God, the summer is HOT!
Fighting Spider-Man is frustrating. It always has been. Unlike many of my former associates, I never relied purely on brute force. Even when using my greatest weapon. Every swing and every strike of my tentacles was calculated, not a single movement wasted even in the most stressful of situations. By all means, none should have survived an ecounter with me.
Which is why it was all the more infuriating to see someone laugh it off as he dove and danced around me like a fool. It wouldn't be until I took his body for myself that I realized what allowed Parker to do that.
Spider-Sense.
Such a childish - and very much inaccurate to actual arachnids - name for such an impressive ability. Though it allowed one to know of the danger mere seconds before it came, combined with the agility and reflexes of his body, it was no surprise that Parker survived our many encounters. It was an instinct - pure and raw in its efficiency.
But Parker never took it further. Much like everything else in his life, Parker allowed things to stay as they were. Unfulfilled. Stagnant. He never pursued higher degrees or better employment opprortunities. He never took the initiative for anything in his life. He never dared exploring how much higher he could rise as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man.
A part of me believes that it was due to fear. For with greater power would come even greater responsibility. Greater challenges. And Parker could not handle them. Unlike myself.
Unlike you.
)O(
Ever since Izuku met Doc, it seemed that his entire life became one neverending training montage. Physical and academic successes were but the bare basics of what the man expected of him. Whenever he was not busy studying or training, Doctor would lecture him on countless other topics like economics, politics, tactics and the like.
Despite the pressure - or perhaps, because of it - Izuku dove in and devoured every bit of information like a raving beast. Bank robberies, mad scientists, alien invasions, heroes fighting heroes. He had filled almost ten more books on countless scenarios that Doctor either witnessed or was a part of himself. All in preparation for any future crises.
He never expected to end up in one before enrolling in a school, though.
The entire place was a scene of chaos. Buildings were being torn apart as rampaging machines ran through the fake city. No longer slow enough to let you score a hit in. No longer using pulling punches or shooting goop. They were armed and controlled by real people. And if their captor was to be believed, there was no help coming their way.
Their current condition didn't helps matters much. They were all U.A. applicants. Most of them possessed combat-oriented Quirks. Even outnumbered and outgunned, the sheer variety of their powers would have made the machines easy enough enemies. He was quite sure that they could handle this.
If only the attack happened at the beginning of the exam.
The practical portion lasted only ten minutes. It seemed like such a small amount of time. And it was. U.A. gave them all only ten minutes to prove that they deserved a coveted spot in the country's greatest hero program. Ten minutes during which everyone was desperate to do everything in their power to succeed.
Was it any surprise that most if not all pushed themselves and their Quirks beyond what they normally could do and pretty much depleted all their stamina?
"We need to retreat. Find the safe spot and plan out our actions from there," Doctor spoke as Izuku tore another two-pointer's tail off. As he picked up another one of the injured kids and carried them on his back, the man's voice barely hid his contempt. "You are wasting your time and energy here. Leave this one alone and-"
No! He refused to. Firmly. Defiantly. No matter how bad their situation was, he absolutely refused to just hide away. Especially when he saw someone else in danger.
"You are going to get yourself killed," Doctor hissed. "Listen to me, Midoriya, now is not the time for reckless heroism. I need you to think with your head-"
"You picked me for my heart, right?" Izuku challenged the man. "This is me using it."
He was sure the older man was about to say something in return. But it wasn't his voice that Izuku heard next.
[Hey, bug-boy!] a modulated woman's voice sneered from behind. She was piloting the two-pointer, its laser stringer red and burning bright with the charge. [Eat heat!]
He jumped out of the way. It was a clumsy and rushed move. Faster and further than he needed, too. He tripped and fell upon landing, the girl in his arms ending up on the ground inches away from him. There were no words of thanks or even anger. Just more crying. More despairing over their situation. The fact that the woman took a chance to enjoy.
[Is that what heroes are all worth today? So. Lame!] The robot jumped and landed mere couple of feet away before Izuku before it stabbed at him with the tail. Izuku caught it by the stinger and crushed it in his hands, removing the long-range option for the demented woman behind the controller. [Hey, you have any idea how much I pai-]
He tore off the rest and slammed the tail down on the machine's head. And again. And again. It was a waste of energy. One that would definitely attract more enemies to their location. But it felt good to shut the crazy woman up. He grabbed the still sobbing girl and, despite her protests, continued to carry her with him.
"It's over," she whimpered. "They are going to kill everyone!"
"They won't," he said, with a little more force than he wanted to. He wanted her to feel safe. But it was hard keeping his metaphorical eye on any dangers when she was crying into his ear. Especially when there were just so many sources of danger.
It was ironic, wasn't it? He spent so much honing Spider-Sense to make sure it was better than simply reacting to active threats to his life. Pushing the power to the point he could periodically sense the danger before it became a threat to his life sounded like a wonderful idea at the time of the training.
Only now he was receiving way too much feedback. And almost no time to process it properly.
Exposed wire. Falling debris. Stray shots. Glass shards. Panicking applicants with volatile Quirks. More wire. More debris. The danger was coming from all around him, washing his world in the neverending siren of alarm.
