My Iron Giant

-Goodbye to a World-

All Might had spent this morning trying to take his mind off things by going out of his way to help everyone he came across. It felt good to be useful, helpful to those around him. It may be self centered of him but he truly loved how he could bring smiles to faces just by showing up. It's a byproduct of what he had worked so hard for, what Nana had left him with, to ease the populace with a smile on his face.

But it wasn't working for those closer to him, young Midoriya in bed, the memory of Nana's recent screams echoing in his mind, and how much of a failure he was to them.

When he got a call from the principal, he realized how much time he had spent distracting himself. Nearly three hours, he wouldn't have enough time to teach the class he was assigned to today. Not only that he was late! His feeble attempt at an apology to his boss was cut short when the intelligent animal spoke with an almost panicked tone.

"Villains have infiltrated UA"

He failed again, he was supposed to be there long ago, he was supposed to have time to spare, how pathetic had he become in these recent days?

With a mighty jump he bounded to the school, no longer focused on the specks of people below in case he might be needed. All Might's eyes singled out the distant school instead, locking on to his target.

As soon as he arrived he tried to analyze where the attack might be. The main campus seemed fine, the dorms were ok, but one of the battle centers looked like it had seen some action. A very empty and destroyed building where his successor told him he was on the move. If he knew anything about young Midoriya, is that he managed to find himself in the heart of trouble.

In his descent, he traced the footsteps going from the battle area, to a small hole in the school where Recovery Girl's office was, and led right to the farther building with noticeable large holes in it. He listened to Nezu brief him on what they knew along the way, but he barely managed to get another sentence out before the number one hero found where the trouble could lay.

"The USJ is the most likely area of the atta-"

"I'm arriving there now." All Might informed before his signal cut out. They must be blocking communications.

He clenched his legs as he stomped into the ground to halt his momentum. Straight ahead was the massive opening where the door was supposed to be, his class, the teachers being protected, and to his brief joy Midoriya himself, standing as their sentinel.

But rage took over him as he thought about what had happened. Villains dared to attack a group of children, and if that large grotesque beast was any indication they were prepared to kill Midoriya.

All Might would not fail his successor EVER AGAIN!

"DON'T WORRY EVERYONE!" He said in near reflex, always seeking to put everyone at ease. All Might started to loosen his tie, but was fed up with it and ripped the annoyance off.

"WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!" His piercing blue orbs contrasted the shadow over them, making them more intimidating now than anyone has seen besides one man.

"All Might!" Many of the students shouted in relief, even Midoriya acted relieved and joyous if his eye expressions held true.

He would have celebrated seeing the young man healthy, and in more control of himself than ever before, but he had scum to deal justice to.

"Uraraka?"

She stood at attention at his single request. All the training Snipe put into her showing.

"Yes All Might?" Ochaco looked ready for action, but he needed her and everyone here far from it.

"I need you and Midoriya to take everyone here and go straight to the school, understood?"

"Yes All MIght!" Without her giving a single command to the robotic titan he bent down to provide safety in his hands. Ochaco tapped her teachers with her quirk to help lift them as others practically jumped into Midoriya's palms.

"Darn, I was really hoping for a big mech fight." Some half hearted comment came from down the stairs. "But our main quest boss finally showed up, Nomu."

The distorted face of the beast turned to its master.

"Kill the symbol of peace."

All Might jumped to get between the students and the monstrous villain. It swung hard down towards him, but with a little kick in the air he changed his course now sending himself straight to its head.

"TexaaaAAAS SMASH!" With a powerful right hook, he punched the Nomu straight in the face. Wind kicked up everywhere around them, causing some of the students to gasp or shriek in surprise.

But the hero barely had time to avoid the thing from biting his arm off. He kicked off one of the jagged teeth and landed on the ground. That had roughly fifty percent of his strength behind it, but he felt his attack did nothing to it!

"Ha ha ha HA HA HA!" Maniacal laughter erupted from the skinny pale villain. "Your punches won't do anything to our main player! He's got shock absorption, enough to take on your strongest hits!"

"That was hardly my strongest!" All Might bellowed, shooting from the ground and right at the Nomu's gut. "CAROLINA SMASH!"

He couldn't pull his punches anymore, so he tested the waters with this thing. Two cross chops hit the Nomu's stomach straight on, creating two sharp wind currents that kept the other two villains away.

Nothing, not even one hundred percent of his Smash made it recoil. That was a hell of an annoying quirk for something that was already so massive! All Might rarely faced villains larger than himself, but none of them had been able to tank so much of his own power.

It took a swipe at him at remarkable speeds, but when the palm came at him he latched on and swung himself over the arm. Looks like the 'Nomu' couldn't negate wind resistance, lettin All Might have the advantage of being slightly faster.

"All Might!"

