Several Minutes Earlier, at the Central Tower
"God... that was way too many stairs and robots," Minoru said, breathing heavily as the group of teens got outside onto the roof at the base of the tower's wind generators.
"Indeed," Reiko said, wiping the sweat off her brow. "That was quite exhausting."
The group had just finished plowing through dozens of security robots with Hero, Izuku, and Tenya taking the lead and breaking them, while Momo would create small rocks that Yui would throw and enlarge with her Quirk, blocking the paths behind them to prevent more from tailing them. Reiko and the others had provided support, with her using her Poltergeist Quirk to swing robots into each other and knock them down, Tsuyu using her tongue to whip them away, Fuka using her Gale Breath to blow several away, Minoru using his balls to make them stick to the floor, and Saiphza growing human sized and slashing them apart with his claws. Ardiana was able to hijack several of them and had them turn on the others, but there was a limit to how many she could control, and Yosetsu would use Weld to fuse some security robots together to trip them up.
"So what are we going to do now?" Yosetsu said, as Yui enlarged another rock from Momo to block the entrance.
"You all are going to leave," Hero said, looking at them. "Take Saiphza and go out to deal with the alien attacking the island."
"But Hero-" Setsuna protested.
"All Might told us to escape as soon as we are able to," Hero said, looking at them. "And right now, the only people that need to keep going are Miss Shield and I."
"I'm staying behind!" Izuku said, without hesitation. "You might get your hands full with dealing the alien, and the terrorists might take Melissa in the meantime!"
"Alright, but do not jump in to help fight, alright?" Hero said. "Ardiana, I'm counting on you to protect them all now."
"Of course, let's go," Ardiana said, as Saiphza changed into his ship mode and flew above them, using his tractor beam to pull the rest of the group away.
"Hero! Hiroshi! Promise me that you'll stay safe, alright!?" Fuka cried out.
"Go kick some ass you guys, you got this!" Setsuna added, giving the three two thumbs up. Hero, Izuku, and Melissa returned the gesture, and once they were gone, Hero picked Izuku and Melissa by the waists, and flew towards the 200th floor entrance.
A group of security robots came pouring out of the entrance, prepared to capture the three.
"Damn, our hands are full, what can we-" Hiroshi began to say, when Izuku reared his right arm back.
"100% DETROIT SMASH!" Izuku cried, throwing his fist. A giant gust of air rammed into the security robots, making them fall down from the bridge, as well as widening the entrance.
"It works! My arm's totally fine after using 100% of One for All!" Izuku said, holding his arm.
"That's fantastic! I'm glad that it works!" Melissa said, beaming as they landed. "But we need to remember that you have only two more uses out of it now..."
"We'll worry about that some other time," Hero said. "We need to head to the security room. Where do we go?"
"It's in front of the central elevator, follow me," she said.
As the three ran through the hallways, they came to a stop when they saw Wolfram, two of his men, and David and Samuel standing in front of a vault door.
"What's dad doing in front of the vault?" Melissa muttered, as the three stayed behind the corner.
"[I'm losing my patience,]" Wolfram said, as David and Samuel tried to open the vault door. "[When are you going to get it opened!?]"
"[We're doing our best!]" David said. "[But whatever that alien's doing, he's-]"
All of a sudden, the shadowy barrier dissipated, and the vault door started to slide open.
"[Alright, looks like we're in,]" Wolfram grinned, kicking David into the vault.
"Come on, we can't leave them alone with their leader," Izuku said. They ran into the vault, and Hero used his Herorum Bolas Binding to trap the terrorists in the vault.
"[Dammit! What the hell is this!?]" the redhaired man said, trying to free himself from the energy bindings. Hero took this opportunity and held him down.
"[Dad! Are you alright!?]" Melissa said, looking at her father. He didn't turn around to face her, his eyes were locked onto something up on the stairs. When they all looked at what he was staring at, and they were also horrified at the sight of a familiar alien.
"Virus!" Hero shouted, as he and Izuku instinctively prepared themselves for combat.
"Hello, glad to see all the big players have made it!" Virus laughed, twirling a strange crown-like device in his hand while an opened suitcase laid on the ground next to him. "And suffice to say, I think I've won this little game, Mr. Abraham!"
"[G-Give that back!]" Samuel demanded, as he hesitantly took a step forward.
"[Oh, I will. But first-]" Virus grabbed the device with both hands and pulled them apart. Instead of breaking it into two, however, he had created a shadow duplicate. He dropped the original onto the ground, and Samuel scrambled to get it, making sure it wasn't damaged by the fall. "[There we go. You can have this back.]"
"W-What's going on!?" Izuku said, looking back and forth between everyone.
"Oh right, I suppose we should be speaking Japanese for your benefit, Mr. Midoriya," Virus chuckled as he paced a bit. "You see, a while ago I heard about a little project that Mr. Shield and his assistant were working on, and I simply needed to get it! What you're looking at, is a Quirk Amplification Device!"
"Quirk Amplifi- Does that mean that it can boost the power of Quirks!?" Hero said, realizing the implications.
"Exactly, Mr. Hero! That little device right can do what drugs like Trigger can do, but without creating a dependency on it!" Virus explained. "It's quite extraordinary, knowing what this can do! Imagine all the people who'd use it! All the weak heroes who want to get ahead! All the people who have weak Quirks and want to change their fate! All the villains, who'd want to use this to become the biggest crime lords in the world!"
"Why on earth would you make something like-" Melissa asked, when she, Izuku, Hero, and Hiroshi came to the realization.
"What is it? What do you think is the reason?" Virus said, leaning forward to hear. "Or should Mr. Shield explain it to you?"
"I... I made it to help All Might," David said, his fists tightening. "When he told me that he was getting weaker, I thought that I had to do something. So I came up with a way to enhance Quirks, so much that not only would he regain his power, but also be stronger than in his glory days. But when our sponsors heard about the project, they confiscated everything because of their concerns. At first, I wanted nothing more than to take it back, to the point of wanting to hire actors to stage an attack on I-Island... but then I visited All Might at UA, and talked to All Might and all of the Hero Course students... I realized how shortsighted I was being, and I called it off. I should have never made it in the first place-!"
"But then why are they here, dad!?" Melissa said, pointing to the villains that Hero had bound.
"I think that Mr. Abraham can answer that," Virus said, gesturing to the man on the ground, as he dug through the suitcase to check it.
"[Sam?]"