Which gave one of the three-pointers a chance to sneak up on him. It charged at them out of nowhere and it was only the more intense blare of Spider-Sense that helped him barely dodge the incoming attack. Landing on the nearby wall, the girl still a wreck in his arms, Izuku gave the robot a glare from behind his goggles.
[Fuuuuuck. I just lost a bet because of you, asshole!] Even modulated, it was clearly a man's voice. [You have any idea how much money you just cost me?]
As if hunting kids with armed robots was not evil enough, these people were betting on this thing like it was some game, too?
Izuku cursed and leaped back putting himself between the girl and the machine. Frustration boiled under his skin as he glared at whoever was controlling the damned thing. "Are you seriously willing to risk jail or death sentence over some money?"
[What does it matter to you? You will be dead soon, you brat!] the man laughed. Izuku could feel electric charge dance at his fingertips as his frustration turned into rage. [Plus, the whole thing is fucking anonymous, moron. I could shout my name and address into the damn mic all day long and it will be censored anyway!]
He raised his hands, feeling the rage boil over and spill into his hands. Even if the person behind the controller wouldn't feel it, Izuku would take great pleasure in frying the machine to the crisp. The three-pointer aimed its arsenal down at him and let out another ugly laughter.
And then, in a blink of an eye, it was blown apart from the side, the beam of brilliant light cutting the machine in half. This did not come from him.
"Désolé d'interrompre," a blonde kid about their age stepped out of one of the ruined replica shops. He looked out of breath, pale as a sheet, too. "Apologies for stealing your kill."
Looking at the smoking bot, Izuku couldn't help but chuckle. It was not even an hour ago when he thought of these machines as just that - points to earn to win some stupid bet.
"It's fine," he sighed. "Let's go before more of his friends swarm us."
"Follow me, nouvel ami," their new acquintance said and marched in the opposite direction. "I know a route to the safe area."
The mention of a safe area seemed to snap the girl on his back out of shock. Before long, she was all but running ahead of their guide, Aoyama. Said safe area turned out to be fake warhouse on the edge of the fake city. Remote enough from the robots that it was quiet. Though Izuku doubted it would stay that way for long.
"Get inside," the blonde said as he gently nudged the others towards the fake warehouse. "It's safe in there."
Or as safe as it could be, given their current situation. The others stepped inside and were, no doubt, surprised by the amount of other people in there. It looked almost like a shelter during the natural disaster. For all intents and purposes, their current situation was hardly any different an actual thing.
"What are we going to do?" one girl wailed. She sobbed into her friend's chest. Both girls looked so exhausted, physically and emotionally. "They are going to kill us!"
"This has to be a joke, right?" another applicant asked, sounding more desperate than reassuring. Nobody dared get his hopes up. "For the love of God, this can't be happening! This has to be a mistake!"
"Will ya two shut up already?" yet another boy growled, glaring the two down. His fingers spotted razor-sharp claws. "They will find us if ya two don't stop talking! So shut yer damn traps before I do it myself!"
All around the fake warehouse, the picture was more or less similar. They were here to try and become heroes. But at the end of the day, they were still kids. And now here they were, hunted by a bunch of crazy people piloting armed robots. Some of the people here were shouting over one another, demanding someone explain what was happening and why.
Most sat quiet and withdrew from the entire situation, perhaps too afraid to draw attention from the robots outside. Or too shocked to believe this was reality and not a horrible dream. It wasn't long before the situation he saw before escalated into a fight. One the girls slapped the boy with claws for further upsetting her friend. And now the two had to be dragged off from each other by their friends and classmates.
Which, of course, only snowballed into more infighting.
Even if he understood both the stress and the anger of everyone here, he still couldn't help but groan at the situation unfolding before his eyes. They were already in big enough mess, was it really the time and place for infighting as well?
"We are wasting our time here, Midoriya," Doctor's voice insisted. As he watched two groups push and insult each other, a small part of him couldn't help but agree. "These are the lost causes. We need to focus on finding the way out."
He looked at the other kids bickering. The noise they made was sure to attract more robots soon. He also had no authority to command them and he doubted they would listen to him. It made sense to strike out on his own. He could take care of himself better if he didn't have to waste time trying to take charge of people who would not follow him.
Yes, it was the logical choice.
No. No, he couldn't just leave them all by themselves.
"I can still fight. I am in better condition than most of the people here," Doctor protested and Izuku couldn't help wincing in pain and annoyance. "I am not leaving the others."
"We can do better job at saving them if we are not with them."
"We will only put them at risk. I will not-"
"Enough!" the firm voice cut through all the noise. A single figure marched into the center between the two groups. "Is this how you think aspiring heroes should be acting in the times of crisis? Bickering with each other while we are being hunted by a villain? Letting your fear and anger override your common sense and basic decency? You all should be ashamed of yourself!"
Doctor sighed. As did Izuku.
"What an idiot."
As expected, the shaming did little to calm everyone down. Instead, now in addition to fear, the two groups were also pissed off at the young man for acting as if he had any right to lecture any of them. Izuku watched the boy from the exam adjust his glasses calmly even as everyone around him hurled insults and threats at him.
