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"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

No sooner had Angel let out her battlecry did the League launch their attack, their seven members fanning out to approach her and Bakugo from both sides and their front. Immediately, they both opened fire, unleashing a hail of phase bolts and two explosive fistfuls on the villains, trying to keep them as far back as possible.

It acted as enough of a deterrent to make the majority leap back and stop in their tracks, with the exception of Toga and Twice who leaped over the barrage with a startling amount of dexterity, the girl brandishing her knife while the man pulled out some kind of tape measure from his bracer. The former went straight at her, the psychotic blonde swiping at her in a series of quick slashes, forcing Angel to drop her firing stance and put her onto the backfoot, her literal foot still stinging but not as much of a hindrance as it was before. At the same time, Bakugo backpedaled away from Twice's improvised whip.

"Come on Angel-chaaan~! You sure you don't wanna join us? We can have soooo much fun together!" Toga giggled, not easing up on her attacks.

Angel decided not to dignify her thinly veiled threats with a response, instead bringing her energy coated hands out to slap the knife away in a shower of sparks and follow up with a blast from her palm. Toga let out a squeak and twisted out of the projectile's path and rolled away from Angel's subsequent shots.

Briefly vowing to thank Maya for her close quarters training regiment (if she ever made it out alive that is), Angel leapt back, calling her wings to give her some extra distance in small hops.

"Purging is the duty of the righteous, as is Stain's word!" The reptilian teen in the Hero Killer costume roared, charging from her left. Held tightly in his grasp was a bizarre and impractical mockery of an immense cleaver, as in a massive collection of knives and small swords slapdashed together with belts.

Whether it would injure her through laceration or blunt force, Angel didn't know and didn't care to find out, using a small flap of her wings to quickly veer to the side as the "blade" fell down and carved a small trench with its weight. Capitalizing on his lowered guard, she clapped her hands together, creating a compressed flash directed at his face. The villain fanboy screamed as his vision was filled with light, leaving him open for a midair spinning kick to his torso. An accompanying energy blast sent him sprawling back and giving Angel a chance to retreat further.

A quick glance over her shoulder showed Bakugo backrolling away from Wilhelm's metal fist shooting out and impacting the shattered concrete. He landed on his feet and met her halfway, almost crashing into her back. His head turned and their eyes met, sharing a brief moment of relief at seeing their ally still alive before returning their gaze to their opponents as they recovered and circled around like a pack of wolves.

"Got any ideas?" Angel asked in a low voice.

"Depends." He huffed. "Can you fly us out of here?"

"I think so. Only problem is that they're not going to give me the chance to take off." She explained, jabbing her gun hand at Twice who flinched and stumbled back.

"Most of their quirks are close range. The guy with the sunglasses is hanging back, I bet his quirk is something he can do from a distance. Then there's the metal fucker with that shotgun."

Angel grit her teeth. "Wilhelm. He wants me more alive than the rest of them. If he tries to aim at you, use me as a shield, worked before."

He let out a snort. "Fucking ballsy, I like that. Just stay close. We don't want them separating us. We just need to hold out and look for an opening!"

"And not die?"

"No shit!" He laughed, then tensed. "Here they come!"

As before, the majority of the League's members charged at them from different angles to get within melee range while the remaining two, Wilhelm and the man in sunglasses stayed at a distance. It was five against two, the two heroes at the center of the fight.

But there was an advantage to having your back against a wall, you only had to worry about what was in front of you.

As miserable as it had made her, Angel was thankful for Aizawa's quirk exercises from before. The metronome training in particular, as she barely had time to stop firing to fend off their attackers, keeping a constant stream of phase bolts flying from both hands to fend off their attackers. In such close proximity, she decided to sacrifice accuracy for sheer volume of fire, taking a page from Salvador's book and dual wielding her handguns.

