Chapter 83: Paranormal Liberation War
Four grey walls and a faint buzzing sound faded in and out, exchanging with infinite darkness and the sound of cataclysm.
The lines are nearly erased, she thought, inside Kurogiri's head.
Shut up. Shut up, woman. What do you know? Nothing.
I know my son. He's reaching his limit…and he doesn't have me to help him. Only his father.
Shut up/that's not good, they responded.
You too, boy. You are not me. You died a long time ago. No matter what Eraser Head and Present Mic said.
You're in denial, the other two said, together. In sync.
Shut UP!
Kurogiri growled, and heard the sensors all over his body beep in alarm. He shifted in his chair and watched a dozen cameras and lasers turn to aim at him at once. What a stifling place this was. Tartarus. What a stifling, stifling place.
Then, when his eyesight grew fuzzy, it seemed to dance away.
You're giving me/us/you a migraine, they told him.
Silence! I want to see it…
Down below, in a primordial soup outside the universe, the enemy was stirring.
They care not for you/us/me. They will kill all in their path.
And what can we do about it? the mother responded.
Nothing. There was nothing that could be done to stop it. How could there be? Earth's greatest weapon had been bestowed upon them by these very beings.
Kurogiri growled again. "GrrrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAH!" He pushed at the bindings, crying out. He felt the pain of the sensors strain against his foggy sides. In the distance, faint marching steps could be heard.
"Are you coming to kill us?" he muttered, giggling. "Ah, but who dies first? Me. I shall be the first and the last. For both of you are already dead…"
Dead, but not yet done fighting, said Mikazuki, Doko Katayama's mother.
And I want to help my friends! Shirakumo added.
Guards burst into the room, armed with stun batons, but Kurogiri lost sight of them. His yellow gaze fixed itself upon what loomed beyond.
The band of the galaxy stretched across the room. In front of it, a dark silhouette of a thing writhed past. A great tentacle, stretching, undulating.
…
Denki Kaminari heard a distant rumble. He looked up.
…
What was that? thought Gentle Criminal after he heard the noise. From somewhere else, deep inside the prison. What's happening?
…
A break? wondered the Hero Killer, Stain. I was imprisoned fairly. Yet my work remains unfinished. If presented the opportunity…I will escape.
…
That didn't sound good, thought Lady Nagant. She cracked her elbow, and felt a faint sickening feeling rising in her chest.
…
Kai Chisaki trembled, his breath going faster and faster. It's happening, he thought. The disease is reaching its peak. Quirks will take us all down with them. I can FEEL it!
…
All For One smiled. Today's the day.
…
"Alright, you fiery fletchlings!" declared the pro hero Burnin', pointing up toward the forested hills beyond the city. "There are heroes fighting up at the hospital there. Our job is to evacuate all the citizens in the area!"
A crop of UA students were responding to her orders, standing in the middle of the street. Around them was the controlled chaos of an evacuation.
Nejire Hado floated slightly above the rest to get a better view. At the front of the group was her boyfriend, Izuku Midoriya. No, out here, he's Deku. One of the many things she admired about him was his turning of a childhood insult into something that could become synonymous with peace and hope…another thing she'd learned last night.
Deku adjusted his gloves, and nodded to Burnin's orders. Behind him, the two other strongest boys from his class, Bakugo and Todoroki, made their own preparations. Tenya Iida put his helmet on. Next to Nejire, Tsuyu said something to Ochaco in a low voice. Both of them briefly glanced up at her. "Have you ever done something on this scale, senpai?" Tsuyu asked her.
Nejire looked around at the few pros they had out here, who had already begun to evacuate. "Nope!" she said, emphasizing the p. "I think we're supposed to follow their example!" Usually, Nejire really was as chipper as she looked and sounded, but today it was an act. To keep herself and the others around her at ease. One For All. All For One. She looked back at her boyfriend. He was staring up at the hills where that hospital was. Does he think that will reach us before the day's over? Will he unlock another Quirk?
She wondered what enemy was up there. If Todoroki and Bakugo were here, that meant Endeavor was up at that hospital. Him combined with Ryukyu was two of the top ten, and Mina Ashido was also here, meaning Mirko was up there as well. Speaking of which…
"Hey, where's Katayama?" she asked aloud. She aimed the question at Ashido and Iida.
Mina swallowed. She, like Deku, was watching the hills. "He went with Mirko. They took him right into the battle," she muttered.
