My Hero Path to Power

by Writer Noire

There was an era of time before quirks where superpowers weren't a myth. Though centuries later and with the evolution of quirks in society, its existence has been rendered to near nonexistence. However after Izuku Midoriya gains the approval of All Might, the last master grants his teachings to the boy in aiding his journey. But will he succumb to power or control it?

41. Chapter 41

Vali looked over the city. "From the patrol's intel, several U.A. students are interning with Endeavor and Uwabami. Given Alta's student's affiliation, I can correctly assess that the messages will reach them. Stain, Stain, Stain, what would you do if two top ranked heroes come after you?"

Pink crackled against his skin as he saw Endeavor give chase to a Nomu. An idea struck him. A perfect one where he'd scratch this little itch ever since the fighting started. He pulled a mask, it had a metallic shine to it and reflected against the low light of the fire.

Slipping it on, Vali clicked the pieces together when Endeavor nicked the flying Nomu. Letting gravity pull him, Vali dropped and landed between Endeavor. The number 2 hero jumped back as the man let the Nomu fly away.

"Hey! You've let that monster get away!" Endeavor shouted. He paused when he saw the reflective mask.

"Number Two Hero Endeavor." The voice was distorted. Vali smirked, it would be a shame to throw away his civilian identity so quickly. He still needed Alta's attention. "Fight me."

Pink electricity crackled between his fingers as Endeavor gritted his teeth. "Great first Shoto leaves then this punk shows up."

"Shoto. Gone?" Vali said to himself. "Looks like one slipped away. I guess I should make this quick. I need to reach the others."

Gunhead Agency...

News of Hosu spread like wildfire. Numerous agencies wished to lend their assistance, but with trains down only the closest agencies could go. This left one Ochako Uraraka looking out in the distance after her training.

"Iida, I hope you're ok." He was the only one of her class that went to Hosu initially for his internship and now it seemed his internship was flipped upside down. She stared out into the sky.

"Uravity. There you are. Are you not coming to eat with the other interns?" Ochako flinched and turned to see her mentor for the week, Gunhead. He glanced at her phone and saw the news coverage. "Ah, you're looking at Hosu."

"Sorry. My friend's there and well, you can't help it." She said.

"I understand that feeling plenty." Gunhead said. "You were attacked by villains earlier weren't you? The League of Villains."

"Mhm." Ochako nodded. "But it wasn't so bad. All Might was there and some of my classmates were plenty strong. Now though…"

Gunhead sat next to her. "Uravity, you've got some good empathy traits. Perfect for a hero."

"Oh really?" Ochako said.

"Yup. You see an issue and you feel for the person. Some heroic traits and actions are molded by that empathy. It makes some of us leap into danger regardless." Gunhead said.

"Hm." Ochako looked on and back at her phone. "I hope that's true when something happens again."

"Heh, you make it sound like you want more of this." Ochako sputtered and waved her arms around as Gunhead laughed. "Don't worry about Uravity. As long as there will be people in need of help, us heroes will be here to answer the call. Now come on and join the rest of us for dinner."

"Yes sir!" Ochako said. She glanced at the sky one last time before following Gunhead.

Deku and Stain started sizing each other up. Neither made the first move though Izuku never made any move that would take him away from Iida. He had one objective, save Iida and Native. His orders were to retreat, but he was also given permission to rescue. So he was going to do just that.

"Iida, can you move?"

"No. I got cut from his sword and then I wasn't able to move. Native hasn't moved either."

"Seriously?" Deku muttered. "Plan B."

Stain was twirling his swords between different grips when Deku put up his hand.

"Before we fight, I'm a little curious. You've crippled and killed multiple heroes. You even called my friend a "fake", so I'm curious on why."

"Midoriya?"

Stain sneered. "You're curious? Not buying time are you?"

"Not at all. I've worked with heroes like Uwabami." Deku said. He saw Stain's pupil shrink. 'Uwabami, a hero in charge of a modelling agency. If he wants to eliminate fake heroes, they shouldn't fit his mold of a hero.'

"Really?"

