Hello there again, UltimateDemonBeast65 here with the new chapter of MVA: Symbiote's Justice! So I actually went away for a few days when writing this and only got this chapter finished recently so sorry again for another delay in terms of the chapter's release, but I assure you we will try and work on releasing chapters at a better pace. And now I will respond to some of the reviews.
Trux-Killer: Yeah, stay tuned for more.
Greer123: He's exited the pond that was his planet and entered the ocean that is his universe but will he be able to survive?
Maximum Rhapsody: Venom is reaching newer leagues of power in order to square up against My Hero Academia characters, but he will get stronger and more skilled especially with the incoming threat of Knull
GameMax10: Glad to hear it, dude!
Azatoth2006: Thank you, glad to hear you're excited for this addition to the story
With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!
The people of Japan could not believe it, both to their horror and confusion. What looked like a final blow dealt to the Symbol of Evil by All-Might, led to the SS Rank Villain somehow escaping, robbing the Symbol of Peace his last shot to truly be a Hero one more time as he laid on the ground, now weak and defeated as One For All's power had finally disappeared from his body.
"NOOOOOOOOO/ALL-MIIIIIIGGGGGGGHHHHHT!" Midoriya, Eddie and Venom screamed as they witnessed their mentor and friend struggle in vain, with the League of Villains all but escaping justice.
"This can't be! This is a nightmare! All For One got away, after everything All-Might tried to do! Now he's completely lost One For All!" Midoriya thought as he looked upon the jumbotron in pure dread.
"He's supposed to win…he never loses a fight…" Bakugo thought as something dawned on him within his mind. "Is…is this my fault…did he waste the last of his power…saving an idiot like me…?"
"He never gave up, even when most of his body was failing him…and yet it still didn't matter in the end…the Villain got away, and his final attack never landed…" Todoroki pondered, both shocked and scared for what lies ahead for the future of Heroes.
"No way…" Tsukauchi gasped as he looked at a nearby monitor displaying the feed coming from one of the helicopters.
The officers behind him were also utterly shocked as to what had happened, muttering under their breath as they feared what could happen in the coming days. Many of the Pro Heroes watching, including Endeavour who was taken to hospital alongside the injured, were also in shock, anger and fear, especially the Number 2 Hero.
"Damn you, All-Might...your final act as the Number 1 Hero…and you completely ruined it! What the hell is the world supposed to believe in now?!"
Back at the scene, Gran Torino and Venom headed over to All-Might's location, the former Symbol of Peace was now unconscious and without any power to spare. The two picked up All-Might and carried him over to where the other injured civilians and Pro Heroes were and placed him down gently before the black symbiote went back inside of Eddie, who looked at his unconscious new friend with guilt and pain.
"If only we could have done more…if only we could have helped, then All For One wouldn't have gotten away…" Eddie said, before looking to the ground in shame.
"It's not your fault, Brock, regardless of whether or not All For One escaped, this was the last time All-Might could wield his power." Gran Torino explained.
"You mean One For All?" Eddie asked, shocking the elderly Hero.
"How do you know about that? Did Toshinori tell you?" Gran Torino asked suspiciously.
"We heard the two speaking while the fight was still going on…" Eddie replied before crossing his arms. "Given your reaction, you also know what One For All is, but now's not the time for questions."
Before either one could say anything more, the two of them saw Edgeshot and Hawks approached them. Edgeshot had a look of sadness and guilt in his eyes while Hawks looked more aloof, yet there was intention and focus to his eyes, even if it looked like he was acting inconsiderate.
"He fought well against that Villain." Edgeshot said, looking at the unconscious All-Might. "And though he got away, he still tried his best even to the end of his career. There's no question that if he hadn't been here today, there would have been far more casualties and injured."
"Yeah, but we can't ignore the fact that even after all of that, he still lost." Hawks said bluntly, receiving glares from the other three.
"Watch your mouth, boy! All-Might has done more for this country and Hero society than you've done in your fast climb to the Top 3 Rankings!" Gran Torino yelled angrily.
"Yeah, that's right, show some respect!" Eddie growled.
"Hey, hey, I meant no offense to what All-Might has done throughout his career." Hawks said, putting up his hands in a submissive manner. "He's made crime drop immeasurably over the decades and served as what we could consider to be a messianic figure for this era. But like I said, we can't ignore that the Symbol of Peace has lost, All-Might is no longer the Number 1 Hero, and so imagine what will happen when the rest of the criminal underworld discovers this."
Gran Torino, Eddie and Edgeshot took Hawks' words into consideration and realised that despite his harsh words, he was ultimately right and thinking realistically. Without All-Might to serve as the world's greatest Hero, Villains would no doubt gain the courage to rise up and finally enact their nefarious schemes upon society.
"We'll need to step up our game, dedicate ourselves to honoring All-Might's sacrifice and protect this world and its people from evil." Edgeshot declared with a nod. "Because if we're not careful, we could be staring at the beginning of a war."
Gran Torino and Eddie nodded in agreement while Hawks checked his phone, seeing that he received a message and then let out a sigh.
"Well, I got here in time to save the other Pros and civilians from the damage done to Kamino." Hawks said then looked at Eddie. "Now all that's left for me to do is to bring in the fugitive."
"Fugitive?" Gran Torino asked, before realizing what Hawks meant.
"Eddie, look out!" Venom roared as he forced Eddie's body to dodge several incoming feathers from Hawks' wing.
"Almost got you there, but it's clear this won't be an easy mission to complete." Hawks said as he returned the feathers back to his wings before taking out two more, making them grow and sharpen into makeshift blades. "Edward Brock and Venom, fugitives of the Hero Public Safety Commission. Charged with the deaths of the Villains Nailgun and Muscular, illegal acts of Vigilantism and defying your parole."
"You've got to be kidding me..." Eddie said with a groan before Venom transformed and covered his host's body in his black biomass.
"Why am I not surprised?" Gran Torino said with a sigh. "Hawks, the Number 3 Hero and the Hero Public Safety Commission's personal attack dog…"
"It's not my fault they broke the rules of their parole and decided to take justice in their own hands." Hawks said with a shrug.
"All-Might has lost his power and All For One has escaped, and yet you're after us instead of the real Villain!" Venom exclaimed with anger.
"I take it that you're not going to come quietly then?" Hawks asked with a condescending grin.
"Fuck no!" Venom roared before he created a tendril which he used to zip-line himself across the debris around Kamino, latching on and propelling himself multiple times to escape.
However, in the blink of an eye, Hawks had appeared in front of Venom and took a swing at the Lethal Protector with one of his feather blades. Venom dodged and landed back on the ground beneath them before he dodged a few more swift strikes from Hawks, who then fired razor sharp feathers at him from his wings. Venom formed a shield on his arm which blocked the feathers to the best of his capabilities, but then Hawks used this as an opportunity to try and attack Venom from behind. The Lethal Protector however anticipated this and when Hawks tried to attack, several tendrils erupted from Venom's back which flung the Number 3 Hero into a pile of debris, but quickly recovered by using his feathers to pull him back up into the air.
"That's what you get for sneaking up on us, asshole!" Venom yelled before retracting his shield and tendrils back into his body.
"So you're not just a musclebound brute, you can actually think while fighting." Hawks remarked as half of Venom's face opened up to show Eddie.
