Hey guys! As promised, here is the next chapter! This one was a whopper to write, and I'm not sure if I like it very much but on with the show! As stated in the last chapter, you can probably expect the next chapter within the 2-4 day time frame again. Also, any AOT or Jujutsu Kaisen fans out there reading this? These new episodes have me shook lol! Disclaimer: I don't own BNH/MHA or ATLA, not creative enough.

P.S, this is definitely the longest chapter I've ever written in my life lol (not really, but really).

"Sena, have you ever killed anyone?" 12-year-old Izuku didn't even look up from where he was jotting down new quirk information in his hero analysis journal as he asked the question, causing him to miss the dark look that briefly crossed Sena's face. The water bending avatar leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, blowing a curl out of her eyes. They sat in a park not too far from Midoriya's apartment, Izuku having just got out of school. The boy was sporting a bandage on his face, something that probably came from another incident with that Bakugou kid.

"Why do you ask, kid? Are you planning a string of murders or something?" She raised an eyebrow at him, watching as his face flushed red and he dropped his notebook, looking up at her with wide eyes. He hurriedly raised his hands and put them out in front of him, shaking both them and his head at the same time.

"No-no I'm n-not! I w-was just curious because there was a villain attack the other day and the villain was holding a lot of people hostage and apparently the hero that came on site killed the villain. A-and so I was just wondering…" The boy twiddled with his fingers for a moment before lowering his head, allowing his green curls to shadow his face. "I-it was a r-rude question to ask, I'm sorry." The older girl let out a tired sigh as she leaned back against the tree, her blue eyes staring up at the sky as she tracked a panda-shaped cloud.

"Don't be sorry for asking Izu, I'm the one that told you that you could ask me anything." There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them for a moment before she wordlessly patted the ground beside her. Izuku was at her side almost instantly, clutching his journal in his palms as he leaned back against the tree next to her. "And yes, I have. Does that scare you?" She watched as green eyebrows furrowed for a moment, but knowing her answer already from what she didn't see in his eyes. There was none of the instant fear that she had expected, though there was a little apprehension, something that was only to be expected.

"I d-don't think it does. But why?" Though it was straightforward, to Sena there were so many parts of that question. She could see it clear as day, feeling the gravel against her skin as she rolled forward, heard the desperation in Aiko's voice as the camp they were staying with was sieged, could feel the pulsing connection of blood calling out to her as she pulled on it without hesitation-

"It was kind of like the villain situation." She raised her eyes back to the sky, watching the panda cloud as it drifted along in the blue heavens. Snippets of screaming people came back to her, children crying for their parents as the tents around them burned. "There were a lot of people who could have gotten hurt if I didn't act." So many had been injured, so many had died because she had failed to act because she hesitated. A small hand wrapped around hers and though she kept her eyes on the sky, she gave it a light squeeze. "You want to be a hero right, Izukun?" She felt rather than saw the boy's nod, and she would have known the answer even if he didn't respond. The boy ate, breathed, and sweated heroes. "There will be a time when you might have to make that judgment call Izu. I know that people say killing is wrong- and it is. But when you're a hero and you have to make a call between you going home to your family, civilians going home to their families, and a villain going home to theirs- I want you to always make the choice to save yourself and the civilians Izu. The villains made their bed when they chose their lifestyle, and they have to lie in it." Blue eyes glanced down and saw conflicted green ones staring straight at her.

"So you mean if there ever comes a time when I could take the life of a villain than I should?"

"No. Killing just to kill is senseless, if you can arrest them then do that. But if it comes down to a situation where you're facing a villain who won't stay down, whose mind and body is set on causing mass casualties and destruction- or if you're in the situation where someone or even you will die if you don't act, that's when you need to do what you have to."

"Oh." The two sat in silence for what felt like hours to Sena but was probably minutes. She looked away from her successor, glancing at the little ducks that gathered around as they waddled to the pound that was to Izuku and Sena's left. Around the pond sat overgrown thickets and weeds, and it was here that Sena normally instructed Izuku in his waterbending lessons since no one really seemed to come to this edge of the park. "Do you regret it?" If his question startled her, she didn't let it show as she watched the ducks hop into the pond one by one. In her head, she didn't see the ducks, rather random children running around the cleaning hole in their underground sanctuary, laughing and splashing each other just hours before they were attacked, laughing as if there was no war as if they weren't the children of perceived traitors against All for One's cause. The image faded and she was standing on the edge of the water, watching the pink stained water ripple.

"No, I don't." The hand released hers and Izuku moved so that he was crouched in front of her, emerald meeting azure. His face was set in a determined line as he nodded once, his hands balled into fists.

