"It is a sign of strength, to cry out against fate, rather than to bow one's head and succumb."

-Gabriel Angelos, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

Izuku looked out the window of the transport helicopter as morning light began to shine over the horizon, the rhythmic thumping of the helicopter blades making him remember the many previous missions he had been on. It always started out the same. The ride to the area of operations was always the worst part, the anticipation of the upcoming mission making it all but impossible to relax as you rode to your destination. This flight was no different.

Sitting on the benches in the cargo hold, the members of Bravo team kept themselves occupied by double checking their equipment and weapons. Everyone except Rumi and Uraraka were dressed in woodland camouflage tactical clothes, while their body armor and gear was either matte black or camouflaged as well. Izuku was dressed in a standard soldier outfit. His green hair was covered by a camouflage military boonie hat, and he wore a camouflage pattern tactical vest over his uniform and body armor. He also wore his trusty combat boots that had been with him over many deployments, as well as black shooting gloves that provided extra gripping strength to manage the recoil from weapons.

This time, the team designations were a little different compared to the warehouse raid. This time Izuku was Bravo Six, accompanied by Bravo Five and Bravo Seven. Bravo Five, Izuku, and Bravo Seven were armed with military-grade assault rifles of their own choosing. Izuku had chosen a modern variant of the classic Russian AK, while Bravo Five and Bravo Seven both had modular assault rifles with American origins. Bravo One and Bravo Two wore ghillie suits that made them look like walking bushes, as they were picked to be the scout sniper team that would watch from afar and provide fire support as needed. Bravo Three and Bravo Four both had experience with heavy weapons, so they were chosen as the team's most heavily armed members. Armed with a light machine gun as well as revolving grenade launcher, Bravo Three and Bravo Four were the ones in charge of taking out any particularly stubborn enemies.

In comparison Rumi and Uraraka stuck out like sore thumbs, their colorful costumes totally at odds with the tactical military look Bravo team had going on. However, there was a reason for the clashing fashion statements. Rumi and Uraraka were purposefully going to attract as much attention as they could so that any observers would not notice Bravo Team infiltrating the area.

As the helicopter flew low over the forest treetops, Izuku looked over at Rumi who was yawning sleepily.

"Did you get enough sleep?" The green-haired agent asked teasingly.

Giving Izuku an annoyed look, Rumi shrugged. "Meh, I was too excited to sleep. Missions like this always get my blood pumping."

Sitting on a nearby bench, Uraraka stifled a yawn as well. "Agent Midoriya, you are used to getting up early. Us normal people normally don't get up until the sun has already risen."

Izuku chuckled at Uraraka's choice of words. "Yeah well normal people don't go to a school to be pro-heroes either. Welcome to the club."

The brown-haired girl smiled shyly and giggled. "Yeah I guess I kinda forgot about that."

Everyone had wireless radio earpieces that allowed seamless communication, and Izuku's suddenly came to life with a crackle of static.

"Approaching drop point in five." The pilot said informatively.

Giving an affirmative, Izuku walked over to the cargo ramp and pulled the lever to engage the lowering mechanism.

"Alright girls, your stop is coming up soon." Izuku said loudly over the sudden influx of rushing air. "Remember the plan and stay in contact with command. You two are the spearhead and will most likely be the first to engage the guards. Good luck."

Cracking her knuckles excitedly, Rumi grinned eagerly and walked over to the edge of the lowered ramp.

Standing fearlessly on the edge of the ramp as treetops flew by underneath, Rumi did a few quick stretches as Uraraka carefully approached the lowered ramp and grabbed on tightly to the nearest handhold.

"At least this time I get to jump out myself." The gravity controlling girl said with a weak laugh.

Nodding, Izuku gestured to the edge of the ramp. "You can do it kid, just remember to tuck and roll. Worst case scenario, you just bounce off the ground a few times to bleed your speed."

Uraraka's eyes suddenly widened as she realized what her mentor was saying. "Wait! I thought you said we were stopping!?"

