Author's note: Unlike usual, this chapter has been split into multiple parts. The three "main" chapters cover the battle mainly from Izuku and his friends perspectives, while the two interludes will cover the other student's battles. I had hoped to get them finished before this part went out, but would rather not keep people waiting any longer at this point. As such, the interludes will be uploaded at a later point, when I've finally managed to finish the pair of fights that are giving me trouble.
"Fucking stop fidgeting, dammit!" Katsuki snapped, causing Izuku to flinch slightly.
He'd been trying to rein his excitement in, but he just couldn't help himself. Rescue training! They were going to be learning how to help people! Not that stopping villain attacks wouldn't help people, but it just wasn't the same. For as long as Izuku could remember, the image of All Might emerging from behind a flaming bus, massive frame loaded with civilians, had been burned into his mind. To him, that was the epitome of what a hero was: someone who saved people with a smile.
Another growl from Katsuki let Izuku know that he had started fidgeting again, and he quickly stilled himself as best as he could. He still shivered with energy, but it was at least more contained when he was concentrating.
Despite the incident with the reporters (and, apparently, a stampede in the lunchroom) Aizawa had seemed entirely nonplussed when he returned to the classroom earlier that afternoon. He'd handed Izuku and Ashido each a stack of papers, letting them know the names of the other class reps and the times for the meetings that they'd need to attend before launching into an explanation of their afternoon's training.
Well, 'explanation' was probably a strong word. He'd mostly just told the class that they would be doing rescue training somewhere off campus, let them grab their costumes if they wanted, then bundled them off towards a nondescript bus that had been waiting near the main gate.
Most people had grabbed their gear, though Izuku's costume had been pretty thoroughly trashed, so he stuck with his gym gear. Uraraka had done the same, for similar reasons, and Tsunotori joined them in solidarity. Without his costume, Izuku felt weirdly underdressed, especially with Katsuki in most of his gear standing next to him at all times. Still, not even that had been able to dull Izuku's spirits as they made their way to the gate.
Izuku had been glad to see that the reporters who were still lingering around the school had been pushed a decent way back from the bus, with Hound Dog glaring menacingly at them to keep them from crowding forward again. A few looked peeved by the babysitting, but none of them wanted to be on the receiving end of the hero's wrath.
What was less comforting was the gate itself. Izuku hadn't thought to check it before, but now he was able to get a good look at the remains of the gate. It hadn't been bypassed earlier when the reporters stampeded; it had been completely destroyed, reduced to a few scraps of metal and a whole lot of dust that a few maintenance workers were diligently shoveling into a wheelbarrow.
Izuku couldn't believe that one of the reporters had destroyed it so thoroughly just to get a soundbite about All Might. It was absolutely ridiculous, and he hoped whoever did it had their credentials revoked!
There had been a brief scramble for seats on the bus, with everyone trying to claim the best seats for themselves. For a moment, Iida looked like he wanted to try and organize the struggle, but he didn't end up saying anything. With Ashido being one of the more vocal members of the free-for-all, laying claim to the front section of the bus under her new authority as class rep, he had probably figured it was a lost cause.
And so Izuku ended up wedged between Katsuki and Ashido, with Uraraka, Kirishima, and Tsunotori sitting across from them. The rest of the class had taken seats towards the back of the bus and were making their own conversations. Yaoyorozu and Asui were discussing something intently while Jirou surreptitiously listened in while trying not to look too invested, a behavior Izuku was very familiar with thanks to all his time spent with Katsuki. Kaminari and Mineta were discussing some comedy show that Izuku was dimly aware of, laughing uproariously every few minutes. Most of the others were silent or talking too quietly for Izuku to make out any of their conversations.
"Nervous, Deku?" Uraraka asked, leaning forward to catch his attention.
He shook his head in response. "Excited! I can't wait to start rescue training."
"Me too!" Uraraka said. "I know it's just training, but I can't wait to start helping people!"
"Same!" Tsunotori happily agreed.
It seemed like someone had taught her some slang either at the karaoke party or over the weekend. She had been peppering bits of it into her speech all day and seemed very pleased every time she did so. She'd misused a couple of the terms, but no one seemed to have the heart to tell her that.
"I'm a little bit worried," Kirishima admitted. "My Hardening's good against bad guys, but it's not much help in rescue work. I'm mostly just going to be a liability…"
"No way!" Izuku replied forcefully, disappointed to hear Kirishima being down on his Quirk like that. "Your Quirk is going to be super great for rescue work! You've got way more defense than anyone else in the class, so you can go into all kinds of dangerous places that the rest of us can't and protect people on the way out! Plus you don't have to worry about hurting someone with your Quirk by accident like I do."
"Dunno about that," Kirishima replied, idly rubbing his right temple. "I'm kinda sharp when I harden, especially my hands and the edges of my arms."
Izuku hummed for a moment in thought. "Maybe you should get some additions to your costume? You'd probably want the edges in combat, but you could probably get some detachable sleeves that would keep you from hurting people accidentally."
"Dude, that's an awesome idea!" Kirishima said, a massive smile lighting up his face. "I wonder if that's the reason Crimson Riot always had sleeves on his costume?"