"Thank you for being honest with me, Sena-san. You've given me a lot to think about." She stared at him quietly as he suddenly turned bright red and started stuttering again "B-but that d-doesn't mean I'm going to go a-around killing people!" A bark of laughter left her lips as she smiled at him, forcing the images that she was seeing away,

"You're a riot kid. Definitely don't start killing people, can't have the Avatar being a villain y'kno? Kinda goes against the job description. Now come on, it's starting to get late. Let's get you home." They walked together in silence, only for it to be broken again by Izuku.

"Sena?"

"Hm?"

"Have any of the other avatars ever killed anyone?" For some reason, an image of a nearly 7-foot tall woman with a white painted face appeared in her mind. Two golden fans rested in her belt, and a swoop of red covered her eyelids. As soon as the image came it was gone, and Sena shrugged.

"Probably. I don't think my predecessor Leodis did, but then again he was kind of lazy. Now stop asking questions like that before I start getting wrong ideas." She gave him a side look and started cracking up when the boy turned red and started stuttering once more. She looked towards the sky once more, allowing one last thought to echo through her head. Tui and La, Agni, and all the other spirits, please don't allow his soul to be tainted like mine was. Don't ever let him have to experience taking another person's life.

"Are you excited for today, Deku-kun?" Uraraka leaned forward around Iida to peer at her green-eyed friend. It was finally Friday and they were currently on the bus on their way to their field trip, though none of the students knew where. All they knew was that this trip was going to be focused on rescue missions. The viridian haired boy turned toward her and gave her a firm nod, an easy smile crossing his face.

"Yeah! It's very exciting Urakaka-chan, Iida-kun. Who do you guys think is going to be co-teaching with Aizawa-sensei? Didn't he mention two other heroes being there?" Before either of his friends could answer him, the bus rolled to a stop in front of a round-shaped building with a dome on top of it.

"Everyone off the bus." Class 1-A followed their teacher's instructions, most of the class laughing and joking with each other as their shoes hit the dirt path and they entered the building that was in front of them. The minute Izuku stepped foot in the building he nearly stopped walking in aw, and by his side he heard Uraraka let out a squeak of excitement. He glanced over to her, noticing her cheeks were pinker than usual.

"It's like Universal Studios Japan!" As he looked around, he couldn't help but agree. The place was huge from what he could see there was a shipwreck area for water rescues, a mountain, a mock city, and a zone that was on fire, maybe the aftermath of an Earthquake? Before he could ponder on it more, a pink arm was thrown around his shoulder as Mina suddenly materialized next to him and pointed forward.

"Woah, isn't that the Space Hero Thirteen?" Both Uraraka and Izuku whipped towards the area where Mina was pointed, and sure enough, Thirteen stood there encased in her spacesuit. She waved them over to her, Uraraka and Izuku making their way over with stars in their eyes. Silently to himself, Izuku resolved to get her autograph before the day was finished.

"Good morning class 1-A! Welcome to my favorite place on U.A's campus, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!" Woah! It is the USJ! The broccoli haired boy smiled widely in amusement, glancing at Mina as she started messing with his hair. Pay attention he said to her with his eyes, a smirk covering the girl's face as she gave his hair one last tug and moved away from him, going to stand by Kirishima and Kacchan. He returned his attention towards Thirteen and Eraserhead, both of them conversing quietly. Eraserhead mentioned something about All Might and Thirteen shook her head, holding up 3 fingers. They meant nothing to anyone else, but to Izuku, he knew exactly what was going on.

Yagi-san. He shook his head, knowing that his mentor had pushed himself this morning and was now out of time. He was slightly disappointed that his mentor wouldn't be helping with the class, but at least he got to meet Thirteen. That made up for it, slightly. He looked at Thirteen as she began speaking about what was going on, tapping his itching fingers against his canteen covered waist. He wished he had brought a notebook so that he could write down all of this new information, but he hadn't been allowed to. He had only been allowed to bring the parts of his hero costume that weren't destroyed, meaning that Izuku had on the red sneakers that allowed him to get rid of the soles when he needed to, and his canteen belt around his waist though it only had one canteen on it, since Kacchan had broken the other, though neither of them realized it at the time. Still, he listened intently as Thirteen began describing her quirk.

"My quirk is called Black Hole. It allows me to suck anything into my fingers by creating a literal black hole. It is very useful for rescue missions, allowing me to get rid of rubble and prevent enemies from escaping, however, it is also very dangerous. If I am not careful enough I can kill someone with my quirk. I think the same could be said for a lot of your quirks as well. Quirks are tools to be used, and they must be used with caution so that you don't hurt those around you. Anyway, I only have about 8 more things to say and then we can-" Izuku didn't hear the rest of what she said, his eyes snapping to the lower pavilion as his senses screamed at him. As he watched, a swirl of purple suddenly appeared in the middle of it.