Judging from the shockwaves and roaring coming from Bakugo's side, he seemed to be having as much success. Now she just had to make sure to keep up her end. The two teens fought back to back and fluidly, almost in exact contrast to the wild, desperate and uncoordinated attacks from their enemy. It was almost like dancing, the two of them moving back and forth, turning and spinning as they kept the villains at bay, all with barely a single spoken word.

It was a far cry from the one sided, antagonistic relationship that the two had fallen into since the beginning of school. Angel herself never would have imagined that she would be able to work together with the most abrasive member of the class.

But now, in this life or death situation, they were a team, a single entity. Perhaps it just spoke volumes of her partner's instincts and how far she had come in the past seven months. And right now, after the last two days, Angel knew she could trust Bakugo with her life just as much as she hoped he could trust her with his.

Of course, when pressed against superior numbers, some of their opponents would manage to get through and get within striking range.

Case in point, when the reptile villain had recovered, lunging in from the side with his giant cleaver over his shoulder.

"On your left!" She cried out and their hands immediately found each other, her partner letting himself get pulled out of the way and giving him the opening to send the man flying back with a blast.

He turned his head and barked; "Jump!"

Not even bothering to hesitate or question why, Angel did so, using her wings to leap up. Bakugo detonated his free hand, using the force to yank her up and over his head just in time to avoid the grasping hand from Compress who had tried to take advantage of the distraction his comrade had unintentionally made. Bakugo snarled and kicked the evil magician upside the head as Angel flipped back over him.

But before she could twist her body around to touch down, she found herself wrapped in a red glow and suddenly, she felt a strong, intangible force pull her sideways through the air.

"SHIT!" Bakugo swore as her hand slipped from his grasp and she shot a couple feet away from him before he lunged and grabbed her by the ankle.

Angel made a sound halfway between a startled yelp and a pained hiss as she was being pulled in a bizarre game of tug-a-war, her head getting pulled one direction and by her sprained ankle in the other. She craned her head and saw the man in sunglasses several feet away, pointing the end of his large metal beam towards her.

'His quirk, he's attracting me?!' She noted.

"Hey guys! I got him!" Twice called out and she looked back to see the man jump onto Bakugo's back.

"Get the fuck off me!" He roared, gritting his teeth as he tried to swing punches at the hostile passenger while also holding his ground and grip on Angel to prevent her from flying off.

Angel grit her teeth. She needed to get free, but her partner was also in trouble.

Then she quickly noted that thanks to the uncomfortable position she was in, both her hands were free.

Quickly, glancing back and getting an idea of where the magnet villain was, Angel spread her arms out vertically, one hand pointed at either side.

She had to make this shot count.

"Duck!" She yelled out.

Bakugo heard her scream and immediately bowed his head.

Her fingers sparked.

"Eh? Goose?" Twice uttered, looking up in time to see Angel fire a bolt from both hands simultaneously.

Behind her, the magnet villain yelled; "SHIT!" and shielded his body with the beam, the bolt splashing against the metal with a crack. The glowing faded and Angel landed on her back, just as the other bullet hit Twice right between the eyes and blew a hole right through the back of his head!

Before Angel could freak out over accidentally killing someone, the wound turned brown and the lifeless body quickly devolved into a pile of sludge resembling mud, falling off of Bakugo and hitting the ground with a splat.

'A duplicate? He can clone himself?' She wondered, then rolled over onto her knees to pull herself up.

As she was doing so, she heard a noise that gave her pause. Not at the fact that there was noise itself, she was in the middle of a battlefield, including an earthshaking skirmish between the powerful All-Might and the titanic All-For-One. It was the fact it was one so far out of place out of her current predicament that she couldn't help but notice it, even over the horrible din surrounding her.

It sounded like a whistle. Just a single, high, soothing note. As soon as it came it was gone.

Where had she heard that before?

"Head in the game Angel-girl!" Bakugo snapped behind her and she shook her head. No time for that, she needed to focus on keeping the two of them alive.