He took a second to check the voice, Uraraka was perched on Midoriya's shoulder, the both of them watching nervously, hesitating to leave him. They knew about his time limit, his injury, but he wasn't still the number one hero for nothing!

"Run along now! I've fought worse. You need to get to safety with everyone else!" He twirled to avoid a punch, grabbing onto one of the giant teeth embedded in the knuckles and ripped it off. Lucky him, it showed that this thing could be wounded letting the students be comforted in that knowledge.

She nodded, and looked to Midoriya who turned back to her. She gave him a pat on the cheek and faced the doorway. Izuku spared one last glance over his shoulder to the hero.

All Might gave him a grin full of confidence, his classic smile for the boy. That gave Izuku enough and he hurriedly marched away with the class, making sure to not move them around too much.

"You know, that's what I hate the most about you." Tomura spoke from below. "The lies, the never ending lies you keep telling everyone. You think that smile helps them? It only gives them false hope, making them not even second guess the society they're in."

The number one hero hurled the tooth he had in hand to penetrate the Nomu's eye, making it cry out in pain. With it being distracted he grabbed onto its arm and used his incredible strength to throw the beast. It may have shock absorption, but it couldn't negate his ability to lift heavy things.

"This isn't a smile of content with the world." All Might said taking a power stance, eyeing down the two villains standing to the side as Nomu started to get up.. "This is a smile to give them courage, to not freeze in the face of fear. That way they can move forward, do better, and make this world a place worth fighting for!"

Taking a chance he charged at the two in hopes to get them out of the picture. The beast lurched forward with all its strength, negating his fist by blocking it with its own. While the flesh absorbed the shock the bone cracked under his swing. But to his surprise it began to heal. Even the eye he had pierced just recently showed no signs of injury.

"I thought you said his quirk was shock absorption?"

"I didn't say it was his only quirk." Tomura smiled with glee.

With their fists still interlocked, Nomu punched up, lifting All Might off his feet and into the air. He stopped himself by digging his heels into the ceiling. The Nomu jumped to try and take him out, but he leapt to the side and grabbed another bone sticking out from its skin, dragging it up and over to the brain of the creature.

He didn't like to kill, but this thing was hardly giving him a choice. A quick thrust and it was sent deep into the brain. It twitched as they started to fall back down, but it was healing from the damage again.

All Might coughed, a portion of blood coming from his mouth. Shit, he was already pushing his limit. If he couldn't use its own body against itself, then he had to make use of the environment. The first option presented itself when he peered into the hole over one of the zones, the fire zone to be exact. Taking a page from Endeavor's book he would use it to his advantage.

Reeling his fist back, prepping every muscle into his body, he hurled his fist downward at the beast.

"UNITED STATES OF SMAAAAASH!"

He succeeded, sending it to fall straight into the flames of hell. The gas lines producing the constant flames erupted, engulfing the Nomu in violent clouds of fire.

"SKRAAA!" It cried out in agony, the bones cracking from the moisture being sucked from them, the skin and flesh burning at a rate it could hardly keep up with. This was his shot, to take it out faster than it could heal.

"Don't just lay there grab him!" Tomura shouted. The Nomu tried to obey, but its eyes weren't working, melting in their sockets. It reached out, fumbling its charred and steaming hand into the air.

All Might braced himself for another move, to channel the air around them with a mighty fist to supercharge the flames and burn the Nomu completely. "Nebraska Smash!"

Beginning to spin, using nearly all his remaining strength, he shot down like a bullet with all the whips of fire encircling him in a tornado of light from the heavens. One last shot was all he needed, to take this thing out.

Already in his position, he could hardly react to a small dark patch that opened up in the air in front of him. Believing it to be a barrier conjured by one of the villains, he braced himself to power through it.

It held no resistance, it welcomed him, what kind of-

Emerging from the darkness All Might found himself not where he was, but right in the Nomu's palm. It felt the slightest movement in it and clenched like a venus fly trap.

The number one hero did his best to cancel the move, to try and escape the prison of charred flesh, fire, and spearing bones. He held his forearms to the side, to brace for the impact.

The walls of its hand smacked against his arms, making him exert himself to prevent being crushed. But between the mix of smoky heated air preventing him from breathing properly, his arms singing from the searing hand, and finally the shards of white that stabbed at him.

One particular one entering his scarred side.

"GRAAH!" His frame began to steam, mixed with the smoke around him it disguised just how much he was pushing himself to the limit. All the air in his lungs escaped and filled with scalding air and smoke. It took everything to keep himself from losing his muscular form right then.

The Nomu rose from his prone form, escaping the attempt to burn it alive. Standing and lifting the injured man to its deeply burned face, the beak and skull barely remaining intact from the abuse. Embers danced around them, emerging from the eye sockets of the beast.

If All Might could picture something that personified the horrors of hell this would be it.

