A/N: before the chapter starts, just want to say that a few changes have been made to the last chapter, one made on the 18th to give Nezu and Aizawa a stronger reaction to their loss, and one made just an hour ago to give Re-Destro a better reaction to his underling's propensity for murder. Not a completely necessary re-read, but I have a feeling it will be more satisfying than the first edit.

Iida was not having a good day.

He had hardly expected anyone to share an internship with him. He had nothing against Ashido, but not only was she one of the nosiest and most talkative people in class, Midoriya had also let slip to her the fact his brother was in the hospital. Ordinarily, he might have appreciated the sympathy and questions about his brother's health, but right now, he just wanted to be left alone. It was small consolation that Midoriya hadn't given her any details. A few vague remarks about how he was recovering was enough to satisfy her curiosity.

Manual, on the other hand, knew exactly how his brother wound up in the hospital. The moment he walked into Manuals' office, the pro hero had cornered him about his reasons for interning with him. After a stern lecture on vigilantism and the hero license he didn't have, Iida had promised not to go running after Stain. Despite that, he could tell the pro hero had an eye on him throughout their patrols.

For most of the day, Iida watched the shadows for any sign of Stain. As hours passed without a sign of the hero killer, he felt a growing sense of humiliation. He had really thought that it would be as simple as going to Hosu and looking for Stain in alleyways, but here he was, already caught by the hero he interned under, and no sign of Stain anywhere. The moment he would try anything, Manual would be there to stop him. At this rate, he would never avenge Ingenium, and the shame of it burned in his gut like a hot coal.

As the sun set, he caught a flash of red in the alley. His timing was hardly intentional. Without a second thought, he sprinted after the silhouette darting through the shadows. Manual got distracted by a sudden call from the radio, and Mina went up to him to listen. Neither had noticed the puff of engines as Iida disappeared.

By the time they noticed he was gone, the city was already aflame, and Iida was staring up at the bloodied tip of Stain's sword.

"You are to stay near me at all times," Endeavor rumbled as he put on his hero costume.

"Yes sir." Izuku loaded the launchers on his arms with bundles of coiled wires.

"Do exactly what I tell you to do. If I tell you to run or take cover, do it."

"Yes sir." Four tanks of pressurized air hissed and snapped into place on Izuku's back.

"Watch your back out there. Villains know your face, and there are some that would kill you for the bragging rights."

"Yes sir." The readout on Izuku's visor showed his battery at full power.

Endeavor clapped a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Don't get nervous, and don't get excited. Keep an eye on your surroundings, but be casual about it. If anyone stops you on your patrol, for an autograph or to ask you anything, say you're on patrol and keep walking."

"Yes sir." The framework around Izuku's legs whirred to life as the suit closed itself up.

Endeavor looked over Izuku's costume and nodded. "We usually just get a call or two for petty crimes. Not a lot of excitement on the patrol circuit."

Izuku nodded along as he clipped some Quirk-suppressing cuffs and a radio onto his belt.

As much as Izuku wanted to, he couldn't tell Endeavor that the whole city was going to be attacked.

As they made their way to the lobby, Burnin passed them in the hallway. She raised an eyebrow at them and asked, "Taking the shrimp out yourself, boss? Not like you to work with the interns."

"I intend to measure his competence for myself," Endeavor shot back over his shoulder. "I intend to personally make sure he doesn't embarrass my agency."

Burnin shrugged and went into a training room. Endeavor corralled Izuku into an elevator and said on the way down, "I won't stop them from saying what they want, but if they take it further than that, let me know."

Izuku nodded. The other sidekicks were hardly friendly, but they had nothing on children. His scars could testify to that.

A mob of reporters waited outside the office as Endeavor and Deku walked out, side by side. Cameras flashed, and microphones were jammed in their faces as half a dozen reporters shouted questions at them.

Endeavor nudged them aside with an irritated huff. "Stand aside, I am on patrol. Direct any requests for interviews or photographs to my PR department. Any further attempt to interrupt my patrol will be treated as obstruction of hero work, and I will call the police."

The combination of stern words and steely glare had the reporters backing off. A few snapped pictures from the relative safety of their vans, but otherwise, they were unbothered.

"Someone must have leaked the patrol schedule," Endeavor growled under his breath. "They better hope I don't find them."