"Togata-senpai also went! With Sir Nighteye." Iida was clicking pieces of his leg armour into place. "The pros must believe in their skills. They do have Quirks very well suited for fighting inside hallways, and it is extremely difficult to injure them. I will trust in my classmate."
"Then I'll do the same!" said Nejire, meaning Mirio. He was really worried about Eri. But she's safe back at the school with All Might.
"Okay!" Burnin' clapped her hands, and then gestured to another Endeavor sidekick to unfold a map for her. "We'll split you all up appropriately. Shoto, Bakugo, you're together, obviously. Take these blocks here."
"Dammit," Bakugo hissed. "Don't get in my way. There's lives on the line, Half-and-Half."
"I am aware," Todoroki responded.
Nejire frowned a little. Normally she'd find their antics endearing, but there was an air of hurried unease to the proceedings.
"Deku, you go with Pinky and take these blocks," Burnin' continued.
Izuku looked awkwardly at Mina. "Guess we're together, then…"
"Guess we are…"
Burnin' looked directly at Nejire next. "Ryukyu squad. You get these blocks here."
"Got it!" Nejire answered.
"Ribbit," said Tsu. Uraraka remained silent.
The last two students here were Koda and Fukidashi from Class B, who had their own area to evacuate, along with Iida. They were awfully quiet but had interesting Quirks. Nejire hoped she'd get to ask about them one day.
Uraraka put her helmet on. "Alright," she said. "Let's go. Hurry up, Froppy."
"Coming, ribbit. Nejire-chan?"
Bakugo and Todoroki were heading their way, the former exploding into the air and shouting at the latter to stop lagging behind. Nejire was watching Deku. He was watching her back. There was a strange glint in his green eyes.
Then, Izuku activated One For All and bounced over and up to her. Surprised, Nejire's eyes widened, and then shut as their lips met.
Burnin' whistled. "Plenty of time for that later, kids! Get on with it!"
"Doing so," Deku told her as he separated. He gave Nejire one last glance. She could see the beginnings of love there. He's been crushing on me for a while, but now it's changing. She swallowed. She felt very afraid.
"See you after," she murmured softly.
He nodded. "See you."
Green sparks wreathed his body, and he leapt after Ashido in the opposite direction.
…
When Izuku caught up to Mina, he half-expected her to tease him about the bold thing he'd just done in front of everyone, but she remained silent. She was still looking at the hills.
"Katayama will be alright," he reassured her. "Let's focus on our job so he can do his."
"Of course," she replied, "but you were staring up there too, weren't you?"
"Yeah…" Izuku looked up at the hill where Iwate Hospital was perched, just slightly higher in elevation than the other city blocks around it. He remembered the warnings the One For All users had given him.
Something is coming, beyond Quirks…
…Could they be referring to Shigaraki?
Or something worse?
…
"So, let's go through it one last time," said Endeavor, as the hospital raid team formed a circle around him. "Ryukyu, Pussycats, Gran Torino, Thirteen. You're all in charge of clearing the hospital. Get all the staff to safety, or custody, if it comes to that. Form a perimeter. As for the rest of us…our main targets are Tomura Shigaraki and the two doctors. We have reason to believe there will be Nomu as well, but none should be developed to the level that I faced in Kyushu."
"It may also be that one of the doctors will be hiding amongst the normal staff. Dr. Kyudai Garaki, codename Ujiko." Gran Torino crossed his arms. "Tsukauchi and I got intel on the man. He's responsible for most of the Nomu development, as far as we can tell."
Present Mic opened and closed a fist. Eraser Head put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Arresting the old one won't be too tricky," Mirko murmured. "He's a weasel. It's the other we should be worried about."
"Yamishiwa," said Endeavor. "I saw his Quirk in action at Kamino, and Mirko and Everywhere saw it on the train."
Doko straightened up a bit at being acknowledged by Endeavor. His heart was pounding in his throat. "Landing a direct hit on him is tricky," he said. "If he's up against multiple opponents, he has fast enough reflexes to redirect their attacks into each other instead of on him. We must be careful that we don't try to recklessly dogpile him."
"Noted," said Endeavor, with a surprisingly meaningful nod of approval. Hidden behind that nod, in the man's eyes, was something like an apology. Doko accepted that. Even if the man didn't have much to personally apologize to him for, he appreciated the acknowledgement, after their initial training together had not really worked out. He's changed. He's really acting as the number one now.
"Endeavor, I believe you and I should form a vanguard of sorts against any Nomu we encounter," said the shield hero Crust. "Eraser, Mic, X-Less, and the others can support us from behind."