"We're not here to fight Pros or attack innocent people, we just want to go home and help our friend." Eddie pleaded to Hawks.
"And what? Ignore the many laws you've broken? Just because you're not from here? Who said you could go around our city doing what you like without consequences?" Hawks argued back.
"Alright, kid, then I'll give you one last warning, stay out of our way or we'll stop pulling our punches." Eddie and Venom said in unison.
"Couldn't have said it better myself…" Hawks replied as he lunged towards Venom once more with blinding speed.
Venom was able to intercept Hawks' attack, blocking his blades with hardened tendrils as the Hero and Vigilante started to blitz around the area with impressive footwork and flight. They collided each time they got close, blocking their respective weapons before zooming around once more to avoid and anticipate their next moves. Venom then formed his makeshift drills around his arms before thrusted them at Hawks, who barely blocked them with his feather blades. The spinning drills began to wear out the feather blades, as the barbs began to either fall off or bend, which forced Hawks to leap away from the Lethal Protector as he put them back into his wings to repair them, and then took out two more peak condition feathers to use.
"Ready to quit?" Venom asked.
"And miss out on all of the fun I'm having fighting you? Not a chance." Hawks replied with a grin.
"Okay then…let's dance!" Venom roared before forming a large grin on his face.
The Kamino Hospital was not usually this busy, or at least got this many patients and emergency situations, but that was the reality of it. Several civilians, SWAT officers and Pro Heroes were checked in to be treated for the injuries they received during the raid, notable patients including Endeavour who had lost a hand in a fight with Carnage. As the injured and tired were being checked up on, Tsukauchi who acted as the raid leader was inside the office of one of the hospital doctors with some of his uninjured colleagues and the Knight of the Cosmos, the green and black symbiote Sleeper. They had just seen how All For One had escaped and All-Might's victory was stolen, ending his career in failure, and though the others were trying to proceed how the Number 1 Hero could have failed, Sleeper was more interested in where All For One went.
"What's going to happen next, Tsukauchi? Without All-Might, the state of Hero society will change for the worse, and he didn't even get to defeat the true mastermind behind the League, so there's not even a ray of hope in this situation anymore!" One of the officers said as fear was clearly consuming his mind.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves…" Tsukauchi said, trying to keep composed and calm. "We still have most of our Pro Heroes alive and well, and as officers of the law we have to be able to remain calm for the people of Japan, otherwise we could be looking at mass panic."
"This is not how this battle should have gone." Sleeper explained as he brought up his HUD, showing replays of the fight between All-Might and All For One. "Within every variable and scenario I had run on my HUD, each one displayed a high probability that the individual known as All-Might would have succeeded in defeating All For One at the cost of his remaining strength."
"And who invited you in here, you alien freak? You and that brain-eating monster are from the same species, aren't you?" Another officer asked, angry and bitter over seeing his colleagues injured and killed.
"That's enough! I allowed Sleeper to help escort the injured to the hospital, both because he saved our lives and because he holds answers to something bigger than all of this." Tsukauchi said, trying to de-escalate the situation before looking at Sleeper. "Surely your calculations could have been inaccurate?"
"My calculations are directly corresponsive to the Symbiote Hive Mind, billions upon billions of years of knowledge and wisdom across our entire species." Sleeper retorted as he showed them more data from his HUD. "For this fight to defy equations from the largest neural collective in the Multiverse suggests that there is more to this than just faulty data."
"So what does that mean? Did All For One receive help from an outside force?" Tsukauchi said as he looked and saw the footage of All For One being pulled into a black portal. "This portal, most people were too focused on the aftermath of the fight or All-Might missing his final punch, completely ignoring that it showed up."
"So he had Kurogiri warp himself away, mystery solved." One of the officers concluded.
"No, Kurogiri was unconscious, making it impossible for him to use his Quirk. I had also received prior intel that stated that All For One can force a person's Quirk to activate if he touches them regardless of whether they are awake or not, but not once did All For One touch or go near Kurogiri when the fight started to become more intense." Tsukauchi explained before pointing at the footage again. "And then there's the biggest disqualifer of this theory, which is the fact that Kurogiri's Warp Gate is purple and looks like a cloud of fog, but this portal is black and looks like a puddle in mid-air."
"Then he must have used it! We saw the black oily portals that those Nomus came out of!" Another officer argued.
"But All For One had no intention of fleeing this fight, he wanted to finish it. Why would he try and retreat now after the effort of combining his Quirk into a final attack strong enough to kill All-Might?" Tsukauchi countered his colleague. "Not to mention look closer at the footage."
Sleeper zoomed in on the footage with his HUD, showing that All For One was ensnared by black tendrils which is what pulled him into the portal.
"The portal has tentacles…?" An officer said with surprise and horror.
"Neither Kurogiri nor All For One's warp Quirks involve tendrils or tentacle-like appendages pulling you into them. All For One can make his warp Quirk burst out of a person's mouth but not actually shape it into a tangible form like this." Tsukauchi explained. "This has to have been someone else, someone who had something to gain by snatching All For One."
"But who could that be? And not to mention who's strong enough to have All For One at their mercy?" One of the officers questioned.
"Those tendrils…they look like ones made by a symbiote…" Sleeper said as he kept looking at the footage. "He was interested in weaponizing our kind, breeding out our weaknesses and bonded supernatural abilities to us…did he already succeed…no, if he had already done so then why did he take the Blood Hunter…?"
Before he or the officers could say anything else, Sleeper felt a huge rush go into his mind, causing his body to shake and spasm and revert into a gelatinous blob of green and black, startling Tsukauchi and the other officers who gripped the handle of their guns but did not raise them. Sleeper slowly rose back up and shifted back into his humanoid form though his eyes were glowing an intense red and appeared to be in a trance.
"THE HIVE MIND WAS BREACHED….HE HAS FOUND HIM…."
Sleeper's eyes dimmed back into their orange-red colour before he stood there in disbelief and horror.
"It can't be…impossible…how could he have called out to him…?"
"What's going on? Sleeper, are you okay?" Tsukauchi asked with concern.
"The time for questions is currently over, I must find Edward Brock and the symbiote Venom, for they shall be needed for what comes next…" Sleeper replied.
"Needed? Needed for what?" Tsukauchi asked, but instead of an answer Sleeper dove out of the office window, sending shards of glass raining down to the streets below as the Knight of the Cosmos took off at blinding speeds, appearing to shift into a different form in mid-movement.
"Shit, just when we could have gotten more answers!" Tsukauchi cursed before letting out a sigh.
"So what do we do now, Detective?" One of the officers asked.
"We do our jobs, Sergeant." Tsukauchi replied as he left the doctor's office.
Back at ground zero of the fight between All-Might and All For One, Venom and Hawks were locked in combat, one trying to capture the other per orders from the Commission and the other simply wanting to escape and focus on the bigger picture. Hawks fired a barrage of his feathers at the Lethal Protector, who used his agility and tendrils to evade or parry them, frustrating the Number 3 Hero with Venom's tenacity and ongoing progress in battle.
"You really aren't going to give up, are you?" Hawks asked as he returned his feathers to his wings.
"Only if you do it first!" Venom retorted as he made more tendrils.
"Brock! Hawks! Stop this foolishness, this fight will get us nowhere!" Gran Torino pleaded with the two.
"I'm not the one resisting arrest." Hawks commented.