"It's possible," Izuku said. "Hero costumes tend to go for form over function, especially in the last few years, but back in the day it was all about how effective it was. Heroes tried to cram as many gadgets and tools into their suits as they could. It's why so many of the old designs have utility belts or harnesses. They were trying to add more space for equipment and they didn't have anything like the support department at UA. Most of their gear was simple, and in the really early days, almost all of it was homemade. So anything that could pull double duty in protecting both civilians and the hero would have been highly valued. That's just a theory, though. I've never read up on Crimson Riot, outside of the basics…"
Izuku trailed off as he realized that he'd been rambling for nearly a minute. Normally Katsuki would have stopped him before he really got going, but after Uraraka had called him "Deku," Katsuki had stiffened and turned around to glare out the window at any cars passing by.
Swallowing hard, Izuku risked a glance at the other passengers in the bus, hoping that he had just bored them instead of annoying them with his impromptu sermon. Instead he found Kirishima staring at him with wide, appreciative eyes.
"Dude, I think I just learned more about heroes in a minute than I did all last week. That was awesome! You should totally become a teacher!"
Ashido snickered at that, then leaned forward. She held up a hand in front of her mouth, as if to disguise what she was saying, but her stage whisper was loud enough that it carried to half the bus. "Yeah, Midori, you should teach here. You can actually stay awake the entire day and not look like a zombie while doing it!"
Aizawa turned around in his seat to glare at them. It was a very intimidating expression, and Izuku was fairly certain that intimidation was more due to lots of practice than any inherent ability of his Quirk.
"We'll see how lively you look after dealing with some real UA paperwork," he said ominously. Somehow, the slightly deranged smile that crept across his face was even more terrifying than the glare had been.
The entire bus shivered at the expression and fell into an uncomfortable silence until their teacher turned away. Some few conversations continued, but mostly they kept to their various thoughts until Tsunotori piped up. "You gave Midoriya nickname?" she asked, shooting Ashido a curious look.
"Yep!" she replied. "Uraraka gave him one, and I didn't wanna be left out of the friend loop."
"Why not just call him Deku too?" Kirishima asked.
"It's… kinda personal," Izuku admitted, a little ashamed of how quiet his voice was as he said it.
"Cuz I'd break her skull if she tried it," Katsuki said at the same moment. His tone wasn't quite as hostile as it was whenever he spoke to Uraraka these days, but it still had an edge to it that Izuku really wasn't a fan of.
"And cuz I don't wanna reuse a nickname!" Ashido said, pushing right past the threat without batting an eye.
"Ah," Tsunotori said, her eyes drifting down a little bit, "Nickname is only for you, then."
"I don't mind if you use it," Ashido replied. She shot a quick look at Izuku, and he quickly shook his head.
"I-I don't mind. I've… never really had a lot of nicknames before, so I don't really know how it works. Can only the person who comes up with it use it?"
"There aren't any rules," Ashido said, "I just wanted to be unique. Bakugou not growling at me all the time is just a bonus!"
"Don't think I won't!" Bakugou growled, much to the amusement of Ashido and the others.
"How about you, Tsunotori?" Ashido asked. "Want a nickname from yours truly?"
Tsunotori hummed for a moment, then nodded. "Would be nice. Or call me Pony, like Uraraka."
"Oooh! I didn't realize you two were so close!" Ashido said excitedly. "When did that happen?"
"After the battle trial," Uraraka said. "Since she grew up in America, she told me she prefers it when people use her first name."
"Oh wow, I didn't even think about that." Kirishima said. "Things are probably really different over there, huh?"
Tsunotori (Izuku didn't know if he would get used to calling her by her first name quite that quickly) nodded. "Different, yes. School on weekends here, and things are very clean. Very formal. But the same, too. Still have to look both ways before crossing street. And still have good friends to talk to."
The last part she said with a big smile, glancing around at all of them. It left no doubt who she was talking about, and Izuku felt warmth blossom in his stomach.
Everyone in UA, it seemed to him, was so welcoming and open when compared to Aldera. They didn't judge, they acted like everyone was valuable, and they were just so friendly. It was amazing, everything he could have hoped for and so much more besides.
"Aww, you're so sweet, Pony!" Uraraka said, gently bumping the horned girl with her shoulder.
Before anything more could be said, the bus began to slow, and every member of class 1A found their eyes drawn towards the building ahead of them.
A massive dome rose out of the trees, dwarfing everything around it. The structure had to be at least a kilometer across, by Izuku's estimation, and could have contained any number of things. He didn't remember seeing anything about this building on any of the UA promotional material he had devoured both during his childhood and after being accepted.
Waiting outside the entrance to the dome was a figure that Izuku would recognize anywhere. The puffy white suit, reminiscent of the space suits from the pre-Quirk days, and distinctive helmet could only belong to the Space Hero: Thirteen.
Izuku's fingers itched to grab his notebook and run up to her, but he held off. As excited as he was to meet one of the top rescue heroes in the country, he was equally as excited to train under her. He also didn't want to risk delaying the lesson for everyone else. Besides, as he kept forcing himself to remember every time he saw an amazing hero on campus, he could always ask for their autograph after class.
