Chapter 7: The League of Villains

The last year of Midoriya's life was full of surprises; finding Mjolnir, becoming the inheritor of the God of Thunder Title, getting into UA... all things that would have surprised him if he could hop into a time machine and tell a younger version of himself.

Surprises, however, are not always good. So when he and Asui peaked over the side of the terrain from a pond to see Mr. Aizawa getting absolutely thrashed by a great, hulking brute, Midoriya filed this one under, "incredibly unpleasant surprise."

This creature, with skin black as coal, towered over Eraserhead, and was seemingly immune to his gaze. Midoriya knew immediately that it's Quirk must have been mutative in nature for that to be the case, but the knowledge did nothing to numb the shock of what he was seeing. Aizawa, laying against the ground, having his face repeatedly slammed into the dirt by this monstrosity.

Next to the monstrous... thing, was a boy somewhat older than the two of them. A creepy boy, at that; he was covered in hands that were gripped all over him, including one that was latched onto his face. Stringy white haired surrounded the rest of his features, and he stared down at Aizawa.

"I always thought you were so cool, Eraserhead."

He over, and as his bare hands touched Aizawa's goggles, they disintegrated away in his fingers. Midoriya had to hold in a gasp. The ability to rot away something at your touch was about as deadly as Quirks could get. He'd take notes if it wasn't terrifying.

Is that thing even human?! Midoriya wondered, eyes darting around frantically as he sank into the water. Where are the teachers?! Why aren't any alarms going off?!

He glanced over to see Asui looking almost as freaked out as he was. "This looks bad... We need to get out of here," she whispered.

"Yeah, you scrubs shouldn't be here."

Midoriya and Tsuyu both jumped back as the creepy boy stared down at them; he must have noticed and walked over.

"Those weaklings couldn't even get rid of level one noobs like you?" Creepy Hand Boy scoffed. "What a complete waste of my time..."

Deku and Tsuyu both backed up slightly in the water, Midoriya gripping Mjolnir tightly.

"Well, doesn't matter," the creep snickered. "It's game over for you. Let's see..."

He reached a hand - his own - forward, and a small portal opened up. Reaching through, his hand appeared directly over Asui's head. "You first."

Midoriya could see it unfolding in his head; Tsuyu just decomposing into dust and blowing away before his eyes. Immediately, his feet sprang into motion, and he jumped from the water, swinging his hammer towards Handy-Man's head. As he did, the monstrous Quirk user ran from Aizawa's limp body and charged towards Deku.

"Midoriya!" Asui cried, forgetting all her concern for her own well being, and shooting her tongue towards Deku to reel him away.

Neither were successful in this endeavor, either. As Midoriya swung, Mjolnir smashed into the side of the monstrous creature, who did not budge. Asui wrapped her tongue around Midoriya's midsection, and pulled him back just as the white-haired teen grabbed her head...

... and nothing happened.

The villain turned away and glared angrily to Aizawa had lifted his head, stopping his Quirk. Frustrated, he stood up. "Heh... Eraserhead... you just have to be so cool, don't you?" He turned to the hulking beast, which was still peering down at the two students in the water. "Nomu... finish him off."

Midoriya and Asui backed away into the water, hearts pounding at their near-brush with death.

But then, a triumphant voice rang out across the USJ. For elsewhere in the dome, Iida had been successful in escaping and getting help.

"STUDENTS! FEAR NOT! FOR I! AM! HERE!"

Everyone froze and turned towards the entrance, the villains stepping towards Aizawa in surprise.. All Might, flanked by various other U.A. Teachers, charged the USJ. All Might himself took one flying leap, and landed in front of the pond with a loud crash.

"Young Midoriya and Young Asui," All Might boomed, turning his head slightly towards the two in the pond. He shifted his body so that he was between the villains and the students. "Thank you for holding them off. Please get your teacher to safety. I can handle this."

The gravity of the situation hit Deku once he realized that for the first time, All Might was not wearing his trademark grin. He was playing for keeps.

Asui, still with her tongue around Deku, pulled him out of the water and released him. The two wasted no time picking up their teacher as carefully as possible, and began carrying him away from the battlefield. Not long, they could hear the sounds of a battle raging on.

As they approached the entrance, Midoriya couldn't shake a lingering thought though. All Might had steam coming off him as they had left.

If he'd never met All Might before attending UA, he might not have taken notice of it. But that wasn't the case; he had met All Might in the past, and became privy to All Might's horrible secret.

If he's running out of time... Midoriya bit his lip as he helped Asui carry Aizawa. "Hey, Asui...can you get Aizawa out of here?"

She paused at the request, and looked back at him, her already large eyes widened a bit. "Kero! What do you mean? You're not thinking of going back, are you?"

"Those guys were dangerous," Midoriya said, quietly but firmly. "If All Might needs back up, I think I might be able to help him."

Asui looked at him, debating whether to let him go, or to grab him with her tongue and restrain him for being insane. "Well... you do have the coolest powers out of the class..."

