I own nothing, as usual. Do enjoy!
Blood, Fire, and Tears
"Remember your backfire technique." Jeong Jeong reminded his student. "It is an effective tool in situations such as this."
"Yes Sensei." Shoto replied, sending both fire and ice to extinguish the flames throughout Hosu City. The idea behind "backfire" was to create a new fire next to pre-existing one, snuffing each other out, and it was working. Not long after the two entered the city for their patrol, chaos involving multiple Nomu ensued. Jeong Jeong was putting in work too, creating tornadoes of fire to carry civilians away and to slow down the abominations. But not by much.
"Sensei!" Shoto called. "I know these things! They're just meat puppets, mindless!"
"How concerning." Jeong Jeong muttered. "Stay back then!" He faced an eyeless Nomu as it ran forward.
FWOOOOOOOSH Fire erupted directly into its exposed brain, nearly turning blue in heat. The creature collapsed, not moving an inch. The retired hero took a moment to bow to his fallen opponent.
Shoto continued putting out fires and guiding civilians when he received a ding from his phone. He checked it quickly.
…
"Midoriya."
"What are you doing?" Jeong Jeong shouted. "Checking your cell phone at a time like thi-hey! Where are you going?!"
Shoto was already sprinting away from the fight. "Where I'm needed most! My friend is in trouble!" He followed the pinned location…
xXx
Minutes earlier…
Hero Killer Stain paid no mind to the chaos happening in Hosu. If that manchild wants to throw a tantrum in this city, then he was welcome to. But he had a duty to perform. And that duty was right in from of him, clenched in his grimy hand.
"Please…let me go…" the Pro Hero groaned. For one reason or another, Native couldn't move a muscle as soon as he was cut by this monster. Stain bared over the Native-American themed hero.
"And fail to purge more corruption from the world? I think not false-hero."
"Please…I have family!"
"Excuses." He lifted his katana. "Die."
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH"
SLAM
What looked like a shiny chrome missile slammed into the Hero Killer, who staggered and jumped back from the sudden attack. An armored hero stood in place, looking at the ragged man furiously. 'He seems…familiar somehow…' Stain wondered to himself.
"You…you're the Hero Killer, aren't you?" The boy panted. 'A child? They get younger and younger. Disgusting.'
"I knew you'd be here." The boy said lowly. "That you'd be in Hosu. You know how I knew?" He took off his helmet, dropping it to the ground. Suddenly, the resemblance was clear. The armor, the face, clearly related to that Iida fake. "Because you hurt my brother. He'll never walk again because of you!" he began to shout. "I, Ingenium, will destroy you! Hero Killer Stain!"
The ex-vigilante narrowed an eye towards Tenya Iida. "…listen well." In the blink of an eye, Stain rushed forward, forcing Iida to a knee with a sword at his throat. "You are clearly not a hero yet, boy. And I don't typically kill children. However, what you are talking about is revenge, which isn't very heroic is it?" He pressed his katana further, spilling a drop of blood from the child's neck. "If you want to live, turn around and go back the way you came."
Iida shook with rage at this villain's audacity. "You're trying to tell me what's heroic! I'LL KILL YOU!" He howled.
Stain shook his head slightly. "So be it."
In a flash, the sword slashed across Tenya's face, coating his face in blood. As Tenya reeled in pain, Stain kicked his back, sending his rolling. Iida moved to get up, to murder this bastard, but was frozen in place.
"What a pity…being corrupted so young…" Stain muttered as he licked his blade with his long tongue. "You are just as false a hero as your scum of a brother. You deserve to die just as he did."
"YOU'RE…WRONG!" Iida screamed from his position. "MY BROTHER WAS A NOBLE, FEARLESS MAN. A MAN WHO ALWAYS PUT OTHERS FIRST AND STRIVED FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE! AND YOU CRIPPLED HIM FOR LIFE!" Blood and tears streamed down his face as he yelled in grief. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DESERVES TO DIE! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Stain leaned forward, close enough for him to hear. "Or you could save him?" The murderer pointed back to Native, who was still frozen. "You had multiple opportunities to do your duty as a hero and save that guy. But you chose revenge." He lifted his sword, ready to purge the hero-in-training from the world.
Iida tried desperately to move, but couldn't. Not an inch. "…no matter what you say," he grunted "YOU'RE STILL THE MAN WHO HURT MY BROTHER!"
The sword came down.
A flash of green!
"SMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSH!"
xXx
"Bandit! Toph! Where are you going? You need to help with the fire!" Mirko shouted as she wrestled with a monster.
"No time! Someone's about to die!" Toph shouted back. "When you're done here, go four kilometers northwest, east of the roundabouts!" She erected her stone ride and sped away.
"No! Dammit, Beifong!" Mirko yelled after her. She focused on her fight, which she was winning, but this this thing sure is durable. She rolled with an overpowered punch and jumped back into the fight. "Can't stop her…got too much on my plate…" She heaved, throwing the Nomu into the air and giving it a spinning kick. "Whatever you're getting into, fight to win kid." She grunted.
xXx
Toph sped through the destroyed city, dodging debris and crashing through obstacles in her path. Most parts were decimated and abandoned as most were already evacuated, so she didn't concern herself with property damage. Right now, her priority was getting to Iida and now Midoriya, who pooped up on her radar a while ago and found him. She also felt a weird weight building towards the fight, which she recognized instantly. She rode up near the black and white hero.
"'Sup, Half N Half." She called. "You're headed there too?"
He seemed surprised by her appearance but went with the flow. Strange day after all. "Yes, Midoriya sent his location and nothing else. I assumed he was in trouble."
"He and Sonic too, Todo. Jump on, save your strength!" She offered. Shoto moved closer and blasted himself onto the Rock Slider with a bit of fire. "Thank you. You said Iida as well?"
"Yeah, he's not moving, but he's breathing. Midoriya's fighting with a guy." She sped up as she spoke. He is armed, practically covered in blades; even his shoes have spikes." The duo crashed through a pile of rubble, unharmed. "We're almost there, what's the plan?"
"Anyone else there?"
"Yeah, some other dude is leaned up on a wall. He's not moving either. Shit! Midoriya's stuck! He can't move!" She yelled.
"Alright," Todoroki took a breath, stoking his flames. "here's the plan…"
xXx
Meanwhile…at Jango Asylum…
Endeavor slammed open the doors of the mental hospital. Of course he got the notification about Hosu, but he was too far out to be much good at the moment. Besides, he had other, more pressing business. A lady at the front desk tried to guide him, but it took one glare to put her down. Enji Todoroki knew exactly where he was going.
Of course, this was a different facility from the one of his estranged wife. There was no way he'd ever put her in the same place as Rei. Not in a million years. He quickly found the melted ward, where police had the entire corridor locked down.
"Endeavor-san." A deputy saluted the #2 Hero. "I'm glad you're here, but this may be a bit personal for you."
The imposing man raised an eyebrow. "I doubt you have much say in the matter. I put her here, I need to keep her here. Understood?"
"Y-yes sir." The deputy stood down as the blazing hero moved past him. The padded room was a smoldering charred mess. The lock was clearly melted down rather than being picked open and the room was simply blasted apart until the inhabitant found the outside. Endeavor gazed around the room until he found it, a partially destroyed metal collar. He picked it up, still hot to the touch.
"Tell me Detective," he addressed the presiding officer. "How did the patient manage to melt a quirk inhibitor with her quirk?"
"Records show that the device was never tampered with from the beginning. We suspect she had outside help." The detective answered.
"Explain."
"Look here." He beckoned the hero to the doorknob. "As you can see, the knob and lock for the door was melted at temperatures nearly matching what the patient is capable of. But look," he pointed to the shape of the hole. "It was melted from outside the door. She can be as strong as she wants, but there's no faking that evidence. Especially once we get the video from the hall shortly." He moved on to the soot covering the floor. "The patient was barefoot in this room, but there are clear shoe marks on the floor leading to the building wall." He gestured to the gaping hole leading to the outside of the building. "Bare foot prints also lead that way. We checked with the staff, no patient here is given access to shoes as they may try to use the shoelaces for-"
Endeavor raised a hand to silence the man. "I get the picture. So someone snuck in here and used a fire or welding quirk to melt the doorknob and free that woman."
"That's the theory." The man answered as his phone dinged. "One moment…ah! We just got the video footage. If you don't mind, Endeavor-san." They both watched the feed.
It was dark, set in black and white, but a shadowed figure crept up to the door. Seemed to be a he, but he was wearing a black hoodie and couldn't be seen. He pointed to the doorknob, igniting a tongue of flame to melt the door open, then kicked it open. After about a minute, the room and the surrounding walls were blasted apart by fire and flashes of lighting. The security camera eventually died from the heat, ending the feed.