"My name is Iida Tenya," he spoke suddenly, loud enough to make everyone look at the windows in light panic. "And just as everyone else here, I am terrified. To be honest with all of you, I have never been more scared in my entire life," The confusion worked where shame failed as the other kids exchanged quick glances. Did he want to bring the mood down even further? "The villain has the advantage in numbers, weapons and power. Judging by the lack of response from the faculty, I can only assume that they are either preoccupied with the one responsible or incapacitated."
The latter was a chilling thought. Whereas a great majority of hero schools usually employed either specialized instructors or retired heroes, U.A. always boasted its all-active hero faculty. To many, it was a sign of not only the students receiving the education from the people currently working on the front lines but also the promise of the kids' safety.
And now, this sense of security was breached.
"Which is all the more reason why we cannot lose our heads right now," the young man clenched his fist. Whether it was the nerves or the determination, Izuku himself couldn't quite tell. Most likely, it was both, Doctor supplied helpfully. "Otherwise, we will only make it easier for them to take us down. Hell, we might even do the job for them if we continue acting like this!"
Those who hit other applicants looked away guiltily.
"We have to stick together on this one. This is the only way we can possibly survive," he continued. "There is absolutely no way U.A. doesn't have contingencies for such scenarios. Even if the staff are themselves unable to assist us at the moment, I am sure that someone has been alerted and the pro heroes are already coming to save us. But we need to hold out until then."
"But how?" the girl from before asked. "Those robots will kill us before any help arrives!"
"Only if we let them," Iida said. "The villain has taken us all by surprise. But that element is gone now. We know how our enemies are. We know what their weapons are. It is up to us to fight back. For that, we need a plan. To make one, we need to assess our resources and manpower. The one advantage we have against the enemy is the variety of our abilities."
The uncertainly was heavy in the air as everyone exchanged glances. It must have sounded insane to them. All of them were just kids. How were they supposed to do anything during an actual villain attack? What good would revealing your Quirk do when you could do nothing meaningful with it?
"My Quirk is called Arachnid."
Izuku smiled awkwardly as he found everyone staring at him. He gave them a small wave. It did not help.
"Increased strength, speed and stamina, as well as biolelectricity charges I can shoot from my hands," he listed off, trying not to break into another mumbling feat. "I think my greatest asset right now would be my Spider-Sense. With it, I can detect danger to myself within a certain range. If we stay close enough, I can serve as a sensor of sorts."
That seemed to lift some of their hopes up. Hushed whispers and mutters started to spread through the air.
"I don't sense any danger for now," he supplied helpfully. "But I doubt we have much time before the robots find us so we need to come up with the plan fast."
"Agreed. And thank you for sharing," Iida gave him a small nod, a reassuring smile on his face. "I will not force anyone here to reveal anything they do not wish to. But I believe that having as much information on our capabilities is the best option for our success here."
And just like that, the mood slowly shifted in the fake warehouse.
One by one, the rest of the group listed their Quirks, weaknesses and any other information that could serve them right now. Some of the other applicants has useful Quirks but, unfortunately, were either injured like Uraraka or unconscious like Komori. Those with weaker or non-combat abilities agreed to take care of them.
"We will divide into groups of four. We need to ensure the proper balance of our Quirks and capabilities."
"Wait, we are separating?" the clawed boy snarled. "The hell happened to sticking together?"
"Our current priority is search and rescue of remaining applicants. We will cover more ground if we separate. And going as one group will make us too big of a target," Izuku reasoned. "We will need some means of communication though."
"Taeru-kun can link up to ten people at the time," Tokoyami nodded at the boy with short antennae sticking out of his head. "We could divide into ten groups with the designated people relaying the information."
"That's what I had in mind," Iida nodded. "But ten is too big. We will be spreading ourselves too thin. Four is optimal with the people we have on hand."
"Why not eight?" a girl with crystal snowflakes covering her skin asked. "We have eight people who could provide physical protection and necessary firepower."
"You are forgetting about the injured and unconscious," Izuku gestured to the small group sitting to the side. "We need to leave some of our stronger members here or other location to keep them safe until help arrives."
"Je me porte volontaire," Aoyama raised his hand as he offered to take the role. "I need some time to recharge but I will be of better use here. If everyone is fine with that, of course?"
When nobody disagreed, they continued on with the discussion. Assigning everyone their roles in a way that would cover their weaknesses and maximise their strengths was no easy task. But in the end, what they managed to come up with was a workable if imperfect plan. Izuku wanted to suggest more ideas. He was about to when the growingly unpleasant sensation hit him.
"They are here," he alerted the rest. No specifics on the numbers but nowhere near enough to give him more than a light pang of discomfort. "Only one or two but more will come. We need to move."
"Everyone, remember what we discussed," Iida watched the applicants form the agreed-upon groups. "Stick to the plan. Relay all necessary information and look for one another. We are not letting this day become the dark moment of U.A's history. Instead, we shall show these villains what the future heroes of this country can do!"
As they emerged from the fake warehouse, Izuku couldn't help but turn to Iida and give him a small nod of respect. He was terrified, just like the rest of them. But where Izuku almost broke away from the group, the other kid sought to unite them and prepare the proper strategy.
