"Well, looks like we got all of them," Twilight noted after she, Izuku, Tony, Marco, Tsuyu, and Minoru made it to shore and inspected their handiwork.
"So what now?" Minoru asked. "Maybe we should find our way to the exit. See if we can't find the villain who's jamming the alarms."
"It would be a good idea to prioritize getting help, after all," Marco said in agreement.
"We should also deal with that guy who called himself Kurogiri at some point." Tony pointed out. "He was able to spread his body out quite a distance to scatter us around the USJ."
"Though right now, his attention should be on Thirteen, Somnambula, and our classmates who avoided getting warped," Twilight said. "We should also try to avoid the center, where all the real action is."
"Most of those villains are likely all cleaned up. Between Aizawa-Sensei, Flash Magnus, and Discord, I'd be surprised if they aren't dealing with the ringleader right about now. That creepy guy with all the severed hands on his costume." Tsuyu noted.
"But there's also that giant monster to consider. That one is what worries me." Izuku pointed out. "The leader, Shigaraki, suggested it was being saved for All-Might. But with the other villains being used to lure him here, what's to stop him from unleashing it early if they no longer have value as a lure? Most of them are like us. They haven't had any real training with their Quirks."
"Some of them did look like they were college-age," Twilight realized. "Think their Hero Course rejects from various high schools?"
That was certainly Shoto's opinion as he finished freezing the remaining villains in the Landslide Zone.
"This is why the Hero Course system has been refined, to keep out those who are untrained in the use of their Quirks. But rather than choose a more suitable path, you let yourselves be drawn in by the allure of a villain's life."
Rainbow Dash, seeing that the coast was all clear, flew down and looked at all of the frozen villains, whistling in amazement at how easily Shoto took them all down.
"Gotta say, I was a little worried when I heard these creeps planned to kill All-Might but considering how easy you were able to take 'em down by yourself, I feel much better about the odds."
"Still, the one who called himself Shigaraki...He must have a different plan in mind." Shoto noted as he approached a nearby frozen villain. "Listen well; If you stay frozen like that your cells will slowly die. You'll soon succumb to frostbite and hypothermia. Now as a young man striving to become a hero, I'd prefer that not happen. I'd like to avoid unnecessary cruelty."
"Wow, harsh..." Rainbow winced as the terrified villain began spilling everything. "Just what kind of life did you live before coming here, Todoroki?"
"Hey, we're here too!" Came Tooru's voice as she and Ghidorah made their way over.
"Sorry if you didn't see us. We were dealing with some villains down below." Ghidorah said as he gestured to a battered and bruised villain being dragged behind him.
"Listen up," Shoto called in over the earpieces. "None of these villains are elite threats. They're just high school dropouts and street-level villains recruited as fodder. That large black monster they came with is the one who's supposed to kill All-Might."
"Hear ya loud and clear!" Elleanor said as she enlarged her fist and punched a villain upside the jaw with it.
"So we just gotta avoid the ringleaders in the center, right? So long as we do that, we should come out of this alive." Denki said as he got behind a larger villain and shocked him into unconsciousness.
Momo was disabling most of the villains with capture weapons such as bolas and nets, while Kyouka plugged her earlobes into various speakers along her costume to unleash a stunning sound wave from her own heartbeat, paralyzing several more villains.
Rarity formed a pair of crystal escrima sticks to dual-wield and any villains she took down, she also encased in tombs of crystals to make sure they didn't try anything funny.
"Why bother recruiting from the gutter?" Tempest asked as she delivered an electrified punch to a villain's face. "They have a villain with a Warp Quirk, wouldn't it be more efficient to break into Tartarus for stronger villains?"
"Tartarus has walls made of telekill alloy. Perhaps his Quirk isn't strong enough to bypass it." Momo pointed out.
"That and it has some of the best defenses of any prison in the known world." Rarity added. "I dare say it'd be quite challenging to be able to recruit any of the fiends imprisoned there."
