I decided not to take Pause. Not because I thought the other Talents, in any combination I could come up with, would be better or more useful. No, the cost of Pause was too much. 100 Energy was 7.6% of my total, so if I used it all three times, that would be almost a quarter of my total energy. But on the other hand, since I could effectively only use it three times per day (along with the cost), there was a good chance I would hoard it for just the right time, and end up not using it that much at all.

Of course, there was at least one way to get around that. If I bought Efficient Sleep and used the time dilation of a Dungeon, I could get the recovery in two and a half real world hours, instead of eight. Even then, it wasn't something I could do in a fight.

There was also the danger of losing the tension of a fight. Also, I could easily see myself distracted and not realizing time was about to run out.

So even though I knew I might never see it again, I decided Pause was not something I wanted now. If I did get it in the future, I might be better prepared for it then. Still, it hurt to let it go.

Setting my doubts aside, I pulled up the other three screens. I focused on my choices. For Quickness, I would take [Hop], to unlock and Limit Break the Jump skill. [Omniglot] from Wit would Limit Break any language skill and increase their growth. I wondered if I learned a bunch of languages, if I could confuse people by switching between them at random. And Intuition would be [Mind's Eye] which would Limit Break both Telepathy and Clairvoyance, and give me a minor boost to each. Except I didn't have Telepathy yet, so I wasn't sure if it would be added or not. I had access to it, but hadn't tried it.

'Pick [Hop], [Omniglot], and [Mind's Eye],' I thought as quickly as I could, fully expecting time to resume, and ready to launch my plan.

Except it didn't. The windows all closed, including the 'special offer' one, but the last 0:12 on the timer kept counting down.

[Jump (lvl 5), unlocked.
Telepathy (lvl 2), acquired.
Clairvoyance has improved (lvl 12).
Congratulations, Telepathy Rank (2/2), Clairsentience Rank (2/2), and Psionics Rank (11/10). Sense Hostility (lvl 1), unlocked.]

'Did I just unlock Spidey-sense?' I thought quickly, and then Analyzed the new skill.

It wasn't quite the same as the fictional Hero's power. His power detected danger. Well, except when a writer decided to change it or circumvent it. My new skill only detected hostility towards me. That meant that while Spider-man could detect and react to falling beam inside a burning building, I couldn't. Unless someone else was making it fall deliberately. On the opposite side, Peter couldn't tell when someone was hostile towards him (like J Jonah Jameson) but wasn't going to act on it. I could.

The description also indicated that at higher levels I would be able to detect hostility directed at members of my party, or when I was targeted by a machine, even though it wasn't hostile in either the sentient or emotive sense.

Two... one... Time jumped back to normal speed. Goodbye Pause.

The buzzing in my head returned, I almost hadn't realized the headache from the jamming and the aches from the hits I had taken were gone. But there was more to the strange feeling, a like a shaking halo around my skull, stronger in front of me. I shoved it aside, I only had moments.

"Ki Regeneration, Reinforcement Strength," I said quickly yet softly pulling my arm back. My Energy was already ticking down from TK Aura, but it began to drop from the other two powers. In return, my Health began to tick upwards. But I wasn't done.

"GO BEYOND!" I roared, as I dropped to a crouch, "PLUS ULTRA!"

[Izuku Midoriya
Health: 264/680 (-100 from Plus Ultra)
Energy: 782/1320]

"MINNESOTA SMASH!" I drove my fist into Nomu's stomach, pushing up with my whole body. I expected my arm to shatter, or at least to take a lot of damage. But I didn't. Maybe it was because I was getting better at combining Ki and Psionics? No, more likely it was because so much of the force was neutralized by Shock Absorption. Even with Nomu's first Quirk, his HP bar dropped by between four and five percent. Then began to refill while he lost Stamina in return.

But the damage wasn't my goal. It was good, but the reason for my Smash was to get Nomu off the ground. He lifted a few centimeters into the air. I immediately flattened my hand against his abs, and focused all three flavors of my telekinesis on him.

"HOGWARTS SMASH!"

