Chapter 44
Bad Guy
Izuku watches his injured friend slowly enter his car and drive off. The green-haired boy walks over to his motorcycle and zooms off. He zooms through the Japanese countryside, staring at the full moon in the sky. He continues to drive until his phone starts to ring. He pulls his phone out of his utility belt and answers it.
"Who is this?" asked Izuku.
"Akuyaku Girai, big brother of your friend, Shadowstriker," said Akuyaku.
"Aku, why are you calling?" asked Izuku.
"Osen gave me a call after Josh dropped that assassin off in her office. Why didn't you guys ask for help? I'm good at what I do," said Akuyaku.
"He believes that it's our responsibility to take down All For One. I think he has too much pride to ask for help," said Izuku.
"That sounds like him. He believes that just because he has tech and skills that he doesn't need help. He needs more than prep time to defeat All For One," said Akuyaku.
"I try to tell him that too, but he doesn't listen. Do you have the same problem?" said Izuku.
"Of course. I had to raise him since dad was always working," said Akuyaku.
"Why did you call me and not him? You guys are brothers after all," said Izuku.
"He went to see Eri a few hours ago. If he wanted to talk to me, he would. That's why I didn't call him," said Akuyaku.
"I'm currently en route to a riot in downtown Musutafu. Do you want to help us?" said Izuku.
"I'm good. You kids should be able to deal with a petty old riot," said Akuyaku.
"See you later I guess," said Izuku.
"Ditto," said Akuyaku.
Izuku hangs up the call and places his phone back in his utility belt.
"This riot should just be a routine situation. What could go wrong?" said Izuku.
Back in downtown Musatafu, Joshua stares at his former classmates standing on the rooftop above him.
"You guys are third years now. You guys sure have grown," said Joshua.
"You should have grown with us, but you decided to leave for two years," said Ida.
"Don't act like I'm the bad guy. Izuku and I made this world a better place by traveling around the world and fighting crime. We inspired so many to also protect their cities and neighborhoods. We have done more in two years than you guys will probably do in your careers," said Joshua.
"We're just worried about you," said Ochaco.
"I'm fine. I have a designated medic and a powerful ally that I patrol with. You guys don't have to worry," said Joshua.
"Your crusade against All For One needs to end, dude. Nezu said he would allow you to come back to U.A even though you broke the law by becoming a vigilante," said Kirishima.
"I don't want to return to U.A. I can fix this society if I focus on saving and protecting people instead of learning useless mathematics techniques," said Joshua.
"That wasn't a request, you damn nerd," said Bakugo.
Bakugo, Momo, Ochaco, and Ida hop off the rooftop and land in front of the vigilante.
"All Might ordered you guys to come get me. This broken society doesn't look past the vigilante title," said Joshua.
"You're just spouting nonsense. You're coming with us," said Ida.
"You don't want to fight me and I don't want to fight you. I have a kid in my car who needs to find his mom. Let me go and we'll talk later," said Joshua.
"We can't do that," said Ochaco.
"The reason that I don't want to fight you is not that I would lose. It's because I would defeat you all with ease," said Joshua.
"You're very cocky," said Bakugo.
"I've been analyzing your quirks and weaknesses for years and I've formulated contingency plans for everyone if you guys decided to become evil. The most dangerous weapon in existence isn't a gun or a nuke or a missile. It's a genius with prep time," said Joshua.
"We're not afraid to fight you. I don't care how much prep time you have. We're going to take you in," said Momo.
"We'll talk later, Momo. See you guys later," said Joshua.
Joshua pulls out a few smoke bombs and throws them on the ground. Smoke disperses and covers the movements of the vigilantes.
"We can't just stand here and look. He's going to disappear if we just sit here and let it happen," said Momo.
"I'm on it," said Bakugo.
Bakugo slams his gauntlet on the ground.
"Blast Landmines!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Bakugo blows up the ground under Joshua. Joshua jumps up and pulls out his grappling hook. He grapples up to a neighboring rooftop.
"He grappled to the building! Koda, now!" exclaimed Momo.
