Three weeks previously.
Kurogiri hummed quietly to himself as he continued cleaning the small apartment, glancing over to Tomura as the young man slept on the couch. It had taken over an hour for the Villain to eventually tire himself out, falling asleep on the floor, forcing Kurogiri to gently teleport him onto the sofa. It had been two hours since then, Kurogiri hearing nothing from his master in that time. The mist Villain wondered if his master's plan had worked. If he had managed to break All Might and reveal his secret to the world.
He looked at the small television in the corner, wondering if he should try looking at the news. It was probably pointless. As far as he knew, the television in the safe house only connected to the communication system the Doctor and Sensei used, so probably didn't have any channels. And the sound may make Tomura wake up, throwing him into another fit.
"Hey," Dabi yawned as he walked out of the back room, stretching as he entered, "We got any food in here?"
"Unfortunately not," Kurogiri replied softly, nodding his head towards the sleeping Tomura, "I had hoped to go retrieve something while you watched him."
"I ain't a babysitter," Dabi grumbled, looking around the dingy apartment for a moment, before turning to the bartender, "You got some money? I can go get us some shit."
"Are you sure?" Kurogiri asked slowly, reaching for his pocket.
"Why not? I don't have anywhere better to go right now, so I might as well," the black-haired man shrugged.
"Very well," Kurogiri replied, handing over a fistful of cash, "But just know, if you do not return, I will find you."
"Got it, got it," Dabi replied, taking the money, and heading out the door, "I'll be back quick."
The door slammed as he left, making Kurogiri wince as his head snapped around to look at Tomura, the man not even stirring despite the loud noise. Letting out a sigh of relief, Kurogiri returned to cleaning.
The familiar soft buzz of the television caught his attention, turning to look at it before he heard the scrambling noise behind him. Tomura shot past, grabbing the sides of the television, pinky fingers raised, as he peered into the screen.
"Sensei? Sensei is that you?! Answer me!" he shouted, shaking the box as he almost grovelled in front of it.
"I'm afraid not, Tomura Shigaraki," the familiar voice said, a picture coming into view as the two men stared at the image of the Doctor, the man rubbing his forehead with a handkerchief as he glanced around him in worry, "There has been an…upset in Sensei's plan."
"What happened?" Tomura growled, Kurogiri watching the fingers twitch closer to the screen, "Where's Sensei?"
"Sensei is currently…indisposed," the room the Doctor was in suddenly shook, the man looking behind him in worry, "As such, I feel that it may be best for us to…expedite certain aspects of his plan."
"It was him wasn't it?" Tomura growled, Kurogiri sighing as he watched the fingers touch the cover of the television set, the plastic starting to crumble, "I'll kill him…I'LL KILL HIM! WHAT HAS HE DONE TO SENSEI?!"
"To-ra Shi-ra-, meet-at-tha-place," the screen flickered as the decay took hold, quickly destroying the television set as Tomura continued to rage.
"I'LL KILL HIM! KUROGIRI! TAKE ME TO SENSEI! TAKE ME TO SENSEI, NOW!"
The mist Villain blinked at the force behind the words, finding himself nodding before he could think.
"Very well, Tomura Shigaraki," he said, "Very well."
Dabi grumbled as he stepped out of the shop. The store clerk had barely paid the scarred man any attention while he shopped, more focussed on the small TV in the corner than the customers. If he'd wanted to, Dabi probably could have walked out with his groceries and the man wouldn't have been any the wiser. Instead, he'd watched as the man gave him more change than he was owed and brushed him off when Dabi tried to return it. He shrugged, not his fault if the guy lost his job over it.
"Fucking hell," he cursed as he walked down the road back towards the apartment complex that their "safe house" was in, having to dodge around people staring at their phones or TVs in shop windows, "What are these people watching?"
He paused as he passed by a bar, the outside of the building quite run down, like the rest of the area, though he could hear cheering and shouting from inside. He played with the change in his pocket, wondering if he had enough for a quick drink. Glancing around, Dabi ducked into the bar, heading straight for the counter as he pulled his collar up. He hunched as the bar tender walked over to him, trying to hide his scars a little better, the man nodding.
