Six am came bright and early, and I stood beside Aizawa, periodically yawning and speculating how the hell the always-tired pro seemed to be more awake than I was. The kids - particularly Togata - seemed to be even more pumped, and I wondered at such a display of youthful energy at this early hour. Had I ever been that kind of morning person?
The answer was no. Never.
We were briefed on the situation's latest at Sir Nighteye's agency before assembling along with the police in front of the station. Once everyone was prepared, the detective rallying the forces gave another report summarizing it all. By that point I was definitely more awake (although still mourning the fact I hadn't had time for my normal cup of coffee before leaving this morning). The adrenaline was starting to build now, along with the rage and the nerves. However, I kept reminding myself to breathe deeply and stay calm, all while Toshinori's words to me before I left kept ringing in my mind.
He had been quiet as I got ready this morning, but hovered in a way that made it more than obvious he was concerned, yet trying to hide it. I was about to head out the door, and went to kiss him goodbye when he pulled me tight against his chest, burying his face in my hair. "Come home to me, okay?" he whispered, voice rough. "Promise you won't do anything stupid."
I managed a small laugh, trying to comfort him with my voice - he really didn't need to worry. This may be my first legally authorized mission, but it was far from my first rodeo. "I won't do anything you wouldn't do," I said lightly, then chuckled when he groaned.
"That's what I'm afraid of."
"I'll be fine - I'll probably be stuck in with the students and saved from the worst of it since I don't have a license. Have a little more faith in me," I pouted, and he pulled back to scrutinize my face.
"I have every faith in you, Mei. I know you'll do fantastic... But accidents happen. Casualties happen even among the best of the best. Just don't let me find out that you were a casualty - do that for me. And keep young Midoriya out of trouble if you're able, too - I really, really don't want to spend the night by anyone's hospital bed tonight."
"Now you're really asking a lot," I said and he scowled, not very impressed by my tease. The retired hero sighed as he bowed his head and leaned his forehead against mine.
"Be safe," he asked one last time, and I closed my eyes as I nodded.
"I will. I love you," I said, before kissing him goodbye, and savoring the feel of it for one more moment when he replied back, "I love you too."
And now that I was here, it was feeling a lot more real than it had felt in the safety of my home earlier, and I knew I had to keep my anger in check if I was to keep my promise to Toshinori. Remorse and rage would make me far too reckless if I let my emotions consume me, and even now as I felt nausea roll in my stomach, I made a promise to myself as well that I wouldn't let my past get in the way today. Justice would be served, and I would do my best to help within the confines of the law.
God help me, Ren, I hope you won't be disappointed with me, I sighed internally, unconsciously glancing upwards.
Thirty minutes later and we were in place. Per Sir Nighteye's instructions, I was to stick with those from his agency, and I was perfectly okay with that. Maybe I actually could keep Midoriya out of trouble for once, as novel of an idea as it may seem.
It all started so quickly. One moment it was dead quiet as the detective approached the intercom to read the warrant - the next, all hell broke loose. While Ryukyu and her sidekicks began battle with the giant villain who'd come crashing through the gate, the rest of the forces darted inside.
"This is the heroes and the police! We have a warrant to search your premises on suspicion of manufacture and sale of illegal drugs!" the detective yelled as we stormed the Yakuza fortress.
At first, it almost seemed too easy. There were so many heroes and police present, the first round of thugs posed almost no threat. "Stop resisting!" the hero called Kesagiri Man growled as he took one down while the police wrangled the others.
"They sure lead with a brawler; these guys ain't scared," Rocklock observed aloud.
"Quickest route - let's go! Get to the girl!" Fat Gum called the charge.
I ran beside Midoriya, a few paces behind the frontline heroes. "We've got this, don't we?" Togata said through gritted teeth on the first year's other side, and when I looked over the two had near identical looks of concentrated determination on their faces.
"Yes!" Midoriya agreed passionately.
We pushed through the rapidly swelling crowd of gang members, leaving these lower level thugs to the police and a handful of some of the local heroes.
