Lightning flashed. Katsuki gulped as he saw All Might, the agent of their impending destruction, illuminated in all his terrifying glory. His large muscular build. His tall, intimidating stature. His menacing psychotic grin. How many people had died with this as the last thing they had seen?
Katsuki dragged his brother up to his feet, eyes never leaving the figure before them. Deku, what… what do we do? Do we run?
His brother gulped beside him and struggled for an answer. I… I don't think we can. He wouldn't let us.
Katsuki clenched his fists. His brother was right. This monster had left a trail of carnage all the way here from America. He never left survivors: only broken and mutilated bodies. Bodies marred so much that not even their loved ones could ID them for the coroner. Katsuki's blood chilled when he realized that he and Deku were next. In a matter of moments, they would be faceless corpses ready for the slab in the morgue.
"Come now, children, don't just stand there gawking like fish," All Might said, still holding his mock pose. "You should be grateful; I just saved your lives from that monstrous villain," his teeth spread wide as he lowered his hand and placed it on his hips.
"Uhh… Yes! Thank you, sir," Deku stammered beside him. "Thank you for saving us…."
"Yeah!" Katsuki joined in. "Thank you… uh… sir? We'll just be going now." Katsuki grabbed Deku by his unbroken arm and took a step backward. Faster than his eye could track, All Might was behind them, large meaty hands placed on their shoulders.
"Oh, no, you can't leave yet! I just got here. Let's play for a bit! Though, I must warn you. I am a bit… rough, with my toys…." All Might's grip on Katsuki's shoulder tightened; he felt several vertebrae pop from the pressure in his back.
Deku, what do we do? Katsuki waited for a response from his brother. He glanced at his twin. The nerd's face was contorted in either pain, concentration… or both.
My arm is messed up pretty severely…
Shit, Deku, how are you still standing? That's got to hurt like a bitch. How are you going to fight with that? Get behind me somehow; I'll protect you! Katsuki wasn't sure how he'd manage it, given that they were both held tight by All Might. But he'd figure out something damnit!
No! I can fight. I have to. You can't take him alone. We can worry about my arm later. I'll harden it, so it doesn't get in the way. Anyway, my broken arm won't matter much if we lose this fight. Katsuki gritted his teeth. He saw the nerd's point. Losing this fight meant a lot more than just having a few broken bones.
Alright then, Deku, what's the plan?
Rather than respond mentally, Deku spoke aloud. "We don't break easily. Katsuki and I have Increased Strength, Endurance, Speed, and Agility! You don't stand a chance!" Katsuki smirked as he felt the power well within him.
What about our decision? Katsuki asked his brother, casting him a sideways glance. Deku's broken arm sparkled a crystalline green.
His brother's red eyes met his, a mixture of fear and determination set on his face. How would you put it? Fuck the decision? Listen, secrecy means nothing to us if we're dead. Let's get this bastard. Katsuki didn't need to be told twice.
"Why would that make a difference, child? All humans break the same…." The Symbol of Fear said before Katsuki blasted himself out of his grip. He rounded on the monster with a well-placed kick to the head. Deku used the moment of distraction to extricate himself from the vice-like grip of their former captor.
"Why you…" Deku moved behind All Might nearly as fast as All Might had moments before. He wrapped his hands in a chokehold around his massive neck and, using the momentum from Katsuki's kick, flipped All Might's body over his shoulder. He crushed the Symbol's head into the ground with a grunt. Nice one, Deku!
Thanks, Kacchan! I don't think he expected us to fight back at all. We have the advantage for the moment.
Deku spoke too soon.
No sooner had All Might hit the ground than The Symbol of Fear was back on his feet, rounding on them. Katsuki dove out of the way to avoid a punch that was sure to crush his skull. The fist sailed over his head and towards his brother. Deku sidestepped the limb and landed two repetitive blows in the Villain's ribs.
You had to jinx us! The nerd's voice rang in his head.
The fuck do you mean by that? Katsuki said, flipping over the figure before letting off a blinding explosion in his face.