"I will erase what Quirks I can," said Aizawa, tugging on his scarf. Doko wondered if he was thinking about Shinso and Eri. No, his mind is forward. Toward that doctor and toward my father, and what they did to his best friend.
"What about me?" Mirko demanded, hands on her hips.
"In the event that a battle breaks out, we need someone to slip through their lines and get to the real prize," said Endeavor. "That's where you and your student come in, along with Nighteye and Lemillion."
"No one's better at slipping than me!" Mirio promised, holding a thumb up at his chest.
Nighteye nodded, adjusting his glasses. "It would be nice if I could interact with some of the staff before we act, but I recognize that this intel has come to us on short notice, and that there is no time. I regret that I am unable to use my predictions more effectively here."
"That's fine," Endeavor grunted. "Use your Quirk at your discretion as the mission proceeds. If anything in your…visions…jumps out as notable, let us now. But use discretion, like I said. Don't interrupt us if we're in the midst of a battle."
Nighteye nodded again.
"Okay," said Endeavor, turning to look up at the hospital as it loomed around the corner. "Let's move!"
…
"Follow me, please!" Nejire announced to the three families that had gathered out on the street. "Follow me to the safe area!"
She used her Quirk to hover away, directing the flow of the evacuating traffic.
Ochaco followed Tsuyu into the next house. It was another family, with just a single daughter who was perhaps a little younger than them.
"What's happening?" the mother asked, frightened. The father was hugging the daughter. "Why are there heroes here?"
"A large battle is taking place near this area," Tsuyu explained patiently. "We need you to leave your homes and head to a safe place further away. Until we've neutralized the threat, ribbit."
"Is it the fire guy from the TV?" the girl demanded. "Those people? They're not near here, are they?"
"You can't expect us to just leave our home on short notice like this!" the father exclaimed. "You girls can't be out of high school yet…"
Tsuyu blinked at him, still smiling. "I understand your frustration, sir. I am only following the orders given to me. If you do the same, we'll all come out of the other end of this safe and sound. You understand that, don't you, ribbit?"
Something passed between him and Tsuyu. Ochaco watched them closely. Tsuyu's gotten better at handling these situations. She's always been good with people, but…the frog girl had worked on her expressions, to put people more at ease. She'd grown a lot.
"Well, alright…" the mother and father exchanged a doubtful glance. "Let us grab a few quick things…"
"Not much time!" Ochaco warned, already turning back toward the open door of the house, and waving the daughter out.
"But wait, I just need…" the woman was grabbing some personal items. One of them threatened to fall, and…
"Let me get that for you, ma'am." Ochaco leapt forward, and floated the stuff with her Quirk. "If you must bring it with you."
"Oh, thank you dear. What a nice Quirk."
The family followed them out.
"No I'm not coming with you hero wannabes!" someone else was shouting.
Ochaco looked across the street. A man was spitting at Nejire, who floated sideways to dodge, and wrinkled her nose. "This is serious!" she shouted back. "If you stay here, you might…"
She caught sight of her two juniors out of the corner of her eye. "What's the situation?" Ochaco asked, raising a serious eyebrow at this man who'd just spit at her. Am I gonna have to kick his ass?
Tsuyu was waving the other three on down the street, but as they left the daughter said, "That guy's never been any good to anyone. I wouldn't worry about it."
The angry man wasn't done. "You always expect us to just blindly go with whatever you say! Well, it's not gonna work on me! Fuck off!"
Nejire opened her mouth, and closed it. She was bobbing back and forth in the air.
"Nejire-chan, we don't have time for this!" Ochaco warned, thrusting a pointed finger down the street.
"But…"
"Burnin' said we prioritize those who cooperate easily first! We can come back for him!"
"Don't!" The man spat. "And if you bring any fighting here, you'll see me in court, I can promise you that!"
Ochaco ground her teeth. He's just scared. Scared and annoyed with society. I have to understand his point of view. "Come on," she repeated to Nejire. "No time."
Tsuyu was already hopping away. Ochaco ran to catch up. "That family…" Tsuyu murmured. "For a moment, I thought they might be Katayama's."
"Hmm? But I thought he was…?"
"A ward of UA, yes. But his old abusive family live in this area. They have a daughter who is a little younger than us, so I thought…"
"Hm." Ochaco grunted. "I bet they'd cooperate even less than that guy back there."
"It doesn't matter. All families are worth saving. The instant we start being choosy, or hesitate…the villains find their opening." Tsuyu's eyes were alight with determination. "Come on. We've got more people to protect."