"Sensei." He didn't even realize that the word had left his mouth until suddenly, 21 eyes snapped towards him. His hand shook as he pointed to the middle of the pavilion, Aizawa immediately grabbing his capture scarf as the purple wisp turned into a portal with dozens of people stepping out of it. Izuku's heart sank as he felt the malevolent energy wafting over to him, taking an unconscious step back as the last villains stepped out, a man with ashy blue hair and a hand over his face, and a creature that seemed to be jet black with a bird head and exposed brain.

"Everyone get back, Thirteen protect the students!" His classmates stood around confused as Izuku rushed forward until he was standing next to his homeroom teacher. "Thirteen, why aren't the alarms going off?"

"There must be some sort of signal blocker...Is there anyone here that's an electric user? If so, try to contact the main building!" Kaminari immediately moved into action, one hand placed on his ear as he tried to contact the main building. Izuku tore his eyes from his friend and looked back down on the pavilion where it seemed there were at least 50 different villains waiting. He opened his mouth to say something when the hand villain suddenly spoke up, loud enough for them to hear.

"Where's All Might? I thought he was going to be here! This must be a cheat!" He began to scratch furiously at his neck, Izuku cringing at the site. The warp villain placed a hand on the hand villain's shoulder, speaking low enough that Izuku couldn't hear him but it had to be something bad for them since the hand villain suddenly smiled, holding his arms out wide.

"Well if the main boss isn't here, maybe he'll come after we kill some NPC's." At that, his teacher's eyes flashed momentarily as he suddenly pulled his slitted yellow goggles down over his eyes.

"Sensei, you can't beat them all! Your fighting style-" He was silenced by a hand on his hand, black eyes staring into green.

"No hero is a one-trick pony, Midoriya. Now get out of here with your classmates!" The man didn't give him another second to protest, moving with a speed that came with years of experience as he leaped into the air and dove at the villains below him. Izuku couldn't see him but he knew the normally black eyes were flared red as Aizawa-sensei came in contact with the first round of villains. He wanted to go help him so bad, but he knew he would just be a liability.

Sometimes in battle, you have to trust your comrades to be able to defend themselves, and you. The old lesson from Sena came floating back into his mind and he grit his teeth, turning away from the fight, rushing to join his classmates. He came to a stop next to Kirishima and Kacchan, his eyes darting over the rest of his classmates as he took a step forward, assuming the role of the class leader.

"Kaminari-kun, were you able to contact the school?" The blonde-haired boy shook his head, one hand still to his ear.

"There's something jamming the signal, we won't be able to get anything out." Izuku nodded his head, a hand on his chin as his thoughts raced as fast as they possibly could, for some reason his brain hyper-focusing on the last part of Kaminari's statement. Anything. He thought. Not anyone-

"Iida you need to go, and you need to go now! You're the fastest out of all of us, you need to get to U.A and alert the teachers to what's going on." Whatever the engine user was going to say next was cut off by the warp villain appearing directly in front of them.

"Hello, U.A students. I'm afraid we can't allow you to go anywhere." The mist around him flared and expanded, and two students moved forward at the same time that Thirteen prepared to uncap her finger.

"As if we'd let you!" Katsuki snarled with a feral look on his face as he lunged forward with Kirishima, a large explosion leaving his fist. The warp user smirked, blocking both of their attacks, the students both skidding back. Mina lunged forward and grabbed Kirishima, dragging him back into the protective fold of their classmates while Shoji wrapped a giant arm around Bakugou and yanked him backward as well. Thirteen stepped forward in front of them all, uncapping black hole as she shouted.

"I won't let you hurt any of them, you villain!" For a moment it seemed to work, some of the mist being sucked into her finger, but in an instant, it all went wrong. A scream pierced the air as a warp opened up directly behind Thirteen, her own quirk being redirected back at her. Shoji, the closest person to her shoved her out of the way, her suit reacting and instantly capping her quirk on feeling the user take damage. The purple villain gave them all an unsettling smirk as he spoke.

"It is nothing personal children, but you all must be scattered, tortured, and killed." His mist flared once, Izuku saw Shoji grab Iida and Bakugou, the two closest people to him as he leaped out of the way of the mist. An invisible hand yanked Mina back out of the mist, Shoji's extended arm reached for Izuku, Izuku swung out his own arm to grab it-

And then Izuku was falling and a mountain was rising to meet him.

Ashido Mina watched as most of her classmates were swallowed by the mist, including two of her closest friends. She gave a near silent 'Thank You' to Hagakure, the girl responding by patting her back. The only students that remained near the entrance were Shoji, Iida, Bakugou, Hagakure, and Mina herself. The warp villain stood between them and the exit, and Mina unconsciously moved to stand in front of the downed Thirteen. She glanced at Bakugou, the ash-blonde boy's hands clenched into fists as he snarled at the villain, but when she looked closer she noticed his hands were shaking minutely, just like her own hands were. She ignored the urge to reach for him, instead pointing her hand forward like a hose just incase the villain made a sudden move towards them.

