"It was heard from the heroine commander's own mouth," said the bug-faced envoy, holding up their wrist and displaying a holographic projection. "They attack tomorrow."
Every pair of eyes in the room passed to Naru Hojo, awaiting his reaction. The boss got to his feet and paced across the platform, tapping his chin.
"Is it possible for something to feel delayed and rushed at the same time?" he muttered, looking at them all in turn. "Answer me that."
No one did.
Naru sighed. "Recall Satoru and the little scout-things…whose Quirk was that again?"
"Ikezawa's," someone put in helpfully.
"Okay, recall her too. They'll be used on the perimeter. You two, go with them." He pointed at some of the department heads and gestured them out of the room, with the envoy. They nodded and obeyed.
"Nishizono, I want you to take emergency control of 166. Shred all files, including copies. Fry the electronics and turn the sprinkler system on. Any guards still left there, you bring them back to the wall. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Kurugaya, prepare the defenses. Use your Quirk on the second and fourth floors of this building, the far right wing, and 115, but nowhere else until you hear my say-so."
"Yes, sir."
"Anzu, delay my meetings with the bank and the board of river operations, and get Kitai on the line. If he has somehow caused this…" Naru hissed a drew a finger across his throat.
"Understood." Anzu bowed and left with the others.
"You three. And you. Positions. Coordinate the shifts. I need everyone well-slept for tomorrow."
The guards scattered. The room was emptying rapidly, a hurried frenzy sweeping over the crime outfit's complex. It was time.
Marlo stepped nervously toward his father. "We never got a chance to rescue Waka and your brother."
"They're lost."
Marlo despaired. He'd known already that his father had given up on their property here - for the past few weeks, moving trucks had been coming in and out to clear all the Hojos' material possessions. Transportation Quirks like Marlo's own had been hard at work, too - only necessary infrastructure remained. The heroes will invade a shell. But his uncle and cousin?
"We don't give up on family. How many times have you told me that?"
"We aren't. Not immediate family, anyway." Naru leaned closer to talk to his son more quietly. "Listen, Marlo. I know you haven't approved of everything I've asked you to do with your Quirk."
Marlo swallowed. "Teleporting that little terrorist around."
"I promise it will all be worth it soon. Tomorrow you have a chance to use your power for something better. When the time comes, you'll send your mother and sisters to the safehouse with it."
"But…Father, I've never used it on more than one person before."
"You've been practicing, haven't you?"
"They can use the rig to reach the safehouse. Or even one of the triplets' Quirks, if it comes to it. Why do I-"
"Because you're going too."
Marlo shook his head feverishly. "I want to stay with you, Father. These heroes will cook your limbs over the fire."
Naru grinned. "Not if I tell them to do otherwise."
"You're using all your power on the Town. You can't make another big command zone."
"They'll be big enough. I don't need them to last, either. Your old man will be fine. I got us clear of that green-headed brat, remember? And he has the power of the gods."
"He's a kid. Younger than me, and you got him drunk, anyway. You won't be able to talk your way out of this-"
"We still have the Town. And that…right now, Marlo, is everything. So trust me, okay?"
Marlo could not agree verbally. He only nodded, and inside he was thinking, this is the end of the road. His father had overreached.
Stealthily, when Naru's back turned, Marlo activated his Quirk. Put a mark on his father. Just for safety. Just in case.
…
Nejire did not expect the Skindancer to be awake. But her boots had hardly made a tapping sound on the floor outside the cell when the disgraced villain's head rose up.
"Who is it this time?" she asked.
"Me. Nejire-chan."
Mitoma smacked her lips mockingly. "That's Commander Nejire-chan to you, young lady."
"You should be grateful. Today is the day your rivals get crushed."
"Today…? I thought it was the middle of the night. What time is it?" The Skindancer pushed her frizzy dark hair off her face, putting her blank eyes more in view.
"It's four in the morning." Nejire, still used to being a cocooned ball of pajamas and blue hair at this hour, was surprised at her own awakeness. These long nights have made me a shadow of the girl who left UA. "Soon we're gonna finish our job. Kijimi will have no more villains. It'll be completely ours."
"The Hojos, huh. Mind tossing Naru in this cell with me? I have some things I'd like to discuss with him."
"I have some things I'd like to discuss with you."
The villainess laughed. "Well, I can hardly run away from the conversation."
Nejire played with her own hair. All that time spent asking idle questions, becoming known as the curious girl.
I found it was the best way to get to know people. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but it was better than acting cold and distant.
