Chapter VII
Percy's annoyance reached a crescendo before the school day even began. Gathered at the gate of U.A. was a wriggling mass of some of the worst people mankind had to offer the world: Reporters. It was clear that they had somehow gotten wind of the rumor that All Might himself was teaching, and they all scrambled like mad to get answers. Percy wasn't sure how they found out, but he didn't put it past the blonde buffoon to accidentally let it slip.
It was also the perfect opportunity for payback to lightly dig on the man. He was the cause of the issue Percy found himself dealing with after all.
So as he meandered his way through the mass of bodies, not once being jostled around by the overeager media, Percy took stock of a few of his classmates that were getting the same treatment and handling it with far less grace. His little brother figure looked like he was being held at gunpoint, Iida had launched into a winded lecture about the Symbol of Peace, and Ochako was spouting nonsense about All Might's physique.
He even heard the telltale signs of Bakugo's impending explosion before a microphone was shoved under his nose.
"What's All Might like as a teacher?" a reporter asked before Percy blinked lazily and looked the woman in the eyes with a deadpan stare. Gently placing a finger on the microphone and moving it to a more comfortable distance, Percy blinked lazily once more before he spoke.
"Incompetent," he said catching everyone else off guard. "It's clear that this is the first time he's ever taught in a formal setting and he's making it up as he goes along. Respectable hero, not so much as a teacher," Percy finished before continuing his walk to classes. He would deny vehemently that he enjoyed that exasperated groan that escaped his adoptive father's throat as he passed by.
After that particular madness, the class had gathered in homeroom and waited for Aizawa to start the day. The man in question slithered his way in quietly and the class quieted down far faster.
"Good. You're learning," Aizawa stated in a pleased tone that only Percy could distinguish. "I reviewed your battle trials from yesterday," he said and activated his quirk to glare at Bakugo first.
"Bakugo. You have talent and drive, but don't sulk like a child. Also, if you use unnecessary lethal force in a mere training exercise again, then there will be consequences," Aizawa told him firmly, only getting the boy to click his teeth in response.
"Midoriya. If you have the ability to end the fight sooner and limit the damage, then do so. Otherwise, not bad," he said and Midoriya adopted a faint smile after giving a serious nod at the critique.
"Todoroki. You refused to work with your team and didn't adjust once your quirk was rendered useless. Do better next time," Aizawa said, but got no reaction other than a pulse of anger in the boy's eyes at the mention of his quirk.
"Problem child," Aizawa started, but deactivated his quirk since he knew it would have no effect. "Same as Midoriya. If you can end the fight sooner, then do so."
"Hai Hai~," came the demigod's reply with a flippant wave of his hand.
"Now, there's something that will decide your futures as heroes," Aizawa intoned with complete seriousness, making everyone except Percy tense slightly in anxiety.
"You need to select a class president," he finished and immediately the intense atmosphere was replaced with children shouting about how they should be the class president. Percy, like Aizawa with his sleeping bag, set up his hammock and relaxed while the rest of them argued over the correct course of action.
Of course, he froze Mineta to the wall when he demanded that his first order of business would be shorter skirts.
Eventually, they calmed down at Iida's suggestion of a democratic vote, and the papers were passed out and collected.
"Alright, Problem Child got the most vo- ," Aizawa started to say, but was cut off by Percy.
"Nope. I don't follow rules. I nominate Iida as my replacement. Effective immediately," Percy said without ever moving from his hammock or even opening his eyes.
"Alright then, Iida is your class president and Midoriya is your vice. You two can select your remaining officers on your own time, but let me know after lunch. Do whatever for the rest of the class, but don't be too loud," Aizawa told them and collapsed into his sleeping bag again. The class could only sweatdrop at the two Aizawa's.
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"Why do you want to be a hero Ochako?" Midoriya asked as he, Percy, Iida, and Ochako sat down at a table during lunch. Luckily, the question seemed to put an end to Iida's endless questioning of why Percy had handed him the position of class president. Percy himself was slightly intrigued about the answer.
"Err… the money, to be honest," she admitted sheepishly as surprised Midoriya and Iida. Percy raised an eyebrow, but it wasn't like he particularly cared about someone's reasoning for becoming a hero. Some reasons had more merit than others to be sure, but if people were being saved at the end of the day, then Percy wasn't one to judge.
"It's just… My parents have a construction company, but it's not doing well. I want to be a hero so I can help them out and make their lives even a little bit easier," she clarified and Percy nodded in understanding. Every divine power above that Percy had ever met knew that his mother's life was exponentially more difficult because of him. He knew his mother had no regrets about having him and that she loved him with all her heart and soul, but he never even got the chance to pay her back at all for everything she had endured for his sake.
"I think that's really sweet and noble of you," Midoroya told her with a megawatt smile while Iida clapped and chanted "Bravo!"
The question was directed to Iida who revealed that his older brother was the hero Ingenium. Iida wanted to be a great hero like his older brother and eventually continue his family's legacy, which Percy could respect. Somewhere in the back of his mind though, Percy worried that by looking up to his brother, Iida would try to emulate him too much. It was the same problem he originally feared about All Might and Midoriya, but Percy didn't think too much of it.
"What about you Percy?" Iida asked and Percy just shrugged as he took a bite of his food.
"I never wanted to be a hero."
That certainly shocked the two other than Midoriya. In their eyes, Percy was highly trained, had a powerful quirk, and his adoptive father was a hero; why wouldn't he want to be one.
"Seriously?!" the two asked in disbelief and Percy just shrugged noncommittally again.
"Not really. I think the whole idea of heroes and villains is pretty stupid. What makes a villain? What if someone can't get a job because of their quirk and they're forced to steal food to survive or feed their family? There's so much going on behind the scenes that almost all heroes either don't have the time and resources to dig into, or they don't care enough to do it," Percy told them and they listened with rapt attention. They digested his words whole heartedly because of the truth behind them, even if Iida firmly believed that they should still be punished. It was a thought provoking notion.