"What can I get yah?"
"Fireball Whiskey," Dabi replied, looking around the room at the celebrating patrons, each with a drink in their hands as they cheered and shouted, "Lively crowd tonight."
"You don't know the half of it," the bartender chuckled, "Especially with that whole All Might fight earlier. You see it yet?"
"All Might fight?" Dabi asked as he accepted the drink, taking a slow sip.
"Where've yah been? Under a rock?" the man opposite him raised an eyebrow as he reached under the bar, pulling out a television remote and pointing it at the small screen in the corner of the bar, "It's all anyone's been talking about since it happened. Apparently, some crazy big time Villain got offed by All Might."
"All Might killed someone?" Dabi raised his own eyebrow, "And people are celebrating?"
"Hold on a second," the bartender said as he flipped through the news channels, "One of these has gotta have something on it right now…Ah, there!"
Dabi looked up at the screen as the channels stopped changing, and almost spit out his drink.
"Over there!" "We have two more over here!" "Make sure to be careful! This building could come down at any moment!"
The shouts echoed over the destruction. Buildings leaned at odd angles, letting out groans and cracks as they settled. The screams and cries of the injured punctuated the air. The devastation the fight had wrought was widespread and extensive, far exceeding the evacuation area that the police had set up. The Nomu were already bound and captured, unresponsive as they were loaded into police vans. Heroes swarmed the place like locusts as they searched for survivors.
The epicentre was little more than a barren wasteland, burn marks caused by fire and lightning, as well as other forms of energy, drew lines across the soil in erratic patterns. Towers of ice loomed high into the sky, some already melting as the first rays of the morning sun began to hit them. In the centre, standing tall at least twenty feet, was a vaguely humanoid figure, its body shadowed by the bright light of the rising sun.
Shigaraki saw all of this.
His eyes were distant, at the same time drawn to and repulsed by the massive form looming in the centre of all the destruction. Its body was scarred and burned, a mass of twisted limbs, broken bone, and cracked flesh. Whatever force had killed the beast had been enough to punch a hole right through its chest where the heart had been, leaving a massive wound that dripped steaming ichor to the ground. Yet it still stood, as if defiant of the killing blow, of its own death.
"Take me back," the words were quiet as they stood on one of the few remaining buildings that was still upright.
"Right away, Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri replied, opening the portal behind them,
They stepped towards the portal, the pale-haired man pausing to take one last look back before he disappeared through the black mist.
No one saw them. No one even knew that they had been there.
Dabi choked on his drink as he stared at the fight, multiple Heroes swarming around the horrid monstrosity as it rampaged mindlessly. Or at least appeared to. Dabi watched a yellow and blue blur shooting around the creature, dodging its attacks as elemental energy and beams of force shot from the cracks in its body. An unearthly wail filtered through the TV's tinny speakers, almost drowning out the news caster as she spoke. Then, as the beast lifted its arms above its head, the blur shot forwards, slamming into its chest.
"UNITED!" the voice that echoed through the room was unmistakable, the patrons quieting for a moment before they joined in the shout, "STATES OF SMASH!"
The creature's back bulged, just where the heart would be, before the massive force blasted through, punching a hole directly through its chest. The monster howled, staggering for a moment as it dropped its arms, then fell still. The bar erupted into more shouting and cheering as the camera zoomed in on All Might, the man landing heavily on the ground and spinning to glare at the creature.
His suit was drenched in blood, staining him dark red, his trademark hair slicked back against his scalp as his bright blue eyes seemed to glow in their shadowed sockets. Though that wasn't the most disturbing part of the image. All Might wasn't smiling. In fact, his face was the very image of rage, twisted into a horrific grimace of anger as he stared up at the still body, his muscles still tense, as if waiting for the thing to keep fighting.
The room gave a slight shiver at the sight, the news anchor's voice able to come through over the sudden silence.
"…and the fight ended with the No. 1 Hero, All Might, dealing the finishing blow to the out-of-control Villain. This brings All Might's known kills against Villains up to two, the only other case known being…"
The words were drowned out as the bar started cheering again, Dabi still staring at the screen as the image changed again, showing the start of the fight. The man tensed as he saw the head of green hair, the teen pointing at the suited man before he erupted into the twisted creature. An image of the smiling teen appeared beside the footage, displaying his name and the fact that he was a student at UA. Dabi drained the rest of his drink, slamming the money down on the counter and walking out, almost forgetting his bag of food as he went.