"You know plenty of heroes do have other side jobs yet they'll put their lives on the line. Even now, a "fake" like Uwabami is saving lives." Deku said.

Stain sneered. "I think she can do it when the number two and six heroes are in the vicinity. You're young, but think about the next encompassing danger. When the chips are down and everyone is looking towards the light, do you think any fakes will stand there?"

Iida tried to move, but he saw Deku's hand behind his back. His fingers pressed send to his location. Above them, Vali took note of who it was sent to.

'Everyone? He has allies within the city? Stain, if this goes how I think it will then your hunt may as well end here tonight.' Vali leapt into the air and stared at the skyline. 'Perhaps I shall lend my assistance and keep the pros busy. You should be able to handle children.'

"Probably not, but if they leave then it's all for the better." Deku slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Because those who push forward are true heroes."

Stain blinked at the answer when Deku swept his leg. Wind pressure built up and pushed Stain back. The murder tried to regain his grip when Deku grabbed a trash can lid and threw it. One slice split the lid, but it was followed by cans and bottles.

"Throwing trash?!" Stain grumbled.

'I can't risk a close encounter. I'll do what I did with Iida and keep my distance. Buy enough time to-' His thoughts didn't finish when Stain leapt forward and was on top of him. Deku crossed his arms and his gauntlets took the bite of the blade.

"Don't think you can keep me back." Stain slid a knife out of his sleeve and gripped it. He thrust forward, but sparks flew when Deku's own blade popped out. The two metals gripped each other when the student twirled around and kicked Stain to the side.

Deku slammed his foot on the ground and shattered some concrete. The alley began to split as chunks of rock popped out. Stain rolled away from the destruction when Deku grabbed a rock.

Crushing it between his hands, he had two handfuls of pebbles. Stain peeked from behind a rock and quickly ducked as Deku threw the first handful.

Iida was stunned. Midoriya clearly suffered some damage before coming here. The torn costume and blood on his face clearly indicated that he was fighting. Yet he was still pushing forward despite these handicaps.

Deku breathed slowly as he sensed where Stain was. He turned over and threw the second handful. The killer jumped in the air, narrowly avoiding the barrage. He flipped in the air and pulled out his sword.

"TAKE THIS!" He swung downward and Deku was caught off guard by his speed. He was nowhere near as fast as he was, but for someone with no enhancing quirk it was quite troublesome.

Reacting quickly, Deku reached out and grabbed the sword. His gloves took some of the bite, but it didn't cut through.

"Not bad." Stain said. Deku gritted his teeth as he held the blade back. His body was already exhausted from fighting the Nomu and the numerous rescues which reduced his output. However, even 8% of his power was formidable. Powering up, he snapped the blade. However that didn't deter Stain as he recovered quickly and switched to a reverse grip.

He swung his broken blade like a knife and nipped Deku in the shoulder. His eyes narrowed at not being able to draw blood. However, this boy came here with the mistake of his injuries.

He stuck his tongue out and Deku's eyes widened. "Bad touch!"

His aura flared and blinded Stain. He yelled in pain at the sudden brightness when Deku lunged forward. 8% was enough to beat Shigaraki, it would be enough for Stain.

WHAM!

Stain flew across the alleyway and crashed into several cans of trash. Deku fell on his front. He tried to catch his breath when he turned to Iida. "Iida, Iida! Are you okay?"

"Y-you managed to…" Iida didn't get to finish his sentence when Deku crawled over to him. His hand was glowing as he tried to find the cuts.

"Don't worry. I'll get you healed up. When I do then-" A sudden feeling coursed through him as he twirled around and deflected a knife. The blade spun in the air before clattering to the ground.

From a distance several more knives flew in. Deku powered up to 8% and swung at the air. The force formed a barrier between them and the knives.

"Midoriya!" Iida said when he saw several glints in the distance. "He's planning another barrage!"

"I don't think so!" Deku got his fingers ready and formed the flicking gesture as the next few knives flew in. Pink sparks flew up when suddenly...he froze. Literally.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

Iida's eyes widened in horror as Deku was hit with several knives. One in the shoulder, the thigh, his side, and his chest. Deku's eyes were wide as he opened his mouth. Blood sputtered out as the force of the knives knocked him back.