"[I... I had to get back at your father! We were supposed to get all kinds of accolades from the Quirk Amplification Device! Instead, all that time and effort into making it was wasted because he allowed it to be taken by our sponsors! And even though he agreed to this plan, he backed out of it! I deserve something out of this! So I went ahead with the plan, but I hired real mercenaries, because what actor would fake an attack on a place like I-Island!? But then he had to come in and interfere-]" Samuel ranted, putting the device back into the suitcase when he noticed something wrong. "[W-Where are the flash drives!? The blueprints!? They're supposed to be in here too!]"
"Oh, I took the liberty of taking them with me," Virus said, shrugging as he patted a pocket. "After all, this shadow duplicate is only good as a base for the shell. I'll still need to get the wiring and parts correct for this. But it was certainly showy, wasn't it?"
"[G-Give them back!]" Samuel demanded.
"Hm... no," Virus replied.
"So why do you want a Quirk Amplification Device? Last time I checked, us aliens don't have Quirks," Hero said, still on guard.
"Well, I've got ideas for this little gadget! Ideas that I can't tell you all about yet!" Virus laughed. "Beyond that, I just wanted to see the faces of despair and heartbreak."
"A daughter-" Virus pointed to Melissa, "- finding out that her own father had a hand in a terrorist attack! A man-" he pointed at David, who could only tremble at what his shortsightedness has cost them, "- who knows that what he's done is unforgiveable, even if he's had a change of heart! And the assistant-" he finally pointed to Samuel, "- denied everything he thought he deserved, and so went behind his partner's back to hurt him in all the ways he can! It's the only reason why I even bothered waiting for you all to come here before taking it! To see it all firsthand! And what a delight all of this is!"
"You-!" Hero shouted, as he charged at Virus. The helmeted alien stored the Quirk Amplification Device away in his trench coat, and grabbed the Ultra's fist.
"A final gift for everyone here for now!" Virus said, dark energy forming around his hand. With a wave, he managed to release Wolfram and his men, but before Hero could do anything, Virus grabbed him by the neck and the two flew towards the ceiling, crashing through and leaving a giant hole in the ceiling.
"[Dammit, all that trouble, and we're getting out of here with nothing!?]" Swordkil cried, gritting his teeth.
"[No,]" Wolfram simply stated. He touched the metal railing closest to him, and in seconds it wrapped around Izuku, pinning him to the wall. Wolfram pulled out a pistol, and shot Samuel in the shoulder. "[I guess we can end all the pretenses here.]"
"[W-Why!? I hired you to help me take this back-]"
"[Are you kidding? Do you know how much something like a Quirk Amplification Device would sell for? We'd make way more money selling them than however much you could pay us,]" Wolfram sneered. Izuku struggled against the metal railing around him, frantic as he saw everything unfold in front of him. "[For someone so smart, you sure were stupid enough to tell us what it was to a group of mercenaries.]"
"[Sam!]" David cried, watching his assistant bleed out. "[Please! Don't-!]"
"[Well, can't say I wasn't looking forward to doing this,]" Wolfram said, pulling his pistol's hammer back.
A gunshot rang out throughout the vault. Melissa covered her mouth in horror as she watched her father fall to the ground, bleeding from the shoulder blade after taking the bullet for Samuel.
"[DAD!]" she yelled, as he collapsed, convulsing from the pain. Izuku pulled and pulled, as he let more of One for All to course through his body.
"[D-Dave, why-]"
"[M-Melissa... S-Sam... r-run...]" David moaned, as Wolfram picked the man up.
"[Since that alien took the flash drives and blueprints, we'll be taking the next best thing to mass produce this thing, the creator and his assistant,]" Wolfram said, pistol whipping David and knocking him out while Swordkil did the same with Sam. Hacker grabbed the Quirk Amplification Device's suitcase, snickering. "[And to make sure that you have nothing else to live for-]"
Wolfram pointed his pistol at Melissa, and in the seconds before he pulled the trigger, Izuku shot from the 20% of One for All that his body could handle to 35%, tearing through the metal railings and punching Wolfram. The redhaired man dropped his gun from shock, but he regained composure and slammed his hand onto the ground, using the tower's metal to create a wall to block him.
"Melissa! Go!" Izuku said, turning his head towards her. "I'll save your dad and stop them here!"
The blond girl nodded, and ran out the vault door.
"[Don't let her escape!]" Wolfram barked. Swordkil handed Sam over to Hacker and began to chase after Melissa, his hand turning into a blade, but Izuku had sprung towards him and punched them, sending him flying towards a wall and knocking him out.
"I'm not letting you get away with any of this!" Izuku said, as green electricity sparked off his body. He felt his bones and joints pop from the amount of power coursing through his body, but he couldn't let that stop him. "You've hurt enough people, and it's time you answered for everything!"
"You want to play hero, fine!" Wolfram said, touching the ground. Pillars upon pillars of metal sprung from the ground, and began to stretch towards Izuku. Izuku jumped and dodged as many as he could, until one managed to him from his blind spot, which gave Wolfram the opening he needed to have more trapping him against the wall to prevent him from escaping.
"[Tch, let's go!]" Wolfram said, as he ran out of the vault with David, wrapping his and Sam's wrists with metal railing. "[We're getting to the helicopter and getting the hell out of here!]"
"[But what about the others-!?]" Hacker said, as he dragged Sam with him, with the suitcase containing the Quirk Amplification Device in his other hand. "[Can we at least wake up Swordkil so he can drag this fatass instead of me!?]"
"[No time. We got what we came for. If we try and stick around to try and get them, we'll just get apprehended by pros. And I don't want to stick around with those aliens around,]" Wolfram stated. "[From what I've seen of that Virus, he's probably released something else that'll get in our way...]
Meanwhile, in the sky
"I can't believe we just left them like that," Kinoko mumbled, kicking her feet in her chair as Saiphza flew up into the sky. Everyone had taken a seat and buckled in, while Ardiana observed the monitors and scanners.
"We're heroes-in-training. Even with the presence of Hiroshi, Hero, and Rigel, there's only so much that we can do within the confines of the law!" Tenya stated.
"And there's not much we could do in that situation. Too many of us to keep track of. We already had to split up with Pony and the others before this," Fuka sighed, looking out at the window. "Oh man, the island's looking pretty roughed up now... Wait, why are we flying this high in the first place?"
"When we took to the sky, the scanners detected something," Ardiana answered, putting a hand on her chin. "And considering the chaos of everything right now, I feel like it is imperative to investigate."
"Maybe it's a plane?" Yosetsu suggested.
"Or perhaps an avian of some sort?" Reiko chimed in.
"No, it's something else entirely... what it is, I'm-" Ardiana said, when something collided with Saiphza, shaking the ship.
"What was that!?" Minoru cried, as Ardiana pulled up all possible visuals. They got their answer as a giant Pteranodon-like alien screeching as it flew close to Saiphza and struck his wings with its talons.
