Chapter 43
Graduation
Two hours have passed since Joshua apprehended the assassin Lady Nagant and former Yakuza leader Kai Chisaki. Currently, Izuku rides his motorcycle through the dark streets of Osaka. He continues to ride his bike until he reaches a garage. The garage door opens and Izuku rides his bike into the garage. The door closes and the floor sinks to the bottom of a large cave. Instead of there just being rocks and water, there's a giant supercomputer, multiple vehicles, jail cells, suits, and multiple platforms. Izuku rides to the center of the hideout and hops off his bike.
"How was your talk with your mom?" asked Joshua.
"It went well. She was practically the same as she was two years ago. She also made too much food, so she gave you some leftovers," said Izuku.
"Your mom's cooking is amazing, but I'm not hungry. I have to work," said Joshua.
Izuku looks at the jail cells and sees the assassin and the Yakuza leader occupying them.
"Who are those people?" asked Izuku.
"Kai Chisaki and Lady Nagant. I brought them here because we need them. They can give us clues on where All For One is," said Joshua.
"What if they don't talk?" asked Izuku.
"They will," said Joshua.
Joshua gets up from his seat and walks over to the cells. Izuku follows his friends and does the same thing. Joshua puts in a keycode and the cell door opens. Lady Nagant slowly opens her eyes and sees the two vigilantes looking at her.
"Where am I?" asked Lady Nagant.
"You're in our hideout. I know that you're working for All For One, but I need to know why," said Joshua.
"Why do you need to know that?" asked Lady Nagant.
"We need to defeat All For One. He's pure evil and wants to destroy everything and everyone. You can help us save the world. You used to be a hero, so I know that you're not a complete piece of trash, so please tell us what we need to know," said Izuku.
"When I was young, I used to look up to heroes. I thought that heroes were so cool and I wanted to be one more than anything. I was very naive back then. When I became a hero, I wasn't All Might or Hawks or Endeavor. I was a murderer. You young boys probably don't understand, but many villains and criminals that are a danger to this society don't make it to a court of law. They're murdered by people like me. Murdering villains is supposed to be illegal, but heroes like me were ordered to kill. How can a society exist if it's built off of lies and murder? I guess public safety was just a coverup for all the messed up stuff that went down," said Lady Nagant.
"I know that this society is pretty bad, but what could push you to work with the most ultimate evil to ever exist?" asked Joshua.
"I was tired of killing. I was tired of pretending to be a hero, so I confronted my boss, the public safety chairman. He just couldn't understand me, so I killed him," said Lady Nagant.
"You killed the chairman? I should've known," said Joshua.
"That's not how it was reported. The news said he died in a car accident," said Izuku.
"Don't you get it? This society is fragile. They will never tell you anything about disputes or rebellions. It's all to protect their false image. What do you think will happen if you defeat All For One? This society will just stay the same. A future with All For One ruling the world would be better than whatever this society is," said Lady Nagant.
"You're wrong. My dream is to become the number one hero and I will. I may be a vigilante for now, but I will gain my hero license and become number one. I know that this society is messed up and corrupt, but I want to fix it. No, I need to fix it. I need to make this world a better place for all of the people who live in it, but I can't do it alone. You have seen the dark side of this society. You may be a little confused, but I know that you want to protect people, not kill them. If you work with us, you can become a hero and save everyone from the plight of All For One. We can change the world together. Please, help us," said Joshua.
"I don't know," said Lady Nagant.
"You're not on All For One's side. If you were, you wouldn't have listened to us. You would have fought until you were nothing but dust. I can see it in your eyes. You're being swayed by our words. You're still a hero at heart, so please let us help you. We can repair the cracks in this broken society together" said Izuku.
"Even though you two are technically vigilantes, you're more heroic than most heroes these days. If you want to fix this broken society, you can count on me to help," said Lady Nagant.
A large crack is heard in Joshua's communicator and the voice of the ultimate evil is heard.
"Hearts can be swayed easily. That's why I prepared for her failure," said All For One.
"How did you tap into our frequency? It should be impossible," said Joshua.
"I have done many impossible things during my lifetime. Nothing is impossible for me to accomplish. Say goodbye to your new friend," said All For One.
"All For One knows that we're here. We have to get her out of here," said Joshua.