"Help me save my friend, birds," said Koda.
A flock of birds rocket towards the vigilante. Instead of fighting the birds, Joshua runs across the rooftop. Before he can jump to another rooftop, he is wrapped by tape.
"You are an elusive one, Joshua, but I got you now," said Sero.
"STEPH, give him an electrical shock," said Joshua.
"Yes, sir," said STEPH.
Electricity covers Joshua's suit and electrocutes Sero to the point that he falls unconscious mid-air. The tape unwraps and Joshua reaches the next rooftop.
"You won't get away from me. Heartbeat Wall!" said Jiro.
Instead of knocking Jiro out, Joshua easily dodges her earjacks and continues to run.
"You're so fast, Joshua. I know that this isn't important, but during the school festival, you taught me how to organize my notes. That was very helpful and it made me super happy," said Jiro.
Joshua doesn't respond and continues to run. Before he can jump to the next rooftop, Joshua is grabbed by Ojiro's tail.
"Didn't you hear her! Why didn't you respond! Why don't you care!" exclaimed Ojiro.
"It's not that I don't care. I have things to do and you're just getting in my way," said Joshua.
Joshua grabs a couple electric disks out of his utility belt and sticks them to Ojiro's tail, electrocuting him. Ojiro lets go of Joshua and he grapples to the next rooftop.
"Go, Dark Shadow!" exclaimed Tokoyami.
Dark Shadow rockets towards Joshua. Joshua pulls out an explosive and throws it at the shadow bird. It explodes and stuns the shadowy quirk. Joshua grabs his grappling hook once again and grapples to another rooftop. Once he reaches the rooftop, Kaminari grabs him and throws him on the floor.
"I know that protecting One For All is important, but you're my friend and I'll force you to come with me," said Kaminari.
"Why can't you guys understand that I refuse to come back to U.A? No matter what you do or say, I'm not returning. Now, get off," said Joshua.
"Or what?" asked Kaminari.
"You're going to get the largest shock in the world," said Joshua.
"What do you mean?" asked Kaminari.
"This is what I mean," said Joshua.
Joshua's gloves start to spark with electricity. Joshua grabs Kaminari's face and starts to electrocute it. Kaminari screams in pain until his face becomes derpy. Joshua quickly gets up and starts to run.
"Ragnarok Womb!" exclaimed Shoji.
Shoji's arms engulf Joshua and stop him from moving.
"I think we got him," said Shoji.
Shoji believes that he captured the vigilante until he hears a beep. The beep gets louder and louder and louder until his arms explode. Joshua jumps off the building and starts to fly away.
"Heaven Piercing Ice Wall!" exclaimed Shoto.
Joshua is unable to keep flying when he gets stuck in the giant ice wall.
"Let us share this burden, Joshua. We are all friends at the end of the day," said Shoto.
"STEPH, give me a little heat," said Joshua.
"On it, sir," said STEPH.
The suit starts to melt the ice around Joshua and he can bust out of the ice wall. Joshua rockets through the sky until he's grabbed by a long tongue and smashed on a rooftop.
"I won't let you go. Defeating villains is all of our priorities. Let us defeat All For One together," said Tsuyu.
"You guys just don't get it. If I wanted help, I would have got it. Izuku and I are this close to defeating All For One. Leave us alone!" said Joshua.
Joshua grabs some ice disks and throws them at Tsuyu. They hit and Tsuyu freezes in place.
"Hagakure, you can't hide from me," said Joshua.
Hagakure tries to jump Joshua, but he just slaps her away.
"Going at him one by one isn't working. Bombard him," said Momo.
"We got him!" exclaimed Kirishima.
Kirishima and Aoyama hop onto the rooftop.
"You guys won't just give up, will you?" asked Joshua.
"Not a chance, ami," said Aoyama.
Kirishima hardens and tries to jump on Joshua, but he casually hits him with a right hook and Kirishima flies off the rooftop. Aoyama launches a few nasal beams at Joshua, but he casually dodges the beams. He then jumps up and kicks him in the face, knocking him out. Joshua turns around and sees Tokoyami and Sato running towards him. He grabs a bomb from his utility belt and throws it at Tokoyami. Tokoyami is unable to dodge it and it hits him. A large amount of light is emitted and Dark Shadow starts to go haywire.