Springing back to her feet and returning to her spot at Bakugo's six o'clock, they returned to their former position. Angel quickly took stock of their situation. Her head was starting to pulse from overuse again. Granted, she was lasting far longer than she was used to thanks to her recently completed endurance training, but she was still reaching her limit. And judging by the deep breaths and the shaking in Bakugo's arms he was starting to get worn out too.

It emphasized even more that they needed to find a way out before the villains wore them down and they were ultimately captured. Unfortunately, she still couldn't see an opening for them, what with their attackers always keeping them surrounded on all sides. Angel could still fly, but with Wilhelm acting as anti-air and the existence of the magnet villain's quirk, she couldn't see how she'd be able to carry Bakugo out before getting pulled or shot back down.

Assistance from All-Might was ruled out too, with how All-For-One's impossible power made him capable of meeting the symbol of peace blow for blow, keeping him from getting anywhere close enough to help them.

"KIDS! STAY STRONG! I'LL GET YOU OUT, I PROMISE!" The hero called out, trying to break away only for his foe to latch onto him with his black and red tendrils and reel him back.

"Not very heroic to get their hopes up, All-Might." All For One scolded in a mocking tone.

Angel swallowed as she kept dodging and firing. It was starting to look more and more hopeless with every ache in her body. It was clear that they weren't going to get anywhere without some help. But with all of the other heroes nearby knocked unconscious on the sidelines, she didn't see that happening.

"How're you?" She shot over her shoulder, panting.

"Just fucking grand." He spat, wiping some of his explosive sweat out of his eyes. "Don't tell me you're running out now?"

"I've still got some charge left, but not for much longer." She muttered quietly, not wanting to give away her exhaustion to their opponents. "Got any ideas yet?"

"Other than fighting, nah. RAH!" He bellowed, sending a shockwave at an approaching Shigaraki, whose disintegrating hands were at the top of their worries. "Starting to think it'd just be better to take some of these assholes down with me!"

"You can't be serious!"

"Deadly! I'm not letting these scumbags take me alive again! You shouldn't either!"

Angel pursed her lips at that. In a way, he was right. If they were captured again, who knew what they would do to them. Not to mention Wilhelm was still waiting in the wings to snatch her up. It would be better to deny them any sort of reward.

But she refused to think that way, not again.

"We just need to hold on." She answered, getting a scoff.

"At this point, we need a fucking miracle."

A miracle. It did start to seem that way. A miracle is what Angel would had called the day that she finally escaped from his clutches, at the hands of the Raiders, her dear estranged friends. Unfortunately, she knew that they were not here to save her this time.

Thus, fate found a working substitute.

*KABOOM!* All the combatants aside from All-Might and All-For-One stopped in their tracks as the barrier wall between the battlefield and one of the nearby buildings exploded inwards, shards of concrete flying everywhere! Three individuals stood together in its wake, huddled close.

Before anyone could notice or process who exactly those people were, the temperature in the air plummeted and a spire of ice erupted in front of the newcomers, growing higher and higher until it towered over the battlefield.

With a familiar mechanical roar, the silhouettes had ridden up the ice like a ramp and shot out over the ruins of the city.

Angel's eyes widened as she finally saw who it was.

Soaring overhead was Midoriya and Kirishima propelled by Iida's engine like a human rocket. The redhead in the middle locked eyes with her and Bakugo and held out his hand.

At that moment, Angel was back in the room, surrounded by metal walls, a locked door and blaring alarms. Roland looked down on her with worry, yet exuding an air of calm, as if putting on a face just for her sake. To tell her that everything was alright.

He held out his hand and opened his mouth.

"COME ON!" Kirishima yelled.

Angel didn't need to be told a third time. Twisting around, she wrapped her hands around Bakugo's torso. She knew exactly what he was going to do and he knew that.

In the next instant, the ground erupted under them as he released a massive blast. Her face peeled back from the sudden g-forces and they shot straight into the air!

