Izuku's POV
His right leg slipped on the wet asphalt as he tried to dodge another massive arm. He couldn't move too much from his spot as he was protecting two fallen heroes. Neither of which were in any shape to move much less fight this villain.
Rainy weather had once been a reminder that he was not in the future. Currently, though it was nothing more than an annoyance for him. It made him constantly have to be more aware of his surroundings. Or he would slip and give an opening to the villain.
Muscular was a villain he was extensively familiar with. In the future, the man had been apart of the League of Villains. Their second major attack was at the UA summer training camp. Rumors at the time had it that they were behind Nomus appearing in Hosu but they were unconfirmed to the public.
Two students were kidnapped at the camp, both from Class 1-A. Bakugo and Tokoyami. One for their villainous attitude. The other for his quirk being as uncontrolled and volatile as it was. A rescue operation happened days later and what followed he could now consider the beginning of the end.
Kamino Ward Incident as it was later called was their first look at what they were up against. All Might and All For One had their second showdown. Neither at their full power and struggling to come out on top. Or so it seemed at the time. All For One had truly been biding his time allowing his enemy to grow weaker. All Might's successor had died in a raid along with the Number One's former sidekick. From what he understood they were trying to rescue a little girl who had a rewind quirk.
That girl was next on his list to be saved. From his time within Ciro, he knew where that hideout was and how to get in. The villains would be easily subdued. However, something bothered Izuku with that villain. Overhaul had a good idea that was very similar to Orichalcum. It was just the method he went about it was wrong. If dangerous criminals lost their quirks before they escaped then maybe the world wouldn't have been destroyed. It was a possibility. Only talking to Overhaul would tell him if history on that end could avoid being repeated.
A fist was coming straight for his face and instinct kicked in. Izuku grabbed the wrist and tried to toss the villain. Only for another fist to catch him in the abdomen. The wind was knocked from his lungs as he was thrown back the force. He felt his ribs crack and blood wet his lips.
Damn it all to hell. He was not ready to fight Muscular. So far all he could do was dodge and keep the man's attention off the downed heroes. He could have let the man run off but there was always the chance that he couldn't keep up in the streets. Villains like him were on a completely separate level than the villains he had been fighting.
Drawing his knife and sidearm was next to impossible. For such a big person when using his quirk he was fast on his feet. It was all he could do to keep dodging. Still, it was better than the alternative. Fight and protect Water Hose or stand aside and watch them die. There was no choice here he had to protect them.
There was a shift in the air and Izuku dodged to the right. A familiar white scarf-like object wrapped around the arm that had been coming for another attack. Eraserhead thank the gods for the blessing of having with him in the fight.
Vigilante and hero didnt usually see eye to eye on anything. In fact, Izuku was sure he drove the hero crazy with his stunts. When it came to trusting someone to have his back in a fight like this there was no one else he would rather have.
Eraserhead dropped down into the street and asked, "You alright, Delta?"
"I'll live," came his short reply.
Eraserhead gave a short nod before they faced off with the villain. Annoyance flashed in Muscular's one good eye. Like in the original timeline the villain's eye had been severely injured by the heroes.
This was going to be trickier now than before. Izuku and Eraserhead to date had never fought alongside each other. Having an idea about the other's style wasnt the same as knowing their movements. Both would have to be wary about where the other was so as not to create friendly fire.
Muscular said arrogantly, "Another little hero thinking they can stop me. You should run little heroes unless you want to die like those behind you."
Orion's voice said from Izuku earpiece, "Hawks and Best Jeanist are on their way. Two minutes for Hawks to get there if he keeps up the speed he's going at now. Three minutes till the police arrive."
Two minutes minimum was still a long time to hold out. Izuku replied with a tired sigh, "We will try to hold out as long as we can," then to Eraserhead, he said, "Two minutes until backup arrives."
There was a grunt of acknowledgment. They were on their own for the moment and would have to make do. For now, trust would be given to have each other's back.
Muscular yanked his arm free of the scarf suddenly. His muscles bulged with anger and then the villain launched himself at Eraserhead. Izuku jumped into the fray to protect the hero. Pain shot through him at the sharp movement.
As he grabbed the villain's arm stopping it from hitting the hero. The arm shrunk in his grip and he tightened it to prevent him from getting away. Still, even without his quirk, the villain was ridiculously strong. It didnt take much effort for him to throw Izuku away from him. Eraserhead planted his knee straight into Muscular's nose. As Izuku recover he pulled his knife free from its sheath.
