Hello crazy, beautiful world! It is I! The Scribe! How is everyone doing? Is life going well?
Reviews: DeadRich18, thank you so much for your kind words! I am so glad you happened upon my work and thanks for the genuine criticisms, I've been combing the previous chapters for any mistakes missed! As for your concern over Angel getting a (laughs) reverse harem, don't worry, that is not what I was trying to set up with her interactions with other characters! The connections being made are meant to be realistic and accurate to how the characters would work off each other, I have plans as to why certain characters are acting the way they are around Angel and they are NOT romantic in nature. This way, WAY further down the line, when a pairing does happen, it will be believable and satisfying. That and I don't have the confidence that I could write a polygamic relationship and not make it feel cheesy.
Now with that finished, lets start the show!
Borderlands is owned by Gearbox and 2KGames and My Hero Academia is owned by Kohei Horikoshi and Funimation. Please support the official release.
Please rate and review!
"This means someone is talking."
'This means someone is thinking to themselves.'
This means it's a flashback.
*This means it's a sound effect!*
{This means I'm speaking in a different language!}
Angel in a Gilded Cage
"W-W-Wait, you're serious?!" Toru tripped over her tongue in response to Angel's statement, not that she could blame her. By all accounts it was a dangerous decision. They were students, barely trained, only four days into their first semester, facing off against ruthless villains with the lofty ambition to kill the strongest hero the world had ever known, with a confidence that alluded to the possibility they might be capable of the dirty deed.
That wasn't even counting the other dilemma she had been confronted with, fighting off her attackers earlier.
But she remembered the promise she made to herself, six months ago. A promise that asked if she was going to let someone die when she could have done something about it.
Her answer?
'Never again.'
"Yes!" She said adamantly. "I'm not saying we go down there to fight bad guys with him, but if there's anything WE can do to help, we should do it!"
Both of her classmates remained silent, the invisible girl fidgeting nervously. "Still… so much can go wrong." She mumbled.
"You don't have to come with me Toru, neither of you do, I understand. But…" Angel breathed in shakily. "...this is something I must do. It's just like you said before Toru. I can't stand by knowing that he could die. To try to help people despite the risk… isn't that what a hero does?"
Toru went quiet again, leaving Angel to wait for her answer.
"If… we go down there and it's too dangerous… we will leave right?"
Angel nodded. She heard Toru breathe deeply, mustering her courage.
"A-Alright then. I'm with you Angel-chan!"
She smiled with relief. "Thank you Toru-chan." She had her new friend on board, now to see if she could convince the other, who had yet to weigh in on the conversation.
"Todoroki-kun, are you coming too?" She turned to the stoic boy.
"I was going to head down regardless if you two came or not." He stated. "I'll stay here for a bit and see if I can get anything else out of these grunts. For all we know, we're being lied to."
"I swear man, I'm not lying!" The interrogated criminal cried.
"We'll see about that." Todoroki answered ominously before returning his attention to her. "I'll catch up to you two soon. Stay out of sight and don't do anything reckless. Good luck." He said, turning back to his captives who quailed in fear.
"See you then. Let's go." She waved to Toru, leading the girl down the frozen ridge and leaving the bicolored student to his interrogation.
Between the unstable terrain and keeping watch for any villains who hadn't been detained by Todoroki, it was a slow and precarious trek down the landslide zone. Toru asked her if she could fly them both down the hillside, to which she answered no, explaining how the light radiating from wings would make them too visible as they approached the centre of the complex. A side note, a headache was brewing from using her phasebolts and wings during her earlier conflict and when she fell from the portal. She wanted to keep herself in as best shape as possible where they were going.
Angel had also been hoping to have Todoroki along as backup, but verifying the villain's story made sense. He was the only one out of three of them who could be intimidating afterall.
As they tried not to stumble on the loose dirt and rocks, Angel mulled over what the villain said.
"The big freaky guy with the purple skin and the brain! He's supposed to be some kind of superhuman or something, they wouldn't tell us! All they said was that he was All-Might equal, whatever that means!"