"Hate to just barge in like this, but we're kind of in a hurry!" Fat Gum yelled over his shoulder, and I couldn't help but smirk at the pro's strange manners.
"We don't need to apologize - we have a warrant," I chuckled.
Again, it was odd how smooth this was going, all things considered, and as the pros and police debated the possibility of a leak, I caught Eraser Head's eye. "There's nothing that matters more to these guys than their bond with their boss and their brothers. Being part of the underworld only makes loyalty that much more sacred to them," he said. I nodded, looking straight ahead, knowing the truth of his words far more than he probably knew. That's what got Ren killed - he broke that sacred trust. "All those people outside, but we haven't caught sight of the top brass yet."
"They're probably hiding underground," I gritted out, "or getting ready to flee. Loyalty only means something if you're not the one in charge."
Reaching the secret entrance that Nighteye had seen with his Foresight, he opened the panel, and when another group of Yakuza gang members surged out of the opening I reacted first on instinct, darting forward and smashing my fist against the cheek of one. In my peripheral vision I was aware of Nighteye's sidekicks, Bubble Girl and Centipeder doing the same.
Centipeder called out to his teammate, and as they each took down one, I grappled the villain I'd first struck to the ground as well. "Go!" Bubble Girl instructed, "We'll make sure no one else follows."
"Right," I said, locking eyes with Midoriya and doing my best to convey without words: Watch yourself, kid. Be safe.
His eyes were determined as they met mine - the eyes of a man on a mission - and he nodded.
"You heard them," Nighteye said, gesturing for the others to follow him.
"We'll catch up when we can!" Bubble Girl promised as they disappeared down the corridor. Mere seconds after the heroes and police left, a second wave of Yakuza charged from down the hall, and I leapt again, fighting alongside the other two who'd stayed behind. The hallway was cramped, and made mostly of wood which was ill-suited for my usual fight style, but even so I felt a humorless smirk pull at the corner of my lip as I went into full-on brawl mode. Even without using my quirk to propel me in a fight, I was still fast on my feet and a hard hitter.
I was careful with my flames since I didn't want to accidentally catch the wooden wall panels on fire, and strangely it was almost thrilling to fight this way - no quirk, no extra strength. I beamed as I pinned down another villain, taking pride in the fact that I was still plenty capable without using my powers.
Once they were all subdued, Bubble Girl, Centipeder, and I assisted each other in tying the bad guys up. "I can't believe you all came out to try and stop us," Bubble Girl tutted, shaking her head as she finished tightening the bindings on the last one. "It seems crazy to me."
"Well, it's not," the Hassaikai member sneered back. "Fighting you people was the only sane option."
"How so?" I asked, folding my arms as I leaned against the wall opposite the guy and raised a brow.
"We couldn't just sit it out," another villain growled. "If we did, Overhaul would have killed us without a thought."
"A legitimate fear," I said in a neutral tone, watching the seated group carefully. If I played it right, I might be able to glean some very valuable information here. "But why stay with a group that operates under a man you don't trust?" I asked.
The first guy looked at me sourly. "We aren't here for him. Overhaul came to power after the boss got sick. The boss valued the old ways - he wanted the Yakuza to stay as we were, even in these new times. We're not like villains-" I scoffed at that and his scowl darkened further. "The Hassaikai have integrity!" he spat. "He didn't want us to be seen as just another group of low-life thugs. He's who we respected. He's who we trust."
The third guy chimed in, and man was I glad they were all so chatty - apparently these feelings had been festering for a while for them to divulge all this so freely. "The young head gave himself a villain's name - allowed scum to join us. He makes decisions on his own and doesn't care what the rest of us want."
"Thinks his vote is the only one that matters," the first added angrily.
Another thug was staring at the floorboards, eyes burning with hatred, and when he spoke his voice was low and venomous. "The boss is in bad shape... can't even talk, and we know who to blame," he seethed.
"Watch it," a fourth who'd been silent thus far warned.
