It felt as though he had blinked, and two weeks had simply vanished from under Percy's nose. He knew that he'd be kept busy, Aizawa had made it abundantly clear that they would have little free-time as students. But between regular classes, homework, hero classes, class rep duties, his own personal workout schedule, and the mandatory four-way friend dates Nejire insisted he be a part of; time was moving at the speed of light.

Maybe that was just an effect of growing older though. As Percy crept toward his twentieth year, he was reminded of his mother saying that the older you get, the faster time seems to go by. That certainly felt like it was the case these days. He wasn't going to complain though, far from it. Rather, he was delighted to be so busy. Percy had never been able to handle idleness well; one of the downsides to his heritage. He got antsy if he was left to his own devices for too long, and felt like he should be spending his time doing something productive, rather than lounging around in his sweats.

Percy closed the book in front of him, and began packing away his things,

"Sorry, again, to cut things short on you. Mandalay was apologizing for the umpteenth time that hour. "It's just-"

Percy waved off the concern, "Relax Shino, family always comes first, believe me, I get it." he said with a laugh, "One of these days I do want an introduction to this little menace I hear so much about." He was referring to Mandalay's nephew, Kota. His parents, Mandalay's cousin's or something to that effect, had died a few years ago in the line of duty, as a result of a villain. Mandalay had taken the boy in as her own, and had been raising him with the Cats ever since.

Problem was, apparently the kid had a bit of an attitude issue. Not that Percy was in any place to throw stones from his own glass house. But he understood well enough; the kid had lost his parents, and was taking his frustration out the only way he could understand. Unfortunately, that meant picking fights at school, and getting into trouble, which was the whole reason for Mandalay packing up early to head out. The other Cats had already left for the day, something about catching a train to the other side of the country to work a job with a friend of theirs. With the weekend coming up, they wouldn't need to be on campus to teach, so they could continue their hero work.

Mandalay had taken a small break from the team in a combat position, in order to help Kota adjust more easily to the sudden move to the city, so she would be staying.

The look on the woman's face told him that she still felt guilty over the ordeal, but Percy just shooed her out with a small laugh. With a smile and thankful nod of her own, she gathered the rest of her belongings and bolted out the door. Percy chuckled at the harried woman. He'd gotten to know most of the Cats well over the last few weeks, but Mandalay in particular struck a chord with him. Maybe it was the way she had spoken to him when he'd broken down, or maybe it was the soft-yet strong and determined fire in her eyes, but the two had hit it off shockingly well.

He'd be hesitant to call them friends, what with the instructor and student dynamic between them, but there was a level of respect and understanding not present in most teacher-student relationships.

Gathering his own belongings, Percy followed Mandalay out the door, and made his way to his homeroom. The rest of the students likely wouldn't be there for about twenty minutes yet, which meant he might be able to sneak a nap in. Say what you would about Aizawa, but the man had the right idea with that sleeping bag of his. Percy would do a lot to be able to crash for an hour or so in the middle of the day like he had in college.

Opening the large door to his homeroom, he was surprised to see that not only was Aizawa already there, but he was conscious, busy preparing a stack of papers on the podium. He looked up at the sudden intrusion in mild annoyance,

"You're early, cutting class?" he asked dryly,

Percy snorted; he knew the man well enough by this point to know he didn't actually think so lowly of Percy. He just used his sarcasm to keep people from getting too close. In that way, Percy felt a slight kinship with the man.

"Hardly," Percy said, moving to his desk at the back of the room, "Mandalay had to go sort something out at her nephew's school, and asked if we could cut things short. I told her it wasn't a problem and here I am."

"Well I suppose that works out," Aizawa mused, leaning against the podium, "I needed to speak with you anyway."

"What about?" he asked,

"We're going on a little field trip today for our hero course. We're going to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ, for rescue training. We were supposed to have three heroes to supervise, but All Might is having a…personal issue, and won't be joining us." he explained.

"This have anything to do with that small form of his?" Percy asked, and for a brief second, he got to enjoy the look of shock on Aizawa's face, "I was paying attention during that first interrogation sir, I know I'm not the smartest, but I'm not an idiot."