Unbidden, Ochaco's thoughts went to Ojiro, somewhere far away. And her growing feelings for him. He could be hundreds of miles away, and I would have no idea.
…
A mix of Class A and B students sat in the clearing. Around them were wooded hills. Somewhere up ahead was the mansion housing the Paranormal Liberation Front…and hundreds of heroes heading for it. There, the battle would begin.
"Get up, Tsuburaba," Class B's Shishida was saying to his classmate, who was sitting on a rock.
"What? Our only job as rear guard is to catch any bad guys that slip through the lines. So really it's kinda insulting to the pros to get all hyped u-"
"Get. Up." Shishida deadpanned. Tsuburaba obeyed. Setsuna Tokage snickered nearby.
Mashirao Ojiro stretched his arms behind his head. Next to him, Sero did the same, and took a deep breath. Standing in front of them were Yaoyorozu and Jiro. The latter had her jacks plugged into the ground.
Shiozaki stood nearby. Her eyes were closed and her hands were folded, as if in prayer.
Kirishima walked up to Sero and Ojiro. "Hanging in there alright, fellas?" he asked.
"Thinking about…" Sero muttered. "...Tsu, Katayama, Ashido. Most of us are here, so the fact that they aren't…they must have gotten some specialized job, right? Something dangerous…"
"I'm worried about Uraraka, as well," said Ojiro, "but we have to focus on what we have to do ourselves." I know she'd just be annoyed at me worrying about her anyway. She's surely not thinking about ME right now.
"Hagakure and Shoji are gone, too," Kirishima commented. "I wonder what they're up to?"
Ojiro wondered about that. Those two had been acting very strange in the days leading up to this operation.
"I know they didn't get sent with Tokoyami to the front, at least." Sero frowned.
The pro hero watching over them tapped his ear. "It's starting," he said.
A few of the Class B boys gasped. Shishida sniffed the air testily.
Momo leaned down next to Jiro on the ground. "Hear anything, Kyoka?" she whispered. A caring hand went to the shorter girl's back.
"I…" Jiro shut her eyes and winced. "Thousands of footsteps, moving together…an army."
Sero gulped. "Well, we didn't come up here to camp out, that's for sure," he squeaked, putting his helmet on. Around him, the rest of the students prepared.
Kyoka went pale. "They're moving faster."
…
The Paranormal Liberation Front was holding a conference.
"...in the next few days…" Re-Destro was saying, when suddenly, one of the members in the crowd stood up. A man with glowing red eyes. He opened his mouth and gasped.
Skeptic leapt to his feet. "Matsuda's Quirk! The heroes are here!"
Re-Destro swore under his breath. This soon?! Shigaraki wasn't ready! "Violet, Black, Carmine, Brown Regiments, to the assembly hall!"
It was chaos. People beginning to run everywhere, some toward the battle, others in circles, panicking. At the back of the room, Gigantomachia loomed, quiet. Refusing to move.
"Boss!" Trumpet asked. "What about the other commanders - do we wait for more orders?!"
Damn the League. Damn them and their acceleration into this confrontation. It mattered not. Re-Destro had meant to lead this revolution long ago, and though there were more extraneous factors than he'd wished for, this would have to do.
"No," he said. "Let's get this started. Attack with or without them."
Nevertheless, shouts of "Where's Dabi?" or "Where's Toga Himiko?" or "Where's Twice?" could be heard around the room.
Geten was walking toward the front hall. "Our Quirk defenses will only hold for moments," he said. "We need zone controllers out there fast."
"ATTACK!" Re-Destro repeated, louder. "ATTA-"
He was interrupted, by a massive seam opening in the side of the mansion…in the material itself.
CCCCCCCRRRRRRRRAAAACK!
…
From the outside, the concrete that made up the side wall of the mansion seemed to open and melt away, leaving a gaping opening. Inside was a series of hotel-like landings and doors. It reminded Fumikage Tokoyami of a beehive.
"Good work, Cementoss!" Edgeshot called. He looked back at the army of running heroes. "Don't hesitate! They are all well-trained and ready to give their lives for their cause!"
Fumikage Tokoyami's eyes widened as he saw a crowd of people running out of the opening. The Paranormal Liberation Front. They were as eclectic and diverse as the crowd of gangsters that had attacked the kids at the USJ, a million years ago…but he sensed a different aura of darkness about them. Instead of all looking like standard second-rate villains…they were all sorts of normal people. Young and old, male and female, mutant and emitter…like a smattering sample size of Japan's population. And they all ran toward the heroes with murder in their eyes.