"Hello everyone! I've been waiting for you!" Thirteen said, waving for them to follow her. "I can't wait to show you what we have planned for today!"
"Woo hoo!" Uraraka said, wiggling in excitement. "Thirteen is one of my favorite heroes! Now I really can't wait!"
She moved behind Izuku, and began to push him towards the massive doors at the front of the complex before he could react. Not that he would have stopped her if he could. He was just as eager to begin.
He glanced back to see everyone else in the class following as quickly as they could. Iida was power walking with his arms swinging far more vigorously than was strictly necessary, Ashido was openly skipping her way towards the entrance, and even the normally taciturn Jirou looked a little excited to get started.
But the real standout to Izuku was Katsuki. He was walking behind the rest of the class, affecting his usual air of aggressive disinterest. Izuku could tell, however, that he was anything but. His eyes kept flicking back to the Space Hero, and he couldn't hide the slight crinkle in his brow that Izuku knew he got whenever he was really thinking hard about something.
He might not have been as vocal as the rest of them, but Izuku knew that deep down, Katsuki admired Thirteen. The two of them had made an extensive study of the hero for one simple reason. She possessed a Quirk that was bent for destruction, that could easily take a life if she wasn't careful whenever she used it. Some might even call it a villain's Quirk, if it had been in the hands of someone with less moral fiber.
It was because of this that Izuku could feel his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest as they made their way inside. Not for himself, or at least not totally, but for Katsuki. Finally, finally, he could have what Izuku had found in All Might in the aftermath of the Sludge Villain incident. A hero he could look up to, who knew what it was like to turn a power of destruction into a beacon of hope. Someone to show him that his Quirk didn't make him a villain.
Someone to tell him that he could be a hero.
Katsuki had to admit, the inside of the dome was pretty fucking impressive. UA had shit tons of money and they weren't afraid of spending it, that was for sure.
The place was big enough that he had to squint to see the far wall and that wasn't just because he was a little nearsighted. There were a couple of smaller domes inside of the main structure that were buildings in their own right and a jumble of concrete apartments and dirt that was probably supposed to represent a landslide which could have fit a small village worth of people if it hadn't been totaled. There was a lake and even a fucking mountain, which just seemed excessive. If someone got hurt on a mountain, it was probably some dumbass hiker falling off the trail and you didn't need a hero for that, just a ranger and a helicopter. The real shit happened in the cities where everyone lived and 90% of the villains hung out.
All Might had been right during that first day of heroics. Most of the real battles, the ones that mattered, would be happening indoors. At least there were a few buildings in the facility, so it wasn't all going to be pointless training.
"Whoa, it's like an amusement park," Shitty Hair said, voice filled with awe.
Katsuki snorted. Leave it to the dumbass to make that kind of stupid comparison. He'd probably seen the water feature in the corner and thought it was a water slide, despite the whole thing being filled with rocks.
Thirteen paced in front of them and struck a (slightly ridiculous looking) pose. Katsuki's attention snapped to the hero, though he kept his posture slouched and head turned almost completely away. No need to make things too easy on the teachers. Getting noticed for paying attention was almost always worse than getting tagged for staring off into space.
"Fires. Windstorms. Shipwrecks. And every other disaster I could think of, each represented here. I created this training facility to prepare you to deal with different types of disasters. I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint! But you can call it the USJ!"
Katsuki barely resisted the urge to smack his forehead. That acronym was such a reach it was obvious that the hero had picked it first, then came up with a name to fit. All for a fucking joke, too.
'Or maybe being shitty at names is a requirement for hero work,' he thought to himself.
If that was the case, Izuku was a step ahead of the curve. He'd always sucked at naming stuff, hence their hangout/training spot being called the Lair. And his numerous attempts at coming up with hero names throughout their childhood, nearly all of which had some homage to All Might in them somewhere.
A quick glance showed Katsuki that Izuku looked at least a little skeptical about the name, which was something at least. If he'd had that inspired look in his eyes, the one that made them go all wide and watery, then Katsuki would have needed to beat the ridiculousness out of him before it took root.
The Corpse slouched over to Thirteen, asking as to why All Might wasn't there to meet them, and Katsuki checked out of the conversation before he could hear the reply.
He idly reached up to scratch his nose, careful to use his left hand. He was still wearing his grenade bracer on the right, and the fight from the previous class had shown him that while the power they packed was fucking awesome to have at his fingertips, they made doing anything delicate with his hands a fucking nightmare and kept him from touching his face. So he'd decided to only use one for now and sent the other back to the support department for a redesign. He'd have taken Izuku's input, but then there'd be all sorts of safeties and shit, and all that unnecessary stuff would just make it bulkier than it needed to be. His mind was all the safety he needed for his gear.
At least he could cut loose with the remaining gauntlet. The training areas were huge enough that they'd have plenty of room. Plus they couldn't ding him for using "excessive force" against a fucking mountain, now could they?
