The alien halls echoed with the sound of eight people of various ages running through them like their lives depended on it. Which they very much did.
While there existed many doors along the sides of the long, curving hallway, they all were sealed shut. It seemed the group had decided to follow their leader, in this case Nezu, and continue going as far as they could before being forced to stop.
"Hey Wedge, you wouldn't happen to know the way around here, would you?" Mr. Oguro asked as he jogged along. "You fly one of those fancy prototypes, right? Wouldn't happen to have picked it up anywhere near here?"
"I can neither confirm nor deny ever visiting this particular military base." Wedge said, in a voice that very much said otherwise. "But if I happened to have, say, test flown prototype jets around here, I imagine that I wouldn't have been invited down into the secret alien basement during it."
Melissa let out a huff as they finally reached the end of the hall and ran into another door. Nezu quickly began to work on it like the one before, and everyone continued to catch their breath. Sam and the children especially.
"Oh man, I haven't had to run like this for a good long while." The larger man moaned, stretching out his back.
"That's funny. I feel fine." Katsuma said, his body circulating with a green energy.
"That's because you're using your Quirk, dummy." Kota pointed out, as he bent over. "My throat's so dry… I wonder if I can drink the water from my Quirk? Eri, do you want to try some water?"
"No, I'm fine." Eri said, her cheeks flushed from the exertion. "I'm, umm, used to running like this."
Melissa couldn't help but cringe at Eri's statement. No one should have to run for their life like this, let alone be used to it.
She looked over the rest of the group, but they seemed fine. Wedge was a military pilot and certainly the most athletic person among them. Mr. Oguro was in a similar state, now having a body that he did at the prime of his career. And Izuku had done plenty of stamina training to take Uncle Might's Quirk as his own.
Melissa herself was in decent shape, but she was nowhere near Izuku's level. She was starting to feel glad that Nezu had forced some PE lessons on her back at U.A. for the week they were there.
"Hey Melissa?" Izuku said, and she turned to him. He was looking suddenly very sheepish, holding the Quirk Amplification Machine that he had used against Nine in his hands. Or at least, what was left of the device. "I'm sorry, but I think I broke the device your dad and Mr. Abrahams was working on."
The prongs on the left side had broken off at various points and were now missing, and the rest of the device wasn't looking too fine either, now that she got a good look at it.
"It's fine kid." Sam said, taking the device from him carefully. "It's a shame that it got damaged though. This thing was a one of a kind."
"What about the Scanner?" Izuku asked, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out the device her father had smuggled into Japan with them. "Could you maybe get it working with this? It was a prototype, right?"
"Hmm. It was made using similar parts. But Dave worked on that one more himself, so I wouldn't feel confident trying to do it by myself." Sam explained, pocketing the Scanner. "Besides, the boosting effect was unique to the finished model. Even if we got it running, it would only be at 50% capacity."
Melissa couldn't help but let out a sigh at Sam's diagnosis. The QAD would have been a useful asset to have. In all honestly, she didn't see how they could win without it. That and One for All were their only keys to victory, yet both were currently unavailable.
While they pondered the destroyed device the doors opened, and they all quickly rushed through it. Melissa spared one last glance behind herself to ensure that they weren't being followed, only to find nothing down the long hallway.
The fact that All for One had yet to catch up to them was starting to worry her.
She looked back as she passed through the doorway, only to nearly run into Izuku. She quickly glanced around, only to find that everyone had stopped. Inspecting the room they had run into, she could see what had halted everyone in their steps.
They had ended up in another domed room, walls lined with pods. She could see that there was some sort of track that could move the pods into the raised center of the room, where an unknown platform sat. There was a great number of screens surrounding the center platform.
"Well, this place isn't creepy at all." Mr. Oguro said sarcastically.
Nezu was the first to approach the grand system, walking up to the closest screen and hopping up on the chair in front of it. He tapped a button, and alien characters began to fly across the screens,
"What does it say?" Melissa asked.
"Organic Storage Unit Manager." Nezu answered. "Or something to that effect. My translation to Alien isn't one-to-one yet. Still working through my old memories to piece it together."
"Organic? As in… People?" She walked forward and looked closer at the screens and panels near Nezu. One panel seemed to be a circular one, just big enough to fit her palm. It pulsed with a twirling red light, and she placed her hand on it before she could stop herself.
"Melissa!" Izuku panicked as the screen in front of her suddenly began to change.
A list began to form on the screen, but she was unable to determine what each point on the list said. She quickly removed her hand, but the list remained. She looked over at Nezu, hoping for answers.