Superhuman. Why did he use that word? In a society where the vast majority of the population had some form of unnatural ability, abnormal was the new normal. Such a term was obsolete in such a world. The only one who could qualify for the term would be All-Might with how much overwhelming power he possessed, beyond the limits of any other quirk that existed, as far as she knew. It was part of his whole image, that he was untouchable, that nothing could stop him from saving the day. That's what made people feel safe at night.
The image worked, possibly a little too well as she had never considered the possibility that someone could be All-Might's equal.
Then there was how the villain had sounded, describing the "weapon". Villains had learned a long time ago that the symbol of peace was in a league of his own, that's why crime had plummeted so far in the last couple decades. The villain's claims didn't sound like bravado. More like genuine fear and awe. As if he couldn't believe it himself.
Regardless if his story was credible or not, it didn't give her a good feeling.
"I hope Sensei is alright." She muttered aloud.
"Me too." Toru agreed.
Finally, they made it to the dividing wall for the landslide zone. Trailing along the tall barrier, they eventually found the double doors to the outside.
"Nnngh!" Toru pressed against the doors. "It won't budge! Is it locked?"
"Probably. Give me a second." Angel stepped over and placed her hand on the keypad on the wall.
"Executing phaseshift." Her tattoos shone as she mentally commanded the locks to open. A second later, the console gave a green light.
"Wow…" Toru breathed with excitement. "I heard all about you controlling machines the other day, but to see it happen? What was that thing you said by the way? Phaseshift? Why do you say that? Is it like a name for your super move or something?!"
Angel's cheeks burned as she scratched behind her ear awkwardly.
"It's… more like a habit from when I was a kid. I picked it up by watching heroes on tv, where they would yell their "super moves" when they used them. It kind of helps me clear my thoughts and focus on what I want the machines to do. I don't really need to do it, but I feel like it helps. Like a placebo."
"I think I get it! It's super cool too, you have a super move already!"
"I suppose so. Now lets be quiet, we need to focus." Angel gently reminded her friend.
"Right! Sorry!"
"It's okay. Can you open the door and check outside?"
"Yeah, good call! Here we go!" Toru breathed in and slowly pushed on the door, easing it open bit by bit. When the gap was wide enough, they waited for a second, listening to make sure no one had seen the door open. When they heard nothing, Toru stuck her head out. A couple seconds later;
"Okay! We're clear! There's the trees near the courtyard straight ahead, we can hide there!" She whispered.
"Good. On the count of three, we run to the trees. One…" Both girls tensed. "Two…Three!"
Toru pushed the door open for both of them to exit. As soon as their feet hit the concrete, both girls sprinted to cross the wide open space as fast as they could, as if they were soldiers running from trench to trench, praying that no one saw them on the metaphorical no-man's land.
After what felt like an eternity of running, Angel and Toru rested under the shade of the planted trees, hiding amongst the bushes.
"Do... you think... anyone saw us?" Angel whispered, scanning their surroundings as she caught her breath. She didn't see anyone anywhere except the various forms beyond the fountain and at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the entrance.
"Nah." Toru huffed, equally breathless. "I think we're good! Where do we go from here?"
Angel thought for a moment, considering their options. They needed to find out if Aizawa needed help, so they needed to get closer. Toru could probably scout ahead if she took off what little clothes she had, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea if they separated too far. They needed a closer vantage point to spy on the situation nearby. The only other landmark around was the fountain at the centre of the complex, the basin coming up to their waists, providing enough cover to spy on the brawl nearby.
"Alright. How about this? You creep over to the fountain," Angel explained as she made a walking gesture with her fingers. "I'll keep on watch while you get there, then you signal me over once you're sure no one is looking. Sounds like a plan?"
"As best as any." Toru answered reluctantly. Slowly, she left the relative safety of the foliage and crept towards the quiet fountain, keeping her gloves low to the ground near her shoes to prevent them from being easily spotted. All the while Angel kept her head on a swivel, vigilant for any villains nearby, yet just like the last time the area was vacant, the only ones around was the group they were sneaking up on. She returned her attention to Toru, who had just made it to the fountain base, crouching down behind the stone basin. A couple seconds passed as Angel presumed Toru was looking over the edge, before the invisible girl's glove beckoned anxiously.