"We need to get Iida out of the building like Midori said." She spoke up suddenly, her free hand swinging back to where she knew Hagakure had been a moment prior. Her fingertips brushed against the girl, sending a silent message. She hoped her message had been received as she brought her arm back down, making it look like she was winding up for a fight. Bakugou looked at her with an unreadable glance and she looked towards Shoji who had a hand-shaped into an eyeball pointed towards the Central Plaza. One of his tentacles swiveled towards her and shaped itself into a thumbs up.

"Silly children, you should never discuss your plans in front of an opponent!" The mist flared once more and then Mina was there, using her acid to create a path for her to slide on. She skated around the mist villain, slinging the corrosive liquid at him in an attempt to distract him. She aimed for his eyes and his arms, only for her attacks to be swallowed by the mist causing her to hurriedly dodge as her acid came flying back at her.

"Iida, GO!" She shouted at him, flinging more acid. The mist flared once more and she felt it wrapping around her, only for Shoji to wrap a hand around her and yank her towards him. Iida went careening past them, his engines in full throttle as he sprinted.

"I'll be back!" He shouted at them. A portal opened up in front of him, threatening to swallow him whole, a shout on Mina's lips-and then her explosive friend was there, blasting the villain at point-blank range. The portal faltered, Bakugou's sweat covered hands made contact with the mist user's metal plate that sat around his neck, sending the villain's body crashing to the floor. The front entrance swung open with no one seemingly there, the villain went to move again only to be stopped by Bakugou's sparking and crackling hand, sunlight creeping into the building from outside.

And then Iida was gone, the front door swinging shut, cutting off the sunlight. They had done it. Mina sat next to Thirteen, holding the Space Hero's hand to keep a check on her vitals. She didn't know how much time had passed, 10 minutes, maybe 15? Iida would be back soon and they would be safe.

Or so she thought. Shoji's gasp had everyone looking up to watch the Central Plaza, Bakugou's grip lightening the smallest amount as they watched their teacher be bashed into the ground, but that slight lift was enough, the mist villain taking his chance and disappearing. She ignored the violent swearwords coming from her friend as they watched their teacher be smashed down again.

And again.

And again.

Mountain Zone

Izuku knelt on the rocky ground, huddled behind a rock with Kaminiari and Jirou. The earphone jack girl had roped her earphone around his arm and yanked him to the ground beside them before he was able to bend, stopping him from what would have inevitably given away his position.

"What's the plan, Pres?" He glanced around him before speaking lowly, Jirou stabbing her jacks into the ground to alert them of anyone coming near them.

"They don't know our quirks." Before they could ask how he knew that, he plunged ahead. "If they knew our quirks they would have sent Jirou to either the conflagration zone or the flood zone to stop her from using her earphone jacks. They would have sent Kaminari-kun to someplace wet to stop him from using his powers since he can't really focus them, and they would have sent me to the central plaza because I'm able to bend in nearly all of the zones. They wouldn't have sent me here where I'm at my strongest, even the flood zone would have been better than here." Kaminari nodded, trusting his expertise from when they had been paired together for the combat exercise. Jirou on the other hand wasn't as convinced.

"So say they don't know our quirks, what do we do now? We need to get out of here as fast as possible." Izuku nodded, his fingers rapidly tapping against his canteen as he thought. His fingers slowly rolled to a stop as he put together a passable plan.

"Jirou, how many people do you sense directly around us?" The girl closed her eyes, listening closely and silently mouthing her count.

"I counted 23 heartbeats." He gave a firm nod, not as many as he planned on but still more than he thought. They really were planning on killing us. He pushed the thought away, not giving it time to sit to prevent himself from panicking. They had to act quick, who knows what was going on everywhere else.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do.."

Kaminari Denki whistled as he strolled around the mountain zone, hands in his pockets. He had pulled down his shades that he brought with him, bopping to imaginary music. He came to a stop in the middle of an open spot on the mountain that overlooked a cliff, looking up as he realized that he was surrounded by villains.

"H-hey guys, whatcha doing here? Helping out with the exercise?" He did a full spin, counting quickly. 22. One villain was still missing, but he would have to leave that one to the others.

"Something like that." The villains moved forward with smirks on their faces, the one directly in front spinning some sort of weapon that Denki couldn't make out. "You're surrounded kid, you mind as well give up."