"And we're not the ones who destroyed this ward!" Venom argued back. "And yet bird-brain here cares more about capturing us than the real Villains!"
"I just have my orders, and I intend to follow them." Hawks said with a shrug. "It's nothing personal, I just want to do my job."
"We are not backing down!" Venom roared as he turned all of his tendrils into makeshift drills that spun around his body and arms.
"Don't say I didn't give you a chance." Hawks said as he got out two of his feathers and this time combined them to create a long katana like feather blade, bigger and thicker than his normal ones.
The two rushed at each other, their weapons clashed once again with enough force to blow back any small debris and rubble around them, their audible collision sounding like a hammer striking hot iron. After attempting to push each back, they then began moving once more with impressive speed, dodging and countering each of their blows with great force as shockwaves were felt with each strike. Venom leaped away and picked up a large slab of concrete and threw it at the Number 3 Hero, but Hawks brought his feather katana up and sliced downwards, cleaving the concrete in half which surprised the Lethal Protector and his host.
"Did he just cut through concrete?!" Eddie exclaimed.
"Those feathers of his are too OP! No fair!" Venom roared before leaping out of the way of another barrage of Hawks' feathers.
"This isn't a video game, you know? We don't come back if we're killed, we get one life, that's all." Hawks said before he appeared behind Venom and attempted to slice his back open.
"Stop trying to sound philosophical, you arrogant bastard!" Venom yelled as he intercepted Hawks' attack, blocking it with his hardened forearm and landed a strong right hook on the Number 3 Hero's face, sending him flying into rubble and debris while shattering his visor.
Hawks slowly got back up, using his wings to create a gust of wind that blew off some of the debris and rubble. He felt his face, seeing that Venom's punch not only shattered his visor but caused his forehead to start bleeding, with a mix of anger and uncertainty filling his mind.
"So tell me, what happens when you defeat me then? You gonna go and try and find a way home? Back to your universe? Where are you going to be able to find someone you can even do that when we've spent hundreds of years focusing on technology suited for our Quirks?" Hawks asked before tightening his grip on his feather katana.
"If you're trying to guilt-trip us into surrendering, it's not going to work…" Eddie said as Venom opened up half of his face. "You seem like a good kid, just trying to do their job and protect people, but I can't stay here otherwise we risk more symbiotes being born and then next thing you know we have an entire army of Carnages who want to eat and butcher the planet, so like it or not, we're not giving up and we are going home."
"Very well…" Hawks said as he glared at the two with a menacing gaze. "...I'll make your deaths quick…"
Venom closed his face up again before he concentrated and started to form a few tendrils from his right arm which he melded together and started to shape into what looked like a blade. It took all of his concentration to do so as its form was hard to maintain.
"Come on….focus….make an actual weapon for god's sake…" Venom said to himself as he put all of his effort into forming a new weapon, which after a powerful roar he solidified it and formed a black arm blade. "YES!"
"You did it! You made another weapon!" Eddie said excitedly.
"First step in making our Necrosword, Eddie!" Venom exclaimed as he turned to face Hawks with his new blade.
"En garde I guess…" Hawks said mockingly as he held his feather katana with both hands.
They locked eyes for a brief moment, before they both disappeared at near hypersonic speeds and collided with one another, their blades' clash creating sparks. After that they began what one would consider to be a sword fight, parrying and blocking each other's strikes as they moved around swiftly, with neither side slowing down. Gran Torino and Edgeshot watched both in amazement and annoyance, as while it was impressive seeing the Lethal Protector hold his own against the Number 3 Hero, they believed this fight was pointless not to mention a pathetic attempt from the Commission to try and control Eddie and Venom's freedom.
"Should we try and stop them?" Edgeshot asked Gran Torino.
"It's too late, both of them are set on defeating each other, not to mention if we tried to intervene then the Commission could see this as a violation of our contracts." Gran Torino replied. "I got my Hero License mainly so I could use my Quirk legally in public, and I'd rather not deal with the legal ramifications just to stop two punks from killing each other."
"I guess you're right, plus we need to watch over the injured until they send paramedics and the police." Edgeshot said with a nod.
Venom and Hawks lunged at each other, clashing once more with their blades as they circled one another. They locked eyes, neither one having surrender or mercy in their gaze, and when Hawks tried to fire feathers at Venom, they were intercepted and broken by tendrils that sprung out of his back. They then pushed each other back, sending both the Hero and Vigilante into a pile of rubble, which after a few seconds both dug themselves out. They were getting frustrated and wanting to end things before they escalated too much.
"This is pissing me off, time to finish this!" Hawks yelled as he had more feathers attached to his feather katana, transforming it into a colossal sword made of feathers, almost resembling a giant bird feather to be precise. "I'm usually known for my speed, but if I use enough feathers then my blade can become strong enough to cleave pillars in two..."
"This asshole's strategy is to make his swords bigger each time!" Venom remarked. "…maybe he's compensating for something…and by that I mean he has a sma-"
"We get it!" Eddie yelled in annoyance. "Sometimes your jokes are just too…ninth grade, workshop them a little more if you don't mind.."
Venom huffed before he started to concentrate and made his blade start to contort and twist and eventually started to spin in the same manner as a drill. He looked back at Hawks who looked ready to end this all-in-one final attack.
"LET'S GO!" He roared as he lunged at Hawks with his drill-sword hybrid.
Hawks in turn also lunged at Venom, holding his colossal feather sword with both arms as he did so. The two were about to strike each other with what were considered their strongest weapons, however when swung their blades at each other, they saw that something green and black moved between them and blocked their swords, causing a shockwave that kicked up dust and rocks. When the dust cleared, the two saw that Sleeper was standing there, and had blocked the blades with his bare claws.
"Sleeper?" Eddie and Venom said in unison.
"Who the hell is this guy?" Hawks said both in surprise and frustration as he could not make his sword budge from Sleeper's grip.
"Ignorant fools!" Sleeper shouted before pushing the two fighters back. "Not only have you dishonored your fallen comrades by fighting atop their sacrifices, you seek to make an enemy of one another in such a time of crisis!"
"Hey pal, I'm just doing my job here, something that you're kind of interfering with." Hawks retorted nonchalantly.
"Short-sighted child, Edward Brock and the Klyntar Venom are not the greatest threat to your world, rather they are one of the many individuals who can save it." Sleeper said with a blunt tone.
"Save it? Wait, hold on a sec!" Eddie said as Venom went back inside of his body. "I admit me and Venom are much stronger than when we were back on our Earth, but All For One is in a completely different ball park to us!"
"You still think this is about All For One?" Sleeper asked, glaring at Eddie. "All For One is a stepping stone, a speck of dust that lies in wake of what comes next."
"Excuse me." Gran Torino said, approaching Eddie, Sleeper and Hawks. "Pardon my intrusion on your conversation, but are you saying that there's someone more dangerous than All For One? He was the most powerful Villain in the world and has centuries of experience and hundreds of Quirks at his disposal."
"Typical human, always seeing your species at the center of everything, when in truth you are a small fish in a large pond, which connects to a river, then a lake and then the infinite ocean we call the cosmos." Sleeper said with a tone of annoyance.
"Stop playing with riddles and just tell us what the problem is!" Venom exclaimed, as he sprung out of Eddie's back.
