Okay, I make references to some events that aren't in the anime here, and I will admit that I have not actually read the mangas associated with these events, so forgive me if my details are not entirely accurate; I'm just basing this off of personal research into the fandom.
The last thing Tensei wanted to be doing was sprinting among the suburbs and alleyways of Hosu City while his younger brother was participating in his first Sports Festival. More than anything, he wanted to be able to cheer him on. He'd even received an invitation to attend, but no, he had to be called out on a last-minute patrol because the Hero Killer Stain was on the loose in the area.
Not that he minded working, of course. He loved being able to help people, loved being able to strengthen and serve others. But why did this have to come up today of all days? Couldn't that creep take just one day off?
"Ingenium, any sign of him?" one of his sidekicks' voices crackled over his earpiece.
"Nothing yet," he replied, turning the corner down another tight street. "I'll send out an SOS the moment I find anything."
"Understood. The other squads are patrolling their respective zones and will also radio for assistance if they come across him."
"Roger that. Remind everyone to be on high alert-we're still not sure exactly what the Hero Killer's quirk is."
"Roger."
"Ingenium, this is Squad A! We believe that we've spotted the Hero Killer headed towards your sector!"
"Roger!" Ingenium called back, catching a telephone pole and firing off one of his engines to rapidly change directions towards the sector that Squad A had been searching, simultaneously constructing a mental map of everyone's positions and availability. "Squad A, head North! Squad B, check the West side!"
"Squad A, roger!"
"Squad B, roger!"
"Squads E and C, start heading towards my sector and be ready to assist!"
"Squad C, roger!"
"Squad E, heading your way!"
Another street. Another set of houses blurring past. Another empty-
Wait!
Ingenium skid to a stop, pivoting sharply back the way he'd come and sprinting towards one of the alleys he'd just passed, igniting his engines to give himself an extra strength boost and leap off of a wall, coming at the darkened street from above in the hopes of throwing his quarry off.
"I've found you, Hero Killer," the speedster growled as he turned towards the scruffy figure crouched nearby. He had wild, dark hair, a simple mask, blood red scarf, body armor wrapped around his torso, heavy cargo pants, dark boots, and more knives than a single person should be capable of carrying at once.
"Yes, you've found me," the man sneered, baring his teeth at the pro hero, "but do you really think you can face me alone when your entire agency of fools couldn't take down a single villain?"
Ingenium growled softly as he realized what villain the murderer was referring to. Even he would admit to still feeling a sharp sting of failure when he thought about the Bat Villain incident, but he refused to allow himself to be baited. He knew better than anyone that the strength of his agency lay in its teamwork. So, of course, he began to reach for his SOS signal, ready to inform his team that he had found their quarry.
But the Hero Killer had other plans.
The speedster was forced to dodge as a series of knives flew past his face, narrowly missing the spaces in his helmet for his eyes. In those crucial moments as his focus was torn away from his opponent, he abruptly realized that he had made a critical mistake.
Because Stain was standing directly in front of him.
Ingenium cried out as a sharp, sudden pain blossomed under his left arm; the Hero Killer had stabbed into his armpit where the joint of his armor was weakest. Then the knife twisted, and Tensei couldn't quite hold back a scream, his vision momentarily blacking out and his knees buckling as the man leaped back, withdrawing the knife and causing hot blood to spray from the wound.
Shit!
The adrenaline was keeping him from really feeling the full extent of the injury, but the Hero Killer had likely ruptured his axillary artery; if he didn't get medical attention soon, then he was in severe danger of bleeding-
"Agh!"
Ingenium cried out in pain as a massive force seemed to crush down on him from all directions, both inside and out. Suddenly he was on the ground, incapable of moving, barely capable of breathing, and all the while, he could see a pool of blood continuing to expand around him.
"What… What did you…?" he gasped as he struggled to obtain enough air even to speak, jaw clenched against the pain.
"You truly are nothing but a fake hero, trying to call for help when you should be able to face your enemies head-on," Stain intoned coldly, stepping forward and drawing a katana from his back.
"You-"
"I will purge you and your kind from this world."
"Wait-" I don't want to die!
"May your sacrifice make a stronger society," Stain's voice sneered.
Tenya-!