Giving Uraraka a confused look, Izuku shook his head in disagreement. "We have a schedule to keep. Best I can do is get the pilot to slow down from top speed. You will be fine, you can make yourself weightless and just bounce a few times."

Clinging even tighter to the metal handhold, Uraraka shook her head desperately. "We are going hundreds of kilometers per hour! If I hit a tree I will get turned into paste!"

Izuku rolled his eyes. "You are jumping out over an open area. Just aim for some bushes."

Izuku's earpiece crackled to life once more.

"One minute." The pilot said flatly as the helicopter began to slow down slightly.

Pushing Uraraka to the edge of the ramp, Izuku pried the terrified intern's hands from the straps on his vest as he talked. "Kid, you won't get a second chance at this. You gotta jump when I tell you to, or you really will hit some trees."

"B-b-but I-!" Uraraka stammered out until Rumi roughly grabbed her wrist.

"Oh put a sock in it you baby." Rumi said with an excited grin. "You can do it, you just gotta believe in yourself!"

A few seconds later, the treetops were replaced by a field full of wild shrubs and tall grass.

As a light overhead began blinking green, Izuku nodded to Rumi. "Time to jump!"

Pulling a terrified and screaming Uraraka with her, Rumi fearlessly jumped out of the helicopter and out of sight.

Closing the cargo ramp, Izuku looked back to see several members of Bravo team holding back amused laughter. Glad to see everyone feeling a little more relaxed, Izuku shrugged exaggeratedly.

"She will be fine." He said flippantly.

A few minutes later, the pilot's voice sounded in Izuku's ear.

"LZ in three. Get ready."

Giving his team a thumbs up, Izuku did one last check of his gear as the helicopter began to descend. Two minutes later, there was a jarring thump as the helicopter touched down. Opening the cargo ramp, Izuku motioned for his team to rapidly disembark. Once everyone was out of the helicopter, Izuku stepped out into the forest and gave the helicopter pilot a thumbs up. With a rush of air and roar of the engines, the helicopter rapidly rose back into the sky and disappeared from sight.

Giving his team a few silent hand signals to move out, Izuku activated his radio.

"Bravo Six to command." Izuku said quietly as he followed his team. "Bravo team is on the ground and proceeding with the mission, over."

There was a second of silence before a curt woman's voice replied. "Understood Bravo Six, we have you on infrared and thermal. UAV is in the air and maintaining altitude over your mission area. Proceed as planned, over."

Focusing on the task at hand, Izuku silently guided his team through the thick forest. Wanting to be as stealthy as possible, nobody talked unless absolutely necessary. When they did speak, it was in short whispers or to inform command of what was happening. As they steadily advanced through the forest, Izuku felt an unnerving feeling building in his gut.

Veteran soldiers often developed a sort of sixth-sense when it came to danger, and Izuku was no different. While there was nothing to indicate any danger, Izuku could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Several times he had his team stop so the overhead UAV could scan the area in search of any possible ambushes or traps.

But every time the UAV operator reported nothing of note.

After an hour sneaking through the thick forest, Bravo team finally came upon a clue.

Holding up a closed fist, Bravo Five knelt down and began to inspect the ground carefully.

Eventually, the female tracker spoke quietly. "Tracks. Leading north."

Nodding an affirmative, Izuku focused all his senses on their surroundings as the unpleasant feeling in his gut steadily got worse. "Lead on. Carefully."

Slowly, Bravo team advanced through the dense underbrush and uneven terrain. Suddenly Izuku's earpiece came to life with Rumi's voice.

"Midoriya where the fuck are the bad guys?" The rabbit hero said in obvious annoyance. "We have been running around this forest for an hour and haven't found anything. I thought you said we would be the first to fight?"

Furrowing his brow in confusion, Izuku watched as his team slowly advanced. "Just keep looking. We might be getting close to the lab, so get ready for anything."

Catching up to his team, Izuku watched as Bravo Five pointed to an area occupied by thick bushes.

"Tracks lead over there." The camouflaged woman said quietly. "Entrance is probably hidden in those bushes."