"The problem as you put it, is that this is no longer a fight between the narratives of good and evil, this is a fight for life itself, one that threatens not only this world, but all worlds." Sleeper explained. "I have been contacted by my superiors back on Klyntar-731, and they have discovered the identity of the one who saved All For One."
"And who would that be?" Gran Torino asked, curious about this newcomer's knowledge.
The League of Villains, now the most wanted criminal group in Japan, were in a little of disarray. Hiding inside of a warehouse on the outskirts of Tokyo, their members were recovering or just waking up though the most affected of the group was their leader, Shigaraki. He sat in one of the far corners of the warehouse slouched over in a state of despair and anger over what had happened.
"Master….Master, why did you send me away…I could have helped you kill All-Might…" Shigaraki said to himself. "...No…no, I'm not strong enough, not with my current power…how did this all go wrong…?"
"What happened? Why are we back at the warehouse?" Dabi asked his comrades as he slowly stood up and scratched his head.
"It appears we were sent here by All For One, we wanted to ensure we got away from the authorities, to ensure there were some left to continue the fight with the Heroes." Mr. Compress replied, who had woken back up before Dabi.
"He stayed behind to fight All-Might…" Magne said, who also woke up soon enough. "Let's hope his sacrifice wasn't in vain…"
"I hope he beats that arrogant bastard All-Might! Oh no, he's going to lose without our help!" Twice commented who was now awake, shifting personalities as usual.
"SHUT UP!" Shigaraki screamed, getting his comrades' attention as he slammed his fist into the side of the wall, hitting with enough force to actually make it crack.
"Calm down, Shigaraki, do you want to bring this warehouse's roof down upon us?" Dabi said sheepishly.
"Where's Toga?!" Shigaraki demanded as he looked around.
"She's over on one of the stretchers, she hasn't woken up yet. She must be exhausted from all of that fighting." Spinner replied, pointing at the unconscious psychotic schoolgirl.
"Except she wasn't fighting, she wasn't even conscious for most of that entire conflict." Shigaraki explained. "It was Carnage, she must have kept Toga asleep in order to prevent her from taking back control of her body. She was acting of her own interests, not the League's."
"So how can we wake her up? We need her skills in espionage and her Quirk can let her transform into other people." Magne wondered.
Twice then slowly approached Toga and poke her in the arm. When he got no response, he poked Toga again a couple of times.
"Toga? Toga, wake up! Come on, you can't stay asleep forever." Twice pleaded, trying to wake up his comrade. "Get up you blood-sucking bitch! We can't be the League of Villains without you!"
Toga started to groan in annoyance as she started to finally wake up. She sat up before wiping the sleep out of her eyes.
"What…happened…why are we back at the warehouse…?"
"So it's true…you've been unconscious since the Heroes raided the hideout." Shigaraki said as he stood up and approached the others. "That parasite has been controlling your body!"
"What? That's crazy talk! And I'm not a parasite!" Carnage yelled, protruding out of Toga's back.
"Except he's not the only one who saw this, everyone else who was conscious when Kamui Woods restrained us saw what you did." Magne said, joining in on the conversation.
"You killed Kamui Woods then escaped on your own with Toga, then went on a rampage in Kamino." Mr. Compress explained. "Then you ran into your Vigilante father, Venom, and no doubt had a fight, only for All For One to retrieve you and bring the both of you back to us, before forcibly activating Kurogiri's Quirk and sending us here."
"Now, I'm not sure about you, hell I was unconscious for a lot of this stuff, but doesn't that sound kinda sus to you?" Dabi remarked, looking at Toga and Carnage.
"Is…is that true, Carnage?" Toga asked the Blood Hunter, with both a look of shock and betrayal in her eyes. "You put me to sleep and took control of my body…?"
"I did it to protect you!" Carnage tried to justify.
"We had a deal! You promised you wouldn't take away my choices, my freedom!" Toga yelled angrily. "And yet you went behind my back, you left my friends to fend for themselves just so that you could go and kill your deadbeat dad!"
"The League are a bunch of angsty idiots, and Shigaraki is the fucking worst leader ever! They couldn't even see that a pizza delivery guy coming to their doorsteps was an obvious trap the Heroes set and then when they had the chance to fight back they were completely caught off guard! You are so much better than this trash!" Carnage yelled back.
"Trash? The League of Villains are my friends, my home! And you had no right to take that from me! Shigaraki is right, you are a parasite!" Toga yelled back, as tears started to form around her eyes while Carnage's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You don't mean that…" Carnage said, her voice starting to crack.
"Yes I do…" Toga said firmly, as Carnage's face morphed from sadness into anger.
"I hate you..." Carnage said to Toga in a toxic tone of voice.
"I hate you too!" Toga yelled back.
"WE ARE NO LONGER SISTERS!" Carnage screamed.
"FINE BY ME!" Toga screamed as more tears ran down her face.
The rest of the League members had a lot of mixed feelings and reactions to this argument between Toga and Carnage. Shigaraki was annoyed and angry, especially given that Carnage had insulted his position as leader and basically call his ambitions stupid. Spinner was kind of confused but he sympathizes with Toga at the very least. Dabi didn't say much, though the argument was actually close to home for him, even if he didn't want to admit it. Mr. Compress was neutral and Twice was one part sad for Toga and one part angry at Carnage. Magne though was the most compassionate in this situation, saddened by the two's quarrel and by how they had hurt each other.
"Get out of my body...GET OUT OF IT RIGHT NOW!" Toga yelled.
However, before Carnage could comply with Toga's demands, a pitch black portal opened up in the middle of the warehouse. Shigaraki and the others approached it, getting ready to attack whoever should exit the portal and face them.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Himiko Toga…" A familiar voice said, causing Shigaraki's eyes to widen and dilate in shock.
"No, I can't be…Master…?" Shigaraki said as he watched as the Symbol of Evil walked out of the portal with his hands behind his back.
All For One's attire was now different from what he was originally wearing. He was wearing a suit like before, but instead of being navy blue it was pitch black and the blazer was replaced with a knee length coat with straps around the sleeves and instead of dress shoes, he wore black boots with straps around his ankles. His clunky and damaged life support mask was now just a black and grey breathing apparatus connected to his neck and mouth, exposing his scarred face.
"Yes, Tomura, it is me. I have returned." All For One replied to his student as he then snapped his fingers, making an unconscious Kurogiri appear. "Apologies, but I had to quickly retrieve Kurogiri before the Heroes noticed his absence."
All For One created his tendrils once again, but were darker and more organic in appearance, and inserted them into Kurogiri's body.
"Awaken!" All For One shouted, as a powerful jolt of energy went into Kurogiri, making the Warp Gate user regain consciousness as he looked around, startled and confused.
"What happened….Master….Tomura…did we escape…?" Kurogiri asked.
"It is a long story, Kurogiri, one that I shall enlighten with later." All For One replied.
"I thought...I thought we wouldn't see you again." Shigaraki said, as he fell to his knees in front of his teacher.
"Neither did I, but during my battle with All-Might, I was saved by a….good samaritan…" All For One explained. "And he has shown me another path, Tomura, a new way we can obtain power and destroy this accursed society."
"Go back a bit, what do you mean Carnage shouldn't get out of Toga's body?" Magne asked All For One.
"Oh well that's quite simple, Magne, Carnage cannot separate from Toga's body." All For One replied.
"WHAT?!" Both Toga and Carnage yelled in unison.