Aizawa recovered smoothly, "I assume I don't need to impress upon you the importance of keeping that information to yourself," he stated, and Percy mimed locking his lips tight. Aizawa nodded, "To answer your question, yes, it does. He has a limited amount of time in that other form, something to do with an old injury, point is, he won't be there and we need three supervisors for the session. I was hoping you'd be willing to take point with the water evacuation and tsunami exercises."

Percy's eyebrows shot up at that, sure he had taken a pretty active role in the battle simulations they had, and had become a TA in all but name in most of their hero courses, but the level of trust Aizawa was placing on his shoulders was surprising.

"Don't look so shocked kid." the teacher explained, "Let's not play pretend, you and I both know that you being here is merely a you playing nice with Nezu, and trying stay out of prison. If you were to take the licensing exam today, I think we both know that you'd pass with flying colors." That much was true, Percy already knew that he'd been on par with at least a few of the top heroes before even coming to the school. After recovering most of his lost strength, and two weeks of rigorous after-hours exercises, he was pushing the limits of where he was at his peak.

"Look, I'll be honest. I still don't strictly trust you." Aizawa admitted, "You're strong, have more potential than any student I've seen in a very long time, and you have a good head on your shoulders. But," he said, his expression growing rather dark, "I still think you're a bit of a risk. Your mental state is still questionable, not that you can really be blamed for it, but it would be irrational to discount it."

Percy hated to admit it, but he had a point. He'd been slowly and steadily getting better, the nightmares he had at night were becoming less frequent, and he wasn't crippling himself daily with self-doubt, but he knew that he was still more than a little bit of a train wreck of a human being.

"But Nezu seems to trust you for some reason, and the students look up to you. It would not be rational of me not to use you to the fullest extent of your capabilities. This class has some of the most potential I've seen in a first-year group in years, but they're a ticking time bomb. Between Bakugo, Midoriya, and Todoroki, there's enough head-cases to fill an asylum and that's before taking you into account."

Harsh but also not inaccurate.

"Whether I like it or not, these kids need someone to teach them the things we as teachers cannot, which is why I'm willing to trust you with leading the exercise today. Prove to me that you can be more than just a glorified battering ram Jackson." he said, as the doors to the room opened and the first students began trickling in.

BREAK

Percy chuckled as he pat Iida consolingly on the back. He'd allowed the poor guy to assume the role of chaperoning the class onto the bus. Only for his "boarding strategy" to be a moot point, as the buses seating arrangement meant kids could arrange however they wanted. Percy, for one, was thankful for the layout. It allowed him to stretch his legs out and not stiffen up before the exercises.

"There, there bud, there'll be other opportunities." He consoled, not trying all that hard to hide his amusement.

"Yeah Iida, you really need to chill, you're not even the class rep so why are you taking it so hard." Ashido teased lightly, Over the sulking boy's shoulder Percy shot the girl a small look and she shrugged unapologetically.

"If we're pointing out things that are obvious then there's something I'd like to say." Tsu said, turning in her seat to look at Midoriya, "About you actually," Immediately the kid started shaking, and mumbling to himself, an annoying habit that Percy had been trying to break over the past few weeks.

"Midoriya," he chided calmly sitting up so he could nudge him with the boot of his hero costume. He snapped out of it, sending Percy a thankful nod before turning to Tsu,

"That power of yours, it's pretty similar to All Might's huh?" she said,

If Midoriya had looked panicked before, then he looked outright terrified at that moment, whether over being compared to his idol-they had all learned of his hero-worship when he had accidentally left one of his notebooks out-or over the attention it was impossible to tell. Again, Percy nudged the small boy with his boot. He made a mental note to try and figure out a way to get the kid some help with that, maybe talk to Mirio about it. The big guy had a way of breaking people out of their shells.

"I don't know about that Tsu," Kirishima chimed in, "All Might doesn't break his body when he uses his power," Percy knew it wasn't meant as an insult, but the way Izuku slumped in his seat was more than enough for Kirishima to look kind of sheepish about, made even worse when Percy caught his eye.

Gods be good, when had he become a den-mother to these kids?