"That being said," Percy continued to draw them out of their thoughts. "I have the ability, both my quirk and my training, to help people. How would I be any different if I just sat back and let those people go without help? I can help them, therefore I think I should," Percy finished as all three listening pondered his words - Iida and Ochako more so - for a moment before an alarm blared to life.
"LEVEL 3 SECURITY BREACH! LEVEL 3 SECURITY BREACH!"
"What's going on?!" Midoriya yelled as the three looked around in confusion and panic.
"That means someone broke into the school!"
"Villains are attacking!"
Those were some of the shouts from the upperclassman as Midoriya, Iida, and Ochako struggled to stay together in the stampede of bodies.
"Where's Percy?!" Ochako yelled over the noise to make the other two whip around and notice the demigod missing. Quickly shaking those thoughts from his head and focusing on calming everyone down, Midoriya yelled back to them both.
"Don't worry about Percy; he can take care of himself! We need to calm them down!"
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As the alarm blared, Percy pushed his senses outward to obtain an idea of what was happening. Ignoring the mass of squirming water that was the panicked students, he zeroed in on the gate.
'That's a lot of people,' he mused before he vapor traveled to a tree near the gate only to discover that it was the media.
'Of course it's them,' he lamented in annoyance before analyzing the situation.
He saw Aizawa and Mic trying to calm the press down over their demands for All Might, both men clearly highly annoyed at the entire fiasco, before he turned his attention to the gate.
Or where the gate used to be. Instead, it had been completely disintegrated into a rusty dust that the media then trampled over to get their scoop. Except, no one in the media was bold enough to destroy U.A. 's gate just to have questions answered about All Might. Well, Percy wholly believed that there was someone that bold or more likely stupid, so he dismissed that thought.
'A distraction, perhaps?'
Focusing his senses further out to the school, he noticed that the students had calmed down from their hysterics, but focused on the single body that was out of place.
'You shouldn't be there,' Percy mentally stated and vapor traveled directly to the room upon realizing that it was Nezu's office.
Only to materialize in time to see the final remnants of an inky blackish-purple mist vanish from the office. Whoever had been in there, clearly had no good intentions, but they utilized the distraction of the media well.
'This could be troublesome.'
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The staff reconvened at the entrance of U.A. once the media was cleared out to see the same thing that Percy had noticed.
"No way one of the reporters would do this just to get a few questions about All Might answered," Mic said in an uncharacteristically serious tone that the others agreed to.
"Whoever did this, wanted to make a statement," Aizawa said with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
"Or a declaration of war," Nezu said as he hummed in thought. His own High Specs was computing with rapid speed trying to solve the mystery before him when Percy materialized amongst the staff.
"The latter," Percy said to alert the others of his presence. Aizawa and Nezu didn't even bat an eye at his sudden appearance, having already been used to his abilities, but the others jumped slightly in shock.
"Geez, kid," Snipe grumbled under his breath, but Percy didn't pay him any mind.
"Percy-kun, what do you think?" Nezu asked as he turned to face the demigod. Percy may not have been nearly as book smart as Yaoyorozu or even Midoriya, but the demigod understood people and tactics well. His understanding of the latter was what prompted Nezu to ask for his opinion in this case.
"A distraction. Someone was in your office when they shouldn't have been during all this. I only caught the last dredges of a black-purple mist when I got there," Percy relayed and the staff frowned.
"This is most troubling," Cementoss chimed into the conversation with a frown on his normally stoic concrete face.
"Indeed. Indeed it is," Nezu hummed before dismissing them all to their classes so he could ponder his next move. Evidently, he wasn't all that worried about it.
Though, one would suppose he shouldn't have been with someone of Percy's caliber around.
If someone wanted a war, then they would be in for a rude awakening when "The Destroyer" set foot on the battlefield.
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"Today, we'll be switching gears from battle training to focus on the other aspect of hero work," Aizawa began after the alarm scandal during lunch was situated and flipped the cue card around to face the class.
"Rescue Training. As such, we will be traveling to a site away from the main campus to coordinate this. It will be myself and two other teachers," Aizawa finished his presentation and quickly grew annoyed at his class's outburst. His glare served to quiet them all down immediately.
"You may wear your hero suits if you wish to, but keep in mind that some of the features you added could negatively affect your rescue ability," Aizawa told them, but they were too occupied on the high of rescue training and wearing their costumes again to give him any more attention than the bare minimum.
Pushing back a tired sigh, Aizawa pressed the button to reveal the students' lockers. "The bus will be waiting outside. Time is precious, so don't waste it," he told them and many of them scrambled to get ready, fearing another expulsion threat if they took too long.
Aizawa wasn't entirely thrilled with the plan to keep their training schedule after the media break in and his problem child's report, but he could see the logic behind it. It would be incredibly bold for someone to attack the school immediately following the break in and would both look bad on their part to cancel the trip and deny the students of necessary training.
But Aizawa was a cautious man. He didn't survive as long as he had in his hero career without being so. That was why the staff agreed to continue on with the training, but to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary like lack of contact with Class 1-A. Besides, Aizawa would never admit it, but he was more at ease with Percy's presence in the class. If things did go south, he felt good about their chances to pull through relatively unharmed.
That was why he caught Percy's eye before the demigod grabbed his suit and headed into the lockerroom. The two shared a nearly indiscernible nod to acknowledge that they were on the same page. One hoping everything went smoothly, and the other hoping for the best but expecting the worst.
The class soon gathered at the bus, all of them in their hero costumes, while Iida tried to establish some sense of order by having them board and sit by their class number. However, that strategy was thrown away immediately when Percy walked right onto the bus and plopped down in a seat to reveal that the seating arrangements weren't as Iida predicted. The rest of the class followed suit, some patting Iida on the back in reassurance as they went by.
As the bus started to move, certain groups dissolved into conversations with one another, but Percy took a page out of Todoroki's book and leaned his head back to close his eyes for the trip. Some of his classmates were too talkative for his liking, but he was brought into the conversation by Tsu's comment.