True to Endeavor's prediction, the first five hours of the patrol were uneventful. More than a handful of civilians stopped to gawk at the two of them as they wound their way through Hosu's streets, and a few even asked for autographs before being shooed away by Endeavor. They stopped for lunch at a hole-in-the-wall diner that served some tasty pork buns, which had a table reserved for passing heroes that overlooked the street.

As the sun set, Izuku trailed behind Endeavor. He waited for the pro hero to get distracted by the shrill scream piercing the night and ducked into an alley. Once Endeavor had called in the incident, he turned around and panicked. Deku was gone. Endeavor shouted for him in the distance, but he was already long gone, and he had a job to do. With a frustrated growl, Endeavor sprinted towards the rampaging Nomu.

Izuku grappled his way through the alleys, sprinting across walls and swinging from patios and windowsills. Buildings blurred by as he made a beeline for Iida and Stain.

Whipping around the last corner, Izuku flung himself into the path of Stain's blade as it hacked down at his classmate. Steel-soled boot clanged against chipped sword. Stain slid back a few steps as he absorbed the force behind Izuku's flying kick.

As Izuku flipped back, he strung up a cable in the middle of the alley. He landed in front of Iida and Native. Over his shoulder, he said, "The second you can move, Iida-san, take Native and run."

"No, stop Midoriya! Just leave me, you're not supposed to be here!"

"What's this?" Stain asked. "Another child, coming between me and my prey? I don't kill kids, but I'm making an exception for that one." His sword pointed at Iida. "His heart is already tainted. He would only grow up to be another false hero."

"That would be your fault," Izuku pointed out. "Pretty much anyone would be upset if someone killed their brother."

Stain frowned and said, "Heroes need to be stronger than their emotions. The fact he tried to kill me instead of saving Native is proof enough he isn't fit to be a hero."

Iida choked back a sob as Stain's words drove home. His arm was slashed to the bone, but he could barely feel the pain over the maelstrom of grief and shame that threatened to consume him. Here was his brother's attacker, and not only did he fail completely to avenge Ingenium, he had the reality of his failures shoved into his face. How could he be a hero, when he had let himself go so far out of control? His neck throbbed as he turned to look at Native. He had a hand clenched over the stab wound in his stomach, growing pale as the puddle of blood underneath him grew.

"I know Iida will be a great hero someday. I won't let you kill him."

Stain considered Izuku as he twirled a knife in his hand. "You're not here for me, are you? Perhaps you will be worthy, one day. Back away, and I won't have to hurt you."

"I wouldn't be much of a hero if I turned my back on someone in need of help."

After a quick laugh, Stain said, "Good answer! Alright then, little hero, let me show you how far out of your depth you are."

Quick as a snake, Stain struck with his sword. Izuku leaned back. The tip of the blade passed a hair's breadth from slicing open his chest.

Iida tried to stand, but his legs still refused to move. "Don't let him cut you! His Quirk paralyzes you somehow."

"Stay out of this," Stain growled at the prone student. "Or I might not wait until I'm done with the green kid before dealing with you."

Stain pressed forward with the force of a hurricane, his blade carving the air as slash after slash bore down on Izuku. With Iida and Native behind him, Izuku held his ground, ducking around slashes and throwing kicks the moment he had an opening. Stain got clipped by the first kick, but every time afterwards, Stain had a knife ready in his off hand. A few cuts hit his legs, but the metal framework took the blows.

Izuku's radio crackled to life. On the other end, a livid Endeavor shouted, "Deku, I told you to stay near me."

Stain backed away and motioned for Izuku to take the radio. Anyone else might think it was an attempt to distract him, but Izuku knew Stain wouldn't take advantage of his distraction. He hit the button and said, "Sorry sir, I ran into a villain. I'm holding him off long enough for the bystanders to escape."

"Report your location, then disengage. Kido can handle it. I want you at the evac zone providing first aid."

Izuku held up his radio. "I'm at-"

A throwing knife stabbed the device. Static crackled as the radio died.

"That sounded like Endeavor," Stain said. "As much as I would like to cleanse him from the world, I'm not ready for that yet. Now, where were we?"

This time, Stain hung farther back, attacking carefully and giving Izuku no space to counterattack. Izuku flung whips, aiming for hands and fingers. The first couple whips Stain tried to cut, but without any tension, the wires slid around the sharp edges. After that, he ignored the wires and marched through the stinging blows. Step by step, Izuku had to retreat as the sword came closer and closer to slicing him open.