Nodding in understanding, Izuku turned to Bravo One and Two. "Set up an overwatch position and cover the entrance, let us know if anyone comes in behind us."

Nodding the affirmative, the sniper team hurried off to find a suitable sniping spot.

Making sure his assault rifle was locked and loaded, Izuku nodded to Bravo Five. "Open it up, watch for traps."

Bravo Five nodded and slowly pushed into the bushes with her assault rifle at the ready. Stomping on the bushes to provide a better view, the tracker suddenly came to a stop and knelt down.

"I got a hatch here." She said quickly. "Opening it up."

Letting her rifle hang on its sling, Bravo Five reached down and opened up a large metal hatch that had been camouflaged with grass and shrubbery. Once open all the way, the hatch revealed a concrete staircase leading down into darkness.

Turning to Bravo Seven, Izuku pointed to the open hatch. "Bravo Seven, take point. Remember, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."

Nodding seriously, the thick-jawed Bravo Seven slung his assault rifle over his back and pulled out a shortened combat shotgun with a flashlight attachment on the front. Turning on the bright white light with the soft click of a button, Bravo Seven walked forward and began to descend into the darkness.

One by one, the rest of the team followed their point man down the stairs.

Slowly walking down the stairs, Izuku strained his senses to their limits in anticipation of an ambush. At the bottom of the staircase was a wide tunnel. Discarded pieces of medical equipment littered the floor, and at the far end stood a thick metal door clearly meant to keep out intruders.

The odd thing was, there was no sign of recent activity.

Halogen lights had been set up in the tunnel, but none of them had power. Even the metal blast door appeared to be covered in a fine layer of dust, as if it had not been used in weeks.

Once all of his agents were in the tunnel, Izuku carefully walked forward. His eyes peeled for traps or dangerous objects of any kind. Reaching the metal blast door without incident, Izuku inspected the thick metal door carefully. Like any proper blast door, the tunnel door appeared to be equipped with a series of locking mechanisms that would make it all but impossible to enter without the use of explosives or specialized lock-breaking equipment.

However, it seemed the door was already unlocked.

His gut all but screaming at him about imminent danger, Izuku slowly pushed the large metal door open with his gun at the ready.

But all that met him was more darkness.

Behind the blast door was a fully equipped medical facility, complete with testing chambers, advanced equipment, and all sorts of specialized tools. How the PLF managed to acquire such advanced tech was a question that would need to be answered later. However, the power for the lab seemed to be turned off, as none of the lights or electronic devices were working.

Having Bravo Seven and Bravo Five enter first, Izuku waited for them to give the all clear before following them inside. Inside the first room, Izuku paused when his nose picked up a familiar smell.

The smell of blood.

His suspicions about the lab all but confirmed, Izuku activated his earpiece. "Bravo Six to Command. We have entered the lab but it seems to be abandoned. No visible bodies yet, but I can already smell large amounts of blood. Over."

The female logistics officer's voice immediately replied. "Understood Bravo Six, proceed with caution. Over."

Turning to face his team, Izuku gave them all a serious look. "Stay frosty team. We might be walking into a trap. If things go south I want everyone to immediately return to the surface, I don't want to get into a fight down here with no escape route."

All of the Bravo team agents nodded their affirmative, everyone double checking that their weapons were ready before proceeding further into the darkened lab.

Eventually, they came across the first corpse. It was a male dressed in a biohazard suit, but his face was a mangled mess from some kind of blunt impact. The next room had two more bodies, another scientist with what looked like a guard, both of them totally eviscerated with their blood and gore painting the lab walls. Pushing farther in, Izuku and his team came upon what could only be described as a massacre. Almost a dozen bodies were strewn around the large research room, some of them smashed into paste while others had been sliced into pieces. Strangely, there appeared to be streaks of what looked like dried clay and mud around the room. Several of the muddy streaks were also mixed with blood, entrails, and body parts.

"Jesus fucking Christ these guys got ripped apart." Bravo Three muttered under his breath. "At least something else did our work for us."

