed his quirk so well? Still, it was a failure. A monumental one at that. They'd blocked out a majority of the calls from PR just because it was too much a strain. The sheer responsibility that would need to be taken over this would break their Association if they weren't careful.

Eraser Head spoke up. "I'm not fit for a leadership role at the moment. I'm stepping down, with Midnight as my replacement for the time being." While there were frowns, nobody was willing to contest it. Itsuki nodded. He wasn't going to kick the guy while they were down.

"Has any new information come to light? Any weaknesses, things we can exploit?" Endeavor rolled his shoulders as someone filed out of the room.

"Yes actually, my-our research people made contact with a lab overseas, they were willing to help us with our predicament." He coughed. "The information came back that the thing is connected to the point it originally appeared from, a sort of link if you will. Part of the reason that I'm here is for permission."

"Permission?" Midnight spoke up.

"Yes." Itsuki added, "I'm open to questions before I go further."

Endeavor nodded. "What will severing this connection do to the monster?"

"As far as we can tell, it will result in a total shutdown of whatever it's using to regenerate. Makes the problem a matter of time rather than a permanent worry. It could do other things, but all the signs point to weakening it."

"There's a catch though. You'd just do it if you had the resources." Aizawa spoke up from the nearby table, grabbing a cup of coffee shakily as he drew it to his lips.

"Correct. There's currently only one way that we can think of to destroy the abnormality, and that's to use a specific quirk." He took a quick glance over to the U.A teachers before he continued,

"The abnormality, well, it's technically pseudo-organic. Surprised our lab folks who were sent after it left the scene. We tried penetrating it with equipment, but whatever the connection or however it works makes our current technology useless. We need someone that can interact with organic compounds, someone that could, ah, reverse the effect and close it back up."

Aizawa's eyes widened. "No. No. I forbid this."

"Eraser-" Midnight started up before he slammed his hand down on the table.

"You're talking about Eri, aren't you?" He glowered at the man.

Itsuki closed his eyes. "Yes, The Yakuza girl."

Eraser Head sneered as he sat back into his chair. "What is it with you and recruiting children? Especially the ones who don't need this right now?"

Itsuki shrugged. "All we need her to do is approach the event horizon, so to speak, and then activate her ability. That's it. Surely you can understand-"

"That girl spent her entire existence being used for things just like this. Experimental nightmares. Now you want her to-to interface with some unknown factor?"

"We're aware. If there was literally anyone else, we'd use them instead, but unfortunately we don't have those options. Her mental state has been taken into account. I'd like to ask politely if we could get both your, and her permission." He seemed to be backing off as others whispered about the solution.

"As a U.A teacher responsible for-"

Itsuki rubbed his temple as he cut the man off: "You ceded command to Midnight just now, I don't need to hear about your authority. Midnight?" He raised his eyes expectantly to the heroic woman.

She folded her arms. "I have to respect my colleague's decision. No. We can beat this thing. Without resorting to the unthinkable."

People began to nod when the SDF director got up from his chair.

"No we fucking can't!" Itsuki seemed to explode, roaring the words at the heroes as they looked at him.

"How many times? How many times do your enemies have to bludgeon this lesson into you? You are not All Might, you aren't some invincible force that can just fix shit when you need to. I went into this under the assumption that this thing was unbeatable, and that's why my advice worked better than yours! The rail-cannons? Me! The 13 idea, kiting it into a pathway? ME! You thought that this would last less than a day and I KNEW that it wouldn't! You keep making the same mistakes because you're too used to the same methods that are now KILLING PEOPLE!" He thundered the words as they glared at him. He laughed.

"My god, you people. Put on a cape and some bodysuits and you think you can save the whole planet without any help or ideas, or just-anything. And now? I'm telling you you don't have a choice, and it's still the same. Raw firepower CAN'T solve this. We need real solutions damnit!" He sat back down. Yui, standing off to the side, put a hand on his injured shoulder as the rest of the heroes looked down.

"I'm afraid that Mr. Itsuki, though I'm loathe to say it, is technically right." A voice spoke up.

People turned to see an emaciated figure make his way forward into the command center. The man himself, All Might.

"I'm sorry it took me a while, I had a bit of a medical emergency and was bedridden." He sat down in a chair as others looked to him.

"It's fine. You're input would be appreciated here." Itsuki seemed to flatten out his mood as the former Number 1 coughed into a handkerchief. All Might nodded.

"Aizawa, Midnight, Endeavor. I'm sorry. There is no blame here, the responsibility rests upon all of us, including my and Mr. Itsuki's. Isn't that right?"

Itsuki frowned, but didn't press further. Everyone seemed a bit confused at the statement.

"In many ways, this monster is quite different from the other high profile incidents we-I faced. In truth, at the height of my power..." The former Symbol looked to the monitors to watch as the creature walked leisurely through the woods, on it's way to the target. Another showed military equipment being deployed at the site. "I'd still struggle to destroy it. But what Mr. Itsuki said about using similar methods is very much a problem, you should've recognized the power gap much sooner than now. Whether it was because of my effect on the reputation of the Hero Association or a desire to hold the status quo, it's still a failure. However-"

He pointed to Itsuki somewhat forcefully. "That does not excuse the methods that the SDF has been using to gather information and data. Including human testing, and illegally authorizing a minor to fight in a life-or-death fight. I'd hoped you learned from your predecessors mistakes, Mr. Director."

