Hawks coughed as he flew through the massive dust cloud that had rolled over the city. As he flew out of the dust, he finally got a clear look at everything. Nearby he could see an enormous crater, his first thought flashed to Shigaraki. The crater looked like the kind he created with Decay.

"Did Zeus resurrect Shigaraki?" he thought.

It was an insane idea, but no other villain had that sort of power. A dozen different scenarios played through his mind, if Shigaraki was back then they were likely doomed. Only two Angels remained; except one was in an institution and the other would likely be driven insane if forced to use it again.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." he thought, a rare experience of panic starting to grow within him.

Then he saw something fly out of the dust cloud above the crater. Then he saw an enormous shockwave ripple across the sky and push the dust cloud farther out across the city. Something smashed through several buildings in the distance, before impacting the ground. He pulled out small binoculars and looked for the source of the shockwave.

He saw the figure floating in the sky, a faint glow emanating from them. He upped the magnification to its highest and he could just make out the figure. It wasn't Shigaraki to his relief, but it was possibly the second worst thing. Yo Shindo floated in the air, his QUEESS glowing.

He put the binoculars away and sped toward whatever Yo Shindo had sent flying halfway across the city. As he flew he flipped his radio on and started a broad transmission to whoever could hear him.

"This is Hawks, a powerful enemy agent has appeared in the city. Whoever can hear this, abandon your post and converge on the epicenter. Do not attempt to fight the enemy present, you need only distract and buy time while an Angel is deployed to fight the enemy directly. Again, do attempt to fight them. Buying time is of the utmost importance, if we cannot defeat this threat, then the city will fall along with all its inhabitants." He said into his radio.

He was going to see whatever or whoever it was Yo Shindo had sent flying across the city, then he was going to track down Uraraka and force her into the QUEESS by any means necessary. They were out of options.

As he approached the crater, dread stole over him and he felt panic return. Uraraka lay in the crater, a dent in her chest where Yo Shindo had hit her directly. Blood oozed out of her and as he landed next to her he realized she wasn't breathing.

"No, no, no, no, no, no..." he muttered as he checked for any signs of life. He broke out into a cold sweat as the worst possible scenario came to life.

Uraraka was dead and any hopes of stopping Yo Shindo had gone with her. He started going through a mental checklist of everything he could do to mitigate what damage he could. As he started going through potential countermeasures he remembered the obvious.

All was not lost, he sent his feathers to Uraraka's broken body and lifted her into the air, then he started speeding toward U.A. as fast as he was able. He dismissed doing whatever harm he might do to her body and focused on greater speed. He needed to get her to the lab before too much time passed, or else their defeat was inevitable.

Yo Shindo lowered himself to the ground. As he touched down he brought his hands up and stared at them. His hands and arms were shaking, and now that he focused on it he realized his whole body was shaking.

"Your body has gone too long with the QUEESS. It hasn't had time to fully adjust, you need time, eventually, you will be strong enough to level the entire city in a single move. Patience." Said the voice, reassuring him.

He took a few steadying breaths and tried to reduce the shaking. It had been so long since he had experienced such feedback, that he had almost forgotten. As he ran through his old breathing exercises, he heard noises approaching.

He opened his eyes and he saw figures running at him, and even a few flying toward him. He waited calmly as they approached. They stopped a good distance away, and he saw that he recognized many of them.

He saw Ryuku flapping her enormous wings above in the sky, her draconic quirk truly breathtaking after its awakening. Best Jeanist, garbed in his special black suit comprised of those incredibly strong threads. He saw Ectoplasms scattered about the loose ring of people that surrounded him. Mister Blaster in his full battle suit, energy already growing in his palms. He even saw the hero Big Red Dot, and the foreign hero Pankration. Then there was Earphone Jack and Chargebolt side by side. Then there were the QSU's operatives scattered about and a bunch of random other heroes he didn't recognize.