"Eh heh, no offense Midoriya, cause I'm sure you'll get the hang of your power soon! You've already been making great progress!" Kirishima was hasty to add. Percy smiled, at him, that was one thing he really did appreciate about the redhead. He had a good heart that kid. Midoriya gave him a small smile as thanks,

"Still," Kirishima added, "I bet it's awesome to have such a simple augmentation-type of quirk, you can do a lot of flashy stuff with it. Not like mine where all I can do is harden my body," he said, raising his shirtless arm and activating his quirk. "Don't get me wrong, it's plenty strong and can beat up bad guys like it's nothing, but it's not the coolest looking thing."

"Oh! I wouldn't say that at all," Midoriya insisted excitedly, always eager to talk about someone's quirk, "I bet you can do a whole lot of awesome stuff with a quirk like that. There's no way you aren't pro-material with something like that!" The kid had such a positive and eager excitement to him whenever he talked about quirks, that Percy was pretty sure he was right about his earlier assessment about the kid. No way did he have a quirk until very recently. Which made his recent progress all the more impressive to Percy.

Kirishima was right when he said Midoriya had been taking strides. Percy had taken the boy aside one day after battle training, it had been the third day in a row that he had refused to use his power. Percy, having enough of it, had insisted on daily after school training with him while he completed his own workout routine. He had figured out that Midoriya was channeling all of his power when using his quirk, and the backlash of that much raw power in a still developing body was dangerous. So, Percy had the idea of having him start with limited power.

Midoriya had caught on quickly enough, using an analogy about microwaves or something, but he got the point. He was able to, by his estimate, channel about five percent of his power into his arms and legs without suffering more than some minor soreness. It was a start, and it had given him a needed boost in his overall confidence. Which, if he were honest, wasn't saying much.

He realized with a start, that he'd done that with several of the students the last two weeks. Shoji and Kirishima had become unofficial after-school workout partners, he'd been giving Iida and Uraraka pointers for overcoming the weaknesses to their abilities. Hell, he'd even been working on keeping Bakugo's ego in check.

Though that mostly meant just beating the piss out of him whenever the situation arose.

Still, the hot-head had been making progress towards not being a tremendous mountain of shit. Percy had even noticed that he'd stopped going after Midoriya as often as he had. Bakugo wouldn't blow up on the kid whenever he spoke. Percy had figured him out relatively quickly. Someone like Bakugo had an ego, true, but they were also tirelessly goal-oriented. Give them an objective, something to achieve, and they would put aside everything to achieve. So, Percy had given him a relatively simple goal.

Be better.

Be better than Percy. Don't be an asshole, because there will always be someone willing to knock you off your pedestal. It had been astonishingly effective.

"You really think so?" Percy tuned back into the conversation as Kirishima questioned Midoriya, "Seems like it'd be easier to be a popular hero if I had something flashier."

"My naval laser is tres magnifique, the perfect combination of panache and strength." Aoyama said smugly. Percy still wondered about the flamboyant boy's heritage. He was very clearly Japanese, but had a very weird fixation on speaking French. Maybe one of his parents was an immigrant or something?

"It's only cool if it doesn't give you stomachaches sweetie," Ashido giggled, patting the boy on his armored shoulder, and he deflated in his seat,

"Well if any of our classmates have a pro quirk, it's gotta be Percy, right? Man, I've never seen anybody with a quirk like yours, not even Todoroki!" Kirishima said, pumping a fist in the air,

"What even is your quirk man?" Asked Sato, looking entirely too much like a mustard bottle in his costume for Percy's liking.

"I call it Poseidonis." Percy said,

"Why's that?" Ashido asked, looking at him,

"It derives from the name Poseidon, the ancient Greek God of the seas." Came Yaoyorozu's voice from a few seats away, and everyone turned to look at her, "I assume your ability to control water is why you call it that?"

Percy nodded, "You got it half right." he said, "But you're forgetting the other part of the title, Poseidon was also the god of storms and earthquakes. I can control water at the molecular level, breathe under water, submerging myself in water actually heals me too, and can control winds and stuff. When I really lose control though, I can cause hurricanes and earthquakes. I figured it was a fitting name." he shrugged,

The others just stared at him, "You know your character is broken right?" Kirishima finally said,

Percy laughed, "Yeah, maybe they'll nerf me in the next patch" he said cheekily, "Take one of my arms away or something, maybe that way you'll have a fighting chance," he finished with a cheeky wink at the redhead. The poor guy was still smarting about the thrashing Percy had given him in their first session. There were some scattered laughs and giggles around the bus as he said that.