A sound, almost like a roar, suddenly echoed down the alleyway, and Tensei felt, rather than saw, Stain's head snap up and the movement as the man leaped away. An instant later, there was a blaze of heat somewhere behind him and the entire alleyway lit up with a flare of bluish light.
Tensei's heart leapt with a mixture of hope and complete confusion. Had one of his squads found them? But… But none of his sidekicks had a quirk that produced such an intense blue glow, and judging by the heat there might be some kind of flame involved which certainly didn't match any of their quirks, so who-?
"Well well. What do we have here," a quiet voice drawled at the other end of the alleyway.
The downed pro hero felt his breath hitch sharply, even though he wasn't capable of pulling in more than brief, shallow gasps. He tried to turn his head and see the newcomer, tried to warn them about Stain's ability to paralyze people-it likely had something to do with the blades considering that he hadn't collapsed until after he'd been stabbed-but he couldn't move. In fact, every attempt to do so sent sharp pain flashing through his body; he almost blacked out, but forced himself to stay awake through little more than sheer willpower.
"And who the hell are you?" Stain snarled back.
"You can call me Phoenix," the man replied, somehow managing to sound indifferent and threatening all at once, "and I'm the guy who's gonna send you packing."
"C-Careful," Tensei managed to gasp. "The… blades…"
"Don't worry; I know." The voice was closer than it had been, cold and calm and laser-focused on the enemy before them, the presence it was connected to positioned just behind him as though the stranger was standing protectively over his useless body.
"What are you, another posturing fake talking big but unable to give substance to their words? Some kind of underground hero perhaps?" Stain sneered, and Tensei could see him rising from his crouch, preparing to defend or attack as the need called for it.
Tensei blinked as his vision swam, nausea beginning to coil in his gut. Shit, I'm already going into hemorrhagic shock.
"Nah, heroics aren't my thing. I just don't particularly like guys that beat the shit out of people to force their stupid-ass ideas on 'em."
"A vigilante then."
Vigilante? From Naruhata? But I… I don't remember anyone by that name…
"I have nothing against your kind as a rule, but if you insist on getting in my way, then I'll have to cull you as well," Stain growled warningly.
"You're welcome to try it, Stendhal. Or would you prefer Stain? Or perhaps Arbiter of Justice?" Phoenix suggested mockingly, and Stain snarled softly in response. The name Stendhal seemed familiar, but Tensei couldn't quite bring to mind where he'd heard it before. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter what you call yourself. Burnt flesh still smells the same."
"Bold words, brat. Let's see if you can back them up!"
Stain rushed forward, katana at the ready. This time, Tensei could see the intense blue flames that burst to life, rushing outward and filling nearly the entire alleyway in order to drive the Hero Killer back. He heard the murderer's startled cry somewhere behind the wall of flames, then mentally jumped himself when he saw a hand enter his line of sight. It was a pale hand, worn and calloused and-ironically-stretched with pale red burn scars extending all the way to the tips of the fingers that were producing those vicious blue flames.
"If you can still talk, I need you to tell me how to activate your comms so you can call for backup. I've called a friend, but if he doesn't make it in time, I don't think I can hold this bastard off for long on my own."
"R… Right side," Tensei gasped. "Th-There's a button… by my ear. Press twice. That's… the SOS."
He felt the man shift behind him, his unseen hand quickly-and none too gently-slipping beneath his head and lifting it so that he could reach for the button. He'd barely managed to follow Tensei's instructions before the fallen pro hero saw a shadow leaping above the wall of flames.
"Look out!"
"Shit!"
Tensei gasped when he was seized under the arms and literally thrown backwards before another roar of flames flew from his rescuer's hands, catching Stain's leg, but unable to stop his momentum so that the vigilante was forced to leap backwards in order to dodge the murderer's blade. And, through the lightheadedness and confusion of blood loss, Tensei managed to get his first good look at 'Phoenix's' face.
He was young. Probably a few years younger than Tensei himself, with black hair and piercing eyes the same shade of blue as his flames, half-hidden by a black mask tied around the upper half of his face. The burn scars that the speedster had seen on the young man's hand extended up his neck and one side of his face as well. His teeth were grit in concentration as he moved and dodged Stain's attacks. He was obviously trained, judging both by his precise use of his quirk and in the fluidity of his movements, but Stain was well-trained too, fast and strong and dangerous.