"Cut the chatter." Izuku said sternly. "Eyes up, no slacking off."

On the far side of the bloody room was a metal security door that was slightly ajar. It also seemed to be the origin point of the clay and mud, and Izuku had a feeling that whatever killed the lab's occupants was on the other side.

"Bravo Three and Four, cover that door." Izuku instructed quietly. "Myself, Bravo Five, and Bravo Seven will investigate."

Izuku waited for the two heavily armed men to take their positions before nodding to his two other agents. Slowly approaching the muddy door, Izuku slowly pushed it open and peeked inside.

The room appeared to be some sort of medical room, complete with a bed for a patient, monitoring devices, and even a small TV for entertainment.

However, the entire room was covered in a layer of mud and clay, and at the epicenter of it all, stood an obese man wearing nothing but a pair of ripped pants.

Standing motionlessly, the obese man looked like a corpse. His skin was an unhealthy gray, and his eyes were sunken and crusty. His large feet were covered in so much mud it looked like he had been wading through a swamp, and his pudgy hands were covered in what appeared to be dried blood. Along his back, were several medical injectors stuck into his skin, the contents empty and clearly already inside the fat man.

At first, Izuku really did think the obese man was a corpse. But when Bravo Seven's flashlight illuminated the obese man the unhealthy person twitched slightly.

Motioning for Bravo Five and Seven to cover him, Izuku slowly walked forward and called out to the fat man. "Hello? Sir, can you hear me?"

The muddy man twitched again, and his eyes opened to reveal bloodshot eyeballs colored a piss yellow.

"Gecko?" The unhealthy-looking man rumbled in confusion. "Blueberries? Canada?"

Confused, Izuku tried to converse once more. "Sir, do you need medical assistance? Were you being held captive in this lab?"

Raising his head to look directly at Izuku, the obese man gurgled like someone with an upset stomach. "Tennis? Nature? Sympathy?"

Stepping a little closer, Izuku extended a placating hand as he tried to make sense of what the man was saying. "Sir, what is your name?"

Perking up like he had remembered something important, the obese man smiled widely to reveal black and rotting teeth. "Name?"

Glad the strange man seemed to finally understand him, Izuku nodded slowly. "Yes, what is your name?"

A gleeful look on his face like a child at a birthday party, the obese man straightened up.

"Harbinger."

Then all hell broke loose.

Extending a hand towards Bravo Five, the Harbinger cackled as a spear of clay rocketed out from his palm and punctured her chest with a sickening crack.

"CONTACT!" Izuku screamed as he brought his weapon up to fire. "WEAPONS FREE WEAPONS FREE!"

Before he could fire a shot, Izuku was blasted backwards by a wave of mud and violently thrown out of the room. Tumbling to a stop in the middle of the bloody lab room, Izuku could only watch in disbelief as a screaming Bravo Seven was wrapped up in a column of clay then crushed in a spray of blood. Staggering to his feet, Izuku winced as Bravo Three and Bravo Four unloaded their belts of ammunition into the harbinger in a thunderous cascade of bullets.

To his dismay, Izuku watched as the storm of bullets was simply absorbed into the Harbinger's jiggling gray flesh as if Bravo Team was shooting into a muddy puddle.

Scrambling to his feet, Izuku began firing his assault rifle at the obese monster as he yelled to his surviving agents in desperation. "Retreat! Get back to the surface! Use suppressing fire to slow him down!"

As the Izuku and his two heavy weapon specialists dashed away from the mud man named Harbinger, Izuku frantically keyed his radio.

"Bravo Six to Command! Encountered a strong quirk user and took several casualties! Bravo Five and Seven KIA! Retreating immediately, send backup ASAP!"

With gunfire ringing out around him, Izuku felt a cold weight drop into his stomach as the only response he got from his radio was hissing static.

At first it seemed that at least overwhelming firepower would slow down the obese harbinger, and eventually the three remaining agent reached the staircase to the surface.

But that was when their luck ran out.