Even with the addition of Mental Muscle, Nomu was too heavy for me to properly use as a bullet with TK Attack. But adding TK and Tactile TK to effectively lighten him, I was about to send him flying. Rather than shooting off like a major league fastball, he tumbled through the air like father lobbing a softball to a toddler. Or at least like I had seen movies depict playing catch. Nomu was still moving pretty quickly through the air. And he was heavy. And most importantly, my aim was true.

Moments before Shigaraki decayed his way through Ami's shield, he noticed the shadow falling towards him. He instinctively reached up with his left hand to protect himself. Ami dove back while he was distracted. Nomu and Shigaraki collided and they collapsed into a heap. Shigaraki pushed his monster off, and surged to his feet, staring death at me. Then he remembered his power.

Nomu's right arm was on the ground, and rotted away. He struggled to stand, his shoulder much more slowly falling apart. Above his head, I watched as both his Health and Stamina ticked down. Super Regeneration was fighting Decay, but Decay was winning. The disintegration had almost reached his neck.

"Harley!" Shigaraki barked. The clown Villain swung her hammer wide again, knocking Momo down and Mo-chan was forced to jump clear. Rather than capitalize, Harley flipped back twice, landing next to Shigaraki. He grabbed her stomach. A new set of fingertip holes melted out of her costume. They stopped when he touched her skin. Then the rot on Nomu also stopped, and his arm began to grow back. The monster drew back up, and his eyes locked on me. Before there had been a sort of generalized aggression and desire to kill there. Now he was looking at me, recognizing me. He wanted to kill me, not just because it was an order.

[Constant bloodlust has burned into your eyes. Sense Hostility skill improved (lvl 25). Hostile Aura effect acquired.
Hostile Aura:
You can see how hostile someone is towards you expressed as a a fiery aura. This only works on people you can see, but does not interfere with the more generalized version of Sense Hostility.]

Kurogiri stepped up behind his boss, and the petrifier also closed ranks. I took the break in the fight to analyze her, learning her Villain name was Stheno, her Quirk was Gorgon Shot, and she was level 21 the same as me. The aura around her was slightly pulsing and orange.

The glow around Kurogiri was closer to red and more active. Shigaraki was wreathed in a dense, seething, rer-black aura. Harley only had a thin, slightly green aura. I guess she either didn't think much about me, or was the kind of villain who could kill without much hostility. And Nomu's aura was quickly going from yellow to red as he stared at me.

"Disable Hostile Aura," I whispered. I would practice with it later, but for now it was confusing and obstructing.

"What are you?" Shigaraki hissed at me. He reached up towards his neck, but Harley caught his hand. Sero finished tying up the other Villains and was trying to get Thirteen clear.

"What does that mean?" Ami's eyes narrowed angrily as she studied him.

"This kid was matching Nomu blow for blow," Shigaraki said, "Even if Nomu wasn't going all out since it isn't All Might. And now his wounds are healing even while I'm watching. Are you some sort of mirror boss for my Nomu? Do you have multiple Quirks, too?"

"Hey, we're the Heroes, you are the Villains," Ashido-chan barked, "So your monster is the mirror boss for Izuku, not the other way around."

"I don't have more than one Quirk," I said firmly, "And if you think I have to have more than one Quirk for this, you need to study more, because I can think of four Quirks off the top my head that could account for this."

"Tactile Telekinesis and Perfect Cellular Control," Ami said immediately, "But what are the other two?"

"Telepathic Illusion," I said, "This could be a mirage, but a mental one so Nomu felt the hit and jumped back. And from what I have heard, Lantern's Quirk could probably do this, too. But then I'd be glowing..."

"Enough," Shigaraki cut me off, "Nomu, override protocol one. Do whatever it takes to kill..."

I missed the remainder of the statement as Nomu charged me, faster than he had been moving before.

"Reinforcement Quickness, Endurance," I said, already moving out of the way of his first punch. This time I took only a point each of Health and Energy, despite the noticeable increase in the power behind his fist. Thanks to Sidestep, Quickness would help my Dodge. The Endurance boost would reduce both any leftover damage I took and the damage from using Ki Reinforcement and TK Aura together. I was counting on my new Evasion Talent to deal with the rest. I didn't need accuracy right now. He was a big, unskilled target that didn't even try to evade. I didn't need power either. Any hit I landed would be mostly absorbed and almost instantly healed. But so long as I landed the hit, and did at least one point of damage, that would drain two of his stamina. He had just under 1400 Stamina left after recovering from Decay. Gondor Smashes would do more damage, since they cut. But I would run out of Energy too fast. If I focused on the fastest punches and kicks, and could hold out for five minutes, I would be able to drain him.