He bit back at the hero, "Oh, and that makes it different from the Overhaul incident? The association is allowed to risk their interns, but not me then?" All-might shook his head.

People's eyes widened at the "human testing" before All-Might clarified. "I should note that when I say human testing I mean nothing life threatening or overtly horrible, but...still the fact that you've hidden it is horrifying indeed. It's good that they're dissolving your department following this. You're too driven, much too arrogant, and as someone who knows all too well what tunnel vision can do to someone, I'm still astonished at the sheer lengths you've gone to solve this predicament. You're more a villain than a hero."

"The test subjects were Nomu. Monsters without brains! We needed data, and those things are close enough that it was a chance. That's what we need right now!" The SDF director slammed his stump on the table, blood welling through the bandage as others processed what All Might had just revealed.

"Even still, fudging results and margins of error to push your plans out the door is awfully selfish. Were you even going to tell them about what could happen if the poor girl failed?" A figure walked in behind the former hero; detective Tsukauchi putting a hand on the sunken eyed-hero.

People looked over to Itsuki before he puffed out: "5% chance. It's only a 5% chance, and that's why I wouldn't have said anything, because anything less than absolutely PERFECT isn't enough for you people." He sneered.

"A five percent chance that you'd mutate another person into one of those monsters. A child no less."

"How many people has your ineptitude in this incident killed?" He shot back.

As voices raised and arguments got out of hand, Eraser Head put his hands on the table. "Enough."

"We can't afford to squabble. We need a plan."

Everyone seemed to calm as the top heroes got it together. Itsuki stormed out of the room, Yui following as they were effectively kicked out.

0

Deku sat outside the tent, hands on his knees with the rest of the scattered heroes. Normally he'd be freaking out that he was surrounded by top heroes, but right now, he was a bit...sad.

A hand slapped down on his left shoulder. He turned up to look and see his mentor.

"Midoriya. Come and walk with me for a bit." The young hero stood up and nodded before following his mentor.

The first thing that All-Might did as they walked away from the camp was that he hugged Midoriya. Midoriya in turn, hugged him back, squeezing a bit too hard as he felt tears bead at the corner of his eyes.

Then All Might chopped him on the forehead. Midoriya was sent sprawling as The Symbol of Peace sprayed a bit of blood following the action.

"Midoriya! You've been a bad student...again! I suppose this was inevitable, but goodness boy, you really don't know when to stop!"

Izuku felt something different boil up in him as he took the admonishment from his master, and it came to the surface as he spoke; "I know, we had this conversation already, I just couldn't-"

He was cut off by a second chop. "Couldn't sit back and do nothing? True, indeed. Tell me though, when you were trying to blow holes in that creature, who exactly were you trying to reach?" Izuku was taken aback by the statement.

"I saw you fighting out there, and I must say I was somewhat disappointed, and not just in you! Fights like these are all about mental games, and you and everyone else failed miserably! Do you know what I'm talking about?" He raised an eyebrow as Deku shook his now aching head no.

"The precedent that I set as the Symbol of Peace was absolute. Every fight I ever took part in I won, and I suppose that the parts of those fights that reached people were the ones that PR and other people thought mattered. The spectacle! The power, never anything else. Even when I fought people physically stronger than even me, the only thing people focused on was the strength, never the mind. When I saw you out there, that was what I saw. Spectacle. No thought, just power."

Deku bit back a retort, politely saying "I helped though. I saved people." Before letting his hands fall from his scalp.

"Indeed you did! Made quite the splash too. I imagine that you'll have quite the following after this is all over, but that isn't the point, young Midoriya! The point is that you thought you could solve this with raw force just like me, but again, it was based on a misconception. You should've taken a more conservative role, done more than just fight."

Izuku miserably frowned as he accepted the advice. "Like what?"

"Rescued people. People within your reach. Who cares if some big monster wrecks a city, its not what's important! The people, young Midoriya-"

He put his hands on his shoulders. "The people are what matter."

Deku slapped them off. "I know that! I just, I-" He seemed distraught. "It's something else. I-knew the person that turned into this, I-I even might've had something to do with it. I just, I needed to handle this myself, like you!" The tears started to come down.

"I'm-god-people have been dying! Giving up everything to fight and and protect and I just, I need to be in there! I need to help, not just put in token effort! If I'm not using this power, if I'm not the one stopping this then I-I couldn't live with it! I can't not-" He felt his mentor wrap his arms around him again as he sputtered. Another hug. It didn't stop him from continuing.

"I can't just watch people die and be RIGHT THERE and helpless! I can't! It's-It's not fair! They didn't, they shouldn't have-" The tears began to sink into All Might's shirt as he squeezed him tight.