"A Troidon!" Ardiana gasped, as the giant alien flew away, only to ram itself against Saiphza again, making the ship grunt. "They're aggressive aerial predators from Planet Reptur that nest in volcanic areas! But why would something like that be here!?"
"A random alien that's out of place on Earth?" Ochako said, raising an eyebrow.
"This has Virus written all over it!" Kyoka said.
"Do you think that he's the alien that Hero sensed?" Shihai said, gritting his teeth at the thought of the alien.
"Figures that someone drawn to chaotic shit like this would be involved!" Fuka growled.
"I thought we were supposed to be safe on Saiphza! Can we beat something like that without Rigel!?" Minoru cried.
"Without a physical pilot, Saiphza's power is cut down significantly, and his dinosaur mode is best for land combat," Ardiana explained. "Right now, we're-"
A flash of light radiated from where Setsuna was sitting. Everyone turned towards her, and saw that she had put on Rigel's belt and was now wearing his suit, though it was a little oversized.
"Oooh, I was wondering how I'd look like with this on. But this needs a few adjustments for me..." Setsuna said, observing herself. On cue, the bulky armor slimmed down to fit her body, with her torso armor reconfiguring itself to become a backpack instead to allow her some breathing room, as well as the suit hugging her body more tightly. The helmet opened up in the back to let her hair flow out, and the visor opened up to reveal her face and bangs. "Whoa, now this is more like it! Didn't know that this suit could do that!"
"Alien Hunter battle suits will automatically adjust themselves to the current users preferences," Ardiana explained.
"Setsuna, what are you doing!?" Fuka said, staring at her best friend.
"Well, Rigel handed me his battle suit in a case of an emergency, and right now we're in a pretty big one if you ask me!" Setsuna pointed out, as Troidon tackled Saiphza, shaking them all.
"I feel as if this is overstepping our boundaries as-" Tenya said, stopping as the tackles became harder and harder.
"It'll be alright, I'll be able to assist her with Saiphza. I'll handle targeting and monitoring the systems while Miss Tokage helps with the weaponry. Saiphza will handle flying," Ardiana said, as a special hatch opened. "Enter the battle cockpit, and we'll take care of Troidon together."
"Alright!" Setsuna said, as she climbed into the cockpit. "Don't worry guys, we'll get out of this!"
She sat down onto the chair, and looked at the controls. "... Uuuuuh, Ardiana, how do I-"
"Take the Omnirod on the back of your belt off, and press the button at the base," Ardiana instructed, as Setsuna followed what she said. The clamp opened up and a key popped out. At the opposite end, a handle popped out. "Now insert it into the control base, and it'll be straightforward from there."
Troidon attacked the metal ship that was encroaching into the space it was flying in. While disoriented after finally being released from its tight enclosure where it was kept in ever since its capture, and nowhere near the volcanic regions it nested in, it knew enough that Saiphza was a threat to itself. It might be smaller than the ship it was kept in, but it was in no mood to hesitate.
Its decision to attack Saiphza was correct, as he began to fire his cannons and missile pods at it. Troidon dodged the beams and missiles as fire built in its mouth and launched it. Like the Pteranodon-like alien, Saiphza dodged the fireball and returned fire with his cannons. When Troidon began to build up another fireball in its mouth, Saiphza rammed itself into the giant alien's gut, knocking the wind out of it before blasting it pointblank with its cannons. Troidon screeched when Saiphza began to transform, clamping its jaws onto its shoulder and using its claws to tear through its wing membranes, sending both of them careening to the ground. Saiphza used whatever limited aerial capabilities he had to push Troidon and himself towards I-Island's forest ring to avoid causing any more damage to the island, and the two giants crash landed.
"Is everyone alright!?" Setsuna called out, looking out behind her to check on her classmates and friends.
"Frazzled, but doing well so far!" Fuka said, giving her a thumbs up, her steel blue hair slightly mussed up from the landing.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Kinoko whined, holding her stomach.
"I want off this crazy ride!" Minoru shouted.
"I'm pretty sure that this is actually one of the safer places to be, even if we're fighting a giant pterodactyl," Kyoka muttered, rubbing her head. "Man, these seatbelts are really strong..."
"Alien Hunter technology is surprisingly strong, even its safety features..." Momo noted, slightly tugging on hers to confirm that it had done its job.
"Well, it's not over yet!" Setsuna said, refocusing to the front as Troidon stood back up. "How're things looking, Ardiana!?"
"Any damage to Saiphza is light. The auto repair systems will be done in no time," Ardiana responded. "We'll be able to finish Troidon off and head towards the areas where the island has been damaged at."
"Alright, let's do that, and head back to the city!" Setsuna said, as Saiphza charged forward.
Troidon cried and winced as it felt the wind flowing through its torn wing membranes, but it couldn't rest as Saiphza ran towards it, swinging his tail at the Pteranodon-like alien. Troidon staggered backwards when Saiphza grabbed it by its wings with his jaws, cracking bones as he spun around before releasing the alien, causing it to slam against I-Island's barrier. While Saiphza reoriented himself, Troidon fired another fireball at the robotic dinosaur, knocking it off balance. The alien kicked Saiphza, pushing him down onto the ground and taking the opportunity to stomp on him. Saiphza rolled away after a few stomps, and used its tail to sweep Troidon's legs, knocking it onto the ground too.
Saiphza stood back up, leaned forward, and opened its mouth as an energy ball began to form.
"Troidon has been sufficiently weakened for us to utilize the Wrecker Rex attack," Ardiana said, checking the scanners and monitors.
"What's that?" Setsuna asked.
"Pull the Omnirod out, point it at the screen, and yell 'Wrecker Rex' with me," Ardiana explained, as Setsuna followed the instructions.
"Any reason why I need to yell out Wrecker Rex?"
"It helps with synchronizing between Rigel, Saiphza, and myself to coordinate when it is appropriate to release the energy," Ardiana answered.
"Alright then!" Setsuna said, grinning. She pointed the Omnirod at the screen, and shouted together with Ardiana.
"Wrecker Rex/Wrecker Rex!"
As Troidon stood up, Saiphza roared as he released the energy building up in his mouth and cannons onto the alien. The Pteranodon-like alien screeched as the heat from the beams caused it to explode in a cloud of fiery dust and smoke. With a mighty roar, Saiphza transformed into his ship mode, and flew towards the burning city, prepared to help out anyway possible.
At Central Tower's Security Room
Melissa shut the door close and locked it. To make sure that none of the mercenaries could get in, she grabbed one of the rolling cabinets and pushed it to block the door. She planted herself onto the chair, and began to take back control of the security system.
