Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. My plans to steal the rights were foiled by a group of spunky teenagers.
Izuku couldn't help but feel nervous. His initial plan to lose to Todoroki had been shot in the foot by his instincts. But at least he was down a troublesome piece of gear.
Now he had to go up against one of his best friends, Melissa Shield.
"ON STAGE NOW, HE'S THE FAN TO END ALL FANS! WITH HIS GEAR INSPIRED BY HEROES, IT'S THE CHIVALROUS, CREATIVE MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
Chivalrous is a bit of a stretch…
Still, Izuku was ready. He bounced in place slightly, his boots absorbing the impact and storing it for later. Melissa came on stage, a smile on her face. She seemed slightly distracted, though.
"IN THE OTHER CORNER OF THE RING, WITH MUSCLES AS POWERFUL AS HER BRAIN, IT'S 1-A'S VERY OWN POWERHOUSE OF A FOREIGN STUDENT, MELISSA SHIELD!"
Izuku beamed to Melissa. "No hard feelings?"
She returned his wide grin, squaring up. "No hard feelings."
—
In the depths of Melissa Shields' subconscious, a rather unorthodox meeting was happening. The Vestiges of One for All had gathered around a mental construct of what Melissa Shield was currently experiencing, waiting in the room for her match to start.
Banjo glanced around at the other vestiges. "So, Number Nine is going against the Midoriya kid! I kind of like him but she's gonna have to beat him. Any advice we should try and give her?"
The rest of them muttered. From his place in the vestige world, Yoichi shrugged. "Well, both of them are good friends. From what Melissa has seen of his gear and fighting, I would say she needs to blitz him quickly."
The Second snorted. "Yeah, she should definitely take that kid out."
Yoichi sighed. "Really, Hero? You're still going on about this?"
The Second bearer crossed his arms. "All I'm saying is, that Todoroki kid was damn near scared shitless by him. That's not the kind of presence a Support student should have."
Shinomori shook his head. "I don't know. Apparently he's best friends with that Bakugo kid who kind of looks like you."
The Second All for One user paused. "...true enough. And that spoiled brat doesn't look anything like me."
The other Vestiges nodded. None of them commented on the obvious similarities. "Yeah, he's got a point," they chorused.
Nana winced sympathetically. "Poor boy. What kind of experiences gave him that level of combat skill?"
Banjo cracked his knuckles. "If or when we get to Bakugo, how hard are we gonna kick his ass?"
Second thought about it. "About as hard as I'm thinking Nine should hit All for One when the naive idiot finds him again."
Nana scowled at him, which he ignored. He scowled at the memory of feeling so close to ending All for One. "Still pissed that All for One got away again."
Yoichi shrugged. "Well, who knows what Quirks he had?"
Second's mood briefly lightened. "Given how much he talks out of it, I always thought that he had a second brain near his ass."
Yoichi chuckled. "Still, we should be thankful we have a successor."
The Second gave a curt nod. "At least the idiot listened when I told him to go for the head."
Nana glared at him. "Stop calling him an idiot, Nijimura. You know that Toshi came closer than any of us."
Nijimura shrugged. "He's still naive. Like with Mastermind - I would have beaten his ass into submission when he first showed up."
Yoichi gave him a cheeky grin. "Like you beat my ass the first time we met? Because that was pretty damn hard."
En's eyes widened. "Oh no."
Shinomori facepalmed. "It's happening again."
Nijimura's scowl gave way to a cheeky grin. "Nah. Probably like the second time we met."
Yoichi chuckled, giving the Second user a cheeky glare. "Oh yeah. I couldn't sit properly for a couple of days after that."
Banjo winced. "We're gonna get this again? Really?"
"Teenage hormones," Yoichi cheerfully said as he gazed adoringly at Nijimura. "Can't help it, it's required."
The Third scowled. "No, it isn't! You were like that with all of us!"
Indeed, it was always the same. Yoichi and Nijimura seemed to search for opportunities to flirt and give gratuitous displays of affection. It had been cute the first couple of times, but after a century of PDA the other Vestiges were getting annoyed.