"Hmm. It seems to be a list of those 'stored' within." Nezu revealed. "It seems this is truly a list of people that have been captured by the aliens. Let's see here, they seem to be sorted by closest genetic match. If this list is based of young Shield, then that must mean the closest match is…"
The principal stretched out to a sphere imbedded in the control panel and began to move it like a trackball mouse. He hovered it over the first option in the newly appeared list, and the center platform began to light up. A holographic framework of a body formed in monotone red, before getting more and more in detail. As the hologram refined itself, Melissa easily recognized the figure being displayed.
"Dad!" She cried out.
"It is! That looks just like David Shield!" Izuku added.
"Get him out of there!" She pleaded with Nezu, who quickly pressed a few buttons. However, when he selected a certain one, the whole console flashed red and her dad's hologram vanished. "No! What just happened?!"
"I believe it is saying that I do not have the permission to complete this task." Nezu answered. "From what I saw of All for One, he had to have his body altered in some way by a Quirk to pilot the UFO. It is likely that you need an actual alien to authorize the actual use of these terminals. Smart, but it can only work so well against someone designed to operate such systems like myself."
"Do you know a way around it?" Wedge asked as Nezu hopped down from the screens and began looking around the platform.
"I discovered while poking around in the UFO that most of their technology is managed by numerous techno-organic processors, and that they appear to communicate between themselves, likely by Quirk in order to issue commands throughout their systems. These networks can be both wired and wireless. Most importantly, these commands are issued by some sort of electronic signal, as their signal is interrupted by EMP." Nezu explained, finally finding what he was looking for and ripping a panel off the base of the center platform.
"And how do you know that?" Mr. Oguro asked.
"Because the internal systems of the UFO went haywire earlier, and then All for One suddenly started using his Quirk." Nezu said. "I believe that the man might not have been as willing a collaborator as originally believed, as the moment there was a signal interruption, he summoned an alien brain and took its Quirk, before vaporizing it."
"So that's why you said the alien isn't in the picture anymore." Izuku said, clearly worried.
Nezu nodded. "Yes. The alien, whatever it was, appeared to operate by manipulating those it was linked to with a Quirk. But now that All for One has removed him, it's works have locked up. I imagine that's the only reason we can traverse its home base uncontested."
Mr. Oguro cleared his throat. "We're getting off topic. How are you going to get around this security system. Happen to have a spare alien hand nearby for biometrics?"
Nezu started throwing out random parts from within the terminal out of the panel. "Like I was saying, an EMP can keep the command signals from working properly, so-"
"So you're going to create a device to form a localized repeating EMP to jam the signal!" Melissa finished excitedly.
"Correct young Shield! But that is only the first step!" Nezu said just as excited. "Afterwards, I must create a device that will splice directly into the processor, then figure out the exact signal to send that will make it think that I am of proper authorization. That unfortunately, will take the most time, as I have yet to master the encryption language used between the Quirks."
"How long will all that take? In case you forgot, we have a Supervillain on our tail." Wedge reminded Nezu, and everyone fortunate enough to have forgotten.
"While I can give no absolutes, I doubt it will take more than fifteen minutes." Nezu assured. Oddly confident, for someone working with unknown tech, but Nezu was an expert in all things, it seemed.
"And once it's fixed, we can bring back my dad." Melissa said. "Or better yet, we can bring back Uncle Might! He'll beat this Villain no problem, right?"
There was a boost in morale as everyone realized that All Might could soon be there to save them. As the kids all got excited, Mr. Oguro turned to towards the entrance of the room.
"Then I guess I'll go and keep All for One busy for a little while." He said, much to everyone's shock. He looked at them like they were idiots. "What? Someone's got to keep the jerk from coming up and interrupting the principal's work. And seeing as I'm the only other Hero here besides him, it falls to me to go do my job… for the first time in a while. I'm the best bet for keeping him busy-"
"No, you're not."
Everyone now turned to the interrupting voice of Izuku, who now had a look of determination that Melissa recognized. It was the same one he got when he threw himself at those thugs, and at Nine. It was a look that Melissa was starting to fear seeing, if only for Izuku's own safety.
"If we need to keep him busy, then I'm the best option." Izuku said, narrowing his eyes at Mr. Oguro. "He wants my Quirk, which is still missing from the Quirk Erasing Bullet. He won't kill me until he gets it back, and I'll be able to put up a real fight once it's back. One for All boosts my entire body, and that will include the Quirks currently in my possession from Nine's version of All for One."
"And how will you plan to not get manhandled before your old Quirk comes back?" Mr. Oguro asked.
"I, uh, was planning to ask you to lend me your Quirk?" Izuku replied, slightly less confident than before.
While Melissa herself didn't have a Quirk, she could understand that simply asking someone to give you their Quirk, one of the most important parts of a person's identity nowadays, was usually a fool's errand. Besides, Mr. Oguro was a (former) Hero, and there was no way he would let some teenager to run off and fight the most dangerous Villain of the century in his stead-
"Sure kiddo, go ahead then."