"Found you," he muttered as he walked away, "Izuku Midoriya."
Kamino General Hospital was struggling with the influx of patients when the ambulance arrived, several Heroes jumping out the back as they rushed the small figure on the gurney through the emergency room doors.
"This one needs to be seen immediately!" one of the Heroes shouted, a harried nurse rushing over.
"What's his condition?"
"Unconscious," another of the Heroes said, "No visible wounds, but you have to see to him immediately."
"I'm sorry," the nurse shook his head, "But if he's stable, he'll have to wait. We're already swamped as it is."
"You don't understand," the final Hero barked, making the nurse scowl at him, "This is important!"
"More important than saving the lives of someone with worse injuries?" the nurse barked back.
"No," the first Hero said in a softer tone as she stepped forwards "But this is a direct request from All Might himself."
The nurse froze for a moment, before jumping forwards and grabbing the gurney, "Why didn't you say so before?! Come on!"
OMAKE: Magne Part 1
The shrill whistle echoed down the narrow alleyway, making the four men look up in surprise. They stared at the small figure standing in the entrance to the alleyway, leaning back as he took a deep breath, before blowing as hard as he could on the whistle.
"What the fuck?" one of them growled, taking a step towards the boy, "We gotta shut him up!"
"Leave it!" another barked, grabbing the man by the shoulder, "Let's just get out of here before anyone comes!"
The other two nodded, turning and running down the alleyway, the first growling as the second pulled him back, before both ran off as well. The small figure watched as they fled, blowing on the whistle again for good measure, feeling the presence of several people approaching. Shoving the whistle into his pocket, Izuku ran towards what the men had been standing around, flinching slightly as he drew near the figure.
"Are you okay?" he asked the stranger.
"Do I look okay, kid?" the person growled back, pushing themselves off the floor and leaning against the wall.
Izuku shook his head, looking at the numerous bruises, old and new, visible under their ripped-up clothes. A shout from the end of the alleyway caught their attention, several people standing their peering into the gloom. Izuku waved, calling out and asking them to call an ambulance.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the figure muttered as Izuku set down his school bag, "Hey kid, are you even listening?"
"I'm helping you, sir," Izuku replied, checking over the stranger, the person hissing when he touched their arm, "I think it might be broken."
"No shit," the person grumbled, "And I'm not a 'sir'."
"You're not?" Izuku blinked as he looked at their face again, the left side already swelling with a large bruise, "But you look like one. And it's not your quirk, you have an emitter type, not a mutant type."
"Not all of us are born in the right bodies, kid," the stranger huffed.
"Oh," Izuku replied, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," the stranger muttered, "No one else is."
"What's your name?" Izuku asked as he sat beside the person, making them look at him in confusion, the boy repeating himself, "What's your name?"
"Kenji. Kenji Hikiishi," the stranger replied, "Though I don't really like it."
"What do you want to be called then?"
"What?"
"If you don't like your name, then what do you want to be called instead?" Izuku repeated.
"What…I…" the person sputtered, staring at him in shock, "No one's ever asked me that before."
"Really?" Izuku hummed, looking up as they heard the ambulance sirens, "That's mean."
"You have no idea," they muttered, "Magne…Call me Magne."
"Okay Magne-nee-chan!" Izuku said happily, Magne twitching slightly as she felt tears begin to drip down her face, "Oh no! Are you okay? Is it too painful? The ambulance is right here!"
"Nah, kid," the woman replied, lifting her good arm to gingerly wipe the tears from her eyes, "No one's ever been this nice to me. I'm just…it's just so much."
Izuku nodded as the paramedics ran into the alleyway, looking over Magne, before strapping her to a carrying board and taking her towards the ambulance. Izuku jogged to keep up, talking to her the whole time.
"I'll come visit you in hospital!" Izuku called as she was loaded into the ambulance, "I promise, Magne-nee-chan!"