"You see, my dear, Carnage has been anatomically attached to you, she is part of your circulatory and nervous system, so even if you removed her from your body, you'd suffer permanent neural and cardiovascular damage to yourself. I'd imagine you'd spend the rest of your days in a hospital bed if that happened." All For One explained.
"So you're telling me that we're stuck to each other? Just when we finally had enough of one another?! Oh this is great, just great!" Carnage exclaimed angrily.
"You think this is worse for you? I'm not the parasitic monster who controls people in their sleep!" Toga retorted with equal anger.
"Now, now, let us not be so quick to anger. It's good that I have you and Carnage within our organization, as you are the key to ensure we can create a weapon that will allow the League of Villains to dominate this planet, and maybe even other planets, imagine taking our war to the stars." All For One said as he used one of his Quirks to show the illusion of a nebula with countless stars and planets.
"The stars? You mean space? Take our show to other civilisations in the universe?" Mr. Compress asked curiously. "I suppose if the symbiotes are aliens then there must be other species out there too."
"All will be possible thanks to our new benefactor." All For One replied.
"Benefactor? The one who saved you from All-Might? Who is he, and what does he want?" Shigaraki asked, suspicious about his master's new friend.
"You have nothing to be concerned about, Tomura, the two of us have come to an agreement, a service for a service to be exact, the deal that will benefit both of us." All For One replied, before touching Shigaraki's shoulder.
"And so why do you need me and this oversized chewing gum anyway?" Toga asked, crossing her arms.
"To be the host of Carnage, to help her evolve and grow stronger, while Carnage shall be the mother of the next generation of symbiotic super weapons." All For One explained. "In order for this to happen, you must stay bonded as I study you and as you follow Tomura's lead."
"Mother? I'm not some incubator you can use for breeding weaponised cattle!" Carnage yelled angrily.
"Oh? Is that so? So then would you prefer death instead, Carnage? To be snuffed out like an ember attached to bark? Robbed of the chance to get revenge against Venom?" All For One asked, causing the Blood Hunter to feel dread build up inside her.
"So you're saying we don't have a choice in the matter, we do as you say or else we die?" Toga asked.
"Those are your options, yes." All For One replied.
"But Master, she is one of my subordinates, one of the League of Villains members I chose." Shigaraki argued.
"She is still one of your subordinates, Tomura, but Carnage is not, the symbiote belongs to me, as my patient zero." All For One said before folding his hands back. "To accomplish our current goals and ambitions, we must obtain the final ingredient to creating the ultimate super weapons. To do that, we must align ourselves with a certain genius, whose work on genetics and biology has allowed him to supposedly create a bullet that can negate one's Quirk, perhaps even destroy them."
"Destroying a Quirk? Why would anyone want to get rid of Quirks?" Twice asked.
"Most likely if they blame their businesses' decline on Quirks, with the most notable casualty being the Yakuza." All For One replied. "Once they were the most powerful crime syndicate in Japan, having existed since the Edo Period centuries ago, but when I let light the spark that created Heroes and Villains in the real world, the Yakuza became less and less of a priority to the country than superhumans spreading chaos and destruction across the globe."
"And so you're saying the man who created these bullets is a Yakuza?" Spinner asked.
"Precisely, he is de-facto leader of the Shie Hassaikai, who have a past in dealing Trigger to small-time Villains. He is Kai Chisaki, better known in the criminal underworld as Overhaul." All For One explained. "If we can form an alliance with him and the Shie Hassaikai overall then he could input his own research into mine and the Doctor's, and use it along with symbiotes born from Carnage to make an intelligent adaptive bio-weapon with the power to negate Quirks, greater than the High-End Nomus…"
"If you believe that it will help the League achieve its goals, then I will do as you command, Master." Shigaraki said, bowing to All For One.
Remember that you will succeed me someday, Tomura, so don't be afraid to make your own decisions and create your own plans, so long as they do not interfere in my work." All For One explained.
"I understand, Master…" Shigaraki said with a nod.
"Forgive me for prying, but what is that on your forehead, Master?" Kurogiri asked, to which all of the League members looked at All For One curiously.
On All For One's forehead was what appeared to be a spiral, etched into his flesh with a faded shade of red. The Symbol of Evil pointed at the spiral on his forehead with his index finger.
"Oh this? It's a mark, proof of mine and our benefactor's deal. With this sigil engraved on my head, it shall serve as a sign, the calling card of a Herald of the Abyss…"
Much had happened in the past few hours in Japan, the most crucial being All-Might's fall from grace as his final actions as the Number 1 Hero were wasted as All For One escaped with outside help. What was meant to be a bittersweet battle that would give people a slight sliver of hope was now the fateful day when everything went wrong, when the world's most powerful Villain had evaded justice once again. News stations were quick to cover the ongoing story.
"What citizens of Japan originally considered to be the Symbol of Peace's last stand against evil has appeared to have ended in a wasted effort on All-Might's part. The now powerless Number 1 Hero was taken into the ICU alongside several civilians and other injured Pro Heroes for treatment after this dreadful and nightmarish showdown with the League of Villains, whose members, including ringleader Tomura Shigaraki, were unfortunately able to flee the scene, evading the authorities once more." One of the news anchors read from their script.
"Since the conclusion of the fight between All-Might and the unidentified Villain, various crowds and groups of civilians have been marching the streets. Some of them have banded outside the hospital ward the former Symbol of Peace was admitted to, offering their support and prayers to the Hero in his time of recovery while other crowds have begun to protest on conflicting opinions. One faction has targeted the Hero Public Safety Commission, accusing the government organization of negligence and incompetence for not allowing All-Might proper reinforcements during his fight, while the other faction targeted All-Might himself, former fans and Hero enthusiasts who were angered and disappointed in how the Symbol of Peace failed when he had succeeded so many times before." Another news anchor from a different station read out.
"All-Might was meant to be our champion, the greatest Hero in the world! But he failed us, he lost the most important fight in his life, and now these higher than mighty assholes will appoint that jackass Endeavour to be the Number 1 Hero! Well fuck that! The Pros have lost, and the Villains have taken away the strongest man this world had ever known! Something's coming, ladies and gentlemen, and that something is chaos!" An angry blogger who was part of the anti-All-Might protest group said as he streamed from his location.
"It does make sense that given the current physical state of All-Might's well-being that the Commission will no doubt request his retirement as the Number 1 Hero, which in turn will lead to Endeavour earning that position by default." One of the hosts of a talk show said to his guest.
"Yes, it is highly likely when the new Hero Rankings are revealed in three months' time that Endeavour will be named the new Number 1 Hero, however both from an ethical and social standpoint this could very well make our situation worse. All-Might was the Symbol of Peace, and his very presence and stature discouraged so many people from committing crimes in the first place, not to mention how effortlessly he used to stop ongoing crime overall. He is a paragon of virtue and strength, which is something we cannot say about Endeavour." The guest of the talk show explained.
"Well, it's true that though the Number 2 Hero has put away more Villains than most would in their lifetime and has a near perfect record in the field, Endeavour sure as hell isn't a fan favorite or a compassionate face that could succeed All-Might. Most of the fans Endeavour has liked him for his ruthlessness and cold demeanour, but that's not what society needs right now, it needs someone to give the people of Japan hope." The host replied to his guest.