"I usually say what's on my mind. Midoriya," Tsu said as she turned to the shrub head with blank, unblinking eyes.
"Y-Yeah, Asui-san?" Midoriya stuttered slightly as he wasn't quite used to talking to girls in such a close proximity yet.
"Kero, call me 'Tsu'," she replied and Midoroya verbally scrambled to correct himself.
"Your quirk is kinda like All Might's," she said, making Percy crack open an eyelid in their direction and Midoriya slightly panicked before he scrambled quickly for his composure.
"E-Err. Not really," he eventually got out, but there was an undercurrent of uncertainty that Percy was sure a few of the smarter classmates caught on to. Luckily, while the uncertainty could be caught on to, it was easily brushed off as nervousness for being compared to his idol at Percy's next words.
"There are a few key differences, Tsu-chan. Shrub Head gives off electrical discharge with his and he's not even close to the strength level," Percy told her and the others subtly leaned in to hear more.
"Still, I know Shrub Head is panicking on the inside since you compared him to his favorite hero," the demigod finished with a smug smirk.
"That's true! You like All Might, Midoribro?" Kirishima asked, making Percy snort a little and cackle in amusement at the chance to simultaneously embarrass his little brother and cover his ass.
"Like? You should see his room. It's like a damn shrine to the blonde buffoon," Percy told him as his chuckles died out.
"PERCY!" Midoriya squeaked in embarrassment as he hid his strawberry red face behind his hands, making some of the others laugh at his discomfort.
"Still though! Your quirk is awesome, Midoribro! Way flashier than my hardening," Kirishima said and Percy frowned lightly at the comment, but didn't offer a rebuttal. Luckily, Midoriya did.
"Not at all, Kirishima! A quirk like yours is easily pro material! You can be a shield for the people!" Midoriya gushed enthusiastically as his inner "quirk nerd" came out. Kirishima took the comments gratefully before the dazzling French kid ranted about his own quirk's magnificence. Luckily, Ashido was there to curb his arrogance immediately revealing the fact that it gave the boy a stomach ache.
"Well, if anyone's quirks are pro material it's gotta be Percy, Todoroki, Bakugo, and Midoriya!" Kirishima exclaimed with a fist pump and he steered the conversation back on topic.
"Quirks don't matter," Percy said as he leaned back and closed his eyes again. "They're just tools to help us become heroes; they're not everything."
The ones listening in pondered the same words that Percy spoke during the battle trials and took in their meaning again. None of them thought Percy was necessarily wrong, but Percy knew due to the society they grew up in that quirks mattered far more than anyone would care to admit. They determined social and, most times, economic standing, both of which were vital to how someone lives in the world.
Luckily, the philosophical debate that was impending was dismissed by Tsu's blunt, yet entirely factual comment.
"Kero. True, but Bakugo will never be popular with the attitude he has."
Percy would've choked on his drink if he had one at the stone cold delivery.
"WHAT'D YOU SAY FROG BITCH?!" Bakugo roared as he leapt up from his seat in retaliation.
"See?" Tsu snapped back to the others and got a round of chuckles, likely the most prominent one from Percy. Unfortunately for Bakugo's ego, Kaminari added fuel to the fire.
"Seriously man. We've hardly known you for a week and we can already tell that your personality is like someone took a turd, soaked it in raw sewage, and lit it on fire."
Bakugo screamed and shouted even more at the "Discount Pikachu", but most everyone else was laughing. Percy himself was cackling on the ground as he held his stomach. Evidentially, he had spent too much time with Nezu and adopted the mad cackle to his repertoire.
"Shut up. We're here," Aizawa intoned with a mild glare and Percy immediately shut up and put on a serious face. The moment he stepped off the bus, he felt it. The same tension in the air he had felt before every battle as a demigod.
It was instinctual. The divine blood that flowed through his veins hummed in delight. The warrior in him grew more and more anxious with every step that he took toward the newly revealed Unforseen Simulation Joint (U.S.J.). There was going to be a battle; one for survival. He hadn't survived everything that he did without becoming in tune with the sensation. He would need to survive once more.
Evidently, Aizawa and Midoriya picked up on his change in demeanor as well. The former feared that the break in wasn't just a statement, and the latter was unsure of what caused the change in his older brother, but didn't like it regardless.
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The students openly gaped in awe at the sight of the U.S.J. before them. It became evidently clear to them at the entrance exams that U.A. had the resources as the top hero school in the country, but the U.S.J. was on an entirely different level.
Forested mountain, blazing city, torrential downpour, shipwreck, and landslide zones all housed under one giant dome that undoubtedly had state of the art tech layered throughout it. Midoriya was awed by everything he saw and that awe was only amplified with the reveal that the Space Hero: Thirteen was co-teaching the rescue lesson.
Luckily, he turned his attention to the pro just in time to catch her speech about the dangers quirks, hers in particular, pose even when used for something as selfless as rescue. He had even caught the subtly flashing of three fingers between her and Aizawa indicating that All Might, who was supposed to be with them, had used up his limit for the day. Despite being bummed that his mentor wouldn't be present until the end, if at all, he was excited for the lesson to come.
Then, the hairs on the back of Percy's neck stood on end and the demigod turned to the plaza with a hand of his kodachi. His shoulders tensed and coiled in preparation to strike, but only Aizawa and Midoriya noticed. A moment later, the lights of the facility flickered.
"Cool! They even have fake villains!" Kirishima stated in excitement as he pointed to the black-purple portal that began to open in the center of the plaza. Aizawa tensed and grabbed his scarf with one hand.
"Those are real villains! Kaminari, try to contact the school now!" Aizawa shouted in alarm, causing the other students to panic. Kaminari's attempt failed and Aizawa grunted as he pulled on his goggles that obscured his eyes.
"Where's All Might? The schedule said he'd be here," one of the villains that emerged said loud enough for some of the students and Aizawa to hear. The villain was an interesting sight; he had unkempt silvery blue hair and his skin was incredibly dry and cracked. The most noticeable feature about him however, were the numerous dismembered hands he wore as ornaments over his body. One over his face, one on each knee, and several others on his arms. Had Percy not seen what he had in his own world, he would've cringed at the sight.
