Chapter 39
To The Battlefield
Three weeks have passed since Endeavor proved to his internees and his family that he has changed. Currently, Endeavor is sitting on his porch, looking at the street in front of him. Joshua opens the door and sits on the porch beside Endeavor.
"Fuyumi's cooking is amazing," said Joshua.
"That's pretty obvious. She works very hard and puts love into her cooking," said Endeavor.
"Tomorrow is coming quickly. That must be the reason why you invited us to dinner," said Joshua.
"What are you talking about?" asked Endeavor.
"I know about Shigaraki and his army of villains that want to destroy this society. I know that you, All Might, and the rest of the pros will raid the hospital that Doctor Garaki or Ujiko works out of," said Joshua.
"How do you know all of this stuff?" asked Endeavor.
"I have money and contacts," said Joshua.
"I shouldn't be surprised that a rich kid like you was able to figure out what we're doing tomorrow," said Endeavor.
"Do you think that we'll die?" asked Joshua.
"Huh?" asked Endeavor.
"You asked us to come to dinner the night before an important and dangerous mission. You must believe that something could go wrong tomorrow," said Joshua.
"As long as you guys follow orders and they don't get too aggressive, you guys should be fine," said Endeavor.
"How is it going at home?" asked Joshua.
"What do you mean?" asked Endeavor.
"You claim to want to change, so how is your metamorphosis affecting your family?" asked Joshua.
"I guess I'm making progress. Fuyumi acts the same way and Shoto talks to me more. Natsu almost called me dad for once. I guess home life is going alright," said Endeavor.
"That's good. I love a redemption story," said Joshua.
"It's kind of weird to be talking to you. You didn't like me when you first came to my agency a month ago," said Endeavor.
"You have changed. When Shoto told me his backstory at the sports festival, I thought that you were just a piece of garbage for how you treated your wife and children. It's still hard to believe that someone, as messed up as you, could change in like a year and a half," said Joshua.
"I took a look in the mirror and finally understood that I will most likely never become the number one hero and I can't force Shoto to become something that I wanted to. He is a different person than me and I can't force him to be me," said Endeavor.
"I'm a good liar and I can tell if someone's lying. You're telling the truth," said Joshua.
"Sometimes, I fear that I will revert to what I used to be if I have one bad day. I don't want to regress, I want to continue to become a better person," said Endeavor.
"Changing yourself to become a better person is hard and it's a long process, but if you persevere and try to change, you will change. Your past self isn't a disease. It won't affect you anymore as long as you work hard to improve yourself," said Joshua.
"You're very wise for your age, kid," said Endeavor.
"I get that a lot. I'm good with words," said Joshua.
"I can tell. If becoming a hero doesn't work, you should become a psychologist," said Endeavor.
"Being a psychologist sounds boring," said Joshua.
"A psychologist is helpful," said Endeavor.
"I'm a man of action. Just sitting and talking doesn't work for me," said Joshua.
"I understand. You're young, but you'll change," said Endeavor.
Joshua stands up.
"Let's spar," said Joshua.
"What?" asked Endeavor.
"I'm just making sure that you don't get rusty for the mission. Plus, I want to see how I stack up against the top heroes," said Joshua.
Endeavor stands up.
"Fine. Let's go to the backyard," said Endeavor.
Endeavor and Joshua walk to the backyard. They position themselves ten feet from each other.
"I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're a kid," said Endeavor.
"There's no need to go easy on me. I don't need my suit to beat you," said Joshua.
"Don't get cocky. Let's begin," said Endeavor.
Endeavor quickly launches a wave of fire at Joshua and he jumps over it. Joshua goes on the offensive and charges at the number two hero. Endeavor tries to prevent Joshua from getting closer by launching fireballs at Joshua, but he dodges them by either ducking over moving from side to side. Joshua gets up close and jumps in the air. He punches Endeavor in the face and Endeavor falls back. Joshua jumps up and kicks Endeavor in the face. Endeavor falls back some more. Joshua runs up to him and uppercuts him. Endeavor flies a few feet in the air. Joshua jumps once again and kicks him in the stomach. Endeavor falls to the ground and Joshua stands above him.
"You lose," said Joshua.
"I was going easy on you. I couldn't destroy my house," said Endeavor.
"All I hear are excuses," said Joshua.
Joshua puts his hand out and Endeavor grabs it. Joshua picks him up.
"That was a good spar. You're faster than I thought," said Endeavor.
"I work out a lot," said Joshua.
"I can see. Those punches will leave me sore for a little while," said Endeavor.
"Your flames hurt. I'll probably need to get these burns checked before tomorrow," said Joshua.
"Maybe I should have held back more," said Endeavor.
"If you held back more, my win would have been even easier to acquire," said Joshua.
"Shut it," said Endeavor jokingly.
Unbeknownst to them, Natsu, Fuyumi, Izuku, Bakugo, and Shoto were watching them from the kitchen's window the entire time.
"Dad is changing," thought Natsu.
Thirteen hours pass. After a good dinner and a friendly spar, Joshua and hundreds of heroes stand in the forest, awaiting for the raid to begin. Joshua looks at a hologram that appears on his right gauntlet.