A tidal wave of bloody mud burst forth from the lab and immediately sank the three men up to their knees in viscous muck. Frantically trying to reach the staircase, Izuku could only watch in dread as the obese form of the harbinger pushed open the metal blast door with a gurgling laugh. Extending a hand towards the stuck Bravo Three, the harbinger lashed out with razor sharp tentacles of clay and ripped deep wounds into the immobilized agent's chest.

Choking as his lungs filled with blood, Bravo Three looked back at his partner and Izuku.

"GO!" The man cried out in pain. "GET OUT OF HERE! TELL MY KID I LOVE HIM!"

Feeling angry tears sting his eyes, Izuku could only nod as he pulled Bravo Four free from the deep mud and up onto the staircase. As the two men stumbled back up towards the surface, Izuku wished he could block out the screams coming from below.

"FUCK YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Bravo Three roared over the continuous firing of his machine gun. "COME GET SOME YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Moments later there was an earth shaking rumble as Bravo Three detonated every explosive he was carrying with him. The ensuing explosion made debris rain from the ceiling and caused the tunnel to begin to collapse. Throwing themselves out the hatch before the staircase was buried in rubble seconds later, Izuku and Bravo Four heaved in lungfuls of air as they got to their feet.

Trying his radio once more, Izuku cursed loudly when all he heard was more static.

Suddenly Bravo One's voice called out from a nearby ridge. "Boss what's going on?! My comms aren't working!"

Collecting himself, Izuku felt cold dread run through him as the sound of rubble moving began to emanate from down the staircase.

"Bravo Three, Five, and Seven KIA!" Izuku yelled back. "Single tango, but with enhanced quirk! You see that fat bastard you put every round you have in him! We need to get Miruko here ASAP!"

"Wilco Sir!" Bravo One replied. "Get up here! We will cover you!"

As the sound of gurgling laughter emanated from the hatch, Izuku pushed Bravo Four forward as he pulled the pin on a grenade. Tossing the frag into the hatch, Izuku ran after Bravo Four as he mentally cried out a desperate plea.

"Rumi, please get here as fast as you can!"

Rumi grunted in annoyance as she swatted a mosquito out of the air with her metal arm. Standing on top of a large boulder, Rumi surveyed the area as Uraraka slowly climbed up the small cliff behind her. The two had been trekking through the forest for what felt like hours with nothing to show for their efforts. Rumi had tried contacting Izuku again, but for some reason it seemed her radio was busted. Figuring that the tech had simply broken, Rumi had proceeded with the plan and continued to search for bad guys to beat up.

Just as she was about to jump to another boulder, Rumi's rabbit ears perked up as she heard a very distinctive sound.

The sound of gunshots.

Immediately locking onto the direction the gunshots were coming from, Rumi roughly grabbed Uraraka's arm and picked her up.

"Hang on kid, I think Midoriya is in trouble."

Before her intern could get a single word out of her mouth, Rumi had taken off and began bounding through the forest at high speed. Quickly homing in on the source of the gunshots, Rumi burst through a thick group of trees and nearly ran over some muddy fatass standing in the open.

Executing a quick flip to dodge the hulking piece of lard, Rumi dropped a somewhat queasy Uraraka to the ground and tried to figure out what was going on.

At least until a storm of bullets whizzed by overhead and impacted against the walking landwhale. Sending mud splattering everywhere from the impacts, the bullets appeared to have not done any damage. The obese man simply letting out a gurgling laugh before continuing his slow advance towards a high ridge in the distance.

Well that definitely helped clarify the situation. If Izuku and his team were shooting at this shambling obesity monster, then that meant the fatty was a bad guy.

And that meant Rumi could finally get to kick some ass.

"Kid, go find Midoriya and figure out what is going on!" Rumi said authoritatively.

Nodding quickly, Uraraka rushed off as Rumi called out to the slow moving harbinger.

"YO FATASS!" Rumi jeered. "YOU PICKED THE WRONG DAY TO MESS WITH MY PARTNER!"

Stopping and turning to look at Rumi curiously, the harbinger furrowed his brow like he was having trouble figuring out a complicated math problem.