Deku made a sweeping kick at the mountainous legs, knocking All Might to the ground. All I'm saying is All Might wasn't in town this morning. Then YOU say something to me about 'oh, we can take him' and here we are, fighting for our lives. Deku flipped over All Might's prone body and blasted a massive explosion out of both his palms, the shockwave sending him high into the air. All Might quickly bucked back onto his feet and punched at Katsuki, his once gleeful grin now an irritated snarl.
Don't fuckin put this on me! How was I supposed to know he was in town? He never comes this close to UA! All Might was shouting in rage with each punch now, frantically trying to land a blow on him and his brother. The Symbol of Fear was blindingly fast, but they were faster. Katsuki blasted the bastard in the back, staggering the villain.
That's what I mean! You jinxed us! Deku landed another punch on All Might; the massive hulk of a man flew backward into the crumbled ruins of a building. A shop that he and Deku frequented.
Quit yer yammering! Focus on the fight Damnit. This seems too easy.
Katsuki looked around; the city block was decimated. Not one building stood standing for at least a mile. In the heat of the fight, he hadn't heard the bloodcurdling screams of the other civilians as they ran for their lives, fleeing the destruction. Katsuki stared intently at the store where All Might had been flung. He hoped that the owner of the store had made it out ok. He didn't want to think that Mr. Shibata, the kindly old man who had always slipped him extra sweets, could be gone. Water flowed aggressively from broken fire hydrants adding to the rainwater quickly filling the rubble cloaked streets.
"Who the hell are you two to think that you can stand against me?" All Might boomed as he flew from the crumbling convenience store and bolted at his brother. Deku flipped backward, putting all his force into both of his legs. They contacted All Might squarely in the gut and sent him flying upward into the air with a vengeful snarl. They barely had enough time to catch their breath before All Might landed on the ground with a crash, cars, and rubble flying away from his impact site.
"Enough games!" All Might shouted and clapped his hands. The shockwave radiated away from the imposing figure, pushing the rainwater away with it. For the next several seconds, not a single drop of rain landed on their heads. The deafening silence ended as a wall of rain landed on them with a thud.
Katsuki and Deku froze in place. They stood in terror-filled silence as they stared at the figure before them. His confident demeanor had melted away. His grin was gone; a toothy frown replaced it. His black and grey suit was muddled red and brown with blood and dirt. His blood? Katsuki hadn't been hit yet. He didn't think Deku had either. They had been doing better against the Symbol of Fear than he thought they would.
See, Deku, I told you we could take… Katsuki didn't get a chance to finish his sentence; All Might began to speak in a growling tone.
"You know what the problem is with humans? You break so easily. I never get to have fun. I start to play, and you just break. I always have to slow down. I always have to pull my punches, or you just break! I'm always fucking holding myself back so that I can get some sliver of entertainment out of these fights. But you?" He leveled a bloody hand at them. "You can take it somehow? I don't know how but this is the first decent fight I've had in Years!"
Kacchan, I don't like where this is going…
"I don't have to hold back with you? Do I? I can finally let loose! Oh, my boys, this is going to be so much fun! I can finally show you what it's like to play for real!" The ground cracked and shook as All Might moved forward. Katsuki lost track of him. Even with his heightened senses, he had lost track of him.
"Shit!" Katsuki shrieked as a massive blow connected from behind. He flew through the air before crashing through the hood of a car. He tried to pull himself up off of the hood, but he was picked up by his hair. Katsuki screamed in agony; his feet dangled in the air. Katsuki felt as if his scalp was tearing off of his head.
"No, no, child…." All Might cooed, his voice mockingly soothing. "You can't die so easily; we're just starting." Deku landed a shattering kick on the villain's arm, which loosened his grip on Katsuki's hair. He fell to the hood of the car with a crash. Deku rounded with a kick to All Might's chest and sent him flying once again.
We have to go! NOW! Deku grabbed at his arm to hoist him up. Pain flared through his body. He was pretty sure it was broken. Katsuki gritted through the pain and stood again at his brother's side.