"It appears he is not here," the mist coalesced into a humanoid shape with an outfit reminiscent of a butler, glowing yellow eyes, and a deep baritone voice. "Perhaps there was a change in the schedule."
The hand-villain began to scratch at his neck in irritation at the other's words and growled. "Dammit. Oh well, maybe he'll show up if we kill some kids," the hand-villain that Percy named "HandyMan" in his head stated with psychotic glee.
"So the break in wasn't just a statement," Aizawa muttered under his breath before he addressed the others again. "Thirteen, protect the students. Problem Child, with me," Aizawa ordered.
"Hai Hai~," Percy replied in a slightly cheerful tone to ease his classmates' worry, if only a little. With no more prompting, Aizawa leapt down into the plaza to engage. Percy turned around to face the class with an absolutely serious face that caught all of the students off guard.
"Midoriya," he said sharply and the boy stiffened in recognition of the tone. Percy only ever addressed him by his family name when he was at his most serious and there was something important on the line. This time, it was their lives.
"Put those analysis skills to use. Strengths, weaknesses, and patterns; call them out and keep each other alive," Percy told him before he too leapt down into the fray.
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"Shit! Why isn't my quirk working?!" one of the thugs cried out in alarm before he was wrapped up in Eraserhead's capture scarf, slammed into the ground and knocked unconscious.
"You fucking moron! That's Eraserhead!" another cried out only to succumb to unconsciousness shortly after. To the students observing, it was impressive to see just how effective of a pro hero their sensei was. Eraserhead didn't waste a single movement as he practically danced between the thugs, incapacitating them as he went. Even when a thug with a mutant quirk that Eraserhead couldn't erase stepped forward, they didn't worry. It helped that Percy was there.
"You can't erase mutant quirks though, can you?!" a much larger thug with some kind of mineral-based body shouted before his arms were quickly restrained.
"I can't," Aizawa said, but instead of finishing the thug off, he sensed a familiar presence leaping toward the restrained grunt.
"But you morons all fight the same," Percy's voice rang out as he delivered a swift kick to the thug's temple and sent him into the land of dreams. Percy and Eraserhead shared no words as they moved fluidly through the fodder villains, easily fighting together as if they had done it for years. Of course they hadn't, but with Percy's sensing abilities and the little shared training, it was easy enough to catch on.
"Eraserhead, you're so cool," HandyMan muttered before he turned his attention to Percy. "And this brat isn't half bad either."
Unfortunately, their good start against the fodder ended when Eraserhead leapt back and had to blink. In the moment he did, the mist villain vanished from his post next to HandyMan and Eraserhead grunted in annoyance while taking out another three thugs.
"Dammit. I had to blink," he muttered loud enough for Percy to hear.
"Trust in Thirteen and the class for now," Percy replied as he knocked another five idiots out with a smooth combo of punches and kicks.
"Right. The two in the back and the mist villain are in charge. Help me clear a path," Eraserhead told Percy who grunted in acknowledgment before adding his own two cents into the matter.
"Watch out for Bird Brain; he feels different," Percy said, and despite the incredibly vague piece of advice, Eraserhead knew not to take Percy's words at just face value. In an incredible move of natural speed, both hero and hero in training knocked out a larger portion of the scum that came to attack them and cleared a path for Eraserhead. HandyMan met his charge.
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Midoriya, despite knowing Percy the longest out of the students, was awed at his ability. He knew Percy was strong; abnormally so even for quirked society, but the level of skill both he and Eraserhead were rather casually displaying was amazing. Midoriya had sparred against his older brother more times than he cared to admit, but seeing Percy lash out with well placed strikes served to incapacitate the villains made the shrub headed boy realize just how much Percy had been holding back on him. At least in the beginning of their training.
"Midoriya! Time to go," Iida shouted to get his attention and the boy nodded seriously before turning around to evacuate. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
The black-purple mist materialized into existence between the class and the exit, putting everyone on edge.
"Greetings, we are the League of Villains. We're here to kill the Symbol of Peace, but it appears that he isn't here. Was there a change in schedule?" the decidedly male voice asked, causing panic to spread amongst most of the students. Midoriya's thoughts started to race in analysis.
'From what we've seen, he can teleport himself and create portals. That would imply that physical attacks have no effect, but how does he keep his form?'
Midoriya didn't get to ponder on those thoughts any longer because Bakugo and Kirishima launched themselves at the villain before Thirteen could warn them not to.
'Idiots!' Midoriya thought as Bakugo's explosion cleared and revealed an unharmed villain, but the gust of wind from the explosion revealed a glint of metal on what Midoriya assumed was the villain's neck.
Just as Midoriya was going to call it out, portals started to appear around and underneath his classmates, himself included. Thinking quickly, Midoriya called out to Shoji, hoping that his ears from his quirk would allow the tall masked boy to hear him.
"Shoji! His neck," Midoriya cried to get his attention, but spoke quieter for the last part, hoping it would allow his remaining classmates to survive before he disappeared into a portal himself.
And re-emerge free falling toward a body of water. Righting himself in the air, he quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed that he was still in the U.S.J. and assumed that his other classmates were too. Just as he hit the water, he noticed there were villains laying in wait for them, and he activated his mask's rebreather.
'Shit. This is more coordinated than I initially thought,' Midoriya mused as he kicked toward the surface. A villain with shark-like features decided that he didn't like that.
"Nothing personal brat! It's feeding time!" his gurgled voice traveled through the water to Midoriya as he charged, only for a pair of webbed feet to strike him quickly and hard in the back and send him off course. Tsu worked quickly and wrapped her tongue around Midoriya's waist to haul him to the boat where she had already rescued Mineta.
Midoriya disengaged the rebreather in his mask and thanked Tsu as he took stock of the situation they found themselves in. Despite the panicking rant of the pervert stating they were all going to die, Midoriya knew that they would need to fight to make it out of there, so he turned to his partners and asked about their quirks.