"Calm down, Dark Shadow!" exclaimed Tokoyami.
Sato isn't stopped by the light explosive and continues to run towards the vigilante. Joshua pulls out Aizawa's scarf and wraps it around Sato. He then proceeds to spin around until Sato pukes. Then, Joshua lets go of the scarf and jumps on Sato. He headbutts him hard and knocks him out. Joshua proceeds to jump on Tokoyami and punch him a few times in the face, knocking him out.
"Mina, Ochaco, you're up," said Momo.
"He won't get past us," said Mina.
Mina and Ochaco stand on the rooftop in front of Joshua's rooftop.
"I doubt that you guys will just let me through," said Joshua.
"All Might told us to find you and bring you in. We won't disappoint him," said Mina.
Joshua grabs his grappling hook and the grapple hits a nearby rooftop. Instead of grappling to that rooftop, Joshua lands behind the two women. Mina turns around and tries to hit him with acid, but Joshua easily dodges the acid streams. Ochaco takes advantage of the distraction and tries to touch Joshua, but he easily jumps over her and kicks her in the face. Mina tries to shoot more acid at Joshua, but he grabs an explosive from his utility belt and throws it at the acid. The acid hits the explosive and it blows up. Mina nearly flies off the roof, but Joshua grabs her.
"Thanks," said Mina.
"Don't thank me. Thank her," said Joshua.
Joshua throws Mina at Ochaco and they collide and fall. Joshua pulls out a bomb full of knockout gas and throws it at the two women. Once they take a whiff of the gas, they fall unconscious.
"Shoto, Bakugo, don't go easy on him," said Momo.
"It's Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight!" exclaimed Bakugo.
"Pardon me," said Momo.
"Icy hot, let's take this nerd down!" exclaimed Bakugo.
"Why do you still call me that? It's been two years," said Shoto.
"Shut up, two-tone!" exclaimed Bakugo.
Bakugo uses his explosives to propel himself upward. Shoto uses his flames to fly upwards. Joshua sees them coming and stops running. Bakugo reaches the rooftop first and launches a large explosion at him. Joshua is barely able to dodge the attack, but Shoto surprise attacks him with an ice wave and hits him. Joshua flies into a wall.
"Why can't you understand that we just want to help you? I know that All Might labeled you and Izuku as his successors, but you don't have to deal with all the evil alone. Let us help," said Shoto.
"Do you think that just because you can use All Might's overpowered quirk that you don't need our help? Do you think that we're weaklings?" asked Bakugo.
"It's not that. I just want to be left alone. I just want to deal with my problems. I don't want to endanger you all," said Joshua.
"Idiot, we all chose to become heroes. We all know the dangers of the job and we don't care. We're going to die or live a hero no matter what," said Bakugo.
"I guess that I'm the bad guy in this situation, right?" asked Joshua.
"No. You may be misinformed, but you can still become a hero," said Shoto.
"Bakugo, remember when I gave you that quirk boosting serum to defeat that Nine guy?" asked Joshua.
"Yeah. What about it?" said Bakugo.
"It wasn't a regular serum. It had nanobots in it that boost parts of the body that the quirk can be amplified. Those nanobots can also be used in more nefarious ways," said Joshua.
"What do you mean?" asked Bakugo.
Joshua pulls a trigger out of his utility belt and clicks the button on top. The nanobots in Bakugo's body go after his nerves and Bakugo falls to the ground.
"What the hell is going on!" exclaimed Bakugo.
"My nanobots are currently attacking your nerves. You won't be able to move for a little while," said Joshua.
"What are you doing! We're your friends!" exclaimed Shoto.
"We are friends. I'm just protecting yourselves from yourselves," said Joshua.
"You bastard!" exclaimed Shoto.
As Shoto charges at him, Joshua pulls out a gadget that looks like some cologne and sprays it on Shoto's face. Shoto stops running and starts to cough.