Taking a deep breath, Angel followed her partner's example, keeping herself low while she scampered across the wide open space. Her fear ramped up as soon as she started, as compared to Toru she was a lot more visible.
Finally, she made it to the fountain, dropping herself down behind the basin. Straining her ears she could just barely make out distant conversation.
"What do you see?" She whispered.
"Nothing good…" Toru answered, her voice trembling.
Filled with dread, Angel raised her head above the ledge.
Scattered about the plaza where comatose villains, some in piles, all beaten and blue. Only a few of them were still standing, but two individuals stood out against the remains of the invading force where the portal first opened.
First there was a slim man dressed in a simple black shirt and pants and...
"T-Those aren't… real hands r-right?" Toru asked frightfully. Adorning the man's body were pale human hands, grasping onto his limbs, the sides of his torso, neck, head and covering his face where disheveled grayish, blue hair peeked out from between the fingers.
Angel wished she could say they weren't real but she didn't know.
Sitting across from him was a massive man, even larger than Brick, the biggest person she had ever seen. He was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of beige cargo shorts.
There was something else. His tough skin, crisscrossed with scars, was dark purple. Following his body up to see his face, her eyes met with a ghastly visage. The creature had a long gaping maw of jagged, blade like teeth. The top of the creature's skull was exposed, making her stomach churn at the sight of its pink, wrinkly brain out in the open.
But the scariest part?
The eyes embedded in either side of his brain. Tiny pinpricks for pupils, they didn't expand or contract or move, they just stared off into the distance.
Unblinking, empty, lifeless. Like a puppet. She couldn't even call it human.
There was no doubt in her mind.
"That… thing is the weapon." She said.
"Y-Yeah… has to be." Toru agreed.
"How is it? The power of the artificial human, Nomu?" The thin man rasped, his voice like sandpaper.
'Who is he talking to?' Angel thought, following his gaze to where the "Nomu" was sitting.
She heard a grunt of pain as it wordlessly lifted something that it was crouched over.
Angel's eyes widened as she covered her mouth in despair.
Clenched in the creature's hand was a human arm! The elbow was shattered and twisted in the abomination's fist like it was crushing straw, streams of blood pouring down the forearm to the ground! Attached to the adjoining shoulder, a shaggy mane of black hair.
"Sensei… no…" Toru's voice cracked.
Aizawa, the pro hero Eraserhead, their teacher, was powerless and being manhandled like a doll.
"Quiet! He's-He's still alive!" Angel swallowed.
For now, went unsaid.
"Negating quirks…" The thin man continued. "A useful ability that you used well… but it's nothing against pure, overwhelming power." He said as the Nomu switched its grip to Aizawa's other arm.
There was an audible crack, immediately followed by her teacher's scream full of agony as his other arm was crushed.
Angel stifled a cry, desperately trying to keep quiet. The creature continued mercilessly, grabbing Aizawa's head and slammed it into the ground so hard it cracked the stone.
She flinched at the sight.
"This is the worst… we shouldn't have come here..!" Toru mumbled, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
Angel had bore witness to many terrible things, but nothing could prepare her for seeing such wanton brutality in the flesh.
Worst of all, all she could do was watch, paralyzed by fear and the knowledge that she couldn't do anything about it. It was the worst feeling in the world, knowing that you were useless. There was nothing she could do, no tricks or tactics she could think of that could combat this creature power. No plan. No options. She didn't even know what the blue haired man's quirk was.
Speaking of, the way he was acting, gloating over Aizawa and talking about this "Nomu"... was he the leader? Was this "Shigaraki"?
'Wait..!" She twitched as she put things together."...if he's the leader, then the creature follows his orders like the villain said! Then that means-!'
"Ah!" She heard Toru gasp, interrupting her theorizing. "Look." She pointed a glove back towards the scene.
Looking beyond the two villains, Angel spied something peering over the edge of the shore in the flood zone.