"Maybe you're right Shigaraki, this Nomu certainly does depict a devil if I ever saw one." Kurogiri warped back to the lanky young man.

Tomura himself was laughing, a wide grin breaking the dry skin around his lips causing them to bleed. This was it! The moment he and his sensei worked so hard for!

The death of All Might.

Yes! Battle training, Bakugo had waited for this for so long! He was dressed in his costume, the metal arm matching the overall explosive theme perfectly. This time he would prove he was going to be the number one hero undisputed. No frostbite could stop him, or miss privileged.

"Hey man, that thing going to work with your quirk well enough? I know you showed us all during the quirk apprehension test but it might take some damage today. Hate to see something so rad get ruined too fast." Inquired a spiky red head with sharp teeth.

Instead of answering verbally, Bakugo let out a few small pops from the arm showing his powerful quirk off. It felt different, sure without skin to taste the recoil. It twisted his gut thinking how somehow Deku of all people made it so he could use his quirk on his right arm without damaging himself.

"You think I don't know how to use my own damn quirk?" Bakugo spit back, trying to size up this extra. But the guy just smiled and laughed, and it made him FURIOUS!

"Everyone." Eraserhead got the attention of his class. "Just so you all know we are going to be grading over control, not destructive force. If I see you do something that might seriously hurt another student you all will be writing a thirty page essay on the reason why we have such restrictive laws on quirk usage."

The teacher's eyes lingered on Bakugo a little longer than most. Yeah yeah, he got the message, don't try to kill anyone.

But if there was a large obstacle that could be blown up, he'd do it. He needed to get stronger, better with his quirk if he had any hope of facing off against that metal bastard. He had to play along for now, go with the anger management, the lectures from the muzzled hero, and all the eyes on him.

Bakugo would get his chance, he just had to wait, but until then he'd prepare for it. The training exercise today would help him get one step closer to-

The earth under everyone's feet shook slightly, again and again. It faded in, then out in a repeated fashion. It wasn't enough to make them fall, but it was enough to interrupt their thoughts.

"Was that an earthquake?" A guy with freaky elbows asked.

"It couldn't be, no earthquakes follow such a precise pattern and have such short intervals." Miss tall and big boobed said.

"It's probably Midoriya." An invisible girl shrugged.

"Oh yeah, we haven't seen him around lately. What gives?" Fried brains asked their teacher. Eraserhead was narrowing his eyes at the source of the sound, not liking whatever it was. A distant rumble once again shook them, carrying destructive noises of screeching metal.

"Training is cancelled, Yaoyorozu, get everyone and head back to the classroom." Eraserhead commanded pulling out his phone.

A collective whine came from multiple students, only to be silenced by a harsh glare from the teacher. Bakugo was pissed, livid, and every single swear word his mother unintentionally taught him went through his mind. He knows what was the center of attention again, what was causing all the ruckus.

It was Deku, the stupid shitty nerd had SCREWED HIM OVER AGAIN!

Izuku rushed as fast as he could, taking extra care to keep his hands leveled while his feet kicked up the grass underneath them. Right on his shoulder stood Ochaco, holding a piece of his shoulder to keep herself steady. It was relieving to have her next to him, even if he thought he hardly knew her.

But she was so familiar, much more than any of the rest. It was beyond what he recalled from their meeting before he turned into a giant robot. Normally he would feel nervous with any kind of girl around him, but she was different.

He knew her, that he was sure of. If only he could properly remember the time he spent around her as a robot. All he could recall is what Mirio or Nana told him about Ochaco.

Wait, why did it feel right to call her by her first name? He experimented with Uraraka over and over in his mind, no, he couldn't do that. It felt like he was cutting whatever this was off. Plus she called him by his first name so it must be ok.

Taking a peek down, he could feel some similar feelings about a couple of the people in his care but none as strong as Ochaco. There was a girl with a red outfit and white polka dots, she was easily the strongest besides Ochaco. Then there was a girl in a lizard outfit, a guy with a speech bubble for a head, and lastly a blonde girl with horns on her head.

Izuku already knew plenty of trivia and facts about the two heroes, but there was that familiarity with them. It upset him even more to see them hurt like this.

"Izuku." Ochaco spoke next to him pointing.

Up ahead he spotted a group of armored vehicles rushing over to them. With his ability to see through the tinted windows he spotted a multitude of heroes seated within. Snipe and Principal Nezu stood out the most. He was glad that they brought an ambulance.

Slowing his pace down to not lose his passengers, Izuku lowered them all to the ground. Immediately the cars stopped, making a semi circle in front of the metal boy. Many wanted to comment or pry further into Izuku's new behavior, but their priorities were firm and just gratefully accepted the aid.

"Get those two into the ambulance with Recovery Girl immediately." Nezu pointed to the heroes resting in Izuku's hand. Midnight, Hound Dog, and a few others acted immediately to gently carry the injured heroes away.