Nana grinned. "I don't mind it as much."
Banjo sighed as Yoichi and Nijimura started to flirt with each other. "Well, at least Nine's oblivious to this."
—
Melissa wasn't sure why a headache was forming, but it was. She had a constant feeling that there was something going on. Like she was in the middle of a conversation and maybe half-hearing every second word. It was proving distracting.
Not distracting enough for her to call it quits. As Midnight called the match start, Melissa shot forwards with One for All crackling over her body, almost playfully jabbing at Izuku. Izuku bounced back, the boots on his feet leaving cracks in the ring.
He grinned, turning to the audience. "I haven't really had a proper chance to introduce these amazing boots yet, but you may have seen me use them against Todoroki! These are based on my favourite Heroine, Mirko!"
(In an underground fight club in Musutafu, Mirko sneezed. Her opponent tried to take advantage of this, and was rewarded with Mirko kicking him through a wall.)
"These boots utilise a shape memory alloy made of metamaterials to store kinetic energy, allowing their user to jump higher and kick harder! Not just that, but these boots have internal gyroscopes to allow their wearer to balance properly and not shatter their spine!"
Melissa smiled widely. "With carbon fibre reinforcements and impact resistant material on the outer shell? Giving stability without unduly weighing down the wearer?"
Izuku smiled widely, the light of invention in his eyes. "Of course! Not just that, the toes spring out in a 'kickback' fashion, effectively doubling the impact on a point!"
"Uh… I'm not sure if they're fighting or selling me these boots… or both…"
Melissa really wanted to see more of Izuku's gadgets, but she also wanted to win. "Sorry, Izuku. I'm going to have to end it!"
She had a few more uses of these gloves. Bracing her arm, she flicked her finger, the resulting air pressure smashing into Izuku.
"WHOA! MELISSA DOES THAT CRAZY AIR PRESSURE CANNON THING AGAIN! IS THIS IT FOR MY LITTLE LISTENER?!"
Melissa was pretty sure it wasn't. As she flexed her hand, Midoriya stayed in place, the belt around his waist firing up. He grinned, gesturing to the audience as he was knocked backwards but still in the ring. "Impressive, isn't it? Behold, a successful replica of the Rocket belt used by the Spacefaring Hero Captain Cosmo!"
He tapped it. "Cosmo's Quirk allows him to remove his own personal gravity exclusively, so he uses a jetpack belt to move around! This little number is only really good for forward movement, but that's still a good turn of acceleration!"
Melissa couldn't help but smile. "That's pretty brilliant! To think that such a small thing can match that!"
"Well, they can't really - it burnt through most of my fuel cells to do that."
Melissa cracked her knuckles, getting ready to take the fight to Izuku. "Shown off everything you brought, Izuku? Because I'm going to try something a bit different!"
Izuku beamed. "No, not yet!" He pulled his second weapon from his belt, the one that resembled a washing machine with a trigger. "I've wanted to show this off for a while. If Todoroki had used his fire more in the opening match, then I could have used this!"
He pulled the trigger, and a flurry of bubbles shot out, covering the stage in soapy liquid. Melissa darted around jets of soap as he continued. "I'm a fan of Wash - I really enjoy his haiku and ASMR videos, as well as his civic cleaning jobs! It took me a while, but with the help of my classmate Kagoku, I created a chemical compound that is non toxic and puts out all kinds of fires!"
That was pretty impressive. And it could even double as a weapon if pressurised enough. Melissa kept an eye on the soapy side of the arena - she would have to be careful not to slip. Shooting forwards, Melissa slid under another jet of soapy liquid, then punched Izuku.
Eyes wide, Izuku barely dodged her punch then kicked. Melissa brought her fist up in return, aiming to knock Izuku out of the ring.
Something told her to make it stronger than her norm, so she increased it to around half of its full power. Her fist connected with Izuku's boot, and Melissa's eyes widened when Izuku didn't go flying away.