"Iida?"

His back slammed on the concrete and his head bounced once it hit the floor. Eyes glassy as he stared up at the sky.

Forest...

Bakugou winced for some reason. He looked at his arms, but they were fine. Long distance explosions weren't too bad since his momentum could carry him pretty far. Maybe it had to do with the bird boy behind him.

"What're you doing, get closer Bird-boy?"

"We're working together on handling the criminal behind the robot."

"I don't need your damn help!" Bakugou shouted. Tokoyami looked at him before continuing to stride forward. "It'll be a slaughter so I think you should stand back."

"Hm, your words don't have that much bite."

"What did you say?!" Bakugou shouted.

Tokoyami pulled himself faster as Dark Shadow kept pushing him forward. "Your words lack the same bite. It may be that I was your opponent, but you've lost some edge in your insults. Has training with Takahashi filtered you?"

"Tch. Like I'd tell you, bastard." Bakugou fired off another explosion. "Just know that-"

"Tokoyami!" Dark Shadow shouted. The quirk creature grabbed Bakugou and covered Tokoyami when several missiles hit him. "GAH!"

"Dark Shadow!"

"That bastard! He has some lame ass defense against us!" Bakugou broke free from Tokoyami's grip. "Let me at him!"

"Bakugou, wait!" Tokoyami shouted. Bakugou was acting rash, but it was keeping those voices back. As long as he didn't see shitty Deku crying and making feel thing then-

Dark Shadow yanked Bakugou back as another turret appeared and fired tons of bullets. The entity formed a wall and muttered small 'ows' as it took the hit.

"The missiles have tamed Dark Shadow, but the night time has granted him some extra strength. Now we need an attack plan."

Bakugou's eyes flickered to the side when he thought he saw green eyes. "Sure that'll be our plan. Attack."

Tokoyami sighed. "Then we'll march forward. Dark Shadow will act as your shield."

"Whatever. Just make an opening for me."

Meanwhile, the man known as Sakurai peeked from his tent. His alarms for the turret went off and he checked the cameras on them. "U.A students?! Are you kidding me?! No wonder the robot's only sensing two! How did they find me!"

A few explosions rocked the floor as the two worked in sync or rather Tokoyami working around Bakugou. The blonde kept firing at the turrets. Each one turned to scrap.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! I can't be stopped by some damn kids!" Sakurai pulled out another controller.

Tokoyami grunted. "Dark Shadow's weakening to both yours and his explosions."

"Stop having him go meek and go plus ultra then. We're almost there!" Bakugou said. Tokoyami grunted before he saw Sakurai.

"There!"

"So the shitstain finally shows himself!"

Pressing a button, Sakurai summoned two more turrets. Dark Shadow's eyes widened. "Uh, guys, those aren't normal turrets!"

"Huh?" Bakugou said. Tokoyami's eyes widened as he dropped Dark Shadow. He pushed Bakugou out of the way and dove down as the two turrets fired laser beams at them.

"Don't get any closer you damn brats! If you do, I-I'll burn you with these!"

"Your laser pointers aren't shit!" Bakugou said as he propelled himself further. Sakurai turned them on Bakugou with fear in his eyes. He was close to tears when he opened fire. The blonde saw this coming and redirected himself.

Sakurai aimed again and fired. Bakugou was off by a fraction of a second when the second beam nicked his side. He winced in pain as he was thrown off course.

"Bakugou!" Tokoyami yelled. "DARK SHADOW!"

The entity formed into a makeshift slingshot and fired Tokoyami at Sakurai. The man didn't see Tokoyami until he knocked him down. Tokoyami grabbed the remote and smashed it. "Enough! This battle is over!"

"Battle Settings Alpha: Flashbang Round!" The turrets turned to Tokoyami and they fired. The bird-boy covered his ears as Dark Shadow retreated.

Tokoyami didn't expect a flashbang setting on the turrets. His eyes were covered when Sakurai pulled out a gun. Bakugou saw this and rocketed forward. His adrenaline spiked and he saw the child Deku reaching out to Tokoyami.