"Ingenium? Ingenium, what's wrong? Ingenium, do you copy?!"
Tensei forced himself to breathe, doing everything possible not to hyperventilate. His SOS had been received, but he couldn't respond. Couldn't even help fight back. He just had to hope that his allies would reach them in-
"Gah!"
Tensei's eyes widened as he saw a sharp spray of dark blood. Stain had managed to cut Phoenix's arm. It was a shallow wound, but judging by the way that those manic red eyes seemed to light up in glee as the Hero Killer raised his blade towards his face, it was obviously enough.
No, no, no-!
An invisible force suddenly threw Stain backwards, sending him slamming against the wall of the alley with a sharp cry of pain, the knife reflexively lost from his grasp. A moment later, a new set of footfalls entered the alleyway, out of Tensei's line of sight.
"The hell kept you, Wraith?!" Phoenix snapped, glancing backwards and wait, why can he still move if he's been cut?! The injured pro didn't hear a reply, but there must have been some kind of response because a moment later the first vigilante groaned and grumbled, "Is this really the time for puns?!" then, "I don't care if that isn't what you meant; just hurry up and cut Ingenium's armor so I can cauterize the wound! He'll bleed out if we don't do something!"
"Oh no, you will not be permitted to- Oof!"
Another invisible blow sent Stain flying a good twenty meters further down the alleyway. A telekinesis quirk, perhaps? Tensei didn't really have time to think about it. All that he knew was that a pair of gentle hands were suddenly gripping his shoulder and rolling him over so that he was lying on his back rather than haphazardly on his side. Still, the stranger left his face turned so that he couldn't get a very clear glimpse of him. All that he was able to make out in his unsteady peripheral vision was a skin-tight body suit and what looked like a black biker's helmet, albeit more sleek.
"Ingenium! Ingenium, if you can hear me, please respond!"
Tensei groaned as the person lifted his arm away from his side, gasping as he became suddenly more aware of the blood gushing from his wound. How long had it been since he was first stabbed? Two or three minutes, minimum? A person could bleed out in less than five without medical attention; how much more time did he have?
Judging by how cold his extremities felt, probably not long.
He couldn't see what his current caretaker-Wraith?-was doing, but he could see the bursts of blue light that indicated Phoenix and Stain had gone back at it at the other end of the alleyway. Then he felt a gentle curl of cool air under his arm before a tight, even painful pressure appeared under it, settled firmly against his wound. A tourniquet? That would make sense for a cut artery but… No… No, something seemed off… There… The pressure was off. There wasn't any pressure around his arm, just underneath. Was it… the telekinesis quirk again? Mentally applying some sort of pressure to stop or at least slow down the bleeding? Yeah, that… that could be…
Tensei twitched-twitched; was Stain's paralysis starting to wear off?!-when there was a flicker of movement above him and suddenly the black-clad vigilante was rushing past him, racing down the alley to help Phoenix against Stain. The pressure never left his arm though, so… tourniquet? No, he'd already eliminated that. It was… a quirk…?
Another round of shouting echoed down the alley, a burst of flame and a snarl of frustration, and then suddenly the pressure on Tensei's arm vanished, leaving him groaning in pain as his arm pulsed, his heart's desperate attempts to save him only serving to further push his blood out of his body.
That… That was odd, right? Telekinesis… Strong quirk… Could he not reach very far?
"Ingenium!"
The edges of his vision were going dark when Tensei heard pounding footsteps and groggily lifted his head to see Phoenix crouched in front of him, his blue eyes grim. "This is gonna hurt like hell, but try not to flail, got it?"
Ingenium blinked dazedly back at him. He tried to nod, but his body didn't seem to want to respond. Had Stain paralyzed him again? He'd thought… it was wearing off…
Phoenix pursed his lips and shifted so that he was pinning the pro hero's torso down with his legs, one of his hands gripping his right arm. His free hand lit up with blue flames as he reached towards the knife wound.
Tensei blinked, staring at the blue light for a few seconds before he realized what was coming and squeezed his eyes shut.