Eraserhead retreated as Izuku drew in close. Muscles reformed and Izuku swore under his breath. He ducked and dodged around the swinging arms. His knife despite its sharpness and special metal could not penetrate the muscles. If it didnt go into the body then it wouldn't stop the quirk.
A strike to the top of his head made him see stars. It was swiftly followed by another to his broken ribs. He was sent flying back and coughed up more blood. Breathing was made much more difficult from that strike. Damn it he better not have a punctured lung. There was no way he was going to the hospital. They asked way too many questions.
As he recovered from the strike he put his knife back into its sheath. Then he pulled his gun from its holster. As he leveled it at Muscular his muscles went back to normal again.
Muscular then went to attack Eraserhead to get him to blink and turn off his quirk. That might work for the hero but it would not work for him. Aiming at the villain's knee he put a bullet into it. This caused Muscular's knee then buckled and gave out from under him.
Muscular howled in pain from the wound and Izuku didn't hesitate to jump on top of the man. He planted his knee into the small of the other's back. A quick strike to the back of his neck rendered Muscular unconscious. Wrenching both arms behind the back he wasnt surprised when Eraserhead handed him a pair quirk suppressing handcuffs. Not that they were needed now.
Once they were secured Izuku fell back onto the concrete. Rain poured down upon him as he struggled to get his breathing under control. The pain made his chest constrict and he spits up more blood. Damn it all to hell. Something in there was not working as it should.
There was the sound of flapping wings above them that caught his attention. He glanced up to see a red-winged hero coming towards them. Well, there was Hawks and Izuku knew he was a high ranking hero. One of the few that had not gone to a hero school.
His gun and knife would not help him here. Eraserhead was good at fighting quirkless and wings like that would not stop because of Orichalcum. It would only injure the two men but they would still be able to fight him.
He coughed up more blood it coating his cowl just as the other coughs had. The blood on his cowl was making it even more difficult to breathe. Red eyes turned to him as he pulled his cowl down to spit out the blood.
Eraserhead questioned worry in his eyes, "Are you injured Delta?"
"Several broken ribs."
Eraserhead took a step towards him as Hawks landed on the gravel. His golden eyes glanced towards Izuku. The vigilante bared his teeth angrily but didnt say anything.
His head perked up hearing sirens approaching. If he wanted to get away scot-free he would have to leave now. He knew it would not be that easy with these heroes.
Wait... where did Hawks go? His attention wavered for only a few seconds. Warm hands came up under his armpits and lifted him into the air. His ribs screamed in pain and he had to bite his lip to the point of drawing blood to keep from crying out.
Hawks said with a sheepish smile, "Sorry about this. It will be faster if I take you to the hospital rather than waiting for an ambulance. I'm sure you can do your reports from a bed. The detectives usually don't mind."
Either this hero was naive or he was an idiot. Izuku was leaning towards the latter as he didnt even check to see if he had a hero license. Most would have been suspicious of him just from his interactions with Eraserhead. Very few heroes were that comfortable around the erasure hero.
Izuku yelled wincing as it shook his broken ribs, "PUT ME DOWN YOU OVERGROWN CHICKEN!"
Hawks snarled, "I am NOT A CHICKEN!"
Oh, this would be fun. A hero that had the emotional maturity of a three-year-old. He had to annoy this hero but first, he had to get the man to let him go.
Izuku checked the ground below him to see when was the best to get away. There were building there. He watched counting the seconds so that he could time his jump.
Izuku snarked, "Fine. Put me down you overgrown pigeon."
Hawks shouted, "I AM NOT A PIDGEON. I AM A HAWK!"
"YOU CAN'T PROVE THAT YOU OVERGROWN PENGUIN!"
Hawks shouted, "AT LEAST I CAN FLY, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN PENGUIN!"
Izuku slammed his elbow back into the diaphragm of Hawks. It caused the hero to let him go and for the boy to drop out of the sky. As the rooftop approached he rolled forward to prevent more injuries.
Izuku snapped staring at the hero who was still in the sky, "FINE YOU TURTLE DOVE!"
Hawks blinks in surprise before he replied, "...Those are very majestic, actually, I'll take that."
Izuku gave another cough and grimaced as the blood hit his gloves. Fuck that wasn't good. He needed to get away and back to Orion if anyone could help him it would be that man. At least he somewhat trusted Orion not to betray him. Unlike the heroes who would take him to a hospital and then to jail.