Kirishima just laughed good naturedly, but otherwise didn't comment, so Percy continued to talk, to fill the empty space,

"Besides, my family is Greek, hell, my own name is short for Perseus, one of my mother's favorite heroes from Greek mythology." he explained

"Kero," ribbitted Tsu, "I thought you were from New York,"

"I am," he confirmed, "But my dad emigrated from Greece when he was a kid, his family was really into the old stories from his homeland, and he brought them with him to the States. It's what he and mom bonded over and how they fell in love. When dad died, mom would tell me the stories. She said that by telling me the same stories dad told her, it was like having a piece of him with us."

"Awe," Mina cooed, "That's so cute,"

"So why Perseus specifically then?" Tsu asked,

Percy chuckled, before his look grew painfully nostalgic, "First thing you gotta understand about Greek Mythology, is that while yes, to some extent many believed them to be true stories, they were mostly used as a way to teach people lessons. You know, don't be greedy, don't be too vain, don't reach above your station, stuff like that. Well, the common theme in those stories, was that those lessons were often learned the hard way. Most Greek heroes or anyone who had a story about them, usually were dead by the end of it. Perseus was one of the few exceptions to the rule. He managed to win his happy ending. Mom thought that by giving me his name, maybe I'd get my happy ending too."

He smiled bitterly, "Guess she was wrong about that huh?" before sighing, annoyed with himself.

Way to kill the mood dipshit. Can't can it with the melodrama for five minutes?

He hated his mouth sometimes.

The rest of the ride was in uncomfortable silence.

BREAK

The USJ was truly a magnificent facility. The exterior reminded Percy of that big ass dome at Epcot, but the inside was something spectacular to behold. Beyond the entrance way, Percy could see just how varied the environments of the training center were. He could see sheer rock cliffs for avalanche drills, a city that looked like it was in the middle of a hurricane, fires, and even a large lake with a single yacht for the purposes of their training that day.

Once inside the main concourse, they were greeted by Thirteen, and Percy felt himself smile when he saw how excited Uraraka got, apparently the space-suit wearing hero was an idol to the young girl.

"Greetings heroes in training," the woman under the suit said excitedly, "I created this facility in order to train young heroes in the important work of rescue operations." she said, gesturing to the facility around her, "So I hope you're as excited as I am!"

There was an overwhelming cheer in response, that Aizawa was quick to silence,

"All right kids, clock's ticking so let's get started," Aizawa said, before allowing Thirteen to begin explaining some of the main points of the exercises. As Thirteen spoke, Aizawa gestured for Percy to follow him. He walked over and leaned on the wall next to the man, "While she goes over the basics, I'm going to give you the basic layout of what we're going to be-hey!" he snapped at Percy "pay attention,"

Percy shook his head, something else had caught his attention, something that was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand at attention, "That ain't part of the exercises, is it?" he asked, pointing down the large staircase towards the direction of the fountain that sat at the small courtyard in front of the main facility.

Aizawa followed his finger and immediately was on edge.

A large black mass of energy had appeared, and something was crawling out of it. One by one, a mass of bodies began to emerge from the portal. "Villains!" Aizawa called out, startling the rest of the class, just as he spoke, the light's surrounding the facility were blown out of their fuses,

"Isn't this place monitored with some kind of intruder-detection system?" Percy asked, his mind subconsciously putting the villains that were slowly approaching in categories from most to least threatening.

"It is," Aizawa confirmed, "Which means one of them must have a quirk that's jamming the signals somehow. Probably means that we can't call for help either."

"Won't know until we try," Percy mused, "Kaminari!" he called out, "Try and radio for help, if that doesn't work, Iida, be ready to make a run at the school!"

Iida looked like he wanted to argue the point, but Percy's glare effectively shut him up, "If this gets bad, you could be the only one we can rely on to get word back to the school. Don't argue with me here Iida." The boy gulped, sweat already dripping down his forehead, but he nodded all the same.

Kaminari, who had been trying to radio for help, called out "It's no good, I can't reach the school!" Kaminari. He had been trying to use the communication device on his costume, but that simply confirmed Aizawa's earlier suspicion.

"This is going to get ugly," Percy muttered, as he took a position with Aizawa and Thirteen, standing protectively in front of the students.