"What was that?" asked Shoto.
"It's a hallucinogenic gas. In a few seconds, I won't look like me anymore. I'll be your worst enemy," said Joshua.
Shoto looks up at Joshua, but it's no longer him. He looks just like his mother.
"Mother?" asked Shoto.
"Shoto, your left side makes you look like a monster. I'll fix it," said the hallucination.
Shoto starts to slowly back away.
"Mom, I'm fine. You don't have to fix anything," said Shoto.
"This acid will turn you into an angel," said the hallucination.
"Stop! Please don't!" exclaimed Shoto.
"Here comes the choo choo train," said the hallucination.
Shoto continues to back up until he falls off the roof. Joshua grabs his grappling hook and catches Shoto before he hits the ground. Joshua lightly places Shoto on the ground, but he continues to shake in fear.
"I'm sorry. It was too effective," said Joshua.
"Why are you doing this!" exclaimed Koda.
Joshua looks up and sees Jiro and Koda above him. He pulls out a couple darts from his utility belt and throws them at his two former classmates. The darts hit and dispense a tranquilizer liquid. They fall unconscious before they hit the rooftop. Joshua hops off the rooftop and lands on the street.
"The only one left is you, Momo. You guys had a good strategy, but you gave me too much time to prepare," said Joshua.
"You're forgetting about one person," said Momo.
"Ida. He'll be here in three, two, one," said Joshua.
Joshua grabs Ida's face and hoists him into the air.
"How did you know I was going to come this way?" asked Ida.
"I saw you run off before the fight began. I knew that you would only attack me from behind while I was distracted, so it was really easy to predict where you would attack," said Joshua.
"What are you going to do?" asked Ida.
"I don't know, Ingenium. You tell me," said Joshua.
Ida tries to kick Joshua, but Joshua grabs his leg and throws him into a window. Joshua pulls out a gun-like gadget and hits Ida with an electrical charge, knocking him out.
"You guys just don't understand my plan. If you had just left me alone, you guys would have never gotten hurt. I didn't want to do this," said Joshua.
"I guess that we can finally get that rematch. I've been waiting to see you again ever since you left me that letter. You should have told me in person," said Momo.
"I'm sorry. I had to leave town on such short notice that I didn't have time to visit you," said Joshua.
"I could've come with you. I'm smart and skilled enough to be a burden, but you decided to leave me here," said Momo.
"Taking down All For One and protecting One For All isn't your concern. It's my responsibility. I don't want to drag you into it. I don't want you to get hurt," said Joshua.
"I'm not weak. I've been training every day since you left. I'm way stronger, faster, and dangerous than ever before. I could be a very helpful ally," said Momo.
"I don't think you-," said Joshua.
"No, you don't understand! I want to help you not just because I love you! I want to become a hero! That's why I became a hero in the first place! I'm not your daughter, so you don't have to worry about my health! You gave me a walking death machine! I'm fine!" exclaimed Momo.
Joshua starts to slowly walk towards Momo. He reaches her and rubs his hand on her right cheek.
"I don't think that you're a weak little girl. We trained together. We hung out together. I know everything about you. I never want you to believe that I think that you're weak. You're a strong and smart woman and I love that about you, but this is my job. If I need help, I'll come and get you. See you later," said Joshua.
Joshua kisses her on the cheek and starts to walk away.
"Where are you going?" asked Momo.
"I have to go help a kid find his mom. Also, just tell All Might that I escaped before you could try to fight me. I don't want you to get in trouble," said Joshua.
"What do you want me to tell the rest of the class?" asked Momo.
"Tell them that I'm sorry. I hope they won't hate me," said Joshua.
"They won't. They'll be mad of course, but they will still want to help you if you need anything," said Momo.
"This society may be broken, but I can sleep better knowing that the next generation of heroes is real ones," said Joshua.
"You can be part of this generation, too," said Momo.
"I prefer to work from the shadows," said Joshua.
"Go get them, tiger," said Momo.
Joshua turns his head and smiles inside of his helmet.
"I will, angel," said Joshua.