Melissa bit her lip as her thoughts drifted to her father and Samuel. For her father to even consider doing this, let alone Samuel for actually going through with it, tore her heart to pieces. But still, she couldn't let them be taken away. Not when she swore to herself and Uncle Might that she would help save everyone.
"I... I'm going to do what I can to save everyone!" Melissa said, as she successfully retook control. The security robots patrolling the city resumed their regular activities instead of herding people, though they immediately went to help out at the areas damaged by the alien rampaging in the city. And more importantly-
Reception Hall
The bindings tying the pro heroes up fell off, releasing them.
"What's going-" one of the mercenaries said, as the pros immediately went on the offensive and took them out as the people inside cheered them on, relieved that the situation seemed to change in their favor.
"Those sprouts did it, now it's my turn!" All Might thought to himself, as he headed towards the exit. "Hang in there, everyone!"
Hayate and Kana began to follow All Might, when Mizuna stopped them.
"What are you doing, we-" Hayate began to say.
"The city needs us right now," Mizuna pointed out. "There's a lot of damage, and people will need to be saved. Let All Might handle this."
"I... right," Hayate sighed, as the pros all ran out to go and help out at the city.
80th Floor
"Oh thank god, they're all down," Itsuka sighed, as the security robots shut down around them, and they cheered.
"The others did it!" Pony cheered, as she hugged Danny. "[I knew that they could!]"
"[Yea!]" Danny shouted, hugging his girlfriend tight.
"Tch, let's get up there, I want a piece of the action!" Katsuki said, as they ran towards the exit.
"I hope that everything is going alright," Rigel said. "Especially with the alien..."
The Vault
Izuku gasped for air as he broke free from the pillars. He looked around; Wolfram, Hacker, David, and Sam were gone, though the knocked out Swordkil was still where he was.
"I... I have to get them..." he wheezed, as he forced himself to move. "I can't... I can't let them get away with this..."
"Melissa, what's the situation!?" All Might said over his phone, as he ran through the hallways and stairways.
"Some of the others had to stay behind on the 80th floor to keep some of the mercenaries from following up, while everyone else but Hero, Izuku, and I went to the security room!" Melissa said, though he could hear her sobbing. "But that man took him! They took my dad and Sam, Uncle Might!"
"What!?"
"Izuku's going after them to stop them from leaving, and Hero and Virus are fighting in the sky as we speak!"
"Don't worry, Melissa, we'll save your father. I promise," All Might said, gritting his teeth. Just what do they want with his best friend?
Above Central Tower, in the air
Hero and Virus broke through the tower, and Hero slugged Virus across the chin, forcing the shadowy alien to release him. He followed up by covering his fist with rock-like energy to punch Virus, though he blasted the Ultra with a shadowy beam, pushing him away.
"It's been a while since we've fought, hasn't it, Mr. Hero?" Virus said, as the two floated in the air. "And if memory serves, you lost to me in that very form."
"If strength can't beat you-" Hero said, as light shone over his body.
In Hero's Inner Space, Hiroshi held out his arm out as he turned the Hero Hand's dial. "MUSCLE! BURST!"
"Fire that blazes brighter than a sunburst!" Hiroshi cried out, slamming his left hand onto the stylized H. He reared his arm back, threw his hand into the air, and yelled, "Burn UP! HEROOOOO!"
"BURST HELIOS!"
"And just to be on the safe side," Hiroshi said to himself, as he pressed on the Tector Hand. "Tector Hand! Scale Limit- Full Power!"
"Power Scaling Confirmed. Now Operating at Full Power," the Tector Hand responded, as light radiated throughout the Inner Space.
"- then I'll beat you with technique!" Hero shouted, as the light scattered and revealed him in his Burst Helios form. He raised his right hand, and a arrowhead-shaped flame formed over it, firing it at the helmeted alien. "Helios ARROW!"
Virus covered his hand in shadowy fire-like energy, which he used to move the fire arrow out of his way, before covering concentrating a ball of shadows in his other hand. "Chaotic Cannon!"
He fired the ball at Hero, who created a barrier to block it. The attack pushed him backwards before dissipating, but that allowed Virus to fly towards Hero, a large shadow forming a claw over his right hand. "Raging Rhythm!"
Hero blocked the attack with his left arm, and used his right hand to punch Virus, creating a pocket of heated air that exploded when it made contact with the alien's body, sending him flying backwards roughly.
"Ow, that actually hurt! Impressive!" Virus said, rubbing his punched side. "I see that you've decided to let loose and use your full power, Mr. Hero! And at this size, too! I guess I should, too!"
"There's no one else here to get caught up in our fight!" Hero said, as fire build up around his arms before moving towards the center of his chest. "So I'll go all out to take you out here and now!"
Hero launched the fire from his chest, which turned into a birdlike flame that soared towards Virus too quickly for him to control or dodge. Virus's hands became covered in shadow energy, as he grabbed the fire, holding it back from hitting him. But that opened him up to another attack, as fire covered Hero's body. He dashed towards the helmeted alien in a flash.
"Hero Dynamite PHOENIX!" Hero cried. The two collided, as a cloud of fire and smoke exploded around them. Virus flew backwards, spinning around as he tried to reorient himself while Hero kept the charge. Virus corrected himself, and created a spear of shadows in his hand. He pointed it at Hero, and charged at him as well. Hero grabbed the spearhead, and spun Virus around, flinging him away before creating a spear of flames and throwing it, though Virus struck it with his shadow spear, causing both of them to dissipate into embers and shadows.
He held his hands together, shadowy energy forming over them as two spheres formed in his hands. "Shadow SERENADE!"
Meanwhile, Hero slammed his forearms together, and pulled them apart, as fire and energy formed between and around them. "Herorum BLAST CROSS!"
The two released their attacks, the beams colliding with one another, creating an explosion of red and purple flames that shoved the combatants away. This didn't slow them down, however, as they charged at each other, their punches and kicks colliding with one another as shockwaves of wind radiated from their high speed fight before they managed to hit each other across the chin, knocking the other away from them once more.
At the Helipad
"[Why haven't you started the copter!?" Wolfram demanded, glaring at the pilot as he and Hacker tossed David and Samuel onto the helicopter.
"[T-The wind from those two aliens fighting in the sky is stopping us!]" he said, pointing to the Ultra and helmeted alien that were currently locked in combat. "[If we take off while they're still going at it, we'll crash!]"
"[Dammit, and that girl's probably got control of the security system now-]"
"Give... give them back..."
Wolfram turned around, and saw Izuku dragging himself out of the roof entrance. "I... I won't let you take them away!"