"Stay together and don't move," Aizawa ordered, "Thirteen, stay here and protect the students, Jackson, with me!" he ordered,

"Right!" Percy and Thirteen said together, and Percy, looked back at the group of students behind him. He saw nothing but scared and terrified faces looking back. Something clenched in the pit of his stomach, something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Rage.

Rage that someone would come here. Into this place meant for good.

Rage that someone would dare attack a class of untrained children.

Rage that someone would come after the kids of HIS class. The one's he was only just starting to allow himself to not feel guilty over caring for.

Rage that someone would have the sheer arrogance to try and take that small happiness from him.

He saw red, and his blood rushed in his ears, as the world seemed to slow down around him. The familiar tingle of anticipation before a fight dulling the rest of the world, and making his battle instincts sharper.

Taking off at a dash, he quickly matched the older hero's pace as Aizawa pulled his goggles up around his eyes.

"Thought you didn't trust me," Percy said, as they ran,

"I don't," the man said simply, "But I don't think we're going to have a choice, there has to be at least sixty of them down there, and I know my limits well enough to know that I can't handle that many on my own."

Percy nodded, analyzing the situation in front of him. This was no longer a time and place to be holding back his power. Not with the kid's lives potentially at stake. As Aizawa continued to speak, Percy began to reach out his will to the world around him, calling on the winds of his father's domain. The pull of the water from the makeshift sea calling out to him as he drew closer to the villains.

Aizawa pointed at the three villains standing back and away from the oncoming masses, "Those three are standing back and look like they're the ones giving the orders. The rest are all fodder, you clear a path through them, and I'll move to handle the three in the back. Understood?

Percy's eyes turned phosphorescent, and his body hummed in anticipation. "Check," he replied, clenching his fists tightly as his muscles coiled to strike.

"Alright, GO!"

BREAK

Izuku's entire body shook with the reverberations of Percy's attack. Villains screamed in pain and abject terror, as they were flung through the air. Izuku tried to stay on his feet, as the massive gust of wind threatened to blow his small frame away. He had always suspected the aloof and distant member of their class was holding back his power, but as he watched the bodies of at least two dozen villains get sent sprawling through the air, he couldn't help but gape in awe. That kind of power…it was unreal,

Is this the kind of power the pros have? I know he was a vigilante before coming here, and he's made comments about his life before being dangerous, but this is unreal

"Midoriya!" Iida's voice shook him out of his stupor, "Analyze later, we have to go!"

"R-right!" He stammered and turns and began chasing after the crowd of fleeing students.

"Iida, you heard Jackson, get to the school and alert the staff, hurry!" Thirteen called out from the front,

"R-right!" Iida called out, his voice trembling a little, clearly uncomfortable with abandoning his classmates. However, in the past two weeks, it had become clear that Percy's word was second only to the teachers. Hell, he practically co-taught their heroes class with All Might. So if Percy said the right call, was to have Iida try and make a break for the school, then it was the right call in Izuku's book.

The helmet to Iida's suit snapped into place with a click, and the engines on his calves revved to life, as he prepared to take off. But he never got going, as almost immediately, the same black mass of energy that brought the villains to the facility appeared in front of them.

It rose up from the ground like a specter; when it spoke, its voice filled the hall as though it were speaking from every direction all at once. "I'm afraid we can't allow you all to leave just yet," it said, it's voice shockingly low and almost soothing, "You see, we went to all this trouble to invite ourselves here for the sole purpose of ending the Symbol of Peace, but it would appear that he is not here. This was a variable we could not have predicted, and so we are reasonably annoyed by it."

Izuku felt his knees quiver slightly, as the pupiless yellow eyes of the horror in front of them gazed down, "In the end, I suppose it is of no consequence, he'll show up one way or another, and if we have to kill some of his students first…" It chuckled ominously, and Izuku felt the same horrific spike of fear snake its way down his spine, that he had felt against that sludge monster all those months ago.

The same fear he had felt when he had been quirkless. When he had believed that he would never achieve his dream.

But I'm not the same person I was before

He clenched his fists tightly, as the image of All Might and the beach flashed across his mind.