As the fight went on, Iida saw his classmate dodge death a couple dozen times. He dreaded the sight of blood welling up from a cut that would herald Izuku suffering the same fate he did. "Just leave me!" Iida shouted. "He's too fast, I couldn't even touch him! Take Native and run!"

Stain scowled at him. While he struck with the katana in his right hand, his left pulled out a throwing knife and flung it at Iida. Izuku blocked the katana with his right foot. A wire whipped out and smacked the knife out of the air. It clattered to the ground at Iida's feet.

Stain threw a few more knives, aiming at Iida and Native, but each one was plucked from the air. The failed attempts cost Stain knives, but they cost Izuku his wires, allowing Stain to press further forward.

Izuku knew he needed to bide his time. He knew he needed more power behind his ranged attacks. He knew the exact moment Stain would lean a bit too far forward, giving him the opening he needed to turn around the fight. As he nearly doubled over backwards, letting Stain's blade graze the tip of his nose, Izuku grabbed a brick out of the wall with a wire. Pulling it back as fast as he could, Izuku slammed the brick into Stain's shoulder. As he stumbled forward, Stain drew a knife, but he was too slow to stop Izuku from kicking his chest.

With Stain on the back foot, Izuku grappled the other brick. Stain narrowly dodged it, but the brick on his other wire swung around and clipped his leg. The makeshift flails zipped and darted about, knocking Stain's blades aside, hammering his limbs, and forcing him to back away.

The weight of the bricks, their every clumsy arc and inelegant blows, were as familiar to Izuku as his own arms and legs. His Quirk made them peerless weapons, batting aside throwing knives and hammering through Stain's guard as though he had a lifetime of experience wielding them.

With the extra tension from the bricks, when Stain slashed at one of his wires, the sword cut clean through. The brick had been aimed as an uppercut, but instead, it flew high overhead. As Izuku flung the other brick, drawing Stain's attention to the attack from the side, the airborne brick landed on top of Stain's head. The blow had only fazed the hero killer for a second, but Izuku used the momentary distraction to grapple another brick and press his attack.

Stain threw two knives. Before Stain had even pulled out the first, Izuku had let go of a brick and flung a wire. It snapped both knives from the air while Izuku slammed his remaining brick into Stain's chest.

"Good reflexes." Stain backed away, with his blade poised to block. "Who taught you?"

"Eraserhead."

Stain grinned. "Ah, I remember him. A good hero. Men like him are a dying breed. He shunned the media and never sold himself out. He protected people when and where no one else was willing to. The world needs more people like him, but instead, heroes these days all pander to the public, selling their image for personal gain, and putting the people second. They have no right to call themselves heroes."

Izuku hid how hard he was breathing. He couldn't afford to give Stain any inkling how much their scuffle had taken out of him. Every second they spent talking was another moment he could catch his breath.

"Those heroes gave me hope."

That was a lie. Driven onward by his Quirk, the only thing that gave Izuku hope was that his life would mean something in the end, that even someone as pathetic and helpless as himself could make a difference. The lie, however, would buy the time Iida needed to escape.

As Stain circled around, watching for an opening, Izuku kept himself in the middle. "When I was diagnosed, I felt my whole world crumbling around me. I wanted nothing more than to be a hero, back then, and I thought that, without a Quirk, I was useless."

Stain's eyes widened. He stopped in his tracks, and though he kept a hand on a throwing knife.

"Those same heroes, who tout their Quirks above all else, gave a kid like you hope?" Stain snorted. "Can't see how that happened."

"It happened when I started drawing them. I only drew them in their hero costumes first, but the drawings never felt right. They lacked depth and emotion. It was as though I was drawing an empty costume. It was when I started layering the costumes, drawing the hero underneath first, that I realized I liked drawing them without their costumes even more. It made them feel real. Underneath the costumes, they were all ordinary people that decided they wanted to make a difference. Anyone could do the same, so I decided to be a hero in the one small way I could." Izuku smiled and said, "I ended up doing a lot more than I thought I would."

"Just because anyone can be a hero doesn't mean they should. Those fakes disgrace the costumes they wear."

"Maybe the costumes are the problem," Izuku countered, following the script his Quirk had laid out for them. "No one, not even All Might, can live up to the legacy they make. They're all human by the end of the day."