She opened her wings and guided their path to intercept their friends, Bakugo using a few consecutive blasts to speed up to meet them.

Until finally, his hand grabbed onto Kirishima's with a hearty clap and the two of them were carried away by the other group's velocity.

Angel's heart swelled in her chest and tears fell from her eyes. Her friends had come for her after all. It wasn't the first time, but it didn't feel any less amazing.

"Are you guys stupid or what?!" Bakugo chuckled.

"Guys!" Angel sobbed in relief and both Midoriya and Iida looked back just as joyously.

"We made it." Midoriya said, looking to be on the verge of tears himself.

"Angel, get up here and help us maintain our trajectory!" Iida instructed.

"Got it!" She nodded, climbing up Bakugo's back and grabbing onto Kirishima.

"Bakugo, on my mark, use a blast to-"

"Screw off four-eyes, I know what I'm doing!" Bakugo bit back.

"Is this really the time?!" Angel yelled, seeming to mollify him enough into following Iida's lead.

Back on the ground, the villain's looked on in shock and outrage as their prizes got away.

"Why…?! Why, everytime you brats are here?!" Shigaraki spat, shaking in hatred beyond belief.

All-Might laughed and shook his head with pride. "Why am I not surprised? Those darn kids!"

"They're getting away! Who has range?!" Compress asked.

"Dabi and Kurogiri are knocked out cold!" Spinner answered before Wilhelm pushed him aside.

"Outta the way runt, I'll handle this!" He snarled, his speed and jumping enhancement cybernetics deploying from his legs as he squatted down, engines whirring and springs coiling. But before he could launch himself, out of the blue, swarms of pigeons engulfed him and the others in a cloud of feathers and cooing.

"GAH?! WHERE'D THESE FEATHERED RATS COME FROM?!" He bellowed, whirling around as the villains tried to disperse the avians.

"I've got feathers in my mouth, bleck, ptoo!"

"It's in my pants, in my pants!"

Off to the side behind the ruins of the shattered wall, Yaoyorozu pumped her fist. "Good work Koda-kun!" She said, turning to the boy who looked immensely proud of himself despite how scared he was.

She turned back to Uraraka and Baha. "Get ready you two!"

Back in the fluttering pile of bodies and limbs, the villains continued to struggle until finally a couple of gunshots rang out, sending the birds flying, leaving most of the villains aside from Wilhelm on the ground.

The cyborg growled, grinding his metal teeth together hard enough to create sparks, his robot eye zeroed in on his quarry, the winged girl hanging onto the pack of kids flying away from him. They were too far away to jump after now.

He leveled his shotgun.

If he can't catch her now, at least he can try to kill one of her precious friends!

His long lens eye zoomed in and focused as he prepared his targeting computer. Then he paused, the picture sharpening enough for him to notice something floating around in the space between him and his target.

A belt of small chunks of concrete and pebbles, hanging in the sky like an asteroid field.

"Now!" Todoroki said.

Uraraka glared at the villains and put her fingertips together. "Release!"

The stones began to fall.

"Oh that is so cool! You do a finger thing! I wanna do one!" Baha chattered from next to her, holding out her fist and thumb like she was holding a hand detonator. "FIRE IN THE BUTTHOOOLE!"

She pressed her thumb down and falling debris flashed pink before the night sky was lit up with a barrage of explosions!

Wilhelm roared in pain, clutching his eyes that had been flooded with the bright pink lights, the air filled with smoke and obscuring his sight. "YOU FUCKING STUPID RUNTS!"

"Our gunner is out of commission! Any other ideas?!" Compress yelled, wiping feathers off his hat.

"I've got-!" Magne said before a yellow streak slammed him over the top of the head. Before the rest of them could react, it ricocheted between them in a series of quick strikes, sending them crumpling to the ground, except for Shigaraki, Toga and Wilhelm.

"AH! Grand Torino-sensei!" Midoriya gasped at the sight of the veteran hero.