"HOLY SHIT! MIDORIYA JUST TANKED MELISSA'S PUNCH LIKE IT WAS NOTHING!"
As the crowd roared, the sole of the boot flexed against her arm, and Melissa had to brace as it launched the force of her punch back. Izuku winced, looking down at his leg. "I… oh my god, that worked?!"
Melissa grinned. "I had a couple of ideas based around a similar principle, but I didn't think that would be so effective! Always impressive when an invention performs beyond what you planned, isn't it?"
He nodded, then got back into the fight, limping slightly. Melissa felt bad about hurting Izuku, but it hadn't been so bad that Izuku felt the need to concede. Another high pressure jet of soapy liquid was launched at her, and Melissa flicked a finger again, knocking it away with a jet of high pressure wind. The Gauntlet crumbling around her arm, she surged forwards.
Melissa twisted around as he fired a blast from his air cannon, and was able to get in close. A kick from Izuku connected with her side. Gritting her teeth, Melissa brought her other fist up to knock Izuku out of the ring.
Izuku flailed, and the Wash cannon collided with her fist. It crumpled and cracked, and an ominous bubbling sound came from it. Eyes wide, Izuku dropped the cannon and Melissa hurriedly shot away.
But there was too much soap on the floor. Her foot hit a slippery patch, and she slipped as the cannon went off, unleashing a veritable geyser of what looked like soapy water, hitting her square in the chest.
KA-BOOSH!
—
Izuku blinked, stunned at the explosion. Then the problem slapped him in the face. The Wash cannon had been a recent thing - he hadn't had time to properly armour the ammo canister! Melissa had hit hard enough to expose all of the chemical to the air, causing the chain reaction that made it so efficient and soapy!
That was going to have to get fixed. But that was for later, because Melissa should still be-
The soapy suds cleared away, revealing that Melissa had been pushed just out of bounds by the soapy mess. Izuku's eyes widened.
No, no, nonononono-
Midnight cracked her whip. "Melissa Shield is out of bounds! Midoriya Izuku advances to the next round!"
He nearly swore. This wasn't what he'd planned!
Izuku hurried over to Midnight, trying to plead his case. "M-Midnight! T-that wasn't fair! I-I didn't design it to do that, it was an accident-"
Midnight cut him off. "Midoriya, be proud! You're in the springtime of your youth, you should take your victories where you can!"
"B-but-"
Melissa came up to him, a warm smile on her face. "Don't worry, Izuku. You worked really hard on getting this far."
Izuku's eyes watered up. "But- but this is your best chance this year-"
She stuck a hand out. "I know you had more gear, so you could have knocked me out or incapacitated me in a different way. I just got reckless and tried to take you out too quickly!"
Izuku stared at her, managing to paste a smile on his face.
Oh, come on! I just want to lose! Why is this so hard?!
And he couldn't just concede, either! He could feel Kacchan watching him. Maybe Kacchan would accept him bowing out?
He thought about his best friend and winced. No, I don't think he'd accept that.
—
Katsuki grinned. Sure, it sucked that the American had been beaten before he could challenge her, but honestly he wouldn't have expected anything else from Deku - Izuku.
Next to him, Shitty Hair flashed sharp teeth as Izuku walked off the platform. "Man, Midoriya's manly! He's chivalrous as hell!" Shitty Hair paused. "If you beat Tsuyu, you're going to be fighting him, aren't you?"
Behind, he heard Uraraka cheer, just entering the seating area. "Great job Melissa!"
She stared at him neutrally. "Bakugou. You're being surprisingly quiet."
Katsuki blinked. "Oh, Uraraka."
Her eyes looked a bit puffy, but she seemed to be fine. She met his gaze head-on, a silent promise for a rematch going between them.
Jackass said she was fragile? Nothing fragile about her.
Everybody around him stared at him like he'd grown a second head. He glared at all of them. "What? Can't I fucking greet Round Cheeks?!"