But people like her just piss me off. Maybe she hadn't been cut out to interrogate after all. She only liked to ask questions of people she liked.
"When you use your Quirk, can you target a specific thing inside the person's body?"
The Skindancer tilted her head. "Umm…yeah?"
Nejire swallowed. "Like…for example…"
"Okay, whoa, whoa. What's this about, girl? Do you think just because you're fighting my old turf rivals that I'd be willing to help you?"
"You're getting ahead of yourself," said Nejire. "I don't need your help with the Hojos. There's something else."
Mitoma leaned back against the cell wall and crossed her arms. "I'm listening."
"There's a…a person. A person who I don't care about, but they mean a lot to someone I do care about."
"...Complicated, but I'm following."
Nejire felt sweat drip down her neck. She was already feeling gross for even entertaining this idea. For Izuku. All for Izuku. "This person…she has a bomb inside her. That can be activated remotely. Is that something you could remove?"
"...I guess? That's really odd, but I could do it. One small problem, though." The Skindancer inched forward and threw her face into the light. "I can't see, remember?"
"Don't worry about that. We have ways of forcibly activating your Quirk."
"Without my consent?" Mitoma feigned offense and whistled. "Scandalous. What makes you think I'll cooperate? That the second I feel my Quirk flowing through me again, I don't turn on you and rip your pretty little head to pieces?"
Nejire snorted. "As if you could pull that off. Don't you want to feel the sun on your face again, at least? I'm offering you a chance to get out and about. Doesn't that sound nice?"
"Who's this gal with the bomb inside her, anyway?"
"That's for me to know."
"Even if you activate my Quirk without me being able to see her, what's stopping me from not doing as you say? From taking out her small intestine instead of the bomb? Why would I bother being obedient? You've turned me into a caged animal here."
"There could be something in it for you if you obey." Nejire felt like scum. I'm doing this behind Tamaki's back. Behind everyone's back. Had her feelings driven her this far?
Mitoma cackled. "This must be all for Deku."
Nejire was quiet.
"I'm right, aren't I? There's no way you'd ever consider this unless it was. You lovesick little girl."
"I'm not lovesick." Her fist closed.
"Do you imagine him finally noticing you if you do this for him? Do you imagine him looking past those ungodly scars on your face? You poor, ugly thing. What do you think is gonna happen, huh?" The Skindancer pressed herself against the glass, her face manic and deranged. "That he's gonna bend you over a table, rip your costume off, and…"
Nejire turned away, her steps a whirlwind, shaking her head rapidly and suppressing her emotions. Tuning out the increasingly depraved things coming out of the villainess's mouth. This was never going to work.
But the look on Midoriya's face when he'd realized they were getting called back to UA. When he'd realized he wouldn't be able to help Lady Nagant after all. She'd just thought…maybe…if she could come up with a solution, so that at least one more of his missions would be accomplished…
But no. She couldn't. Not this way.
She rushed out of the cell area and up the stairs.
On the landing, a minor hero called Fry Cook was talking with two police officers. Nejire had put him in charge of coordinating their transportation back to UA…including that of the few prisoners remaining here.
Fry Cook noticed her and raised an eyebrow. "Commander. You got what you needed from her?"
"No." Nejire furrowed her eyebrows. "But load her up with the others anyway. I'll come up with somethin' else."
The three men all gave her concerned looks, but she went on past them.
Kijimi base was waking up. Even with the sun still below the horizon, over half the team was already moving about and attending to tasks. There was a hushed buzz in the air. People nodded and greeted her with "Commander," as she passed by. Nejire felt respected. It was a nice feeling. It counteracted the bad feelings.
She walked through the command center, where Gang Orca was typing away at a field laptop. When he noticed her, he said, "Feeling alright?"
Nejire smiled moderately and gave him a thumbs-up. "Peachy."
Orca hummed. "Good. I know the expectation was that we'd take leadership back from you, eventually…but you and Suneater have done an admirable job. When we get things back to normal, you two will have no trouble climbing the ranks, getting your own agencies…that sort of thing. That is, if you youngsters even care about ranks and agencies after this."
"Thank you…I know we haven't always been…agreeable, but…"
He shrugged. "I was assigned to lead here because of my history doing drug busts at ports. Boats on rivers. A lot of them came from Kijimi. All those years under All Might and we barely made a dent in the crime that came from this hellhole. For all your…spacier qualities…you have reset this district. You may not have saved the country, but you saved a piece of it. And that's more than many of us can say."