He gave a wry smile, to think he would have considered such a collection of power as dangerous at one point in his life. It was almost laughable now. He pitied them, all thoroughly brainwashed and manipulated into blind servants. In death, they would be set free, and he would deliver that freedom to them personally.


Hawks had finally made it to the school and as he soared downward heard a booming noise in the distance. He looked back and saw another dust cloud forming by the epicenter, the fight to buy time had begun. He hoped not too many would die in the attempt.

He swooped down near the ground and started flying toward the main building. He zipped by battles occurring on the grounds and over top of the heads of several mercenaries that tried to fire at him. He got to the main doors intact and when they didn't open he created his feather swords and sliced through the doors. It would make the defense more difficult, but he didn't have the time. He cut through every door he came across, setting off numerous alarms on his route. As he turned a corner he saw Tsuyu jumping down the hallway.

"Shit." he thought.

"OCHAKO?!" Tsu cried out upon seeing her friend's limp form.

Hawks continued flying down the corridor, ignoring her. He sped past her and started to pull away when he felt something wrap around his waist. He looked down and saw her tongue coiled around his waist. He felt a tug that he instinctually counteracted and Tsu came flying alongside him, pulling her tongue back into her mouth.

"What happened!" She demanded, rare anger on her face.

"Shut up and follow me if you want to know." He snapped at her.

He didn't have time to get bogged down by discussion so he threw security and secrecy out the window. He sped down the corridor, Tsuyu only barely managing to keep pace since he had to slow down to go round corners. He got to the staircase that led down into the maintenance tunnels beneath the school and flew down the center as Tsu jumped from railing to railing downward.

He alighted at the bottom and cut through the locked door. Then He navigated the small tunnels quickly and carefully before stopping at a dead end. As Tsuyu reached him, he reached up and pulled on a pipe labeled as a water line. It pulled out and down, he held it for a few seconds until a concrete block moved in the wall and a camera-like lens poked out. It scanned him and then retracted back into the wall. The wall shuddered and then slid down to the floor without a sound, revealing a brightly lit metal corridor beyond.

He walked into the corridor, Tsuyu following close behind him. Then the wall slid back into place, just as silent as it had opened. They started to pass several researchers who gave them shocked looks. When they saw Ochako they cried they all started to run about in a panic and a few ran ahead of them.

"What is this place..." Tsuyu asked looking around, shocked such a place existed.

"This is where the QUEESS was developed, where the chosen candidates were tested, where many failed, and where the six angels came into being. It all began here." Hawks said.

Tsu's eyes widened, she and the rest of the class had always wondered where Ochako had vanished to for several months following a private meeting between her and Nezu in the hospital following the training camp ambush. No one had ever told them anything, and it had been a hard pill to swallow that they would likely never know.

As they passed door after door, Tsu glanced at Ochako. She hadn't had time to look her over clearly until now and the sight made her feel sick. Ochako was suspended by Hawks feathers, her arms were twisted at incorrect angles, a leg looked thoroughly mangled, and there was a horrific dent in her chest where dried blood had crusted over the points where random bits of her ribs poked out of her chest. Her face was covered in blood, her hair matted by it, and her eyes closed and mouth slightly open.

"What... What happened to her..." Tsu whispered in horror.

"Yo Shindo has turned traitor, he had his QUEESS and Uraraka likely tried to fight him. Without her own QUEESS, it couldn't even be considered a fight." Hawks said grimly.

"Yo Shindo was one of the angels?" she asked shocked.

Hawks didn't respond as they finally reached the end of the corridor and the large doors at its end. They opened and as they did, a siren started to wail through the entire underground facility. A researcher burst through a nearby door and ran to their side.

"What happened!" he demanded of Hawks, sparing Tsuyu a glance before focusing on Ochako.

"Takeo, Yo Shindo is turned traitor and has his QUEESS. Is Uraraka's ready to go and the batteries online?" Hawks asked as the three of them proceeded through the double doors into a large circular chamber.