The sounds of a thousand cries rose up as the two crowds ran at each other. Fumikage saw a man in a dark cloak saunter up to the edge of the mansion opening, and pull a device out of his pocket. There was a cigarette in his mouth and he seemed awfully confident about something.
There! Dark Shadow urged from within. A dangerous one!
A hero leapt in front of Fumikage. It was a man with orange hair, a confident smile on his face. He threw something up and over the crowd of approaching enemy. Then he pressed his fingers against himself, and disappeared.
Switcheroo, the Switching Hero, arrived at the man with the electric Quirk and gave him a kick. The man's voltage amplifier went flying from his hand, and Switcheroo activated his Quirk on it, sending it high into the air.
The man gasped and looked up. In that moment of vulnerability, its childishness betraying his lesser training compared to the heroes, Switcheroo punched him in the belly, then took him down.
"Edgeshot!" he called, whirling his head.
The Ninja Hero leapt over the crowd of enemy, sending parts of his body all over the place like a spider web. Razor-sharp and string-thin shards of Edgeshot pierced hundreds of people at once, bringing many PLF members instantly to their knees. Including the man Switcheroo had just taken down.
"I've put tiny holes in your lungs!" Edgeshot shouted. "Getting worked up could you put you on death's door in that state…"
Midnight dashed across the battlefield, waving her gas across the crowd with two fans.
"...But a nice nap will have you healed in no time!" She finished.
Hundreds of PLF members staggered, getting knocked out by her Quirk. Kamui Woods followed up. "Lacquered Chain Prison!" He constricted dozens of them in his wood bindings.
The enemy that had escaped were running all over the place. Cementoss swept up another wall of concrete, which slammed into the side of the mansion, dividing the battlefield in half. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Fumikage found himself running behind Gang Orca, as well as Snipe and Ectoplasm. Enemy were racing at them from ahead, but it was a small number. We've managed to split them up!
Snipe fired into the crowd, several bullets whizzing their way and curving into the most dangerous-looking individuals. Gang Orca and Ectoplasm leapt into battle, the latter's clones wreaking havoc.
A PLF member with a porcupine-like Quirk stabbed one clone, then another. Fumikage slid up short, and released Dark Shadow, knocking him into two other enemy and knocking all three of them out.
An explosion went off behind him, lifting him up off the ground and then back into the mud. POWWWW!
Fumikage gasped, coughing dirt out of his throat. The sounds of the battle faded, replaced by ringing. Clouds of dust billowed about him. In the distance, he could see another Cementoss wall rising up, and felt rather than heard the rumble that it gave off.
"Snipe-sensei?!" he gasped, getting up and turning in a dazed circle. "Ecto-UGH!"
An enemy knocked into him. A woman with a knife, stabbing down toward him. "High school wannabe!" she snarled.
Fumikage tried to roll, but he had never been big for his age, and she had the weight advantage. He spat from his beak in her face, but she continued to force the knife down toward his chest. His hands weren't enough to stop it…
He sent Dark Shadow up and around to her back, and had him pluck her off, throwing her away hard. "FUMIKAGE!" Dark Shadow screamed in desperation.
He stumbled back to his feet. Two people locked in battle emerged from a nearby dust cloud and nearly ran into him, causing him to spin out of the way. Dark Shadow streamed out behind him, whimpering and confused.
Shouts and screams and the clashing of steel could be heard all around.
Silhouettes danced and writhed in the dust, the acrid smell of blood slowly seeping up.
Crackles of magic and elemental emissions caused brief eruptions of light on all sides. Quirk after Quirk after Quirk.
He staggered his way toward clearer air, trying to regain his bearings. Two more villains came running at him, but Mount Lady's massive foot stomped down, kicking up a gust of wind that knocked them away and nearly knocked him off his feet again.
How did the battle get so confused so fast? His heart was racing, and he could feel all his carefully-honed instincts and training leaving him behind, to be replaced with pure panic. Is this war? Is this what war is?
He needed to find…
He needed to find…
Dabi. Where is he. He had to be here.
Fumikage needed to find the man that had killed his mentor, and ruined Japan's future. He had to get to the mansion.
The dust began to clear, and he found himself on the other side of the front, near Cementoss and Edgeshot again.
A huge crowd of PLF members was coming around from the left. There were a half dozen heroes here to hold the line, but most were locked in battle behind them.
"Shit, they're using my walls to flank!" Cementoss called. "Kamui…"
Fumikage prepared to unleash Dark Shadow in the crowd, but then they all began to sink into the ground, halted and confused.