In any other instance, Deku would be blushing, but he insisted further, "You saw me hit that thing with my hammer. If it some negates physical attacks, All Might could be in trouble. I can provide distance support with lightning."

Tsuyu frowned, but turned and shifted to carry Aizawa on her back. "Please be careful, kero."

"Right!" Midoriya agreed, and turned to take back off towards the battlefield, heart pounding in his ears already. His knees shook; this was the real deal.

Only once had he thwarted an attempt on his life, and that was a test more than anything else...

--

Months prior...

--

Deku approached the throne of Asgard, having been summoned via lightning bolt again. He was a bit surprised; usually Thor greeted him right away, but this time the King of Asgard was sitting on his throne, staring down at the boy expectantly.

And Midoriya couldn't shake the feeling that something about Thor was different. But what? Same eyepatch, same beard, same everything... why did his mentor seem different as he approached the throne of Asgard.

"Young Midoriya, there are matters we need to discuss," Thor said with an even tone, but his smile seemed rather hollow.

"Is everything okay?"

"Indeed, we just need to discuss your schooling. Come, walk with me. Leave the hammer. You don't need it at the moment."

This gave Midoriya even further pause. He always had Mjolnir with him, especially in Asgard. Still, he respected Thor and set Mjolnir down, and the two began walking towards a side hall.

It was only when Midoriya looked at Thor, who was on his right hand side, did he realize what was wrong.

Thor was missing his right eye. But when looking at the left-hand profile of this Thor, the eye patch was on the left.

At the realization, the fake Thor slid a knife from his sleeve and lunged for the boy's throat. Midoriya raised his hand, summoned Mjolnir, and was only just barely able to swing his hammer, and knocked the blade from Thor's hand.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Midoriya shouted, jumping back and swinging his hammer.

But the mood shifted as he heard a bellowing laughter and applause from the side hallway. Thor - the real Thor with his eyepatch over his right eye - walked out, clapping.

Midoriya looked back at the imposter Thor, and watched as he appeared to melt into a new figure; an older man clad in a green robe. While his hair was long and black, there was plenty of strands of gray mixed in, thought a horned helmet was covering it.

"See, brother?" Thor laughed, walking over to Midoriya and the fake, "I told you he'd see right through your illusions."

"Pfft," scoffed the robed man, "I nearly had the boy's neck. Besides. I gave him an easy one."

"What...?" Midoriya uttered, completely flabbergasted by the ruse, before his eyes widened and the realization set in. "Wait a minute... ARE YOU LOKI?!"

"Yes, I - what are you doing?" Loki asked, bewildered, as Midoriya pulled a tattered notebook from his pocket and flipped to an old page.

"I have so many questions about your magic and illusions!" Midoriya asked, excitedly, showing Loki all of his notes from years past. "You were like the coolest villain in Quirks history!"

Thor just smiled and shook his head as Loki puffed up his chest in arrogance; he had a feeling Midoriya would win him over pretty easily.

--

Present day

--

Midoriya peeked through the bushes at the battle scene, deciding the element of surprise was the best weapon at his disposal. To his surprise, he found he wasn't the only student who had come to assist All Might.

All Might had hit the monster - which Creepy Hands had named Nomu - with a picture perfect German Suplex with a bridge. Any pro wrestling commentator would surely be beside themselves at such wonderful form, declaring it a slobberknocker. And when the move landed, a sheet of ice had enclosed the Nomu, leading back to its source, Todoroki. When did he get here? Midoriya wondered, I've only been gone a few minutes, tops.

Suddenly, a portal opened beneath the Nomu, and it was able to escape as All Might scrambled to his feet. Todoroki backed up in surprise as well. He tried to spread more ice across the ground to trap the monster, but Nomu thrust both fists into the ground, splitting the ice.

"GET BACK, TODOROKI," All Might commanded, "I'll handle this!"

Todoroki looked rather uneasy at the command, but backed away as requested.

Next to Creepy Hands, a man in a sharp business suit who appeared to be made of purple smog stepped out of another portal.

"This is bad, Shigaraki," Smog Man said to Creepy Hands - who Midoriya realized must have been Shigaraki, "We should consider a retreat."

"But Kurogiri," Shigaraki sneered, "the final boss is right in front of us. I can't take the game over now."

"STOP SPEAKING IN VIDEO GAME REFERENCES YOU CREEPY FUCK!"

Midoriya jumped from his hiding spot and grimaced. Such rage could only mean one thing: Bakugou was rocketing towards Shigaraki and Kurogiri, ready to unleash explosive fury upon them.

Kurogiri opened a portal in the air, and Shigarki reached his hand through as another portal appeared in the air in front of Bakugou. Shigaraki was trying to use the same trick to get Bakugou as he had attempted on Asui.

Bakugou was expecting this though, as he thrust a hand upward, and used an angled explosion to propel himself under Shigaraki's hand and in front of Kurogiri, unleashing a second explosion with his free hand. Kurogiri, taken by surprise, was thrust backward, his portals failing. Shigaraki was only just able to pull his hand free in time.