Except I wouldn't last that long, not without using Plus Ultra again. And that had severe diminishing returns. It wouldn't matter how much Energy I had to heal myself or reduce damage, if my Health was so low that a single hit would kill me. But every minute I bought was a chance for my classmates to escape. Or return. Or for help to arrive, since Mom and All Might should have heard Mikoto, too.

I fired two strong right crosses into Nomu's ribs as he recovered from over extending himself. Then a shallow kick to his knee. He lashed out again, and instead of dodging or blocking, I stepped in and punched his wrist as hard as I could. Then I rotated and drove my elbow into his navel. He tried to grab me, but I skidded between his legs. Then bashed my knuckles against his kidney. Or at least where a kidney should have been.

"I still wanna kill this hydrokinetic," Shigaraki continued, "Harley and... you, deal with the rest of these brats. Kurogiri, back us up, but also check on how the other locations are doing. Last thing we need now is more pests."

Stheno tried to capture Mo-chan. Cass countered the incoming mud with her cape, before hitting a clip and letting it fall away. Then Ashido-chan sprayed all the Villains with acid, regaining the petrifier's attention.

\Momo, help Ami,/ Cassandra signed, \I will help Mo-chan deal with Harley./

"Are you sure?" the tall girl asked. Cain nodded sharply. Momo touched a button on her helmet. She created two, hollow, extendable batons, and stepped between Ami and Shigaraki. Harley looked at Cassandra and smirked.

"Finally found your nerve?" the red and blue head taunted. The next instant Cass was next to her. Grabbing the haft of the sledge and ramming her knee into Harley's stomach.

"Because if not, that's fine and perfectly normal," the former psychologist said a bit less certainly. Still, she twisted her weapon free and forced Cass back with a thrust of the hammer head. Then she grinned again.

"Psych!" She jabbed the butt end of the sledge at Mo-chan. The swordswoman blocked with both blades. Harley let the head of the hammer drop to the ground, and used it as prop to swing her heel up backwards. She nearly clipped Cassandra's chin.

"Actually, Quirk Dependency is a moderately serious neurosis, and can lead to social isolation and deeper psychosis. You should talk to counselor Hound-Dog. Or work with Eraserhead-sensei to spend time without your Quirk. You know, if you and Eraser both survive today."


"Okay," BlackOut panted and, looking at his fallen comrades and the two approaching students, dropped his street accent, "Maybe we can negotiate?"

"Sure," Mikoto smirked, closing her fist on the coin she had been ready to shoot, "You two stop blocking our signals, sit down right here, and let my friend paralyze you with her oil."

"How is that a negotiation?" Jammer opened an eye and spoke for the first time, his voice high and reedy.

"Because if you don't," her grin widened, "Then we will figure out what combination of tasering..."

Sparks danced across her fingers.

"... blunt force trauma..."

Kirishima slammed a fist into his palm. A fist that looked more like battering ram than a human limb.

"... or toxic oil..."

Tsu squeezed her fingers and her mucus dripped onto the stone.

"... it takes to force you to stop," she concluded.

Jammer didn't consult with his guard. He clambered unsteadily to his feet and walked over to where Mikoto had indicated. He held out his hand towards Tsuyu, and the buzzing in Mikoto's head stopped.


'All Might?' Mikoto's voice entered in my mind again. But this time she wasn't cut off.

"I hear you, young Misaka," All Might said, "And we got your early message, too. Midnight and I are one our way, and the rest of the teachers and additional reinforcements are not far behind. What is the situation?"

Fortunately, telepathic communication was faster than talking, due to not needing to take a breath or move your tongue. We quickly described our situation to him. My body went into something like autopilot while doing so. The skills etched into my body by The Gamer and the fights in dungeons reacted without need for much conscious thought. If it wasn't for the fact I was spending so much Energy to keep up with him, I could have fought Nomu indefinitely.