"Now, before we begin," Thirteen said, loud enough to draw Katsuki's attention back to her, "Allow me to say just one thing. Or, a couple of things. A handful, at most!"
Katsuki sighed. His estimation of the Space Hero was really taking a beating, and it didn't show any signs of going back up any time soon.
"Listen carefully. I'm sure a few of you are already aware, but for the rest of you, let me explain something. My Quirk is called Black Hole. It's an extremely powerful ability, and it lets me suck up anything, and turn it to dust."
"Yeah, you've used Black Hole to save people from all kinds of disasters!" Izuku said, so fucking pointedly directing the words towards Katsuki that he wanted to smack his friend.
"That's true," Thirteen replied, "But my Quirk could also very easily be used to kill."
Izuku seemed to deflate instantly while Katsuki felt his entire body tense.
"Some of you also have powers that can be dangerous. We often overlook these dangers due to how well regulated Quirks and their uses are these days. But please don't forget that if you lose focus, or make the wrong move, your powers can be deadly."
Katsuki's teeth were clenched so hard that he could practically hear his jaw groaning with the stress. He didn't need anyone to remind him of that fact. He could see it written plainly on his friend's face every day, and even if he couldn't, the entire world seemed hell bent on reminding him.
Izuku was convinced that UA was different, but he was wrong. Sure, they put up a veneer of pleasantness, but that's all it was. A thin layer of decoration over the rot beneath. Some of them were even more open about it, like the two-faced bitch Izuku was being fooled by.
At least Raccoon Eyes knew that the name Deku was off limits to her. Plus she'd helped tell Shindo, the prick, to fuck off at the party. That made her above and away the better choice for him to spend time with. Even if she was milking off Izuku for the class rep position.
Thirteen took a sudden bow, and Katsuki realized he'd missed the end of the speech while thinking about that shit. Eh, well, it couldn't have been too important. Probably some stupid inspirational stuff about overcoming trials and getting better for them. He was sure Izuku would repeat it ad nauseum on the train ride home that afternoon.
"Right, now that that's over—" the Corpse began.
The crackling sound of electricity filled Katsuki's ears, and the lights suddenly dimmed.
He frowned at that. UA liked their spectacle, but this felt like a step too far. "Be prepared for anything" was a good motto, but making them do everything in the gloom was just ridiculous. Plus, it wasn't even that dark. The afternoon sun was still shining in through the windows, so the lights were just a minor inconvenience.
Then the sunlight began to disappear as well. Katsuki glanced up and saw a wall of what seemed like fog crawling up the outside of the building. It was moving way too fast and was way too dense to be natural, though. As it covered the windows, visibility actually did start to drop and Katsuki let out a long suffering sigh. Today was gonna suck.
"Stay together and don't move!" the Corpse barked.
The man's entire demeanor had changed in an instant. Gone was the perpetual slouch, replaced with a wide stance that would let him jump into action in a heartbeat, and his eyes were alert, scanning the environment.
"Wait, has the training started already?" Shitty Hair asked, stepping forward and squinting in the gloom.
"This isn't part of the training," The Corp—Aizawa snapped. "Thirteen, protect the students. I'll scout forward and see if I can find whoever is caus—"
The ground shuddered for a moment. Then there was a mighty rushing sound, like a white water river on steroids, and the entire building lurched. Inky blackness filled Katsuki's vision, and he felt a strange jerking motion, like being in the car when his mother laid on the accelerator, as he was lifted into the air. A moment later both the sensation and the darkness vanished and he was slammed into the ground with a grunt. As quickly as he could, Katsuki scrambled to his feet and looked around.
The dome around them was trashed. Glass had shattered, cracks were easily visible in the pavement, the fountain at the center was spraying wildly, and most of the landscaping had been uprooted. It looked like an earthquake had hit the place, and for a moment Katsuki wondered if this was supposed to be some double blind, ultra realistic training for them.
That thought was quickly dispelled when he glanced up at the ceiling. The fog from earlier was gone, and he could see again thanks to the sun streaming in through the windows. Through the wrong side of the windows. Earlier, it had been coming from behind the group, by the entrance. Now it was streaming into his eyes, and forcing him to hold up a hand to shade them.
"Man, what the heck was that?" Sparky asked, sitting up with a dazed look on his face.
"Felt like an earthquake," Shitty Hair added, proving that once again he was both the dullest and hardest knife in the drawer.
"Earthquakes do not cause temporary blindness," High Class pointed out as she rubbed her head.
"Or change the position of the fucking sun!" Katsuki snapped, pointing at the shattered windows far above them.
They all glanced up, but only a few of them seemed to realize what that meant. Either they had been knocked unconscious for several hours, during which time nothing bad at all happened to their bodies and they all happened to wake up at the same damn time, or someone had teleported them somewhere else.
Not just them, though, the entire fucking building had been taken. Katsuki's mind boggled at the level of power that would take. He remembered Izuku talking extensively about warping Quirks during one of his "I wonder if I have this rare Quirk" phases. They were rare as shit, and incredibly useful, but also extremely limited. Warpers who could take more than a couple of people with them in a single trip were super valuable, and everyone who had a Quirk like that was pressed into taking a very lucrative government position shuttling heroes or VIPs around the country. Taking a building would have put the warper in the upper echelons of power, and taking something the size of the USJ? That would mean they had just been moved by one of the most powerful Quirks in the world.