"Everything is online, I put everything on standby and the batteries are fully charged but I haven't been able to integrate them into the suit. Put her in the center of the room, we'll watch everything from the observation booth." Takeo said. Tsu guessed he was the head of this department.

Hawks set Ochako's broken body in the center of the room and then made his way to a corner of the room where a door was located. It opened as he got near it and it revealed a staircase. The three of them headed up the staircase into a room where a large row of monitors, buttons, switches, and other instruments was located. Other researchers were already sitting in seats where they were turning on the systems.

Tsuyu took up a spot at the observation window where she could see Ochako's body lying in the middle of the room.

"What's our status?" Takeo asked.

"All systems are good to go." said one of the other researchers.

"Then begin," Takeo ordered.

The large doors they had come through to get into the circular chamber started to close. When they were fully sealed, lights flooded the circular chamber and where Ochako lay the floor rose up so that she appeared to be on a table. Then panels opened in the ceiling and floor and mechanical appendages emerged. A few started to scan Ochako's body and as Tsu looked at the monitors she saw complete scans of Ochako's body appear and descriptions of her current injuries appear on other monitors.

A few of the appendages retracted into their panels, then the ceiling panels directly above Ochako opened up, and what looked to be strangely designed solar panels emerged and positioned themselves directly above Ochako. Then a golden light started to emerge from the panels, it grew brighter and brighter until a solid beam of golden light was blasting onto Ochako. It was impossible to see Ochako through the light, so Tsu looked at the monitors.

Whereas before the monitors displayed Ochako's injuries and status in Red. Now the scans started to change to yellow, then green. Tsu looked back at the golden light that was starting to wane and she realized where she had seen that glow before. It was the same glow Dr. Okimi gave off when performing intensive healings.

When the light faded entirely, Tsu saw Ochako's body had been completely restored. The panels retracted into the ceiling and two appendages came out after. They rested their hand-sized panels on Ochako's chest and started to flash. With every flash Ochako's body jerked, and Tsu realized they were trying to resuscitate her. Then the panels stopped flashing and retracted into the ceiling.

"What's her status?" Takeo called out.

"She's alive, her pulse is faint but it's there." someone called out.

"Brainwave activity?" he asked next.

"Almost none, but there is an occasional blip." another researcher called out.

"It'll have to do. Move on to phase two and administer cocktail one." Takeo said, before pressing a button.

A metal arm with a syringe came up out of the floor and injected Ochako with whatever cocktail of drugs it had, then went back into the floor. Metal arms with clamps came out and lifted Ochako up off the table by her arms. Then multiple arms came out and started stripping her of her normal combat suit. Lasers cut through the tough material and more appendages removed the pieces piecemeal as they worked.

"Did the Angels have to do this every time they put their suits on?" Tsu asked.

"No, once the initial suiting procedure is completed it can be removed and put back on at will. In this case, however, it's necessary. Uraraka's QUEESS has seen numerous upgrades since the war ended in preparation for a worst-case scenario. With the upgrades, she has to undergo the initial procedure all over again." Hawks said coming up to stand next to her and watch.

"Then why didn't the Angels ever remove their armor? I think I only ever saw Ochako without her armor twice during the war." Tsu asked, frowning.

"You'll find out why soon enough." Hawks said evasively.

Tsu glanced at Hawks, but it was clear he wasn't going to say more so she turned her gaze back to Ochako. The lasers had just cut through the last of her armor and now they were being removed by the arms. When it was done, Ochako hung suspended by arms in nothing but her undergarments. A majority of the appendages retracted into the floor but the two holding Ochako up remained. Then a very large panel on the floor moved aside and multiple arms holding some kind of black suit came out and started fitting it around Ochako.