"As much as you dislike Chisaki, you seem to be pretty sure we're not going to catch him," Bubble Girl mused aloud, eyeing the three who had been the chattiest.
The one who'd voiced the warning to his comrade actually laughed. "You don't stand a chance. A whack job like him? He doesn't care about the consequences, or even his own future. Villains like that are the ones you need to watch out for - it's what makes them dangerous."
"Sounds like we need to teach him a touch of humility then," I said flippantly, pushing off the wall. "Bubble Girl, Centipeder... should we go after them? They're a capable group, but I'd like to lend all the assistance we can," I asked, eyeing the dark pathway our group had gone down. It had been almost ten minutes. Would they be too far ahead by now?
Bubble Girl seemed to follow the same train of thought, and frowned thoughtfully before glancing at her team member. "We might be too far behind at this point. Let's regroup with the heroes above ground still and decide whether a second group should be sent to reinforce the first."
I nodded, not pleased, but I understood the practicality of the idea. My gut twisted uncomfortably though as I thought of the students down there where I couldn't get to them quickly. They had Aizawa and the other heroes, plus the police of course, but even still I couldn't help the seed of nervousness over not knowing. On top of that, I was still trying very hard not to let the disappointment that I wouldn't get to personally enact any of my own vengeance on that bastard Overhaul get to me. So long as someone got him, that was what mattered... but damn would I have loved to punch him in the face at least once.
It wasn't a very heroic train of thought, but I didn't care all that much either. I wasn't a hero yet, after all.
We met Ryukyu, Tsu, and Uraraka outside as they finished bringing down the massive villain who'd first busted through the gate this morning. As the police were cuffing the unconscious villain, I clapped a hand on Uraraka's shoulder and looked back and forth between her and Tsu. "You girls doing okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, we're fine," Tsu ribbited.
"Where's Deku and the others?" Uraraka asked.
"They went on ahead into the belly of the complex. We stayed behind to help out up here, but everything seems to be mostly under control," I answered, shifting on one foot a tad uncomfortably. I should be down there too, I thought to myself. This whole teamwork thing was really taking some getting used to, I honestly I wasn't sure I liked it. Things were simpler when it was only me I had to worry about.
Suddenly, the armored weight of my new costume seemed infinitely heavier, and I staggered, feeling like the gravity was weighing me down at three times it's normal force. "What the hell?" I managed, my voice sounding far away even to my own ears - was I losing consciousness? What was happening?!
"Oh man," I heard Uraraka groan, and Tsu made a weak noise of distress as well. Whatever this was, it was affecting them too.
"The villain is stealing their vitality!" Ryukyu exclaimed, and thought the haze I managed to recollect the massive villain from the quirk reports we'd been given this morning. Katsukame Rikiya: he enhances his size and power by breathing in the life force of whoever he's touching.
Only problem was, he wasn't touching any of us.
"He's using a quirk enhancing drug," I gritted out, stumbling again as it took everything in me to remain on my feet. Both of the students collapsed a few feet ahead of me and I barely had the energy to try and catch them. They were closer to the villain, and seemed to be taking an even harder hit than me due to proximity. "Ryukyu, we gotta take him out of commission quickly," I grunted, holding up Tsu's head so it wouldn't hit the concrete while looping my other arm under Uraraka's to drag her back some.
Before the heroine could respond the sound of shattering metal alerted me to the fact the villain had broken free of his shackles. "That's more like it!" he roared in triumph.
Shit. "Ryukyu!" I yelled in warning.
"Oh no," the blonde woman exclaimed. She seemed to be unaffected - just out of range, possibly - but several of the police had collapsed as well. The villain had plenty of life force to draw upon.
"I feel like a new man!" the thug yelled as his size increased further, and Ryukyu shifted to her dragon form to catch the punch he threw as he surged forward. Every step I took felt like I had lead weights attached to each limb, but with painstaking slowness I managed to drag the girls further from the fight. If we could get out of range, he couldn't keep drawing on our vitality at least.