[Health -20, Energy -5]

Okay, don't get cocky, me.

I was thankful to get a report from Ochako. Her group had been in a tighter spot than I realized, but Todoroki and company showed up in time to save them. Ochako's Health was just below half, and her Stamina and Psions were both nearly drained. Still the six of them had boarded the train and were moving steadily back to the center plaza.

'We should join you, too,' Tsu said.

'No, you need to stay there and keep those Villains honest,' All Might said.

'Right,' I agreed, 'Having Guild chat back and the ability to use our phones is more important. But that said, there is something you could do Mikoto.'

'Sure, what?' she asked.

'Can you hit one or two of the sprinkler pipes above the square?' I requested, 'If they can simulate rain, they should have a good flow rate. And Ami could use the recharge.'

The hydrokinetic glanced up. Shigaraki had destroyed some more of her ammunition, and Momo's weapons, too. But the two of them had each managed to put a few bruises on him. Ashido was in another standoff with Stheno, it seemed like it might come down to which of them ran out of material for her Quirk first. Cassandra and Mo-chan were actually pushing Harley back. And Sero-kun was shooting his tape at Kurogiri. He was being careful not to shoot to much or cut it off too soon, so when the mist Villain tried to teleport it at one of us, Sero-kun could pull it back.

'We will be there shortly,' All Might said, 'just hold on.'

'Shouldn't Izuku just use a dungeon to bring you here?' Ochako asked.

'That would give him away,' Cassandra said.

'I'm not worried about that,' I countered.

'Maybe not. But Midnight would not be brought along, would she,' All Might reminded us, 'And if I disappeared at this speed, she would be hurt. Even if I slowed down, she would still be left behind here.'

'It isn't that desperate yet,' Ami confirmed.

'But I'll add you to my party anyway, All Might,' I insisted, 'In case things take a turn for the worse.'

Even as I sent the invite, I heard a trio of rapid fire sonic booms. Then a second set, and a third. The first coin nicked one of the pipes, resulting in a gentle spray that drizzled onto us. The second one bounced off the reinforced dome. The third one punched through the dome, letting in a ray of sunlight. The three coins of the second round all missed the pipes, but two of them put more holes in the ceiling. None of the last three breached the roof, but two of them did punch completely through the widest part of one pipe. This completely drenched Mo-chan, Cassandra, and Harley, none of whom looked happy about it.

I turned off Ki Healing. I was now well above half Health, and needed the Energy more to prolong the fight.

'Thank you,' Ami told Mikoto silently, even as she gathered up the water and dried Cass and Modura-san in the process. Harley looked even more annoyed, and the grey makeup covering her face began to run.

"Shigaraki Tomura," Kurogiri said before his boss could launch into another rant, "I am receiving the signals of Mindy and the other exceptional candidates we chipped. With the exception of both Jammer and BlackOut."

Stheno spared a second to give her left arm a glance.

"If you can detect the others that must mean the jamming is down," the pale Villain said in annoyance.

"Jammer has to be down," Harley noted, blocking the Mo-chan's kukri and then kicking at Cassandra's chest, "But we didn't test BlackOut that well."

"He was able to cover an area greater than this facility," Kurogiri objected.

"Yeah," Harley agreed, "But we didn't check for how long. He could be running out of steam."

"It could be one of the students," Stheno suggested, "Those shots just now look like they came from about where Jammer's group is. And like they came from that lightning girl who shot at us before that Eraser guy attacked. If she and BlackOut got into it, they might have fried the chips, and any other electronics in the area."

"Either way," Shigaraki grimaced, "It means time is up for this raid. If we stay here much longer, UA will figure out what is happening, and we'll be hit with a flood of mid bosses. But before we go, maybe we can farm a little more X..."

Ami didn't let him finish. She slammed a cube made of water into Shigaraki's face. His neck snapped back, and the dismembered hand clutching his face went flying.

"Father," he said plaintively, almost whimpering. Then his head slowly pivoted back down, forward. His now uncovered face was sporting a new gash and a rapidly darkening bruise. His eyes had widened, almost to anime proportions. But his irises and pupils had narrowed down to almost nothing, and were darting around wildly. That gave him a greater look of insanity than he had worn until now. And Sense Hostility was buzzing wildly.