Kendo soon walked up to the Principal, noticing a lack of a particular annoying blond. "Principal Nezu sir?"

The furry authoritative figure looked up to her. "Yes?"

"Monoma, he went to get help but I don't see him. Is he ok?"

"He's absolutely fine. I was a little worried at first seeing his transformation but after coming to me his form vanished like before. We found him standing in the grass unharmed and responsive."

Kendo sighed in relief. She worried that he would somehow suffer more from using Midoriya's quirk, or go on another rampage. But guess everything worked out fine for him.

Snipe looked up to Ochaco, who was sliding down Izuku's arm to meet up with the hero.

"Report." He stated.

Snapping her spine straight she listed the events of what had transpired. "Sir! We were ambushed by a group of over seventy villains at the USJ. All communications were ineffective and a villain with a warping quirk managed to separate us and injure Thirteen."

"I assume the warping villain is how they got in?"

"Yes sir!"

There was much more she told the mentor, their goals, what she saw of Vlad King, and how Izuku came and helped to round everyone up. The last she mentioned was All Might's orders and the description of the creature he was fighting. What made Snipe raise his eyebrow under the mask was the sudden shift in Midoriya. He wasn't just standing at attention watching Ochaco anymore. He was looking over everyone present, shifting slightly every now and then unlike his previous strict movement.

Hopefully this was a step in the right direction for him. Honestly without him he doubted there would be so few injuries amongst the classmates. Something changed, causing Izuku to spin around and look back at the USJ. His eyes narrowed dangerously, just like previous times that Ochaco was in danger.

Before anyone could say anything to him he charged off, stomping away to the facility. The sharpshooter acted fast. "I want everyone who isn't extractin' the students with me! We're followin' the giant!"

Others jumped straight to their cars, himself included. His passenger door slammed shut, making him look up in surprise. Ochaco was sitting right there getting buckled up.

"And where do you think you're goin'?" He asked the girl. She gave him her most determined glare he ever saw her wear.

"I'm going to help Izuku."

He was about to say something as in 'She's just a student, not her problem, his own responsibility etc.' But he put his all terrain armored vehicle in gear and floored it. If they needed to get to Izuku, and he was still under her command, then she was their ebay bet at turning the tides for whatever was taking All Might so damn long.

Izuku's armored boots carried him as fast as they could back to the USJ. His senses, or sensors had alerted him of the massive surge of power over there. Zooming his eyes in through the walls he saw what he expected, All Might about to deliver a finishing blow against the Nomu. He was in awe for the few seconds he witnessed it, but became horrified when he saw the portal send him straight into the beast's grip.

Deep down he hoped that All Might would be able to get out, to win the fight like he always did, but then steam started to come off him, not like the smoke and hissing air around him. Somehow the machinery picked up on his inquiry for the hero's help and listed everything he needed to know.

All Might

Quirk Power: .05%

Severe Injuries

That was all he could mentally translate from the strings of code going through his mind. His eyes picked up on the hero's side currently being stabbed.

His mind rejected the idea of All Might dying so soon, without Izuku spending time learning about his quirk under the hero, to one day live up to his expectations. All Might needed to be there, so he could show him that he would live up to the responsibility that resided in carrying One for All.

Quirk Power: 0.02%

'He can't keep this up, if I don't help him now he's going to run out of time!'

Recalling what Nana had shared with him, the ability to channel One for All throughout his body, he pulled at the feeling. Arcs of green lightning channeled off his skin inside the robot, helping to directly fuel his metal form. The ports under his feet lit up, shooting him faster to his goal.

In hardly any more time he reached the ripped apart entrance of the USJ. He saw in person the dire situation All Might was in, slutched in that demon's hand.

Quirk Power: 0.01%

'LET GO OF HIM!' His eyes quickly thrummed, locking onto the Nomu's body, and fired a hyper condensed beam of energy. The light overcame everything else, bathing the scenery in lime green light as he cut into the Nomu dead center.

Once they burned straight through, he stopped and examined the smoking hole in its chest, right where the heart was. Izuku stood there, waiting for All Might to take advantage of this and pop out from its grasp.

The hero looked at Izuku, half his face keeping his muscled form while his other took on his true appearance. His heroic grin softened, his electric blue eyes meeting Izuku's soft green orbs, practically looking straight at the boy through the metal mask and at his real face.

Everything else fell silent, as Izuku heard All Might's strained words.

"Next, it's your turn."

Quirk Power: 0.00%

'ALL MIGHT!'

He moved forward, to try and prevent the worst from happening. In a puff of steam, All Might returned to Toshinori Yagi. A quirkless man crushed in the grip of the Nomu. His body was stabbed from all angles, only his head remaining intact with a trail of blood coming from his mouth.