"Stay safe, Iida-kun."
"I will," the speedster have a firm handshake. "You as well, Midoriya-kun."
)O(
"Ooooh, the kids from the Sector F seem pretty lively," a girl with electric blue hair smiled as she watched the monitors. "I didn't expect the Iida kid to rise up as the leader."
Neither have the ones who bet on the boy dying in the first ten miniutes of the execution time. Or the ones who bet their money on Midoriya kid to play the leader. Oh well, can't win them all. Long as they kept betting, she would come out on top.
And in the end, was it not what mattered the most?
"He will fall," Arata said as he sent more robots headed for the group. She scoffed at that. Should have waited until some of the participants offered to buy those. "Just like the rest of them."
Kin watched the guy send more machines after the kids all over the area. Sector F group was by far the most organized. The rest? Not so much. They were fighting back.
But they were too shocked and scared to think straight. Couple that with how vicious some of the players got and... Well, she had a feeling some lucky shrinks would get very, very rich from this day. Provided that the kids survived to get the therapy.
Of course, none of that compared to the money they were raking in right now.
The subscription fee was just one hundred thousand yen. No biggie, really. But for one million? You could get your own fully-functioning robot to attack the U.A. applicants! And for some additional fees, you could get maps and even profiles on the students! Not to mention all the donations that were pouring from all across the country.
And all for a chance to have their request heard and fulfilled!
Though their names and faces would remain anonymous to the applicants they were attacking, Kin took a certain pleasure in getting a brief look into their players. They all were people from different walks of life. Some of them were criminals. But more than a few were the same people you passed by every day on your way to work, to school or to the convenience store.
It was fascinating just how different lives these people led on the outside and yet, here in the dark web, they were all the same.
Any of these people could call contact the police or the hero office. But in that case, they wouldn't see how it all ends, would they?
[Break his leg!]
[Tell her to beg on her knees and we will let her go!]
[Shit, I just died. Can I get a new robot?]
It hardly mattered, though. Money was money. And money was good.
[Send more robots to Sector G! This bastard keeps bombing us!]
[Do the student profiles include their home addresses?]
[Guys! New robot, please?]
Whether it was soaked in blood or shit, it was all the same money in the end.
"Enjoying the show?" Kin looked away from the rows and rows of numbers and requests. Arata was leaning back in his chair, a smug grin on his lips. "Can you believe that I was once rejected in favor of these kids?"
Casually, he reached for the syringe with the booster and stabbed it into his neck. With that, he would have be able to keep the entire area isolated from any contact for another hour or two.
"All because my Quirk was not good enough," he cackled as he had the one-pointer smash one of the applicants into the wall hard enough to crack the ribs. "Well, now they are at the mercy of my weak Quirk."
His Quirk - Machinehead - was a low-level technopathy. Enough to connect with the machines up close and maybe get them to perform a command or two. Kin knew that, in the right hands, even the low level of technopathy was worth a lot of money.
But Arata had neither the imagination to do something creative with his power nor the commitment to strengthen it.
"Too bad I am not feeling merciful!"
She watched the broken machines slowly pick themselves back and awkwardly jam back into one piece. On its own, his Quirk from the distance could maybe have these things clusmily shuffle along to his tune. But when the guy was pumped full of Trigger and a few extra boosters?
Kin couldn't help but whistle at the metal monsters he was building. And neither could she help a stray thought:
How much should we sell each for?
)O(
Tenya knew the dangers that came with the career of a pro hero.
Having grown up in the family that worked as heroes ever since the Great Emergence, he spent his childhood listening to the stories of his family's greatest accomplishments. And their most tragic failures.
He was not blind to the reality of this life. He knew that at any given moment, a hero could lose their life to a disaster or a villain attack.
But he never let that discourage him. And today would be no exception.
"Take these two to Neru-san!" he handed over the pair of siblings to Ishiya-san and trusted the fellow applicant to get them out of here. "Hurry, I will hold them off!"
His engines roared, the heat of metal biting at his flesh. Pushing himself past the pain and exhaustion, he jumped from one enemy to another as he kicked their heads away and used the newly vacant spots to bounce around them. He could do little more, no longer having the stamina to do anything but quick killing kicks.
[Got him!] one of the attackers cried out as he grabbed his leg with the cold steel claw. [How about we snap your little legs off and see how you do then, huh?]
The answer to that was a swift kick to the lense and then to the metallic head. Tenya cursed under his breath. He panicked. Moved too fast and too sudden, and his punishment was getting one of his engines damaged in the process. He could still run but it was a matter of time before he ran out of juice entirely.
Shoji-san came down to help him up, "We evacuated everyone from here."
Good, then they could move.
"What's the word from the other groups?"
"Tokoyami has lured a large group of machines to some ruins," Hiryu reported, his voice laced with concern. "They managed to clear the area but came under friendly fire from the guy."
"Where are they now?"
"On the move, trying to keep Tokoyami away from the dark areas for now."
"Good, what about Midoriya-san?"