I'm not powerless anymore

He wiped the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes as Percy's face filled his vision, smiling down at him as he explained what he thought might work to limit the damage caused by One For All. It had been the first time since All Might, that someone had bothered to help him. Not out of pity, but because Percy knew he could be better, and wanted Izuku to grow to be better.

And I will not be the coward I was before

He grit his teeth in anger, and met Kacchan's equally determined gaze. His one-time friend had changed. He was still arrogant, self-assured, and rude. But he no longer seemed to believe himself the better of everyone around him. Percy had beaten that out of him relatively quickly.

I will not be a bystander any longer

The two shared a nod, an unspoken agreement made for the first time since they were children. He didn't understand the change his old friend had gone through the past few weeks, but at the moment, he was grateful. He lightly tapped Iida on the back as he and Kacchan began to position themselves, Iida got the message.

I will not let others continue to fight my battles for me

Power flooded through his body, as the familiar tingle of his power at five-percent strength-the most he estimated he could handle-coursed through his muscles. Kirishima positioned himself in the center of their triumvirate, as Iida's engine's sparked back to life.

Today, I will be a hero

As one, they charged.

BREAK

Percy's fist connected with the stomach of a girl whose hair turned into drills. For a brief, beautiful moment, nothing happened, and then the force of the punch caught up to her and she was rocketed away. She soared through the air, before she crashed into four villains, who all collapsed into a heap of tangled limbs.

Standing upright, Percy wiped a bit of perspiration from his brow as he chanced a look at the fountain, but his eyes narrowed. Before, there had been three villains, now there were only two. Aizawa landed next to him, his jaw clenched, and his figure tense.

"What happened," Percy grunted,

"I had to blink, and the one in the middle vanished, I have no idea where-" a cataclysmic explosion behind them drew their attention away from the villains. There was a roar of engines, followed by the sound of what Percy thought he recognized as the doors to the facility blasting open. He allowed a smile to grace his face,

"Good, Iida must have gotten loose." he said, and turned his attention away from the kids, and back to the two villains in front of the fountain. One, was hunched over, with a sickly pale pallor to his skin. His face, and arms covered in dismembered hands. The other, was tall, muscular, and a mutant of some kind. Large, predatory eyes, and a bird beak for a mouth.

"How long you got left in you?" Percy asked, the man next to him was panting, and Percy could see through the goggles on his face, that Aizawa's eyes were bloodshot, and cracked. Aizawa was not a combat-oriented pro, his skill set was designed for taking down small numbers of hostiles quickly and quietly. This type of prolonged combat was proving to be nearly too much for him.

"I'll be fine, you finish off the last of the goons, it looks like it's time for the final boss."

The villain with the hands stepped down from his perch, and charged Aizawa who matched the attack.

You stupid arrogant, little-Now is not the time for your particular brand of paranoia. You and I both know that I'm the stronger fighter here, so get over your shit and let me protect the students.

I should just take the lead away from him, he can't last much longer at this rate, and I can probably finish this before it gets any worse.

With an annoyed growl Percy turned away, he wasn't going to do anything. Not yet anyway. He wanted Aizawa to trust him, he couldn't explain why, maybe just the fact that out of the entire staff at U.A. he seemed to be the only one still not certain about him. Even Snipe had finally come around! But not his godsdammed homeroom teacher!

Stepping aside, Percy turned and began to square off against some of the remaining bastards dumb enough to attack his class.

Percy would go on to regret his decision, not to countermand Aizawa's authority.

BREAK

In spite of the ever-real possibility of a horrifically painful, and all too early demise, at the hands of megalomaniacs, Izuku was feeling rather good about his life at the moment. The distraction had payed off, and Iida had gotten away, though getting sucked into a wormhole and separated from his class wasn't ideal. He had landed in the middle of the lake with Tsu and Mineta. Were it not for the frog-girl's natural affinity for water, he probably wouldn't have made.

That being said, and in spite of being outmanned and outgunned, he had come up with a half decent plan to escape. Better still, it had worked! They had not only managed to subdue the villains and escape unharmed, but he hadn't even broken anything when he'd channeled One For All! All things considered; it was an absolute win.

That was how he'd BEEN feeling. Then, every good feeling was snatched away in one horrible moment, the second they got close to the shoreline.