"How did he do that? I thought that it was supposed to be impossible to tap into our frequency," said Izuku.
"He's a man that can do the impossible. Let's go," said Joshua.
Joshua grabs Lady Nagant and runs to his car. He places her in the backseat and hops into the large vehicle.
"Izuku, hop on your bike. You should be able to track All For One's frequency to his location. He won't escape from us," said Joshua.
"Where are you going?" asked Izuku.
"I'm taking her to an old friend. She'll be safe there," said Joshua.
Joshua reverses out of the hideout and drives onto a platform. The platform moves up to ground level and the garage door quickly opens. Joshua punches the accelerator and zooms out of the garage. He zooms through the streets of the Japanese city and he doesn't stop. He reaches the downtown area of the city and zooms into a parking garage. He hops out of his car and taps the center of his suit. His suit falls off of him like it was a bunch of LEGO bricks and balls up. Joshua sticks the balled-up suit in his pocket and quickly runs to the back of his car. He opens the door and grabs Lady Nagant. He runs to the elevator with the assassin in his arms and quickly taps the button to go up. The elevator door opens and Joshua quickly moves into it. Joshua quickly taps the button for the top floor and the elevator rockets up.
"Why are you doing this for someone like me? I wanted to kill you a couple hours ago," said Lady Nagant.
"We're no longer enemies. You're my ally, so I have to protect you from my enemies. Don't worry. A very smart woman owns this building. She'll protect you," said Joshua.
The elevator reaches the top floor in a couple minutes. He runs out of the elevator and runs up to a large office. He quickly opens the door and shocks the frightened CEO.
"Waah! Who is it?" said the CEO.
"It's me, sis. I need your help," said Joshua.
The CEO puts her glasses back on and sees her little brother standing in front of the door.
"Josh, why are you here?" asked Osen.
"She needs help. All For One is going to do something to her. I believe that a bomb has been planted in her and it needs to be taken out surgically," said Joshua.
"Why didn't you take her to the hospital?" asked Osen.
"You went to medical school and were top of your class. You may not be a doctor, but you have stitched me up and healed my wounds multiple times. I know you can do this," said Joshua.
"Fine. Bring her here," said Osen.
Joshua runs over to the table and places Lady Nagant's body on it. Osen grabs a large medkit and places it on the table.
"Where do you believe it is?" asked Osen.
"Check all of the vital parts of her body. All For One kills people all of the time," said Joshua.
"This will take a little time. If you can't help, I'll advise you to step outside until I'm done," said Osen.
"Good. I have to help Izuku. I think that we've finally found All For One," said Joshua.
"Do you need help? Akuyaku would love to put a dent in All For One's face," said Osen.
"It's my responsibility to take him down. I only need Izuku's help. Just wish me good luck," said Joshua.
"Go get him, tiger," said Osen.
Joshua runs out of the office and enters the elevator. He taps the garage button and the elevator rockets down to the garage. The elevator opens and Joshua runs to his car. He opens the door and enters it. His phone starts to ring and he picks it up.
"Izuku, have you found All For One?" asked Joshua.
"I tracked the frequency and I found a large house in the Haibori Forest. I don't know if he's in here, but I'll need help if he is," said Izuku.
"I'll be there in minutes," said Joshua.
Joshua hits the accelerator and zooms out of the parking garage. He moves at top speed and moves through the Japanese countryside and cityscapes like a rocket. He reaches the Haibori Forest in ten minutes. He hops out of his car and pulls out his balled-up suit. He clicks the button and his suit attaches to his body. He jogs over to his ally, surveying the land with his binoculars.
"He isn't in there is he?" asked Joshua.
"No. I can't see any heat signatures," said Izuku.
"He may not be in there, but we still have to investigate. He always leaves us clues to taunt us," said Joshua.
"This is a trap," said Izuku.
"You don't think I already know that? Trap or not, we have to see what's inside," said Joshua.
Joshua and Izuku walk up to the large house. They walk up to the door and kick it down. They see a large room with no furniture.
"There's nothing here," said Izuku.
"Did you guys enjoy the talk with Lady Nagant?" asked All For One.
The two vigilantes turn their heads and see a hologram of All For One on a table.
"Why did you bring us here?" asked Joshua.