Aizawa whipped out a flip phone from inside of his scarf, then scowled at the thing in disgust. He stuffed it back in a moment later, then climbed to his feet.
"No reception. And no way to know where we are or what exactly happened to us," he said, digging around in the cloth mass for something. A pair of goggles emerged, and he pulled them up onto his face. "Thirteen, I'm going to take point. You bring up the rear. Everyone else, keep to the middle, and be prepared for anything."
They took that advice to heart, but no one could have prepared for what came next.
From the massive door behind them, a series of bangs echoed into the room, causing nearly the entire class to jump. A pause followed the bangs, and then they continued. Three bangs, followed by a short silence, repeating every few seconds.
"Is someone… knocking?" Round Face asked.
"Should we answer?" Sparky said, tilting his head to the side.
Then the entire door crumbled into dust.
"You know, you're supposed to answer the door when someone knocks," a voice said from the dust cloud.
Izuku swallowed hard as a group of people stepped out of the dust, revealing themselves for everyone to see. The man at the front was tall and thin, and his skin was almost unnaturally pale. What really stood out, though, were the numerous hands that were wrapped around his head and body. They obscured his identity, though they didn't seem to serve as any sort of armor. They were… just regular hands, which was somehow more terrifying. A part of Izuku wondered where the previous owners of those hands were now. Another part of him screamed that he never, ever wanted to find out.
The other people with the man were equally terrifying. One was a seemingly living mass of black fog with yellow eyes that had to be the one who had transported them to wherever they currently were. The way his body shifted and swirled made it hard to figure out exactly where he was located. It was only by keeping his gaze on the fog man's eyes that Izuku managed to keep track of where he was looking.
Behind the two of them was a massive, muscular figure with scars covering his upper body. His chest was bare, with only a pair of brown pants and skull-shaped knee pads to protect him. His face was beak-like, but not in the same way as Tokoyami's was. This person's face looked harsh and threatening, especially with the way that his actual brain seemed to be exposed to the world. It didn't seem to bother the man, though; he simply stared straight ahead, as though he didn't have a care in the world.
Further back, a large crowd of assorted people were waiting outside of the entrance, jockeying to be the next ones through the gate. Most of them were dressed in something between civilian clothes and costumes, but not any costumes that Izuku recognized. They were also far too sinister to mistake as being anything but the costumes of villains.
"Kurogiri," the hand-covered man said slowly, "is it just me, or is something missing from this picture?"
"Indeed," a new voice said. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, which is why it took Izuku several seconds to realize that it belonged to the fog villain. "How perplexing. The schedule we liberated clearly indicated that All Might should be here. Perhaps it was outdated?"
"Dammit," the hand villain said, "All that time setting a trap and we can't even catch the one we were aiming for. Well…" The man swung his head about, and Izuku got the distinct impression that he was evaluating the class. "I guess we can at least have some fun while we're here."
Izuku shivered at the casual way he said that, as if the taking of nearly two dozen lives wouldn't impact him in the slightest.
Suddenly, Aizawa was standing between the students and the villains. His hair was floating about his head, and his capture weapon unfurled as it floated in a similar manner. It made the man look much more intimidating, even from behind, and for a moment Izuku felt safe. Then he remembered just how many villains there were in front of them and his heart sank.
"Everyone follow Thirteen," Aizawa said, his voice more commanding than any of them had ever heard, "She'll get you to safety. Once you're free, contact the school and wait for extraction. I'll keep our friends here busy in the meantime."
"Sir, you can't!" Izuku blurted out before he could stop himself, "There's too many of them. Even if you can erase their Quirks, that's only in a one-on-one scenario. Against a group like that—"
"You can't be a pro if you only have one trick," Aizawa replied calmly before leaping into action.
He crashed into the assorted villains before any of them could react and wrapped his weapon around two, tossing them into the crowd with practiced ease. The villains in the lead dodged the attack but the rest weren't quite so lucky. A number went sprawling and the thrown villains created a blockade at the doorway slowing any newcomers who wanted to join the fray.
"Everyone, with me!" Thirteen called, taking advantage of the window Aizawa had bought them and waving the class to follow. "We'll evacuate through a side exit."
Shota let out a small sigh of relief as he saw the last of his students disappear down the stairs. They'd made good time and hadn't hung around gawking like he'd feared. Admittedly, a large part of that had been Thirteen prodding them along, but he'd take what he could get with that bunch.
His relief only lasted a moment, but it nearly cost him. His attention lapsed, and one of the grunts managed to step over the blockade that he had created, stomping down on his fellows without hesitation, and charged directly at Shota. It was a stupid move, and Shota caught the man with his capture weapon before he'd taken more than a couple of steps. The problem was that more villains followed after the first one, forcing Shota to divert more of his attention to plugging the gap.