His arm started to burn and it wasn't from his quirk. He glanced at it to see orange and gold flames wrap around his hand as he swung at Sakurai. Pointing at the man, a large bubbly orange sphere appeared before them.

One twist of the wrist and then boom. Sakurai screamed and Tokoyami was blown back. Katsuki saw the computer be knocked down as he clutched his arm. The sensation of fire turning over to numbness.

"What the fuck?" He muttered.

Hawks twirled in the air as he dodged the multitude of missiles following him. A few got close before he slashed them apart with his feathers. He landed on a tree branch to take a breath.

"He's really keen on those missiles."

He looked down and saw Takahashi hopping back. He threw a couple punches and they fired out blue energy blasts. The robot saw them coming and opened up the hull. The blasts hit the panels and the robot felt a surge of power flow through. It opened its hand and fired back.

Takahashi rolled out of the way and aimed again.

"Energy reflection. So it has defenses to prevent attacks from above and it can fire back anything we throw." Hawks said. He stood up and rolled his shoulders. "Bad odds, but we're heroes. We'll find a way to deal with this."

Takahashi stomped his foot and several feet of earth popped out of the ground. The blast from the robot hit it as the man circled around it.

'What the hell? The robots in U.A are one of the more advanced models in the country. This one's making Power Loader's look like child's play.' He hopped into the air and opened his palm. "ERADICATION SPHERE!"

The blue ball sped to the bot, but the bot was quick to turn its panels. The energy sphere was absorbed into the machine. It aimed its gun at Takahashi and fired a concentrated beam. Hawks tackled Takahashi out of the way.

"That thing's really tough."

"Why am I having a harder time with this than the Nomu?" Takahashi asked. "It knows how to counter our best moves and turn our attacks against us."

"This might take some time." Hawks said. Suddenly the robot sputtered. The two didn't expect that reaction as something was happening to the bot. Shaking and sputtering, the robot suddenly fired everything at once.

Takahashi formed a shield over him and Hawks. The attack lasted a few more seconds before it finally died off. Dropping the shield, Hawks and Takahashi glanced at each other as they took in the new circumstances.

The robot shuddered before slacking. Hawks and Takahashi both dashed in and did an all out attack. Hawks sliced through what his feathers could cut and Takahashi charged straight in. Tearing through the core, Takahashi crashed through the other side holding it's mechanical heart.

"No more." He crushed it between his fingers.

"Brutal." Hawks said. "Pretty effective team up. Though I wonder if the boys had something to do with it."

"Possibly." Takahashi dropped the heart and examined the corpse. "This thing had some good countermeasures. Do you think it's a corporation? Underground?"

"Hm? There's been nothing out of the ordinary about bots. The talk has been about drugs and quirk enhancers. You'd be hard pressed to find anything about robots unless it's for our prisons."

"Hm." Takahashi said. The two were quiet when they heard an explosion in the distance. Takahashi's sixth sense flared as he sensed something. "What the hell?"

Hosu...

"GRAAAAAAGH!" Iida gave a blood curdling scream. "Midoriya, Midoriya! Please get up! Get up!"

Tears were streaming down his face as he saw the blood dripping from the wounds. His body wasn't moving and Iida could only look on in horror. He heard how badly Midoriya was beaten at the USJ and he saw how Midoriya got up against his rivals during the Sports Festival.

'He'll get up right now. He'll heal himself and stand up! He can do that. He can.' Iida thought as footsteps approached him. "Midoriya, get up! GET UP!"

Stain scoffed at his attempts. "This is a shame. That kid had something to back up his words. He might've been a true hero and it seems he did what true heroes do. Save others even if they're nothing, but pathetic fakes."

"You son of a bitch!" Iida shouted. "You go on about true heroes, but you're fine with murdering them if they're in your way! How did you even get him?"

Stain held up his broken blade and pointed at Izuku's body. There was a small incision on his right side. "My tongue was a nice distraction and helped me buy enough time to nick his suit for a good cut. One small enough not to be felt right away, but enough to draw blood."

"You killed my friend! You crippled my brother! You're nothing, but a monster!" Iida spat out.