Hado also seemed to have been spared the villain's draining quirk, and fired a blast at the monstrous man, drawing his attention. Together the heroine and third year student took turns attacking, but even as the quirk enhancer wore off, he still seemed to have absorbed enough energy to be much harder to bring down than before.
"Hey!" a familiar voice called, and I jerked my head around, eyes wide and surprised to see Izuku standing in the middle of the road. "We need some backup. Quick!"
"Where the hell did you come from, kid?" I called out while weakly Uravity struggled to her feet beside me.
"There's no time! Over there, underground - right under that intersection there!" he instructed, pointing behind him. "The others are pinned down. We have to help them!"
"We're on it!" I called back, grabbing Tsu by her forearm and hauling her back to a standing position as well. For such a small girl, the action was a lot harder than it should have been.
Dammit. How am I supposed to fight if I have no energy? I yelled internally, feeling nothing but uselessness and enraged frustration.
"Let's go!" Ryukyu yelled, gesturing with her snout towards the intersection, and somehow five minds converge into one plan seamlessly and without a guiding word. Ryukyu flew forward and rammed her head into the villain's stomach. Tsu extended her tongue to wrap around Uraraka and I changed the polorizations of the frog-like girl suit to help me fling her with all the strength I had left, sending both flying towards the giant man. As soon as Uraraka touched him, she activated her quirk, and all four flew up in the air on the power of Ryukyu's wings. Hado landed the final blow, targeting the villain and hitting him with her spiraling energy beam, and with a thunderous crash that shook the entire street, his falling body made a crater in the pavement. The ground underneath began to crumble and give way, and suddenly everyone was falling. From underground I could hear shouts and the sound of fighting, and dragging myself to the crater's edge I peered down into the dusty darkness below.
"You guys came!" I heard Midoriya call out gratefully, and a sort of confused disorientation washed over me.
Wait, if he's down there now, then how...? I shook my head, trying to clear the lethargic fog from my brain. Worry about that later, Mei. You've still got a job to do. Pulling on my quirk, I leapt into the hole, scanning the area as I descended before my blood turned cold in my veins at the sight before me. "Nighteye!" I called out, eyes wide and I couldn't seem to look away from the stone spike lodged in his abdomen. There's so much blood, I thought in horror.
At the same time, another familiar shape descended from the sky above, and my alarm morphed to rage as I recognized the villain.
"Mr. Compress," I hissed. So, the League of Villains were involved after all. Fuck.
I had only a split second to choose my next course of action - aid the wounded, or aid the fight. Every fiber of me screamed that the man I hated so - the man who had taken Ren from this world - was in this cavernous room with me. Though I couldn't yet see him through the settling debris and rubble, I could feel his presence like a haunted soul. He's right... there... my mind seethed, hurt and rage clamoring for revenge.
But I knew - I knew - that I had to make a different choice. I had to follow a different path. This mission wasn't about my own selfish desires, and there were bigger stakes in this fight. Besides, in my current weakened state, what good would I do anyway?
Fuck.
Gritting my teeth and hoping it wasn't the wrong decision, I rushed to the green and yellow haired hero's side. "Take care of him! Go on!" Izuku yelled as green lightning surged over his body.
Our fall must have disrupted a fight, and as I skidded to my knees beside the fallen hero and looked back at Toshinori's successor, that's when I finally laid eyes on the opponent he was facing.
Prior to now, I'd never seen Overhaul in person, yet somehow I still knew the man I was looking at was both the villain I hated, and not him at the same time. Something was wrong - his body was distorted and bulging. Was this a result of his quirk? Where the hell had the extra muscle and body mass come from?
Stone spikes similar to the one that had gored Sir Nighteye shot from the ground, knocking back the League of Villain's member and a small, pale child. "It's Eri - that's the girl!" I gasped.
But I had to focus. Midoriya, Ryukyu and the others - they could fight. Right now I needed to focus on the man bleeding out, his white suit tattered and stained crimson. Once I got him out of here, I could come back and help. I needed to put my faith in others right now.