"Three minutes until the mission starts. Are any of you nervous?" said Joshua.
"I'm pumped to destroy some villains!" exclaimed Bakugo.
"There's no room to be nervous or scared. This mission will alter the fate of this society. We can't fail," said Izuku.
"I refuse to allow these evil villains to destroy the world that we live in because they can! As Ingenium, I will protect the world from this scum!" exclaimed Ida.
"That's what I like to hear!" exclaimed Joshua.
Joshua looks at his gauntlet and sees that the timer has reached zero. The timer starts to ring a loud noise.
"That's our cue! Let's get moving!' exclaimed Joshua.
"Plus Ultra!" exclaimed the group.
Forty minutes pass. Joshua's group stands inside of a neighboring city, evacuating civilians and waiting for more orders. Joshua sees that his friend is shocked by something and walks up to him.
"What's wrong? You said that today was no day to be scared," said Joshua.
"He's coming," said Izuku.
"Who's coming?" asked Joshua.
"Shigaraki. I can just feel it," said Izuku.
"I'm going to trust you," said Joshua.
Joshua taps his communicator and starts to speak to the entire group.
"I fear that this city will become a warzone in minutes. We have to wrap up the evacuation process quickly. We can't let innocent people die," said Joshua.
The group starts to look for and evacuate civilians faster.
"Hopefully we can-" thought Joshua.
Before Joshua can finish talking, he hears an explosion. He turns around to see that the hospital has exploded. The group is in shock that the hospital has exploded.
"What the hell is going on?" asked Bakugo.
A few seconds pass before the entire mountain starts to decay and falls apart. Everything on the mountain starts to come off of it and falls towards the city.
"Get everyone out of here!" exclaimed Bakugo.
"Everyone move! Izuku and I will deal with this landslide!" exclaimed Joshua.
"Let's go!" exclaimed Izuku.
Joshua charges one hundred percent of One For All in his right gauntlet.
"St Louis Smash: Forty-Five Percent!" exclaimed Izuku.
"Detroit Smash!" exclaimed Joshua.
The two heroes punch and kick the air. The combined attack creates a giant shockwave that destroys the windows of nearby buildings, but it doesn't stop the landslide.
"How is it possible for the landslide to not be destroyed? We practically put our all into that attack," said Joshua.
"It isn't just a regular landslide. Look," said Izuku.
Joshua looks ahead and sees that everything around the landslide is decaying.
"Everything is turning into dust. Shigaraki is coming," said Joshua.
"Move out of the way!" exclaimed Shoto.
Joshua and Izuku turn around and see Shoto running towards them. Joshua and Izuku move out of the way.
"Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall!" exclaimed Shoto.
Shot flicks his wrist and creates a giant ice wall, but the landslide just decays it.
"Nothing can stop the landslide! We have to get moving!" exclaimed Joshua.
Joshua, Shoto, and Izuku run towards the rest of the group. Joshua taps his communicator and tries to get in contact with Endeavor.
"Endeavor! What the hell is going on!" exclaimed Joshua.
"One For All," said Endeavor.
"Why did you say One For All?" asked Joshua.
"He's coming for One For All," said Endeavor.
"What do we do over here?" asked Joshua.
"Prepare for battle because he's flying towards your sector," said Endeavor.
"Ok," said Joshua.
Joshua turns and looks at Izuku.
"We have to get you someplace safe. Come on," said Joshua.
"What about everyone else?" asked Izuku.
"Shigaraki is coming for One For All. If he gets it, he will be unstoppable. We can't let that happen, so come and follow me," said Joshua.
"Ok," said Izuku.
Joshua and Izuku start to run.
"Shoto, I'm putting you in charge!" exclaimed Joshua.
"I won't let you down," said Shoto.
"I know you won't!" exclaimed Joshua.
"Don't you dare leave without me!" exclaimed Bakugo.
"Bakugo, why do you want to come with us?" asked Joshua.
"As a hero, I have to protect everyone, even heroes," said Bakugo.
"Shigaraki is after me," said Izuku.
"I'll crush him," said Bakugo.
"No, we'll crush him," said Joshua.
Joshua taps his communicator once again.
"Endeavor, I'm moving Izuku to a safe place," said Joshua.
"What!" exclaimed Endeavor.
"Shigaraki is chasing after Izuku's quirk. If I'm able to move him away as far as possible, I can reduce casualties," said Joshua.
"Fine. If you want to play a game of cat and mouse, I'll tell you where he's going," said Endeavor.
"Where is he now?" asked Joshua.
"He just changed course. He's now heading southwest. I'll try to lure him away," said Endeavor.
"Thanks. That will help a-" said Joshua.
Before Joshua can finish his sentence, he hears a boom behind him. He turns around and sees buildings in the air. He turns around and sees Shigaraki only a few feet in front of him. Shigaraki holds his hand out.
"Give me One For All, Izuku Midoriya," said Shigaraki.
Before the three boys are killed, Gran Torino grabs them and flies away.
"Gran Torino!" exclaimed Izuku.