Izuku in a rush of emotions, stepped right in front of the Nomu, grabbed the wrist holding All Might, and squeezed. With the limited flesh that hung onto the weakened bone the hand broke away. Izuku lifted it up to him, cradling the contents with extreme care. The severed hand turned to dust with the lack of regeneration, leaving the bloody limp form of the greatest hero to ever live, resting in his hands.

He fell to his knees, the metal clanging against the concrete and echoing in the nearly empty facility. Izuku's frame began to shake, curling around the person to make his dreams possible, the one who inspired him to be a hero.

The lenses over his eyes closed, his tears leaking through his true eyelids. He couldn't openly cry, only choke on air as no sounds of anguish came from his mouth.

He ignored the villains moving around him, only caring about the man he held.

Tomura circled the large robot that wept in front of him. It seemed unrealistic, to be able to kill All Might. Sensei said it wasn't guaranteed that the Nomu would be able to defeat the symbol of peace, and less so if Midoriya was there with him. They made plan after plan of how the three of them would be able to take them out in many different scenarios.

Now, he was absorbing it all in. The undefeated champion who managed to make his teacher hide further into the shadows to be forgotten by most, was dead by their planning. He only wished he could have dealt the final blow.

The League of Villains were successful in killing the symbol of peace, so why not shatter the world and kill their next one too?

He casually walked up to the mech, the Nomu healing his wounds as his face started to reconstruct itself, and Kurogiri watching in hesitation. Tomura wanted to break this boy's spirit before killing him.

"You should have gone for the head." He whispered mockingly.

*CRUNCH*

Kurogiri didn't have time to react to the fist that slammed down on Tomura. It came faster than he could have perceived. The giant lifted his bloodied knuckles from the ground, his eyes just as red and the crushed body embedded in the floor.

The Nomu's eyes regenerated, and glanced at the broken form of its master. Without instruction, it was an empty shell of muscle. It did however, have one instruction if ever encountering this scenario.

"SKRAAA!"

It gripped the back of Izuku's head and slammed it into the ground, over and over trying to destroy it. Seeing it was useless it lifted the boy up and threw him out of the USJ and back out the entrance. Izuku twisted mid air to keep All Might within his grasp, to preserve him in some way. His back scraped against the ground and nearly hit a group of vehicles coming their way.

Snipe slammed on the brakes to avoid crashing into the mech.

"Izuku!" Ochaco shouted before undoing her buckle and rushing out. She ran straight to his head, looking into his narrowed eye. It grew larger once it spotted her then turned back to the large shadow descending at them.

Izuku turned his body to shield the group of heroes, his back facing the approaching Nomu. It slammed its fisted hands into his back letting a shockwave burst through the air.

"Holy shit." Snipe said seeing the spectacle, then he looked to what Izuku held in his hand and felt a cold rush through his veins.

"fuck." It was the only word he could utter, seeing the unstoppable man, the invincible marvel, a skinny lifeless mess in those metal fingers.

Izuku held out his hero as his back was being pounded, dent after dent made but he stayed unmoving to protect those under him. Ochaco put her hands to her mouth when she saw All Might, tears welling up in her eyes and streaming down in heavy droplets.

Snipe held out his arms, the strongest person to live being placed in them. He tried to compose himself, to figure out what to do next, but above them was a monster and a boy in a toy. That toy seeing Snipe now holding All Might swung his elbow back to knock the Nomu off him.

Izuku channeled more energy into his fist and pivoted in place.

'TEXAS SMAAAASH!'

He smashed his fist into the beast's face, cracking and breaking all the bones on the surface. The flesh absorbed the shock, yet recoiled at the immense strength channeled at it. The Nomu replied by grabbing the fist and pulling Izuku towards itself.

Once the giant was close enough it latched onto the top of his head and shoved him to the earth. Izuku controlled his fall and made sure he didn't land on the others below who were panicking. His frame was shoved into the dirt, his face being kept facing to the side as the Nomu tried to pull his arm off.

Izuku tried to free himself, to jab away at the Nomu's torso as it pulled. He would have used his eyes but they were turned away from it, and right to someone running right to him.

"IZUKU!" Ochaco was in a dead sprint right to him.

"Get back!" Snipe commanded her and the rest, holding a precious hero in one arm and trying to shoot at the Nomu. "Damn it! Get the JSDF here NOW!"

Ochaco ignored the tussle, the giant limbs flailing that could crush her at any moment, and continued to run to Izuku. When she neared his face he stared at her with his lenses portraying an apologetic/sad emotion.

"Open up!" She yelled.

She commands, and he obeys. One of his eyes shifted, the entire thing moving up to reveal an opening leading straight to the interior. Ochaco hopped in, seeing Izuku's body suspended in the air by a mechanical arm connecting to his back. His own limbs were moving in sync with the robot, as if his own body was being pinned by an invisible opponent.