Behind them, Juzo Honenuki had his hands against the ground, sending his softening Quirk out to the place where the villains were.
"Great job, Mudman!"
"Grrrr, that won't work on me!" a villain shouted, using his blade-arms to push himself up out of the quicksand…until, a mushroom grew on his nose.
"Shroom shroom shroom shroom…" Kinoko Komori muttered, firing her humidifiers, cropping a field of fungi up on the battlefield. Disgusted screams erupted from the crowd of enemy.
"Excellent work, kids!" a voice boomed.
Fumikage whirled. It was the hero Fat Gum, massive and looming. Behind him ran Tamaki Amajiki, their senior, and a tall lanky woman with silvery hair.
"We needed your zone-clearing Quirks to lock the battlefield up for us! Now it's down to individual fights and captures out here, with the most dangerous of 'em! Leave that to the pros!" Fat Gum gestured to Fumikage. "Tsukuyomi, you're with me! You're needed to help cover the exit!"
Fumikage briefly looked back at Cementoss for approval. "Go!" the teacher nodded.
He ran to follow Amajiki, Fat Gum, and the silver-haired woman.
As they ran up the hill toward the mansion, she introduced herself. "I'm Reflector, by the way." Her eyebrows were down and she seemed furious about something. "I mentor two of your classmates. Hagakure and Shoji."
Fumikage swallowed in alarm. He'd been so consumed with thinking about getting to Dabi that he'd forgotten about them. And what Shoji had told him. Their mission. Were they inside that mansion right now?
"So what are we doing?" he asked the two pros.
"Covering one of the escape tunnels," said Fat Gum. "There are several of them around the perimeter. They all lead down to a bunker below where we speculate a bunch of the worst guys are hidin'."
Fumikage understood. They need Dark Shadow to probe. He can get really far away from me now without causing me any pain. I'll send him down the tunnel and see what we're dealing with!
They turned around a small grove of trees and came upon a concrete box upthrusting from the ground. A few PLF members were streaming out of the door. They noticed the approaching heroes, pointed, and began activating their Quirks.
"Suneater, you're up!" Fat Gum shouted.
"VAST HYBRID...CHIMERA!"
Tamaki Amajiki transformed.
His entire lower body became a horse, and his arms turned into tentacles. On the end of the tentacles were pineapples, which slammed into the heads of the enemy like blunt ends of maces. "Sorry, but I need you folks to stand down," Amajiki called.
"Great delivery!" Fat Gum told him. One of the enemy slithered aside from Suneater's attack, but Fat caught the man in his belly and knocked him out. He pointed down the dark passageway. "Tsukuyomi!"
Fumikage fired Dark Shadow like a bullet down into the bunker. He could see through the creature's eyes to a degree, or at least sense the creature's surroundings. A left turn, another. Then a right. Down, down, down.
"The passage leads to a great open room!" Fumikage called. "I'm going to block it with debris."
"Good idea!" Reflector told him, as she restrained one of the men Suneater had knocked out. "Keep them trapped down there."
"Dark Shadow…"
"...RAGNAROK!"
…
Re-Destro looked up. A huge shadowy creature was bursting through the tunnel, loosening bits of concrete and debris everywhere.
"Our secret passage?"
"We've got to defend it!"
He could feel his stress levels rising higher and higher. It's time. He activated his Quirk, swelling up to match the creature's size. It was bird-like, with yellow eyes and fierce, dark talons. It roared as it attacked, destroying and dislodging pieces of the bunker in its wake.
Re-Destro reached his full size and threw his arms out, holding the thing's gaping jaws in place. It was…soft and rustly under his touch, like it was made of shadow…
…And strong. Stronger than him.
Re-Destro pushed, straining his Quirk to its max, grinding his teeth. His minions swarmed around him, fleeing the standoff as it caused more and more cracks and cascades of debris.
Then, he felt his prosthetics snap.
The creature roared in victory and threw him backward against the wall. Re-Destro felt his consciousness slip.
If only there were more of me! More of us! More of us to counter them…
WHERE IS BUBAIGAWARA?!
…
Jin Bubaigawara, aka Twice, was currently combing the halls of the upper floors of the mansion wildly.
Another rumble-shake made him slip and nearly lose his footing as he ran, but he kept going. Whoa, sounds dangerous down there! Don't care about it!
His inner babble was threatening to take over. He couldn't let it! He should let it, that would be fun! Yes! No! UGH!