Nejire fully beamed. The Skindancer was forgotten. "Th-thank you," she repeated. "That means a lot, and…I'll keep doing my best. You do your best too, okay?"
The older hero grunted. "No less."
There was a bit of a spring in her step as she went outside onto the street.
The activity out here was at a similar level. A group of personnel was packing up one of the tents. A couple of minor heroes were loading things into a van. Low chatter mixed with the sound of doors opening and closing.
Behind the rows of dark, seedy buildings, their neon signs dim, it was impossible to see the horizon, but Nejire knew it'd be getting brighter soon. Dawn.
Looking up at the sky resulted in seeing movement out of the corner of her eye. By a high window of one of the buildings.
Nejire turned toward it instinctively. Izuku's window. Her heart skipped a beat.
A shadow was jumping down the fire escape, quickly and dexterously. Dressed in black, it could only be Camie. Nejire heard a muffled shout, and her eyes darted back up toward the window.
Izuku was leaning out of it. She could see his bare shoulder. He was shirtless. He called out to Camie; he was too far away for Nejire to hear exactly what he said, and the noise at street level was such that none of the other personnel even noticed what was happening. But Camie did not look back. She disappeared around the corner and into an alleyway.
Nejire had begun to shake.
She…they…
There was a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach. She wanted to vomit.
I, no….
"Hado-senpai! HADO-SENPAI!"
Nejire looked up. Izuku was standing over her, fully dressed. Huh? She was on her knees on the pavement. Was I mistaken? No, some time had passed. She did not recall falling.
Izuku seemed extremely panicked. He took her gently by the shoulders and helped her up, then shook her lightly. "LISTEN! We had it all wrong, we-"
"What…" Nejire breathed, blinking owlishly.
"It was the Hojos the whole time! They're the ones working with Mustard! Marlo Hojo, the heir, Naru's son? His Quirk is the teleportation one!"
Now people were gathering, drawn to Izuku's raised voice. Confusion rose on the street. Personnel stopped their tasks, listening and whispering.
"But…how do you know…" Nejire's brain fought to catch up.
"Camie knew! She just realized, and…she's going now! She's going to attack them now!"
Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Oh my God," she whispered. By going early, Camie was going to ruin everything they'd planned. "No!"
Green lightning crackled. "I'm going after her," declared Izuku. "I don't know where her bike went, but if you can keep it-"
"No, Midoriya-kun, wait, we need to-"
He took off, sweeping a blast of wind across her face and causing her and a few others to stumble backward.
A pause. Nejire shook herself off, gaping at Izuku vanishing into the night, in the direction of the enemy territory.
…
Two lowlife goons escorted Camie into the penthouse.
She'd only been in here a couple of times in the past, with her mom. She could still hear his creepy voice. Aren't you growing up fast.
And in front of her, there he was again.
The goons somewhat shoved her forward. "Found her at the boundary. Said she wanted to talk."
The conversing men in front of them, silhouetted by the dark windows that wrapped the room, all stopped talking and turned. Three of them were heads of department - what Naru would refer to as his top guys. Another was the son, Marlo - the teleporter. He was separated from the others, on the opposite side of the pool table, sloshing his drink nervously. A sleepy warm lamp hung from the ceiling, illuminating his young face. Camie only risked brief eye contact with him before returning her glare to the grown men.
They were all suited and basically identical, but she recognized Naru all the same. Even in this low-lit lounge, surrounded by darkness, he was wearing shades that hid his eyes. "And what do we have here?" he muttered, smiling. Stepping toward her. "A ghost from the past. You've become your mother, dear girl."
"Only blonder," Camie replied, challengingly.
"What do you want? Last I heard, you were off to hero school."
"Not anymore. It got destroyed. They wanted me to join a patrol group. I didn't vibe with that." Lying through her teeth. Guns on two of their belts. Probably at least one more beneath the bar.
The top guys in suits all chuckled, still standing in darkness behind Naru. The boss chuckled with them. "Lookin' for work then, eh?"
"Yeah. Word on the street is, your group is one that's gonna survive this mess."
He stared at her carefully. "And you wanna survive, is that it?"
She stepped closer and bared her teeth. "More than anything." That was the truth.
And Naru knew it. He paused, took a sip of his drink, then said to the others, "Leave us. You too, Marlo."
The Hojo son opened his mouth in protest, but Naru lifted a single finger and silence him. "Out you go. I'd like to discuss this proposal with young Utsushimi…alone."