"Well, that confirms that theory." The detective sighed. "We'll put out a notice to find the guy, and your daughter. We'll call you when we know more, Endeavor-san." The man tipped his hat as he left to tend to the evidence. Endeavor stood silently, considering his next move. Someone like that, she'd show up eventually. But who broke her out? What do they want with her?
He took a deep breath to calm himself. 'I'm coming to get you. Himojo.'
xXx
"You have the heart of a hero, kid." Stain admitted to Midoriya, who laid paralyzed on the ground. "But I have a mission to carry out tonight, and no one's going to stop me."
"NO!" Midoriya yelled back. "Get away from him!" But it was no use. Stain moved back to the still-frozen Iida, raising his blade again. "They say third time's the charm."
"GET AWAY!" Midoriya screamed one final time.
FWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHH
A blanket of fire rushed towards the Hero Killer from one end of the alleyway as a stone wall rose between them, separating Stain from the paralyzed heroes in three seconds flat. Iida, Midoriya, and Native found themselves slid away from the wall and behind Todoroki, whose left arm was ablaze.
"Midoriya." Shoto spoke. "You need to be more specific in a crisis. We were almost too late to stop this guy."
"Todo…roki…you're using…your fire!" Midoriya grunted. Toph stood behind them, trying to tie Stain down from their position.
But Stain wasn't making it easy for her. Now that he was aware that the ground was moving, he was as careful as ever to watch and listen to dodge the earthen traps and spires that were popping up. He jumped from wall to wall to scale over the stone barrier.
"Icyhot! Company!" Toph shouted.
sssssskskskskkskskskskskskskkskskskksks
Spikes of ice covered the alleyway, limiting Stain's movement as he sped forward. Seeing an opportunity, the murderer threw a knife, cutting Todoroki's cheek as it flew towards Toph as well, who dodged. A sword spun upwards at the same time as Stain closed in. He extended his large tongue to lick the blood on the boy's cheek…
FWOOOOOOSSSHH
Fire flared from Todoroki's left side, forcing the Hero Killer back. More ice rushed the villain, which he sliced through easily as if it was butter.
"Don't you know not to limit your own field of vision you amateur? Time to d-"
CCRRRAACK!
WHAM
Before Stain knew it, a chunk of brick hit him from his left! It came from the side wall!
"Really?" Toph answered for him. "Because I can see just fine, dickhead!" More chunks of rock and brick assaulted the Hero Killer from all directions. It took every ounce of speed and reflexes to dodge and counter them all. The ground was unstable too, it was easy to lose his footing if he lingered for even a moment in one spot.
"All of you…get out of here…" Iida grunted as he laid flat. "This is…my fight…my vengeance! Just…run! Take them…and go!"
Toph gritted her teeth. He was too fast for one overpowered attack and peppering him with pebbles wasn't going to cut it. She and Todoroki kept up the pressure, keeping him away with flames and limiting his movements with rocks and ice. But their stalemate was temporary, and Stain wasn't tiring out fast enough. Something had to change or else…
"SMMMMAAAAAAAAAASSSHHH!"
SLAM
Midoriya was moving! He dashed through the rock and ice to land a hit on Stain's gut, sending him to the back wall. They had him cornered!
"Midoriya!" Todoroki yelled. "Talk to us! How are you moving?"
"Not sure!" He answered. "Maybe there's a time limit to his paralysis! I think I know how his quirk works too!"
"That doesn't…make any sense!" Iida was still struggling to get up. "You were hit last! While that guy…was hit first!"
"I know!" Midoriya reasoned. "Maybe the time limit depends on something, like how many people he's hit or blood type!"
"Heh. Good job kid." Stain caught his breath for a second, smiling slightly. "It's the blood type. You must have O Type, right?"
"Yeah I do! Wait, why am I talking to you?!" Midoriya yelled at himself.
"Focus, Muttermouth!" Toph yelled. "Here's the plan: you stay close range while Icyhot and I support from behind! We'll keep up the pressure until he slips up!"
"Sounds good, you ready Todoroki?" Midoriya asked as he charged up Full Cowl.
"Yes, let's get this dirtbag." Todoroki fired more flames towards the villain, who dodged to sprint along the side wall, before jumping off before rubble from above could hit him. He found himself face to face with the green eyed kid, dodging a punch, but getting tripped up on an ice attack. He slashed it apart and gave a roar of fury as he dodged more rocks. No mere children were bringing him down!
