Chapter 29

Ochaco stumbled to her feet as she regained her senses. Everything happened so fast; there was absolutely no time to react. She quickly stretched, making sure that she had no serious injuries. She felt like she had been hit by a truck, which, as she looked at her ravaged surroundings, may actually have been the case. The road was completely torn up, cars were flipped on their heads, and not a single building was left undamaged. When Kyoka means business, she-

Ochaco's eyes grew wide as she turned to chase after her friend, but as she rounded a heap of debris, she realized that her help was unnecessary. She found Kyoka, collapsed to her knees, being comforted by Kaminari. Ochaco watched her friends' embrace, Kaminari trying to calm Kyoka's shuddering body as she wept bitterly into his shirt. Ochaco subtly got his attention, not wanting to interrupt their moment. He gave her a small, sad grin and a quick thumbs up with his free hand, and Ochaco breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever you did, Kaminari, I'm glad you were able to snap her out of it.

"Where is she?!" Bakugo roared as he climbed out of the rubble. "When I get my hands on her-"

"Hey, relax!" Ochaco quickly darted to his position to quiet him down. "Kaminari has the situation under control."

"Sparky finally decided to show up, huh?" Bakugo glared over her shoulder with a bemused expression. "Took him long enough." A commotion drew both of their attention toward what remained of the ice wall. Slowly, the rioters began to rise and stagger forward, but something was different about the crowd.

"They seem much calmer than they were a few minutes ago," Ochaco observed.

Yumei's voice crackled over the intercom. "The shock from Earphone Jack's attack must have been enough to jolt them out of Riot's influence. You guys will need to keep an eye out; without his forces, General Mayhem will be looking to create a distraction in an effort to complete his objective."

"You don't think he's going to try and escape?" Mineta's voice chimed in.

"He hasn't left a job unfinished yet." Yumei's voice was serious. "I doubt he'll start today."

Ochaco looked around to see where the rest of the team was. Koda had made it off the rooftop and was helping Iida and Tsu tend to the civilians. Tokoyami and Kirishima were kneeling beside Sero and Mina respectively, assessing their injuries and waiting for them to come to. Todoroki had made his way to the epicenter of Kyoka's blast and was checking on Yaoyorozu's condition. Sato, Ojiro, Aoyama, and Hagakure were mingled among the former rioters, helping them move to a safe location, and Shoji continued observing the crowd for any sign of the culprit. Ochaco began to examine the exhausted mob as well and realized how difficult their task was going to be.

"Even with everyone settled down, Mayhem is still blending in seamlessly. How do you think we should lure him out, Dyna-" As Ochaco turned to Bakugo, she realized he was no longer there.

"You ungrateful bastards!" his angry voice reverberated off the walls of the urban corridor. Ochaco turned back to find him standing in front of the mob and tearing into them.

"We work ourselves to the bone, day-in and day-out, putting our lives on the line for you, and this is how you thank us?" He spat at them as they slowly moved past him. "You're lucky I don't put you all out of your misery right where you stand!"

"Ugh, I hate when he gets like this," Melissa groaned in Ochaco's ear. "As if four of our own going rogue wasn't enough, now he's threatening civilians. The press is going to have a field day with this."

As Ochaco watched the faces of the crowd, she found that each one looked genuinely remorseful for what they had been a part of. However, as Bakugo continued his tirade, that remorse slowly shifted to frustration. Some of the civilians were having trouble navigating the damaged streets. One man in particular lost his balance on some debris, his bulky boots causing him to lose his footing. He reached out to steady himself and grabbed Bakugo's arm. Ochaco flinched, waiting for the inevitable outburst, but it never came. As the gray-haired man righted himself and continued on his way, the hero remained stiff and rigid. He didn't say a word as he slowly turned his head toward the civilian, a toothy grin on his face. Oh no. She watched as, in a flash, Bakugo pinned the stumbling civilian face-down to the ground.

"Get this maniac off of me!" the man screamed in terror.