The department heads walked past toward the lounge exit, muttering to each other. Taking their drinks with them. Marlo set his down on the pool table and followed them with his hands empty. Camie felt the heir's suspicious eyes on her. You're right not to trust me. But Naru's ego was getting the better of him. He was interpreting her as desperate, and thought he could play that to his advantage.
And in a way, she was. Desperate for one thing only.
While the three suits and Marlo left the room, the goons that had brought Camie only retreated to the shadowy corners, still watching. Only one of them had a gun.
Naru took another sip and nodded at his glass. "You partake, dear girl?"
"After business is done."
"Heh. Sure thing." He tilted his head toward her. "So. What exactly have you heard about my group…and our plan for…survival?"
…
Danger Sense's pulsing was enough to tell Izuku that the Hojos expected the heroes' coming.
He dived toward the silhouette of an armed gunman standing on the building's outer balcony. The man's back was turned, but when Izuku went for the knockout kick…
BOOOOOOOOM!
A decoy. An explosive decoy, a moving puppet of some kind. Quirk traps, he thought as he went flying backward from the blast, his costume slightly scalded. I don't have time for these. I need to get to Camie.
A real person jumped him silently, their hands extending into sharp blades, swish-swish. Izuku rolled on the balcony and tripped them with a swinging kick, stuck a Blackwhip to their chest, and slammed them unconscious against the floor.
Several small flying creatures swarmed him, attacking his head and shoulders. Birds? Bats? Some other Quirk. The ground beneath Izuku turned sticky, and he saw more moving silhouettes on multiple sides with intent to kill.
He flared Blackwhips up all around him, Danger Sense telling him where to move them just in time to block the gunshots. POW-POW-POW. He flicked the air with a blast of OFA, disintegrating the flying creature things, and activated Smokescreen as the assassin-guards closed in.
From the middle of the smoke, he launched himself forcibly off the awfully sticky ground-trap, so hard that he carried chunks of floor with him into the air. KA-POWW. The gunfire chased him, but too slowly.
Izuku landed on a higher wall, bounced off it, and dived again. Used Blackwhip to grab all the guns and throw them aside. The assassin-guards activated their Quirks and took him to battle.
As he fought, the vestiges fought each other.
What about the others' plan? Nana demanded. This throws a wrench in it!
Nine can take out all these traps on his own! He's acting as a berserker anyway! He's clearing the path for them! countered Banjo.
Izuku willed them to shut up, as he dodged a blast of Quirk-emitted boiling water.
He doesn't have time to clear the traps. He must get to the girl. Shinomori.
And stop her? What for? The third user.
Uhh, from killing the Hojo boss? Duh? En.
He deserves to die! The second user insisted.
The two fights raged on, one physical, the other over the fate of the villain ahead. Izuku trembled, taking out the last man on the balcony. They'd never been so openly divided on something before; it felt like his head was tearing in half.
You have to stop her! What about the information he could provide? If you kill him before finding out where Mustard is…
If he dies, Mustard loses his only support! Together they've killed thousands! LET HER KILL HIM, NINTH!
Did we not already have this argument about Tomura Shigaraki? Who killed many, many more than this? If there is still hope for him, then…
WE NEVER AGREED TO THAT! the second user snarled.
Izuku broke through a window and into the building, shattering the glass and skidding along the floor.
Danger Sense flared. Izuku whirled about; behind him, the glass shards had floated in mid-air and were suddenly redirected toward him, telekinetically. He threw up a Blackwhip-shield with one forearm, and kicked the air with his left leg, scattering the shards. One found its way through and slashed his shoulder, but only shallowly.
The sounds of pounding feet from both sides of the hall. More enemies coming. He could hear shouts on the floors above and beneath him.
Izuku stepped forward, and the walls suddenly collapsed in folds, the floor turning to a slope, trying to plummet him into a sharp closing point that would surely slice him in half. Some of these Quirks…! He'd recognized about half of them from the records so far, but the other half were a mystery. Marlo Hojo - teleportation. Their lack of information and communication had created this mess in the first place.
Izuku used Float to stabilize and keep above the trap. Behind him, two guards appeared by the window he'd just burst through. "EAT LEAD, HERO SCUM!" They raised their guns.
Izuku just growled, and launched himself back toward them. Continuing to battle, continuing to crush anything in the path between him and that penthouse.
All the while, the vestiges argued on the point of what he'd actually do once he reached it.
…
"Smart move coming back here, girl," said Naru. "How long you been a lone wolf?"
"Two months. Maybe three." Camie kept her face as still as marble.