"Avoiding the enemies as best as they can," one of Shoji's limbs moved around, picking up on the sounds in the distance. "They are moving to take some of the injured to the shelter."
Good. That was good.
So long as all of them survived this, everything was good. Their plan was less a firm strategy and more a set of things they thought would keep them safe until the help arrived.
If it ever does.
Shaking off that depressing thought, he coordinated with the other groups on where they currently were. Gathering in one place for too long was practically serving themselves up for their enemies. But they couldn't run around blindly either and risk losing contact with one another.
In the end, like many things today, it was a gamble.
They met near the area cleared by Tokoyami. The raven-haired boy was sitting away from the rest of his group, the odd sense of unease heavy around them. Tenya could see the mixture of emotions spread across the people from his group.
Awe, fear, respect, anger, distrust. And the boy himself seemed to accept it all, quietly taking in whatever negativity came his way.
He would need to talk to him once the proper opportunity presented itself.
"Iida-kun!" The speedster recognized the girl as one of Izuku's. Though the green-haired boy was nowhere to be seen himself. That was the first sign that set off the alarms in the blue-haired boy'd head. "We have to move, now!"
The second was the deafening laughter. Coming from all around them, he recognized the laugh as that of the man who trapped them in here. Taunting them. Mocking their injuries and their overall state.
"Congratulations to Sector F! You guys are the only ones who have managed to last this long with no casualties!" the man let the implication hang heavy over their heads. "In fact, you all did so well that I decided to make you the main stars of our show!"
The machines were once again around them. But these were no longer the bots they recognized from the exam. They were all bigger and seemingly cobbled together from several other machines. Didn't make them any less threatening, though.
"I wanted to let the massacre happen more naturally! But seeing how all of you banded together to overcome the impossible just got me so damn pissed off!" he growled into the mic. "I bet you all think yourselves so special! So smart and brave! Well, guess what, you are not! None of you are!"
They felt the ground shake beneath their feet. The very air was rattling around them. As were the buildings. The walls. And their own bones.
"All of you are just fakes with strong Quirks and nothing more!"
Zero Pointers were gigantic. But this thing? It was truly suffocating with its presence. Cobbled together from seemingly five of the giant machines, the metal colossus towered over them all.
If one were to look closer, they could see numerous extra bits and pieces all over its body. The jagged metal pieces, the claws and the lasers and the rocket launchers from the smaller bots. Its only eye - the blaring red - glared down on them like the insects they were in comparison to the metal mammoth.
"Beg for mercy! Pray for salvation! None of it matters!"
Tenya stood frozen in shock as he watched the monster raise its hand, eclipsing the sun. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tokoyami fall to his knees as the shadow formed and grew around him. There was no resistance from the boy. In fact, he seemed desperate to push his Quirk to grow even bigger.
"You are already dead!"
Those were the last words Tenya heard as his entire world was drowned out in darkness and screams of those he led in here.
)O(
Izuku, like any other kid, was always raised to respect his elders. To show appreciation for the wisdom they would pass down as well as the experience they have accumulated in their years.
"You made the right choice. Now is not the time to blame yourself."
"Doctor, for the love of God, shut up!"
He could feel the anger the Doctor felt at his response. But he didn't care. He hated where he was right now - away from the battle. He hated how he ended up here - told his group to run and warn Iida while he ran off on Doctor's orders.
Doctor said that this would help them end the entire thing fast. Stop this insanity before more people suffered. But to do so, he had to be away from the main battle. As he dug through one of the modified robot's insides, Izuku could not help but feel the weight of every second he was not on the battlefield with the others.
"We are the only ones who can finish this properly," Doctor insisted. "You have already sustained an injury to your right leg, ribcage and back. Do you want to die fighting a lost battle or save everyone like a proper hero would?"
Izuku knew the answer. But that didn't mean he had to like it.
Through his eyes, the Doctor guided his hands into the machine's wiring and circuitry. Talking a mile a second, he instructed him through disassembling it for the parts needed for their move. But even in the situation as stressful as this, Izuku couldn't help the odd and haunting sense of familiarity with the machine.
As if he had done this a countless times himself.
Shaking the feeling off and pushing it to the deepest corners of his mind, Izuku linked his AME goggles to the machine and waited for it to activate. Having the genius in your mind didn't immeditately translate into having all his knowledge. So, as the seconds ticked by, Izuku couldn't help the fear grow thick in his throat. The fear that he messed up.
The fear that he failed everyone else and left them to die.
Thankfully, the lenses of his goggles grew red with the signal to the outside accessed. Whatever Quirk the villain had, they have clearly made the way for their twisted playmates to watch the entire thing.
And now, with their own doorway made and ready, Izuku was ready to even the scales.
They had no way of knowing whom it could reach. They had only enough time to give everyone the bare minimum of information. Who he was. Where they were. And that they needed help.
There was no way to aim the signal right and so Izuku went for spreading the message as far as he could, letting the call for help latch onto any devices in the nearby area and hoping for it to go through. And now that his way of contacting the outside world was most likely cut out, he ran.
But this time, towards the battle.
Grabbing some fake cabels from the nearby pole, he rushed through the streets without any regard for his condition. Every single muscle felt like it was on fire. Every draw of breath echoed with pain in his chest. But as he got closer and closer to the giant metal monster, he could feel the power return to his body.