He had managed to convince Tsu and Mineta that they should get a little closer to Aizawa. Not to interfere, but to be on site just in case he was on the verge of being overwhelmed. Aizawa was a pro hero, and Izuku had read up enough about the man to know that he was beyond capable. But he wasn't equipped for the type of fight they were having. Aizawa's style of combat was much more guerrilla warfare, and much less…Percy.

Speaking of, Izuku fought back a wince, as he watched Percy literally break some guy with a leech head's arm. Before he created a war-hammer out of water, and battered the bastard in the ribs like a professional baseball player.

Percy was scary.

But like, in the best way.

Better yet, as they creeped closer to the fighting it even appeared as though the two were winning against the small army of villains that had appeared. Most were on the ground unconscious, and Percy was mopping up the remainders with what looked like very little effort, as Aizawa was grappling with some guy with hands all over his body.

That was when things got terrifying. The hands guy had gripped Aizawa by the elbow, just at the exact moment that Aizawa's hair came down to a rest. Izuku had spent a while studying their sensei, and he knew what that sign meant.

It meant that his quirk had to recharge, and the guy with the hands had whatever quirk he used, back under his own control.

Izuku, Tsu, and Mineta all watched in fascinated horror, as the skin around Aizawa's elbow began to crack, and the skin peeled away from the bone, as muscle, tendon, and ligaments were exposed to the world. Their sensei managed to get away, punching his opponent hard in the ribs before leaping back and gaining some distance.

But he didn't get nearly far enough.

The creature with the bird beak, and exposed brain moved. Moved with speeds that Izuku had only ever seen by All Might himself, and was suddenly behind Aizawa. He couldn't keep the gasp from escaping his lips as the creature grabbed Aizawa by the head, and slammed him into the concrete floor of the facility. Blood pooled around the head of their sensei. The monster grabbed the teacher's one good arm as it flailed in a useless attempt to free him. There was a snap, and the arm fell limp, as the bones were pulverized in the monster's grip.

Izuku could only whimper, as it gripped the back of Aizawa's head, and slammed it three more times into the concrete flooring. Blood pooling from the man's eyes.

It had known.

The monster had known how Aizawa's quirk worked, and had disabled it. If by some miracle they managed to survive this hellish encounter, it would be a miracle if Aizawa could ever see again, much less use his quirk.

Izuku had thought he had known what power looked like. He had seen All Might himself in action against villains live and in person, and he had felt helpless and powerless before. But standing there, ankle deep in the clear blue waters of the USJ, he had never felt more helpless.

Then someone roared.

A terrible, murderous, blood-thirsty roar of absolute rage.

It hadn't come from the monster.

It hadn't come from the pale man with the hands.

It had come from Percy.

There was a flash of blue, as the silver highlights of his costume glistened off the lights of the facility, and Percy barreled into the side of the monster, sending it flying through the air and off of their teacher. He stood, hunched over the body of their fallen teacher, and he crouched down to quickly check for a pulse. He must have found one, because he nodded before charging over in the direction of the stunned monstrosity.

The pale man looked stunned at the sudden display of power, but was brought out of his stupor by the reappearance of the thing that had separated Izuku and the rest of the students. Part of Izuku wanted to watch the fight between Percy and the creature, the sounds of blows being traded, and the grunts of pain were hard not to look at. But he knew that whoever the man with the hands was, he was the boss, and if Percy had the monster distracted, then maybe they could deal with the guy with the eradication quirk.

"I managed to separate the students, but one of them managed to slip away and get outside of the facility." the specter said,

The pale one growled in irritation, scratching roughly at the side of his neck.

"If you weren't our way out of here," The pale man hissed at the specter, "I'd tear apart every last atom in your entire body." he was literally shaking, in barely controlled rage, and looked like he was about to lash out at moment's notice. Then, suddenly, he was calm again, as though someone had thrown a switch, and his real hands moved away from his neck.

"There's no way we can win," he said calmly, "Not if there are dozens of pro heroes on the way." There was another crash, and the sound of something akin to an explosion, "Especially now that apparently the real mini-boss was not Eraserhead after all. It's game over. Back to the start menu. Damnit, I had wanted to finish this today. We need to go home."

"Oh, please tell me I heard that right and that they're leaving," Mineta whimpered,

"That's what it sounded like," Tsu nodded in acknowledgment, before turning her attention to Izuku.

