Chapter 36
Last Stand
Fourteen hours have passed since Joshua and the rest of Class 1-A fought Nine and his gang of goons. After the fight, Izuku, Joshua, and Bakugo were severely injured. They were brought to a warehouse with the rest of the islanders and have been unconscious ever since. Even with the help of many medical professionals, they have yet to wake up. Katsuma volunteers to heal them with his quirk and they start to shake. Joshua slowly opens his eyes.
"Mr. Josh!" exclaimed Katsuma and Mahoro.
"Katsuma, Mahoro? Where are we at?" asked Joshua.
"You and your friends were injured after your fight with that villain and you were brought to this warehouse," said Katsuma.
"Where's that Nine guy and his gang?" asked Joshua.
"I don't know, but I don't think they're going to leave anytime soon," said Mahoro.
"You're probably right. Villains don't quit, especially when their prize is right in their grasp," said Joshua.
Joshua starts to slowly get up.
"Wait. You're too injured to hop back into action," said Katsuma.
"I'm fine. I just needed some sleep," said Joshua.
Joshua starts to limp towards the door and opens it. He walks in the hallway, confused about which direction to go. He walks for a few minutes until he hears the voices of his classmates. He walks to the door and leans on the wall, listening to their conversation.
"The power on the entire island is out and the communications are down," said Ida.
"I sent out a drone, so we should get back up in like a day," said Momo.
"That's good, but you and Kaminari need to sleep. You guys have overused your quirks," said Ochaco.
"We have bigger issues than stamina. We fought one of the villains and we didn't stand a chance. If they come back, we're screwed," said Shoto.
"If we knew what they were after, we could have a chance to win," said Ida.
"They're after Katsuma," said Joshua.
Everyone in the room turns their head to see Joshua standing in the doorway.
"Joshua, are you supposed to be-," said Ida.
"There's no time for rest. Villains are going after a child," said Joshua.
"Why is Katsuma so important to their plans?" asked Ida.
"The big bad has the same quirk as All For One. He wants to steal Katsuma's healing quirk because it's powerful," said Joshua.
"The same quirk as All For One? That must be why he's so strong," said Kirishima.
"We can't just let them take the boy and we can't just run and take the boy. Why can't being a hero be easy?" said Mina.
"If we continue to sit here and do nothing, someone could get killed or even worse," said Shoto.
"We have to prepare for war. We are heroes and we can't allow anyone under our watch to be killed, hurt, or taken by these villains. I know that they're powerful and may seem unbeatable, but we can win with a perfect strategy and perfect teamwork. I doubt that Nine and his friends will wait a long time to retaliate, so we don't have much time to get ready, but we have to try," said Joshua.
"Joshua's right. We have to sacrifice our lives to protect this island. The world would be ashamed of us if we just gave up," said Momo.
"So, what do we do?" asked Shoto.
Joshua walks up to the table and pulls a circular object out of his pocket. He places it on the table. He taps a button on its side and a map of the island pops up.
"This is a map of every area of the island," said Joshua.
Joshua points at a part of the hologram map.
"We should set up base right here at the edge of the island. This will be the only part of the island where the villains will be able to attack from. Because they work together, we should split them up with a preemptive strike. We can use the terrain to our advantage and take them down. The civilians can stay in the cave near the cliff until the fight is over. We will personally guard Katsuma and Mahoro. We should also make an escape route if push comes to shove," said Joshua.
"How do we deal with that Nine guy's quirks?" asked Shoto.
"After he used four of his quirks on us, he kneeled and was probably in pain. I doubt that he can use all of those quirks. That's probably the reason why he wants Katsuma's quirk. We only fought him for like twenty minutes and he was already exhausted. We should attack him in waves to force him to use his quirks and tire him out. We should also avoid close combat because he can steal our quirks. Even if we can't win, we just have to last until we get reinforcements," said Joshua.
"Forget that. We're going to destroy those bastards," said Bakugo.
"Bakugo, you've awakened. Join us as we plan to protect the island," said Joshua.
"I don't care about your stupid plan. I only care about destroying those villains," said Bakugo.
"If you don't want to help us plan our attack, take these," said Joshua.
Joshua throws a pair of binoculars at Bakugo and he catches them.
"What are these for?" asked Bakugo.
"You're on night duty until the adults are done planning the perfect strategy," said Joshua.
"Whatever," said Bakugo.