"Kero, my quirk gives me the abilities of a frog. I can jump farther, swim faster; I have a long tongue and my mucus is poisonous," Tsu revealed and Midoriya latched onto the bit about swimming faster.
"The orbs on my head come off and are super sticky, but for me I just bounce off," Mineta said and the other two just stared at him. Tsu, because that was her default look, and Midoriya because his mind was analyzing.
"They wouldn't send you here if they knew your quirk, Tsu. That means they haven't attacked because they don't know what we're capable of," Midoriya said and the frog girl nodded in understanding.
"We're gonna die!" Mineta wailed again, but Tsu slapped him with her tongue to shut him up and asked him why he even wanted to be a hero, while Midoriya came up with his plan. Unfortunately, the villains were tired of waiting and attacked the boat, causing it to start sinking.
"Tsu, on my signal, grab Mineta and leap to shore. Mineta, throw as many orbs as you can into the water," Midoriya said as he charged OFA to 15%.
"What are you going to do?!" Mineta asked in fright, but he didn't get an answer.
"Go!" Midoroya barked and leapt from the roof of the boat. He soared over the water toward the center of the gathered villains and began to somersault quickly in the air to build momentum.
The villains were licking their chops at the prospect of killing an idiotic brat, but with one final spin, Midoriya lashed out with an axe kick that generated a massive amount of wind force.
"MANCHESTER SMASH!" Midoriya roared as the wind force landed heavily in the middle of the water like a depth charge had exploded. The resulting displacement of water caused the surrounding water and villains to get sucked quickly into the newly formed whirlpool.
Tsu leapt overhead with Mineta in his arms who was simultaneously screaming and bleeding as he plucked orbs from his head at a rapid pace and threw them into the whirlpool where they stuck the villains to each other as they desperately tried to recover from dizziness. Tsu's tongue lashed out and wrapped around Midoriya's waist once more as her momentum carried them to the shoreline.
"Kero, it worked. Good job, Midoriya," Tsu said with her blunt face and tone, but her eyes revealed her gratitude and relief.
Midoriya took a breath as his adrenaline tapered off slightly and thanked her as they discussed what they should do next. Mineta, naturally and understandably, wanted to flee back to the entrance and wait for the nightmare to end, but Midoriya had other ideas.
"I want to sneak by the plaza to make sure that Aizawa-sensei and Percy are alright," he told them and ignored Mineta's cries of despair. The group argued back and forth for a moment before Midoriya finally had enough.
"We're not going to fight. I just want to make sure they're okay and if they need to be rescued then rescue them, but we won't fight," he told them seriously and got Tsu onboard. Luckily, Tsu was able to get the pervert by telling him about all the girls that he would get for being a hero. It was clearly a lie, but it worked.
The Shipwreck Zone had been cleared.
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Eraserhead and HandyMan were engaged in combat, throwing punches, kicks, and grapples at one another as Percy handled the rest of the fodder villains in the plaza. Percy had sensed that the class had been separated, but he couldn't act on it and he didn't want to distract Eraserhead from his fight, so he put his faith in their ability to survive. While they hadn't had much training so early in the year, if the villains in the other zones were of the same caliber as the ones he'd been fighting, then he wasn't all that worried.
"You're so cool, Eraserhead," HandyMan said as the two were engaged in another grapple struggling for the upper hand in the fight.
"But you have an easy tell. Did you know your hair floats when your quirk is active?" HandyMan smirked madly just as Eraserhead's hair began to descend and a grunt at sharp pain in his elbow escaped his lips. Eraserhead kicked HandyMan away and looked down and noticed that his muscle and tendons were showing like bacteria or a virus had rapidly eaten away his flesh.
'Shit. This guy's quirk is a problem,' Eraserhead thought as he noted Percy was almost finished with the fodder.
"By the way, I'm not the final boss," HandyMan said and the bird monster blurred forward before Eraserhead could even react. There was a sickening crunch that echoed throughout the plaza and snapped Percy to attention. Eraserhead cried out in pain at his mangled arm and HandyMan cackled with undisguised glee, but before the bird could do any more damage, there was a resounding boom throughout the facility.
Percy had appeared and hit the bird monster right in the ribs with the force of a magnitude 10 earthquake, sending the monstrosity rocketing a few dozen meters away from Aizawa and cracking the ground at his feet, much to the shock of HandyMan. Percy's eyes and demeanor were dead to the world. He was cold and calculating; no longer was he the hero in training. He was Perseus "The Destroyer".
"How the hell did this brat do that to Nomu?!" HandyMan roared in frustration at his ultimate weapon being launched with All Might level strength.
Percy didn't pay him any attention. He pocketed the name "Nomu" in the back of his mind for later, but kept his attention on the signature of water rapidly approaching the plaza once more.
"Sit rep," he spoke emotionlessly over Eraserhead's heavy breathing.
"Broken arm. The villain with hands has a disintegration quirk; 5-point activation. I erased that Nomu-thing's quirk, but it still moved that fast," Eraserhead said and Percy began to walk toward Nomu.
"I'll handle it. Use your quirk to help where you can," Percy said as he continued to walk. His skin adopted a faint bronze glow indicating that he was using "Overdrive" and slowly drew his kodachi as he continued walking. Ice slowly began to creep along and cover the blade, taking HandyMan by surprise. He had thought the hero brat had a strength quirk, and couldn't help but notice how the tension in the plaza rose drastically.
"Tch. Stupid brat! You can't-," HandyMan started to say as the ice finished coating Percy's blade and Percy vanished from his spot.
'Where the hell-,' HandyMan thought, only for Percy to reappear before Nomu, whose legs up to the knee had suddenly become encased in ice. Faster than the villain could process, Percy became a blur of motion that could only be tracked by the faint bronze and icy blue trails he left in his wake. Just as fast as it happened, Percy reappeared in front of Eraserhead facing the Nomu and the ice that had gathered on his blade evaporated off of it like sparkling snow.