"That long, eh? What kept you from comin' back sooner?"
A heavy pause. She could feel the guards watching her from the shadows; could sense the test in the air. "There's heroes everywhere. I wasn't sure if it was safe to approach."
Naru snorted, and paced a few steps toward the bar. "Heard that. Damn costumed freaks." He looked back at her and tipped his glass toward her body, her skintight black suit. "Doesn't look like you subscribe to their way though, does it? That's hardly a costume. It's more like what your mother would wear on missions."
"Is that so?" Camie blinked, making her eyelashes flutter. Trying to appear demure.
"Never sat right with me, how that's where they sent you. Hero school. But I guess you're a grown lady now, eh? Can make your own choices and all that. And like I said…smart choice. These heroes are on top of us, but it's not gonna go the way they think. Whether they win, or All For One does…we will carve a foothold. My family, my people, my empire. We'll survive. Sounds good to you, doesn't it? It's all part of the plan."
Camie wanted to ask about the Company Town. That must be the key. Whatever he's building there, he thinks it will ensure his safety in the new stage of the country. She could have asked about Mustard, too…but then he'd know for sure she was an enemy, and the chance to kill him would be gone…
Her eyes flicked to the sides of the room. Just beyond sight was the armed guard, way off to the right.
"I can help you make sure," she told Naru. "I have the same Quirk as my mom. How often did she help you hide things, or escape, when things got tough? I can do all the same shit."
Naru stepped toward her again. His shaded glasses had an orange reflection in them from the overhead lamp. "Can you now?" he muttered.
"Want me to demonstrate?"
Another heavy pause. The boss's eyes darted to his men, then back. "No," he said. "No, I believe you. After all…"
He loomed over her, his shadow falling across her face. His voice dropped to a whisper. "What else could have confused my men at that arms deal?"
Camie's blood ran cold.
She heard a gun cock, then Naru's arm was swinging toward her, preparing to punch her in the face with the hard drink glass. She slid backward, exhaling her Quirk hard, throwing up a shield of pink gas to obscure herself before it was too late…
…The lights in the penthouse went out.
A gun fired, and fired again, and in the darkness, Naru Hojo began to laugh.
…
None of this looks familiar!
Izuku reached an elevator, his whole body wracked with adrenaline. He could feel the blood rushing through all his limbs. Behind him was a trail of unconscious or half-conscious enemies. He could still hear others in the building, through the walls and ceiling.
He pressed the button to go up. The doors opened immediately. He stepped forward, and suddenly got a full-body shock, vibrating, his teeth grinding as the unpleasant feeling jolted through him. A strange web of electricity had caught him full-on, a wall blocking the inside of the elevator. He tossed out two whips and attached them to the walls, then slingshotted himself through the barrier.
Safely inside the elevator, the shock wearing off, Izuku shook himself. More people were coming down the hallway, shouting at him, stepping over their fallen comrades. Izuku pressed the button to close the door, then the button for the top floor.
As the doors shut, he flicked an air blast straight down the hallway, through the closing crack. The oncoming enemy were thrown away.
And up Izuku went.
Then, the elevator shuddered to a stop, and the light shut off.
The power had gone out.
…
The twins rushed down the hall with the others, preparing to set up their defensive formation.
"Hurry!" the leader in front shouted. "Just got word they're coming up the elevator-"
Darkness. All humming sounds indicating the building was operating died at once.
An eruption of whispered swears from the squad.
"Damn heroes-"
"Emergency backup power-"
"SHUT UP! LIGHTS UP!"
White beams from a dozen automatic weapons crisscrossed the hallway. The twins could see one another, and the rest of their squad - a black-clad group of henchmen.
The hall had become dark, looming, and full of ominous creaks.
"Come on, you sons of bitches," said the squad leader, waving them forward.
The whispering continued as they rounded a corner, the hall still dark and creepy.
"Elevator! We're getting to the elevator!"
"I thought they weren't attacking until later!"
"It's not they. It's just one guy."
"One…guy…?"
"No way."
The twins exchanged an alarmed look. The two of them, having guarded the door that night at the charity ball, had a sinking feeling they knew which guy this would be.
The gun flashlights struck the wall at the end of the hallway, which was the elevator door.
"If the power's out, then it's not worki-"
BOOOOOOOM.
A shuddering jolt so loud that every single one of them jumped, the light-beams shaking and going wild all over the ceiling and floor.
Then they all re-focused on the closed door of the elevator, having gone quiet.
The spotlights shook against the door's surface, betraying the fear in each of them.