"Hm, you still want to play hero?" Wolfram said, popping his shoulder. He slammed his right hand onto the ground, as pillars of metal flew towards Izuku. "Then I guess I'll make sure you'll regret it!"
Despite being worn out from using 35% of One for All, Izuku let it flow through his body once more, running along and leaping off of the pillars as he charged towards the mercenary leader. "I- no, we all promised that we'd save everyone here! And that includes Mr. Shield and his assistant!"
"You'd waste your time with saying that!? Over a man who had been willing to commit a crime like him and his assistant!?"
"Shut up! This is what heroes do! They save people that are in trouble!"
"How so!?" Wolfram said, pointing a gun at David and Sam. Izuku froze, landing on the ground. "Ha, it's so inconvenient being a hero. All I did was point a gun, and you won't move a muscle!"
"R-Run! Forget about me!" David said, wincing as he looked at Izuku. Wolfram took this opportunity and launched another metal pillar into Izuku, knocking the greenhaired teen off his feet. Before he had the chance to regain his bearings, more metal pillars came at him. Izuku tried his best to avoid them all, but a pillar slammed against him from below, and two more collided with him. He coughed up blood as he fell onto the ground, gritting his teeth as he felt every inch of his body moan in pain.
When he landed, the wind from Hero's and Virus's fight had come to a stop. "[Alright, sir, we can get out of here now!]"
"[Good, let's go!]" Wolfram said, as the helicopter started. Soon, it took off, leaving behind the hurt Izuku. Izuku forced himself to get back up, letting One for All course through his body once again, and run up a pillar.
"He's only ever used his Quirk when his hand has been touching metal! He can't afford to do that when he's on that helicopter!" he thought, as he lunged for the helicopter's landing wheel.
"Give them baaaaack!"
"I admit, this is quite the workout you're putting me through, Mr. Hero!" Virus laughed, cracking his neck. "It's been a while since I've had a good fight! I bet you're enjoying this, too. After all, when was the last time that something has truly challenged you?"
"Challenge or not, we're not going to let you continue tormenting this planet!" Hero cried, firing another fireball at Virus, who knocked it back.
"Oh please, Ultras protect thousands of Earths already, what's one less?" Virus shrugged. "Sure, this one's the most interesting one yet, but even then they stand no chance against aliens like you and I."
"It doesn't matter if there's thousands of Earths or not. This is the Earth where I met my partner! This is the Earth where he and our friends live on!" Hero said.
"Oh please, friendship?" Virus laughed a bit, though the joviality in his voice was gone. "I may throw the word around, but friends are nothing more than a convenience. A tool for plans and amusement. It's all window dressing to make people feel better about taking advantage of others."
"I don't care about what you think of friendship!" Hero retorted. "If it weren't for mine, I-"
Virus flew towards Hero suddenly, grabbing the Ultra by the neck as they hurled at high speeds towards the side of the Central Tower. A crater formed from the impact before they broke through altogether. Hero struggled to pry Virus's hand off his throat, though he kept a tight grip around the Ultra's throat.
"I'll enlighten you with something, Mr. Hero," Virus growled. "I learned the hard way that 'friendship' is nothing more than a hindrance, that they will gladly betray you when you least expect it. Only weaklings cling on to such trite like that."
"T-Then what about-"
"Illne and the others? They know and understand their place. They follow me because I'm the strongest. They understand and fear the consequences of ever betraying me," Virus stated. He released the Ultra from his grasp, and fell backwards onto the ground, turning into shadows.
"I'm no longer in the mood to stick around here anymore, especially since I've got what I wanted now. So remember this, Mr. Hero. In the end, the only one you can trust is yourself," Virus's voice echoed, as his shadow disappeared. Hero breathed heavily, before flying out of the hole.
"We need to get to the top! I saw a helicopter on the helipad, so those mercenaries might be trying to escape!" Hiroshi said, as Hero turned his attention to the top of the tower. Before he could fly upwards, a familiar blue, white, and red figure flew past them. "Heh, looks like we some reinforcements now. Better lower the scale back down so we don't destroy everything."
"Pesky kid. You really are a hero, aren't you?" Wolfram growled, pointing his pistol at Izuku. "Stupid like one, too."
Before he could fire, David tackled him, making him miss Izuku and hitting the Full Gauntlet instead. The force of the bullet was enough to make him let go of the wheel, and without both hands to stay up, he fell off.
"Izuku! Dad!" Melissa shouted, having gotten to the helipad and witnessing Izuku's fall. He landed hard onto the ground, groaning as he forced himself back up.
"No... Dammit! Come back here!" Izuku demanded. "Give her father back! DAMMIT GIVE HIM BAAAACK!"
"CHIN UP, YOUNG MIDORIYA! FOR THIS IS THE TIME TO SMILE!"
Izuku and Melissa turned their heads, and saw All Might speeding through into the air, soaring far past the helicopter. Hacker and the pilot froze in fear at the sight of the Number One Hero, while Wolfram could only scowl.
"BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
"Aw dammit," Wolfram grumbled.
"You're going to hand me back my friend, you foul villain!" All Might said, as he used swung his arms back, creating a gust of wind that pushed him towards the helicopter. With a raised fist, he punched through the helicopter, grabbing David and Samuel in an instant before the vehicle exploded.
"Dad! Dad!" Melissa cried, running over to check her injured father as the burning wreckage of the helicopter crashed away from them.
"Me... Melissa..." David whispered, as All Might pried off the metal wrapped around his wrists. "I'm... I'm so sorry..."
"It's alright, Dave. Everything is fine now," All Might assured him.
"It isn't... Everything is-"
A metal pillar crashed into All Might, knocking him away from the three. Before they could react, a cable shot out of the ground, wrapping itself around David and Samuel and dragging them towards a writhing mass of cables, wires, and metal.
"Heh, that was a close one. My second client said you were weakening, but that punch of yours is still leagues above any human," Wolfram said, as more and more metal began to converge around him, creating a mass of metal. He had discarded his mask, instead having donned the Quirk Amplification Device on his head. His body glowing red from the power flowing through him, and the whites of his eyes turned black as his irises became a glowing pink. Behind him, Hacker had used his Quirk to create a protective pink bubble to save himself and the pilot, but the two of them were out cold from the impact. "It was a good thing I still had this around with me!"
"Oh no..." Melissa said, covering her mouth in horror.
"A Quirk Amplification Device!? So that was what you were after!" All Might said, coughing up some blood. "Shit, my time limit... I'm reaching the end of it!"
"Yes, and I have to thank your friend and his assistant for it!" Wolfram taunted. "If it wasn't for his assistant hiring us, I might've never gotten my hands on this!"