"Kaminari! I need you to hold my hand!" Tempest said as Denki looked confused but did so, not wanting to point out how awkward it looked having a boy and a girl hold hands like this. "Yaoyorozu, I need you to make an insulating sheet for you and the others."
Momo nodded and undid the magnetic clamps on the back of her costume, creating a large insulating blanket for her, Rarity, Kyouka, and Elleanor.
"I think I know what you're doing and don't worry!" Elleanor giggled. "My body also makes it so electricity goes right through me!"
"Either way, it's a good thing you guys planned ahead. The thing about my Quirk is that it effectively makes me a human taser but I can only control where the electricity comes from, not where it goes. If I went all out, I might accidentally hit my classmates. But it still works like normal electricity, so things like rubber or other insulators are immune." Denki said.
Tempest smirked as both and Denki were coated in electricity, her blue and his yellow combined to make green plasma sparks as they pulled back together.
"And from what we're seeing, none of you thought to ground yourselves!"
The electricity washed over the entire Mountain Zone as all the villains screamed in pain from being electrified to the core. Kyouka smirked as she peeked out from under the blanket.
"They didn't even have rubber soles on their boots. Bunch of edgelords thinking it was cool to have metal-studded ones."
After the lightshow settled, Tempest sighed as smoke emitted from her body before slowly getting back to her feet and turning to Denki, who was giggling like an idiot and walking around aimlessly while giving double thumbs-ups.
"Oh dear, is that his Quirk's drawback? Simply dreadful!" Rarity said, sympathizing with Denki as Kyouka couldn't help but bust a gut at how ridiculous he looked.
Meanwhile back in the center, Aizawa, Flash Magnus, and Discord were cleaning up what was left of the villains in that region. Discord had settled for sitting on a pile of villains he had defeated and watching his colleagues take down the rest while eating some popcorn before noticing Tomura rushing in, his sights set on Aizawa.
"Oh dear, we can't have that, can we?"
With the snap of his fingers, Discord summoned a pie and threw it at Tomura's face, but it was no ordinary pie, as it spontaneously exploded and sent him flying back, covered in soot and pie filling as he stumbled across the ground, some of the hands clinging to him flying off in the process.
"Alright, go Discord!" Minoru cheered as he, Izuku, Twilight, Marco, and Tony had just arrived to see how things were going.
Izuku saw Tomura get up and pull the pie tin still on his face off before crushing it in his hands, making it crumble and decay into rust and dust.
"Looks like a five-point contact Quirk, but he can't turn it off the way Uraraka can..." It was then the green-haired boy noticed the villain's shoes. "Hey guys, do those shoes look familiar to you?"
Twilight realized what he was talking about. "Yeah, they're the same brand as yours when you were...well, formerly Quirkless."
"And the ones I'm still wearing now," Izuku added, nodding.
"Oh yeah, that's right!" Marco said. "In this world, those without Quirks have an extra toe joint, meaning normal shoes are too tight for them. So one shoe company made a particular brand designed for such people to walk around more comfortably."
"I think we all forgot that Midoriya told us you were an alien from another world..." Minoru muttered awkwardly.
"It's a good thing Discord was there to watch Aizawa-Sensei's back," Tsuyu said. "That Shigaraki guy seemed more dangerous than the others but against three Pro Heroes watching out for each other, he was outmatched."
Tomura growled as he dusted himself off and scratched his neck. "That was stupid of me. Rushing in like some noob. I'd forgotten the genre. This isn't a turn-based RPG, this is an MMO raid. Of course one of the others was going to rush in to help. What was I thinking?"
Despite his frustration, he gestured for the Nomu to come. The monster lumbered over like an obedient pet as he motioned for it to attack the three Pro Heroes.
"I was hoping to save our heavy hitter for the final boss, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to give him a little more XP before taking on All-Might."