"When I heard One For All on the comms, I had a bad feeling. Were you boys going to fight that thing?" said Gran Torino.
"Maybe," said Joshua.
"Shigaraki's decay can kill or destroy anything. You guys don't stand a chance but don't count the heroes out. The rest of them will take down that monster," said Gran Torino.
Gran Torino and the three boys jump away for three minutes until they find an abandoned building.
"I have to go. I have to keep Eraserhead mobile," said Gran Torino.
"Should we just hide? Is he that powerful?" asked Izuku.
"They say that All For One transferred his quirk to Shigaraki," said Gran Torino.
"Does that mean that that weakling became the most powerful villain overnight?" asked Bakugo.
"Pretty much," said Gran Torino.
"How will we win?" asked Joshua.
"I don't know, but we can't give up. If we can't defeat one guy, why should this society even exist," said Gran Torino.
"Umm. I think they've found us," said Izuku.
Joshua, Bakugo, and Gran Torino turn their heads to see high-end nomu flying and on the ground. Gran Torino. Gran Torino sees two high-end nomu walking towards Aizawa.
"Eraserhead is being targeted by the nomu! Stay hidden!" exclaimed Gran Torino.
Gran Torino rockets towards Aizawa. Shigaraki walks towards Aizawa.
"You're cool and all, Eraserhead, but you're in my way," said Shigaraki.
"No, you're in my way," said Aizawa.
"Well, it looks like I will have to take you out," said Shigaraki smugly.
"Never!" exclaimed Joshua.
Shigaraki turns his head and receives a punch to the face specially delivered by Joshua. Shigaraki flies through three buildings.
"Joshua," said Aizawa.
"Did you believe that we would just sit here and let our sensei die?" asked Joshua.
"You've been protecting us since day one. It's our turn to return the favor," said Izuku.
Aizawa turns around to see Izuku and Bakugo standing behind him.
"Let us put this clown in his place," said Bakugo.
"I would love the help, but-" said Aizawa.
"No buts. As heroes, it's our responsibility to protect each other and watch each others' backs," said Joshua.
"Just sit back. We can deal with Shigaraki," said Izuku.
"If you want to fight him, pay attention. He's getting back up," said Aizawa.
Shigaraki walks towards the three heroes.
"That was a good right hook. If I was my old weak self, I would have probably died from that one punch," said Shigaraki.
"You'll die from this!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Bakugo jumps up and prepares to launch an explosion.
"AP Shot: Machine Gun!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Bakugo launches multiple explosions at Shigaraki. Shigaraki practically tanks the explosions.
"I'm not interested in you at the moment, Bakugo," said Shigaraki.
"You may not be interested in me, but you will be interested in him," said Bakugo.
"Who are you talking about?" asked Shigaraki.
"Detroit Smash!" exclaimed All Might.
Shigaraki turns his head and is punched by All Might. Shigaraki is sent flying for miles.
"All Might," said Izuku.
"There's nothing to worry about because I am here," said All Might.
"I guess that we can win if you're here," said Joshua.
"I can just smell All For One's quirk on that boy," said All Might.
"He's very powerful and we can't take him down just using regular attacks," said Joshua.
"How much time do you need?" asked All Might.
"What are you talking about?" asked Joshua.
"You said that we can't beat him with regular attacks, so ultimates should work," said All Might.
"Do you believe that you can take him on?" asked Joshua.
"If he is as powerful as All For One, it's my destiny to fight him," said All Might.
"Five minutes," said Joshua.
"I can last way longer than that," said All Might.
Shigaraki rockets towards All Might.
"All Might! I have been waiting for this day to finally come! You will die by my hands, you bast-" exclaimed Shigaraki.
Shigaraki is unable to finish his statement before All Might grabs his face.
"You talk too much," said All Might.
All Might throws Shigaraki through multiple buildings. Before Shigaraki can go through another building, All Might appears behind him and kicks him through even more buildings. All Might appears behind Shigaraki once again and smacks him, sending him flying to the ground. All Might lands on the ground and knees Shigaraki in the stomach. Shigaraki spits out blood and falls to his knees.
"Impossible. This power should allow me to kill you. Why doesn't it? Why doesn't it!" said Shigaraki.
"Love and heroism always stomp villainy. Now, it's time to get put away," said All Might.
All Might grabs Shigaraki and throws him in the direction of the heroes. After flying for a few seconds, Shigaraki lands on the ground. He slowly gets up and turns around to see all of the heroes charging their ultimate attacks.
"This can't be," said Shigaraki.
"Now! Ultimate Pro Hero Finisher: Villain Crusher!" exclaimed Joshua.
The combination of every ultimate from half of the heroes force is launched at Shigaraki and hits him. The impact creates a giant explosion that destroys many buildings and creates a huge shockwave. The smoke clears after a couple minutes to reveal Shigaraki's nearly dead body lying on the ground and the pros and students unconscious or nearly unconscious all around the battlefield. Joshua slowly tries to get up, but his legs are stuck under rubble. He looks up and sees the scarred face of the League of Villain's fire manipulator.
"Kid, we need to stop meeting like this," said Dabi.
"I don't feel like dealing with you right now," said Joshua.