"Dynamight!" Ochaco rushed to intervene. "What are you doing?!"

"Giving the General here the welcome he deserves!" Ochaco stopped short as his response sank in. She watched as he drove his knee into the man's back, forcing him closer to the pavement. "Couldn't resist targeting the 'unhinged' hero, could ya?"

"He's insane!" the civilian pleaded. "I have no idea what he's talking about!"

"Like hell you don't! You think I didn't feel your Quirk activate when you grabbed me?!" Bakugo laughed as he grabbed the back of the man's head and slammed it into the ground. "You call this 'overwhelming rage?' I call this 'Monday morning!'"

The man was silent, his face buried in the rubble. For a moment, Ochaco feared that Bakugo may have jumped to conclusions and taken things too far. Then she noticed a small grin had appeared on the corner of the man's mostly obscured mouth.

"Interesting. I've never met someone with an immunity to my Quirk before." He chuckled as he struggled to turn his head on its side. "You haven't just learned to control your anger; you've made it a part of you."

"If I can use it to win, why hold it back?" Bakugo snarled. "Now, are we going to do this the easy way, or am I going to have to enjoy myself a little more?"

"As much as I'd love to stay and play, I do have unfinished business to attend to." The man suddenly rocketed out from under Bakugo's hold, propelled skyward by two boosters contained within his clunky footwear. Ochaco prepared to follow him, but a large explosion forced her to brace herself before she could activate her Quirk.

"You extras stay out of this! You'll just get in my way!" Bakugo said as he blasted himself into the air after Mayhem. Having long since adapted to his personality, Ochaco immediately understood his point. There's no guarantee any of us will have the same resistance to Riot as Bakugo. Best not to test our luck if we don't have to.

She watched as the two darted in between the surrounding buildings, the intensity of Bakugo's propulsion causing loose debris to fall from the sky. Ochaco and the other's lept into action, protecting the civilians from further injury. Each time the pursuit passed overhead, she looked to see if any progress was being made, but, despite his best efforts, Bakugo was only able to match the speed of Mayhem's support items, unable to close the gap.

The resulting shockwave of their chase rattled the buildings once more, dislodging a particularly large piece of rubble and sending it plummeting toward Tokoyami and Sero. The dark hero's shadowy counterpart soared up to intercept the projectile, knocking it safely off-course. It was during that momentary distraction that General Mayhem made his move. He broke off from Bakugo's pursuit and hurtled full-speed toward Tokoyami, his hand outstretched to touch the hero's turned back. Ochaco's eyes grew wide as she realized what the villain's plan was. Dark Shadow feeds off negative emotions like rage. If Mayhem is able to activate his Quirk, Tokoyami's ability to resist Riot won't matter! The citizens in need of her protection prevented her from acting fast enough to stop the attack. She could only watch as the General's hand rapidly approached his newest victim.

She blinked, and the scene had completely changed. A blast of wind sent the falling debris careening away from the bystanders. Mayhem was tumbling uncontrollably back through the sky, and Bakugo was forced to land. A cloud of dust had arisen where Tokoyami once stood, and as it cleared, she could see him standing unharmed, although clearly surprised. Another figure stood behind Tokoyami, blocking the villain's approach. A wave of relief washed over Ochaco as she realized who it was. "Deku!" His name had barely left her lips when he suddenly collapsed to his knees. She frantically rushed to his side, placing a hand on his back. "Are you okay?!"

His whole body shook as he grasped at his arms, as if trying to contain something within himself. "Coward!" he grunted through clenched teeth. "Turning my friends against each other, hiding behind them as they did your dirty work!" Ochaco nervously removed her hand and stepped back from her friend, the power surging through him unlike anything she had felt before. He wrenched his head upward and stared down the hovering villain. Ochaco turned to see a look of fear on Mayhem's face before he rocketed away from the scene. "You'll pay for this!" Deku shouted as he suddenly shot into the sky, his gaze locked on the fleeing culprit.