Bakugo walks away.
"Now, let's get prepping," said Joshua.
Class 1-A puts their fists in the sky.
"Plus ultra!" exclaimed Class 1-A.
Ten hours of prep pass. Joshua, Izuku, Bakugo, Ojiro, Shoji, Mahoro, Jiro, and Katsuma now stand on the highest part of the island. Shoji surveys the island with his quirk. He sees Nine and his gang approaching the hill.
"They're here and they've taken the route that we predicted they would take," said Shoji.
"That's good. Now, phase one can begin," said Joshua.
Joshua taps his communicator.
"Momo, Aoyama, you guys are up," said Joshua.
"Roger," said Momo.
"We only have twenty seconds. Aoyama, charge your naval laser to max output," said Joshua.
"Ok," said Aoyama.
Aoyama starts to charge his naval laser.
"Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Now!" said Momo.
Aoyama stands up and aims at Nine and his goons.
"Préparez-vous à être vaincu. I can't stop shining. Naval Blaster: Hundred Percent!" said Aoyama.
Aoyama fires his naval blaster at the villains. Chimera and Needle Hair dive out of the way. Nine creates an air wall to block the blast. Aoyama begins to launch multiple smaller blasts at the other two villains. The villains start to run to dodge the blasts.
"Thanks for the distraction. Now, you will feel the power of my lipids," said Momo.
Momo takes the coverings off of her creations and reveals two cannons.
"Take this!" exclaimed Momo.
The two cannons fire and hit the ground under Needle Hair.
"You're a terrible shot," said Needle Hair.
Before Needle Hair can continue to gloat, the ground under her starts to rumble and she falls in.
"Now, it's time for you beast," said Momo.
Momo aims her two cannons at Chimera and fires them. To dodge them, Chimera is forced to jump onto the beach.
"We did it," said Momo.
Momo falls to the ground in exhaustion. Aoyama falls to the ground as well.
"Phase 1 has been completed," said Momo.
"Good job. We can win this. Sero, Ochaco, it's time for phase two," said Joshua.
"We're on it. Villain, take this!" said Sero.
Sero shoots his paper out of his elbows and grabs onto the rocks floating above him. He throws them at Nine. Nine destroys his rocks with his lasers. Nine tries to shoot Sero with his lasers, but Sero dodges them. Ochaco runs towards rocks and taps them, making them float. Sero grabs them with his paper and throws them at Nine. Nine casually destroys them with his lasers.
"This should be able to take him down. Release!" said Ochaco.
Nine looks up to see a large number of rocks in the sky. They rocket towards him and he repels them with his air wall, blowing away Sero and Ochaco.
"What the hell happened?" asked Izuku.
"He repealed the attack and took down Sero and Ochaco," said Jiro.
"We won't win at this rate," said Joshua.
"I have to do something," said Izuku.
Joshua puts his arm out, stopping Izuku from moving.
"We have to stick to the plan. If you jump in now, you can mess up everything that we spent all of last night setting up. Just wait until it's necessary to jump in," said Joshua.
Nine approaches the weakened Sero and Ochaco. Aoyama shoots a naval blast at Nine, but his attack is easily blocked with an air wall. The collision of the naval blast and air wall causes Aoyama and Momo to fly back.
"I'm tired of waiting!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Bakugo jumps down and uses his explosives to rocket towards Nine.
"Bakugo, wait!" exclaimed Joshua.
Bakugo doesn't listen and continues to rocket towards Nine. Once he reaches Nine, he launches a large explosion at him. Nine easily blocks his attack with an air wall. The air wall causes Bakugo to fly back.
"Surprisingly, you aren't dead," said Nine.
"I won't lose to trash like you," said Bakugo.
"Why is that buffoon fighting him? He's ruining the plan," said Joshua.
"I'll be back," said Izuku.
Izuku hops over the wall and runs towards Bakugo.
"Wait!" exclaimed Joshua.
Izuku doesn't listen and just continues to run.
"Why is no one listening to me?" thought Joshua.
Joshua looks back at the two siblings.
"Shoji, Jiro, Ojiro, watch the kids. I'm going to the front lines," said Joshua.
"Heard," said Jiro.
Joshua jumps over the fence and runs towards Nine. Bakugo launches a small explosion at Nine and he blocks them with his air wall.
"Is this all you got?" asked Nine.
"St. Louis Smash!" exclaimed Izuku.
