Chapter 27: Bakugou and Pals: The Finale
"All for One...?" Midoriya parroted.
He wasn't the only one looking on in confusion. Huddled beyond a dilapidated wall, Bakugou and his rescue team crouched, looking through a brick that had fallen at the scene.
"All for One?" Questioned Bakugou through grit teeth. "That's...that's the head honcho!"
He leaned forward to attack, but both Iida and Kirishima, on either side of him, placed a hand on a chest to hold him back against the alley wall. He looked to both of them, each of them giving him a wide-eyed stare and shaking their heads vehemently. And as much as he wanted to explode at them in anger, he realized they were right.
They needed a plan.
"We have to do something," Tsuyu said, looking around for something, anything that could help them out.
Back with the villains, All for One smiled almost affectionately down at the captive. "Why yes, Izuku. You're an All Might fan, aren't you? Tell you what, why don't I tell you the story of how his Quirk came to be..."
--
From the other side of the lot, two other figures were watching the League of Villains. As All for One explained his ability to steal Quirks, and how he granted One for All to his Quirkless brother. Thor turned to Loki with quiet fury in his eyes. "You remember the plan?"
"I'll just try to stay out of your way," Loki replied, but there was a steely coldness that had replaced his usual dry wit.
Thor reached a hand out and opened, summoning Mjolnir to it. "Aye, brother."
--
"... and in my quest to become the greatest, there is one ability I've wanted to steal more than anything... something stronger than One for All," All for One rasped.
"I uh... think I see where this is going," Izuku stammered out.
"Well then... if you won't join us nicely," All for One gave him a sad smile, "I'll do this the hard way..."
The leader of the League of Villains reached out and grabbed Midoriya by the forehead...
... and a few moments passed.
... and nothing happened.
"Did... did it work, Sensei?" Shigaraki asked.
All for One let go of Midoriya's head wordlessly. The boy was sure nothing had changed at all; he could still feel the lightning in his veins that he had been storing quietly for the last two days.
Suddenly, All for One began to chuckle. But it didn't stop, slowly growing into a maddening cackle. "Oh, what clever jest is this, boy?!" Without warning, he backhanded Izuku and knocked him to the ground with enhanced strength that made even the other villains jump. "You think I've come this far just for you to elude me with clever japes?!"
A problem came for the League, however, as Midoriya bounced along the ground and appeared to split into two separate beings.
"Wha-?!" Shigaraki gasped, before rounding on his team, "Twice, what did you do?!"
Twice jumped back, waving his arms frantically, "I swear boss, I haven't made any copies all day!!!"
All for One's head tilted from one Midoriya to another, surprised. Before he could make a decision, Dabi's voice came from his left. "Uh... boss?" Everyone turned to see that behind him, tons of Midoriya copies were on the ground, getting up in various states of confusion.
"What... on earth is this?" All for One asked in irritation.
"MAINLY A DISTRACTION, YOU CUR!!!!"
The League all turned back to see a giant blonde viking speeding towards them from the sky; Thor smashed Mjolnir in to the face of All for One, sending an explosion of lighting that sent the rest of the League of Villains flying across the lot. From the ground in front of them, all the fake duplicates of Midoriya vanished, and Loki rolled over to create a barrier that protected the two of them.
"Loki, that was you?!" Midoriya gasped.
"You should chalk up any deception to me, Izuku," Loki grinned. He slid a knife down his sleeve and picked the lock on the metal contraption holding Midoriya's arms together.
The two stood up as the dust cleared from Thor's attack. The King of Asgard immediately turned to them. "Are you alright, Izuku?"
For the first time in days, Deku was able to give a sincere smile to his mentor as he stretched out his hands and fingers. "I'm just glad to see you guys."
The reunion, however, was interrupted as a slow clapping came from across the lot. The three Asgardians turned to see All for One, unburying himself from the rubble of the wall he was smacked through, and shambling towards them.
"Thor, God of Thunder himself," he laughed, talking as though he was greeting an old friend instead of someone who had just sent him flying multiple meters. "I had a suspicious you might get involved, but I didn't dare myself to hope it."