Pain exploded through his arm and by extension his entire body as the fire made contact with his skin, sharpening his senses and suddenly sending him flying wide awake again. Even prepared for it as he was, the pro hero couldn't quite suppress a scream from tearing at his throat, nor keep his body from bucking instinctively against the weight keeping him from escaping the pain. In an effort to keep still, he focused on the sensation of Phoenix's fingers pinching his wound shut before the heat seared it closed, on the tears streaming from his eyes under his helmet, on the spasming muscle in his clenched jaw, on the acrid scent of burning hair and flesh.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over, and Tensei felt himself slump with exhaustion even as he gasped desperately for breath, his lungs abruptly free of the paralysis and weight pinning them. His head swam and blackness briefly overtook his sight as he felt his body shift against his will. He was jarred back into consciousness when his back hit something solid, which he realized-slowly; far too slowly-was a brick wall.
"Ingenium, we've almost reached your location! Hold on, sir; please hold on!"
The last thing he saw before the darkness rushed back in and overtook him completely was Phoenix's facial scars, stretched in a small, sad smile before the vigilante turned and sprinted away.
.oOo.
Red.
Blue.
Red.
Blue.
Red.
Blue.
Voices.
Loud.
Pain.
Pain.
PAIN.
Nothing.
Quiet.
Beeping.
Slow.
Steady.
Constant.
Peaceful.
Tensei couldn't identify one moment when he regained consciousness. He was just suddenly aware where before he hadn't been.
And the first thing that he became aware of was pain.
His entire body, especially the left side, throbbed, aching and pulsing in time with his heartbeat. Still, it wasn't nearly as intense as he might have expected, all things considered. He must be on some really good painkillers, because there was no way he should have gotten out of being stabbed feeling this okay. Honestly, there was a significant part of him that hadn't expected to wake up at all. If Phoenix and Wraith hadn't turned up-
Phoenix. Wraith.
The pro hero's eyes suddenly snapped open and he lurched, trying to sit up with the power of the spark of adrenaline that zipped through his veins as a sudden sense of panic seized hold of his chest. He groaned as a spike of pain instantly lanced across his chest, keeping him from making any headway whatsoever in that regard. Closing his eyes once again and gritting his teeth, he decided to focus on breathing, forcing air in and out of his lungs, doing all that he could not to fall into the natural instinct of hyperventilation.
A hand fell on his.
Tensei twitched, surprised by the unexpected touch, his dark eyes fluttering open once more. His eyes flicked to the hand on his, tracing up the arm to a slim woman with dark hair framing a thin face, the light of the sunset streaming through the window, glinting off of her thin, wire frame glasses, and casting her simple medical mask into stark shadows.
"Ka-"
Tensei coughed harshly as the air caught in his throat, suddenly becoming aware of just how tight and dry his throat felt. He soon felt a gentle hand lifting his head, another one guiding a cup to his lips and helping him to drink. The cool water sliding down his throat was a relief; by the time it pulled away, he could swallow much more easily, not to mention it was much, much easier to focus on his mother's face.
"Kasan," he murmured, smiling faintly and pressing her hand as it found its way back to his.
"Tensei," she murmured, her face crumpling in relief, her other hand rising to gently brush his bangs off of his forehead before reaching over to press the 'Call Nurse' button. "I'm so glad you're awake."
"Was… was anyone else hurt?" Tensei asked, his thoughts turning back to his two young protectors (at least, he assumed Wraith was young; he hadn't really been able to see their face).
"Not that anyone knows of," his mother replied, her voice slightly muffled by her medical mask. "Your sidekicks said that they found you propped up against a wall just outside of an alleyway. When they investigated, they found a puddle of… of blood further inside, as well as quite a few scorch marks, but no other bodies."
"I… see," Tensei murmured, frowning in concentration. Hopefully, a lack of bodies was good. Hopefully, that meant Phoenix and Wraith had gotten away safely.
Unfortunately, it meant that Stain probably had as well.
"How long have I-"
The door of the hospital room slid open, startling the both of them. For a moment, Tensei thought it might be the nurse, but then he heard a choked gasp, a clatter of metal on tile, and a cry of, "Tensei!"
"Tenya, keep your voice down!"