It was a losing game, and he knew it. There were simply too many, not to mention that the three really dangerous ones had yet to enter the fray. They were lurking off to the side still, watching the fight with a casual air, or at least the leader was. The other two were impossible to read, even for Shota, who had become something of an expert at cold-reading people.
More villains popped into sight and Shota cursed again. He wished Hizashi was there with him. His friend had offered to step in when it became clear that All Might wouldn't be joining in on the training, but Shota had turned him down.
'Number one rule of teaching, Shota,' he mentally chastised himself as he tossed another villain through the air, 'Never say no when someone offers to pick up a shift.'
He felt a chill he hadn't experienced since he was still an amateur, and his head whipped to the side. The middle villain, the one covered in severed hands, was smiling so widely that it was visible even around the hand covering his face.
"I get it now!" the villain proclaimed, "What Sensei was talking about! Even when you make a perfect plan, other people screw it up! But it's not too late to adapt it. I just need to think of a new angle…"
Shota did his best not to roll his eyes at the over the top gestures that accompanied the words. He hated dealing with the crazy types. They always kept going way past the point where any reasonable person would give up. That, and they never shut up.
He was distracted for a moment as another villain ran at him, forcing Shota to vault over the woman after erasing her Quirk and kicking her in the face, but his eyes were back on the leaders the second he landed. Erasing their Quirks was a waste if he couldn't close the distance to attack quickly enough, and those three seemed more coordinated than the rest of the rabble.
"Kurogiri, do you think All Might would show up if we started killing the kids?" the hand villain asked nonchalantly.
'Shit!' Shota swore internally. That was not the conclusion he wanted them to draw.
"Perhaps…" the fog villain, Kurogiri, said slowly, "Although he would need to be made aware of our actions. We are rather isolated in this place, and there is the possibility that he will bring backup with him...:"
He wouldn't. Shota knew him far better than that. If All Might caught wind of the kids being at risk, he would rush in head first without even considering waiting for backup. Nedzu would send people after him, of course, but they wouldn't be able to keep up with All Might and might arrive much later, especially if the villains had warped them somewhere remote. UA had a lot of powerful people on staff, but they didn't have anyone with teleportation or movement based abilities, something that was feeling like a big oversight at the moment.
"Oh, he'll know where we are!" the hand villain declared, "I'm sure of it. Hard to forget this place, I'd bet. As for any extras he brings along, well, that's for our friends to deal with. We gave them buffs for a reason, you know, even if it was just a couple…"
"I believe they were with the other groups," Kurogiri replied, as Shota sank a fist into a villain's face.
His heart sank at the words. Other groups. That meant they had the building surrounded, or at least the other entrances to the building. He cursed his naivete. Of course they had prepared for that. They'd said they'd stolen a schedule from UA. They must have taken the building plans at the same time, or copied them from a public office. The USJ wasn't a secret, after all; it was a training facility, something they were supposed to be proud of, and it was going to become a grave if he didn't hurry! He had to disengage, to warn Thirteen that she was leading the students out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Aizawa back flipped away from the villain he had been engaging with and began to sprint for the steps, weaving back and forth unpredictably as he went. The villains could take potshots at him, but there shouldn't be enough on their feet to get off a clean attack. Most of the ranged ones were still stuck outside anyways, and the melees shouldn't be able to catch hi—
"Nomu, restrain him."
Something black appeared in Shota's vision a heartbeat before he crashed into a wall of rippling muscle. Arms like steel beams wrapped around him in a bear hug and lifted him off the ground before he could even react. He immediately trained his eyes on the villain, stripping him of his Quirk before the villain could squeeze any harder.
The pressure on his torso didn't decrease even a little. This "Nomu" was holding back too, Shota could tell, exerting just enough force so that Shota couldn't slip away, but not enough to actually hurt his captive. After being on the receiving end from many hugs from All Might, Shota was more than familiar with the sensation.
"Can't have you abandoning the lane just yet," the hand villain said from behind Shota. "We'll need you for the finale. Kurogiri, let's go grab some cameras, then catch up with the kids. I think it's time I tried vlogging."
Izuku took the steps down to the main concourse two at a time, fear pushing him to run faster than he would have ever dared to normally. He could feel his friends beside and behind him, a dull awareness of comforting presences even amidst the fear that bubbled in his stomach. Aizawa had seemed confident when he leapt at the villains, but there had been so many of them, and Izuku knew that Eraserhead's MO was to fight villains one on one. Even if he could fight a group, he wouldn't be nearly as effective that way, and he was bound to tire out eventually.
Thirteen lead the group of students past the spluttering fountain at the center of the building, and then towards an area resembling a ruined city. The buildings were cracked and listing and more than a few had completely crumbled to pieces.
"One of the staff entrances is through there," Thirteen called, indicating a half-collapsed building that was leaning up against the side of the dome. "Once we're through, keep together as we move away from the building. Our best bet is to determine where we have been relocated to, then request backup from UA."
"How?" Kaminari called, "Aizawa made us leave our phones back at the school so we wouldn't goof off, and I can't radio very far!"