Raccoon Eyes smirked. "No take-backsies! You called Uraraka by her name~", she teased, emphasising her point by poking him in the ribs.
Katsuki snarled. "Shut the fuck up! I've gotta get ready to beat Frog Face!"
He stamped out, doing them all the courtesy of not blowing them to hell. As far as he was concerned, that was his good deed of the day right there. His grin returned to his face. He was going to be fighting Deku next round. Considering his friends' various gadgets, winning was not as guaranteed as Katsuki would have liked, but here he was.
If there was one person in this tournament he could say that losing to would be… somewhat tolerable, it was Deku - Izuku. But he wasn't going to lose to anybody else. Especially not that annoying bastard Mastermind.
—
The Pakkuru Insurance Company had dealt with a lot in its time. Angry clients, fraud, late payments, the works. It had never had to deal with something like this before.
They had known that they were being attacked by a certain Villain when green smoke billowed through their front door. Mastermind had burst through, flanked by his fellow Villains and robot spiders. A flashing disk flew from his hands, hitting the desk and beeping. "MWA-HAHAHA! FOOLS! I AM HERE TO-"
Mastermind cut his own speech short when he sneezed. Flanking him in the doorway, Inkblot stared at him incredulously. "Uh, you okay?"
Mastermind flailed at his face. "No, I'm not okay! Oh god, there's snot everywhere in my helmet! Am I allergic to something? This keeps happening-"
The other workers stared at the scene incredulously. However, the receptionist just gave the group a dead-eyed stare. "Can I help you?"
Mastermind tapped a button on the side of his helmet, an audible hissing sound emanating. "Oh, that's much better…" he sighed. Stomping over, he gave her a cheery wave. "Hello! The League of Supervillains is here to offer you our premium Supervillain insurance deal!"
She barely reacted, continuing to stare at him. Mastermind backed up slightly. "See, as newly minted B-Rank Villains, we felt that we should rank higher in terms of damages and felt that your company should get a better understanding of the damages Supervillains like ourselves can cause. We even have a new member of the team!"
A drumroll started as Mastermind gestured to the doors. "Introducing… Kouro!"
The office workers gasped as a new Villain stamped in awkwardly. He wore an orange turnout coat with glowing blue lines on the cuffs and lining and around the chest. A fireman's helmet in dark blue steel complimented a golden mask with a fine mesh covering the face, linked to a large pair of canisters on his back. He flexed his gloved hands, also encased in dark blue metal, leading to forearms significantly bulkier than a normal humans. A tiny spurt of blue flame shot from his palms.
The receptionist gave them a flat stare. "Do you have an appointment?"
Mastermind paused. "Ah, not as such. We're going to see your boss, get him to fill out some paperwork, that kind of thing. You won't even notice that we're here!"
The newly named Kouro waved his burning hand at a particularly sad looking plant. Blue flame hit it, igniting the plant and putting it out of its misery."Oh, sorry. That just-"
Mastermind walked over and patted him on the shoulder. Nothing was said, but the fire went out with a flick of his wrist. He turned an apologetic look to the rest of the staff. "Well, don't worry. We'll sort out everything with the boss."
He stomped over to the elevators with Kouro and Gentle Criminal, dramatically swishing his cape. Inkblot, Twice and Mr. Warp cheerfully grinned at the other workers.
—
Earlier…
Bushijima Takeshi stared at Mastermind. "You're nuts."
Midoriya and his Double both shrugged. "Possibly, but this is a decent theory!"
"You think I can control my gas while it's burning. Really?"
Midoriya waved a hand. "Well, there's no knowing unless you try!" When Takeshi stared at him like he was nuts, he sighed. "Look, you can control how your gas flows, right?"
"Right." Not as precisely as he would have liked - he didn't have much chance to do any finer manipulations since that would require a licence. Takeshi flexed his fingers, feeling his gas build beneath his skin and staining it an unhealthy blue-grey.
"So, hypothetically you can cause the gas to move while it's being burnt, feeding more gas to guide it!"