Izuku had seen All Might change the future. He didn't believe for a second that All Might was anything less than his hero persona, but he held firm to his lies to protect Iida.

"You dare criticize All Might?" Stain snapped. "Children like you have no idea what the world was like before All Might pulled society out of the darkness. Real heroes bled in the streets as villains roamed free, stealing and killing as they wished."

"And here you are doing the same."

Stain bristled at the jab. "I'm killing to remind heroes what they're really for. At this rate, when the real villains come out from the shadows, there won't be any true heroes to fight back."

"If you kill every hero that doesn't measure up to All Might, there won't be anyone left. No one can live up to that, not even All Might."

Stain studied him closely. Izuku kept an impassive face, but he already knew that the Hero Killer wouldn't be satisfied with what he saw.

"Your words lack conviction." His sword crashed through the space where Izuku had stood a second ago. "Let's see if your actions are the same."

Stain pressed closer than ever. Each swing of his sword threatened to cut Izuku in half. Knives flitted out, aimed at Izuku's ribs and stomach. Pulled along by his Quirk, Izuku twisted and ducked, batting blades aside with his bulky arms and snagging limbs with wires when he could. A rhythm of dodging and attacks fell in place between them, each rushing forward and pulling back like ocean tides. A few slashes tore up Izuku's costume, coming close enough to drawing blood for Izuku to feel the chill of steel on his skin. A frame-enhanced kick found Stain's shoulder, nearly dislocating it.

As the fight wore on, Stain's eyes darted back to the two downed heroes. Giving ground, Stain drew a handful of knives and threw them. A kick knocked two aside, and Izuku's wires blocked two more, but the knives kept coming, faster and faster, from all directions, as Stain sprinted and leapt across the alley. Using more battery power in his legs, Izuku bounded from wall to wall, blocking the onslaught of knives. Before long, blades littered the alley. Stain scooped them up as he ran and threw them again.

"You can't keep this up forever, kid," Stain said as he threw another knife. "I can tell you're getting tired."

By this point, Izuku was breathing audibly, and he could barely see through the sweat dripping down his face. Even without his sight, he could feel exactly how he was supposed to flick the whip to stop the knife. "I don't have to win. I just have to stall you long enough for Iida to get up."

Stain's eyes darted over to the fallen student. He knew that his Quirk's time limit was getting close, depending on their blood types. "I guess you're right. I've never let prey escape before, and I won't let this be the first."

Four more knives appeared in his hands. He threw all four together, too well-grouped for Izuku to whip them out of the air at once. Instead, Izuku leaped high, grappled the loose manhole cover, and pulled it up and over the wire he had hung. As it rose, the manhole blocked all four knives, and as it fell, Izuku drew it to his hand. It stuck to his palm in time to block Stain's sword. The serrated metal left a long, shiny gouge in its rusted surface, but it held under the attack.

More sword swings followed, along with the occasional knife thrust. As Izuku moved, he kicked knife after knife down the exposed sewer. Soon, the only throwing knives left for Stain were half a dozen tucked inside his clothes. Stain redoubled his efforts to cut through the manhole cover. Though it was nearly an inch thick, a small chunk fell off after repeated cuts to one area.

"You can't hide behind that forever," Stain said as he hacked at another spot on the cover.

"I don't have to," Izuku shot back.

In the brief span that Stain looked past him, Izuku flung the manhole cover high overhead. Stain quickly looked up, saw it sailing past him, and pressed forward. What he didn't see was the wire coiling around the other wire Izuku had strung up earlier. The manhole cover swung downward. Stain heard the creaking of wires. He glanced back and saw too late the slab of metal flying towards his face.

The blow he took stunned him. Izuku followed up with a kick. His boot smashed through Stain's missing nose, bloodying his cloth mask. The sword clattered to the ground. As Stain reeled, Izuku threw punch after punch, aiming wherever Stain's guard lapsed. Kidney shots, throat punches, uppercuts into the gut, head shots, each and every punch vicious enough to bruise. Stain backpedaled wildly, but Izuku yanked him back with his wires. Stain lashed out with knives. Izuku kicked one out of his hand and let the other slash harmlessly at his grapple gun.

Every shuffle of his feet, every swing of his arms, every duck and weave and block had been orchestrated long before this night. Izuku knew every step as intricately as he knew his own hero notes. He pressed harder, knowing that if he gave Stain even the slightest lapse in his offensive, he would slip away and throw more throwing knives at his desired victims.