"Hey guys, just outside of the hospital where All-Might and the other Pros are recovering from their last battle. We've all gathered here to support our Heroes in their time of recovery, and we hope that once they feel better that they get back to protecting Japan and fighting crime. Remember to put the hashtag Symbol of Peace and hashtag All-Might Forever in the chat and on Twitter, and I'll see you guys on the flipside." A girl said, streaming outside with the crowd of All-Might sympathizers.
"Of the many heartbreaking failures that have happened in Kamino Ward tonight, one single good deed was fortunately done. The Pro Heroes were able to find and rescue U.A. High first year and Sports Festival champion Katsuki Bakugo, who the authority has ensured was not harmed during the conflict and has been safely returned to his family." One other news anchor explained.
Meanwhile, at the Hero Public Safety Commission headquarters, several important figures, officials and Pro Heroes had gathered in response to the aftermath of the fight with All For One. The President of the Commission was there alongside the board and their operative, Hawks, with other members and recognised officials being present included Nezu, Aizawa, the rest of the U.A school faculty, the Pro Heroes that were currently ranked in the Top 60 excluding All-Might, Thundermane, Mt. Lady, Endeavour and others that were severely injured. The only other notable people there were Gran Torino, Detective Tsukauchi, Eddie and Venom who had been restrained by the authorities and Sleeper, who stood in the center of the conference room, gazing at his audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Japan law enforcement, top Pro Heroes and our friends from overseas, I welcome you all to this conference." The President of the Commission said, opening up the meeting. "I do apologize for bringing you all here on such short notice, especially given what has happened in the past three and a half hours, but this situation has quite possibly become a matter of national security, perhaps even global, allegedly. Nearly four months ago, an unexpected visitor came to our country and began to inflict ruthless Vigilantism on Villains, and inside of him was what we came to understand was not a Quirk, but an alien life form from beyond this planet."
There were a few mixed reactions, with some believing this statement to be ridiculous, some were just outright confused and some were actually intrigued and curious about this discovery.
"We initially approved that U.A. High would monitor and observe the person of interest, Edward Brock, and the living weapon inside their body, dubbed Venom, to assess whether or not they were a threat to our country and the world at large." The President continued. "Then we learned that Brock had breached the conditions of the contract he signed with the Commission and U.A. High and committed more acts of Vigilantism, including killing the Villain known as Muscular, all under the school's nose. They were also at Kamino Ward in the same vicinity as where All-Might's final battle was."
More reactions from the crowd were seen, as they learned about Eddie and Venom who they originally knew were a lethal brain-eating Vigilante, but not the host of an alien parasite. While a few wondered if they were trying to accuse Eddie of being a traitor or double agent and others believed he interfered in the fight that All-Might and All For One were engaged in, which technically wasn't a lie.
"I believe you have made your point quite clear, Madam President." Sleeper said, finally speaking up and gaining the room's attention.
"You have not yet been addressed, symbiote." The President stated coldly.
"I do not take orders from you, human, though I suppose you are used to being able to control those around you, able to decide the fates of so many…you believe yourself to be acting with the best intentions for your species, but ultimately you have hindered your kind's progress, wasted so much of the scientific potential you once possessed." Sleeper explained, not turning away from the Commission President throughout the entire monologue. "But I am not here to pass judgment upon your ignorance and hypocrisy, I am here to fulfill my role as a Knight of the Cosmos, a protector of the universe and its life forms."
"And what is it that you seek to protect us from exactly?" One of the Commission's board members asked.
"From an evil older than time itself." Sleeper replied before he then activated something within his HUD that created a holographic projection of four humanoid figures who looked similar to Venom and Sleeper but with distinct features, colours and patterns, though had a somewhat regal look to them. The crowd were surprised, intrigued or somewhat shocked at this appearance, though were mindful to keep to themselves. It was clear to Eddie and Venom who they were however: The leaders of this universe's Klyntar.
"We are the Klyntarian Collective, sovereigns of Klyntar-731 and the founders of the Knights of the Cosmos." One of the symbiote leaders explained.
"We come to you today as allies on the behest of our emissary and champion Sleeper." Another symbiote leader said.
The Commission's officials were at a loss for words, not expecting that they would be in direct contact with extraterrestrials light years away from their planet. The President decided to finally speak up.
"Klyntarian Collective of Klyntar-731, I represent the Japanese branch of the Hero Public Safety Commission, which in turn represents the World Heroes Association established by the United Nations 150 years ago. One of your symbiotes alongside a human host has been committing illegal acts within our country, including Vigilantism and cannibalism of two Villains on separate occasions, and therefore wish to know if you intend to punish this renegade should we release them into your custody."
"It appears that you and your colleagues are mistaken, Madam President, the symbiote known as Venom who is bonded to the human Edward Brock is not a native of Klyntar-731, rather they originated from a much younger and more savage Klyntarian society, specifically Klyntar-946, our homeworld within their universe." One of the symbiote leaders explained.
"Therefore, any crimes or deeds committed by Venom and his host are within the jurisdiction of their reality, and so your world cannot prosecute them." A different symbiote leader said.
"But what of Edward Brock? He is human, and therefore should fall under human laws for his actions, given that he has not attempted to resist or fight back against Venom's actions." The President asked.
"Madam President, we were not summoned here to enable or entertain your desire to prosecute and dominate what you believe is a rogue element within your fabricated notion of control and stability." Another symbiote leader said in a more impatient tone. "We are here to ensure your planet and species are aware of the imminent threat heading towards our universe."
"Sleeper, explain to our hosts the history and nature of our enemy." One of the symbiote leaders ordered.
"As you wish, great ones." Sleeper said with a small bow before he began to speak once more. "As I explained, this enemy is ancient and has existed long before humanity and the countless worlds we are encompassed by within the Multiverse. They are known by many names, but he is known simply to us as Knull, the King in Black."
For the most part, the crowd was confused or in disbelief, given the mythical nature of what it sounded like Sleeper was talking about. Venom did not recognise the name but he for some reason started to run cold, a sense of fear enveloped him and Eddie.
"You know who this Knull is that he's talking about?" Eddie asked his companion.
"No…but hearing that name…why does it make me want to shit bricks?" Venom replied with a huff.
"Could you be a bit more specific? Who exactly is this Knull and why are they such a threat to us and the cosmos in general?" One of the Pro Heroes asked, to which Sleeper then created a holographic projection of what appeared to be visuals to go along with the Knight's story.
"Long ago before time, before the Celestials and before the Multiverse, there was the infinite void, the domain of primordial darkness and entropy. Within its colorless form, there was nothing, nothing except for him, the elder god Knull, who ruled over never-ending darkness and emptiness unopposed. But then into the abyss there was a flash of light, what your scientists would come to know as the Big Bang, which sent out six singularities that helped birth life within the now newly created cosmos. Knull however was not pleased by these interlopers invading his domain and filling it with life and light, and stripping away his kingdom piece by piece. The Living Abyss took up arms, forming a divine blade of darkness from his very shadow, a blade forever known by legend as All-Black the Necrosword, and used it to behead one of the Celestials. He turned the severed head into a forge using the embers of the slain deity's power and began work on forging new creations using fragments of the void to wage war against the light and Celestials with. These creations had no true physical form, but they were living and composed of liquified darkness and could bond to organic life to grow stronger and to assimilate them and their species."