"Ice Blade Overdrive: Thousand-Piece Puzzle," Percy's voice carried out across the plaza yet at the volume of a whisper.
The sickening squelch of gushing blood seemed to roar in Eraserhead and HandyMan's ears as the Nomu fell apart. It's limbs severed at the joints and then severed again into smaller pieces. It's head and torso received the same fate; 1,000 separate pieces of Nomu in total.
Eraserhead, despite his calm exterior, was equal parts relieved, awed, and terrified. He knew Percy wasn't entirely human. He knew that, while Percy technically didn't have a quirk, he was far better trained and capable than anyone he had ever met. He had absolutely no idea that the demigod was capable of the move he had just performed. In the span of mere seconds, he diced something that was bigger than even All Might into a thousand pieces.
HandyMan was in a similar situation.
'Who the fuck is this brat?! I could hardly even see him move and that was the fucking trail he left behind, not his actual movement! Nomu was supposed to be designed to kill All Might in his prime and some no good brat could finish it off?!'
"HOW THE- FUCK! THIS IS BULLSHIT I CALL HACKS! THERE'S NO WAY SOME STUPID BRAT COULD KILL MY NOMU!" HandyMan roared, but Percy didn't even look at him. Instead, he focused on the mincemeat that the Nomu became.
"Troublesome," he muttered and sheathed his kodachi. Uneasy about the utterance of his problem child, Eraserhead tensed before speaking up.
"What is?"
Percy pushed his senses out and tuned them to even finer control than he usually does to confirm what he believed to be happening.
"It's healing. It must have some regenerative quirk," Percy told him and Aizawa gulped quietly at the implication of the beast before him. HandyMan, who had paused in his ranting long enough for the mist villain to appear at his side and hear Percy's comment, started to regain his hope and cackled madly again.
"HAHAHAH THAT'S RIGHT! NOMU HAS MULTIPLE QUIRKS; SHOCK ABSORPTION AND HYPER REGENERATION! IT WAS DESIGNED TO KILL ALL MIGHT! NOMU, THE ANTI-SYMBOL OF PEACE!" HandyMan roared with mad laughter for a few moments longer before Percy finally looked at him, blinked, and facepalmed.
The abrupt slapping noise got HandyMan's attention and he looked back to Percy, only to see the hero student shaking his head and muttering under his breath.
"It's fucking amateur hour over here. Thanks for revealing the abilities of your trump card HandyMan," Percy said as Nomu had nearly regenerated.
"Shigaraki Tomura, I separated the students, but one of them escaped and will be back soon with reinforcements," the mist said and the newly revealed Shigaraki began to scratch his neck in frustration and annoyance again.
"Kurogiri, if you weren't our way out of here, I would atomize you," Shigaraki said before he sighed and his shoulders sagged. At that moment, Midoroya, Tsu, and Mineta had arrived nearby to witness the Nomu regenerate and the villains reveal that one of their classmates escaped.
"It's no good. We can't win; back to the starting screen," Shigaraki said before the Nomu fully regenerated and his sadistic smirk was back on his face. "But before we go, let's wreck the Symbol of Peace's pride. Nomu, kill that fucking brat with the sword," Shigaraki roared before he himself turned around and charged Midoriya's group.
Multiple things happened at once: first, just as Nomu's punch closed in on Percy, the demigod vanished in a spray of mist. Second, Midoriya charged up OFA to 15% and lashed out with a left kick to redirect Shigaraki's hand after seeing his fingers splayed out and assuming his quirk was touch-activated. Third, Shigaraki was fast enough to readjust to the strike and grabbed Midoriya's leg. Fourth, Percy materialized on Nomu's shoulders and dug his hands into the exposed brain. Fifth, Shigaraki seemingly forgot that Eraserhead wasn't out of the fight and the hero activated his quirk so Midoriya wouldn't lose a leg. And finally, Bakugo and Kirishima arrived, the former catching Kurogiri off guard and restraining him while the latter attacked Shigaraki and forced him to retreat.
There was a beat of silence where the entire U.S.J. seemed to still before horrendous screeching could be heard. Everyone whipped their heads to the source to see something they soon wouldn't forget.
Percy, atop the shoulders of the Nomu and up to his forearms in gray matter, had a merciless look carved into his face. Nomu's screams grew louder and louder as steam seemingly started to pool from its body at an accelerating rate, until the outermost layer of skin began to crack. With one final screech of pure agony, the Nomu and plaza fell deathly silent and Nomu fell face first into the cracked ground with a thud.
Nobody dared to move or even breath for a moment before a massive cloud of bloodlust and killing intent blanketed the plaza and furious scratching was heard.
"Y-You… you you YOU STUPID FUCKING BRAT WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Shigaraki roared and directed his killing intent at Percy, who stared at him impassively. Percy absently noticed how the others were faring with the sensation. Midoriya, Tsu, Kirishima, Bakugo, and the newly arrived Todoroki broke into a heavy sweat. Mineta outright fainted and pissed himself. Even Eraserhead broke a minor sweat.
Percy had faced genuine monsters. He looked Gods, Titans, Giants, and two Protogenoi in the eyes and felt far more fear than Shigaraki could ever hope to exude. So, he returned it in kind.
Shigaraki went to launch himself forward when his killing intent and bloodlust was returned to him with interest and made him freeze in his place.
'T-This guy feels l-like Sensei,' he stuttered internally before regaining his composure.
"You… what the fuck did you do to my Nomu, brat?! It was supposed to kill All Might!" Shigaraki yelled again and only got an amused eyebrow in response.
"Yes HandyMan, this is the part where I monologue about all of my abilities so you know exactly how to defeat me," Percy said sarcastically, making the villain growl and scratch more in annoyance. His ticket out of the building was restrained, and he was running out of options. Luckily for him, the perfect distraction came when the doors off the facility were blasted off of their hinges.
"FEAR NOT! FOR I AM HERE!" All Might's voice boomed from the entrance giving the students tending to Thirteen, who was injured by Kurogiri, hope, yet he also frightened them slightly. It was the first time that anyone had ever seen the icon without his smile, and they never imagined it would be replaced with a grimace of absolute rage.