Ochaco blinked once more, and Deku was gone; a trail of dust streaked through the sky in the direction of the General's escape. An instant later, an aftershock knocked everyone back. Shattering windows and car alarms could be heard from blocks away in all directions. The already-damaged buildings surrounding them continued to deteriorate, and a path of fresh destruction could be seen lagging behind her friend's pursuit. All Ochaco could do was watch as a terrible realization began to set in. Deku had once again intercepted an attack meant for someone else, and while his drive to save everyone was allowing him to direct Riot's influence toward stopping General Mayhem, the villain's Quirk had removed all of Deku's inhibitions and personal limitations.

In that moment, one thing became very clear: Deku had been holding back the true depths of One For All's power, and now the whole city was feeling it.

Deku's entire body felt like it was on fire as 100% of One For All's energy coursed through him. The frozen air rushing past his face only further exacerbated the pain, but he pushed all of that to the back of his mind. As the wind pulled tears out of the corners of his eyes and obscured his peripheral vision, he kept his sights set on the target directly in front of him. The seconds of the pursuit seemed to stretch on forever, and as the gap between the two shrank, Deku had a singular thought on his mind. This ends now.

Deku reached his hand forward and shot out several tendrils of Blackwhip. These latched onto Mayhem, preventing his escape and damaging his support items. The enraged hero still wasn't done, however, as he blasted past the villain, violently dragging him upward into the clouds. For a few moments, Midoriya allowed the villain to take a beating from the turbulent air left in his wake; then he froze, the inertia sending Mayhem flying as far as Blackwhip would allow before coming to a hard stop. Deku used the newly created momentum to propel himself forward, swinging the General into a vertical arc before flinging him toward the ground.

Deku dove after him, catching up in an instant. He stared unflinchingly into the villain's terrified eyes as the two plummeted out of the sky, through the top of a building, and into the ground at the base of the now-demolished structure. As the dust settled around them, Izuku got to his feet, wrapping Mayhem in Blackwhip and hoisting him upward. A cough escaped the villain's mouth as the tendrils tightened around his broken body.

"Why?!" Deku reeled in Blackwhip until he was yelling directly into General Mayhem's face. "Why did you do this?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" he managed a weak chuckle. "My employer wanted Aoandon out of the picture, and they weren't too keen on how popular your team was getting. Figured I could kill two birds with one stone this way."

"How did you know where to find her? The police kept her location a secret from the public."

"Oh, I didn't. Your four nosy friends were leading the way." He smiled smugly and wheezed. "It's amazing how cooperative people can be with a little subliminal encouragement."

Of course Sutegomi's boss is behind this. Deku's anger burned hotter as his suspicions were confirmed. "You're going to tell me who your employer is and where I can find them. Now."

"I believe you mean my former employer. I was already paid in full, and my task is complete. Sure, they might try to silence me once you throw me in prison, but I'll rest easy for whatever time I have left knowing that my perfect record remains intact."

"Perfect record? We stopped you!" The villain's arrogance was getting on Deku's nerves.

"Did you really?" Mayhem let out a hearty laugh, subdued only by the crushing pressure of Blackwhip on any injuries he had sustained. "You think I didn't have a contingency plan for this? Aoandon is long gone, along with your agency."

Izuku had had enough. Blackwhip tightened even further around General Mayhem as a tendril wrapped around the villain's neck and began squeezing the air out of him. "What . . . did . . . you . . . do?" His rage was white-hot now. If it weren't for the information Mayhem might have, this would have been over long ago.

"I didn't do anything," came the strained reply. He was clearly in excruciating pain, yet he still maintained an air of confidence. "I didn't have to; you were here."

A steel girder from overhead broke loose and plummeted toward the floor beside them. As gravity drove the metal beam vertically into the ground, a painful realization similarly pierced Deku's spirit. Flashes of memory assaulted his mind and overlaid themselves on his surroundings.

The courtyard outside the crumbling walls . . .