Three familiar faces. Midoriya, Asui and Mineta. Angel's heart soared despite the circumstances, thankful that they all seemed to be alright and that they apparently had the same idea as she did.
A small spark of hope ignited itself in her chest as the naïve thought that all together they could save their teacher crossed her mind. But she decided against it. Sure, Midoriya might be able to blow away the creature if he used a fully powered punch, but there were too many variables for her to consider that an option. For all she knew, it might not work against this "Nomu", Asui's frog quirk wouldn't do much if Midoriya's didn't and Mineta (his hair was like detachable sticky balls if she remembered correctly) probably wouldn't be any better. In the end, she couldn't rely on them acting according to her plan and they had no means of communication without alerting the villains to their presence.
And again she still didn't know what the blue-haired man's quirk was either! If only she had some clues.
Glancing about, she looked for anything like some battle damage he had caused, any residue or blast marks. Then her eyes flicked over to Aizawa's still body, then locked onto a small point of his right elbow and she almost gagged in revulsion.
The skin on his elbow was dry and cracked, crumbling off his body like dry earth, revealing the muscles beneath. It was like it had disintegrated.
'Disintegrated…' She pondered, remembering the Yūei barrier the other day.
In a flash, she came to a disturbing possibility.
Was that the thin man's quirk? Disintegration? Or was it something left over from one of the other villains? At this point she could only make an assumption.
"Shigaraki-sama…" A familiar, deep voice echoed through the air. Space near the thin man curled in on itself and the black mist villain swirled into existence.
"Shigaraki-sama?! He's the leader!" She gasped. Her first theory was confirmed! Thus the beginnings of an idea start to appear. A risky, dangerous idea, but the only one that came to mind.
"Kurogiri… Have you taken care of Thirteen and the students?" The newly dubbed Shigaraki asked.
"I have incapacitated her… unfortunately a single student managed to slip by me… he's running for assistance as we speak." He reported regretfully.
'Someone got out?! He's running?! Is he talking about Iida?!' Angel questioned.
"What..?" Shigaraki muttered. "Hnnng…" He seethed, a hand rising to absently scratch at his neck, slowly picking up speed where his second joined the first as he became more and more agitated, clawing at his throat.
"You… idiot! You had one job! If you weren't our fast travel I swear I'd..!" He snarled as he continued scratching.
'Fast travel?' Angel blinked at the odd terminology, while still being unnerved by the man's unhinged behaviour.
"We can't last against the entire faculty! We..!" Then he abruptly stopped his wringing his own neck and let out a sigh, visibly becoming more calm and a little resigned. "Shit… We failed… It's game over… nothing else to do but head home…"
"They're leaving?!" Toru breathed in hopefully while Angel furrowed her brow.
Hadn't they come to kill All-Might?! They had lost a considerable amount of their forces by Aizawa and Todoroki alone, let alone any others fighting the rest of the class. If they left now, wouldn't it be their loss, leaving without completing their objective and alerting Yūei and the world of their existence?
"But before we do that…" He lifted a finger. "...let's have a little fun…"
He turned and looked directly at Midoriya and his companions.
"...and kill the symbol's treasure!" He giggled gleefully.
Time seemed to slow down as she watched him dash towards the water, hand outstretched! This villain, the one who wanted to kill All-Might, was about to kill her classmates and her first friend.
The moment she came to that realization, her mind went blank, except for one thought, a plan that she had been against since it was conceived, out of fear that it wouldn't work and by all accounts it wouldn't. It was foolish, suicidal even.
But it was the only thing that came to mind.
Her ears barely picked up Toru's yelp in surprise, quickly turning to horror as she bolted from their hiding place, eyes locked onto the blackclad form ahead. So focused on preventing this tragedy, she failed to notice her markings blazing to life almost instantly, not even when she aimed down with her hand.
"STOP!" She yelled.
Shigaraki stopped in his tracks, a foot away from grabbing Asui's head and turned back along with everyone else there except for the Nomu who didn't move a muscle.
All eyes were on her.