"What!?" All Might said, as the tower began to disassemble itself, all of the metal around them floating towards Wolfram. Why would David make something like that, unless-
"It can't be-"
"Let's see, to raise the price of this thing, I think I'll have a demonstration!" Wolfram said, as metal pillars flew towards All Might. "By blowing Japan's Number One Hero away like a bug!"
All Might ran, jumped, and dodged all of the metal pillars Wolfram was tossing at him. He felt steam rising off his body, but he couldn't rest now, not when a villain was out and had his friend. He lunged towards Wolfram, who snapped his fingers and launched another metal pillar. All Might slammed his fist into it, but it still knocked him back towards the ground, forcing the man to brace himself against it. He coughed up blood as he strained against the pillars.
"Come on, just give up already!"
The floor beneath Melissa began to rise, knocking her off and threatening to send her careening down the tower, if it weren't for Izuku catching her and jumping to safety. That safety was short-lived, as pillars began to fly towards him and All Might, when Hero landed in front of Izuku and Melissa, having changed back into his Muscle Hercules form, and tanking the pillar for them.
"Hero-!" the two said.
"Sorry I'm late!" Hero said, as he broke apart the pillar he blocked with a punch, though more were created. "Was busy fighting Virus. He got away, though-"
All of a sudden, the pillars were frozen in ice, and everyone looked to see Shoto and the others who stayed behind coming up onto the roof. Katsuki had launched himself into the air, and unleashed a salvo of Explosions at Wolfram, who was forced to block them with a wall of metal before Katsuki's arms locked up from Quirk overuse.
"Are you alright, sir!?" Rigel shouted, as he jumped towards the Number One Hero and used an explosion to break several pillars that were threatening to crush him. "Sorry we're late!"
"Todoroki! Everyone!" Izuku shouted, relieved that his friends were alright.
"We'll take care of these lumps of metal, All Might!" Kirishima shouted, as his body Hardened. "Just focus on beating that guy!"
"[Stay close with me, Danny!]" Pony said, as the others sprung forward to destroy all of the metal pillars that were around them.
"Heh, with all of my students so motivated to help, I can't let myself fall behind, can I!?" All Might cried, rearing his fist back and destroying the pillars in front of him. He sprung forward, running and leaping on the metal pillars coming towards him. He punched and shredded through them all, and crossed his arms in front of himself. "CAROLINA SMASH!"
He pulled his arms apart, creating a gust of wind that slashed through all of the metal in front of him and exposing Wolfram's body amongst the metal. "Prepare yourself, villain!"
As he charged towards the redhaired man, cables came out and held him back. He pulled against them, only for Wolfram to grab him by the throat, his trench coat's sleeve shredding apart the second he flexed his arm.
"You should've prepared yourself, All Might!" Wolfram retorted, as he grabbed All Might's wounded side with his free hand and squeezed it tight, making the pro scream in pain.
"All Might!" Izuku cried, trying to run towards his mentor but falling down, as he felt some of his injuries trying to catch up to him. The others were beginning to have some difficulty destroying the metal pillars, having been worn out by their own previous fights.
"Shit, we're really pushing ourselves here!" Hiroshi said, as Hero punched through several more metal pillars.
"I know, especially since we've form changed so much! Not to mention that fight with Virus!" Hero replied. "And everyone's... everyone's running low too!"
"T-This power... There's no way that something meant to boost Quirk power would increase your physical power too, unless-" All Might grunted, as he glared at Wolfram.
"That's right. This strength's all thanks to a second Quirk that another client gave me," Wolfram sneered. "He caught wind of this plan, and he said he wanted to help, just so that you can feel the despair of your friend having a hand in something evil!"
"All for One!" All Might cried, as Wolfram sent him flying backwards with another metal pillar. Clusters of metal rubble flew and slammed together around All Might, and giant metal spears grew from the ground, piercing through the cluster.
"UNCLE MIIIIIGHT!" Melissa yelled, as everyone stared in horror at the scene, when two figures flew towards the speared cluster.
"DETROIT-"
"HERCULEAN-"
"SMAAAAAAAAASH!"
With two powerful punches, the two destroyed the cluster and freed All Might, who miraculously avoided the metal spears. A slab of metal flew towards them, and Hero blocked it to slow it down, the three falling towards the ground.
"Young Midoriya, Mr. Hero, what are you doing!?" All Might said, looking at the two. "You're in no state to fight, and I can tell that you and Young Hiroshi have been pushing yourselves too much now!"
"But heroes... heroes have to save those in trouble, right!?" Izuku said, a somewhat cocky grin spreading across his face.
"And who am I to let the Number One Hero face off against something like this?" Hero said, as they got up. All Might stared at them, but laughed, admiring the tenacity of his students and the Ultra.
"Indeed, I was in some trouble, wasn't I! So can you lend a hand to this old man?" All Might said, as Wolfram sent more metal pillars flying towards them. Hero grew in size, and tanked the pillars.
"You two handle him! I'll take on the metal!" Hero said, as his Color Timer started to flash red.
"Alright, Mr. Hero! Let's go, Young Midoriya!"
"Yes sir!"
The two leaped into the air, rushing towards Wolfram. Metal pillars and scrap clusters began to fly towards them. Hero began to punch them away, helping clear the path towards the redhaired man while All Might and Izuku handled the rest, breaking through them as they charged at him.
"You all just don't know when to give up, do you!?" Wolfram cried, as he threw more and more metal at them. He raised his arms above his head, gathering every scrap of metal that wasn't being used as pillars to create a giant block of metal.
"That's right!" Hero shouted, as he shattered another scrap cluster.
"It's because we need to put everything on the line-" All Might said, as he and Izuku ran on a metal pillar and breaking apart more.
"- To save everyone and stop villains like you!" Izuku said, green electricity coursing throughout his body. "Because-"
"That's what we heroes do!" the three shouted together. Wolfram threw the metal cube at them, and they all reared their fists back, and slammed them against it.
"HERCULEAN-"
"DOUBLE DETROIT/DOUBLE DETROIT-"
"SMAAAAAASH!"
Wolfram struggled as he kept pushing the metal cube against the three, though their combined power was greater than he thought. This wasn't good. He couldn't let them beat him. Not after all the trouble he went through! He had to deal with all this alien shit, too-
Alien shit. He reached into his left pocket, which weakened his control over the metal cube, and pulled out the strange stone-like shard that Virus had given him. He recalled what the alien had said.
"[This thing here has the power of a strong alien, legendary even. Just jab that into your body when things seem to get worse, and let the magic course through you.]"
The three broke through the metal cube, soaring towards him.