Nine looks up and sees Izuku preparing to kick him, so he creates an air wall to block the attack, but he ends up flying back. Nine slowly gets back up a few seconds later.
"That was a good attack," said Nine.
"We're not done!" exclaimed Joshua.
Nine looks up and sees Joshua flying towards him at top speed.
"Prepare to be defeated! Cali Smash!" exclaimed Joshua.
Joshua tries to punch Nine, but the punch is blocked by Nine's air wall. Even though the block was attacked, Nine flies back even farther than before.
"I thought that you wanted to stick to the plan," said Bakugo.
"You have to adapt in these types of situations," said Joshua.
Nine slowly gets back up.
"It looks like the cavalry has arrived," said Nine.
"Prepare to die!" exclaimed Bakugo.
"Your cockiness will be your downfall," said Nine.
"I doubt it," said Joshua.
Nine puts his right hand forward and starts to shoot lasers at the three boys. The three boys easily dodge them. Izuku charges at Nine and tries to punch him, but Nine blocks his attack with an air wall. Izuku jumps back and lands next to Joshua.
"We can't fight him one on one. He easily blocks everything we throw at him," said Izuku.
"We have to attack him at all angles at the same time if we want to land a hit on him," said Joshua.
"Follow me, nerds!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Bakugo charges Nine.
"I guess we have to follow the leader," said Joshua.
Joshua and Izuku run and follow Bakugo. Bakugo launches a few small explosions at Nine and Nine easily blocks them with his air wall.
"You guys use the same tactic. You won't win," said Nine.
"You are stupid," said Bakugo.
"What do you mean?" asked Nine.
"Behind you!" exclaimed Joshua.
Nine turns his head and sees Joshua's fist inches away from his face. Nine barely has enough time to create an air wall to block the attack.
"Don't forget about me!" exclaimed Izuku.
Nine turns his head and sees Izuku's foot inches away from his side. Nine creates an air wall to block this sneak attack.
"You are an idiot!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Nine looks up and receives a large explosion to his temple. The explosion blows Joshua and Izuku away. The explosion also breaks Nine's mask. Bakugo lands on the ground and runs towards his two classmates.
"Is he down?" asked Joshua.
"I don't know, but he should be. I packed a lot of power into that-" said Bakugo.
"Move!" exclaimed Joshua.
Joshua pushes Bakugo out of the way before he is hit with a laser.
"I won't lose," said Nine.
Nine shoots a barrage of lasers at the three heroes. The three heroes spread out and dodge the lasers.
"I'm done playing these games," said Nine.
Two blue dragons come out of his back and rocket towards the three heroes.
"We have to avoid those dragons," said Joshua.
"That should be pretty e-," said Bakugo.
Before Bakugo can finish speaking, a blue dragon grabs him and smashes him into the mountain.
"Kacchan!" exclaimed Izuku.
Pay attention!" exclaimed Joshua.
Joshua runs towards Izuku and pushes him out of the way. The blue dragon grabs Joshua and smashes him into the mountain.
"Joshua!" exclaimed Izuku.
"Grab Mahoro and Katsuma and get them off the island!" exclaimed Joshua.
"What about you and Kacchan?" asked Izuku.
"We'll find a way out. Now, go!" said Joshua.
"I'll come back for you both!" exclaimed Izuku.
"Stop wasting time and get out of here you damn nerd!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Izuku takes one more look at his two classmates and jumps into the air. He lands in front of Jiro, Ojiro, and Shoji.
"We have to change the plan," said Izuku.
"What are you talking about?" asked Jiro.
"I'm taking them off the island," said Izuku.
"Why?" asked Ojiro.
"Nine's stronger than we thought. We have to get them out of here," said Izuku.
"Where are you going to take them?" asked Shoji.
"To U.A. I have the directions programmed into my suit," said Izuku.
"Go and take them," said Shoji.
"I'll be back in like ten minutes," said Izuku.
Izuku runs up to the siblings.
"I'm Deku and I'm going to get you to safety," said Izuku.
"What about Mr. Josh?" asked Katsuma.
"He'll be fine. He wants me to escort you two off the island until the battle is over," said Izuku.
"Is he winning?" asked Mahoro.
Izuku nods his head.
"We have to get moving. It's too dangerous out here. Take my hand," said Izuku.
Izuku sticks both of his hands out. The siblings grab them and Izuku rockets into the air. Joshua looks up and sees Izuku flying in the air.