"Okay." The electric user agreed, dropping down to his knees with his hands on the ground in front of him. "Only, there's one issue with that. I'd really rather not. Indiscriminate shock, 1 million volts!" Lightning arched from his body and rippled forward, surging through the crowd of villains that surrounded him. He forced the lightning to continue leaving his body, feeling his brain start to short out the smallest amounts. He hadn't used enough to fry him completely, but the constant output would get to him eventually if he didn't stop. Hold on Denki, another 10 seconds. His eyes glowed, hair floating up as he forced his output to the limit, abruptly pulling it back right before he would have been reduced to his dunce state. Even still he thought with a wince he had been mighty close. He staggered to his feet, noticing that not all the villains were down. There seemed to be at least 10 still standing, those must have been the ones that made up the second ring. They had probably surged back out of his range, and now they charged forward towards him with their quirks coming to life. Moments before he would have been blasted by someone's flame quirk, a gust of air wrapped around him and yanked him back until he was standing next to Jirou and Midoriya. He watched as phase 2 of their plan came to life, with Midoriya springing forward in front of them, slamming his shoe covered but bare soled foot onto the ground, slowly lifting his arms towards the sky. They were shaking. Denki dimly noted Midoriya's arms were shaking along with the ground. The boy's face reddened the slightest amount as if he was holding something very heavy, and then he shifted his stance, yanking his arms back to his body, and the ground below the villains rose, encasing them in a jagged looking rocky tomb.

"There was a-whey- missing villain." Kaminari stuttered out, closing his eyes in exhaustion. His brain was fuzzy and it felt like it was steaming. It hurt for him to think, let alone form sentences.

"Indeed there was." The villain suddenly loomed over them, and it would have been scarier had Midoriya not slammed his foot onto the ground once more, this time sending the villain shooting up into the air. Two arms wrapped around Kaminari as Jirou pointed in the direction that the central plaza laid.

"Good job Midoriya. Come on, let's get Jamming-Whey out of here." She gave him a smirk, and had Denki been more cognizant he probably would have been offended. Probably. There would be a time for that later though, but for now, they picked their way down the mountain with Midoriya bending out a smooth path for them to walk on. They had barely made it out of the mountain zone when a huge crash had Denki looking up, only to see Aizawa-sensei being pounded into the ground by a bird creature with an exposed brain.

"S-sensei." Jirou stuttered out, all 3 of them frozen in horror. Move. Their minds shouted at them as they stood in the open space, but none of them could make their legs work. They watched as the warp villain appeared next to the hand-man, his voice carrying over to them clearly.

"Shigaraki Tomura, Thirteen has been disposed of but the engine child was able to escape and is gathering help as we speak." Denki's eyes were stuck on his bleeding teacher, something cold gripping his heart.

"Kurogiri if you weren't our exit I would disintegrate you. But fine, before we leave let's kill some kids." He moved faster than anyone could think, Jirou letting out a scream as a hand suddenly covered her face, and Denki might have been screaming with her-

Only for nothing to happen and for the three to look at the villain in confused horror as he let out a laugh.

"Eraserhead, you're really cool. Nomu." The bird beaked creature slammed an already bloody face into the ground one last time, the man finally going still. The palm wearer turned back towards Jirou, lowering a pinky when Denki saw a flash of green, and Midoriya slammed a red-veined fist down towards the villain.

Izuku didn't think as he watched the man, Shigaraki, place his hand on Jirou's face. He didn't think as Aizawa-sensei activated his quirk and was slammed into the ground once more, and he didn't think when the villain turned back toward Jirou intending to disintegrate her face. No, for the second time in his life Izuku didn't think, his legs just moved on their own. An OFA laced punch came down on the villain, and for a second he found himself regretting that his punch would probably be enough to kill the man, only for his arm to make impact without his arm breaking.

"My arm..didn't break-?" He glanced at the appendage in confusion, only to shout in pain as a hand wrapped around his wrist and squeezed it. Shigaraki walked from behind the Nomu, his eyes wide in shock.

"You totally just tried to kill me! What are these hero schools teaching these NPC's these days?" He scowled at Izuku and then back at Eraserhead, who had lost a lot of blood. Nearly too much Izuku's mind supplied. Ignoring him and he turned back towards Jirou who was still helping Kaminari stand up. He had to protect them, no matter what.

"Get Sensei and go! I'll hold them off!" Jirou looked at him with watery eyes but immediately moved, forcing Kaminari to run with her as she sprinted away from Izuku.

"What kind of NPC are you? Hmm..doesn't matter. Nomu, kill him." Shigaraki waved a dismissive hand as Kurogiri warped him back to where he had been standing beforehand to enjoy the show. Izuku grit his teeth as he was flung away from the Nomu, hitting the ground rolling. He let out the smallest grunt of pain and rose to his feet, his left wrist pulsating in pain. Fractured or broken. His mind told him, but he didn't have the time to think about it. Letting his instincts guide him he moved, sending waves of Earth at the creature only for them to be plowed through. A gust of air sent him flying backward and out of the way of a punch that would have broken his ribs, and then he was on defense but he knew he was slowly losing ground. Any earthen attacks were shattered, air attacks worked momentarily only for the nomu to gain a burst of speed and be right back where he was originally. Izuku was holding out, but he was tiring. He had never bent this long before, and even though it had only been minutes it felt like an eternity. He spun under one of the nomu's swings, hurriedly hopping backward and slammed his feet into the ground, clapping his hands together and shooting them forward like a knife. A huge spiral of earth ripped itself from the ground, the end sharpening as familiar words played through his mind.