"It's over, villain!" All Might shouted.
"Not by a long shot!" Wolfram bellowed, stabbing his right arm with the stone shard. All of a sudden, orangish-red marks started to spread through his body as his muscles expanded, his eyes turning into a glowing orange color. "G-GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"No, it can't be-" Hero said, seeing the stone shard enter Wolfram's arm. "A Devil Splinter!? Everyone get back!"
A shockwave of energy pushed the three backwards. Hero grabbed All Might and Izuku, holding them close to his chest, and came to a stop in front of the teens, protecting them from the chaos.
"W-What's happening!?" Itsuka said, looking at Hero. Hero turned his head to look at Wolfram.
The metal around the redhaired man began to change shape. The cables came together, resembling exposed muscle fibers, with metal plating covering it every so often. The base of the mass of metal split apart, turning into a pair of legs. The central part that contained Wolfram, David, and Samuel changed shape to resemble a torso, with a pink glow at the center of its chest. Pillars, wires, and cables turned into two arms with giant clawed hands. But worst of all, was that at the top of the mass, a head was forming, with a gaping fanged maw, sharp glowing orange eyes, and a thin head crest.
"A nightmare," the Ultra replied. The Belial-like metal monstrosity reared its head back and screeched towards the sky, as more metal fused onto it. "Everyone, get to safety!"
"But Hero-" Pony said, pointing to Hero's flashing red Color Timer. The Ultra turned around and tackled the artificial Belial off the tower before it could amass even more metal, and the two flew away as Hero grew to full size, though Wolfram-Belial took some more metal from the top of the tower, growing in size as well.
"Alright, let's-" Rigel said, before noticing something. "Where did Midoriya and All Might go?"
"Man, taking in that Devil Splinter really supercharged his Quirk! And it's already supercharged by that Mr. Shield's device!" Hiroshi said, as Wolfram-Belial clawed at them, the struggle making it hard for them to get very far. They headed towards the area where the buildings were already damaged, hoping that the area had been evacuated.
"And we need to make sure that he can't keep taking in metal!" Hero grunted.
"Of course! We have to make sure he stays a manageable size, after all!"
"That's going to be difficult with I-Island being made of metal, though..."
"What the-!? What are you two doing!?" Hero said, noticing that All Might and Izuku had grabbed onto his back after he tackled Wolfram-Belial.
"Do you really think that we'd leave something unfinished, especially when lives are on the line?" All Might said, grinning at the Ultra. "Besides, it's my turn to get involved in your fight!"
"You're going to need someone to get Mr. Shield and his assistant out, and we're small enough to get in and get out while you fight him!" Izuku pointed out.
Hero stared at them for a moment before laughing. "You're right, this is something that all of us need to see through!"
Wolfram-Belial punched Hero across the face, forcing the Ultra to crash onto the ground.
"Alright, that's the last person that I heard with my Quirk," Mezo said, as the teens helped another person escape to safety.
"Good, now let's-" Juzo began to say, when Hero and some sort of metal monster fell onto the ground several yard away from them.
"What the hell is that!?" Kosei shouted, pointing at the metal monster as both it and Hero stood back up, and it swung its clawed hand against his chest, causing sparks to fly off his armor.
"That thing looks like that Belial guy that Hero told us about!" Hanta said, remembering what they had seen from Hero's history lesson. "But why-"
"You guys!"
The teens looked up, and saw Izuku and All Might standing on Hero's shoulders as the Ultra fought against the metal Belial. "Are you alright!?"
"Midoriya!? All Might!? What's going on!?" Mina exclaimed.
"No time for explanations! Just get as far as you can from here and-" All Might instructed, when Wolfram-Belial absorbed some of the metal rubble around them, growing in size more before punching Hero. Hero staggered back as he was forced to change into his Original form.
"D-Dammit... I'm really pushing myself to the limit now," Hero said, his Color Timer flashing red faster and faster. "If only Saiphza were-"
All of a sudden, a reptilian tail smacked into Wolfram-Belial, knocking it into a nearby building. Hero, Izuku, and All Might looked, and saw Godzillo roaring into the sky. Though he was a lot bigger than normal.
"Godzillo! Good to see you're here! Though you seem a little... bigger than normal," All Might said, noting that Godzillo was now as tall as Hero.
"It's a long story, All Might, but I came here as soon as I saw Ultraman Hero crash back down here. What is happening?" Godzillo said, as Wolfram-Belial stood back up and roared.
"That is also a long story," All Might admitted. "But I'm glad that we have some backup!"
The metal duplicate roared as it moved its arms to form a plus size. Metal scrap flew out of its arms as if it were imitating a beam attack, with Hero moving in front to block it with an energy shield. When the 'beam' ended, its arms were whittled to the elbow, though the metal it fired began to return to it.
"At least it seems like this Belial copy can't use any real Ultra abilities," Hero said. Before Wolfram-Belial could completely recover, Saiphza in his ship mode rammed into it, knocking it over.
"Hey Hero! Don't worry, the cavalry's here!" Setsuna's voice said from the ship, as Saiphza turned around and used his tractor beam to pick up the other teens.
"Glad you guys are alright!" Setsuna said, turning to face the rest of their classmates, who landed inside the ship in a pile.
"Tokage!?" Tetsutetsu said, as they all stood back up. "Why are you piloting Saiphza!? Where's Rigel?"
"Long story! Rigel and the rest of the guys are back at the tower!" Fuka replied.
"Plus, I think I'm getting the hang of piloting Saiphza, isn't that right boy?" Setsuna said, as Saiphza growled in agreement. "Now then, let's- whoa, why is Godzillo huge!?"
"That's... a long story," Juzo said, when Saiphza began transforming.
"Let's save that for later! We need to take out this guy first!" Setsuna shouted. "So buckle up, guys, this might get rough!"
"Dammit, I thought we were finished with that stupid Pteradactyl alien!" Minoru cried, as new seats came out of the floor and the newcomers went and took them, buckling up.
Saiphza deployed its energy barrier drones, surrounding the area to prevent the metal monster from escaping. It pointed its hand at Saiphza, though it was ineffective, as Saiphza fired a laser at it.
"Careful!" Hero said, as Wolfram-Belial created a shield of metal to tank the laser. "Mr. Shield and his assistant are in that thing!"
"The scientist?" Godzillo said, shocked.
"Why are they in that thing!?" Setsuna asked.
"The leader of the mercenaries kidnapped them both, and he used a Devil Splinter on himself when he was cornered," Hero explained.
"Not to mention he used a Quirk Amplification Device as well, so his Quirk's working overtime now," Izuku said, a thoughtful hand on his chin.