"Wait, hold on a second…" Eddie said, finally speaking up and addressing Sleeper and the others. "Are you saying that the symbiotes-"
"Were created by Knull? Yes, that is correct." Sleeper replied bluntly.
In a warehouse within Chiba Prefecture, the sound of a TV could be heard as the three occupants of the building watched the ongoing news report concerning All-Might's failure in defeating All For One and him losing his power and title as the Number 1 Hero. One of them scoffed before finally deciding to switch off the TV and stood up.
"All-Might lost? The Symbol of Peace, the Number 1 Hero actually lost to someone and looks like some decrepit skeleton man? If it wasn't September, I would have chalked this up to being one big April's Fools joke." One of the three said, specifically a man with long grayish-blue hair tied in a messy ponytail, tan skin and an elongated face remarked before as he went over to a nearby table to tinker with some contraption.
"Well clearly with all of the destruction and whatnot, I highly doubt anyone would be in on the joke, even if it was April." A feminine voice chuckled, belonging to a woman with light-skin and white hair that was mostly tied in a ponytail, along with having long and wavy locks and a bang that covered her right eye, who put her weapon at her side while adjusting her respirator.
"Who cares? Just means that we don't have to deal with that smiling prick anymore. About time someone took him out, we've had trouble finding more business after what happened back in February." A third individual said, being a tall hulking man with fair skin and red messy shoulder length hair who picked up what looked like armour made from orange stone. "Kazetani! Haizono! Time to move out!"
"Right. Let's do this!" The woman now known as Haizono said.
"You said it, Iwata!" The man now known as Kazetani said to the hulking man known as Iwata.
Iwata grinned as he had finished suiting up, then led Haizono and Kazetani to a large black van that had been modified and customized with armour plating, extra nitro and graffiti that appeared to have lava, ash, and wind sprayed around it. Iwata turned on the lights, showing off his and his comrades' attire and gear.
Iwata had a navy blue bodysuit with orange rock-like armour and boots with a valve like belt around his waist, a large gauntlet that covered a fair bit of his right arm and pauldrons that possessed what looked like miniature volcanoes on each side and tubes that connected to a respirator around Iwata's mouth.
Haizono wore purple-grey gloves that are exposed at the back of her hand, a black low cut sports bra that revealed the top of her cleavage, arm pads, a thin face mask, a large metal respirator, black ankle boots, and a utility belt with garters along with her weapon sheathed on her right hip and wore white panties.
Kazetani wore a black sleeveless unitard and a purple belt with a desk fan attached to the back of it alongside blue-green and white sneakers with smaller fans attached to the heels. He also wore a pair of brown goggles and had orange thin fingers resembling the blades of a fan.
"You know the drill, the old bash and grab tactic! Let's rock and roll!" Iwata shouted as he opened the backdoors of the van and got inside, followed by Kazetani and Haizono.
Iwata sat in the back of the van, given that the front was too small for his large body and heavy gear while Kazetani took the passenger's seat, fitting there like the average person but lacking the proper digits to drive. This left Haizono taking the driver's seat and turned on the ignition, revving the engine before opening the garage door with the remote. The van then took off into the night, heading further into the city as they began their self-appointed mission. A few miles away within Chiba's city blocks was a currently closed bank, protected by several security guards, a high tech anti-burglary system and several CCTV cameras. There were two guards stationed outside of the bank's doors, one of them let out a yawn both from boredom and drowsiness.
"Don't let the boss see you yawning like that, or he'll probably cut some of our pay." The other guard remarked.
"Come on, man, I was kept up by my neighbors blasting music all night." The first guard said with a sigh.
"Did you ask them to stop?" The second guard asked.
"Are you kidding? Of course I did, but did that stop them? Nope! They don't listen to me because I'm not a real cop according to them." The first guard replied.
"If you really wanted them to stop, why didn't you call the quote on quote, real cops?" The second one asked further.
"Yeah, and embarrass myself in front of them too by needing the police's help to deal with noisy neighbors? No thanks. I did fall asleep, but as you can see it took a while before my body was too tired to stay awake." The first one explained.
"No offense, but all I heard from that were excuses." The second guard bluntly stated.
"Look man, I just-" The first guard started to explain but then heard the sound of a vehicle approaching, causing him to grip the gun in his holster.
"What the-?!" The second guard exclaimed before also grabbing his gun and looked at the rapidly approaching vehicle while covering his eyes from its high-beam headlights.
He fired off a couple shots before he and the other guard dove out of the way while the vehicle crashed through the glass doors of the bank, hearing the tires squeal as the vehicle stopped inside.
"Shit! Let's get in there!" The second guard relayed to the first one before running inside with his gun pointed towards the van.
The first guard took out his gun and headed inside with his partner, approaching the van as its back doors opened while more guards from inside the bank started to surround the vehicle, turning on the flashlights attached to their guns and pointing it at the van. The first to come outside of the van was Iwata, whose hulking appearance intimidated the two guards as he let out a low chuckle through his respirator.
"Put your hands in the air, now!" One of the guards that was inside the bank yelled before gesturing his gun towards the front of the van. "Same goes for those other two! Get out here with your hands up!"
Iwata glared at the guards in front of him before smoke started to escape the small volcanoes on his pauldrons and heat built up around his body.
"What the hell is he doing?! There's smoke coming out of his shoulders and the room just suddenly got hotter!" One of the guards yelled.
Iwata then with a loud roar thrusted his right arm forward, unleashing a powerful blast of lava from his palm, incinerating the two guards in front of him, leaving nothing but charred and partially melted bones. The other guards were shocked at how quickly their comrades were killed, but composed themselves as they were about to fire their guns at the large Villain. However, Haizono swung her door open, got on top of the van and emitted a large cloud of ash-like dust from her body that quickly covered the area around the van, blinding the guards while they began coughing and wheezing.
"D-does anyone have a visual?!" Another guard exclaimed to the others as he tried to wave the dust away while covering his mouth.
"I do~" Haizono replied behind his ear before unsheathing her blade and stabbing him through the heart, then dashed towards the nearby guards who were blindly firing their guns and slashed them across their chests.
Iwata blocked a few gunshots with his large gauntlet before he charged at two more guards, grabbing one in the face with his gauntlet and choke slammed them into the ground. When the other guard present tried to shoot Iwata, Kazetani leaped in front of them and started to spin his hands and fingers around like a fan, creating a powerful gust that knocked the guard into a wall with enough force to crack it.
"Send back up! A group of Villains are attacking the bank! Repeat, we need back-!" One guard outside of the dust cloud relayed urgently through his radio before Haizono sliced him across the throat.
"Guess we gotta pick up the pace, boss!" Haizono remarked to Iwata as she cut the radio in half.
"Get those safes open and grab as much cash as you can! I'll hold them off for as long as possible!" Iwata ordered before shooting lava out of both of the volcanoes on his shoulders, raining down several blasts of lava on the surrounding security guards.
"Alright! Come on, let's go, Gust Boy!" Haizono shouted to Kazetani as she ran down the stairs that led towards the safe, and Kazetani followed her shortly after.
As the two made their way downstairs, they could hear a couple of guards around the corner of the hallway they were running through.
"Shit man! We're so dead once they come down here!" One exclaimed to his partner, tightly gripping his submachine gun.
"I don't want to die, dude! I have a wife and children!" The other guard exclaimed.