If it comes down to him or you, do what you have to do.

The sharpened end of the rock thrust was thrust deep into the Nomu's chest, the creature letting out a shriek as the spiral finally stopped. Around Izuku the world went quiet as he let out a gasp and bit his lip hard to force down the rising wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. He glanced at Shigaraki, only to find that the man was laughing and clapping.

"Wow, you're really different kid! I've never met a hero who actively tried to kill two people in one day, goes to show that heroes are government-sanctioned thugs. You're a mini-boss aren't you?" The tone shifted from amused to accusing. "You're using cheats huh? Well too bad, Nomu is a mod!" Viridian eyes widened in horror as the creature broke the spire that had pierced it and pulled the chunk of Earth out of its chest. The hole that had gone through it slowly closed as it repaired the damage done to it.

"Regeneration." Izuku breathed as he prepared himself to move, but it was too late. The Nomu shot forward with the speed of a bullet, a meaty hand wrapping around Izuku and squeezing. He let out a scream of agony as he felt bones begin to get crushed.

"Among other things. It was built to kill All Might, the final boss. A mini-boss is nothing to the Nomu. Nomu, end him already." In a manner reminiscent of what it had done to Aizawa-Sensei, the large hand rose and fell, slamming Izuku's body into the ground below it.

"MIDORI!" A shrill scream echoed through the air as he turned his gaze towards the entrance where Mina was fighting to get out of Shoji's grip. Another yell left him as he was slammed into the ground once more, his left arm caving in against his body. Blood was running freely down his face now as he was swung down once more.

"DEKU! YOU SHITTY NERD" The sound of explosions echoed through the air as he was lifted higher than he had been the previous times that the Nomu had smashed him into the ground. He dangled limply like a doll, the Nomu only holding him by his broken arm now instead of the full-body grip that he had been wrapped in.

"Kac..chan." He wheezed, his dangling arm reaching towards the boy as his vision began to dim. He could faintly hear his classmates horrified screams as he was swung down a final time, hard enough for his body to create a crater in the ground. No sound left his lips as his back arched and he coughed up blood. He should have been unconscious already, should have been dead already, but Izuku had always been sturdier than most people. He didn't know if it came with him being a bender or not, but things that would have seriously hurt normal people didn't have as much as an effect on him. Had he been anyone else, he surely would have been dead by now. His eyes began to close as blood pooled around him, the silent call of unconsciousness wrapping around his body like a vice.

DEKU! The scream echoed through his mind at a snail's pace, almost as though it was moving through jello.

DEKU! The voice screamed again, this time followed by the sounds of explosions that were muted to Izuku's ears. There were other screams now, people yelling for someone named Bakugou to get out of there.

Bak..u...gou? The name drifted along the stream of Izuku's slowing mind. Who…

ZU-KUN! Unlike the other names, this nickname shot through the ever-growing fog of Izuku's mind. It was bright, it was blazing, the heat coming off of it pushing away the cold that had slowly been climbing up Izuku's limbs, the light driving away the darkness. There was only one person who had ever called him that in his entire life besides his mother, only one person who could infuse that much anger in something tinted with desperation. Kacchan. He needed to move, he needed to help-

"Hey, kid." A glowing blue figure stood in front of him, adorned in a medium length short sleeve tunic that had slits going up the sides of the tight covered legs. Blue bracers sat on the figure's arms, curly hair pulled up into a messy wolf tail. A pair of glasses sat on the figure's nose as she looked down on him, a frown covering her face. "You look like you've seen better days." He couldn't speak, his voice wouldn't work but tears made their way down his face as the figure crouched down and gave him a soft smile.

Help...them... He thought, viridian eyes misting over as they stared into blue. At that moment there was no nomu, there were no villains, it was only them. She nodded and wrapped her calloused and scarred hand around his, yanking him to his feet roughly. A tall man suddenly appeared behind her, black hair with white streaks falling to his shoulders, sweeping in front of his face and covering his eyes. He moved silently until he was standing beside Izuku, completely bypassing Sena as if she was not even there, and Sena showed no sign of noticing him either.

"Rise." They both spoke at the same time, and Izuku was suddenly ejected from his mind. Eyes that he didn't remember closing flew open as the world splintered white, the earth around him rumbling its fury.

Izuku rose.

Iida ran as fast as he could. He had a lot of stamina, but he was slowly tiring after sprinting down the long path from the USJ to U.A's main campus. Still, he pushed himself harder than he had before, not allowing himself to slow down even as he pushed open the doors and sprinted into the school.

"Woah, little listener! What's the rush!" Present Mic's hand reached out and grabbed Iida as the engine user slammed into him, sending dozens of papers that the loud man was holding to the ground, sheer relief flooding the boy's face as he came in contact with someone who could help.