Shigaraki put his fingertips together like a beak or drill. It wasn't a comfortable way to hold his hands, but it was the small area for touching something with all five fingers. Then he began to jab at Ami, almost like someone using a pressure point technique. Only less precise. Each strike eliminated about a third of a liter of her water. She continually replaced it, but the broken pipes were providing less with each second.

Momo stepped in, swinging her newly formed naginata at his neck. Shigaraki's left hand intercepted, his digits now in a straight line instead of a point. They met the blade, which turned to dust before leaving even a line on his skin. He pushed his arm further out, right for Momo's left breast. Ami swept her back with a soft pulse of water, and Momo returned the favor with a gentle push of the naginata's crumbling haft. That bought them barely a second, before the Villain went after Ami again.

"Oh puddin'," Harley said sadly and worriedly. Then her lips thinned, and her fighting shifted from acrobatic and slightly comedic, to more brutal and direct. There were still spins and cartwheels, but they were tighter. And more used to build force.

CRACK!

Harley had swung at Mo-chan. And while the British girl's two blades had caught the sledge again, Harley threw herself and the weapon forward, putting more of her weight into it. Though Mo-chan slowed it, the hammer continued. With Harley's stretch, it went past Mo-chan's right gauntlet and connected with her elbow. Which resulted in the loudly audible sound of what was doubtlessly bones breaking. Mo-chan grimaced but did not cry out. The katana hung more loosely in her grip, but she did not let it fall. Cassandra launched a heavy barrage to give her teammate a moment to recover. Only for Harley to unexpectedly reverse her hold and jab the hammer's butt end into Cass's midsection. The force of the hit both pushed Cassandra back and into range of Shigaraki. Even though she could read the Villain leader's movements, her recovery slowed her for a moment. And sparing an attack from his rage at Ami, he tagged her face.

Which turned to our advantage. Cass was one of the few of us who was covered head to toe. She didn't just push his hand away, she hammered it. While it lacked the volume of Harley's attack, she had broken at least one of the bones in his wrist. Then Cassandra slid back, yanked off her disintegrating cowl and hood, and tossing them aside.

"Come on," Stheno hissed, almost like a mantra, "Come on."

Even as the petrifier kept shooting at Ashido-chan, her hair started to twitch oddly.


The Villain who called herself Stheno had twenty-seven tubes of rocky hair. And when she didn't directly control it, it moved on its own, almost like the snakes of her namesake.

Now they trembled slightly.

She was in one of the rooms the League had set aside for Harley Quinn's training regimen. In front of her were a half-dozen mannequins, acquired from somewhere. And behind her was the source of her trepidation. She had been through the American's fighting training, and heard about the individual sessions she had had with the other Villainesses. To say Stheno was not looking forward to this was an understatement.

"Okay, Euryale, let's see what you got," the clown woman declared brightly.

"Actually, it's Stheno," she objected.

"Really," Harley sounded surprised, "The oldest, most violent sister? Even better."

Stheno was moderately impressed. But, she supposed, it was actually more surprising that she, as a Japanese, knew about the Gorgons, than it was for a westerner to know about them.

She shook the thoughts away and aimed at the first dummy. She could only get twenty of the hairs to aim at the human-sized target. She fired. Seven of the clay globs struck across the mannequin's body and limbs. The rest sailed past all around it, hitting the walls and floor.

"Is that all the more accurate you are?" Harley asked dubiously. Stheno bristled slightly, but her fear of the League's American lieutenant kept her from showing it.

"No," the petrifier said simply. Her next round, all twenty bullets hit the second dummy's chest, eighteen forming a large blob over its heart, one closer to its neck and the last over the stomach. Stheno immediately fired at the third target, ten shots hitting its head, four on the upper chest, and the last six missing.

"Okay," Harley sounded a bit more impressed, "So why didn't you do that the first time?"

Stheno pointed to her first victim. It was already completely encased in stone.

"A wider spread on the target means the stone spreads from multiple points, trapping them faster. On those two, they might have been able to get off a shirt or a helmet before their arms were trapped. And it's been twice as long and they still aren't fully covered. Besides that, the shotgun approach means it's more likely some of my shots will hit a moving target, and it is better against small, packed groups."