Deku watched his friends as they used their Quirks to the best of their abilities. Their bond shone brighter than the noonday sun as they gave their all to rebuilding the city, unaware that they were also building their future home. "Hey guys! Look who I found while I was grabbing lunch!" Kyoka's cheerful exclamation drew everyone's attention, and their smiling faces exuded a warmth and camaraderie that Deku hadn't felt in a long time, a feeling that was only amplified by the excitement and joy that Uraraka displayed at his arrival.

The overcast sky above the demolished roof . . .

"Hey! That's cheating!" Deku called in vain after Uraraka as she took an early lead in their race to the agency. He smiled to himself and, with a flick of his fingers, launched himself after her. As the city rushed beneath him, he kept his sights locked on overtaking his playful opponent, though he almost threw the race when the agency came into view. The pristine beach he had trained on with All Might, the sun reflecting off the waves, the finished exterior of their new home: it all filled him with nostalgia for the journey he had been on and hope for the future.

The deconstructed lobby that surrounded him . . .

Uraraka leapt up and embraced him, but he couldn't react; the shock from hearing the results of the vote left him speechless. Surely there was a better person to lead the team, someone with more leadership skills and charisma. Yet his friends had chosen him, and as they gathered around him to congratulate him, he swore to himself that he would protect the hard work they had put in to get to this point.

The heap of rubble that once housed Melissa's lab and control center . . .

"You're our hero, Aegis." And Deku meant every word of it. Melissa had helped him through so much over the year he spent on I-Island, and ever since arriving on the mainland, she had worked non-stop to get the team ready for their new future. As she embraced him in tearful appreciation, he looked around at everything she had done. Without a Quirk, she was forced to change her point of view on how she could be a hero, but, in that moment, Deku felt like he might have helped her reclaim a small piece of her childhood dream.

The shredded couches and shattered windows in the break room . . .

Deku sank into the sofa as the light from the rising sun beamed through the window and warmed his face. He looked around the room at his friends, tired but satisfied after a long night's work. Melissa awkwardly tried to encourage Mineta about his chances with the ladies while Kaminari quietly psyched up Kyoka for getting out in the field. Deku turned to look at Uraraka, her contented face backlit by the morning glow as she enjoyed her favorite snack. As he took it all in, something felt different. He wasn't just surrounded by former classmates, current coworkers, or even his friends. This was his family, and he was home.

"I can't help but think about what I have at the agency right now." Deku's words to Uraraka from weeks prior echoed through his head as the joyful memories dancing around him began to melt away, returning him to the reality of the devastation he had incurred. "The hard work all of you guys put into the building, your dad's generosity- it would be a shame to just throw that all away."

His arms shook as he clenched his fists, guilt and rage coursing through him. Their hard work, their hopes, their dreams: all of it thrown away, all because . . .

"You should have gone to that interview, kid," the villain wheezed with sick satisfaction. Deku's head snapped to attention, staring the man dead in the eyes as he intensified Blackwhip's grip on him.

"No! Stop!" Multiple voices rang out through the wreckage. Deku glanced toward the former entryway to see his friends approaching from the city. On the other side of the demolished room, he saw Melissa, bruised and battered, standing by a pile of rubble, and his eyes widened as Yumei stumbled out behind her. Mayhem's pompous smile faded as he realized that he had not completed his job.

These observations were made in a fraction of a second, and within that instant, a single tendril of Blackwhip wrapped around the villain's head and swiftly made sure he would never complete another job ever again.

Melissa nearly choked on the dust occupying the air. She shook her head and tried to get a sense for what had happened, looking around at the debris that surrounded her on all sides. Her attention was drawn a few feet away, where Yumei slowly stirred and sat up.