"I have a bad feeling about all of this Midoriya," Tsu muttered quickly, and he couldn't help but agree.

"I agree," He whispered back, "It seems weird that they would retreat at this point, but I suppose if Percy-" there was another crash, and he chanced a glance over to see Percy was on top of the monster. It's entire form encased in ice as he hammed it in the beak with his fists, "Especially since Percy" he corrected, "Can apparently hold his own against that thing that took out sensei…" he trailed off as he considered their moves. It didn't make sense. He had heard the pale one say the plan was to kill All Might with the monster, but they had to know that if they left now, U.A. would strengthen their own security. The only chance they had was here and now, why would they pack up and leave, even if heroes were on the way.

His thoughts were cut off as the pale man's next words registered in his ears,

"But before we leave," He turned, and stared directly at Izuku, Tsu and Mineta.

Izuku's blood froze, and his legs locked, they had known they were there the whole time?

"Let's make sure the Symbol of Peace is broken. Let's wreck his pride."

Then he moved, almost too quick for him track. One second he was there and the next, he was right in front of Tsu, his hand outstretched. A flash of what had happened to Aizawa appeared in his mind, and his head was suddenly filled with the mental image of Tsu crumbling into nothing.

He needed to move, he needed to do something. But his legs wouldn't respond. His body refused to move.

Damnit all! Why couldn't he move!

When it had been Kacchan he hadn't had any problem!

So why now?

The hand moved as if in slow motion. Creeping slowly closer to Tsu's face. Her own eyes wide and terrified. Unable to move herself.

It was so close, too close, even if he moved now, he would never be fast enough!

It was too late!

BREAK

The damn thing hit like a truck. Gods above he felt like he was fighting Ares again. It was as if, no matter how much damage Percy did to the bastard, it could just tank it and move on. He was getting frustrated. Not mention, he was getting tired. The thing had gotten more than a few good licks in. If Percy hadn't managed to draw it near the water, he didn't think he would have been able to last. As it stood, he pretty sure a couple of his ribs were already bruised.

He ducked out of the way just in time to avoid a blindingly fast punch, even with his father's domain amplifying his speed and reaction time, the monster was too damn fast. He dropped to a knee, and gripped the leg of the created, freezing it to the ground. He blocked another blow, meant for his head, with his right arm, and felt something snap.

He didn't feel it, the adrenaline was pumping too rapidly for him to feel much of anything at the moment.

With his left hand, he grabbed the bastard by the beak, swept, the remaining good leg, and drove it into the ground. He didn't let up there though. He hopped over its chest, throwing a wave of frozen water over its torso as he did so, pinning it to the ground. Jumping onto its chest, be drove blow after blow into its beak.

His battle-lust was nearly overwhelming him, calling for him to end this. He could tell that whatever this thing was, that it wasn't human. He didn't really know what the protocol would be for cutting its head off, but judging by the fact that it had tried to kill his teacher and students, Percy figured law would be on his side.

He had been about to summon an axe, and cleave the thing's head off, when something tugged at his gut. Looking up, he saw something that made his blood freeze.

The bastard that had burned away Aizawa's elbow was leaping at Tsu. Hand outstretched, intent on wrapping it around the small girl's face.

Something snapped inside him. Before he could even think to do anything else, before he could even consider an alternative method, his body had moved. Dematerializing, and rematerializing in the path of the mother fucker that dare try to hurt one of his kids.

He reached his arm out as far as he could reach.

The pale man closed his grip, not around flesh, but around the blue material of Percy's combat armor.

The pressure on the broken limb, hit Percy like a truck, and he couldn't move.

Another hand closed in around the top of his shoulder.

Something burned.

And Percy screamed.

AN: If you're reading this, thanks for not immediately going to the next chapter haha. I decided that I wanted the end of this arc to come out all at once, it just felt right to me. So congrats, three chapters in one day! Also, as an aside, action is a fickle thing to write. On the one hand, I refuse to devote an entire chapter to describing a fight. After a certain point it becomes boring and uninteresting, which is why I kind of like writing my action like this. As characters witness it from afar, as they interact with one another and observe. I think it provides interesting elements, and perspectives. Anyhoo, thanks for reading, enjoy the end of the first arc, and thanks for all your support and love!

Love,

LilDB