"Disorder? Ambiguity?" The obese mudman burped. "Mayor? Formulate?"

Rumi gave the harbinger a confused look. "Are you stupid or something? Or are you just some crazy psycho working with the PLF?"

The harbinger perked up upon hearing Rumi say the word PLF.

"PLF?" The obese monster said innocently. "Indubitably. Trigger. Carcass."

The shambling man then aimed a bloody hand at Rumi and cackled excitedly. "Hero!"

A spear of clay shot out from the man's palm directly at Rumi, to which the rabbit hero dodged with contemptuous ease.

"Too slow!" Rumi taunted with a feral grin. "Lemme show ya what a real pro fights like."

Launching herself forward, Rumi jumped over a slicing whip of mud and delivered a bone-shattering kick directly at the harbinger's head. However, when her foot impacted against the man's cheek, it was as if Rumi had simply kicked a brick of hardened mud.

Flipping backwards and dodging another spear of clay, Rumi frowned. "Shit, I guess you are the slow but durable kind. I can already tell you are gonna be a pain in my ass."

"Outrider?" The harbinger said curiously as he sent a boulder of clay hurtling towards Rumi.

Sidestepping the massive projectile, Rumi growled in annoyance as she launched another barrage of attacks. "Oh just shut the fuck up you dumbass. If you are just gonna say random bullshit just keep it to yourself."

Trying a different angle of attack, Rumi leaped upwards as if to drop an axe kick on the harbinger's head. However, she changed direction at the last minute and spun around to launch a powerful kick at the man's legs.

But just like before, all Rumi managed to do was make the obese man's rolls of fat jiggle. Cursing angrily, Rumi rolled away while dodging several more clay and mud attacks.

As she dodged and evaded, Rumi wracked her brain trying to think up a way to beat the fat mud-slinging villain. Direct physical attacks did not seem to work, both the blunt and piercing kind. If anything, physical attacks only slowed the fatty down. If someone like Endeavor or Eraserhead were here it would be a different story, but it was almost like someone had purposefully chosen a villain that would counter her fighting style.

Interrupting her thoughts, the booming sound of a gunshot was quickly followed by a large caliber bullet blowing a golf ball-sized hole in the harbinger's shoulder. Knocked back a step, the chunky villain grumbled unhappily as the hole rapidly filled with mud before returning to its original state. Deciding to take advantage of the momentary distraction, Rumi leapt into action.

Leaping high above the bald harbinger, Rumi swung her foot downwards as she hurtled straight down towards her opponent.

"LUNA FALL!" She roared as her foot connected with the harbinger's temple with the force of a speeding freight train.

The sheer force behind the impact drove the harbinger straight down into the ground until only his upper half was visible, while the shockwave from the kick caused a crater to form around him.

Finally, the obese villain was knocked unconsious, his head falling limply against his chest as he slumped down in defeat.

Landing with a quick triple flip that would make any olympic-level gymnast blush, Rumi grinned as she wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead.

"And stay down you fat sack of shit." Rumi gloated happily.

The sound of rushing footsteps heralded Izuku's arrival, along with the surviving members of Bravo team and Uraraka.

"Holy shit!" Bravo One said in awe. "I guess that's why you are one of the top five. Dude didn't stand a chance."

Nodding in agreement, Rumi glanced over at Izuku with a proud smile. "Damn straight."

However, Rumi's smile faltered when she saw the haunted look on her partner's face as he stared at the unconscious harbinger.

"You okay Midoriya?" Rumi asked quietly, already fearing the worst.

Izuku shook his head as he gripped his assault rifle with white knuckles. "No, I'm not." He said quietly with pain and anger in his voice. "If you weren't here we would have been wiped out. More than half my team is dead and I couldn't do anything but run away."

Already seeing the downward spiral Izuku was beginning to fall into, Rumi walked over and grabbed his shoulders, forcing her boyfriend to look her in the eye.

"Midoriya stop that right now." She said sternly. "You did what you could, and that is all anyone could ask for. Your team knew the risks. I know it hurts to lose them, but there are worse ways to go than in the line of duty."