"Never mind all that! We need to figure out how to stop this metallic menace and save them!" All Might said. "We need to get inside that thing!"
The three giants and the two humans prepared themselves Wolfram-Belial ran towards them, swinging its metal claws at the heroes. Hero dodged and punched its back, while Godzillo and Saiphza swung their tails and knocked it off its feet. Wolfram-Belial launched metal spears out of its body, forcing all three giants to jump back and dodge them. It got up, and as it did, it dragged its left hand across the ground creating a large club of metal.
It swung it at the three, but Hero blocked it with his right arm, punching Wolfram-Belial's face, shoving it back before grabbing the club and pulling it out of its hands. Before Wolfram-Belial could retaliate, Godzillo grabbed its right arm while Saiphza grabbed its left with his jaw. The two pulled its arms apart, leaving it wide open for Hero to grab its chest and pry it open, exposing its insides.
"Mr. Midoriya, All Might!" Hero said, struggling to keep the metal giant from closing its chest. The two humans nodded to each other, and sprung off Hero's shoulders, running along his arms as they charged into Wolfram-Belial. They managed to get inside before it tossed off Godzillo and Saiphza, and shoved Hero away.
"Mr. Shield! Mr. Shield where are you!?" Izuku called out, as he and All Might searched the inside, breaking through any barriers that formed in front of them.
"Dave! Dave can you hear us!?" All Might shouted, steam floating off him more and more. They kept moving, avoiding wires and metal shrapnel that tried to stop them.
"All... All Might..."
Izuku and All Might made to what seemed like the core of the metal monster, and saw Wolfram in a glowing pillar in the center of everything. He was practically fused to it, with metal wires growing out of his skin. His eyes were opened, but his jaw was slack, and he appeared to be comatose. On the wall behind him were a bound David and Samuel.
"Dave hold on!" All Might said, as he and Izuku came over to them and pulled them out, freeing the two scientists. He put David onto his shoulder, while Izuku carried Samuel on his back. "Everything's alright now, because we are here!"
"All Might..." Izuku muttered, as his eyes drifted to the unconscious Wolfram. "What should we do about him?"
"As villainous as he is, no one deserves this sort of fate," All Might said, as he began prying Wolfram away from the metal pillar. His limbs hanged limply as All Might held wrapped his arm around his waist. Once Wolfram was freed, they heard the fake metal Ultra screech loudly. "We better get a move on! After all, we just took out this monster's battery."
The two began to run, breaking through everything obstacle they could when they saw the light outside shining through between the wiring and scrap.
"It's time to break through, Young Midoriya!" All Might said, as he reared his free hand back.
"Right, All Might!" Izuku replied, mimicking his mentor.
"DOUBLE DETROIT SMASH!" the two yelled, throwing their fists forward. The wall of metal resisted their attack, as the two put more and more power into their punches. The Full Gauntlet around Izuku's arm cracked and broke, but he kept pushing on with his mentor, until the wall finally gave way.
Wolfram-Belial screeched as All Might and Izuku shot through its back, bits and pieces of it falling off where they got out of. However, despite losing its power source, it was still standing, struggling to keep itself together as metal shrapnel, wires, and cables floated back to it. They landed on the top of Saiphza's head, who was behind the metal monster. A door hatch opened, allowing them to go inside as Saiphza joined Godzillo and Hero.
"Even after all that, he's still standing!?" Godzillo growled.
"Not for long!" Hero said, slamming his forearms together. He pulled them apart, energy forming between and over them, and fired it. "HERORUM CROSS!"
The beam hit Wolfram-Belial in the chest, which screamed as it tried to resist the attack.
"Let me help!" Godzillo said, as fire built up in his mouth, and he released it in a stream of flames. "ATOMIC FIIIIIIRE!"
Saiphza leaned forward, energy gathering at its mouth and cannons, and released it onto Wolfram-Belial. "Wrecker Rex/Wrecker Rex!" Setsuna and Ardiana announced.
Wolfram-Belial struggled against the three attacks, trying to fight back, but was knocked off its feet and collided with the energy barrier behind it. With a final screech, the metal monster exploded into a fiery cloud of smoke and dust, leaving nothing behind but a H-shaped mark of light.
"Finally, it's all over," Godzillo said, as Hero's body glowed. His frame shrunk down immensely, changing back into Hiroshi, who fell to his knees, who took his helmet off as he breathed and sweated heavily. Godzillo followed suit, and Setsuna and the others got off Saiphza, rushing towards him.
"Hiroshi!" Setsuna and Fuka cried, as he weakly turned his head towards them.
"H-Hey guys, we did it-" Hiroshi said, before falling onto his side, losing consciousness as he heard his friends, All Might, and Godzillo call out his name.
ORIGINAL AO3 NOTES:
- The title refers to not just Izuku and All Might, but also Hiroshi/Hero, the Saiphza Crew, and Godzillo. Might be a stretch to combine Rigel, Ardiana, and Saiphza (and Setsuna as an temporary pilot) as one hero (compared to the more justifiable Hiroshi and Hero one), but I think it works. Even though Rigel doesn't actually pilot Saiphza this time around.
- I debated if I wanted a Rodan or a King Ghidorah shoutout, but I felt like doing the later might've been a disservice, especially since I'm not actually into Godzilla as much as I am with the hero side of toku stories. So I went with Rodan instead.
- Setsuna's version of Rigel's suit looks a little like Marino from Megaman X Command Mission. I really like her design. Will she become a permanent backup pilot? Perhaps.
- The fight between Hero and Virus was a lot more even this time around, showing that the two can keep up with each other, though Virus still has the edge against Hero.
- It's really funny and really odd that they don't show the hacker and the helicopter pilot escaping the helicopter before All Might punches through it. So I decided to make it so that the hacker survived using a bubble shield Quirk, since he never uses it in canon.
- Wolfram-Belial was something I was pretty excited to write about. I won't say too much about it and the reasons why and how it worked here, in order for the characters to theorize and come up with their own ideas in the next chapter.
- I hope it doesn't feel like a copout that the Herculean Double Detroit Smash wasn't the move that finished the fight. I still think it's a great moment, but I don't blame anyone if they feel like it would've been better as the actual end instead.
- So I've been having a chat with DJWolf on AO3, and he gave me some ideas for some other fanfics that I think I'll do some pilot chapters for. So when I'm finished writing the next chapter of UHA and BUAH! (don't worry, I'm still working on that), I think I'll do a string of pilot chapters. I won't post them to Spacebattles though since I'm planning on making them STRICTLY pilot chapters for now, and I don't want to make threads for each one there. So they'll be AO3 and FFnet exclusives until I decide to work on them proper.