The three kept attacking and defending as Iida continued struggling to move. Some feeling was returning to his toes, but not enough. It was shameful for the hero-in-training. This was supposed to be vengeance for his brother, not laying on the ground helpless while his friends fought the killer! Todoroki backed up further, sending fire and ice one after the other to manage his temperature. Toph moved in closer, growing more aggressive in her attacks. The concrete below slammed up to crush Stain like a book, which he just barely dodged but got caught in the jaw by Midoriya's haymaker. Spinning away, he slashed at Izuku, managing a small cut on his eyebrow.
With one lick of the blood on his sword, Midoriya was paralyzed again. Stain tried to stab him, but a mound of earth formed between them as Toph barreled in for close combat. As she ran along the side wall, she rolled her small form on the brick, encasing her body in stone with a spin. Stain had seen this sort of strategy before and tried to slash the typical weak points, such as the face. But this was different. Blocking your own view with an attack is one thing, but her entire face was covered in rock, blocking her eyes!
'She's crazier than me!' Stain thought as he slashed again, trying for other possible weak points in the girl's armor. Her defenses were up, but she was still too slow to land a solid hit. She was clearly used to fighting from a stationary position but was fighting outside her comfort zone to protect her comrade. Nonetheless, none of his slashes could pierce her skin, leaving his quirk useless against her. Despite being physically slow, her earth manipulation was quick and unpredictable, making up for the weakness in spades. Countless times throughout the fight, Stain nearly tripped on the moving concrete or gotten his foot stuck in a sinkhole. She was fighting dirty and she knew it, pulling every single trick in her sleeve to bring the Hero Killer down.
Shoto tried to attack the best he could, but he wasn't precise enough to not hit the Blind Bandit in the process. He settled for collecting Midoriya with his ice, protecting both him and Iida. Iida struggled as he spoke.
"Please…I just…I am Ingenium now! I can't not protect you!"
"You're Ingenium now?" Todoroki commented as he formed more ice to trip Stain up in his brawl. "Funny, the Ingenium I remember doesn't have that kind of look on his face."
Iida's eyes widened at the remark. 'He's right. This…what I'm doing…that's not like Tensei at all! What am I doing?"
"If you really want to live up to that name, then stand up!" Todoroki left side flared as he yelled. "Get up, and be the hero he wanted you to be!"
For a moment, Iida's fingers twitched.
Meanwhile, Toph was attacking relentlessly, no longer focused on what the others were doing. She was completely in the zone as she punched, kicked, and shifted the ground, capture be damned. Truthfully, Stain didn't want to seriously harm her. She wasn't the target and seemed to embody heroism well enough, but she was in the way and refused to go down or get cut. By normal measures anyway. He closed in for a feint, which she somehow predicted with ease, raising her stony arm to block the strike. But Stain wasn't holding back now.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH!" Toph screamed as the blade cut straight through her armor and into her left arm. The pain was agonizing for the girl as she lost focus from the deep blow. And just like that, she was frozen as well, laying on the ground as her arm bled profusely.
The Blind Bandit fought hard to remain focused, but she quickly lost consciousness as a pool of blood flowed from her paralyzed form.
"BEIFONG!" Todoroki yelled as he focused his flames. But before he could attack, three knives embedded themselves in his left bicep, halting the attack. Stain appeared right in front of him, his katana ready to cleave his shoulder from below.
"RECIPRO…BURST!"
RRRRRRRBAM!
In an instant, Ingenium shot forward, snapping the blade with a single kick. Landing on his feet but maintaining momentum, he kicked the Hero Killer far from his teammate and quickly grabbed Beifong, rescuing her from the battlefield.
"Quickly! Ice her wound down, she's losing too much blood!" Iida shouted at the black and white hero. Immediately, Todoroki bent down. "I have a better idea, is she out?"
"She's unconscious, yes. But…"
"No time to waste." He placed his left hand on the wound. It was bleeding non-stop and seemed to be bone deep. He used his fire to burn and cauterize the blood, stopping the bleeding.
"Hopefully she forgives me for that, but we need to focus. Midoriya, can you move yet?"
"N…Nearly I think." Came Deku's answer.
"Todoroki…Midoriya…sorry…and thank you." Iida choked out. Meanwhile Stain had recovered from the kick and began to rush for the group again, and was stopped by a huge wave of fire from Todoroki.