The heroes are here. It's them. It's because of that HAWKS. I trusted him and he betrayed us, but Dabi killed him. Why couldn't I be smart like Dabi? Why did I have to fall for it? It was so obvious! IT WASN'T OBVIOUS AT ALL!
He was my friend. He was my enemy. He was my frenemy.
Twice had to find Toga and Compress and Dabi and Spinner. They were the ones that mattered, the ones he had to protect. He'd screwed up before and had gotten Magne killed for it. He couldn't let that happen again. It's not my fault this time. I trusted Hawks but it was Dabi's broadcast that brought the heroes here. What a dumb idea! It was genius!
In any case, he had to protect them. No, he had to go lead his regiment in the battle. My doubles can help against the heroes! But I'd rather use them to help my friends! I should assist the PLF! No, to hell with 'em! Where's Toga-chan? Where's Compress?
Twice began to run in circles, confused as to what to do. He had to do SOMETHING! He had awakened his Quirk in Deika and become super mega-powerful, so what was the point if he just double-thought himself into a corner like this?!
Just pick a direction! Pick one at random and go with it! Screw it!
He turned a corner and found himself in a dark-ish area. A storage area? It was not quite a closed room, as he could get on into the next hallway on the other side. If he remembered correctly, there would be stairs down there. Stairs that would take him up or down. Up or down? He'd decide when he got there. Just walk through the room.
Then, a dark shape loomed around the corner, and Twice slid up short, frozen in surprise. It was a looming figure, with more than two limbs. A man in a mask.
"Wait…" he muttered. "I know you! You're the kid from the forest!" Then, his other voice. "Who the fuck are you?!"
The boy stepped forward. He was tall; he really HAD fooled Jin into thinking he was a grown hero for a moment. His demeanor was…different. His limbs began to multiply, outstretching in a web, fists forming at the end of them.
He's gonna give me a real pummeling! I got no clue how he got in here, but I'll knock him out of the way with my doubles and keep moving!
"Sorry kid! You're not my priority! Out of my way." Jin snarled, and reached up to tear his mask off.
Mezo Shoji's eyes were sad. "You asked who I was? I'm…I'm the distraction."
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Jin Bubaigawara saw a knife appear out of the darkness. A floating knife.
It stabbed him in the lower shoulder, just above the heart.
"Oh," he gasped.
The pain came after that. His knees buckled.
…
Toru Hagakure missed, because her hand was trembling so much. I missed his heart. I missed it. Shit. Shit. FUCK! Panic flooded her nervous system, as the man crumbled to the ground. Her hand was still closed around the knife.
"I'm sorry," she gasped. "I'm so, so sorry…"
"A voice…from nowhere…" the villain known as Twice chuckled, his own voice shaking. "A couple of kids, taking me down…what a joke…"
"I used my eyes and ears to peek around corners and make sure the coast was clear for Toru," Mezo explained in a heavy voice. "Then, to find you, I just waited for my ears to pick up your babble. You mutter under your breath, you know. It was easier than I thought it'd be."
"Damn…" Twice hissed. "Our defenses, broken through like that…impressive kids! No, lame villains. Lame villains. Lame. Me. Fuck. Shit." He snarled, clutching his wound as blood began to pour from it. "You…you…"
Toru backed away, terrified. What have I done?! What did I DO?!
Jin Bubaigawara lifted his head. His torn mask fell away from the side of his face, revealing an eye of pure fury. "You will NOT keep me from protecting my family!" he roared. "SAD MAN'S PARADE!"
A cascade of clones began appearing in the room, reaching out with rage, reaching for Mezo. Toru gasped, and her paralysis broke.
Didn't they warn us about this?! We couldn't let him get this move off because it can just infinitely multiply! It's all because I messed up! NO! NO!
She dashed into the fray, stabbing this way and that with her knife. A clone tried to reach for her, but she slid sideways. "DAMN LITTLE GIRL!"
"WHERE ARE YOU!"
"INVISIBLE?!"
"CLEVER!"
"NO, IT'S STUPID!"
One down. Then another. Then another. She couldn't let the clones reach Mezo. She was the only one capable of maneuvering like this. I'm Toru Hagakure, the Invisible Girl! I can't let…
...my efforts…
…go to waste!
Mezo was there. "OCTOBLOW!" he roared, punching the clones. Two of them dashed at him from either side, but his limbs stopped them, his muscles straining against their weight. He punched one in the head and it melted into goop.
Both of them had the same thought. Must reach the real one!
All their misgivings had fled. There was only pure focus, and pure fear of messing up. Of letting this man escape and drown their allies in death.