"I just wanna talk. Joshua, you saved a girl that wanted to kill you and allow me to take over the world. I would call that stupid, but being dumb is what being a hero is considered to be," said All For One.
"Did you come here to make fun of us or do you want to kill us?" asked Izuku.
"Be patient, young Midoriya. We'll get to that later. Back to the important stuff. Lady Nagant chose to do this voluntarily. I didn't force her to do this. The people who fall are considered villains. In this controlled society, you either fit in or not. You two should know that because you both were born quirkless. Bullied and harassed because you were different. It doesn't matter if it's a democracy or dictatorship. The origins are always the same because it's human nature to oppress people that are born different. You two have taken a hard path. Even though you guys were supposed to be "hiding", you still decided to fight the good fight and fix this society. While I was stuck in prison, I never stopped thinking about All Might's successors. I'm no longer interested in that wannabe Superman. You're my next targets," said All For One.
"Ok, potato face. What's your game? Are you trying to recruit us to join your League of Villains?" said Joshua.
"No. No. No. I like the chase. I gave you chances to join me, but you threw them back in my face. I don't want you guys on my side," said All For One.
"If you wanted to kill Lady Nagant, you would have blown up the bomb in her body. You can tap into our frequencies, so you can hear our conversations. You can hack our tech. You most likely implanted a tracking device into Lady Nagant. That's how you knew that she was in our hideout. I guess my question is why are we here?" said Joshua.
"Listen, boys. You're next!" said All For One.
Before the two boys can react, they hear a loud ticking sound. The loud ticking sound stops and the house explodes. As the house catches fire, Izuku grabs Joshua's arm and helps him out of the house. Izuku walks a few feet away from the house before falling to the ground.
"He tried to kill us this time. I told you that we shouldn't have gone in that house," said Izuku.
"We aren't dead, so we still have work to do," said Joshua.
Joshua slowly gets up. Izuku follows his lead.
"You're injured. I'm taking you to Osen," said Izuku.
"No. There's a group of petty villains rioting in Musutafu. We have to get there," said Joshua.
"You need medical assistance," said Izuku.
"I'll get some after we take down those villains. Let's go," said Joshua.
Joshua slowly walks to his car and hops in. He steps on the accelerator and zooms off. He rockets towards the town that he considered home two years ago. He reaches the city in only a couple minutes. He sees a large crowd of villains and drives towards them. He stops a few feet in front of the group and hops out. He grabs some electric disks out of his utility belt and throws them at the villains, electrocuting them. He sees a boy shaking nervously on the ground and runs up to him.
"Are you ok, boy?" asked Joshua.
"Shadowstriker, you came back," said the boy.
"I never left. Where's your mother?" said Joshua.
"I don't know," said the boy.
"Stay in my car. We'll go find her together later," said Joshua.
"Ok," said the boy.
The young boy runs to the car and enters it. Joshua turns around and sees the large group of people standing behind a big hunchback.
"You're Dictator, right? I already took on an assassin tonight and I defeated her with ease. You don't look like a challenge," said Joshua.
"Lady Nagant is nothing compared to me. I have the numbers advantage. Numbers always win," said Dictator.
"Tell me where All For One is and I won't put you in a wheelchair," said Joshua.
"I refuse," said Dictator.
"It's your funeral," said Joshua.
"My funeral? How will I die if I can use all of these idiots to my advantage!" said Dictator.
Like a puppet master, Dictator moves his hand and the people dart towards Joshua.
"I can't control my body!" exclaimed a citizen.
"Please save us, Shadowstriker!" exclaimed another citizen.
Hesitant to fight innocent citizens, Joshua reaches into his utility belt and pulls out three gas bombs. He throws them at the conglomerate of puppets and gas spills out, causing all of the citizens to fall.
"What was that? Why can't they move?" asked Dictator.
"I hit them with a gas that blocks their nerves. They won't be able to move for the next 24 hours. You're next," said Joshua.
Dictator turns around and tries to run away, but Joshua grabs an ice disk and throws it at him. The disk hits him and he gets frozen in place. Joshua slowly walks up to him.
"You should be glad I froze you. You needed to chill out," said Joshua.
"Quirkless nerd! Did you believe that we wouldn't find you!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Joshua looks up at the rooftop and sees his former classmates.
"Long time no see, Katsuki," said Joshua.