Bravo Two removed her bush-like head garb and nodded in agreement. "She is right boss, don't beat yourself up over it. You-GLRCK!"

Rumi whirled around to see a spike of clay jutting out of Bravo Two's throat as she desperately tried to stem the river of blood pouring out of her neck.

"Pathetic." The harbinger gurgled as he glared at a shocked Rumi.

Time seemed to slow down as Rumi's brain went into overdrive. She could already see several clay spikes forming on the ground underneath her group's feet, and there was no time to evade. Her eyes darting over to look at the slow moving group in front of her, Rumi knew what she had to do.

There was no way she would be able to save them all. That was a fact. If she tried to save everyone they would all get impaled before they could even begin to move. Bravo One and Bravo Four were out of reach, while Izuku and Uraraka were within grabbing distance.

Rumi knew what she had to do.

Praying for forgiveness, Rumi kicked Izuku and Uraraka in the gut just hard enough to knock them out of the way of danger. As the impaling spikes of clay began to rise, Rumi desperately tried to leap out of the way.

Time resumed its normal speed, and Rumi could only watch sadly as Bravo One and Bravo Four were impaled by several spikes of clay and instantly killed. While Rumi had escaped imminent death, she had not gone unscathed. Several spikes of clay tore through her legs, ripping through muscle and skin with contemptuous ease, crippling the rabbit hero.

Roughly landing in a heap a few feet away from the harbinger, Rumi cried out in pain as she tried to stand only for her legs to buckle and fold underneath her.

Pulling himself out of the crater, the harbinger towered over Rumi like an obese titan as a deranged smile split his chubby face. Reaching down, the harbinger grabbed one of Rumi's legs and cruelly threw her into the air. Her head in a fog of pain, Rumi could only watch helplessly as the harbinger's hands turned into clay mallets and struck her falling body with the force of a speeding truck. Feeling several ribs instantly break from the impact, Rumi coughed up a wad of blood as she was sent flying only to slam into the hard trunk of a nearby tree. Falling to the ground, Rumi gasped for air as she felt several broken teeth rattle around in her mouth as the taste of blood became overwhelming.

However, it seemed the harbinger was not done yet.

Walking over to the broken Rumi, the harbinger grabbed the helpless woman by the arm and began slamming her against the ground like a child trying to break a new toy.

As the world spun and the impacts sent shockwaves of pain through her body, Rumi could only hope that Izuku and Uraraka had managed to escape.

Like she had said earlier, Rumi knew there were worse ways to die than in the line of duty. If it meant that she had to sacrifice herself for Izuku to live, Rumi would gladly pay that price. She knew that her death would take a terrible toll on her green-haired lover, but Rumi hoped that he would understand her decision.

As her vision began to darken, Rumi hoped that she would at least be remembered by those she had saved.

Feeling the harbinger drop her broken body to the ground, Rumi felt a sense of calm take over as she watched the rotund villain raise a fat foot to smash her head into the ground.

But just before the harbinger began to bring his foot down, he was sent stumbling as a burst of bullets tore through his throat.

Her eyes widening in fear, Rumi used all of her remaining strength to move her head to see what was going on.

What she saw made her blood run cold.

A distance away, Izuku slowly advanced with his assault rifle in hand while firing short controlled bursts at the harbinger. His eyes filled pain and fury, Izuku continued to advance as he dumped round after round into the obese harbinger.

No! This was not how it was supposed to go! Izuku was supposed to escape and live!

Desperately trying to get her broken body to move, Rumi could only watch helplessly as the harbinger righted himself and turned to face the advancing Izuku.

"NO!" Rumi mentally screamed as she tried to stand up. "IZUKU WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Her mouth filled with broken teeth and blood, Rumi could only gurgle as she watched her worst nightmare come to life.

Running out of bullets, Izuku dropped his assault rifle and pulled his pistol out of it's holster.

But before he could fire, the harbinger grabbed him by his throat and easily lifted him up into the air.