Thor was taken aback. "What sorcery is this?! Your face should be a skidmark."
"No sorcery," the villain laughed. "You yelling about your silly attack gave me the time to activate several Durability and Hardening Quirks, a Lightning Rod Quirk to absorb most of the lightning, and a Rubber Quirk to nullify it. Even still..." he paused to crick his neck, "you're just as fearsome as all the textbooks say."
"I told you screaming before you hit things was a bad idea," Loki breathed.
Thor began spinning his hammer at his side. "Shut up and help me fight. Midoriya, get out of here."
"But I can help!" Midoriya insisted.
"I'm not losing you again!" Thor hissed, shoving Midoriya back with his free hand and stepping between him and the approaching All for One. "GO!"
Midoriya bit his lip, but turned and took off running as instructed. Not ten steps later, however, did another portal open up under him, and he fell through, getting spat out and stumbling onto the pavement a few feet away.
"Don't let him get away, Compress!" Kurogiri coughed, teleporting the rest of the League towards Midoriya.
From all fours on the ground, Midoriya saw Mr. Compress - the same man who kidnapped him - speeding towards him with another device used to restrict his hands and arms.
Something inside Midoriya snapped, and all the electricity he'd stored rocketed up his upper body, covering his pecks and arms. "I..."
He whipped himself up to his feet before Compress could activate his Quirk, and hit the villain with the Lightning Uppercut, "SAY THEE NAY!!!"
Midoriya jumped backwards, seeing blue flames screaming towards him, just licking the pavement he had just been.
"What's that bullshit even mean?" Dabi sneered.
He prepared another flame attack, but his confidence dwindled as suddenly thunder clapped overhead. He turned to see that as Thor and Loki battled All for One, the King of Asgard summoned a thunderstorm. Pouring rain followed, extinguishing Dabi's attack. "Shit," he muttered, turning back just in time to see Izuku plant his right fist between the villain's eyes.
Dabi was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Midoriya whirled around, seeing himself surrounded by Compress (who had gotten back up), Toga, Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Magne, and Spinner. And behind them, Twice was conjuring as many copies of them all as he could.
"Last warning," Midoriya said through grit teeth. "Let me go and no one has to get hurt."
"Oh honey," Magne scoffed. "There's no scenario where you get away from us."
The lightning on Midoriya's arms crackled. "You asked for it."
--
"He can't fight them by himself!" Todoroki whispered with his class mates.
"Even if he can take them, one touch from the hand guy could vaporize him!" Kirishima agreed.
Bakugou grinded his teeth together; with the rain, he could barely even use his explosions. "Shitty Deku, ruining his own rescue."
"No, he's not, kero," Asui croaked. "I have a plan!"
--
All for One's arm exploded into a giant, hardened, mass of muscle and was thrust towards Thor in a punch. Thor smacked the monstrous fist with Mjolnir, and was shocked that the force of All for One's blow pushed back, making him skid across the pavement.
"Don't you see, you alien fool," the villain sneered. "No matter how strong you are, I can just up my own power with stolen Quirks."
All for One prepared another powered up punch, but this time Thor beat him to it, throwing Mjolnir into the villain's face. The hammer returned to the god, and he blasted All for One with lightning. The villain was sent flying back, and as he hit the ground, Loki was there to stab One for All through the chest with his scepter.
"Not too good at this villain-business, are you?" Loki quipped with disdain.
The God of Mischief was shocked though, as the leader of the League grabbed his scepter and pulled it out of his chest with a menacing grin. "Oh, I think you'll find the business has changed, God of Mischief."
All for One sprang to his feet, and throwing the scepter to the side with Loki still attached. He stared down Thor when another voice boomed out.
"FEAR NOT ASGARDIANS, HELP HAS ARRIVED!!!!"
All for One looked up as another blonde in blue and red came speeding towards.
"FOR I AM HERE! DETROIT! SMAAAAAAAAASSSSSSHHH!"