"Step away from them right now! O-Or I'll shoot!" She ordered, her glowing fingers pointed for Shigaraki's chest! Her heart was hammering in her chest and her hands were sweating, but she did not waver. She stared the villain down with as much intensity as she could muster.
"Oh..? A new player..?" Shigaraki mused with intrigue.
"Shigaraki-sama!" Kurogiri called out to her right.
"My bolts travel at the speed of a b-bullet!" She lied, making him stop. "A shot from this range cannot be avoided or survived! I-If you don't want anything to happen to him... you won't move an inch!" She threatened, trying her damnedest to sound as serious as possible. She needed to make it clear that she would end this man's life, even if she really didn't want to. She didn't have any other steps to her plan, at this point she was just buying time for Midoriya and the rest to escape, but for that she needed the villains to think that she wasn't bluffing.
It was true that nothing got results like a death threat.
You still need to sell it though.
"Tch-! Impudent little..!" The mist villain spat.
"Calm down Kurogiri…" Shigaraki placated his minion.
Then he turned his head to her and Angel took a sharp intake of breath as a lock of hair parted from his face, revealing a crimson eye, glittering with unhinged amusement. Stabbing into her soul like a scalpel wielded by a mad surgeon.
"I want to see her do it." He said eagerly.
*Crack!*
Everyone but the two of them flinched at the spark that jumped from the girl's arm.
Angel's mind raced. He wanted her to shoot him?! Was he calling her bluff or was he completely insane?!
"Wha-What are you playing at?!" She demanded.
"What I'm playing at... is that I am curious…" He explained, tilting his head. "Genuinely curious…to know if you have what it takes to kill me."
Angel jolted, the villain continuing his soliloquy.
"Killing… it becomes easier over time… at the beginning you won't be able to live with yourself. Thinking… what have I done? Why did I do it? Then… after a while you rationalize it… as if trying to forgive yourself. Self defence… it was them or me."
"D-Daddy? Why did you do that?" She whimpered. "W-Why did you..? Why did you k-kill h-?"
"Nonono, don't cry Angel!" He stepped away from the man, slumped against the wall, a pool of red spreading on the cold floor. "H-He was a bad man okay? He wanted to take you away from me baby! Y-You don't want that do you?!"
"After that… you start to not care anymore. Or maybe even..." His eyelids curled under his mask, he was smiling. "Begin to enjoy it!"
She watched through the camera feed, staring horrified as the older man under him gasped and writhed with the watch chain around his throat. All the while he smiled broadly.
"Mr Tassiter? Mr Tassiter, are you there?" The voice of the dying man's secretary called on his desk phone.
"Mr Tassiter's been replaced, sweetcheeks! Starting today, you're working for me!" He answered with relish, followed by a snap.
"The rush… the sense of power! It'll come naturally after that! That first death… will haunt you forever… but soon enough... you will treasure it." He lightly caressed the hand covering his face.
The markings shifted from blue to white.
His nonchalant and composed attitude that defied all logical sense unraveled her more and more.
"W-Why are you..?!" She choked out, her hand shaking as it glowed brighter.
"Why am I telling you this? Because if you don't want to be like me… you won't be able to pull the "trigger"."
*Crack! Crack!* More sparks popped and snapped.
"Yes… you can't stand the thought of that, right?" He needled her mercilessly.
His voice overlapped with his. His face leered from behind the hands. But the sadistic red eyes, they stayed the same.
"But if you don't shoot me… I'm going to kill you, your Sensei and your little friends!" He had his arms out to the sides, palms out, as if beckoning to her.
*Crack! Crack! Crack!* The sparks spilled en masse.
"So go ahead! Shoot me! Be the hero you want to be! Kill me to save them!" He goaded, his voice becoming more excited and impatient with every second. He took a step forward.
"S-Shut up!" She quavered, taking a step back. "Just shut up!"
"It's them or me "Hero"! What's it going to be?!" Both voices demanded, picking up their pace, faster and faster. "Shoot me, hehehe! Shoot me! Be the "hero" that you were meant to be! Shoot me! Become just like me!" He dashed forward, hand outstretched and eyes blazing with madness.