Everything happened so fast. After Kyoka had knocked out the drones and traffic cameras, they had been forced to rely on visuals from the news chopper and the trackers on the heroes' costumes. Deku had flown in out of nowhere; his approach barely registered on the map. After blocking Mayhem's attack on Tokoyami, it was almost as if he teleported to the other side of the city. Briefly, the path he took was visible on the news footage before a shockwave knocked out that feed as well. Seeing what was about to happen, Melissa managed to raise a protective barrier around her station just before Deku and General Mayhem made impact. Thankfully they didn't hit us directly; the barrier barely held up as it is.

The muffled sound of angry shouts brought Melissa back to the present. She carefully pushed away some of the rubble and quickly climbed out of the shelter. As she made her way around some of the wreckage, her heart stopped at the terrifying sight before her. There was Deku, his uniform tattered and torn, standing in the middle of the blast radius. Tendrils of Blackwhip shot out of his back and tightly wrapped around a severely injured General Mayhem. She could tell from the look on Deku's face that he was not completely himself; the intense anger on display was clearly being brought out by the effects of Riot. She watched as Deku's hold on the villain grew tighter and tighter. Instinctively, Melissa called out to him, not wanting her friend to do something he would regret when he was in his right mind. "No! Stop!" Her plea was echoed by the other members of the team approaching from across the way.

Deku glanced in her direction, his eyes growing wide as Yumei climbed out of the bunker behind her. A loud snap echoed through the cavernous shell of the building, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks. The villain's limp form dropped to the ground in front of Deku, who stood in stunned silence. Slowly, he sank to his knees, tearfully looking down at his hands in bewilderment.

Iida, Uraraka, and Bakugo were the first to arrive on the scene and, as such, were the only ones besides herself to witness what had happened. Their pained looks of shock and the tense silence echoed what she was feeling in her own heart. This is all some sort of nightmare. It has to be! Maybe Yumei used her Quirk against me?

"Mineta?!" Yumei's panicked voice cut through Melissa's thoughts, forcing her to face the fact that this was real. Melissa slowly turned to see the girl frantically surveying the debris. The two silently waited for a response, but there was none. Yumei worriedly looked at her. "He wasn't in the lab when you raised the shield. I was so focused on the screen, I didn't even hear him leave."

"Maybe he left to check on-" Melissa's blood ran cold. She dove back into the shelter and began digging through the rubble. Finally, she found what she was looking for: the baby monitor Kaminari had left with her. She checked to make sure it was still working and turned the volume as high as it could go, only to be greeted by the cold indifference of dead air. Melissa fell to her knees, the crushing despair she already felt magnified by her own failure.

"Is everyone alright?!" Melissa slowly tilted her head upward to see Kaminari sliding down the rubble toward her, carrying Kyoka in his arms. "We got back as . . . soon as . . . we . . ." his voice trailed off as they slowed their approach, quietly examining their surroundings as they carefully stepped through the debris.

"Melissa?" Kyoka's voice trembled as she clung to Kaminari for support, the draining effects of Riot still evident. Melissa sadly examined the two young parents; both looked as though they had already done their share of crying, which made the rest of Kyoka's question that much harder. "Where's Jiden?" The look in her eyes said that she already knew the answer, but her voice carried a twinge of hope that she was wrong.

Melissa slowly looked away, down to the monitor in her hands. The glow of the power indicator glared back at her, and the unyielding static coming through the speaker assaulted her ears. She could feel the tears piling up behind her eyes, but she was in too much shock to let them out. "It all happened . . . there was no . . ." She choked on the words as they forced their way out of her mouth. She knew she needed to say something, but nothing she could say would change what had happened. "I'm . . . sorry . . ."

An inhuman shriek erupted from Kyoka as she buried her face into Kaminari's shirt, pounding her fist into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, tears running past his clenched jaw. As Melissa continued to stare at the monitor, drops of water began to splash off the back of her glasses. She felt a hand on her back and turned to see Yumei sitting beside her, pulling her into a hug.

"You did all you could do," she said softly. "If I hadn't been here, none of this would have happened. I appreciate your encouragement from earlier, but this is my fault, not yours." Melissa gave into the embrace, and the two of them began weeping, the mutual sense of guilt and loss overpowering them.