Toru stabbed and slashed and dodged. Mezo punched and kicked and threw. Clone after clone after clone. They were low durability, but there seemed to be no end to them. A never-ending fountain, filling up the already-cramped dark room.
Toru ducked low under a clone's blind hand-swipe and stabbed it in the belly. At that moment, another clone grabbed for her, and managed to pick her up about the torso. She screamed and kicked, and lost grip of her blade. It fell into the pile of melting goop that she'd left.
"Say good night!" Twice told her, as he suplexed her up and over his head. Toru braced herself for impact against the floor…
And Mezo elbowed them sideways, catching Toru. "Get ready!" he urged her, with no further elaboration. Then, he threw her upward.
Toru turned in midair, sailing over the parade of Twices, and seeing the true one at the back, with his mask torn open, eye darting around wildly. Looking for me.
In that moment, she understood. This room was dark, but there was light streaming in from the two corners, where it met the hallways. She pulled that light to her, and refracted it.
A dazzling rainbow burst through the room. The clones screamed in pain, knees buckling, covering their eyes. Mezo dashed between them, knocking them to melted pieces with expertly placed fists.
Toru landed behind the real Twice and rolled, making a loud enough sound to alert him. He whirled. "Don't think that you can…!"
Mezo stabbed him in the back. "TORU!" he yelled, and tossed her the second knife. Hers, that he'd picked up off the ground.
Toru caught it by blade, feeling it cut into her skin messily, but she grit her teeth and fought through the pain. She slid the knife properly into her other hand, holding it in a reverse grip, and ran toward Twice. Mezo was locked with the man, falling down toward the floor together with him. The villain's eye had widened, his face growing pale as he lost more and more blood…
Toru aimed for his throat. I'll slit it and be done, and then…live with this disgusting act for the rest of my life. There would be time to think about whether or not it was worth it later, but for now…she just didn't want to see him unleashed upon her friends outside.
"I'm sorry…" she muttered, one last time.
Blue fire burst from the hallway. A plume of it so bright and hot that it sucked all the air from the room.
Mezo Shoji turned, his eyes widening. The fire closed in. He could feel it. It was going to kill him. There was no escape. Centimeters. Millimeters.
…The flames seemed to bend upward, cascading up in a wall, toward the ceiling…and bursting through it. FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
In front of Mezo, barely visible against the bright blue wall of light, was the shimmering outline of a girl.
Toru had blocked the fire. She'd bent it away from him.
As the light faded out, Mezo felt rather than heard or saw her collapse. "NO!" he gasped, taking his hands off the bleeding Twice behind him, rushing forward to tend to the girl he loved…
…Dabi was standing in the hallway, silhouetted. Cackling in a low tone. "Why is it always you kids?" he muttered. "Oh well. I should make quick work of this."
…
Fumikage pulled Dark Shadow back to him. "Tunnel plugged!" he reported.
"Nice going!" Fat Gum praised. "That was fast, too!"
Dark Shadow looked back at Fumikage. "There was a real nasty one down there."
"Yes, the man who stood up to our Ragnarok…we broke him, though."
"NO! Another one! A real monster! Sitting in the corner, not moving at all…"
Fat Gum punched another PLF member out, and then turned to look at them. "Don't worry about that guy! Our intel says he won't make a move without orders directly from Shigaraki, and Shigaraki isn't here."
"How do we know all that?" Fumikage asked, raising an eyebrow.
Fat Gum looked sad for a moment. "Because of…well, because of Hawks. And his investigation."
Dark Shadow let out a low growl.
Reflector suddenly looked up in alarm. "Eyes up!" she warned.
Suneater and Fumikage gasped and turned. Up above them was the highest floors of the mansion, looming high over the trees. A window shattered up there. Blue flame came wreathing out like a great claw. FWOOOOOOSH! Even down here, they could feel its heat.
Reflector's eyes widened. "That's…"
"Dabi!" Fat Gum finished. "Did some of our allies manage to get that far in already? But…"
Reflector suddenly gasped, as if in realization about something. "NO!" she rasped, and then took off down the tunnel.
"Reflector, wait!" Fat Gum called. "It's blocked o…"
He turned, and noticed Fumikage's gaze had not left where the fire had emerged.
"Tsukuyomi, what are you doing? No, don't! DON-"
Fumikage Tokoyami did not hear the rest. He was already flying upward, his heart racing. Toward the mansion. Toward Dabi.
Always so smug, always so callous. Thinking you can change the world with your words. I'll make you pay for what you did! I'll KILL YOU!
…
Next time: Into the hospital we go.