Tensei smiled weakly and reached out his right hand (since his left was in significantly more pain). His mother excused herself briefly, stepping towards the still-open doorway as Tenya rushed forward, seizing it in both of his own, tears gleaming behind his glasses. "Oh thank God, you haven't woken up in hours!"
"I woke up before?" Tensei blinked, glancing towards their mother for confirmation.
"Not for very long, but yes, right after you were taken out of the ICU. You… weren't exactly lucid," she explained, reclaiming her seat once she'd closed the door and grabbed what appeared to be a can of coffee.
Ah, that's probably what Tenya dropped when he entered the room.
"Oh dear. I didn't say anything embarrassing, did I?" the elder Iida chuckled nervously (and biting back a wince when even that caused his wound to twinge), glancing back towards his brother as he took a seat in the chair on his other side. The grim look in Tenya's eyes had Tensei hesitating, the amusement wiped clean off his face. "Tenya? What did I say?"
Still, his little brother hesitated, glancing away from him, his grip tightening around Tensei's hand. The tears in his dark eyes seemed to grow a little bit more pronounced, his jaw clenching. "You said…" he began finally, his voice breaking slightly, "You asked me… to become Ingenium. You said to… to take the name, because… because you didn't know if… if you could carry it any longer."
Tensei's eyes widened. "I said that?"
"You… You did."
"Oh."
The three of them fell silent, Tenya and his mother gently gripping Tensei's hands, while Tensei himself was simply… contemplative. "If…" he began slowly, and his little brother's head snapped back around to face him, "If it comes to that, I do want you to take the name, Tenya."
"But Onii-san-!"
"I won't force it on you," Tensei smiled gently, "and who knows? Maybe I'll make a full recovery and it'll be a moot point. But if I have to give up being Ingenium, then honestly I can't imagine anyone who would deserve the name more than you."
Tenya's eyes widened, the tears beginning to slide down his cheeks. "I… I understand, Onii-san. Just… Just promise me… Promise me that you won't give up."
"I promise," Tensei chuckled again, only for the sound to devolve into another round of dry coughing.
The nurse entered the room as Tenya was helping him to drink some more water, her eyes widening when she saw Tensei awake, although exhausted by his coughing fit. His family reluctantly stepped away from his bedside while the nurse checked the various instruments displaying information about his heart, his blood, and so on, her expression slowly shifting from calm professionalism to a small smile.
"It looks like you're recovering remarkably well, all things considered," she said finally, stepping back from the bed and notating something on a clipboard. "They had to perform a rather intensive surgery to insert a catheter into your arm in order to connect the severed halves of your artery and sew up the wound properly. You're lucky that we had a surgical doctor on staff today with a quirk that let him fuse the catheter to the tissue itself, rather than be forced to sew it together. However, your attacker did a lot of internal damage to your arm regardless; the musculature, tendons, and ligaments were all badly torn. I'm not sure of the doctor's opinion, but I'm willing to guess that you won't be able to return to hero work for a few months at least, Iida-san, and it's possible that you'll have to limit your activity after the fact as well. You'll certainly have to engage in physical therapy."
"I understand," Tensei nodded. He had expected as much. He wasn't terribly happy about it of course, but using his quirk right after his arm had sustained this level of damage would not be wise. And besides, he trusted his team to pick up the slack in his absence.
"You're very fortunate that someone thought to cauterize the wound," the nurse murmured, her voice taking a grim tone as she set the clipboard back on the end of his bed. "These notes would indicate that you had lost nearly thirty percent of your blood to exsanguination by the time the ambulance managed to reach you. You were beginning to enter the early stages of hypoxia by the time they were able to give you an emergency blood transfusion."
Tensei nodded again, this time a little more absently, his exhaustion beginning to take its toll on his mind, "I'll have to remember to thank them, if I ever get the chance."
"You should try to get some rest; that will be more healing than anything at this point. Iida-san, if your son wakes up again or there appear to be any changes in his condition, call again and we'll have the doctor come take a look at him."
"Of course. Thank you."
"What did you mean by that, Onii-san?" Tenya asked curiously as the nurse left.
"Mm?"
"You said you'd thank them 'if' you get the chance. Was it not someone from your agency that cauterized the wound?"
"Mm," Tensei shook his head, letting his eyes close, his words beginning to slur here and there. "Was a vigilante duo that saved me."