"Besides, your suit and jacket are as fireproof and temperature regulated as it gets! We were able to get some fireproof costume materials from Giran - apparently they 'fell off the back of a truck.' Well, just a sample," Double chuckled. "To make our own."
Takeshi took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll try it." Taking a deep breath, he quickly activated the burner, then released his gas. He willed it to spiral as it contacted the flame, swishing his fingers around to try and guide it.
Midoriya and Double cheered as the fire lazily spiralled, hitting the opposite wall. Takeshi stared at his hands. "Holy shit," he breathed.
A bit more practice, and he could do it. He could fake having a Fire Quirk. "You were right!"
He turned around, and the gas turned with him. Midoriya shouted with alarm, Double leaping out of the way with a mildly panicked look on his face. "Bushijima- the FIRE-"
Takeshi flailed, the fire moving erratically. "Shit, shit-"
In the end, nobody had gotten seriously hurt. Midoriya and Double started muttering about introducing some sort of cooling mechanism to the glove, to allow the fire to go out at will.
It was still embarrassing for Takeshi though. "Are you sure you're fine?"
Midoriya waved him off. "Ah, it's nothing! Sort of reminds me of sparring with Kacchan!"
Given what else Midoriya said about this 'Kacchan,' Takeshi wasn't entirely sure that that was sparring. Then again, he was now working for a kid slightly younger than him who had apparently decided to become a Supervillain when he was four.
—
Ochako stared down at the stage with a determined expression on her face. Bakugo's match was coming up and she wasn't going to miss it. Next to her, her bestie Melissa gave her a concerned look. "Are you sure you're okay, Uraraka?"
She winced. Her eyes were still a bit puffy. "I'm fine! I was just annoyed at losing to Bakugo, that's all!"
Melissa smiled warmly. "If you're sure…"
"OKAY, EVERYBODY! HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS, FOR THIS NEXT MATCH'S GONNA BE A BLAST! COMING ON FIRST, SHE'S GOT A COOL-HEADED DEMEANOUR AND A BRUTAL KICK! GIVE IT UP FOR 1-A'S LITTLE BIG SISTER, ASUI TSUYU!"
Mina paused. "Well, I guess you could say that about her…"
Kaminari, gone from full idiot to his regular level of idiocy stroked his chin. "True, she does have that whole, 'responsible and nurturing side… it's a toss-up on whether her or Momo is the class mother."
"Well, if she hops to beat Bakugou, she'll need to get him quick," Shinsou leered.
"IN THE OTHER CORNER, DESPITE HIS FRANKLY ABHORRENT PERSONALITY AND GENERALLY BRUTAL BEHAVIOUR-"
"You really should not be so biased, Hisashi-"
"-GIVE A FOND GREETING TO THE EXPLOSIVE BERSERKER OF 1-A, BAKUGOU KATSUKI!"
Uraraka watched apprehensively as Bakugou walked on stage. She liked Tsuyu, but Bakugo was terrifyingly strong. He was probably going to win, which would put him against Midoriya. From how Hatsume had described Midoriya, the other boy had grown up with Bakugou as a combination of friend and rival.
She bit her lip. "GO, TSUYU!" she yelled.
If Bakugou lost, then that would be unexpected. But if he won… a fated battle between men was sure to ensue.
—
Tsuyu stared down Bakugou as he entered the stage. The crowd gave him a reluctant cheer, probably remembering his prior match with Uraraka. "Let's have a fair match, Bakugou," she politely stated.
Bakugo gave her his signature feral grin. "Nice knowing you, Froggy."
Tsuyu frowned. Same old Bakugou, then. The match started, and immediately Bakugo shot himself forwards using his explosions. Tsuyu quickly ducked under his explosive backhand, lashing out with a kick to his chest.
He took the hit, grimacing and landing to try and hit her again. Her tongue lashed out at him, but a popping explosion in his hand nearly scorched her tongue with its heat.