Kazetani, or rather Gust Boy, spun his hands and fingers once he and Haizono got closer to the safes, creating a gust that threw the two guards against a nearby wall, in which Gust Boy grinned before moving his arms up and morphing the air he was projecting into a tornado that scooped up the two guards before being rocketed off towards a few automated turrets that were activated before, short circuiting their wires and slicing through their armor plating.
"Now, Dusty Ash!" Gust Boy yelled.
Haizono, also known as Dusty Ash, ran towards the tornado and killed both guards by slashing them across their necks before moving on to destroy the turrets as they shot at her and Gust Boy. Fortunately for them, they missed each of their shots before Dusty Ash sliced at the turret's exposed weak points, destroying them. Dusty Ash then wiped the blood off her blade before putting it in her sheath.
"Alright, now it's time to open this safe up!" Haizono said as she picked up one of the guards and lifted one of the guards' hands on the scanner, which unlocked the vault door, and then dropped the body before pulling back the door which was heavier than expected. To which she expressed her discontent in the lack of assistance. "Could've used some help, you know? That door was so damn heavy!"
"I helped you take out the guards and turrets before, remember? Don't tell me one door is too much for you." Gust Boy said mockingly as stopped spinning his hands and proceeded to dip into the safe, with Dusty Ash replying with a groan and an eye roll.
Grabbing as much money as he could, Gust Boy opened up the safe's compartments and spun his hands once more, sucking up the cash and funneling it into a bag. Dusty Ash then entered and opened more of the safes and scooped the cash into another bag while Gust Boy quickly moved between safes, funneling more cash out of each one and filling up more bags full of money. The bags that were full were tossed into a pile outside of the vault door and after a couple of minutes passed, the two decided that the money they had stolen was enough.
"I think we're done here! Let's meet back up with Volcano!" Dusty Ash stated before carrying a few of the bags and ran back the way they came.
Iwata, otherwise known as Volcano, blocked a few gunshots with his large gauntlet before he thrusted it into the ground, channeling his Quirk into said strike which made several cracks in the floor that spread around the room and near the guards. The cracks glowed orange before lava started to erupt out of them, spraying several guards and incinerating them. Volcano chuckled before checking the area in case of more guards.
"That's all of the inside guards, but they'll be reinforcements soon enough. Where the hell are those two?" Volcano growled.
"We're finished down here, Volcano!" Dusty Ash called out as she made it up the stairs with the bags she carried, then made her way to the van and quickly threw them in the back. "There are a few more down there if Gust Boy isn't already carrying them."
Gust Boy meanwhile spun his hands and fingers, creating a vacuum of air that pulled several bags of money towards him, then quickly dashed back to the van and threw the rest of the money bags in with his Quirk.
"I got the rest of the loot!" Gust Boy shouted.
"Then let's bounce!" Volcano yelled as he ran in front of the van, seeing whether or not the reinforcements had arrived.
Meanwhile, Dusty Ash and Gust Boy got back in their seats, with Dusty Ash shifting into reverse but stuck her head out the window to check on Volcano. A few seconds later the sounds of multiple sirens and a helicopter could be heard closing in on the bank.
"Damn it, looks like we have company!" Volcano said as smoke poured out of the volcanoes on his shoulders as he prepared to use his Quirk.
Dusty Ash quickly shifted back into neutral before getting out of the van with Gust Boy, drawing her sword, but both of them were ready to use their own Quirks as well. However before they could get a chance to do so, a black portal appeared above them and shot out several black tendrils that ensnared and impaled several of the officers and their vehicles before they slowly crushed and pulled apart their victims one by one.
"What the hell?!" Dusty Ash exclaimed as the three looked at the carnage in front of them, also seeing that the helicopter pilots were killed before the helicopter itself crashed and exploded in the middle of the street.
"These tentacles are ripping them all to shreds!" Gust Boy yelled, widening his eyes.
"Look alive, whoever is coming through that portal could be a rival Villain!" Volcano said, as the tendrils finished their work and went back into the portal.
A few seconds later, someone exited the portal, someone that Volcano recognised upon sight, causing his eyes to widen. Gust Boy also immediately recognised them as well, as dread enveloped his entire body.
"No way…he's here?!" Gust Boy exclaimed.
"It's really him…" Dusty Ash gasped in disbelief, her hands trembling as she still held on to her sword.
"All For One…the most powerful Villain in history…" Volcano said with a glare.
All For One then landed on the ground, then turned to face the trio of Villains.
"It seems that I have arrived at the correct location. Apologies for the intrusion upon your heist, but there were things I'd like to discuss without prying eyes watching us." All For One explained.
"Look here, All For One, this is our loot!" Gust Boy said, trying not to show fear in front of the Symbol of Evil. "So if you think just because you took out their reinforcements-"
"Oh please, I have no interest in money, a commodity I have in near-unlimited supply." All For One clarified.
"Then why are you here exactly?" Dusty Ash asked.
"Because I am in need of your services." All For One replied, surprising the three Villains. "You are the top mercenaries in Japan if I am not mistaken, contrary to how barbarically you robbed this bank, your reputation and skills says otherwise. Isn't that right, Volcano Thieves?"
Volcano looked at Gust Boy and Dusty Ash, as if to ask them what they thought about the situation. They weren't sure of what to make of the situation either, however they remembered how All For One said he more or less had near endless amounts of wealth, something that made Volcano grinned underneath his respirator.
"If you know who we are, then you know our skills don't come cheap, All For One." Volcano explained, pointing at the Symbol of Evil.
"Of course, I am willing to pay you whatever price to recruit you, for what I seek requires the best in the business, and the broker Giran spoke very highly of you." All For One said.
"Did he really? Well whatever he said about us, Giran is never wrong." Dusty Ash remarked.
She not only felt a sense of calm within her, but also a sense of excitement and cupidity for money. Dusty Ash then put her sword away before turning back to face Volcano and Gust Boy, placing both her hands on her face and bent both her knees towards each other while leaning her upper-body slightly forward.
"Looks like we've struck gold here, boys! We'll be more rich than ever after taking this job! Oh, I'm already imagining it!" She gushed before giggling as she bit her lower lip underneath her respirator.
"So what exactly is this job?" Gust Boy asked curiously.
"Allow me to enlighten you…" All For One said with a chuckle as the spiral on his forehead glowed a faint red.
Did you enjoy the chapter? If so, please favourite and follow the story and give me your feedback! Now I will go over some of the decisions I made in the chapter.
As you can see I have started to incorporate more of the Symbiote and Knull lore into the story though I will do my best to try and make it blend in with the MHA lore and also not be too over the top, given how insane and OP characters started to become within the Donny Cate run of Venom. So if you noticed, each universe has a version of their homeworld Klyntar which is designated similarly to how universes are, such as Klyntar-731 being the Klyntar of the MHA universe.
All For One not only has a new outfit and life support thanks to Knull but he also has a spiral etched on his head which represents those enthralled by Knull. His tendrils also being more organic and symbiote-like will be explained later on.
And as for the three characters at the end of the chapter, known collectively as the Volcano Thieves, we're guessing that most of you may not recognize them. That's because they come from an arcade game that's exclusive to Japan, My Hero Academia: Clash! Heroes Battle. Since little information is provided about them other than their Quirks and appearance, the both of us have to improvise and fill in the rest of the blanks ourselves.
If that is all, then I will see you guys next chapter! MVA: Symbiote's Justice, Lethal Protectors away!