Percy sensed him coming and granted the man a glance that Shigaraki used to react. Percy sensed the movement before he saw it and whipped around to restrain him, but he moved in tandem with Kurogiri. Shigaraki lunged for Bakugo to disintegrate him, Bakugo used his explosions to simultaneously dodge backward and attack, and Kurogiri lunged toward Shigaraki both enveloping him in a portal and redirecting the explosion to use as a smokescreen and escape.
Percy wasn't entirely concerned with them getting away since they were nothing more than an annoyance at the moment, but he knew they would need to be caught. There was no way that Shigaraki was the leader of an organization with how childish he was, but that could wait as All Might blurred to the plaza.
Before he could even get a word out Percy informed, "The class is separated throughout the facility with other villains. Go."
All Might barely finished his nod before he disappeared and gathered up the rest of the villains and students from every zone and the remaining staff soon arrived after.
Detective Tsukauchi and other police officers as well as medics and (unfortunately) new reporters arrived to treat any injuries and take statements. Luckily, the only serious injury was Thirteen, but she was going to make a full recovery and over 100 villains were arrested. Nomu's remains were collected, but the lab would probably have a difficult time with their analysis due to how Percy killed it. He didn't care in the slightest.
Once everything had died down the class took the bus back to the main campus with Present Mic and Midnight boarding with them, but Percy rode ahead with Aizawa to get his arm treated. The two sat in companionable silence as the adrenaline had worn off before Percy looked at him and chuckled a little, catching his attention.
"The paperwork for this is gonna be a bitch," he commented and Aizawa groaned in exhaustion and annoyance, but his a smirk in his scarf.
He was damn lucky Problem Child was there, but he wasn't ever going to admit that.
LINEBREAK
The footage of the U.S.J. attack had just finished with All Might's arrival and everyone present for the meeting was silent after witnessing it. Many of them had mixed feelings about the entire event, but almost all of them centered around the demigod student that was also present for the meeting. It was like a switch had been flipped inside the "teen"; one moment he was his normal focused yet sarcastic self, and the next he was a ruthless warrior. It was a horrifying notion.
"Ahem," Nezu coughed to return focus to the meeting and those present turned their attention to him. "It seems that our fears were founded. The destruction of the gate was a distraction to obtain the class schedule so they could mount the subsequent attack on our students."
"Over 100 villains organized and captured; this was planned out and done well - too well for an up and coming villain organization," Cementoss added as he looked over his copies of the files once more.
"Their goal was to kill All Might. We've run Shigaraki Tomura and Kurogiri through police and quirk databases and found nothing," Tsukauchi said and Percy absentmindedly noted that the detective looked weathered from the event.
"Fake names and unregistered quirks," Midnight tacked on, but without much enthusiasm.
"Apparently, aside from those two, the rest were back alley thugs looking for a quick buck," Tsukauchi started before his gaze flickered to both All Might and Percy. "Then there's 'Nomu'. The lab is still processing results, but from the statements gathered, it had multiple quirks and seemed to only follow Shigaraki's orders," the detective finished and All Might tensed ever so slightly that only Percy noticed since Aizawa had his eyes closed.
"Are we not going to discuss the elephant in the room?" Vlad King finally said, making Snipe and Ectoplasm exchange glances before quickly gazing at Percy.
"What might that be, Kan?" Nezu asked in his normally cheerful demeanor. Kan frowned at the dismissal.
"The kid killed a-," he started to say, but was cut off by Percy.
"A monster. You saw the footage. Aizawa asked me to back him and I did. When it became clear that there was more to Nomu than we originally thought, I acted accordingly to save the lives of my sensei and my classmates," Percy answered while looking directly at the man. The two seemed to have a staring contest for a moment before Vlad King begrudgingly relented.
"Aside from my statement I already gave the detective, Shigaraki wasn't the leader. He was too naive and inexperienced to put something like this together. Someone is, at the very least, funding him or grooming him as a villain," Percy added and met each of the staff members' gaze before he headed for the door.
"I will go check on my class now," he said as he left.
"That boy is powerful," Ectoplasm stated after Percy left which prompted Nezu to chuckle softly with a mad gleam in his eye.
"I do believe that we haven't seen nothing yet."
LINEBREAK
The students had gathered in the classroom after the madness of the villain attack, each gathering their own thoughts on the incident. Some were just thankful to be okay, some wished they could've done more to help; but six of them couldn't get the image of Percy and Nomu out of their heads.
"Kero, Midoriya," Tsu called out to the boy softly, but it gathered everyone's attention. "What… what did Percy do to that… thing?" she asked, unable to keep the uncertainty and minor fright out of her usually blunt voice.
Before Midoriya could even answer, the door opened and Percy responded for himself, having heard the question from outside.
"I slew a monster."
The class turned their attention to his voice before he gave them a lopsided smile and a wave.
"Yo! Glad to see everyone made it out okay," he said as if they didn't just have a life or death battle with villains in their first week of high school. Midoriya was rather glad to have Percy as his normally cheerful self, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he just couldn't get rid of.
There was understandably less of a reaction to his appearance given the situation, but Percy pretended that it didn't exist as he greeted them, some individually to make sure they were okay, and the others collectively.
"What happened when we got separated?" Yaoyorozu asked seemingly to the entire class, but it was clear it was directed at Percy. Percy, in response, looked at each of his classmates evenly before he sighed heavily to the floor and told them his perspective. At first, they were awed at his ability in taking out the villains in the plaza. Awe shifted quickly to surprise and horror at his description of Nomu and cutting it to pieces, only for it to regenerate due to its multiple quirks.
"I knew that we couldn't match it without All Might present, so I got on its shoulders and plunged my hands into its exposed brain," he told them and some vomited into the waste bin at the mention.