Angel stared in disbelief, watching the display unfold behind them. "It's not just you guys?! Who else?!"

"A bunch! We couldn't stand around and do nothing while you guys were in trouble! You two are our friends and WE'RE HOME FREE BABY!" Kirishima whooped.

Angel glanced over at Bakugo.

He raised a brow. "What?"

"Told ya." She said, smiling.

He clicked his teeth and rolled his eyes, but it didn't stop him from smirking as well. "Shut up." He said, his tone betraying how happy he really was right now.

"We're losing altitude!" Iida yelled, snapping Angel's gaze back to the front. Right as he said it, she felt the weight of her friends start pulling her downwards. She strained and flapped her wings as hard as she could, but even with her recent weight training, she couldn't lift the combined mass of four boys at the same time.

"Ugh, ahhh! I can't… lift!" She ground out, puffing her cheeks from the effort.

"We need to find a place to land!" Midoriya cried, looking about before finally pointing ahead. "There! Aim us that way!"

Angel followed his finger and grimaced at his idea. It would work, but it definitely wasn't going to be a pleasant landing.

She flapped her wings as much as she could, trying to stall their fall as much as possible in order to reach her target. The buildings whizzed past as they descended in spite of her efforts.

She grunted and wheezed. The hammering in her head made it hard to balance out and stay on target, her vision starting to blur. They were only a few meters away from the streets, random pedestrians pointing up at them and shouting, some others leaping out of the way of the teenage missile barreling towards the space between two buildings ahead of it.

Kirishima's hardened toes were scraping off the asphalt just as they shot inside the alleyway. Angel reared back and fanned out her wings, letting out a pained scream as the muscles in her arms and back threatened to pull her apart.

All to slow the group as much as she could before they hit their target square on, a pile of black garbage bags! The mountain of refuse squeaked and clattered, many of the bags rupturing from the impact of the teens slamming into them at high speeds, sending rotten food scraps everywhere!

Angel groaned as her wings and tattoos fizzled out. Taking a breath, she almost puked from the stench coming off of, well, everything around her.

She twisted and flopped around every which way, feeling like she was swimming in black elastic and food scraps. It took a minute to find her bearings and finally pull her head out from the pile.

"Ewww…" She moaned, pulling some fishbones off her shoulder before looking around. "Guys? Where are you?"

Some more rustling and groaning and the pile shifted. Then one by one, her friend's heads popped out.

"Aw man, I think I'm going to be sick." Kirishima coughed, shaking a banana peel out of his hair.

"I hate every part of this." Iida gagged, bemoaning the numerous stains of various colors now painted on his white shirt.

"Fucking nasty! Couldn't have picked a better place Deku, you turd?!" Bakugo spat, stumbling out of the garbage.

Finally, Midoriya surfaced, looking very apologetic but relieved. "S-Sorry guys. It was the only thing I could think of. I-I-If it makes it any better, i-it's a lot easier to wash out t-than you'd think!"

"How would you know that?" Kirishima asked.

"A lot of my training had to do with cleaning garbage." He explained, wiping himself off.

Angel almost melted into the tide of trash. Her friends were all safe. They had come to save her and they all got away. Even though she was surrounded by filth, she was just happy that she and everyone else were still alive.

"Izuku-kun!" She said, pulling herself up to her feet.

He turned and blinked at her. "Angel-chan, it's good to see yo-OOF!" The wind was knocked out of him as she suddenly wrapped him in a tight hug.

"I-I'm so glad you're safe." She muttered, her voice cracking a little. "Last time I saw you… you looked so hurt. I was worried you weren't going to make it."

"O-Oh…" He blushed, turning away with a guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry about that. I… I think I learned my lesson though."

"You'd better have." She mumbled giving him one last squeeze before letting go and immediately turning to the class representative.

"You came for us too, Iida-kun!" She laughed, hugging him too.