Katsuki wasn't used to the new powers Commandment gave him and Deku. They'd had the quirk itself for years by this point, but never had a chance to try it out for real. Let alone in combat. The most Katsuki had used it for himself, before this point, was helping with things around the house or pranking his brother. He and Deku had never gotten to test its limits for fear of someone seeing them. This was his chance to experiment.
"I will break your bones with every hit!" Katsuki yelled, staring at the Villain before him.
"Will you now? No," he shook his head. "I don't think you will." All Might slowly walked towards them. Katsuki realized that he was taunting him. He was showing them that he wasn't scared. Katsuki would make him regret it.
Katsuki launched himself at the villain and landed a kick square across his shoulder with a resounding crack. The Symbol of Fear let out a spine-chilling wail as he grabbed onto Katsuki's leg and flung him into the side of a building.
"You little Shit!" All Might screamed at him. The villain dashed forward at a blinding speed. Katsuki tried to get up, but his arm and leg pain were too much now. Katsuki braced himself for the inevitable as he saw the terror of the world rear back to deliver a killing blow. The force of the punch bathed Katsuki in a torrent of wind.
Katsuki couldn't believe he was still alive. He opened his eyes to see his brother standing before him, crystalline green arms crossed in a protective stance blocking All Might's blow. Cracks spread in the crystal from the impact site, blood seeped out the cracks, and trickled down Deku's arms.
"I can't feel pain!" Deku screamed as he punched back at All Might. Deku, you self-sacrificial….. If we make it out of this!
Deku had barely stepped forward to attack when the villain punched back. His brother crashed into the ground beside him, blood oozing out from the wound on his face. Katsuki fought through the pain and scrabbled over to his brother's side.
Kacchan… I'm…. I'm sorry. Please don't leave me. Katsuki hugged his brother against his chest. Deku's blood-soaked into his shirt.
It's. It's ok, Deku. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. We're in this together, right? Deku nodded. Katsuki found this all a bit ironic. He and his brother had done everything together. From the moment their mom gave birth to them, they had been inseparable. Now they would die together. Katsuki hated all this poetic shit.
"Detroit…" Katsuki looked up to see the symbol of their demise rearing back to deliver one final killing blow. He clutched his brother tighter against his chest, a sobbing whimper escaping his lips. "Smaaaaassshhh" Katsuki felt a fist contact his cheek. He readied himself for death. "….hey, hey, hey! what gives?" Katsuki stared dumbfounded. The punch had barely hurt… The villain had punched him. All Might had hit him square in the jaw… how was he still alive?
"Step away from the children," A figure clad in black with long black hair entered Katsuki's vision. His hair defied gravity as he stared at the villain through yellow goggles.
"Oh, not you! I was having fun! Go away!" All Might shouted at the figure. The Symbol of Fear stomped his feet as if throwing a tantrum.
Deku sobbed into his chest. It's him. It's actually him! We're saved. We're saved, Kacchan.
Katsuki didn't understand what the nerd meant. How were they saved? They were broken and bleeding out on the ground. How was this loser going to stand a chance against All Might! Especially when they had gotten beaten so easily? Katsuki looked at the figure again, and the pieces clicked together in his head like a puzzle. His brother was right. They were saved!
"Give up! Symbol of Disgrace. You've lost." Eraserhead called out to the monster. He slowly unwrapped a long grey scarf around his neck and dropped down into a defensive stance.
"You Bastard! How dare you send me back to… this! If you think I fear you, you are sorely mistaken." All Might limped towards the hero. Katsuki realized that he must have landed a blow to the demon's legs before he went down. He was walking on BROKEN legs… Eraserhead jumped into the fray and engaged, quirkless, with the Symbol of Fear.
Katsuki tried to comfort his brother now that their immediate danger was passed. Deku, Deku, you with me?
Yeah… I'm… here… Deku's voice drifted into Katsuki's mind. He sounded weaker, more distant.
Deku! I need you to stay with me! The shouting around him got louder; more heroes began to flood into the streets.