"SENSEI, VILLAINS AT THE USJ! CLASS 1-A REQUESTS BACKUP!" The smile that was ever-present on the man's face dropped immediately as he whipped his phone out of his pocket, hastily dialing a number.

"Nezu, code black, USJ." Almost immediately the loudspeakers blared to life, Nezu's voice appearing over the intercom.

"All active pro-heroes to bus lot A immediately."

"Follow me, little listener!" Together both student and teacher sprinted towards the bus lot as doors swung open, pro heroes pouring out of multiple classrooms and joining them. On their way there a red, blue, and yellow blur passed them, the figure immediately taking to the sky as soon as they all hit the open air.

Everyone, help is on the way. Iida thought as he entered the bus, watching as All Might leaped away.

Before Katsuki gained his quirk, before Izuku was revealed to be quirkless (but not powerless), before Izuku was Deku, they were merely Kacchan and Zu-kun, two nearly inseparable boys. Katsuki would shout and wail until his irritated mother brought him over to the Midoriya's where he would immediately rush to Izuku's room screaming

"Zu-kun let's play heroes and villains!" The tiny green-haired boy would rush out of his room screaming for Kacchan. Both boys would end up slamming into each other, the green-haired mother wincing as she awaited for tears to fall, the blonde-hair mother groaning as she pinched her nose shut to keep herself from yelling at her brat about being careful, awaiting the inevitable loss of temper, but neither would come. Instead, the boys would break out into peals of laughter, Katsuki sometimes yanking Izuku to his feet, Izuku sometimes gently pulling Katsuki to his and they would run around and play until either Mitsuki or Inko would find them entangled around each other on the floor, sound asleep.

But then Katsuki got his quirk and Izuku was no longer Zu-kun, rather he was Deku. But Kacchan would always remain Kacchan, Izuku's first nickname long forgotten, or so he thought. Until now.

To the outside world, it seemed as though Izuku was gone. No one saw what was going on in his head, and no one saw the tears that threatened to cascade down Katsuki's face as he resumed his position of pinning Kurogiri to the ground with a sparking hand once more. Todoroki had appeared on the scene, a wave of ice trapping the Nomu in its place for a moment as Katsuki shouted for Deku, shouted for him to get his shitty nerd ass up, and to stop playing around. It was only when the Nomu broke out of Todorki's ice, sending it spiraling everywhere that Katsuki realized that Izuku wasn't going to get up, not anymore. He didn't know what came over him, what possessed him to use that nickname again, but it tore itself from his throat before he had the chance to stop it.

"ZU-KUN!" The shout echoed over the still air, the Nomu slowly lumbering over to him as it prepared to claim a second victim. Another wave of ice intercepted it as Kirishima called for Bakugou to move, but he couldn't allow the stupid warp villain to escape once again, he wouldn't be a failure for the second time that day- and then a bright white blinded him, blinded them all. He wasn't prepared for Izuku to be standing there when his vision finally cleared. The boy looked like a wreck, his left arm dangling uselessly by his side, blood running from his hairline to his neck like a waterfall. Despite the obvious pain that the boy had to be in, Deku moved, and it was only then did Katsuki notice the floating green hair and the blistering white eyes.

Destroy the enemy. The thought bounced around Izuku's head as he stood there, staring at the Nomu who had stopped its movement towards Kacchan and instead turned back towards Izuku, facing him once more. He cracked his neck, feeling no pain as he took a single step forward on his injured legs. Red veins cackled to life underneath his ruined and blood-soaked shorts, glowing eyes narrowing in on the threat.

"Raava." He whispered. He felt the power of thousands before him coursing through his body as their voices mingled with his.

I am here. The spirit responded. We are one. This time it wasn't just Raava that spoke, a male voice echoing with hers.

"What type of power-up is this? Nomu! I thought I told you to kill him! End him already! KILL THE DAMN KID!" Izuku looked to see the palm user scratching at his neck furiously, eyes narrowing. He would deal with him later, he decided, after he dealt with the menace that was threatening his friends. Izuku slid forward, moving his arms even though he shouldn't have been able to move the broken appendages. He flowed through the stance, calling for the water. The water responded.

The entirety of the lake rose and flowed around him, wrapping itself around Izuku as if he was demonstrating what an atom would look like. The water writhed and flowed, churning as it corresponded with the cool rage that filtered through Izuku's body. The Nomu charged towards him once more, and Izuku struck, sending the water forward with the force of a drill. The Nomu dodged to the side, the water missing its intended target and instead taking out the Nomu's arm as Izuku rose into the air, chunks of earth rising with him. Shards of ice and sharp spires of earth rained down on the Nomu as Izuku roared, wind buffeting around him. The Nomu roared as the shrapnel ripped through it nearly as fast as its regeneration worked. He dove forward in his fury, red veins shining brightly as a water covered fist impacted the Nomu and sent it skidding back. The boy landed on the ground only to bring his arms up in the form of an X as the Nomu swung at him, a barrier of earth rising right before the impact. Izuku ducked around the barrier, rushing forward once more and sending out a tendril of ice, clashing with the Nomu once more. They were a blur of white and black, Izuku moving nearly as fast as the Nomu and blocking as many attacks as he was sending out. He sent out another tendril of ice, only this time it was aiming towards the Nomu's brain instead of its body. He would end it here.