Dropping his usual professional bearing, he returned the gesture. "I… I am so happy that you are alive. Are you well? Did they hurt you?"

"A little."

"Really?!" He started, holding her out and giving her a quick inspection. "Where?! How bad was it?! Do we need to get you to a hospital?!"

"I'm fine, really! Just a couple scratches here and there… and a little burn maybe…"

He gasped in shock. "We need to find you a medical professional immediately!"

"Calm down! I'm okay!" She assured him, laughing. She had missed how over the top he could get.

"Baku-bro, man! You're okay!" Kirishima cheered with tears running down his face, pulling his friend into a side hug, the other boy really not appreciating the close contact.

"Yeah, yeah, of course I'm okay! I even kept her alive at the same time!" He said, jabbing his thumb at Angel.

"Seriously?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Dude, you're even more badass than I thought! High five!"

Bakugo eyed the offered hand. After a moment's deliberation, he sighed and slapped.

"Hell yes!" The redhead jumped in adulation, much to Angel's amusement.

"As touching as this all is…" Iida interjected with a cough. "We should probably get to the police while we wait for this whole thing with the League to blow over.

"Right." Angel conceded, letting him go and stepping away to brush off anymore garbage. " But it's seriously great to see you all again. I… just have one question…" She paused, taking a moment to giggle. "What are you guys wearing?"

After cleaning themselves as much as possible, the group left the confines of the alleyway and started heading in the opposite direction from the battle they just escaped. They kept their eyes out for any more villains that might be chasing them still. Thankfully there were many large crowds of citizens being escorted away by heroes and police, heading towards the train station where the authorities were rounding them up. They would likely be safe here.

All the while, Angel and Bakugo were informed of what had transpired over the last two days. The media frenzy over their kidnapping, sneaking out against the orders of their teachers and the pro heroes, getting disguises and tracking down the Nomu warehouse.

It was such a rollercoaster that Angel didn't know what to feel or process first. Anger at the media for blaming Yūei for something outside of its control, worry over the trouble her friends were going to find themselves in for going rogue or joy that they had worked so hard for even the chance to help save her.

Soon enough, Midoriya got to explaining the specifics of their "non-combative rescue plan" while he tried to hail the rest of the team on his cellphone.

"...while we launched ourselves over the ice ramp Todoroki-kun made, Koda-kun called in a bunch of birds to distract the villains while we made our escape."

"Really?! Koda-kun came as well?!" Angel gaped.

"It was a shock for us too." Kirishima laughed with pride. "The guy really came through. Between this whole thing and the end of term exam, you seem to really have an impact on him."

Angel smiled warmly. "He's finally finding his courage. Good for him. So Uraraka and Baha-chan came too, right?"

"Yes." Iida confirmed and Bakugo stiffened in the background. "We had Koda-kun's birds carry explosive rocks into the air, where Uraraka-chan kept them suspended until we were clear from the blast zone."

"Wow…" She breathed, shaking her head. "You guys are just something else."

"Good news!" Midoriya said, holding a hand to his cell phone. "Everybody got out safe! They're just moving a little slow, Baha-san fell asleep after all the explosions so they have to carry her."

"Hell yeah! Rescue successful!" Kirishima cheered, getting a few odd looks from the crowd.

"Hey, you guys didn't rescue me, alright?!" Bakugo interjected. "I would have escaped on my own if I didn't have to worry about Angel-girl here, so I took the best option!"

"Whatever." Angel and Kirishima both laughed in amusement, getting an annoyed glare from the prideful blonde.

"I'm serious! There's also the fact that All-Might couldn't fight with us in the way! I made the best decision there!"

Angel nodded, the mood turning solemn. Bakugo was right of course. All-Might wouldn't have been able to go all out against such a strong opponent as this All-For-One with them being there.

That man, his power, the likes of which she had never seen. Being face to face(or lack thereof) with him, it had instilled a terror she still couldn't comprehend. The very thought of him made her heart race and being so close to him while he was fighting the symbol of peace, it made her briefly entertain the horrifying and blasphemous idea that her teacher might not be enough.