It might have been adrenaline. It might have been some new power neither he nor Doctor understood. Whatever it was, Izuku was determined to use for what it was worth.
"Help! Somebody, please help me!"
Izuku's eyes strayed towards the boy as he was desperately fighting a losing battle against the other machines. He had no time to spare on this one, Doctor said. Did he want to stop the giant robot and save everyone? Or just one boy he didn't recognize as part of their group?
I already sacrificed enough today.
Irrational. Stupid. Reckless. None of those words mattered as Izuku swooped in and grabbed the boy - who introduced himself as Mineta in a moment of panic - by his torso. Swinging away, he was looking for a place to put the boy down when he noticed how strangely sticky his hair was.
"Is that your Quirk?"
"Y-Yes," the boy shuffled awkwardly. "W-Why?"
Izuku took out one of the vials from his bag. A dissolving agent he kept in case he accidentally webbed someone's face up.
"How many can you make?"
"How many do you need?"
Izuku turned to the towering colossus.
"Enough to deal with this guy."
Mineta looked at the metal monstrosity. Then at the two balls firmly held in his own hands. Then at this strange kid who was looking at him as if he could do something besides run and hide. Did this green-haired dude have to look at him like that?
He just left Mineta now choice but to nod and pick one of his headballs off.
"I will get on that."
)O(
Maman... Papa... Why do I always bring misfortune to others?
Yuga cursed under his breath as he was tossed aside by a mighty metal claw. He rolled around in the dirt and dust but won one of his comrades a chance to get out of the way. Aiming for the machine, he pushed through the pain and fired another blast of his Quirk.
Non... He thought as guilt filled him. Pas ma bizarrerie.
It was not his Quirk. Not his power. It was someone else's. Taken away by force or coercion and granted to him by a despicable and monstrous man. One that he accepted just to escape the prejudice that he feared from the world.
Was that why his Quirk was so hard and painful to use? Could it, on some level, feel that he was not its rightful owner? A Quirk rebelling against a voleur pathétique like himself sounded fitting enough. He deserved nothing better.
Whether this attack was planned by All For One or someone else, Yuga had no doubt in his mind that he deserved whatever came his way.
He deserved it all and even more.
But everyone else here was innocent! And he would be damned if he didn't use the Quirk - stolen or not - to fight for them. He knew that he could never be like the heroes he admired. He was tainted from the very moment he went along with his parents' idea to give him a Quirk.
Which is why he had no qualms about putting his life on the line here.
Firing off one blast after another, he ran around the area even as his insides burned. He blasted clean through the robots in the area while doing his best to carry everyone else to safety or keep the giant machine's attention on himself.
He could feel the power eat away at him, refusing to recognize him as the true wielder of this Quirk. But it didn't matter. As long as he could save even one of his new comrades, he was happy to have his body break apart.
Hie legs gave out and he curled in one himself in pain. He could no longer push himself through it as he threw up whatever remnants of lunch he had. The giant shadow loomed over him. And suddenly, Yuga found himself completely alone in this growing shade.
It was a fitting end for such a guy as himself. Crushed under the fist of the unfeeling machine like a cafard. Yes, it was definitely the only way this could ever end for him. He closed his eyes and waited for the end.
There was no crushing sensation, though. Instead, Aoyama found himself carried away from under the shadow by a strange-looking boy with blood all over his head.
"W-What is going on?" he asked the boy in confusion and shock. Why was he bleeding? Were they both dead? "Qui es tu?!"
"Je m'appelle Mineta Minoru!" he answered in a hurry. "Wait, why am I answering you in French? Speak Japanese!"
As the boy broke into an angry rant about the French and romance and pick-up courses for some reason, Yuga turned to look back at the hand that was supposed to crush him.
Only to find it covered in some weird purple goop.
"What the fu-"
"Aoyama-kun!" He was helped back to his feet by Neru-kun. The boy was smiling, tears of happiness marring his face. "The heroes have arrived! They are here to save us!"
They were? He almost collpased from the shock of the news. As if his body refused to believe that this nightmare was almost over.
"They are in the area A!" one of the other applicants shouted. "Those who need medical attention at the front!"
They were moving. He saw several kids carry the unconscious bodies of Iida and Tokoyami. Two of the three brave guys who helped them the most through this nightmare. Then, Yuga turned to the giant robot to see the third one - Midoriya Izuku - swing around the monstrosity on the strings of purple.
His motions were in the realm of their own. Powerful and yet graceful. Every single twist and curve in his trajectory spun an elaborate web around the machine. And each and every turn and motion held the mix of terror and excitement that one could not help but feel drawn to.
It was like Yuga was watching a spider dance in the air around its prey.
Enchanteresse...
)O(
Izuku swung through the air like man drunk. With how much blood he has lost by now, he might as well be.
The Zero Pointer swung its fist after him. Sluggish but no less deadly, he had no choice but to roll under it as he fell onto the roof. Picking up another sticky ball from his improvised belt, Izuku had mere seconds to use the agent on it and pour the resulting liquid into his webshooters.