CRRRRRRRRUNCH.
The doors came open. They were forced open, denting inward from whatever impacted them from behind, revealing the dark space of the elevator shaft inside…
"OPEN FIRE!"
Everyone began shooting toward the opening at once, peppering the hallway with bursts of light. Dark tendrils swarmed from the shaft. The twins heard one man scream, then another.
One of them dropped his weapon and fled.
"Bro…? BRO!"
He kept running, not looking back. Heard more anguished screams from his comrades. A reduction in gunfire, and another horrible crunching sound. It's him. It's him. It's him!
He found the emergency exit at the back end of the hallway and shoved the door open. With the power out, the alarm did not sound. The fight grew more distant behind him.
He hurried down the enclosed staircase, his boots pounding on the steps. Spiraling down and down and down to ground level, flight after flight. Reaching the bottom. Pushing the next door open, into the exit tunnel at the back of the Hojo complex, which emptied out toward the river.
Other personnel were fleeing this way, mostly the business guys and some of the VIPs, as well as all the women. Heading for the exit. He was the only guard in their midst, but he joined their flow and was unnoticed.
"Get to the boats!" someone shouted. "Naru said to-"
Their stampede was cut short as they reached the end of the tunnel.
Flaring lights blinded them, as police officers swarmed the exit. "HANDS IN THE AIR!" they roared. "KNEES ON THE GROUND, HANDS IN THE AIR!"
Sirens blared, and half the criminals obeyed, while the other half activated their Quirks, preparing to fight their way through. The twin elected for the second option. They found our backdoor, but it's just the police!
Then, Suneater and Mandalay dropped down from above.
End of the line indeed, the Wild Wild Pussycat purred into their heads, as Suneater's tentacles and clams launched forward.
…
"We cut off their escape as planned!" came the voice from the comm. "Move ahead with the front half of the pincer!"
Nejire flew up and over the main building of the complex, pushing her spirals to their limit. Snipers were on the roof; they fired at her, forcing her to bob and weave. Below, the main attack was charging. Izuku cleared the defenses.
She hadn't wanted to rush the plan forward. Maybe it had been too panicked of a decision. But with so much at stake…
Half our forces are barely awake. We will lose more than we should have. She just hoped they could manage to catch every single one of the villains, especially if they really were working with Mustard after all.
Even if she couldn't help Izuku with Lady Nagant before they went back to UA for the final battle, maybe this would make him happy. Knowing that they snuffed out Mustard's only allies, effectively stranding the young villain alone out here, resourceless. Almost as good as catching him, right?
A Quirk snagged her foot.
Nejire looked down in surprise. Some kind of shimmering beam had grabbed a hold of her and was dragging her down. It had snuffed out her left-side spiral. She tried to re-activate it, to no avail. She tried to use her other three spirals to push herself free, but that also didn't work, and she was now rushing down toward the roof, exactly where she didn't want to be.
The snipers' aims all converged on her. She identified one silhouette - a woman with both arms outstretched, the source of the beam.
Nejire blasted the roof with a two-handed wave-attack. SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The enemy all lost their footing, the roof partially rupturing and collapsing in the center of them. The gunshots strayed wide of Nejire, even as she hit the surface hard. Pain rushed up through her left foot and leg. The woman's Quirk released.
Several of the goons were getting up, aiming their guns and powers toward her again. "I didn't wanna have to fight you guys," she declared, "but that doesn't mean I won't!"
She flew low, rushing just above the roof toward the first attacker. Swiped two short waves up across his face, boxing his ears, and then using his head as a springing platform toward the next guy. She dodged some kind of big projectile out of the corner of her eye, kicked the second man in the stomach, then ducked behind him for a second, catching her breath…
…She felt something cold against the side of her head.
"Caught you, annoying girl," a snarling voice said, and Nejire froze solid, sensing the finger move to the gun's trigger, seeing her own bloody death in her mind's eye, close and immediate-
A shadow fell over the aggressor and pummeled him into the roof. Black and white. Whale colors.
Gang Orca had arrived, and had just saved her life.
"BACK TO ME, NEJIRE-CHAN!" He roared.
She obliged, the two of them facing opposite sides, multiple enemies converging on them.
"Max range, max width! Attack with all you've got, ready?!"
"READY!" she echoed, feeling bright on the inside.
At the same time that she sent out her waves, Gang Orca opened his mouth and performed his whale-call attack.