Something snapped. The sparks coursed up and down Angel's arm, coalescing towards the end of her fingers.
"I'm not you!" She denied vehemently.
Her blood burned like fire. A low, yet piercing hum began to rise, making her bones tremble and quake. Her hair whipped around her head from an unseen force.
"I'm not you!" She denied again.
Shigaraki stopped in his tracks, eyes widening as he noted he might have gone too far. He stared directly into the girl's tearful eyes, the blue of her irises shimmering to white as she teetered on the brink of despair. They trembled with a primal terror, like a cornered animal.
"I'M NOT YOOOOOU!" She screamed.
The world shook and flooded with light.
*BOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Erupting from her fingers came a roaring beam of pure white energy. It surged forward, racing to meet with the thin man, who was feeling much like a deer staring into the headlights.
"Nomu!" He gaped.
There was a blur as he was engulfed in the light, the beam continuing unabated. It went beyond the central plaza, parting the water of the flood zone like the Red Sea until it finally reached the bottom of the simulated rapids.
*BRAKABOOOOOOOOOOM!" The resulting explosion shook the Earth, followed by the groan of metal and stone as the giant water slide was rend in two, the top half groaning as it toppled over and fell into the lake with a mighty splash.
Smoke and dust blanketed the world around her. Her arm was still crackling from left over energy, trembling with every shaky breath she took out of exhaustion and shock.
Angel just stood there, in the aftermath of her actions, filling with horror.
"No… no…" She whimpered, clutching the offending hand as if trying to blame it solely for what had just happened. "I... lost control… not again!" She cried.
And her body paid the toll.
*Badmp!* The single greatest wave of pain she had ever felt coursed through her body all at once, like a bolt of lightning.
"YEEEAGH!" She shrieked as she clutched her pulsing head. Disoriented from the pain, she stumbled and collapsed. Her body convulsed with every aftershock, an agonized shudder escaping her mouth every time. There she lay, curled up in a ball of suffering and self-loathing and the only coherent thought that came to mind in the moment:
'Did… I kill him..?' She thought, full of dread.
"Oi, oi!" She shuddered and fearfully craned her neck as much as she could.
Just in time for the cloud of smoke to reveal Shigaraki on his back, unharmed.
"What kind of cheat skill was that?! There wouldn't be anything left of me if Nomu didn't take it!"
'!'
The smoke curled back and she was immediately filled with horror.
Standing in the trench made by her attack stood the Nomu, the entire right side of his torso burned away. Everything down from his collar bone to the top of his thigh was gone, the blackened tips of his rib cage poking out of the wound. There he stood somehow, in death, as a grim testament to her failure.
It was at the moment Angel fell to her absolute lowest, beholding the devastation she had caused.
It didn't matter that he was a villain. It didn't matter that he had almost killed her teacher. It didn't matter that he resembled a monster more than a man. The fact still remained.
She had killed him.
Darkness consumed her.
Izuku struggled to catch his breath as he stared in disbelief. He had been helplessly watching Hodunk threaten the villain's leader after he, Asui and Mineta were discovered. He hadn't even seen where she came from. Paralyzed with fear, he could only watch him, Shigaraki, shake his friend with each word out of his mouth as he called her bluff. When the villain moved to attack her he stepped onto the stone floor to come to her aid.
Then she screamed and fired.
Izuku would have been obliterated if Asui hadn't pulled him out of the way with her prehensile tongue.
It was a mind blowing sight to behold, a focused beam of pure energy that destroyed everything in its path. His ears were still ringing! It would have been awe-inspiring if there wasn't the fact that his friend may have killed the lead villain and almost erased him in the process. She clearly hadn't meant to let loose such a dangerous attack, she was in a stressful, precarious situation. He couldn't claim that he wasn't guilty of the same thing with One for All to be fair.
"Wow…" Mineta breathed next to him, shaking anxiously. "Who knew Hodunk-san had so much power under the hood?!"
"That was bigger than Bakugo's gauntlet cannon kero." Asui noted.
"You think she blew all the bad guys away?!" The smaller boy asked hopefully, despite the fact that a hero shouldn't say such a thing.