All for One raised his arms and hardened them as much as he could, absorbing the punch from All Might as the Number One Hero entered dynamically into the fight.
"Ah yes, I've been expecting you, friend." He chuckled.
--
Midoriya slugged his way through various clones of Spinner and Toga, avoiding Compress so he wouldn't get shrunk again, and staying out of the line of Magne's Quirk.
This isn't going to work forever, he thought, feeling his breath get heavy. And with me here, All Might and Thor are sure to hold back. I need a way out of this.
He looked around himself as the League evaluated their next move. He had an answer for all of their attacks, and they were at a stalemate.
Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He glanced at it, and did a double take to see a disembodied hand sitting on it, with an ear floating nearby.
Setsuna?!
The hand pointed up towards the sky.
"You want me to blast myself upwards?"
The hand morphed into a thumbs up.
"Uh... okay."
As Dabi lunged for him, he slugged the burnt man across the face with an electrified hook, and jumped as high as he could with his Asgardian muscles. At the height of his jump, he used his hands to conjure an airblast at the ground, pushing himself upwards.
As he did this, Yaoyorozu covered Bakugou with a thick tarp, and the boy exploded the wall they were all behind. Todoroki constructed an ice ramp after, and the students all huddled together on it. Momo conjured a shopping cart, which they clung to. Iida grabbed the handle, while Bakugou leaned over his shoulders from inside the cart to add to their flight power with blasts. Asui herself was grabbing Iida's back, legs against the alley wall.
Iida activated his Recipro Boost as Asui pushed against the wall with her power, Quirk-enhanced frog legs. They went zooming over the air, right above Midoriya's fight with the League.
As Midoriya reached the climax of his wind-burst jump, Asui stretched her tongue down to him and wrapped it around his waist, just as she had done during the USJ incident.
As she pulled Midoriya up to the speeding shopping cart, a feeling of relief hit them.
"BAKUGOU NOW!" Kirishima yelled.
"GGGGRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Bakugou complied, fighting past the rain to produce the biggest explosions he could, propelling the getaway shopping cart.
"Wait, what the fuck is that?!" Twice cried from the ground.
"Magne, you have to launch Compress!" Shigaraki screamed, practically pulling his own hair out.
"R-right!" Magne agreed, and as Compress ran over to her, they took aim for the odd contraption of students flying through the air.
Even All Might, Thor, Loki, and All for One paused to look overhead.
This was good though, as Thor was able to see Compress be shot through the air towards them, and he threw Mjolnir right into the villain's stomach. The students all whooped and cheered as their getaway was successful.
In the split second Thor had aided his young ward, All for One activated a Speed Boosting Quirk, grabbed the God by the face, and used enhanced strength to slam the blonde to the ground.
"Very well," All for One seethed. "If I can't take the powers of the God of Thunder from Midoriya, then the original WILL HAVE TO DO!"
He again tried to sap Thor's abilities...
... and nothing happened.
"WHAT?!"
From the ground, Thor smirked, and lifted his hand. Mjolnir flew to it, smashing All for One in the back of the head. Thor sprang to his feet. "You foolish, mortal, cur."
The words were not Thor's normal booming battle voice, or jovial taunts. The words were cold as winter's wind.
As All for One stumbled to his feet, he was met with an uppercut from All Might. "Still trying to take powers to stop me, I see."
Loki, however, recognized the tone his brother had taken, and decided to back off.
With All for One reeling, Thor threw Mjolnir at him. The villain ducked, but Thor closed his fist. He will Mjolnir to curve back and strike the villain in the knee, knocking him on his back. He then willed the hammer to slam down and pin All for One to the pavement. "You dare to assume the powers of a god can be merely stolen?!"
As he wheezed from under the weight of Mjolnir, he gave a bitter laugh. "You're no god, Asgardian. You're just an alien with more Quirks than a human."
Thor's eyes sparked blue with outrage. "Aye. If that's what you truly believe, take your arrogance to a watery grave."
All Might looked to Thor incredulously. "Wait, what are you - ?!"