"We have to get you out of here!" she rushed over, trying to keep her balance as the Nomu kept shoving the head around.

Izuku moved what he could with his head and shook it, continuing to fight Nomu. His lips moved but nothing came out. Why couldn't he speak?!

"Why?! That thing is going to kill you! It already killed-" She tried to chastise, to look for some way to unplug him safely. In his silence she continued. "We can't lose you! Everyone needs you Izuku! I need you! Please don't kill yourself!"

Izuku would have cried for joy seeing someone care that much for him, but his focus remained on the Nomu that continued to pound away at him. Ochaco failed to find a way to remove him, so she thought of the only thing she could and went to the eyehole.

As she was about to leave Izuku spotted the Nomu about to throw a punch right at his face.

[Primary Directive: Protect -Ochaco Uraraka-]

The eye slammed shut, letting the screen take the full front of the head again. Ochaco ran back to Izuku and clutched his body. "I can help fight him! One touch and you can punch him into space!"

She doubted she could use her quirk on that much, but it was her only option if she was going to keep Izuku alive. All Might was dead, and he was next at this rate. She hated to do this, but she had no choice. Ochaco had to command him.

"Let me fight with you!"

[Calculating...Solution: -Upgrade-]

[Searching for optimal designs….Design found]

[Simulating...Rendering...Design compatible for upload.]

[Begin Upgrade….Upgrade Complete]

[New combat synchronization system ready]

Izuku's body shifted in the headspace, moving to the side. A new arm emerged from the ceiling, grabbing Ochaco before she could think about resisting. Her hero costume was enveloped by new material, taking apart her suit and giving it a thick layer of protection and bulkier parts for her boots, gloves, shoulders and helmet. It became airtight, tubes and ports opening on different parts of it. The visor tinted blue as a hud appeared before her.

[Begin mind drift]

Snipe had been pouring every piece of heavy ammo he had and aiming it at the giant beast's eyes. With rapid fire precision he kept chipping away at the tissue, but it kept growing back. Things were not looking good, scratch that it was the worst he could imagine.

All Might was dead.

The second most powerful person he could think of was currently being pummeled by it.

And Ochaco had ran straight into the danger.

All top ten heroes were already on the way, but this thing was hardly reacting to the hits Midoriya was giving this thing.

Snipe could only pray. "Our Heavenly Father, our situation is dire. As we see with our mortal eyes we can only perceive death and destruction ahead. Allow us to be blessed by a miracle, to triumph over our foe that seeks to destroy thy children. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

It had been years since he prayed, and a sliver of him doubts any kind of instant solution will come.

He prayed for a quirk, instead he was given the paths to develop arguably the greatest shooting skills the world ever saw.

Another time he prayed for someone to be saved, instead he got an unobstructed vantage shot to take out a villain.

Last time he prayed it was for a family when his wife was still alive, instead Principal Nezu reached out after her passing and he got a job at UA. There he made the closest thing to family he could get.

Either God had a strange way of answering prayers or it was just crazy coincidence. Yet if this was any moment for the big man upstairs to step in to help, it would be now.

A bright glow emanated from Izuku's eyes and chest, causing Snipe to shield his eyes. The vents located on his pecs shot out an afterburn so hot it forced the Nomu to recoil in pain. When it backed up enough the giant's legs kicked themselves into its stomach, the thrusters under its heels blasting the beast away.

The giant got up, pieces shifting all around it. A shield emerged on its left arm, nearly the size of the robot itself. Its right hand went down to its waist, grabbing a handle that emerged. Pulling slowly a blade constructed itself, the metal glowing as if it was red hot but had a distinct green hue to it that thrummed with power. On its back massive rectangular funnels lined themselves up to create a pair of thruster based wings.

The cowboy themed hero thinks they just got their miracle.

Ochaco and Izuku stood side by side, fire burning behind their eyes as they marched together in the headspace. The giant itself mimicked their movements perfectly, stalking towards the monster.

"SKRAAAA!" Nomu shrieked and lunged at them, clawing mounds of dirt and scattered debris at them. They easily swatted the projectiles with their shield, still moving steadily to the Nomu. When it got close enough it jumped and primed its fist at them.

They held up their shield, letting the Nomu smack its tooth-filled knuckles against it. The giant twisted their body to put the shield under the Nomu and lift it above them and slam it onto the ground. Izuku and Ochaco brought up their sword and tried to stab the Nomu's exposed head.

It tilted itself to the side, grabbed the shield with both hands, and shoved up. They were smacked by the shield and tossed up in the air a good fifty feet. Abandoning the shield the thrusters in their feet and back lit up to ease their descent as they gripped the sword with two hands.

The Nomu kept the shield in its hands and charged at them with it. Green lines overcame the metal before it started to vanish. Not expecting the shield to vanish soon after taking it, Nomu was at the mercy of the giant slicing their sword deep into its shoulder.