Suddenly, over the mourning, the static on the monitor fluctuated, catching everyone's attention. The abnormalities continued to occur until it gave way to an unexpected sound. "Please tell me the other end of this thing is still working!"

Melissa fumbled with the monitor and activated the microphone. "Mineta?!"

"Thank goodness! I wasn't sure anybody would hear me!" came a relieved response, distorted by a baby's crying.

"Is . . . is that Jiden?!" Kaminari yelled hopefully.

"Yeah, but we don't have much time! We're trapped under the rubble somewhere. We're both okay, but we're running out of oxygen . . . and she seriously needs a new diaper."

Without any hesitation, Kyoka drove her jacks into the ground and closed her eyes. After a moment of intent listening, her eyes shot back open. "Over there!" She whipped around and pointed to a large pile of debris, losing her balance as she did so. Thankfully Kaminari was quick to catch her.

"I'm on it!" Uraraka darted over and activated her Quirk. Despite her best efforts to maintain the stability of the pile, the debris began to shift, threatening to bring the whole thing crashing down. Suddenly, black tendrils shot over to reinforce the wreckage as Deku stumbled over. He nodded without saying a word, and the two worked in tandem to dig through the rubble. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Uraraka floated out a box-like structure. The group rushed over and, upon further inspection, realized that it was Jiden's crib, only it had been reinforced and cushioned with Mineta's balls. The crib began to shake and shudder until a yellow-gloved hand shot out from between a few of the purple spheres at the top of the crib. With a little bit of help, Mineta soon emerged, gasping for air as he held tight to Jiden, who was swaddled in a yellow cloth.

"Mineta!" Yumei rushed over and gave the hero a quick hug. "What happened?"

"When you said that Mayhem was going to finish the job, I realized that meant he was going to come here. I knew Melissa had some safety measures in the lab, so I rushed up to grab Jiden, but I ran out of time." He glanced over his shoulder at the makeshift bunker, then down at the swaddled baby in his arms. "I used my balls to absorb the shock of the building collapsing, and I wrapped her in my cape to keep her from getting stuck." He gently handed the crying child to Kyoka.

"Mineta . . . you . . . saved my daughter." A look of surprise and exhaustion washed across her face.

"Of course I did! What kind of hero would I be if I didn't at least try to save her?" He reached up and gave Kaminari a slap on the back. "Besides, Denki's my best friend. I'd never let anything happen to the people he cares about most in the world." He gave them a reassuring thumbs up before putting his finger to his nose. "I do draw the line at changing diapers though."

Kyoka sniffed back some tears and smiled at the joke. "Thank you."

Yumei walked over and gave Mineta a gentle punch on the shoulder. "I've gotta hand it to you; that was pretty cool."

"Says the person that managed to stop three pros from tearing the city apart!" There was a feeling of relief amid the carnage, but as Melissa looked over the group, she noticed that Deku had quietly returned to the middle of the building. He stood there, looking at the damage that had been done- that he had done. He looked down at the lifeless body of his victim, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. Melissa shared a glance with Uraraka and, without saying anything, the two stepped toward their friend, ready to do what they could to comfort him. However, they were interrupted by a commotion from outside of the dilapidated building.

Approaching from the city were the rest of the team, overwhelmed looks of sadness plastered their faces as they saw what remained of their home. Behind them were civilians and bystanders, equally shocked by the scene. Then, pushing past everyone, the relentless reporters rushed the scene, cameras rolling, microphones at the ready, getting as close as they safely could. Questions about Deku's power, the collateral damage, the villain's condition, casualties, and more muddled together as they tried to shout over each other. Melissa looked back to Deku, ready to help him through the onslaught, but before she or Uraraka could make it to him, they were knocked back by a blast of air and a cloud of debris. As the dust blew past them, she could see that Deku was no longer there; just a streak of smoke trailing upward and disappearing into the cloudy noonday sky.