Kacchan, it's… it's so cold…. Fuck, he had to do something. "I can heal wounds. I can heal wounds!" Katsuki shouted to himself, willing Commandment to make it true. He tried to do what he could, but whatever he did seemed like it was too little, too late. The surface wounds started to close up and heal, but Katsuki knew there was so much more wrong that he wasn't healing. He was losing his brother.
I'm… sorry, Kacchan. I… I wasn't strong enough. Deku coughed up blood as tears cut down his cheeks, slicing through the dirt and blood like a sharp knife.
No! No, Deku, don't say that. You were plenty strong. I need you to be strong now! Katsuki pulled his brother into his chest and held onto him. Stay with me! Katsuki held on as his brother lost consciousness.
Eyes blurry with tears, Katsuki looked back towards the fight. All Might was cornered. They had beaten him back somehow! He stood beaten and bloody against the crumbled remains of a brick wall.
"Give it up, All Might; your reign of terror ends now!" Eraserhead shouted. He looked intently at All Might, hair still raised.
"No, I'm afraid not. I don't give up that easily. I won't give up until I've destroyed you. I won't stop until I have ground your bones into the dust they are. I won't stop until every last hero gets what they deserve! I will make this world pay for what they did to me!" All Might shouted, light beginning to glow from behind him. "I will be back, and when I am. Your world will burn!" All Might fell backward and disappeared into a glowing purple and black swirl. The portal blinked out of existence, and the street fell into silence except for the constant patter of the rain.
"Help us! My brother needs help!" Katsuki shouted from his position on the ground. He looked at his brother; his crystallized skin had returned to normal the moment he had passed out. Katsuki nearly gagged at the sight of his pulverized arm – purple, black, and unnaturally contorted. Katsuki's vision started to go cloudy. He was having a hard time focusing on his thoughts. His adrenaline had begun to leave him, his injuries catching up. Katsuki watched as their savior ran to their side and crouched next to him. His eyes grew heavy. Katsuki could feel himself slipping away.
"Don't worry, kid, you and your brother are safe now. He's gone." Katsuki let out a sigh of relief and faded into blackness.
"I need a medic over here!" Shota shouted, "These kids are unconscious and beat to hell!" He did his best to tend to the pairs' wounds while waiting for the medics to arrive. They were hurt bad, really bad. The spiky-haired blond was covered in cuts and gashes and looked to have a broken leg and arm. The curly blond was another story entirely. One of his arms was utterly black and contorted; cracks spiderwebbed out from his forearms down to his biceps. What happened to these poor kids?
Shota stared down at the pair of blonds. How… how could they have survived an attack like this? All Might never left survivors, intentional or otherwise. He stepped back as paramedics arrived and began tending to the wounded children.
Did these kids defend themselves against All Might? No, that's not possible. It can't be. Even the number one himself couldn't go toe to toe alone with All Might. Not without him there to cancel his quirk. But still… Shota looked at the carnage around them. Someone had been fighting against that villain before he had arrived. Shota remembered how the Symbol of Fear had limped around during their fight. He was clearly hurt. Shota wasn't so sure now that the blood covering his opponent had belonged to an innocent. In fact, he was more confident that someone had dealt some severe damage to All Might.
Shota's eyes stared intently at the children as paramedics pulled the brothers out of each other's arms and onto their own stretchers. Could these kids have? No, it was preposterous. They're just children. Anyone with a quirk strong enough to do something like this would have crossed the principal's desk the moment it was reported. Shota still couldn't shake the feeling that these children were responsible somehow. Either way, they were the first survivors of the Symbol of Fear ever. That alone made them of great importance.
"Don't take them to Musutafu General," Shota shouted at the paramedics who were carrying the children to the ambulance.
"What? Why? They need immediate attention. We managed to stabilize them, but they…."
"Take them to UA. They need to see Recovery Girl!" The paramedic's eyes went wide, and he nodded. They ran as fast as safe, carrying the stretcher to the ambulance. Shota needed answers. He also needed to know that these kids were going to be ok. He climbed into the back of the ambulance and shouted for the driver to head out. They didn't have a moment to waste.