And then back in the air he was, swinging and dancing around the metal monster as he desperately tried to immobilize it.
Whatever material Mineta's balls were composed of, it was durable enough to withstand the strength of the thing. But whatever it was, it also had the different composition to the web the agent was supposed to be used on. With how rushed this combination and uneven the agent distribution was, it was one messy startegy to use.
But so long as it worked, he would take it.
He shot more goop charges at the thing's joints in hopes of them gumming up. Had to take care of arms first lest it collapses down onto the fleeing applicants. One of the arms was already moving rigidly enough that Izuku chose to maneuever around it. If he kept up the pace, he could take this thing down and-
"You must think you are so clever, boy."
Arcade... Izuku growled at the thought of the man. Ever since this insanity began, Izuku pushed the thoughts about the man aside in favor of saving those around him. But now that the two were alone, Izuku couldn't help as his mind brought up all the things he learned about this man today.
"You and the rest of the brats have no idea what the world really is like! You think you can play heroes just because you were born with a powerful Quirk? While putting the guys like me down for the sake of your own ego!"
All the tiny bits of information the sadist was more than happy to share about himself.
"You must think this is unfair. You must think that I am a villain!"
All the whining about how the world refused to recognise his potential.
"But I am not!" he screamed into his mic, the voice carrying through the air for miles. "I am the wake-up call you dumb sheep needed all along!"
All the self-aggrandising bullshit he spouted about knowing what a true hero should be like!
It was getting on his nerves.
"Do you honestly think that's what you are?" Izuku challenged as he landed closer to the thing's head. Tearing lasers and rocker launchers and claws and blades, he ran down the shoulder. "Do you honestly believe that this is what you are doing right now? Teaching the world what heroes should be like?"
He picked one pf the larger bits of metal up and stabbed the thing in one of the joints.
"Brilliant! Simply brilliant!" He jumped off the arm when the thing tried to smash him into a bloody spot. He deepened his voice in his best attempt at mimicking the man's. "Let me kill a whole bunch of defenseless kids and broadcast it to the similarly-twisted assholes across the country! This will show the world what heroes should do!"
"Shut up!" the man growled and raged. "You are just a damn brat! You have no idea what life is really about! I-"
"Heroes are bad. Villains are good. The society is corrupt and broken. Only by burning it all down, we can make a better and brighter world?" Izuku asked mockingly. The frustration and the absurdity of it all had him running his mouth unlike he ever did before. "Please! This is the same bullshit you can see on every damn forum online! People who think that they are some damn revolutionary for deciding that our society needs even more violence and brutality!"
Each word was accentuated with him covering more and more of the machine in his improvised web.
Until the entire thing was unable to move.
"Y-You...!"
Izuku landed down on the ground, his body numb and legs shaky. He charged his fist up with the Venom Blast to the max and walked slowly to the one string of purple web that was lying on the ground.
"I think we heard you talk enough today..." he gave a weak victorious smile. "It's Game Over, Arcade."
With that, he struck the webline and poured all his remaining power through it. He watched - felt - the current of bioelectricity travel through the webs. He, along with the rest of the applicants here, watched the entire thing light up like a Christmas tree, each and every piece of circuitry frying in seconds.
And with that, both Izuku and the Zero Pointer have collapsed to the ground.
)O(
The next day, the news channels all across Japan were having their field day with the incident labelled as Attack of Arcade. In the Era of Peace created and nurtured by All Might, the news of a hero school - one as notorious as U.A. no less - being attacked was bound to shake up the entire country.
Especially when it involved the death of children. Twelve applicants would never come home to their families. Around seventeen have suffered injuries or trauma that was almost guaranteed to put an end to their hero careers, as well.
But while the families grieved for their loves ones, the media saw it fit to spread another story as well. The story about the brave boys and girls banding together in the time of a crisis and working to ensure that they survived such terrible tragedy. And in the center of it all was the video of the young man and his battle against the machine.
For better or worse, by the end of the day, there was not a single person in Japan who has not heard of Midoriya Izuku.
EPILOGUE
"It's Game Over, Arcade."
Raaaarghhh! What the fuck was that?
"It's Game Over, Arcade."
What kind of anime bullshit did this brat just pull on him?
"It's Game Over, Arcade."
Game over? GAME OVER?! It would be over when he decided it was over!
"Sheesh, ease up on the screens," the bitch said as she closed down her laptop. "Those things cost money."
She whistled, watching the last screen intact. The smug - mocking - face of the brat on it.
"Quite the show, I must say," she chuckled. "Who knew the greenie would pull through like this? Well, besides the boss."
Her phone buzzed with notifications. Judging by her near orgasmic expression, the latest numbers came in. And if the yen signs that were literally cracking in her pupils right now were any indication, she was happy with those.
"Man, who knew that so many people would pay to hunt down all these hero kids. Seriously, look all this haul! I could retire with this kind of money in my accounts!"
"We can talk about money later," Arata said as he tossed onto his jacket. "The police and heroes are going to swarm this place soon. We need to regroup and decide on our next move."
"Oh, no need for that," the girl smirked. "We already got what we wanted."