"I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU, YOU SMOKY SHIT-ASS! YOUR BODY IS YOUR WEAK P-ARGH!"

Bakugou, despite having taken down Kurogiri, learned that talking is not a free action. The Nomu had sprung forward and uppercut the blonde student into the air, and the boy landed against the terrain with a hard thud.

As the Nomu advanced for a further attack, it was intercepted by All Might with a cry of, "DETROIT SMAAAASH!" But the Nomu barely flinched, absorbing.

Bakugou was still reeling as Shigaraki approached him.

"What a nuisance you are," Shigaraki scoffed. "I'll show you what I do with nuisances..."

As Shigaraki leaned forward to erase Bakugou from existence, Midoriya sprang into action. Leaping from the hedges, his eyes glowed blue as he cried, "I SAY THEE NAY!" A blast of lightning surged from Mjolnir at his words, hitting Shigaraki on the side of the head, and sending him sprawling across the rocks and dirt. The hand that was mounted on Shigaraki's face went flying off and landed a few feet next to him.

The Nomu looked to his master enraged, and charged Midoriya, who sent another blast of lightning. This one hit the Nomu in it's knee, sending it crashing into a kneeling position. All Might dashed up behind it.

"Power Absorption is your Quirk, huh big fella? Well let's see the LIMITS!"

Before the Nomu could recover, All Might began raining blows upon the beast-like man, hitting the same spot faster than the eye could see in the back of it's head. A hard blow sent it flying forwards towards Deku, who was ready. Spinning Mjolnir at his side, he swung it upwards and uppercut Nomu with his hammer. Lightning crackled as Nomu went flying into the air, falling down towards All Might.

"DETROIT..." All Might cried, preparing an uppercut of his own, "SMAAAAAAASH!"

All Might's blow proved decisive, sending Nomu rocketing out of the building and crashing through a skylight.

All Might and Deku turned towards Shigaraki and Kurogiri to see they had recovered. Shigaraki sat up, as Kurogiri ran over to him.

"Boss, this is bad. We need to leave."

Shigaraki, however, wasn't listening, scrambling across the ground, decaying bits and pieces of it.

"Father..." he muttered, "where are you father?!"

Finally, upon finding the hand that covered his face, he grabbed it gingerly, with one pinky extended. He raised his head and glared at Midoriya, freezing the green-haired boy in his tracks.

Midoriya had never seen so much hatred in someone's eyes before that day. In his shock, he dropped Mjolnir at his side.

"Let's get out of here, Kurogiri," Shigaraki scowled, placing the hand firmly back upon his face.

"NOT SO FAST!" All Might cried, dashing for the two head villains, but it was too late; a portal opened beneath the two, and they had vanished. "Damn," he cursed under his breath. "I've lost a step or two, haven't I..."

He turned to Midoriya and beamed, placing a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a low tone. "Thank you for your assistance, Young Midoriya. I see Thor has taught you quite well."

And then All Might did something that rendered Deku completely speechless; he leaned down, picked up Mjolnir, and handed it to Midoriya.

Deku's jaw dropped. "How did you...?"

All Might just laughed as Izuku stared at him with a slack-jawed expression. "Oh, I'll explain another time," he turned to Todoroki and spoke louder, "And you as well Young Todoroki! Your help was invaluable!"

The taller teen walked up the two and merely nodded. "Well. Glad to assist."

"We should go make sure your classmate, young Bakugou is okay."

"Oh man, here he is!" Another voice called out from the bushes. From the brush, Kirishima emerged with Mineta in tow. "I told Bakugou not to run off without us. Whoa..." He looked around, seeing All Might, Deku, and Todoroki standing amidst a destroyed area. "What did I miss?"

--

As the students all gathered and reconvened, Midoriya was surprised to hear how all of his classmates had fared when they all became separated: Uraraka regaled the class with how they distracted Kurogiri long enough for Iida to escape. Kaminari bragged about he, Yaoyorozu, and Jiro took down a big group - though Jiro kept interrupting to advise how he was mostly useless until Momo had crafted an insulated blanket to protect them from his electricity. Hagakure gushed over watching Todoroki freeze a horde of thugs, though he was shocked she was even there. Everyone seemed to have run into a struggle, but no one in the class was any worse for wear... other than Aizawa, who would be in a body cast for some time.

Of course, Midoriya was also thoroughly embarrassed when Tsuyu talked about how awesome Deku's own plan to escape shipwreck zone while simultaneously frying an entire squad of aquatic villains was.

"I-I couldn't have done it without you," Midoriya assured her through his terrible blushing. "I'd have been dead if you hadn't saved me in the first place."

"It sounds like you two make a great team!" Uraraka beamed, causing Asui to blush a bit as well.

The moment was ruined when Mineta literally forced himself between the two of them to argue, "I think you and I could make a much better team, right Asui?"

She grabbed him and threw him into the seat behind her, prompting Midoriya and Uraraka to laugh. Midoriya slumped backwards into his seat and let out a sigh.

I'll have to make sure I tell Thor about my first run in with a super villain, he thought to himself.