Chapter 49 - Father and Son

While Murdock was battling Stonefish, Joshua, Jiro, and Hagakure were heading back to the inside of the stadium. They made it back into the stadium, and saw that it was complete chaos! Class 1-A, Class 1-B, and their American students were divided into different groups of four, and they were battling against the armies of Nomus! It was a fierce, almost medieval battle, with both sides giving it their all!

Joshua, Jiro, and Hagakure then saw Uraraka and Ashido running through the carnage, dragging Aizawa and Matthew with them, both of whom were floating and unconscious! The three made their way down the steps, and into the open area of the stadium, which was the biggest war zone at the moment!

"Uraraka, Ashido!" Jiro called out, to which the two girls quickly rushed over with the wounded. "What happened to Aizawa and Matthew?"

"Shigaraki wounded both of them!" Uraraka replied. "They tried fighting to the best of their ability, but he was able to beat both of them! Deku and Milo are holding him off, but I don't know how long they're going to last!"

"Hagakure, go with Uraraka and Ashido, and get the wounded out of here." said Joshua. "Jiro, you're with me; we're going to help Milo and Midoriya."

Uraraka looked a little worried when Joshua said that; she didn't know if she could trust him, considering he was the son of a villain. Jiro noticed the worried expression on Uraraka's face, and knew what she was probably thinking.

"It's okay, Uraraka; despite who his father is, Joshua's on our side." said Jiro.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Joshua added. "I'm on your side. Now please, those two out of here."

The worry faded somewhat from Uraraka's face. Then she, Ashido, and Hagakure began hurrying away, dragging Aizawa and Matthew with them.

After the three girls left with the wounded, Joshua and Jiro headed into the carnage. Due to the craziness that was going on around them, it was easy for both sides to accidentally get hit by their own! So, in order to avoid that, Joshua and Jiro had to do a lot of ducking, dodging, and diving out of the way!

After dodging three Nomus that Shiozaki, Yanagi, Yusuf, and Kendo were taking on, Joshua and Jiro saw, from a distance away, Milo and Midoriya taking on Shigaraki! The two were battling hand-to-hand against Shigaraki, dodging his attacks while attacking with their own!

"There they are!" said Joshua, pointing to where the three were fighting. "Let's go!"

"You're not going anywhere!" a familiar voice spoke from out of nowhere.

Upon hearing the voice, Joshua instantly froze! Slowly, both he and Jiro turned around, and looked down from the hill of rubble they were on, to see that it was… Death Wish! When the two made their way over to where Midoriya and Milo were fighting Shigaraki, Death Wish caught sight of them and secretly followed! But now, he had come forth to confront his son!

As said before, Death Wish's villain costume was a black vest with a dark red fur collar and lining, to which he was shirtless underneath. He also wore black and red fingerless gloves, black pants with red designs on the sides, and black boots with red laces.

"Father." Joshua growled, his tone angered.

"That's Death Wish?" asked Jiro, her tone somewhat worried.

"That's him alright." Joshua replied, his tone quiet. "Stay back; this is going to get ugly."

Death Wish was down in a large crater, which was made after Bakugo used his explosions on two Nomus that were attacking his group. Joshua slid down into the crater, and then both he and his father began circling, like two wild animals that were about to fight.

"Look at yourself, Joshua; you've become the very thing you've hated." said Death Wish, his tone patronizing. "I remember a boy who said that he would grow up like his father, and become a villain. I was so proud of you on that day, but if I had learned what was going to happen to you now… Well, I would've destroyed you."

"I've become the very thing that I should've been, Father." Joshua replied. "I'm no longer blind to the damage that I have caused. And now, despite everything, I'm going to fix what has been broken."

"What has been broken?! We are fixing this world, Joshua! The only way for us to make it our world, is to destroy everything, and then build it back up! And these so-called heroes, the people you want to be like, are in our way! Come back and help us, Joshua; we need you!"

"And live a life of hatred, detachment, and hurting people who've done nothing for me? No! I'm not going back to being a villain; I'll NEVER go back to being a villain!"

Death Wish paused, and for an instant, a hurt look came over his face, and he said in angered tone, "If you are no longer a villain… then you are no longer my son, and you are my enemy."