Harley nodded, her lips pursed thoughtfully.

"But you can only target one at a time?" Harley said, but less sharply than before.

"Well, I can also do this..."

All of Stheno's snakes pointed straight out. And she began to roll her neck.

"If I shoot like this, it is really random. Good if I get surrounded by cops or Heroes, but not very useful when I'm working with others,"

"So, you have your targeted attack, your shotgun version," Harley noted, "and your Death Blossom. Not bad. You've obviously put more thought and effort into your Quirk than most of these yayhoos."

Stheno was not familiar with that English word Harley threw in. But she could guess what a 'yayhoo' was from the context.

"So for now," the clown continued, "Let's work on getting it so you can shoot at two targets."


Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some of Stheno's hairs twitching oddly as she chanted to herself. Then suddenly her eyes widened and she smirked. Not unlike Harley's smirk. Then the hairs on the left side and back of her head shifted, so they were pointing at Ami. And the others continued to rain clay on Ashido-chan.

'Ami, Stheno.'
'Ami, the petrifier.'

Cassandra and I shouted in near unison across Guild chat, even as the villain began to shoot at two of my classmates instead of one.

It hit me what had happened. The Gamer's manual said from the beginning that normal people would subconsciously spend their Skill and Talent points. Stheno had just bought the next level of Gorgon Shot Talent. I just hoped aiming at multiple targets was the only benefit she got from it.

Ami got our message, and use some of her water to intercept the attacks. The clay did not turn to stone around the water. Instead, it seemed to mix into the liquid. Turning it into something like mud. Something that Ami could not control. Shigaraki renewed his attack, as he recognized his henchwoman was eliminating Ami's ammunition.

During the few seconds Cassandra bought her after escaping Shigaraki's touch, Mo-chan transferred her katana to her still working left arm and hand. And the kukri went back to being manipulated by her Quirk. I hoped it was confidence in her skill at avoiding Harley's power negation, and not desperation, that drove her to take the risk. The melee between the three women seemed to kick into a new gear.

Sero-kun tried to snag Kurogiri again, but the Villain opened a gate, sending the tape at me. And this time my classmate was too slow or tired to pull it back. I ducked under it, and the tape hit Nomu's chest. The monster roared at the annoyance, and tried to pull it in. Sero-kun severed the line with anxious haste.

The tape-slinger and the teleporter seemed to be evenly matched. But I realized Kurogiri wasn't trying very hard. Or, to be more accurate, he was multitasking. Even as he kept Sero-kun busy, he was also keeping an eye on Shigaraki and Harley, and to a lesser degree, Stheno and Nomu. Beyond that, every few seconds his eyes would stop flickering for a moment. He had mentioned tracking chips, so he must have some sort of device to scan for them.

"Tomura Shigaraki," the mist said reproachfully, "There are six students inbound from the urban area. They will be here in just over a minute. Mindy and four others from the mountain have recovered and are on their way here, but it will take them at least twice as long to arrive."

"FINE!" their leader shrieked, "Just get rid of that Spider-man wannabe, and then be ready to pull us out. I still want to have Nomu kill that green kid and finish this water-bitch before we leave."

"As you command," Kurogiri intoned.

The next instant, a portal opened under Sero's feet. He shot a line at one of the light posts. But a second portal opened to keep him from securing himself. Instead Sero-kun grinned. He fired tape from his left elbow, into the middle of the strip from his right. Then he pulled both of them, causing the longer tape to curve back.

"I'm not going alone," my classmate declared as his Quirk finally attached to Kurogiri's neck brace.

"Ingenious," the Villain said, "But incorrect."

Though Kurogiri was dragged toward his own portal, the instant Sero was gone, the portal snapped shutter, cutting the tap cleanly.


Sero Hanta was falling. Then something grabbed his waist, pulling him into strong arms and a soft chest.

"What are you doing here, kero?" Tsuyu-chan asked, as she set him down.

"The warp villain sent me away," he answered, "So I wouldn't interfere. Their boss is crazy, and determined to kill Midoriya and Mizuno."