That was as much as the Symbol of Peace was able to get out before harsh winds began blowing him back. Even with his enhanced strength, All Might was taken by surprise as a hurricane seemed to form around Thor and All for One. Loki teleported next to him and moved the two of them several yards away as a torrential downpour ensued.
"Loki, what is he doing?!" All Might cried.
"Thor is quick to fight, but he usually prefers to swing something around and do the beating himself. Unfortunately, this All for One pushed him a bit past that..." Loki explained.
"What... what's past the usual beating?" All Might asked.
"Well, he's the God of Thunder, and the ruler of Asgard. With such, the power of nature itself is at his fingertips. I believe he's going to drop every torrential storm on All for One to finish him off for good." Loki said,squirming slightly.
"He'll level the whole city!"
"Yes, well, my dear brother doesn't always think things through."
--
At the other side of the fight, Shigaraki Tomura watched, helplessly. "We... we have to do something to save Sensei!" He cried to the rest of the League
He went to push his way through the winds towards the fight, but a nearby tree had been uprooted and just barely missed taking the villain's head. Kurogiri had to reach forward and pull the teen back.
"Young master, I don't think the Asgardian will let us get close!"
"Your job is to get anywhere!" Shigaraki shouted, enraged. "Get me to Sensei!"
Kurogiri paused, but opened a portal, allowing the two of them to get into the vortex Thor had created.
Shigaraki wasted no time charging at the god, but all Thor had to do was glance at the teen for a bolt of lightning to blast the Decay user out of the wind tunnel.
All for One choked, barely able to breathe in the hurricane winds and rain pounding against his face. "Get - get - get HIM OUT OF HERE!"
"S-sure thing, boss," Kurogiri said, shakily. He opened vortexes all over the destroyed warehouse, scooping up the members of the League, Shigaraki included, and whisking them as far away as he could.
All for One watched him vanish, gasping. "Such power... I could do... so much with this power if you gave it to me."
Thor's eyes glowed angrily. "You arrogant fool. Don't you see? This is not a superpower or Quirk to just give and take."
Lightning crashed from the sky, striking Mjolnir and electrifying All for One. Even with all the Rubberifying Quirks he could muster, he screamed in pain at the sheer force of nature's might.
"The power of the God of Thunder is a divine right, bestowed by the All-Father. AND YOU. ARE. NOT. WORTHY!"
At the words, Thor opened his arms to allow the rain of the heavens to swallow up All for One for good. But instead, All Might had made a might leap over and into the wind vortex, and came crashing down towards them.
"THAT'S ENOUGH THOR! I'LL TAKE IT FROM HERE!"
Thor looked up at All Might careening towards them. "NAY! I will teach this creature most foul a lesson!"
"No, Thor!" All Might reared back his fist. "Midoriya is free. Go to him! He needs you! And besides..."
All Might put as much power into his fists as he could. It was different, though. Having just passed One for All on to Mirio, he knew he'd have less power in his attacks, but he didn't think it would be this bad. Still, he pushed through it. If he let Thor keep this up, the whole city could suffer damage.
"... this IS MY ARCHFIEND!" All Might finished.
Thor paused, remembering his own rivalries. Begrudgingly, he stepped back, allowing the winds to die down, and the rain to subside. "... aye. Hit him good"
"I WILL!" All Might grinned, "I'LL ENJOY THIS! UNITED... STATES... OF... SMASH!!!!!"
All Might hit his biggest punch on All for One, who was still pinned under Mjolnir and reeling from being nearly drowned. All for One's facial muscles and bones shattered under the impact.
--
When Midoriya and the rest of the UA students had landed, they needed to blend in with a crowd so as not to raise suspicion. But when they did, their attention had been drawn to a jumbo news screen, broadcasting the fight between All for One, Thor, and All Might.
And while everyone was in shock and awe at the reemergence of Thor after centuries of just being a historical figure, Midoriya saw, for the first time in his whole relationship with the god, just what he had to live up to.
His eyes watered, but he smiled.
Midoriya was free now. And his goals had never been more clear to him than they were now.