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM. The whole world seemed to tremble, as all the Hojo goons crumbled to the ground, incapacitated…
The woman with the strange beam Quirk shot it toward Orca.
Nejire turned around, surprised. Whatever power had pulled her down to the roof was now reflecting Orca's ability, bending it back onto him, the waves pushing awkwardly up and over themselves…
Gang Orca made a strange guttural sound deep in his throat, and as his own attack passed across him, he fell to his knees.
Alarm bells rang in Nejire's head, and she blasted the woman square in the chest, knocking her away and out.
She was the last one standing.
"Orca…? ORCA!" Hurrying to his side.
The big hero's chest rose and fell. His head hung. He had not gotten up off his knees.
"Are you okay?!" Nejire asked urgently, putting her hands on his shoulders.
He opened his mouth to respond, and nothing came out.
…
In the darkness, Camie searched for the bar.
Gotta get to the gun. There's gotta be one there.
She could hear creaking off to her right, indicating someone was over there. She couldn't see anything. There were three enemies in here with her, and that's all she knew.
Her illusions required at least a base level of real light to function properly. Nothing she conjured with her Quirk would appear now.
"You think I didn't know what you were doing?" roared Naru out of the dark. "That we haven't been tracking you and your little activities in our territory this whole time?"
Camie felt blindly in front of her; there was something solid. A chair? "We captured everyone at the arms deal," she answered. "None of those guys ever got back to you, so how could they have told you I was there?"
"I am everywhere, Camie Utsushimi. You think you can steal from us? Mess with us? Play both sides and come out on top? Even more arrogant than your shitstain of a mother."
She ran her hand along something cool and hard. Possibly a countertop. The windows were getting a little brighter; the sun would be coming up soon, or maybe her eyes were just adjusting.
"Bitching at me for playing both sides to come out on top? Takes one to know one, lameass. How would your guys feel if they knew you were working with a little meathead school shooter to get your way? Murderer. What does little Marlo think? You're using his Quirk to mark the explosives you send to Mustard. And to get the little shit out of the schools every time. How does your son feel about that?"
Naru's laugh rang heavy. "I've done plenty worse than you can imagine, you broken little thing. Is that why you're here? Revenge? You're even more pathetic than that witless boy Deku."
He sounded somewhat behind her now. That was bad. Can't let him walk a full circle around me! That was the one parameter for his Quirk to activate - before he gave the command, he had to physically draw the boundary with his feet. But once it was drawn…
A rough growl rang out in front of her, and one of the guards pounced. Camie's eyes had adjusted just enough to counter, spinning sideways and chopping him, dodging his attacks, pummeling him to the ground with kicks. She rolled sideways behind another table, getting back out of sight and sound, ending the scuffle as quickly as it began.
That wasn't the armed guy. She could see most of the penthouse now, peering out from behind the couch. The windows were behind her, throwing low starlight toward the bar and pool table. The armed guard was standing off to the right, looking this way and that for her, while Naru lurked further back.
"WHERE ARE YOU, YOU SLIPPERY LITTLE-" Naru used a word that would have gotten Camie six months of detention at Shiketsu.
The one guy attacked me right as I could have gone for the gun under the bar! Now she had been forced to move away from that spot, and was still unarmed.
It was time to roll the dice, she decided, eyeing up the pool table, and thinking this a fitting environment to gamble.
Camie Utsuhimi rushed the gunman, her silhouette passing over the light from the windows.
The guard let out a shout. She did a two-handed leap over the pool table, throwing her long legs out in front of her, and planting a double kick to his stomach. Naru swept around wide, trying to complete his command circle.
Camie spun and tussled with the guy, trying to get clear of the boss's Quirk and take him out at the same time. She kicked him in the shins, absorbed a nasty punch to her spleen, and used her momentum to roll him to the ground. The gun clattered off to the side.
She straddled the man, chopped him in the throat, then stood up and swiped a kick across his face with her heeled boot, putting him out cold….
…Before she could go for the gun, Naru swung a pool cue across her face.
Camie cried out, blinded by pain. Her blood splattered on the green felt of the table, and she was slammed back into it, Naru pushing forward and trying to smother her.
"Ya think I wasn't ready to do this, huh? Just like I would have done to your deadbeat parents for screwing me over, if the force hadn't gotten to 'em first?!"
Camie spat blood into his face and swiped with her long nails, scratching him deeply. His recoil was just enough to let her kick herself free, one-two-three kicks, balancing herself against the pool table with her hands. Naru fell to the floor from the blows. She stepped forward to grab the gun and finish it…
…Strong arms that she recognized from just earlier in the evening enveloped her.