"APLOGIZE ALL YOU WANT, YOU FAKE! I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE! YOUR HEART IS TAINTED, YOUR SIN UNFORGIVABLE!" Stain screamed with conviction as dodged the firestorm.
"Don't listen to the madman's ramblings." Todoroki warned, quoting his master slightly. 'Crap, I'm turning into him.'
"No," Iida sighed. "he's right. I allowed my hate and grief to cloud my judgement as a hero." He clenched his fist. "But, I won't allow him to escape. Not because of my feelings, but because I am a hero! And he is a villain!" He looked down at his calves, which were still stalled from his special move earlier. "Todoroki! Can you regulate temperatures?"
"Not well with my left yet," he answered as he shot ice at their opponent. "but yes!"
"Freeze my calves! Without plugging up my exhaust!" Todoroki raised a brow, but obliged, taking his focus away from the fight. Stain took his opportunity, flinging another knife towards the son of Endeavor.
But Iida took the hit with his arm! And another as he crashed down to the ground.
"DO IT!" He screamed.
Quickly, Todoroki covered Iida's calves in ice, cooling them down temporarily. Stain rushed forward again, but was stopped by Deku, who recovered from the paralysis.
"IIDA! LET'S WIN THIS!" Midoriya screamed, willpower in his voice.
"RIGHT!"
Ice crept up at Stain, chasing him up the alleyway's wall. Midoriya jumped and leap about, keeping Stain guessing on his next move. Meanwhile, Iida charged up below, his engines roaring with power!
"WITH THIS LEG…" the newest Ingenium careened up the wall to meet his opponent.
"WITH THIS FIST…" Deku shot towards the falling Hero Killer.
"WE WILL DEFEAT YOU!" Stain was struck on either side by the two heroes, then blasted in the face with fire for good measure by Shoto. The villain fell landing on a small mountain of rubble, which had erupted right beneath him. Shoto looked back, the Blind Bandit was barely conscious but had managed a final blow to the Hero Killer by jerking her head before closing her eyes again.
'Damn.' Shoto thought. 'Talk about tenacity.' He readied another attack to counter Stain.
But the villain hadn't moved. He was laying stomach down on the rock and wasn't moving. Iida and Midoriya panted as they observed their opponent from the ground below.
"We…won?" Midoriya asked no one.
"It appears so." Shoto replied. "We need to restrain him and strip him of his weapons. I think I saw some rope that way…
xXx
Elsewhere…one day after the attack on Hosu…
A lanky man strode through the crowd his groceries. It wasn't much, just some water and convenience store sandwiches. A couple Reese's Cups too. But it was the best he could do for now.
He ducked under an overpass on his way back to his little base. Some beggers looked ready to jump up at the sight of his food, but a tongue of blue flames from his fingers discouraged them well enough. His scarred appearance worked wonders as well. He moved on, moving though an abandoned construction project with the grace of a cat. He ducked into the partially complete office building, knocking as he entered.
"Himo! I brought grub." He called. As soon as he made a sound, he rolled left.
CRACKBOOM
Lightening struck where the man used to be, blackening the wooden floor. This was the third time he had been greeted by an attack upon entry. It was annoying, but mental hospitals tend to make one…paranoid. He dusted himself off and turned to his sister.
"You trying to cook the sandwiches I brought?" He asked playfully.
"Maybe." Came his answer from atop some machinery. His sister didn't have any scarring at all but had a ferocious temperament and insanity to boot. He wished he could blame it all on the old man, but apparently, she had some sort of "Neuro-Invasive Quirk Disorder". At least, that's what the files said at the Asylum. Whatever the case may be, she was as crazy as she was powerful.
He grabbed his heart in fake offense. "And after all the work I did for you…" he sighed dramatically. He threw a couple sandwiches and some water to her, which she took gratefully before inspecting them. Having passed whatever crazy test she had in store, she ripped open her food.
"Slow down, or it'll come back up." Her brother reminded. She always ate like she was starving, or like someone was going to take it away from her. She merely glared before slowing down a touch.
"You see anything interesting today?" She asked.
"Yeah, apparently Hosu was attacked by monsters. Big brutes with exposed brains, pretty weird." He commented as he bit into his own food. "Also, you know that guy I was telling you about?"
"What, that Hero Killer? He looks off his rocker to me."