If it comes to him or you, do what you must.

Even if it means killing?

Even then. His eyes narrowed as the tendril arched forward, an unreadable expression replacing the look of fury as his hand suddenly dropped, the ice tendril dropping down so it instead cut through the Nomu's chest instead of piercing his brain. He couldn't do it, but he wouldn't need to kill it, he could subdue it easily. He was unstoppable.

Until he wasn't.

A roar of fury and agony left his body as a hand was placed on his back, his clothing disintegrating along with the first layer of his skin. He sent a burst of air behind him, sending Shigaraki flying backward. The moment of distraction cost him, allowing the Nomu to land a blow that sent him flying back towards the steps of the entrance area. The glow covering his eyes flickered momentarily as he dug his feet into the ground, creating a trench to stop his impact with the steps. Chunks of earth rose around him, grinding his teeth as an uncustomary snarl made its way across his face. He was preparing to launch them at the creature once more when the doors to the building flew open with enough force to take them off their hinges. In the entryway, All Might stood, and the small cognizant part of Izuku noted that his mentor was not smiling. The man was next to him instantly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You've done wonderfully, Midoriya-shounen. Let me take care of the rest." Without waiting for a response the man lunged forward, engaging the Nomu. Izuku allowed the rocks to drop to the ground as he spun around to face his classmates.

"Midori." His still glowing eyes snapped towards the pink-haired girl who stood in front of both of their injured teachers. He made his way to her, bypassing everyone else, calling the rest of the water to him as he did so.

"Let me heal them." He could tell that the voices intermingled with his own startled her, especially since one of those voices that were more distinct was decidedly feminine. However, she moved until she was crouched next to him as he started on Aizawa-sensei first. The water wrapped around his hand like a glove as he guided his palms around the man's body, healing him just enough to keep him from death's door but being unable to heal him any further. He did the same thing to Thirteen, rising to his feet once he had finished. The glowing light around his eyes had dimmed, only to flare back to life at the sound of something crashing through the ceiling. All Might stood there, chest heaving as smoke rose from his body. Deku couldn't hear the exchange, but he noticed Shigaraki rushing towards All Might, noticed Kurogiri opening a warp beneath his mentor's feet and he moved, intent on wiping both of them out when suddenly several shots rang out and Shigaraki collapsed to his feet. The warp under All Might disappeared as Kurogiri flared his mist out and warped away with his boss, and Izuku was suddenly standing next to All Might unsure of how he got there. He unconsciously rose a wall of earth to keep his mentor from being exposed, glowing eyes bearing into horror-filled blue ones.

"Midoriya-shounen." The skinny form of the pro-hero gasped as he took in his injured protege. The glow had dimmed once more, and suddenly Izuku wasn't seeing him, rather seeing the glowing form of Sena standing before him once more.

Good job kid. I'll see you again in a bit, try not to die before Recovery Girl gets here. And then she was gone, the glow died-and a wave of pain slammed into Izuku as he suddenly sagged to the ground. All Might's arms wrapped around him, cradling the broken boy as he spoke.

"Yagi..san...every...one-" The blonde man hurriedly spoke, interrupting his injured charge.

"Everyone is fine, Midoriya shounen. Stay with me, help is here-" He didn't hear anything else, a wave roaring in his ears as he felt rather than heard Yagi-san shouting something. He was scooped into someone else's warm arms, whimpers living his lips as their running jostled his broken body, he was placed onto something hard, red and blue flashing over his vision.

And then he was gone, darkness surging forward like a tsunami, dragging him down into its depths.

"Sensei! You lied to me, All Might was just as strong as he normally is, and there was this NPC brat that turned out to be a mini-boss with glowing eyes that nearly ended the Nomu before All Might did!" Shigaraki glared at the blank t.v screen from his position on the floor, hissing as Kurogiri wrapped his gunshot wounds with bandages, muttering something about government-sanctioned thugs. The t.v crackled with the sound of static as his Sensei began speaking.

"No, Tomura. All Might is indeed weaker than he used to be, I ensured that. It was never expected that you would beat him so easily, even if he is weaker he is still the number 1 hero." The man paused for a moment, and when he spoke next the maniacal glee in his tone had Kurogiri shivering.

"And now, my young protege, what is this you said about a boy with glowing eyes?"