"It looks like Izuku has gotten the kids out. Now, my plan can begin," said Joshua.
"What plan? We were already following your damn plan," said Bakugo.
"That was just the first version of it. Now, we can use the second iteration," said Joshua.
"What's the second version?" asked Bakugo.
"This," said Joshua.
Joshua starts to scream. Lightning sparks around him. Red vein-like lines appear around his body. His hair starts to float like he's in front of a large fan.
"What the hell kind of transformation is that?" asked Bakugo.
"It's going to help us win, but I need your help," said Joshua.
"What do you need me to do?" asked Bakugo.
"Take this," said Joshua.
Joshua reaches into his utility belt and grabs a tube full of serum. He tosses it in Bakugo's direction and Bakugo catches it.
"What is this?" asked Bakugo.
"I took some of the quirk-destroying drugs that the Shie Hassaikai created and re-engineered them. I turned them into quirk boosters. If you drink that, you will become stronger for a few minutes. That should be long enough to charge up my attack," said Joshua.
"I'll hold this bastard off for more than a few minutes," said Bakugo.
Bakugo takes the cap off of the tube and drinks the serum. He starts to twitch and make weird faces.
"I should have warned you that the drug is pretty strong," said Joshua.
"I'm stronger!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Bakugo moves his hand and launches a gigantic explosion, destroying the blue dragon keeping him pinned to the mountain. Joshua opens up the mouth of the dragon and flies into the air. He starts to charge up his Heartbreaker Beam. Bakugo rockets towards Nine.
"Are you coming after me alone? You couldn't win with your two buddies. How will you win now?" said Nine.
"I don't need any help! My current strength surpasses everyone in the world!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Bakugo launches a giant explosion towards Nine. Thinking that he can just block the attack with an air wall, he creates one, but the air wall doesn't protect him from Bakugo's explosion. The explosion breaks through the air wall and Nine flies back.
"How did he get so strong? I need his quirk," said Nine.
Nine starts to shoot lasers at Bakugo, but Bakugo easily dodges them and launches another giant explosion at him. This explosion blows up the rest of Nine's mask and part of his suit. Nine kneels in pain.
"How did you get so strong! Give me your quirk boy!" exclaimed Nine.
"You can have it," said Bakugo.
Bakugo launches another giant explosion and blows up even more of Nine's suit. Nine slowly starts to get up a couple minutes later.
"This guy won't go down. How much longer do you need?" said Bakugo.
"I don't need any more time!" exclaimed Joshua.
"Then, here he comes!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Bakugo runs over to Nine and grabs him. He throws him over to Joshua.
"That was a weird decision, but it will work," thought Joshua.
Joshua grabs Nine and throws him higher into the sky.
"You won't die, but you will not commit any more crimes. Heartbreaker Beam!" said Joshua.
The center of Joshua's suit opens and reveals a green energy that blasts out and hits Nine. The beam creates a small explosion in the air. Nine's unconscious body falls to the ground. Joshua lands on the ground and walks over to the unconscious body of Nine.
"Now, he's out," said Joshua.
"That's my win," said Bakugo.
"Huh?" asked Joshua.
"I did the majority of the damage, so I won," said Bakugo.
"This isn't a game. This guy's dangerous," said Joshua.
"Your concerns just make my victory even better," said Bakugo.
"Whatever. We should go find the rest of the class. Izuku will be back with pro heroes soon," said Joshua.
"That quirk amplifying drug is very helpful. You should make more of that stuff," said Bakugo.
"I would, but I'm not a drug dealer," said Joshua.
"This island is pretty beautiful," said Bakugo.
"It's unusual for you to admire the beauty of a piece of land in the middle of the ocean. I'm glad you like this place. You'll be spending a lot of time here," said Joshua.
"What does that mean?" asked Bakugo.
"I promised Katsuma that I, Izuku, and you will train him every summer," said Joshua.
"You promised him what! I didn't sign up for that crap!" exclaimed Bakugo.
"I know you didn't. Just prepare to spend a lot of free time being a sensei to a future hero," said Joshua.
Bakugo starts to speed walk towards Joshua.
"I'm not done talking to you, nerd!" exclaimed Joshua.
"You may not be done talking with me, but I'm done talking to you. Have a good day Katsuki," said Joshua.
"Damn you, you stupid nerd!" exclaimed Bakugo.