"You're one to talk. Hahaha…" He ducked a fireball from the joke. "Anyway, he was caught today. Saw it on the news."
"Hmm, told you. He was alone after all, he wouldn't last too long."
"The thing is, he wasn't alone for too long." He said with a hint of smugness. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Really?"
"Really. Apparently he was spotted with the League of Villains, that group who attacked UA a while back."
"Why would he work with them?" She asked, gaining a note of lucidity. She was always more focused when she went into strategy mode. "I can see some alignment in their goals, but not enough. It's more likely they got the guy arrested."
Her brother leaned back in thought. "I guess, the news said it was Mirko and this retiree who took him down, but it's probably bullshit."
"Probably."
They ate in silence for a while longer.
"…what. Did you want to join them?"
The man shrugged. "Might be nice to have some back-up for a change. But if they don't mesh with Stain, then I don't know."
She smiled. "Who said they have to know we know? Back-up is back-up."
He nodded at her reasoning, glad she sounded normal for a change.
"And if they turn on us, we'll reduce them to cinders for their betrayal!" She said excitedly.
Aaaaand there's the crazy again. He sighed and put away his food. "Then I got a call to make, I'll be back soon. Don't eat my chocolate."
"No promises."
xXx
Toph was experiencing Déjà vu.
Shifting slightly, she found herself unable to sense anything from her position. She remembered a fight…
She shot up. "IIDA!"
"That's not my name."
"GAH!" She looked around (uselessly) in panic before calming down. She knew that voice.
"M-Mirko?"
"Hey kid. You look like shit."
She strugged at the statement. "I wouldn't have known." She looked down at her bedsheets. From the sounds of the machinery and the smell of disinfectants, she knew exactly where she was.
"What happened? Are they ok?"
"I was gonna ask you that." Mirko chuckled. "Native, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki are fine. After you were knocked out, the others beat Stain and restrained him before the other heroes could arrive. We stabilized you and got him ready for transport, but he almost escaped."
"What? Why, how?"
"Before I tell you, want to tell me your side of things?" Her tone was more serious than she Toph had ever heard from her before.
"Yeah. Basically, I felt it happening from my position and rushed over to help. I felt Stain, and I felt Iida. He was losing. That's when Midoriya showed up…"
Toph went on to explain the fight blow by blow as Mirko listened. Deep down, the Rabbit Hero was impressed. She had the accounts of the other three and knew what happened already, but she wanted to hear it from her intern's mouth.
"…and I figured if I fought hand to hand, I could keep him away from Midoriya. I didn't notice he was out of danger until a bit later. He was holding back most the fight though if that last swing said anything." She instinctively felt her left forearm. It was healed over, but felt…weird. Like it was a different shape.
Mirko noticed and answered the unasked question. "The wound was pretty bad, and you needed a blood transfusion. They healed you the best they could."
She nodded slightly, still holding her arm. Mirko nudged her. "Hey now, don't worry about your battle scars. They're only marks after all." She rolled her costume back a bit, revealing a line on her collarbone. "Feel here."
Toph did as instructed and felt the scar. It was long and ran too close to the Hero's heart.
"Got that a few years back, nasty fight with a blade user. Just another inch to the left would have killed me."
Toph lifted her hand and looked down a bit, then jumped at the light punch Mirko gave. "But I didn't! I lived, just like you did!" Mirko said with a smile.
Toph felt her arm again. Mirko was right, a scar is just proof. Proof that you went through something terrible, but lived anyway. She smiled at the thought.
"Anyway, I blacked out for a bit but woke up on the ground. I saw Stain falling and tried to get in another blow, but I don't know if it landed…"
"It did."
"Oh, good." She laughed. Mirko was happy she was in good spirits again, but they had to get through the hard part. Mirko didn't like this, but it was necessary.
"Hey Toph?"
"Yeah?"
BONK
"Don't ever go off on your own like that without a Pro! You could've been killed you know! AND YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE ON MY WATCH UNDERSTAND? I DON''T CARE HOW COOL YOUR WIN WAS!"
Toph rubbed her throbbing head as Mirko went off, but smiled slightly. Despite all the haranguing she was getting and would undoubtably get from her parents…
Mirko said she had won. And she was cool.
Good enough for her.
xXx
Elsewhere…different from the other elsewhere…
An aging man smoked his cigarette as he read the news on his phone. Followers of the Hero Killer were starting to crop up everywhere on the dark web. Underground figures were stirring at the man's ideals, unhinged as they were.