"BAKUGOU'S NOT GIVING HER A CHANCE TO BREATHE! THOSE EXPLOSIONS OF HIS GIVE HIM A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF MOVEMENT POTENTIAL!"
"Tsuyu is definitely pressuring him, though. In terms of physical power she's one of the more dangerous of his classmates. Agility and strength in equal measure."
Gritting her teeth, Tsuyu jabbed and blocked Bakugo's strikes but regrettably, the explosive blonde could keep up. More explosions rang out, Tsuyu doing her best to avoid being caught in one.
She managed to spring back, then yelped as an explosion rang out. Tsuyu managed to land another kick, this one cracking his ribs. It barely did anything to slow him down as he spun, explosions speeding him up to smack her with another backhand.
In the end, Tsuyu was pinned, Bakugou leering above her with an explosion in hand. Tsuyu swallowed. He just scoffed. "Not a bad hit, Froggy," he rasped, sucking in a breath.
She closed her eyes. At last she could say that about herself. "I concede."
"OH, THIS ISN'T A GOOD LOOK FOR BAKUGOU - BEATING UP ANOTHER GIRL LIKE THAT-"
Bakugou scowled. "Ah, just shut the fuck up! Not like I chose my opponents!"
Tsuyu blinked as Bakugou offered her a hand up. "Get the fuck up… Asui."
…Well, it wouldn't be him if he wasn't an asshole. "Call me Tsu."
"...RIGHT, I KNOW THAT! ANYWAYS, WE GOT OUR FINAL FOUR COMPETITORS! WE'LL LET THEM RECOVER FROM THEIR INJURIES WITH RECOVERY GIRL, AND THEN IT'S THE SEMIFINALS!"
—
Mastermind cheerfully patted the CEO of Pakkaru Insurance on the back, the man whimpering. "-so as you can see, this insurance policy will definitely help your future attacks. Think about investing in it!"
He swaggered away, a big bag of money in tow. The CEO had a couple of briefcases filled with money in his safe, part of his rather less than legal way of ensuring he didn't have to make a payout of insurance. His office had minor fire damage, Kouro following.
Tapping the commlink, he switched to the mute mode. "How are you feeling, Kouro?"
Kouro paused. "Honestly… I'm feeling pretty good. Did you see the look on his face when I melted that horrible plaque on his desk?"
"The one that said, 'the buck starts here'? Yeah, that was priceless."
Over the commlinks, La Brava typed away. "Okay Mastermind, Kouro, we've got Heroes incoming! They're trying to cordon the area off!"
As the elevator went down, Mastermind cracked his neck. "This is always a stressful bit. Now, the display in your helmet should give you accurate readings on which heroes can take the fire, and which ones can't. Just blast a bit of it, make a show, then we'll escape. And if you get captured… we'll come for you."
"Right." Kouro took a deep breath. "Okay, just… still a bit nervous."
DING!
A burst of green smoke billowed out from the elevator, the pair of them striding out to meet the Heroes outside. "MWA-HAHAHA! We have successfully shared our thoughts on Supervillain insurance with your boss! Now all that remains is to make our way out before the Heroes can get us!"
The receptionist barely looked up. "Do you want to make an appointment for future visits?"
A Hero burst through the door then, a couple of his buddies outside. Mastermind's eyes lit up - this one was Manual, the Normal hero! Well balanced and with a cool hydrokinetic ability, Manual was already almost Superhero material in his book! He just needed to be driven beyond being 'normal.'
Still, there were rather fewer Heroes than he thought they would be getting. Manual gave them a cheerful smile. "Halt, Mastermind! I'm afraid that your Villainy is going to end here!"
Mastermind leered, discreetly signalling to his comrades to start the escape attempt. "MWA-HAHAHA! Bring it on, Do-Gooder!"
—
Tenya frowned at Hatsume. "What exactly is this?"
Next to her, her friend with the mech suit facepalmed. Hatsume didn't seem bothered. "Why, it's my contract declaring eternal hatred for Mastermind, of course! In exchange, you'll receive exclusive Support gear from the future Hatsume Industries!"