"Perhaps, but I'm not the one aiming to be a hero." Stain pulled out another blade and dragged it against the concrete. "Though I did kill a true hero, so I'll have to kill even more fake heroes to make up for it. Starting with you!"

Iida could only stare death in face once again as Stain aimed at his head. Suddenly, a wave of fire came from the alley. Stain dodged it when a russian nesting doll landed at his feet. It popped open and it was a flashbang. He covered his eyes in time, but the sound stunned him.

This left him open to a hard flurry of blows. He uncovered his eyes and rolled out of the way of a giant fist. In front of him was Shoto, Momo, and Itsuka.

"How is he?!" Itsuka asked.

Momo was already forming first aid items as Shoto was looking at his fallen classmates.

"Todoroki. Yaoyorozu, Kendo." Iida said.

Todoroki held a hand over Midoriya's mouth and sighed in relief. "He's unconscious. Stain just knocked him out."

Iida sobbed in relief before he saw Momo form a staff. "Kendo, here!"

Kendo caught the item and twirled it. "We're really lucky to have gotten here in time."

Todoroki stepped forward. "We'll coordinate attacks. If we keep him back then we'll buy enough time for the other heroes!"

Momo and Kendo nodded. Just when most of the Nomus were taken out of the equation, something else had to rear its ugly head.

Eight Minutes Ago

The fires have settled and Miruko just landed. The number six hero let out a sigh of victory despite being covered in blood, soot, and Nomu brains. Uwabami was talking to her as Kendo and Momo sat down.

"It's just Endeavor's group, right?"

"Yeah, I was about to get into the action but the stupid bastard told me to leave. I think he just wanted to look cool in front of his kid." Miruko said.

Kendo stretched her arms as she passed a water to Momo. "You haven't heard from Midoriya?"

"Not yet." Momo's phone pinged. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Hm?"

Kendo glanced at Momo's phone. "A location?"

"A location!" Momo jumped to her feet. "Uwabami, Miruko!"

The two pro heroes turned to Momo as she showed them her phone with Kendo following. "Izuku got back to me! He just sent his location and nothing else!"

"So the brat's giving an update." Miruko said.

Uwabami's eyes widened. "No, that's not it. The location is some back alley, away from all the Nomu actions. We sent Deku out to collect his classmate and told him that if he came across any danger then he must retreat. If he sent his location…"

"Then the kid's in danger." Miruko said. "Hero Killer."

Momo and Kendo's pupils shrunk at the prospect. It should be fine, right? Izuku was powerful and he could hold his own, but close calls still happened and he was no stranger to them. Miruko licked her lips as she punched her hands together.

"Let's get going!"

"Help...help me." The group of heroines turned and saw a man wearing a mask walking towards them. His suit was torn up and his face was bloody. "H-Help! A villain."

"What?" Miruko asked. The man hobbled closer when Miruko approached him. She put a hand on his shoulder when his hand grabbed her wrist. Her eyes barely widened when he turned over and tossed her into a nearby building.

Endeavor burst on the scene. "Flashfire Fist: Jet Burn!"

The man kicked the ground and a chunk of earth blocked the blast. Endeavor wasn't deterred. "Get back here!"

Miruko burst from the building. "Hosu used to be so boring! Good to know there's strong guys here!"

Uwabami clenched her fist as she saw the man easily weave from Endeavor's next strike. "Endeavor, where's your son!"

"He was sent a location and told me to send other heroes there!" Endeavor fired off another blast. "Why?!"

Uwabami turned to Momo and Kendo. She grabbed both of them by the shoulders. "Girls, I'm going to give you permission to go after Deku."

"For real?"

"What?"

Uwabami bit her lip. "I need to run support for those two, but I can trust you two to go and save your friends. I'll give the same instructions as I did with Midoriya. Save whoevers there and escape. Do not under any circumstances fight unless it is an absolute necessity."

Momo and Kendo nodded. Uwabami let the two go as she went over to the police scanner to help form a safety perimeter.

Kendo looked back and saw Miruko get knocked back. She faced forward and continued on to where Midoriya was located.

Todoroki let out an icy breath as he got ready. "It's good that we met halfway."