"I can live without you, Death Wish, because you've brought me nothing but pain and suffering." Joshua replied. "But, this hero's gotta do, what a hero's gotta do."

Joshua then activated his 'Assault' quirk. Death Wish, upon seeing this, activated his 'Monstrosity' quirk.

"You will TRY!" Death Wish roared.

Death Wish jumped at Joshua, who blocked his attack, and the two began fighting! It was a furious, all-out, clawing battle as both fought for dominance! They were like wild animals, scratching, clawing, punching, and kicking at each other, attempting to outdo the other in doing more damage! Unfortunately, due to being older and stronger, the advantage was somewhat in Death Wish's favor!

Joshua broke out of the battle, and began dodging Death Wish's attacks, due to having taken a lot more damage than he could deal out! Unfortunately, while jumping around, Death Wish was hot on his heels! And to make matters worse, Joshua had to give all that he had, as Death Wish was extremely fast! Another factor as well was, just like Joshua's 'Assault' quirk, the longer Death Wish used his 'Monstrosity' quirk, the more stronger and violent he became! Not only that, but Death Wish had also mastered how to use it, without becoming completely feral!

Suddenly, Death Wish quickly got around Joshua and caught his throat in a death grip! He began choking him, and his fingernails grew into claws! He was about to stab Joshua in the neck, when Joshua kicked him in the stomach! Death Wish wasn't expecting that, so he let go in shock! Joshua then ducked down and swiftly clawed him across the stomach, causing Death Wish to jump back! Death Wish then looked down, and saw that the attack had left gaping wounds across his stomach!

"You are weak, if you think a little injury like this is going to stop me, boy!" Death Wish snarled.

"Oh yeah? Then I guess I'll just have to do worse to you!" Joshua replied.

Joshua then went on the offensive, attacking Death Wish, who began dodging his attacks! Suddenly, Death Wish caught Joshua's hands, and the two were locked in a test of strength! Joshua tried to push against his father, or break free so he could attack the wound on his stomach, but Death Wish was holding on, and pushing Joshua back! He then overpowered Joshua, and in one swift motion, clawed him across the face and shoulder! Joshua let out a yell of pain, and then Death Wish grabbed him by the throat again! Joshua then began thrashing around, like he was an animal!

"Still haven't learned how to control your quirk yet, have you?" Death Wish spoke, his tone villainously comical. "I don't have to fight the heroes myself; I'll just hold you like this until your quirk takes over, and you become a wild animal! Then I'll let you go, and everyone will be your enemy!"

"No! I won't let it!" Joshua replied, shaking his head and trying to fight the urge to become feral.

"Oh no? If you deactivate it right now, I'll kill you!" said Death Wish, turning his fingernails into claws again, and putting them to Joshua's throat. "You have no choice but to- GAHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, Death Wish's body jerked around violently and painfully, like he had been tased! He then let go of Joshua, who collapsed to the ground! Death Wish as well, quickly jumped away! Joshua then looked, and saw that Jiro had come into the pit, and had used her 'ear jacks' in order to attack Death Wish!

"Leave him alone!" Jiro yelled.

"Jiro, no!" Joshua replied, trying to fight the urge to become feral. "Run away! I'm about to lose it!"

Death Wish then stomped on Joshua's back, pinning him to the ground! After he did that, he looked in Jiro's direction, as she took a fighting stance!

"So, you're the girl who's been messing with my son's mind." said Death Wish, his tone animalistic. "It's a shame I have to kill something as… pretty, and small, as you are."

"Wow, Joshua never mentioned how much of a creep you really are." Jiro fired back.

In one swift motion, Death Wish charged at Jiro, who fired her ear jacks at him! Death Wish caught them in his hand, and pulled her forward in one swift motion! Jiro's ear jacks went back to normal, and she tried to kick Death Wish upon coming near him, but Death Wish dodged and grabbed her by the neck!

In a slow, creepy manner, he brought her face close to his! Jiro squirmed and tried to break free, but Death Wish's grip was powerful! He then sniffed the side of her face and her hair, and an evil grin appeared over his face. He looked at Joshua, who was still trying to overcome the 'feral-ness' of his power!