Giran smiled as he looked over his messages. Some very interesting people were contacting him about the League of Villains, who was leading them, and whether they're worth joining. More people meant more buyers. Buyers meant income. Income means…well, whatever you want.
He shot some messages back and made one last call. Time to set up a meeting…
xXx
As soon as she possibly could, Toph got up to find her friends in the male ward. Sure she knew they were ok, but she needed to see them with her own two ears. As she approached, she heard their conversation.
"I feel…kinda bad." She heard Todoroki say.
"About what?" Midoriya asked. Toph held her breath outside the door, was she intruding on one of those "emotional moments" Yaomomo was telling her about?
"Whenever I'm involved, someone's hand gets messed up. Is there something wrong with me?"
…
A beat. And another.
…
"Am I cursed?" Todoroki asked seriously.
It was too much for Midoriya, Iida, and Toph as they doubled up in laughter. They quickly noticed Toph as she walked in roaring with laughter.
"Todoroki! I didn't know you had a sense of humor!" Midoriya chuckled. "Good to see you Toph!"
"Yeah, you guys too!" She waved with her left, catching their attention.
She felt their stares. "…what?"
"Is your hand alright?" Iida asked.
"Not really, got some scarring from the one attack."
Todoroki looked at his hand in awe and fear. "So it's true." The others looked back at him.
"I am the Hand-Crusher!"
…
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…"
"It's not a joke guys…"
"HHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, THE HAND-CRUSHER! HAHAHAAHAHA…"
xXx
And that's it for Chapter 13! The hand crusher strikes not once, not twice, but three times! Don't worry, she can still fight and bend earth, it's pretty much just a mark. I didn't hold back on the blood and gore here, I think Avatar would have been very different if people bled in the show (Jet's death to mention one). Please forgive me!
I skipped a lot of what you already know happens, I hope it's not confusing. They still don't take the credit due to legal reasons and that flying Nomu still tries to take Midoriya, which Stain stops. I just didn't want to waterboard y'all with too many details in a story about Toph Beifong. I hope that's ok. Also, Toph has O-blood in this fic.
Got some very interesting things brewing in the side plot I think y'all will like. The family tree is getting much clearer now, eh? In case anyone was wondering, Hime and Ojo are both Japanese translations of "Princess" or "of Noble Birth.". I'll leave y'all to work that out.
And now for the reviews!
To Jdkem
I appreciate it! I'm glad she fits in so well!
To AnimeLuver1492
Not Ozai. I can confirm that he doesn't exist in this universe. Just someone debatably worse! Hahaha
Yeah, they work together well, as do Toph and Mirko. I might make some separate shorts about their training with Jeong Jeong/Mirko at a later date. We'll see.
To Kisame Hoshigaki
Yeah, mistakes happen. Don't worry, she lives :)
To harlequin320
Thank you!
To SoulboundAlchemist
HAHAHA! That's who I am, my friend! BWAHAHAHAHA!
To D3lph0xL0v3r
Exactly!
I think you know by know ;)
Cabbage guy? Hmm, wouldn't be an Avatar story without him…hmmm…
To SilverZ-TenoriO
I've noticed that too. I'll try not to go crazy with too many characters, thank for the advice.
To TheRedSpider
Thank you!
To Kobk
Ha! It would be!
To racdragon339
Thank you! I did my best with that in mind.
To Joker555888
Probably, would be pretty efficient.
To Yrmbe
Thank you! There was too much potential not to write a Todoroki subplot if I'm being honest.
Mirko is a good reflection of the hero Toph could become. Which is why Toph needs to learn from the strengths and weaknesses in her mentality. It's possible to learn from someone's shortcomings too, after all, which Toph did in the last chapter a bit.
Stain doesn't have time to get to know her like that, but I imagine he wouldn't like her motivations as a hero. She's driven to be different and show the world up in their expectations for her. No one thought she could be a hero, so she's doing it. That may be seen as a selfish reason to Stain if he really got into it. But she worked incredibly hard for her teammates in their fight, so clearly it's deeper than rebellion against the system.
To vangian13
Some characters from ATLA are still yet to be added, but I won't add too many more. Don't want things to run away from me.
Koda Koji was replaced unfortunately. He is now pursuing a career in rescuing abused animals, which is heroic in its own right in my opinion.
See ya'll next time!