Iida grunted as he stared at two of his classmates standing ready as one was tending to his downed friend. "You need to leave."

"Iida?"

"Please you need to leave. If you don't then Stain will kill you all. He almost killed Midoriya. This is my responsibility. Let Ingenium handle this!"

Todoroki opened his mouth when he saw something in the distance. "Kendo, duck!"

Class B's president did so and knives whistled past her hair. Todoroki was nicked in the cheek and shoulder as Momo put her hands up. A metal shield formed from her palm and the knives stuck to it like a pin cushion.

"Iida, we would love to leave but we don't have much of a choice." Momo said. She looked at Iida, Native, and Midoriya. "We're here to protect people and if that means we've got to fight then we'll do it."

Stain ran back into the fray. "Your calvary looks pretty heroic, a fake such as yourself is quite lucky! I might not have to purge everyone tonight if there's more true heroes!"

"You won't be purging any more heroes tonight!" Kendo twirled her staff as she blocked against more sword strikes. The two went back and forth with each other. Todoroki pulled the knife from his shoulder and grabbed one of his capsules.

He hissed as he poured some of the contents in the wound and Iida couldn't take it anymore.

"He calls me a fake, a false hero. A filthy murder like him, it's my responsibility!"

"Forget your damn responsibility!" Momo screamed. "Don't act like this is for your brother! You lost control and you picked a fight you couldn't win! You put your personal feelings ahead of others!"

Iida looked at Momo as she tossed the shield aside and knelt back at Midoriya's side. She had some medical capsules ready as she pulled the knife out of Deku's arm. "You say you want to be a hero, but take a second and wonder if this Ingenium should be the one handling this."

Momo took a breath. "I'm far from the one to tell you that, but if you want to beat him then don't do it while proving him right."

Iida stared at Momo as she created some smelling salts. "What're you doing?"

Kendo's staff split in two and Todoroki jumped back in the fight with a fire blast. "We need a trump card."

Meanwhile...

Tokoyami and Bakugou approached Sakurai. He sobbed as he read the status of his robot. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he clutched his chest. Tokoyami blinked as he looked at Bakugou's arm.

"What was that? That was nothing like your usual explosions." Tokoyami said. Bakugou lifted his arm and stared at it for a second. When those guns were about to fire, something in Bakugou came out and protected them. Was this it? Was this the chakra and the push he needed to use it? The feeling was gone, but he couldn't deny that this was something else. This was no quirk.

"Dunno, what you're talking about." Bakugou said as he aimed his gauntlet at the man. "Alright you bastard, you better give up and come with us. You got a lotta nerve attacking the future number one. Now get up and die on your feet."

"Vulgar." Tokoyami said. Dark Shadow tore apart the last of the miniguns and turrets. "Still our mentors are on their way here. You'll have a lot to answer."

"Your mentors? YOUR MENTORS?!" Sakurai yelled. The man pathetically wept as he tried to get away. "Hawks, give me to Hawks. No don't give me Hawks. I can't meet any of them. I can't. I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't."

"He's terrified." Tokoyami said.

Bakugou would normally grin, but he felt something familiar with how the man was reacting. "Alright stop pissing your pants. You attacked me while I was sleeping and made me fight some piece of shit robots. You're so coming with me even if I have to-"

When he reached and grabbed him, a harsh spark went through both of their bodies. Orange sparks erupted between Bakugou's hand and Sakurai's arm. Sakurai gasped in horror as Tokoyami was blinded for a second.

"You. You're one of them." Sakurai whimpered. Bakugou was shocked to see one of the man's pupils turn pink. "He made sure none of you could ever touch me."

"Wait, this power-!"

In a split second, Sakurai's body swelled and bubbled. Nasty spurts of blood erupted from his eyes, ears, and mouth before he gave one last blood curdling shriek. Dark Shadow reacted instinctively to protect Tokoyami as Sakurai blew up into a blood and pink smoke explosion.

Bakugou's body was torn apart as he was too close. His side and arms took the most damage as his eyes were only filled with white.

"BAKUGOU!" Tokoyami's voice echoed before his mind shut down.