"Oi, oi!" They all flinched at a familiar, rasping voice. "What kind of cheat skill was that?! There wouldn't be anything left of me if Nomu didn't take it!"
'What?!' Izuku thought as he peered over the lip of the artificial lake. Shigaraki was still alive. Lying on his back to the side of the beam's path, he was completely unharmed.
The smoke cleared and Izuku almost gagged.
The Nomu had been fast enough to push Shigaraki out of the way and he was missing half of his body. How was he still standing?! Was he dead?!
"Hodunk-san…"Asui said fearfully, making Izuku look frantically for his friend beyond the villains.
Eventually the smoke cleared, revealing her lying on the ground with her eyes closed, her body twitching every so often.
'Oh no! She overused her quirk!' He thought, his mind scrambling to come up with a plan.
"Shigaraki-sama!" The mist villain, Kurogiri, Izuku recalled, moved from the clouds of dust so he was next to his leader. "Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine… Nomu pushed me out of the way…"
The mist gave what could be perceived as a sigh of relief and turned to the scene. "What power… I've never seen such a thing."
'They're distracted. Maybe if we blindside them we can grab Angel-chan and Aizawa-sensei and make a run for it now that that Nomu thing is dead!'
"To do so much damage to Nomu…" Shigaraki continued. "Who was made to surpass All-Might...Speaking of which…" He turned to the creature.
"Nomu, pull yourself back together." He ordered.
At the villain's behest, the standing corpse started to shudder and move.
"That thing is still alive?!" Mineta gasped as all three of them watched a scene straight out of a horror film. The creature's flesh started to bubble and stretch. Then the charred tissue flaked away and fell from his body as new muscles and bones began to grow from the wound, expanding and moving until he had regrown the missing part of his torso and his arm.
'He has a regeneration quirk?!' Izuku gaped as the grotesque process finished, all of the catastrophic damage Hodunk caused was negated. Now he had no clue what to do.
"Now that he's back up… we should think about what we're doing next." Shigaraki muttered. "I kinda want to kill that hero brat for almost hitting me with a destruction wave!"
Izuku's blood ran cold as the villain stepped over to the unconscious girl, hand outstretched with malicious intent.
"Shigaraki-sama, Master might find her useful." Kurogiri protested, making the other villain glare.
"Yeah… you're right, but that doesn't mean I can't rot her face a little!"
At those words, Izuku was already leaping across the yard, all logical thinking absent as he cocked his fist back.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" He roared, his fist filled with power as the villain turned to face him.
"Nomu."
"SMASH!" The air boomed from the explosive force of his punch.
Izuku blinked, noticing a distinct lack of pain in his body.
'My arm?! It isn't broken?! I used One for All and I'm fine?! I did it!" He thought in triumph. "I controlled One for All! I saved Angel-chan! I-!"
The dust cleared.
His fist was firmly planted in a muscular, purple abdomen. Not a scratch. Looking up, he was met with the horrifying teeth filled maw and blank stare of Nomu.
'Huh?! What?! How?! He moved so fast! My smash didn't work?!'
"You're still here? Should have ran under that smokescreen." Shigaraki said behind the monster. "Smash? Trying to emulate All-Might?"
Nomu grabbed onto Izuku's arm, making him cry out in fright as he was effortlessly lifted off the ground.
"Whatever… now you're going to be torn apart while you watch me ruin your friend's face!" He said and turned back to the prone girl.
'No! No! Angel-chan!' He despaired as he fruitlessly tried to break out of the monster's grip which was quickly tightening.
*BOOM!* A loud explosion of sound echoed from the main doors, making everyone look to the entrance.
A cloud of dust swirled at the top of the stairs, billowing around a tall silhouette.
"Everything is going to be alright now." A loud voice boomed in the echoing silence as the man stopped at the staircase.
"Why?!" The figure asked as the dust settled, a furious scowl on his face.
"FOR I! AM! HERE!"
"ALL-MIGHT!" Mineta cheered!
"Ah…" Shigaraki murmured eagerly. "We got a continue!"
To be continued...