Meanwhile, Kurogiri was having to face down Thirteen and Somnambula. Much like Tomura, he was having trouble due to being hit from two different angles. He was getting sucked in by [Black Hole], drawing off much of his mist. And when he tried to use [Warp Gate], his own Quirk, Somnambula distracted him with her Sphinx.
"I have no choice but to break off. I cannot allow you to derail our plans any further."
He tried to rush off, only for Shouji to wrap his Dupli-Arms around his form.
"Midoriya noted that you still have a physical form under all the mist. Knowing that, it's a simple matter of containing you."
Kurogiri's eyes widened. "I never heard them even discuss anything before I separated them. When could they possibly have...?"
He then noticed Shouji's earpiece and it all made sense. The villain they had hired to jam communications was only meant to jam outgoing signals, not suspecting that the heroes would provide the students with means of keeping contact with each other long-distance.
"I see you caught on to our trick!" Trixie laughed. "We were on to you from the very beginning as you already realized!"
Meanwhile, Tomura's allies were watching on a large monitor. Queen Chrysalis scoffed at how easily Kurogiri had been duped.
"Well, at least the boy is doing better than we expected." Chuckled King Sombra. "He knows how to adapt under pressure."
"Yes, indeed..." Hummed a man with blood-red skin, white hair, black eyes with white pupils, black horns, and the lower half of a black horse, effectively making him a Centaur. This was Tirek Shigaraki or Lord Tirek as he preferred to be addressed. "Alas, most of the gutter trash has already been contained. A few stragglers are still fighting mostly due to being well-suited to the environments they were dropped on. But it seems the class is able to communicate thanks to short-range earpieces that escaped our notice. It won't be long before they start to regroup."
"Golly! This is so exciting!" Cozy Glow giggled, bouncing in her seat.
In the Collapse Zone, Katsuki, Eijirou, Applejack, and Junko had taken out most of the villains. One of the few remaining, a Chameleon-like man named Invisible Wall, tried to sneak up on Katsuki from behind only to be grabbed by the face and hit with a point-blank explosion, knocking him out.
"All clear, y'all!" Applejack said, shuffling her hands in satisfaction.
Katsuki grunted. "Deku noted that warp bastard's neck brace, which is probably protecting his physical form. By now Four Eyes and Fluttershy should have reached the school, so backup should be coming."
"Most of our classmates are already taking down the other villains," Eijirou noted. "A lot of them seem pretty weak. Like they haven't been villains for very long."
"Most new villain organizations recruit from the lowest parts of society," Junko explained. "The washouts, the ostracized, the homeless, you get the idea."
"A darn shame but a true fact that's hard to swallow." Applejack sighed. "What should we do now, partners?"
"Simple; we find that warp fucker and blow him to hell and back!" Katsuki said. "That way, we can keep the rest of these scum from escaping!"
Eijirou grinned and hardened his fists as he punched them together. "Awesome! Now that's thinking like a man!"
"I've still got the scent of that creature the villains came with. Follow me!" Junko said as she took point, the others quickly following.
"Terumi, how are you holding up?!" Oujiro asked as he used his agility and martial arts skills combined with his tail to take out villains in the Fire Zone.
"For the most part, I'm fine!" Terumi said, grabbing a villain by the face in his boney claws and slamming him into the ground hard.
"Do you still have our classmates on your radar?"
"Yeah! I can use it to find the way out! Provided we get clear of these villains first!"
Oujiro smirked as he delivered a roundhouse kick to a charging villain. "Not a problem for long!"
In the Downpour Zone, Fumikage showcased Dark Shadow's incredible power to handle things in the relative darkness of the simulated darkness, helping keep some villains off Kouji's back as he give him a thumbs-up, which the rock-headed boy returned.
"My bad!" Derpy said, having used a mixture of martial arts combined with her own clumsiness to take down the villains attacking her as Kira helped her out by using another aspect of his [Shepard's Protection], giving Derpy the same damage reflection as him, which he could do for anyone he chose as long as he had them in his line of sight.