"Midoriya. You've been under a monumental amount of pressure. You've just had to see things no one your age should be prepared to face. It's ok. It's not your fault, and no one needs you specifically to save the day. I've given you such a burden, but I've forgotten to tell you the most important thing of all, that you can be selfish from time to time with your power. You don't have to throw yourself away to embrace your role as my successor." His words were soft as the young hero took in the words.

"I-I need to. I need to be like you. Because if I can't win, if I can't beat the things you could, then I'm failing!"

"No. There is no shame in admitting weakness. There's no shame in failure. I hid mine because I thought that people couldn't handle the reality of my retirement, but what should have worried me was the profound effect I had on my juniors. This need, this drive to win, to go beyond, PLUS ULTRA, it's a double-edged sword. If I could've done it over again, I'd do it differently. At least then maybe people wouldn't have thrown their lives away here and now."

He disengaged the hug.

"Midoriya. I want your help to fight the giant. You would need to take a backseat role though. No direct attacks unless I say so. Could you do it?"

Izuku opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

"You'd be helping people still. Frankly, we can't afford not to ask you. Your fellow students, Aoyama, Todoroki, even Bakugo are coming too."

Midoriya wiped his face. "One thing I need to confirm before we go?" He spoke back.

All Might nodded.

0

Izuku walked over to the medical tents. Walking in, he was greeted to innumerable heroes, all taken out of the fight, many with missing limbs or appendages, results of the spreading metal. He saw his fellow students, rushing back and forth with supplies, Yaoyoruzu building equipment with her quirk as they handed them back to medical staff. Iida saw Izuku and frowned.

"Hey Iida. Did-"

The boy pointed towards the back of the tents and Izuku nodded. An apology-many apologies would have to come later, when things weren't this bad.

Walking back towards the tent, he was greeted with familiar faces. Ochako had a bandage around her head, and was knocked out, but relatively fine. No missing anything. He'd asked the doctor about the others he hadn't seen, and had been told that they were fine. Apparently, the other heroes had prioritized their youngers when the blast had gone off.

"Thank god..." He whispered. He set down on a bench that sat behind the girl's bed.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I wasn't able to grab you in time, but I didn't. I-I've been on a bit of a backwards slide lately. All Might just pointed it out to me, and it made me realize that I've-" He sighed. "I've been trying to distance myself from you guys too much. I've been acting crazy. The first thing that- The first thing I should've done was look for you guys. I should've grabbed more of the wounded. I should've been focused on helping, not hurting." He got up.

"I'm glad you're safe. I gotta go. Um-I'll apologize later, when you're awake. I'm just-I'm really glad you made it." He held her hand a moment before moving back out.

"Mmmnnn...Deku?" Her eyes opened a moment, and he spun around.

"Uraraka! Hey! I-uh-I was just-" He felt a nervous sweat break out as he went back to her bedside. With surprising motion, Ochako lunged forward and hugged him.

He returned the hug, blushing a bit as she said, "Thanks for the save, sorry, I must've passed out from the sight or something..." She seemed delirious. He frowned.

"Um, Uraraka-san? I didn't uh, I didn't grab you. I mean-" She shook her head.

"Wha-but I swore that I saw you pick me up! I mean, who else could it have been?"

Deku pursed his lips. "I don't know. You hit your head on something, and the doctors have been treating you for minor blood loss. I'm glad you're ok though." He watched as she leaned back onto the pillow.

"Oof. Rough time to be a hero huh?" She chuckled a bit. "I'm sorry, I'm a bit winded so I might not make a lot of sense." She offered an apologetic smile as he spoke back up:

"No, no, I should be sorry. I've been blowing you guys off since this whole mess began, I should've been more involved." He rubbed his temples as Ochako scoffed.

"Phht, oh please, we all know how much of a go-getter you are. Half of us knew that you'd probably do something crazy like this. Just, tell me one thing, though?" She leaned her head over as Izuku paid rapt attention.

"You're going to kick it's butt, right?"

He smiled. "We're going to try!"

"Good. Give a big one for me in case I can't make it back in in time. And Izuku?" She held out her hand, and he took it.

"I'm sorry about that Hayato guy. I know you mentioned him once, he seemed like an ok guy...It wasn't your fault."

He paused, and then nodded. Uraraka noticed her hand was touching his, and then drew back, red spots on her cheeks as she did. "Uh-well-uh-I'll-uh..."

Izuku, without even noticing, got up and left the medical tent. Walking outside, he was greeted to the rest of the surviving Top Heroes getting ready. Endeavor and Todoroki both stood side-by-side, familial grudge put on hold for the urgent mission. Hawks stood, same kind of bored look to him as the rest formed up. Gran Torino was here too, and shot him a look of both disapproval and pride. Edgeshot had a fake arm fitted onto him, still ready to fight. It was the same with the Dragoon, a metallic claw freshly attatched over her monsterous leg, Gunhead and Mirko atop her, both ready to rumble. And risen behind all of them was a giant pair of jeans, the size of a mecha as they held themselves up without help from a body. Best Jeanist's contribution to this fight would be replacing Mt. Lady. They all stood together, Bakugo falling in next to Deku as they tensed up.

"Heroes Assemble, huh?" Bakugo joked while growling to his rival.

"Let's do this!" Was his response.