Tsu saw multiple metal pieces that looked like the tops of screws positioned around the suit as it was fitted on her. When she was fully inside of it, it hung off of her body loosely. Then two arms with strange screwdriver-like ends came out and started twisting the screw heads and the suit suddenly started to constrict around Ochako's body until it was skin tight. With it now tight around Ochako's body, Tsu saw that the exterior of the suit mirrored Ochako's muscular system.

"The new suit needs a special muscle-enhancing undersuit, to ensure she doesn't rip her body apart from using it." Hawks said.

"Phase Two complete." someone called out.

"Move on to Phase Three and administer the T-Serum." Takeo called.

There was a pause then the table that Ochako had been resting on previously opened outward like some kind of flower. As it opened, Tsu saw a plethora of mechanical arms on its sides but in the center was the QUEESS. The top of the suit was spread apart wide enough to allow Ochako to be slid into the suit. As the power suit was raised and Ochako lowered, the multitude of arms grabbed onto Ochako and carefully slid her into the suit. When everything but her head was inside the suit, starting from the feet and the sides of the feet, it started to zip itself together. The seams fused together seamlessly, the suit having no visible seams or structural weaknesses to exploit.

The only part that had yet to fuse into the rest of the suit was the back portion. It jutted out, and Tsu could see dozens of small intake ports alongside the backside. The multitude of arms retracted back and restored the table. Then from behind Ochako dozens of small tubes with needles positioned themselves at the intake ports. Then all at once, they stabbed into her, dozens of needles penetrating into muscle, veins, and spinal cord.

Then, what Tsu assumed to be the T-Serum was slowly injected into Ochako. When that was done, the tubes disconnected from Ochako's back and were pulled back into the ceiling. Then the backside, like the side of the power suit, fused itself into the rest of the suit, and the multiple ports were obscured. Tsu saw gasses vented out of the suit and it compressed around Ochako's body even more until it too, was skin tight.

"Phase Three done." came the call.

There was a pause and Tsu looked at Takeo who was examining various monitors. When he was done, we went to the central console and input a series of commands. When he was done he glanced up at Ochako, then to Hawks, before turning his attention back to his monitor.

"Commencing Phase Four, black box system set to half to start. Prepare the barriers." Takeo called out. Tsu looked back at Ochako and then she saw the window in front of her shimmer and her view turned into that of looking through a veil of perfectly still water.

"What's-" Tsu started to say, when she felt something wrap around her wrists and ankles, and cover her mouth. She looked down and saw that Hawks had used his feathers to retrain her.

"I'm sorry Tsuyu, but you would try to stop what is about to happen if I didn't restrain you. This is why the angels never removed their suits if they could help it." Hawks said.

Tsu's gaze turned back at Ochako, fear in her heart.

The QUEESS started to glow, brighter and brighter. The solution pumped into Ochako had flown into her body, then out again where the suit tapped into her veins. The solution mixed in with her blood, and it flowed through the ten minuscule black boxes positioned throughout the power suit. As Ochako's blood and quirk factor made contact with the material located within the black boxes, its true power came alive and flowed into Ochako.

Consciousness returned to Ochako, and she started to scream. A scream that Tsuyu had never heard her make before. It was one of absolute and terrible pain, Ochako's back arched as her scream went on and on seemingly without end.

"Her heart rate is skyrocketing." said one of the researchers.

"Cocktail two," Takeo said calmly.

More tubes emerged from the ceiling and embedded themselves into only a few of the ports in the back of the suit. They pumped the second cocktail of drugs into Ochako and then the tubes were retracted into the ceiling.

"Heart rate is stabilizing." said one of the researchers.

"Set black box system to the max," Takeo said.

The QUEESS grew even brighter, and Ochako's screaming reached an even higher pitch until her screams were suddenly cut off. Tsu watched horrified as Ochako just spasmed uncontrollably from the pain, no longer able to draw in air to scream.

"Being fused into the suit is one of, if not, the most physically painful thing the Angels have ever experienced. The first time is always the most painful." Hawks said quietly.