Iida was watching Izuku beat back the hero killer as he felt strength return to his body. His fingers tingled as he moved them, as though he had lain on his arm the wrong way. With a groan, he rose to his feet and stepped towards the fight.

Without even looking, Izuku shouted, "Just take him and run!"

Iida glanced back at Native. The fallen hero was still bleeding, though the flow from the gash in his side had slowed to a feeble trickle. Iida shouted back, "We can beat him together!"

"There's no time, take Native before he dies! You promised!"

Iida thought back to that conversation they had on the last day of school. Midoriya knew that he was planning to find Stain. The timing of his arrival. The way he fought, defensive, keeping himself in between him and Stain. Had Izuku somehow known where he was, known that Stain was about to kill him? Had he planned to use himself as a shield like this?

Shaking himself, Iida focused on the pro hero at his side. He had made a mistake, and Izuku was risking everything to give him a chance to make it right. He had to move. The cut on his arm stung as he lifted Native. His engines sputtered, still sluggish from the aftereffects of Stain's Quirk.

Stain had four knives in each hand. A whole barrage flew across the alley in a last-ditch attempt to stop Iida. Turning so he had Native sheltered by his own body, Iida braced himself for the approaching knives.

A sharp, tinkling sound echoed through the alley. Iida hesitantly looked back and found the volley of knives clattering to the ground. One of Izuku's wires had pulled a window open just in time to intercept the blades. The old, bubbly glass had turned white from all the cracks running through it, but it held back the barrage.

Gritting his teeth, Iida fired up his engines, hugged Native close to his chest, and sped away into the night.

With his targets gone, Stain sheathed his sword. He stood tall, but his twisted grimace belied his pain and fatigue.

"Well kid, looks like you won. Still going to fight?"

Izuku shook his head. "There's more people I need to save. Please don't try to kill anyone else."

As Izuku grappled the tops of the buildings, launching himself over the rooftops, he heard Stain's twisted chuckle.

A/N: I had a lot of mixed reactions to the last chapter. Some people, quite rightly, pointed out flaws with how I had executed it, and I had gone back to patch things up. That's not to say I will implement every change that people ask of me, but I am not immune to reason. Nezu and Aizawa were definitely too calm about their coworker's murder, and the MLA appeared too quick to kill for too little reason. More thoroughly portraying it as a hasty act of an underling that had to be elegantly mopped up should hopefully resolve most issues people had with that chapter.

In light of this stark reminder that I can be blind to my own faults, I am putting a request through certain channels for a beta-reader. With a two-week backlog, I can have them look over material and make substantial edits before posting it. This should hopefully keep another chapter like this from happening. With luck, I'll have a beta-reader before the next chapter is out.

To be honest, I'm an absolute sucker for killing people off. I'm surprised that something like what happened to Power Loader hadn't happened already, such as, say, in the USJ. I'm not about to turn the story into a bloodbath, I will say that Power Loader was a tip-off of what to expect later on. Still keeping it a T rating, but not afraid to get my hands dirty.

To Arsinis, the Shoto/Tsuyu pairing happened by accident, but I'm liking it the more I'm writing it.

To Karma, as much as I'd like to think I'm original, I can't imagine you have read all 20,000 fanfics. Still, thanks for the compliment.

To Unremarkable Fellow, one little comment put so much in perspective for me. If you happen to re-read, I'd like to know what you think.

To Guest #(insert number here), a lot of excellent points as well that inspired me to make some changes. Thanks for the constructive critique!

To the second big Guest review, considering that the ship isn't the main focus of the story, I feel perfectly fine with it on the sidelines. It will be explored more later, but for now, their relationship status is hanging around in limbo while Izuku gets his pinky toes wet in not knowing the future. I'm not big on romance as well, which, again, is why the romance stuff is a side-dish rather than the main course.

And to kain541204, I love how thorough your review was. You highlighted a lot of what I was shooting for with this story, from realistic characters across the board to having such a large scope to fully demonstrate the butterfly effect Izuku's Quirk is having on the story. You did a good job pointing out flaws as well, which I am working on patching. Thanks a ton for your insight!

Welp, I have an angel food cake to bake for a friend and pasta carbonara to make with the metric f-ton of yolks I'll have left over. See you all next Sunday!