"As you know, my quirk allows me to manipulate water at the molecular level, so I seized control of every last molecule in the thing's body and evaporated it," Percy finished with an even look at the class. He wasn't ashamed or even horrified at his actions; he had seen and done far worse to ever feel those. Yet it was the lack of shame or disgust or… any emotion really that shook his classmates' beliefs. They had all been raised that, even in a hero society, killing was inherently wrong or evil; that it was something villains do. For them to hear a classmate - a student their age (though they didn't know the truth) - kill someone so casually… It was horrifying.
"Th-That-Killing is wrong, Percy! We're here to be heroes!" Iida cried out desperately, but Percy turned to him with an emotionless stare that sent shivers down everyone's spines.
"Is it? If it meant that all of you would live, then is it so wrong that I killed it?" Percy asked Iida, but the robotic boy couldn't form words. Percy sighed once more before looking at the class once more.
"Killing isn't objective; it isn't inherently good or evil. Killing for no reason or killing because you enjoy it - that is wrong and evil. But killing to protect - because it's the only way to protect… that's acceptable," Percy said and they all pondered his words.
"I am not happy or proud that I killed that monster, but I am happy and I am proud that all of you survived because I did. Again, I'm glad you're all alright and I'll see you in a few days when school starts up," Percy said and offered a lazy wave over his shoulder on his way out of the door.
The students of Class 1-A remained silent for a long while after Percy's parting words and, surprisingly, it was Bakugo of all people that spoke up.
"Tch. He's right," he said in a noticeably less aggressive tone. It immediately set off Iida who was sticking to his guns.
"Bakugo! We are heroes in training! It is never okay to kill under any circumstances! That is why we are trying to become heroes in the first place!" Iida lectured with his arm doing their trademark chopping motions.
"Look at the facts, Four Eyes! You weren't there, but that thing was made to kill All Might! Who knows what would've happened if the bastard didn't kill it and we had to wait until you got to the staff and All Might arrived late?!" Bakugo roared back in his face, but Iida wasn't ready to accept defeat so easily.
"Midoriya! You don't agree with him do you?!" Iida spun around and questioned the shrub-headed boy who was thinking over both Percy and Bakugo's words. Eventually, he spoke after factoring everything he remembered from the attack and what he knew about Percy.
"I think… there are too many factors for this to have a straight answer," he said slowly and the others listened in full attention.
"I think that Percy isn't necessarily right, but we have to consider his past. He was held captive and trained by an assassin - a man who killed people for a living - for nearly two years. On top of that, Bakugo's right Iida, you weren't there…," Midoriya continued and trailed off to formulate his thoughts.
"There was a moment at the end of the attack right after Percy killed Nomu when the leader, Shigaraki, was livid. The air was… suffocating with pure hatred and bloodlust. I was genuinely terrified that I was going to die and I wasn't even the target," Midoriya whispered in the last part though all of them still heard him. The other five that were present grimaced in understanding.
"I think Percy did what he felt he had to. I don't necessarily agree with it and I'm not sure I will, but… I'm glad we all came out of it alive," Midoriya finished and instigated another thought provoking silence.
"D-Did you h-hear h-how he k-k-killed it though?!" Mineta stuttered in abject fear and panic, making some of his classmates pale and others grimace. No one offered a comment.
"He isn't fond of that technique," Aizawa's exhausted drawl reached their ears as he meandered into the room with his arm in a cast and sling. Some voiced their gratitude that he was okay, but he grunted them away.
"He originally developed it for incapacitation. Limiting the blood flow to the brain to harmlessly render a target unconscious. It was how he knocked out Shoji in the battle training," Aizawa revealed and the students who had questions about it realized with the start.
"But because of his past, he realized that there may be occasions where lethal force is necessary to save lives. You all shouldn't have had to deal with this attack, especially so early in your first year, but let this serve as a reminder of some of what hero work entails," Aizawa said as he met the class's gazes.
"It's not as glamorous as the media makes it out to be. You have the next few days off to rest and recover. Hound Dog's office will be open when you return if you need to schedule an appointment. Dismissed," Aizawa said and slowly exited the room once more.
The hero students followed shortly after, all absorbed in their own thoughts. All with a harsh reminder and a better understanding of the kind of work they signed up for.
CHAPTER VII END
Another Alternate Scene Presented byHETAP
Percy was more tired than usual so instead of going to classes, he opted to take a pleasant nap within the underwater caves he found in the Shipwreck Zone of the U.S.J. He didn't think Aizawa and Nezu would be particularly upset over it, and the class was scheduled to have training at the U.S.J. later that day.
So he went ahead and did it. Unfortunately, he didn't appreciate the way he was woken up.
LINEBREAK
Due to Bakugo and Kirishima's ignorance, the class had been separated by the mist villain. Fortunately, Midoriya was able to gather that they were all still inside the U.S.J. just in different zones.
Unfortunately, they were surrounded by villains. After Tsu rescued him and Mineta and got them both to the boat, his mind was running at a thousand kilometers per hour trying to come up with an escape plan. He came up short for a moment before he asked the others the details of their quirks, but that cost them time.
'I wish Percy was here,' he thought on the morbid side as he listened to Mineta explain his quirk.
He spoke said demigod into existence.
After the villains attacked the now sinking boat, the water of the Shipwreck Zone began to bubble erratically, confusing both the heroes in training and the villains gathered.
'No. The whole facility seems to be shaking!' Midoriya panickedly thought before a geyser of water exploded in the middle of the villains.
A familiar voice echoed throughout the facility as a figure was seen emerging from the top of the geyser.
"For thousands of years, I lay dormant. Who has dared to disturb my-," the voice paused as the owner laid sights on Midoriya and the others.
"Oh, hey Shrub Head! Villains, huh? Mind if I take a whirl?" Percy asked in a cheerful upbeat tune.
Without waiting for a response, a giant whirlpool appeared in the water and sucked all the villains in the zone to the center where Midoriya acted quickly and had Mineta stick them together with his quirk. Percy joined them shortly after.
"Ha. I see what you did there. 'Cuz of the whirlpool," Midoriya said in equal parts hysterical relief and exasperation.
Alternate SceneEnd