…
Izuku hugged Camie, holding her back like a rabid animal as she struggled desperately to get free. Feeling how hot-blooded, how rageful she was, coursing through her body.
"He…HAS TO PAY!" she spat, kicking her legs toward the man on the ground. "HE HAS TO PAY!"
Izuku, conflicted, kept One for All activated, holding her tightly as he glowed green, pulling her back from Naru. "That…doesn't mean you have to pay with him." If she kills out of revenge, she'll live with it the rest of her life. "You've paid enough."
DO IT YOURSELF THEN, NINTH! The second user's urge, his pull, was so strong that Izuku swayed, barely managing to hold onto the angry girl.
Izuku, NO! Remember Tomura!
LOOK AT HIM! HE'S WHO YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS WHOLE TIME! HE TRICKED YOU!
Naru had begun to move, trying to get up.
He's enabled Mustard to murder who knows HOW many innocents!
He's enslaved men and women for sex and physical labor alike!
He's distributed weapons and drugs and caused untold damage to lives!
KILL HIM!
NO! NO, IZUKU, DON'T!
"I…" Izuku breathed, overwhelmed by the choice in his head. It was all right in front of him, and he…he'd never…
The door to the lounge was thrown open.
Izuku looked back in surprise. Marlo Hojo, the heir to the crime empire, was running toward them, terrified determination writ upon his face. In his palms swam a turquoise energy. "DAD!" he cried out.
In the moment of distraction, Camie pushed herself free of Izuku's grasp. Izuku staggered backward a few steps. Naru rushed to his feet and ran in a strange formation, sliding behind the pool table…
…And completing his circle.
"Got you," he breathed, and suddenly there was a shimmering barrier around Izuku, barely visible in the half-light but definitely there, definitely real.
The next thing out of Naru's mouth filled his ears like an overflowing tub. A whisper-shout, a command straight to Izuku's basic instincts. "Take your own life," Naru Hojo ordered with his Quirk.
Izuku's limbs spasmed. The vestiges cried out in protest. Memories flashed through his head - his mom hugging him at the computer and apologizing through her tears, Bakugo telling him to take a swan dive off the roof, the woman by All Might's statue saying, You don't look like a hero.
Camie picked up the gun and pointed it at Naru.
"DAD, NO!" Marlo screamed, and activated his own Quirk. Turquoise appeared in both his own hands and on the mark he'd put on his father's back. Naru's eyes went wide, realizing what was happening, and began to say, "Son, no, wai-"
Marlo teleported his father away just as Camie's gunshot ripped straight through the air where the villain had just been. In a rush, Camie spun about and fired again, this time at Marlo, and shooting him straight in the chest. The son crumbled, blood spraying behind him…
As Izuku's body began to obey the command that the now-escaped Naru had given him, the only thought he had time for was Camie chose revenge over saving me.
Then someone tackled him from behind.
Izuku felt a whooshing sound eject out of his ears, as he was pushed and skidded across the floor, out of the effect area of the Quirk, Naru's command fading. One for All turned off. He rolled with the other human body for a moment before slamming into the wall and coming to a stop, the person on top of him…
…Nejire Hado's scared blue eyes blinked down at him. "Midoriya-kun! What was that?! What were you caught in?! Are you okay?!"
Izuku could only blink, dumbfounded. "I…I…"
More heroes and Kijimi personnel were streaming into the penthouse now. Someone screamed; Marlo's dead body had been spotted on the floor, blood pooling around it. Camie was standing in the corner, having dropped the gun; her face had gone as pale as a sheet, her lips moving wordlessly at what she'd done.
"I just…I just wanted to keep him from getting away…" she croaked.
Tamaki stepped around the body, wide-eyed. A few police officers passed him, going to cuff and restrain the two guards that Camie had taken out earlier on the far sides of the room. They got close to the small shimmering circle-barrier, where Naru's Quirk was still active. "Stay away from that!" Izuku coughed. "Don't…"
Tamaki slid past it, hissing as he realized what it was. The police gave it wide berth, leaving it as a clear obstacle in the middle of the room.
"What happened?!" Mandalay was demanding, staring at Izuku and Nejire against the wall. "We caught all the other criminals on the register! Where's the boss?!"
Izuku could only stare at the spot where the turquoise glow had been. The son sacrificed himself to get the father out.
Their two confirmed links to Mustard. One teleported away. The other, who'd done the teleporting and would have known the new location of the first, dead.