Her eyes drifted upwards as police and news helicopters thundered overhead, on their way to the warzone.

But surely, now that he didn't need to hold back in fear for her and Bakugo's safety he would win…

…right?

"Hey…" Angel felt a hand on her shoulder and she blinked to see Midoriya peering at her in concern. "You okay?"

She breathed out and nodded. "Yeah. I'm alright. Just… worried, you know?"

He sighed and followed the aircraft in the sky, nodding as well. "Yeah, I get it. Me too." He opened his mouth and hesitated. "Can… can I ask you something?"

She shrugged. "Sure?"

"Back at the camp… when you got t-taken…" He twiddled his thumbs. "Why did you say sorry?"

Angel blinked again. "Oh… that." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I was sorry… because I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to keep my promise. The one I made after USJ."

His eyes widened. "About why we didn't hear from you for a while after, right?"

Angel nodded again. "You're one of, if not my closest friend, Izuku." She admitted, wringing the strand of hair as a way to distract her from the guilt. "You deserve to hear the truth about me, the whole story. But just like back then… I… I'm still scared."

"Scared of what?"

She tried to hold her tongue, but the words started to spill out of shame.

"Scared… scared I'll put you in-"

"Hey! Look!" Angel stopped. "They're broadcasting the fight!" Someone in the crowd pointed at a news screen on the side of the train station. Sure enough, it was a live feed of the ruins where the warehouses once stood, likely taken from a news helicopter with how far away it was from the action, having been zoomed in to compensate. The zone was even more destroyed than when she had left and the League of Villains were nowhere to be seen. It was just All-For-One and his opponent.

And speaking of the number one hero, Angel's hand went to her mouth in horror at the state he was in. Dark bruises and streaks of blood dotted his face, his pointed blonde hair all tattered. His back was bent, his form low to the ground as he breathed haggardly.

"What I am witnessing now is something straight out of a nightmare!" The news anchor reported. "With but a single attack, the Kamino Ward has been devastated beyond belief. All-Might is currently facing off against the reported leader of the League of Villains, one who is seemingly fighting the symbol of peace on equal footing!"

The crowd began to murmur, tension rising in the air.

Angel's fingers curled in her palms.

The peace. It was breaking.

Watching the screen, it was obvious from All-For-One's gestures that they were talking. Unfortunately, even if the villain didn't have the facemask on, the image wasn't close or clear enough for her to make out what they were saying.

Abruptly, All-For-One held out his hand and his arm ballooned outwards.

Angel jolted. She knew what that was.

"WATCH OUT!" She screeched, even though she knew her teacher couldn't hear her.

Even if he did, she wasn't sure if he would have been able to avoid the ensuing blast either way, the shockwave of pure force engulfing the area he had been standing in. The force was so great, the camera shook as the helicopter rocked too and fro.

Heck, she could hear it in the distance from here!

"Where's All-Might?!"

"I dunno! There's too much dust!" Some other spectators exclaimed.

Slowly, the dust cloud began to disperse, allowing them all to take in the destruction left in its wake. Two wide trenches were spread out on either side, reducing crumbled buildings to almost nothing. The only that had been spared was a small wedge driven in between, likely saved by a counter attack by All-Might.

Said hero's form gradually came into view.

Or at least, what should have been him.

In the place of the grand, powerful shape of the world's greatest hero, was a scrawny, decrepit shell of a man. Angel had seen skeletons with more meat on their bones, with his frail arms and sunken eyes, dry, straw-like hair hanging over his face. Bloody and battered, the man was draped in a tattered costume eight sizes too big for him, one colored blue, white and red.

'No… It can't be… is that…'

"No… nonono!" Angel caught a glimpse of Midoriya out of the corner of her eye, staring up at the screen in abject horror.

"All-Might..!"