Hawks said his arms folding over his chest, "You need to go to a hospital hero or not. Let me take you to the hospital."
"You really believe I am a hero," scoffed Izuku, "I'm not unfortunately for you. I was just the one who happened upon the villain trying to kill the Water Hose Duo. If you continue to try and bring me in I will fight you Hawks. Injured or not I can put up one hell of a fight. You would not walk away unscathed."
"You're the new vigilante in town," breathed the hero in surprise, "The one that has the problem with Jeanist. You're smaller than I expected."
Izuku flinched at the mention of Best Jeanist. It was highly unlikely he would ever be able to act normally around the Number 4 Hero. Out of everyone he had seen die he felt the most guilt over Jeanist. Guilt that ate at him everyday for not being strong enough.
Hawks considered him for a moment before he said, "You did a lot of good today trying to bring you in would only make us look bad to the public. You did save two heroes after all. So go on. I'll tell Eraserhead and Tsukauchi you got away."
Izuku stared at the hero in surprise and mistrust. There was a chance he would try to follow Izuku back to Castle. Though it was highly unlikely Hawks would be able to get through the traps. Not without an army behind him at least. Even then Izuku and Orion would be long gone before they got to the main area.
With a last glance at the hero, he faded into the shadows intent of finding a less obvious way off the rooftop. It was only a few blocks away that Orion picked him up. Unsurprising given everything that man seemed to be everywhere.
Aizawa's POV
It shouldn't have surprised him that Delta got away from Hawks. The younger hero was too naive for his own good. Still to find out the vigilante he had been chasing was coughing up blood was worrying. He had hoped that seeing it after the battle was a one-time thing. Apparently not. In all likelihood, Delta had a punctured lung that needed to be treated at a hospital.
Beating Hawks to the nearest hospital should not have been possible. In the air, he was faster and able to avoid things that those on the ground could not. Then they found out that Delta got away from the young hero. Even injured Delta was a skilled combatant. It was only thanks to those skills that the Water Hose Duo survived. Still, it was frustrating that a vigilante who appeared out of nowhere continued to escape their custody.
Currently, he was waiting with the Wild Wild Pussy Cats and a young child to learn of the Water Hose Duo's condition. When the two arrived they were in critical condition but alive. Now they were in surgery to repair the damage that was done. The child was their son from what he understood. If the Water Hose Duo didnt make it he would be left an orphan. Hawks had already left to return to his patrol leaving Shouta and Tsukauchi to handle things at the hospital.
It was over four hours before the doctors came out into the waiting room. The mountain heroes were all on their feet within seconds.
The doctor said wiping off his hands on a cloth, "I have good news and bad news. The good news is as long as there are no further complications they will survive. What we do not know about is how far the damage extends. Their arms where the water originates from were extensively damaged. It is unknown if they will be able to return to hero work even with extensive physical therapy. They are very lucky that they received treatment when they did. It could have been a lot worse. If you wish you can go in and see them now."
Only Mandalay stayed for a moment. She held her hand out to Shouta and said, "Thank you. Without you they would have died I'm sure of it."
Shouta shook her hand as he replied, "I'm not the one you should be thanking. Our resident vigilante was the one who alerted everyone to their plight. Without him, they would have died."
"A vigilante? How long has he been around? There hasn't been anything about a new vigilante out on hero net yet."
Shouta sighed, "That was mine and Tsukauchi's decision. His name is Delta and besides his piercing green eyes and short stature, we know nothing about him. Not even a quirk or age range. Tonight though he protected downed heroes without any thoughts to his own safety. It is out of character for most vigilantes but he does seem to truly want to help people."
Mandalay murmured, "It makes you wonder why be a vigilante. Why not try to be a hero?"
A valid question that he did not have an answer to. There could be numerous reasons as to why he wasnt a hero. Or couldn't be one. Criminal past, quirk discrimination, or the unfair tests that prevent those with nonphysical quirks. There was a distinct possibility that it could have been Shouta if he had not made first in his first sports festival.
Shouta sighed inaudibly as Mandalay left him alone. He would have to find a way to get Delta to talk to him. At least talk to him without leading him on a wild goose chase through the city. Those were starting to get old and fast. Maybe he would answer some of the questions. Then again there was a much higher chance that he would run without giving any answers. He would try though.