Back at the entrance, Kurogiri had just managed to warp himself out of Shouji's grip, only for his armor to get tagged by Ochako, sending him helplessly into the air. He tried to right himself, only to be yanked by Sero's tape and pulled down by the combined strength of Rikidou and Flash.
"Damn! These brats are too strong! Master should have had us study their Quirks while we were grabbing files!"
"Admit it, you should've never planned this little raid if you knew our strength," Jotaro said as he reached into his satchel to pull out some cuffs. "Or at the very least planned things out better."
However, Kurogiri managed to find an opening and quickly warped away from the entrance and back to Tomura's side. The young villain leader was busy watching Aizawa, Flash Magnus, and Discord struggle against the Nomu, who was taking all of their attacks without stopping.
"I wasn't able to kill Thirteen or Somnambula, and two of the students escaped to get back up," Kurogiri said.
Tomura growled in frustration as he scratched his neck again with three fingers, a habit he had developed to insure he wouldn't kill himself with his own Quirk, [Decay].
"That could pose a problem. Granted they'll likely bring All-Might, but that might not be the only one he brings. At this rate, it's Game Over, back to the title screen. We don't stand a chance against dozens of pros."
"Should we retreat?"
Tomura shook his head. "Not yet. After this, they'll beef up security, making the level that much harder. We won't get a second chance. How's the rest of the party?"
"Probably not doing as well as we'd hoped. It turns out the class was given short-range earpieces. Our jammer is only good for external communication. They knew we were planning an attack. From what I heard, this was the Shaman Hero: Zecora's doing."
Tomura nodded. "Okay, we may still be able to accomplish a side quest at the very least. We can still wreck the Symbol of Peace's pride."
"How are they planning on doing that? Our class and teachers have got 'em on the ropes!" Minoru said as he and the others were hiding nearby.
"Nomu! Get away from the pros! Stalk down the students and kill every last one of them!" Tomura ordered before turning to Izuku's group and rushing toward Twilight, who gasped at how fast he was.
"I'll start with this one!"
"TWILIGHT!" Izuku screamed as he pushed her out of the way, preparing to take Tomura's hand in his best friend's place...
...Only for Tony to jump in front of the hand and take it to the face, Tomura laughing in response.
"A noble effort, hero! But now you've just sealed your own...!"
Tomura's words died in his throat when he saw that while Tony's face was decaying, his skull was perfectly intact.
"Not the best way to find out my skull doesn't even decay," The reptilian-skinned boy noted, looking rather creepy as his jaw moved without any cheek.
"I think I'm gonna puke..." Minoru gulped, looking a bit green.
Tomura backed away in shock. "Kurogiri! This one's got serious self-rez! We need to...!"
Before Tomura could react, Twilight instinctively formed a blade of magical energy over her arm and swiped it down, severing his hands at the wrists as the villain screamed in agony, falling on his ass and reflexively backing away from her and the others.
"From the way that you were using your hands and what you did to Tony, you're Quirk requires all five fingers to activate. Izuku figured it out earlier but you just gave us a hands-on demonstration...meaning taking you out of the fight just became easier."
Tomura growled as he struggled to his feet, Tony's cheek regrowing as he adjusted his jaw with a CRACK. Before either side could take another action, a new voice came in.
"Let that be a lesson to you...life is nothing like a video game!"
The teachers and students smiled in relief as two figures barged through the entrance, both of them looking rightfully furious.
"And NOW the final boss show's up?!" Tomura said in fury. "Right as our party is depleted!?"
"HAVE NO FEAR! FOR WE ARE HERE!" All-Might growled protectively as Celestia, her eyes blazing with righteous fury, formed a blade of pure solar energy from her arm, ready to protect her colleagues and students.
In the next chapter, the USJ Invasion concludes!