"SKRAAAAEEE!" It shrieked in agony as they pushed the burning metal further down into the beast, hoping to cut all the way through. The Nomu gripped the sword with one hand and punched them in the stomach with the other.

They stumbled back, but kept the grip on their sword as it pulled out leaving a nasty burn mark across the beasts body. Repositioning themselves they held the sword out in front of them, readying any kind of strike they needed.

The Nomu jumped above them, falling straight down to them with arms wide. Boosters under their heel started to whine as they held their sword in preparation. When it got close enough they sent an upper strike to slice one of the arms clean off with a portion of its side. Using the primed boosters they leapt up and gripped the Nomu's throat and flipped around it.

They both fell, landing their hot feet right on the Nomu's legs. Before it could react they brought the sword down and stabbed straight through the beast and deep in the earth. It cried out, digging its only working arm in the gound around it to try and gain some leverage.

Inside Izuku's face snarled.

The giant's green eyes changed before firing a beam right at the Nomu's face.

'Went for the head.'

Its face started to burn under the weaponized gaze until it reached its hand up right at them. It gripped their chin and pulled itself closer, the blade sliding deeper into it.

Ochaco gasped as she saw the Nomu starting to turn their face away from it and right to where some heroes were. Both teens mentally cut the lasers off to protect the others, but that gave the Nomu the chance to headbutt them away.

Correcting their footing Izuku and Ochaco glared at the Nomu pinned under the sword, but the green lines overcame the weapon until it vanished, leaving the beast to heal once again from its injuries.

"What else can we do?" Ochaco asked in frustration.

'Are there any other weapons you know how to use?'

Ochaco snapped her head to look at Izuku who just looked back in confusion.

"Did I just hear you in my head?"

'Maybe? Can you hear me now?' His lips weren't moving but she could still hear him think.

"Yeah."

They were interrupted by the Nomu's screeching and running once again. It began to charge at them, throwing anything it could get their hands on. That included one of the vehicles that tried driving away.

"No!/No!' Both said/thought. Their hand reached for the car mid air, gently grasping it and turning their body with the momentum to slow it down to where the people inside wouldn't die from impact. They peered inside to check on the passengers.

Inside were Present Mic, Midnight, and Eraserhead. All were gripping the car like their life depended on it, and the latter throwing up.

Another object hit them in the face, luckily it wasn't another transport but the Nomu was approaching them to use as ammo.

Ammo..

"I've got an idea!" Ochaco said as they put the car down. With their thoughts already in sync they knew what they wanted to do.

A barrel emerged from their right wrist, it continued to grow and shift until a large rifle sat in their hands. As the Nomu was about to grab another car a blast of plasma instantly burned the fingers turning them to dust.

"SKRA-"

*BZZ*

A bullet of pure energy hit its throat, silencing it momentarily. They charged at it, keeping the trigger pulled as they littered the Nomu with rounds. Ochaco's aim greatly enhanced the two of them, letting them hit the same spots over and over, never leaving it an opportunity to regenerate.

Unfortunately it gave itself that chance. It dug into the earth, crawling with unnatural speed into a new hole. They followed it to the entrance, shooting constantly until it was no longer in their scope.

They switched their vision to see where it could have gone. Right as they turned around and looked down it burst from the dirt and bear hugged them. It squeezed tightly, making them drop the gun.

Both Ochaco and Izuku clenched their teeth, trying to free themselves. This fight was taxing, no matter what they did it just kept regenerating no matter how many times they hurt it. They needed to get rid of this thing!

Both of them groaned, the pressure increasing and not letting up. They had to come up with a new plan now! Izuku channeled more energy of One for All into the mech to keep their strength up from being crushed. So far everything went wrong when they got too close to it, they needed space.

Literally.

The rear thrusters lit up, an orange glow emanating from the vents as it charged up. With a high powered whine they sprung to life, launching them at high speeds into the air.

The Nomu kept trying to crush them as they went higher and higher, above the city, through the clouds, and eventually the blue sky in a few seconds. All three were merely a bright speck to those watching below.

When they passed through the thermosphere at such high speeds the Nomu nearly burned up completely but held tight. As soon as they exited it flesh began to grow back. Without enough muscle mass to keep up the pressure Izuku and Ochaco were able to push themselves free and escape the crushing sensation.

The Nomu latched onto them still with one arm, trying to beat them into submission with the other. With less and less air the sounds outside began to be taken away by the vacuum of space. The giant gripped onto the Nomu's incoming fist and clenched tightly to rip it away. It sent another punch with the good arm, but met the same fate.

'This is for attacking the school!'

Izuku sent beams of lasers into the Nomu's face, turning it blind.

"This is for hurting our teachers!"