"A what?"
A smile twitched Tensei's mouth, although he was too tired to laugh anymore. "No need to be so 'larmed, Tenya," he yawned. "They were pretty good, hones'ly. One of 'em had a blue fire quirk. Phoenix, he called himself. I think the other… was tel'inetic. Phoenix called 'im Wraith."
"I… I suppose I will have to thank them as well, if I get the chance."
"Just don' scold 'em too much for usin' their quirks withou' a license," Tensei mumbled.
If Tenya responded, Tensei didn't hear him.
Outtake:
Phoenix stood quietly under the awning of the corner cafe nearby Hosu General Hospital, slowly sipping on a mug of coffee, his piercing blue eyes constantly roving the rooftops nearby. He knew that he was being overly-cautious, coming back the day after Ingenium was attacked, but he didn't want to take any risks here. Akaguro hadn't exactly pulled punches back when he lived as the vigilante Stendhal. Phoenix couldn't count on Stain just backing off because his target was surrounded with higher security than normal. And anyway, heroes often made the mistake of relaxing just because they weren't on duty.
He would know, having taken advantage of that tendency several times himself.
Still, nothing happened as he finished his drink and dropped it in the trash, pulling his phone out of his pocket and checking the time. He had about an hour before he had to get back; that was enough time to walk around the perimeter, right?
Phoenix kept his head down and checked to make sure his medical mask was firmly in place before beginning to make his way around the edge of the hospital, occasionally glancing skyward in case of dark shapes jumping over the rooftops. He got around to the front of the building about the same time a bus was pulling up to the stop just outside of the main entrance, the doors opening to permit the exit of several passengers, one of whom was a young man with dark hair, sharp eyebrows and square-shaped glasses.
Just for a moment, Phoenix startled, ducking back into the shadow of the alley, convinced that Ingenium would recognize him. Then he realized that the boy before him wasn't the pro hero. He was far too young, far too stiff.
Not to mention he'd never seen Ingenium wear an expression quite like that before.
As Phoenix watched the younger Iida brother head into the hospital, he quietly pulled out his phone to write a quick message to Wraith, frowning briefly at the sight of a few messages his old friend had sent him earlier. They didn't quite make sense, so he asked for clarification as well before locking the device and tucking it back into his pocket.
When he had almost made it back to the compound, a TV in a nearby window gave him pause. Specifically, the vaguely-familiar house with a bizarrely charred backyard. Curious, he read the headline scrolling across the bottom of the screen: Deku Attacks UA Hero Student.
His eyes widened as the earlier message clicked.
"I am gonna kill him!"
The events alluded to in the outtake will be explained in a couple of chapters, but I wanted to slip this in. :) Also, yes, Phoenix is Dabi. I wasn't really trying to be subtle.
Also, MEET WRAITH, EVERYBODY! He might just be my favorite character in this little AU. And actually, he's not just thrown in there. I've been trying to allude to his presence in the story for several chapters now. I'd be interested to hear what you think of him, as well as what you've noticed for how I've been slipping him in. :)
So, what'd y'all think?! I realize that Tensei was probably way too lucid during that fight, but it was an important scene and he's a pro hero; he probably knows a thing or two about dealing with pain. Also I figure the adrenaline helped.
I went with a wound to the axillary artery because a) it's one of the most lethal spots on the human body for a knife wound and I presume Stain would know that, b) considering the type of armor that the Iidas wear, it's a location that's an obvious weak spot, and c) such a major wound to his arm would still affect Tensei's ability to engage in hero work, considering that's where his engines are placed. I decided that the spinal injury that permanently paralyzed Tensei would have been a secondary wound, delivered after Bloodcurdle had taken effect, especially considering that area of Tensei's body would have been well-protected, given that the armor is designed to protect him from crashes at speeds worthy of a racecar. So basically, if Phoenix and subsequently Wraith hadn't shown up when they did, Tensei would be paralyzed. As it was, he was just in severe danger of hemorrhagic shock and hypoxia via exsanguination (the fancy medical term for 'bleeding out').
Anyway, next update comes out July 20th! We're gonna jump back in time to finish up the Sports Festival, as well as take a closer look at my OC because I can. ;) Until then! PLUS ULTRA!