The Business course student next to her smiled widely. "Plus, I can throw in a T-shirt or hat depending on your needs!"
Hatsume shoved a contract in his face. "I'll get to work on making beautiful babies right away! As many babies as you need! Just sign here!"
Tokoyami gazed at her appraisingly. "In blood?'
"Biro's fine!"
Tokoyami gave a heartfelt little groan.
Tenya shook his head in disapproval. "While you are a Support student and must advertise your gear in such ways, I must point out that this contract is not legally binding!"
He tapped it furiously. "To start with, we are all minors, so any contract made like this has no legal binding to begin with! Second, this contract is not very professional! Why, the entire second page is nothing but the word 'hate' over and over again!"
Really, she should have spotted this!
Hatsume blinked. "Oh yeah, that's the draft version."
Tenya wagged a finger. "As students of this fine school, we must be morally upstanding in everything we do! Why, signing a fraudulent contract like this would be a terrible thing! As bad as a family member getting hurt!"
Tenya couldn't imagine his older brother getting hurt. His older brother Tensei… Tensei was a great Hero!
If Tensei got hurt, then Tenya supposed that the only good and rational course of action would be to kill everybody involved and then himself. It seemed like the only course of action available for a crime of such magnitude.
Tenya shuddered as Hatsume shot off to 1-B's seats. He felt a bit bad when he saw Monoma being badgered/psychologically abused by Hatsume. Then he considered how Monoma had constantly boasted of 1-B's superiority when even his classmates gave him despairing stares and felt less sympathetic.
It did sting, not placing in the third round. But he had done his best and there were two other years to make a splash.
Hopefully his brother was faring better than he was.
—
Ingenium lay on the ground, panting. He'd scouted ahead, checking the alleyways that Stain preferred to attack from, when he'd spotted a glimmer of steel. He had sent an alert to the rest of his agency, trying to coordinate with them, but then Stain had attacked.
Ingenium was fast, but Stain was more agile. One knife knick and Stain's prehensile tongue licked the blood, and suddenly he couldn't move. Stain loomed overhead, a foul sneer on his face.
"Hrm. Just another fake Hero to be culled."
Ingenium glared up at the madman. "What makes me a fake, you bastard?!"
His captor's eyes grew cold as he stabbed into Ingenium's leg. "Accepting a sponsorship… turning the noble profession of heroism into just a regular family business… hard to think of how you could be faker."
Despite the seriousness of the situation and the pain, Ingenium could only blink in disbelief. "The-the juice sponsorship? That's why-"
Stain pulled his sword out, and Ingenium screamed as it came out. "You're no true Hero. Just another whore selling his Quirk to corporate affiliations."
As Stain raised it overhead, a manic grin on his face, Ingenium could only close his eyes at the futility of the situation.
Tenya… I'm sorry-!
SHUNK-KABAM!
Ingenium's eyes shot open as he felt the sword in his chest go through a weak point, left without a psychopath standing over him. In front of him stood the familiar figure of Mastermind, glaring at the prone figure of Stain.
He wished he could move as Mastermind pointed at Stain. "What are you doing to Ingenium?!"
Stain spat out a gob of blood, glaring at Mastermind. "Hurm… the supposed Supervillain saving a false Hero…"
AN: Nice one Gary.
Finished this one! Yay! Izuku has continued to fail upwards and Bakugou has speed blitzed his match!
I felt a bit bad for Melissa, but she isn't 'I'll break all my bones to tell you how I feel' Izuku. She's driven, powerful, but not insane.
As for Tsuyu…well, she's fast, powerful and balanced. Against anybody else she would have gone further. It's just sheer bad luck she went against King Explosion Murder.
And the Heist has gone well, at least! Sorry I didn't show more of it, but it's more about how they do it than whether they succeed. I'll let you know if they didn't!
Next time… we've got the Semi-finals, and we got Stain vs Mastermind! Who will win?! I don't even know!