"Nighteye, can you hear me?" I tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Gingerly I lifted the man, firmly holding the heavy object in place so it wouldn't move. At the moment, the spike was the only thing keeping his innards from spilling on the ground, and if it were removed he'd likely be dead in seconds.
"Hara..." he muttered, and a spec of relief colored the edge of my fear, because at least he was conscious. "Leave me. Run. The mission is doomed to fail," he groaned while I worked on unclasping my cape before I tied it around his body to keep the object firmly in place.
"Don't talk like that," I scolded gently, and he shook his head. Behind me I could hear yells and a cacophony of scraping and the crumbling stone. The battle continued, and for one brief and shameful moment, I actually seriously considered half of his request. If I left him here, I could aid Izuku. We could take down Overhaul.
No. Be a hero, Mei, I jerked my thoughts away from the path they wanted to follow. Rescue should be your priority as an unlicensed participant, remember.
Suddenly a burst of power shook the entire cavern, and I leaned over Nighteye, blocking the worst of the debris from hitting him as the shockwaves simulated a small earthquake.
"Midoriya," I whispered in shock, looking up with wide eyes. I recognized that power - I'd felt the full strength of One for All. The boy in question had managed to grab the girl, and had propelled them both sky high and away from the immediate threat. That moment of respite wouldn't last long, though.
The Ryukyu Agency team made their way over to us, and the large heroine growled as her eyes trained on Overhaul. A shower of blood suddenly rained down around him as his quirk disassembled the body of Katsukame, before reassembling with his own as something monstrous.
"In order to realize the old man's greatest wish, I need you, Eri," the villain glowed, glaring up at the two figures silhouetted against the blue sky.
"Not good!" Ryukyu grunted.
"You needn't worry," Nighteye said in a morose, hoarse voice. "We're safe for the time being; he's not targeting any of us. He'll head to the surface in pursuit of Midoriya and Eri," he gasped through the pain. There was a certainty in the way he spoke though, and suddenly I understood that this wasn't just an educated guess - he'd seen it with his quirk. His next words gripped my heart with fear though, and the overwhelming urge to scream bubbled up in my throat - I was barely able to keep it down.
"Then he'll kill Midoriya," Nighteye predicted, "And escape."
Stop telling me the people I care about are going to die! I wanted to scream at him.
"No - he won't!" I growled vehemently.
At the same time Uraraka gasped and whipped around in panic. "We can't let him-!" but her passionate cry was cut off as she crumpled to the floor, energy drained. Even though he was now disassembled, the lingering effects of the large villain's quirk was something none of us who were affected could fight. And that included me too.
Even just holding up the injured hero was becoming excruciating. Again I internally raged: how was I supposed to fight like this? Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! I yelled silently.
The blonde heroine snarled and fanned her wings. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!"
"Given the shape you're all in, you can't stop him. I'm sorry," Nighteye sighed through clenched teeth.
"That doesn't matter," Uraraka said in a shaky, yet determined voice as she attempted to drag herself forward. Activating her quirk, she lifted the smaller pieces of debris surrounding us. "I have to do something to help him. There's no future except the one you create!"
The young girl's determination was so... pure. So real. A fire that had nothing to do with my quirk coursed through my veins, and taking a leaf out of All Might's book... I smiled. "You're right, Uravity. We can help him." I turned my head to look at Tsu, not really having any sort of plan but figuring I'd make one up as I went. "Can you take care of Sir Nighteye?" I asked the green-haired girl, but the hero clamped a bloodied hand down on my wrist before either of us could even move.
"No. Froppy, you go help Mirio. He's on the other side of that wall," he instructed instead. "PuriFire," he addressed me next, "I need your aid... Take me to the surface."
Drawing on strength I didn't even know I had left, I lifted the man - with the aid of Uraraka's lifting quirk to make him and the stone lighter - and followed the battling pair to the crumbling street above. Below, Ryukyu sought out the League of Villain's infiltrator while Uraraka lifted herself, following after Nighteye and me.