Tsu felt tears come to her eyes as so many things clicked into place. The dozens of scars across Ochako's back, the months Ochako spent never once leaving the suit, sleeping, and eating in it. The one time Tsu had come upon Ochako, curled up into a ball in the medical tent, whimpering. She had assumed that the stress and bottled-up emotions had started to get to her at last. She had tried to console her as best she had been able. She wasn't sure at the time if Ochako even knew she had been there, and now she was sure Ochako hadn't been cognizant of anything around her. Curled into a ball trying to bear the pain of putting that horrific suit on.

"You know... They never complained. Not once. They might be the bravest and most determined people I've ever seen." Hawks said quietly.

Then Ochako stiffened before she stopped moving altogether and she flopped limply in the mechanical arms holding her.

"Heart rate has stopped!" Came a panicked voice from one of the researchers.

"Brainwave activity has spiked to unprecedented levels! She isn't brain dead!" Came a countering voice.

"What's happening?!" Takeo demanded.

"We don't know sir, it's as if the whole system has locked up, all our sensors and readings have frozen." Someone said.

Suddenly from within the chamber, Tsu saw what looked to be pinkish lighting arc around Ochako. Then a bolt shot outwards, passing through the barriers and shorting out all the electronics. Monitors went black, the lights went out, and the barriers shut off. The only light came from the QUEESS whose glow started to oscillate through all the colors of the rainbow except green. The lightning remained, arcing over Ochako's form at random moments, sometimes arcing outward.

No one said a word, as everyone was transfixed by what was happening.


Ochako awoke suddenly. Everything was dark around her but she knew where she was. The place within her where SHE resided. Yet something was different, she wasn't resting atop the ocean of her subconscious as she was used to in these rare moments.

She stood before the large ornate gates where SHE was sealed. Except that the chains binding the gate shut were gone and the gates had been pushed inward. Beyond the gates, Ochako saw her family's home. She walked through the gates and she saw the flower beds that her mother would often tend to and the shed where her father kept his tools. The area surrounding her home was larger than she remembered. She wandered around the outside of the home, objects of her past scattered about. The playground her parents would take her to when she was a little girl, a miniature version of the primary school she had gone to, a model of U.A., and a dozen other things like toys she used to play with.

Eventually, she walked a circuit around the house and she found herself in front of the doors to her home. She didn't feel much, she felt numb to everything around he,r only recognizing things in a detached manner. When she stepped in front of the door and rested her hand on the handle to push it aside, the detachedness left her and she felt suddenly normal. Something was beyond this door, something different than what she expected, she could feel the alienness of it in front of her.

She opened the door and her eyes widened. Beyond the door was a long stretching blackness and in the distance a single light that shone white, yet she could see other much fainter colors at the edges of the light. She felt drawn to the light and before she realized it, she was walking toward it.

She walked slowly through the blackness, coming closer to the light and the closer she got, the warmer she felt. She felt a feeling of familiarity and of safety, a sensation she hadn't felt since before the war began, since she had been at school, since All Might still lived.

Before she realized it, she was walking into a singularly lit space, a circle of light where ten chairs were arranged in a half circle in front of her. In each seat sat a figure comprised of flame, each figure a different color. Except for the two figures that sat in the chairs directly in front of her. The glowing light faded until only the white light that illuminated the scene remained.

The figure sitting on the chair to her left had white, unkempt hair, and wore a very plain white long-sleeved shirt and very worn jeans. Only a single green eye was visible behind his hair. As the light faded the figure to her right came into clear focus, a towering figure she had seen many times throughout her young life. He stood up and took a step toward her, his smile that banished the darkness and brought hope, shining brightly.

"It's good to see you Young Uraraka!" He said in his booming voice, one she hadn't heard in years. An indescribable feeling washed over her and she felt tears come to her eyes as a whirlwind of emotions rushed through her.

"All... Might..." she whispered.