Ochaco said, throwing a punch to smack the Nomu spinning away in the zero gravity.

The giant's chest shifted, panels opening to reveal a large glowing green orb at the center of it. Arcs of lightning emerged from it, creating another condensed sphere in front of it.

"AND THIS IS FOR ALL MIGHT!/AND THIS IS FOR ALL MIGHT!'

Both cried in their hearts as they released the built up attack. It soared through the emptiness, no noise to be heard as it made contact with the Nomu. The sphere enlarged to nearly a mile in diameter, completely destroying anything that would have resided within it. As the light died down, the two were left floating miles above the planet below.

Izuku and Ochaco floated together, no booming sound for the explosion, no one else around to fight, just them in space. Only the stars kept them company. The fight was done, the war was won.

But it wasn't victory.

Emptiness enveloped them, in space, in their hearts, everything felt so hollow now. With no current purpose, no goal, they drifted through the darkness that surrounded them. The adrenaline had run its course, their bodies becoming numb in thought. It was just them, and nothing else. Opportunities lost, dreams shattered, and a mentor gone forever.

"All My Heroes - Radio Edit" by Naeleck and SarahRebecca

First thing I want to address, Snipe's prayer. If anyone feels that was too religion heavy then rest assured that there won't be more moments like this in the future. I don't feel bad about putting it in though, many, many people start to question their faith in the presence of really bad situations. I also didn't want religion to just be seen as a personality or joke as Shiozaki was built to be in the anime/manga.

Gotta ask though, did anybody expect a permanent death to happen? If so who?

Also, for poll thing I thought about pretty much everyone that commented about that voted unanimously for Izuchaco.

Ochaco's new suit was drawn by Saramus01 on deviant art. It's titled "Uravity Armor"

Izuku's new mech form is around a hundred feet tall and the look of it can be found by searching "PG 1/60 Gundam Astray Green Frame" There's a couple different versions with swords and shields and all that but just think of the base humanoid.

Ezylryb:

Thanks! Hope this one was also to your tastes. No official poll will happen, lots of folks pretty much presented their opinion.

Team5dsforever:

While they didn't work with All Might, they certainly obliterated it.

Guest:

Maybe, I'm mostly using mech styles over their specs for Izuku's transformations.

Xyrothor:

I'm so happy that this fic gave you some ideas for mech stories. It also touches my heart to see you appreciate sad boy in a tree-house. It's my first fanfic and I think about it alot. Unfortunately it's my least popular fic, all the others seem to be grabbing much more attention than it. I have another chapter for it in the works but I'm not trying to rush it.

gabrispaul20:

Izuku's titanfall sized form is coming very soon.

Hurtturnip:

While some things are auto, he has full control over it. It's just a matter of figuring out all the features and how to use them.

Saramus92:

Thank you very much! I did use your plug suit drawing you made for Ochaco, it's a great design.

DaemonScribe:

Yep! Luckily Ochaco can hear him so he's not completely mute in a way.

Animeguy1101:

I am not caught up in the manga, I'm barely past the anime actually. I know a couple things but not too much. I'm sure I also mentioned it to you before, but nothing I say is going to happen is for certain. It's just paths that I see the story until I see a better one or one I like more.

Zabkiel:

Nana has basically switched roles with Izuku, being the mind of the robot to allow Izuku full conscious control.

Oh trust me, Shigaraki got plenty of bone hurtin.

:

Noted.

Xekless:

Eventual Iron man suit possibility yes, its a little more complicated than that, given how there is a ton of machinery inside Izuku's body to keep him alive and functional.

Dekiru81:

I will plan on more best friend interactions in the future, the nice little wholesome moments are what I live for. Unfortunately I just suck at coming up with ideas for them.

Forsaken Dragon of the Void:

There's a long list of mechs that have been requested, but we'll see which ones I end up picking cause I don't even fully know.

Tribun:

I have been planning this chapter for over a month. Pretty much all that I've been building up to came to these chapters. The whole Izuku merging with Ochaco to pilot the giant was always planned to happen at USJ. Though we will get some moments of those two alone just cause Izuku probably wouldn't feel comfortable with other strangers in his head.

No All for One daddy, I got a different twist in mind.

Festival stuff, there's going to be all sorts of stuff ranging around it. People already are painting Izuku to be the next symbol of peace, and now that All Might is gone they would riot if he didn't participate in the festival to prove "he is here."

Random65:

Glad you liked it!

guardiantoa:

Yeah, I did reference pacific rim a lot in these last couple chapters. This one though, I hope people caught my Iron Giant reference in it. Same with the last chapter, subtle things but are huge.

JotSomethingDown:

Hope you clenched yourself enough for this chapter.

d1n0s:

That's where I debated having Nana's fighting talent siphon off to Izuku but I decided against it. Luckily Ochaco's skills have come into play to help out our broccoli boy.