"What are you talking about?" he growled, his temper growing worse at the girl's lack of awareness. "Quit messing around with your phone like an idiot and let's go!"
He grabbed her hand and started to pull her towards the exit. Only to feel the electric current through his veins. His Quirk had the connection to electricity. And so his body was naturally built up to withstand a certain amount of it.
"Yaaaarghhhh!"
But this was way above whatever his body was built for. His fingers locked into a vice grip around the girl's wrist and refused to let go even as every single cell in his body screamed for them to do just that. He sank to his knees and pushed himself to look up at the girl.
He wasn't sure what he was expecting. Anger? Pity? Disappointment?
He found nothing on account of the girl still looking at her phone.
"We really need to make some merch off it," she whispered, mesmerized by all the profit she made today. "I can practically smell money in there."
"L-L... le... let... go..." he could feel his heart beat at the rate he didn't imagine possible. "p... Plea... Plaaaa..."
Without even looking at him, the girl turned off her power and he fell. Fucking bitch, Goddamn money-obsessed psycho! He would make her pay for that. Once she brought him to the Power Broker, he would show her just who she messed with.
"Alright, this was a very profitable day but it's time to go," the girl walked past him. Did the bitch think he could walk in this state? Fucking idiot. Did he have to tell her how to do everything?
"You psycho, pick me up!"
"Why?"
What?
Was she- Fucking idiot!
"Is your money only good for counting money? I said, come and pick me up! Hurry before the heroes arrive!"
"... and why should I do that?"
She was smiling at him. Not that vacant and relaxed smile she normally wore. Or the excited and euphoric smile she had whenever she saw the money pour into the accounts. Instead, it was a chilling and hollow smile. One that showed too many teeth at once as her eyes grew low in their light.
"You need me," he whispered to himself. To her. To whoever who was her boss. "You need me! You couldn't pull this attack without me!"
"We did need you. But only for today. So thanks for providing us your services," she gave a small bow. "Your payment will be sent to your account. Minus all the expenses for the equipment you damaged. And emotional turmoil you caused me when you grabbed me by my wrist. Huh, come to think of it, we might not need to pay at all."
No. No, it couldn't be true.
He was useful, damnit. He couldn't let it all end here!
"There are others with Quirks like mine..." he growled as he tried to get up. "So why did you pick me?!"
He was special. He knew that. Knew that right from the start.
He just needed to hear it.
"Because you were special," she smiled and he dared to hope. Only to have that hope stomped into the ground as the girl continued to speak in the same sweet and nonchalant tone, "You were just the right combination of self-absorbed, stupid and psychotic that you would go through with our plans. Others were either too smart or too cautious to agree to this plan."
She laughed. It was a melodic and sincere sound. Because she was laughing at the biggest joke in the room.
Him.
"I mean, can you imagine, attacking U.A. of all places? And not third-years or second-years or even the first-years! But applicants!" she let out a small chuckle. "That's death sentence right there."
He laid there, cold and suddenly heavy.
"... I can still be useful," he whispered. Scared. Desperate. "I can still be of use to you and your boss!"
Just don't leave him here.
Not like this... Not like this!
"Sorry, Arata, orders from the top," she shrugged. "Nothing personal, really. It is just business."
She picked up his phone and unlocked it with his own broken and sobbing face.
Her body went bright with lightning. No, it turned into lightning itself. With a casual wave and wink, Sarugaki Kin disappeared into his phone. And once that fell and smashed against the ground, nothing that could ever hint at the girl's existence remained in the room.
Nothing but the sad and broken young man that police took into custody the very same night.
Aaaaand that's a wrap.
Holy hell, did that take long or what. Not gonna lie, this one took me a lot of time to make ends of. Couple that with the very messy schedule and the mix of needing and wanting to write other things... And yeah, damn long time.
Anyways, hope you liked it! I think I enjoyed writing Iida and Aoyama the most in this chapter. One of the main aspects here that I wanted to do was do a little POV of someone besides Izuku. And these two just came naturally to it.
Some trivia notes:
1) Originally, the chapter was supposed to feature Bakugou going absolutely apeshit on the enemies and even blowing up the Zero Pointer in his area. However, I never could take the idea to the proper conclusion since it either portrayed Bakugou as a psychotic jerk or just didn't end in a way that didn't read awkwardly.
2) The final battle was also supposed to have Izuku FAIL at stopping the Zero Pointer. Originally, it would have Endeavor and the pro heroes arrive and tear the entire thing apart while the applicants admired the power of pros. Buuuuut after the whole bunch of POV shifts between Iida, Izuku, Aoyama and Arata, I kind of felt that it would feel out of place near the end.
3) I also planned to have Kin fight Izuku instead of the Zero Pointer. While the other applicants would take down the giant robot through the power of friendship and teamwork, Izuku would stall the girl and get his ass kicked until the help arrived. The chapter would end with him passing out after electrocution.
4) Sarugaki Kin is this universe's Electro. I hope you liked her as much as I did. Sometimes I enjoy writing villains with very simply and superficial motives and desires. In this case, it is money. Duh.
I hope you all had fun and that this chapter was worth the wait.
See ya soon!