Midoriya had strapped the young girl to his back and was darting in to land blow after blow on the man that had become a rather grotesque and frightful, fleshy monster. Overhaul had molded the disassembled bodies of his comrades into a truly horrifying form, yet even still the young holder of One for All seemed to be kicking ass. He'd launched the villain in the air with a mighty blow, which kept the destruction to the surrounding area minimal as he rained hell down on his opponent. Midoriya's eyes glowed - not unlike Toshinori's used to whenever he'd become particularly enraged in a fight - and the lighting dancing around him made his green hair look almost blue. As I gently set Nighteye down on a relatively even bit of concrete, I could only stare upwards in awe for a moment.
How was he using his powers like this? How were his limbs not breaking? Something told me it might just have something to do with the strange sparkling glow coming off the young child clinging to his back. What the hell kind of quirk does she have? I couldn't help but wonder.
Bits of flesh rained down around us - and as horrifying as that sight was, it honestly wasn't the first time I'd been surrounded by so much carnage - as Midoriya literally lobbed pieces off of the villain from hitting him so hard. Dust and debris rose around us as the massive form finally crashed to the ground after a particularly impressive hit, and Nighteye gasped.
"But... I saw it," he said, shocked. "Chisaki succeeded and escaped, while Midoriya lost his life. That is the immutable future - I saw it so clearly. But this... this is new. A different set of events." As the dust settled some, standing between us and the fallen villain, the boy stood strong, glowing with power and life. I could feel Nighteye trembling where I still held his shoulders, and it seemed the shaking in his body wasn't only from pain. "Does that mean that the future can be changed?"
"Of course it can," I muttered numbly and in a hoarse voice, realizing myself what that truly meant.
No, focus on the now. Think about it later, I told myself. And it was a good thing too, since after that, several things happened at once.
Midoriya cried out in pain, collapsing as the glow around young Eri increased like an expanding sun. Overhaul (who only moments ago had been knocked unconscious) screamed in an enraged, bloodcurdling, voice as he reached with a massive, monstrous hand towards the collapsed children. When his hand fell on top of them, however, the golden glow intensified further, and the fleshy arm blew apart. The effect seemed to domino, and like a power surge the villain's body shattered until all that was left was the previously absorbed underlings and a more human-looking Chisaki.
Uraraka leapt into the air, securing the once more unconscious Overhaul, and with minute relief I saw the fallen boy and fear-stricken young girl were both still okay.
Well, relatively speaking.
Whatever Eri's power was, it still had a hold on Midoriya, and the scant amount of relief I'd felt disappeared as fear for him rose in my throat again. Without any understanding of what was going on, I had no idea how to help.
Luckily for the teenager, Aizawa had made it to the surface with us, and even while he was being held up by Froppy (Lord, everyone's in rough shape, I observed at the back of my mind) he at least seemed to have enough intuition to hazard a guess. The glow died at the same time as Eraser Head's quirk flared to life. The tension left Midoriya instantly, slumping as the pain left his body and he reached around to cradle the young girl against his back. That small movement damn near brought a tear to my eye, because even still, his first thought was protecting her.
Toshi's right - he has a true hero's heart, I thought fondly.
It was a blur of activity after that, and when I tried to recall those moments of the aftermath later, I saw only colors.
There was the blue of the police rushing around apprehending the villains. There was the white of ambulances and the red of blood. Aizawa was slumped beside me, both of us feeling the lingering effects of quirks that left us drained of movement, and beside me I felt as much as I saw the comforting presence of black.
My injuries were very minimal, especially compared to some of the other heroes and police, but after the more critical patients were tended to and sent off to the hospital, I was ushered to go have a doctor check me over as well.
Exhaustion and an over-extended quirk made my eyelids feel like they were full of lead, and while I'd only meant to close them a minute, when I opened them again I was in a hospital bed.
"Shit, Toshi's gonna freak," I groaned.