With defiance burning in his eyes, Izuku shoved the barrel of his pistol into the harbinger's eye and repeatedly pulled the trigger.

As the bullets tore the obese villain's skull and sent mud splattering everywhere, Rumi could only watch as the harbinger's free hand turned into a clay spike. Hearing Izuku's pistol click empty, the harbinger gurgled out a victorious laugh.

"Defeat."

Then the harbinger viciously stabbed his arm spike through Izuku's guts in a spray of blood.

Rumi could only watch in horror as Izuku dropped his pistol with lifeless hands and went limp.

Seemingly satisfied with the result of his work, the harbinger dropped Izuku like he was a wet rag.

Turning back to Rumi, the harbinger slowly began to walk closer as Rumi stared at Izuku's bloody and lifeless body.

Then something strange happened.

It felt like cold fire began to fill Rumi's veins as she glared at the smug harbinger with pure hate. Her body began to fill with absolute rage and fury, so much so that Rumi somehow found the strength to stand up.

She did not question it though, the time for rational thought had long passed.

All Rumi knew was that this fat bastard was going to pay for killing Izuku.

A snarl finding its way to her lips, Rumi spat out a wad of blood and broken teeth as the cold fury filled her body with strength. A strange aura of energy began to surround her, and Rumi did not notice her wounds begin to rapidly heal. Clenching her fists, Rumi knew what she had to do.

She was going to kill the harbinger.

Even if it was the last thing she ever did.

Letting loose a primal howl of rage, Rumi dashed forward so fast that all the harbinger saw was her afterimage. With the force of an exploding bomb, Rumi delivered a kick to the harbinger's enormous gut that was so powerful it sent the obese villain flying.

But Rumi was not done, not by a long shot.

As the harbinger flew through the air, Rumi suddenly appeared next to him in a blur of light and grabbed him by the throat. Rotating in the air, Rumi screamed like a berserker and kicked the Harbinger straight down. The fat villain hit the ground so hard that it sent shockwaves through the forest like someone had just triggered an earthquake, and the rotund killer gasped in pain as his spine shattered into dozens of tiny pieces.

Landing next to her prey, Rumi brought her foot up and delivered an axe kick of such power that it broke the very ground she stood on. The impact of the kick caved the villains chest in with a sickening crack, making the fat man wheeze in agony as his broken ribs stabbed through his lungs.

"Mercy!" The bloodied and broken man cried out pathetically.

Instead of replying, Rumi curb stomped her foot straight through the man's skull.

Screaming in pure sorrow and agony, Rumi continued to stomp on the harbinger's lifeless body. The impacts shook the forest as if a mountain-sized giant was walking nearby, causing birds and animals to flee the area in a state of terrified panic. Even as her feet became caked in blood and gore, Rumi did not stop. Any rational thought had been completely erased from her head, replaced by the single burning need to avenge her dead soulmate.

Finally, Rumi stopped stomping.

In a daze, the rabbit hero staggered away from the crater full of gore-filled paste. Leaving bloody footprints behind her as she walked, Rumi made her way back to the clearing where Izuku lay lifelessly.

Sobbing in absolute despair, Rumi laid down next to her lover and cradled his lifeless head in her hands.

It was not fair. None of it was fair.

Why was fate so cruel?

Why did she have to fall head over heels in love with a quirkless man, only to have him taken away from her in the worst possible way?

Unable to think straight, Rumi simply sobbed quietly as she tried to figure out what she would do without Izuku.

As darkness slowly filled her vision, Rumi did not notice the shadows of helicopters passing by overhead.

All she knew was that Izuku was gone, and that she would never find someone as amazing as him ever again.

-A/N-

- I guess this counts a minor spoiler, but the transformation Rumi underwent in this chapter is based off of events in the manga. Basically some quirks have the capability to evolve and grow stronger, but usually only under intense stress/near death injury. Canonically, this quirk evolution event is called "Awakening".

- Like I have said before, thank you for the continued support and encouragement.

- Edit: to clarify, Izuku is alive...barely