The other three students looked worried, but Mikoto continued to glare at the four Villains, daring them to try something.


It was a stupid move. I figured it out a moment too late. I punched. Nomu punched. Our fists would meet. We would both be moderately injured. And the fight would continue.

But that was wrong. Shock Absorption was defensive. It not only protected Nomu, but limited the blowback on me from hitting him. But it didn't stop his offense. The impact from his punches wasn't lessened, even though it should arguably be. Whether it was some sort of subconscious effort on Nomu's part, or just Quirks following their own logic, Shock Absorption wasn't going to protect my hand from this. Maybe not his either, but it was too much to hope for. I poured all the focus I could into the TK Aura and TK Armor around my left hand.

[Health -238, Energy -55]

Ten of the bones in my hand and wrist shattered. Another five just broke, and the rest cracked. All my fingers looked like purple blood sausages, and I had no control over them. Even through Gamer's Body I was gasping in pain.

But I didn't have any time. I dropped under Nomu's next punch. I launched a sweeping kick as I descended. I knew it wouldn't work alone.

"Gondor Smash," I put an arc of sharped ki in front of my leg. It sliced deeply into his ankle. Cleanly cut his Achilles tendon. Nomu listed sideways for a moment, until Super Regeneration fixed him. At the same time, I activated my own healing power again. But my Energy was barely over 100, and instantly dropped below.

Stheno had Ashido-chan pinned down still. Or maybe I should say even more so, since even with only half her hair aiming at the pinkette, Ashido was more on the defensive than she had been up to now. The petrifier was also taking pot shots at Ami and Cassandra with her newly developed split aim, robbing Ami steadily of her water and keeping Cass from focusing fully on Harley. Mo-chan still had two weapons, but have to be more careful with her shorter, floating blade. She also seemed distracted by the pain of her elbow. Cassandra was caught between three fights, Harley and Stheno trying to force her into Shigaraki's range again. Ami was running out of water, and Momo hadn't created anything since her naginata was destroyed. And Kurogiri was watching us all.

'All Might,' I said, reaching for a table, 'I'm sorry, but we're in trouble here. I have to bring you over.'

'No, don't,' he responded firmly.

'Why not?' Momo asked desperately.

'Because...'

The USJ dome shook. The giant, armored, steel doors burst in, one blown off its hinges. All Might flew through, having hit them with a jump kick. He touched down on the upper landing amidst the unconscious and recovering Villains Aizawa-sensei, and sometimes Nomu, had taken out. Then he jumped again, crashing heavily into the square behind the Villains.

"I AM HERE!" he finished out loud. And All Might was not smiling. Midnight hopped off his back, instantly cracking her whip.

"So, the boss finally shows himself," Shigaraki cackled madly, "It looks like we have a time extension on this raid."


Status Changes for Midoriya Izuku:

Max Health: 780 → 805 (705)
Max Energy: 1320 → 1362

Attributes:
(S)trength: 55 → 56
(E)ndurance: 55 → 57
(Q)uickness: 55 → 57
(I)ntuition: 56 → 57
(D)etermination: 64 → 65

Skills:
Analyze (W) – Battle Scan: 50 → 52
Dodge (A/Q): 33 → 36
Basic Karate (A): 40 → 42
Boxing (S): 33 → 37
Physical Resistance (E/D): 72 → 74
Ki Detection (D/I): 29 → 30
Ki Slice (D/W) LB: 19 → 21
Ki Healing (D/E) LB: 22 → 23
Ki Reinforcement (D): 38 → 39
Telekinetic Attack (I/A) LB: 26 → 27
Telekinetic Armor (I/E): 26 → 29
Telekinetic Aura (I) LB: 34 → 35
Kung Fu Fundamentals (Q/E): 21 → 22
Wing Chun Quan (A/Q): 16 → 17
Tai Chi Quan (A/S): 18 → 19
Ki Diagnosis (D/W): 9 → 11
Clairvoyance (I/W) LB: 9 → 12
Jump (Q/S) LB: → 6
Telepathy (I/C) LB: → 2
Sense Hostility (I/C) - Hostile Aura: → 31

Talents:
Hop
Omniglot
Mind's Eye