"My suit is equipped with an emergency beacon that can summon aid, even in lieu of normal communications. It's being suppressed currently, likely by one of the villains, but if we can get outside of their range or find a hard connection, help will be with us before you know it."
Izuku felt the knot of tension in his gut lessen at the words. Knowing there was a plan, even one that had been created on the fly, helped immensely. Almost as much as having his friends by his side did, which was impressive.
It was at that brief moment of relief that things went bad once more.
The building they were trying to reach shook for a moment, then the front door blew off of its hinges and went sailing towards the class. Without a moment's hesitation, Kirishima threw himself in the path of the oncoming door and hardened his body. The door bounced off of him and went flying away, while Kirishima skidded backwards a few feet before Shoji managed to snag him with a tentacle. Ashido squeaked in alarm at the sight and moved to help her friend, but stopped in her tracks when villains began to pour out from where the door had previously stood.
There were a dizzying amount of Quirks on display and a part of Izuku's brain began to mentally tally and sort them despite his best efforts to focus on the danger. He'd been doing it for his entire life, though, and it was hard to completely suppress the urge.
"Lookie what we got here, boys!" one of the villains called, stepping to the front of the group. "Fresh meat, ripe for the taking!"
He was short and stocky, with pale blond hair that was slicked back and a noticeable accent as he spoke, though part of that might have come from the massive cigar clamped between his lips. He wore a black leather coat emblazoned with flame symbols, large steel toed boots, and a simple domino mask that obscured the upper part of his face. It wasn't much, as far as costumes went these days, but it did put him well above the rest of the villains with him. Izuku didn't know if that indicated he was more dangerous or just more flamboyant, but he really didn't want to find out either way.
"Step aside," Thirteen said, moving to stand between the class and the villain with one gauntlet outstretched. "I don't wish to hurt you, but the safety of these students is my responsibility, and I will if I have to."
The tip of her gauntlet flipped open as she spoke, and Izuku noted a couple of the villains take a step back. Those must have been the ones already familiar with Thirteen's Quirk.
"Don't think I will," the cigar villain said, raising his own hand. "See, I got a job to do too, and I really don't wanna disappoint the boss. Especially after he was nice enough to give me a present before coming here."
The villain snapped his fingers and launched a massive blast of something unidentifiable at the group. It seared the air and ground as it passed and, for a moment, Izuku flashed back to being hit by Katsuki's Quirk all those years ago. Then Katsuki tackled him to the ground, and the moment was over.
The blast never reached them. Before it could, Thirteen activated her Quirk and absorbed it completely. The suction from Black Hole also had the benefit of pulling several of the villains off of their feet, though the cigar villain stayed depressingly stable.
"Nice trick," he said in a shockingly casual tone, "But it's going to take a hell of a lot more than that to stop me."
The second blast he unleashed was massive, completely filling Izuku's vision as it roared towards them. The center was absorbed by Thirteen's Quirk, but the edges of the blast still washed over them. Izuku heard several shrieks of alarm and cries of pain, though he couldn't tell who made them. Thankfully, the blast didn't seem to have any lingering effects. The heat dissipated in moments leaving behind only the lingering scents of smoke and ash.
'Ash,' Izuku realized, as he scrambled to his feet, 'That's what he's shooting at us. Blasts of superheated ash.'
He was amazed he hadn't heard of this villain before. A Quirk that strong in the hands of someone who obviously wasn't afraid to use it should have made the news by this point, or at least the hero blogs that Izuku frequented, and yet Izuku couldn't remember seeing anyone with this Quirk or costume.
It was possible that this was the first time the villain had made a public appearance, but with how confident he was acting, Izuku didn't think that was the case. Newbie villains had an air about them, like they were trying to impress everyone they saw or prove they were the baddest villain around. The more experienced ones, like the villain in front of them, had a level of self confidence that they earned through repeated experiences. It made them less likely to take risks for personal glory and much more dangerous as a result.
"And here I thought UA teachers were supposed to be tough!" the villain said with a sneer, cigar bouncing as he spoke, "Not pushovers who hide behind their Quirks the second the battle starts!"
"Violence is not strength," Thirteen replied, climbing to her feet.
He snorted. "Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that."
He reared back to throw another blast at Thirteen, but hurled himself to the side when a wall of ice suddenly appeared where he had been standing. A few of the other villains behind him weren't quite so quick to dodge, and were lifted into the air and stuck into the iceberg.
"You are in our way," Todoroki said, stepping to the front of the group.
"Sure am," the cigar villain replied, climbing to his feet, "Gonna do something about it, pretty boy?"
Todoroki didn't bother replying. Instead, he launched a wave of ice at the villains, trying to freeze their feet in place like he had done in the battle trial. The wave was countered almost instantly by an ash blast, the two canceling each other out completely and leaving the area buffeted by alternating blasts of frozen and scorching air.
"Not bad kid," the villain said, spitting his cigar out and crushing it underfoot. Just as quickly, he pulled a replacement from his coat and stuck it into his mouth while he spoke. "Got some spine to ya. Shame it was me you came up against, or you might have had a chance. Now I gotta break you, along with all these other—"
"Charr, stand down," a familiar voice called from behind them.