"If you have any sanity left, Joshua, watch as I finish off your girl." said Death Wish. "Nice… and slow…"

Something then happened to Joshua when he saw his father handling Jiro like that. Instantly, his sanity was restored, but his power started cranking up to maximum! Not only that, but the 'Pinball' quirk that he had supposedly not inherited, also activated as well! Joshua then stood up, and let out a roar as he began transforming! His hair grew and became like that of a lion's mane, all of his teeth became sharper than normal, his fingernails grew long till they were like claws, his ears became pointer than usual, his eyes became fierce, and his muscles appeared stronger than ever!

"I… am… not… Death Wish II…" said Joshua, before roaring, "I… AM… FERAL UNLEASHED!"

Joshua charged at Death Wish and rammed into him, causing him to drop Jiro! He then began attacking him like a wild animal: clawing, biting, scratching, tearing! Over and over he attacked him viciously, causing Death Wish to let out yells of pain! He then kicked Joshua off, who began bouncing around the area like a pinball! Death Wish tried to keep his eyes on him, but Joshua was moving around so quickly, that it was almost impossible! And every time Joshua got near him, he would claw him, which would leave giant claw gashes in Death Wish's body!

Having enough of getting attacked over and over, Death Wish turned up the power on his 'Monstrosity' quirk! Soon, he was jumping around alongside Joshua, trying to catch up and attack him! However, with the combined power of the 'Assault' quirk, and the 'Pinball' quirk, Joshua was a force to be reckoned with! Not only that, but he had give into the urge to become feral, and now was unbeatable! And worse yet for Death Wish, his son was a hero, and he was the target!

Every time they collided, Joshua's attack was more powerful than Death Wish's attack! Pretty soon, Death Wish no longer had the upper hand, as Joshua had gone full-on monster! No matter if he attempted to block or dodge, Joshua's attacks would hit head on, and more! By the end of the two jumping around, Death Wish was absolutely obliterated, and Joshua was still going!

Over and over Joshua pounded on Death Wish, until Death Wish had become virtually motionless! He was still breathing and conscious, but he couldn't move because of the amount of pain he was in! Joshua was crouched over him like a wild animal, ready to bring the final blow down on him and kill him! He raised his hands, into the air, activated his claws and-

"Joshua, stop!" Jiro called out.

Joshua's fury suddenly turned towards Jiro and, because he was not in his right mind, he ran forward to attack her! Jiro dodged out of the way and quickly shot her ear jacks into him, causing Joshua to let out a roar of pain, and snap out of his fury! Joshua's rage subsided, and all his features went back to normal, save for his hair, which still stayed long.

Jiro then looked back at Death Wish, who was still lying on the ground. After she made sure he wasn't going anywhere, she went over to Joshua. She did it cautiously, as she didn't want Joshua going crazy on her if she got in his sight.

"Joshua… give me a sign that you're alright." said Jiro, her tone somewhat worried.

Joshua let out a groan, sat up, and replied, "I think I blacked out for a second; what happened?"

Jiro let out a sigh of relief at that; Joshua was alright. Unfortunately, he was injured, as he had a claw slash on his shoulder and face. Not only that, but his feral form had sapped him of a lot of energy, and he had to be helped up by Jiro.

As she was helping him up, Joshua spotted his father, who was trying to crawl away. He and Jiro then walked over to where Death Wish was, and Joshua stepped on his leg to stop him from moving. He then walked around, and stood in front of his father.

"I did it." said Joshua. "I overcame you."

"You may think you've won, but you'll never escape who you truly are." Death Wish replied.

"You're right; I'll never escape who I truly am. Because I am a hero, and that's exactly what I want to be…"

"Just finish me already; I don't have an heir anymore, so its over for me. You've failed, and I lost."

Joshua shook his head and replied, "No, I'm not going to finish you off. Justice will be served upon you, father."

Death Wish let out another groan, and slumped defeatedly to the ground. Joshua and Jiro then began walking away, knowing that Death Wish no longer had the willpower to get up and fight again. First, Joshua had to rest and recover, and then, they had to help the others win the fight against the Nomus.

The battle was not over yet, but the tide was turning in the heroes' favor. But there was still the threat of the final Nomu, who had yet to make his appearance. All Shigaraki needed to do was order him into battle, and then… things were gonna go bad.