Izuku spun around to look for the source of the voice, and when he found it, his stomach dropped.
The three villains from the entrance were back, and they weren't alone. Aizawa was clutched in the largest one's grip, struggling vainly to break free. He didn't seem to have been injured, which was a major relief, but that might not last very long. The large villain looked strong enough to break Aizawa's spine if he squeezed too hard.
"Awww c'mon, Shigaraki," Charr, the cigar villain, called out. "First it's blast whoever we run into, now it's don't kill the kids. Make up your damn mind!"
"Oh, you'll be killing them all right," Shigaraki replied, "Just gotta wait until after we get things set up."
"Set up?" Charr asked in confusion. "I thought we did the setup already."
"That was for the old plan. This is for the new one," Shigaraki replied nonchalantly.
With that, he reached over and inside of Kurogiri's fog and pulled out a video camera.
"Change of plans, everyone. We're gonna lure All Might to us with a little show. Split up, kill some brats, and be sure to record every second of it. We'll even give you a bonus if you do a good job."
A cheer went up from the assembled villains in front of the group.
"Dibs on the half and half kid," Charr said with a demonic grin.
"Fine, take whoever," Shigaraki responded. "Kurogiri, chuck the kids—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Katsuki leapt into action. He launched himself at the villains, using his Quirk to propel himself even faster. The second he was in range he let out a snarl that was animalistic at best and swung at Shigaraki with full force. If the strike had connected, it would have done some serious damage, but it didn't even come close.
The large, muscle bound villain intercepted Katsuki in mid air, blocking his attack with one arm while still keeping Aizawa pinned with the second. Katsuki growled in pain, but didn't slow down. He shifted targets, and brought his right arm around in an explosive punch to the beaked villain's face, using the force to bounce backwards and gain some distance.
For a moment, Izuku dared to hope that Katsuki had done it. A blast like that, directly to the face, should have done some serious damage. But when the smoke cleared a moment later the villain still had the same eerie, vacant look on his face as before, with the only damage being a few minor burns to his face. Then, to Izuku's mounting horror, those burns began to heal right before his eyes.
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Katsuki said, actually taking a step back in surprise.
"Nice try," Shigaraki said, "but Nomu here isn't just some villain. He's a living weapon, custom built to kill All Might. A little pipsqueak like you can't do more than scratch him, and even that gets wiped away in a second"
"Bullshit!" Katsuki swore. "You can't kill All Might, even if you have some bullshit healing power."
"Oh, but we can, and you're gonna get to watch, assuming you survive long enough," Shigaraki replied, the manic grin on his face visible even through the hand covering it. "Nomu, grab hi—"
As Nomu's attention turned to Shigaraki, Aizawa made his move. He slithered out of the villain's grasp, leaving his shirt behind. He did keep hold of his capture tool, though, and the moment he was clear of Nomu's grasp the ribbon-like weapon snaked out and yanked Katsuki backwards as Aizawa leapt back towards the class.
Izuku dashed forward and caught Katsuki before he could hit the ground, quickly working to unwrap his friend from the capture weapon. Katsuki was spitting in irritation, but he seemed more irritated with Aizawa for tossing him than the villain who had tried to grab him first. A moment later, another set of hands joined Izukus in freeing Katsuki, the pink skin unmistakable. Ashido's hands were deft as she pulled the loops of the capture weapon free and Izuku shot her a grateful look once Katsuki could stand on his own.
Ashido wasn't the only one who had moved to help them. Both Tsunotori and Uraraka were standing between them and the villains in battle stances that were only a little shaky. Tsunotori's horns, already floating by her side, wavered a little in the air, but she kept them pointed at the enemy despite her fear. Izuku could also see Uraraka's hands trembling as she held them in front of herself, ready to send anyone who came close into the stratosphere.
The minute Katsuki was free of the capture weapon, he moved to join them, standing side-by-side with Uraraka against all the odds. Together with Ashido, the four of them formed a wall between Izuku and the villains, one that made him feel surprisingly safe. He could also sense their determination, probably from the way they stood. For the first time, all of his friends were united beside him. It would have been an amazing moment if not for the villains staring them down angrily.
"I am getting ridiculously tired of being interrupted…" Shigaraki said with a snarl. "Kurogiri! Toss the kids to the wolves, but leave the blond and his friends. I want to watch them get torn to shreds…"
Izuku saw Aizawa's hair begin to lift in response, but the fog surged over them before he could erase it. It was heavy and cloying, more than just a simple fog. It had a weight to it, one that physically pushed Izuku back despite his best effort to keep his feet planted.
He tensed his legs in preparation for the same dizzying drop that had come the first time they had been engulfed, but it never came. Instead, after just a few moments, Izuku's vision began to clear as the fog dissipated.
Nearly everyone had been swept away in the fog, leaving only Izuku and his friends, Aizawa, the villains that had been with Charr, as well as Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and Nomu.
"And then there were six," Shigaraki said with manic glee. "And soon there will be none. Now be good and die screaming for me…"
At his words, the group of villains behind the group charged forward while Shigaraki raised his camera and began to record.