"Huh?!" Melissa and a few others cried out as Mr. Oguro held his arm out for Izuku. She immediately began to yell at the man. "How irresponsible are you? Why would you let him just run off on his own?"
"Look, I'm not a fan of the idea either. But the truth is he's right." Mr. Oguro admitted with a huff. "The last time I ran into All for One, I got beat. Really beat. But that's because he had no interest in me beyond taking my quirk. But Midoriya here, it's personal. That man will want to gloat, to toy, to play with his food. I'm not saying he'll go easy on him, but the fact is that he has a chance of lasting longer than me against that man."
"Still…"
Before Melissa could continue to disagree, Katsuma ran up and offered his hand as well.
"Take mine too! It'll help you if you get hurt." Katsuma said, excited to help his Hero.
"You can have mine as well." Kota said, looking away shyly. "My Quirk's pretty lame, but I'm sure you could find something to use it for."
Eri finally walked up to Izuku with them. "Um, I don't think my Quirk would work for you, since I used it up earlier," She held a hand to the near-flat stump of her horn. "But I think you can do it! Just like you did with the last bad guy!"
Seeing the three kids encouraging Izuku was both heartwarming yet did little to help with the fear for his safety. Melissa turned to Wedge, who gave her a look that told her that he had nothing to add on the matter. So, she turned to the last adult voice of reason, only for Nezu to simply nod along.
"I'm glad to see you've come to the same conclusion, young Midoriya. I had as well yet didn't think it proper to suggest the idea myself. It's glad to see you make such a deduction yourself." Nezu said from his position digging through the terminal.
She wanted to tear her hair out. Why did she ever think Nezu would provide a voice of reason.
Izuku began to take the offered Quirks, only stopping when he got to Katsuma. "Huh? It seems like you have two of Cellular Activation. You must have got the one that Nine took along with the one that Eri restored."
"So that's why it felt so strong after I woke up." The boy had been using his Quirk without tiring during the entire run over, so it must have increased its power. "You can take both. That means it'll work even better, right?"
"Let's hope so." Izuku said, as the cerulean energy of All for One took both Quirks.
Wedge then walked up to Izuku as well. "I may not have a Quirk to give you, but I can give you the next best thing." The military man unclipped the combat knife from his belt, presenting it to Izuku.
"Oh, not bad." Mr. Oguro said with an approving nod. "Knife's work great with my Quirk. A quick burst of precision slashes is usually enough to take down most opponents. It won't knock All for One out of a fight, but it'll keep him from overextending."
As Izuku took the knife and Mr. Oguro's Quirk, Melissa let out a pained sigh. "Is there no other way?" Melissa asked.
Izuku turned to her, looking just as sad. "I know we just went through this same thing a couple hours ago, but I can't just sit aside and not help. I'll come back like last time, promise. And this time there won't be any surprise abductions."
Melissa let out a resigned laugh. She couldn't come up with any more excuses to keep him out of danger. Besides, his willingness to help others despite the odds is part of what she liked so much about him.
"Well then… I guess you'll want another kiss for good luck?" She teased.
Izuku's face turned bright red, but he quickly grinned. "Sounds fine to me."
She quickly found Izuku approaching her and was rather surprised. As soon as he had reached her, he raised himself up on his tiptoes (because he was adorably shorter than her) and found her lips taken. Not expecting such boldness, she found herself frozen as Izuku kissed her. He eventually stepped back, and he looked up at her with a face that was probably as red as hers was.
"Umm… I'll be back soon!" He squeaked out, before disappearing in a literal blur due to Overclock.
She just stood there in a mix of happiness and shock as everyone stared at her. It was only a few seconds later that she remembered something important.
"Wait a moment! We didn't get any DNA from Izuku! How are we going to match it to the terminal and find All Might?" She asked worriedly.
"Don't worry about that young Shield. It's a well-established fact that DNA will remain in another person's mouth for at least an hour after kissing." Nezu chuckled. Melissa covered her flushed face with her hands, letting out an embarrassed groan into them as she heard the others join in the laughter.
She was going to get back at Izuku for this. That dork was going to regret starting a battle of PDA with an American.
Izuku ran faster than he had ever before.
He had bolted the moment he realized what he had done. He just wanted to cheer Melissa up, but then he had run up and kissed her in front of everyone! He was never going to hear the end of it once he got back.
As the corridor flew by, he found that he could think at the same speed as normal. Overclock truly was an incredible Quirk. It ran his brain and the rest of his body at an increased speed, making superspeed seem completely normal to him. It was nothing like with One for All and Overclock. While they did increase his reaction time when activated, he didn't have such a degree of freedom while active, meaning he had to rely more on predictions and foreknowledge with them.
Overclock made it as if the entire world around him slowed. It was amazing, but he couldn't help that he was forgetting something-
"Huuuu-!" Izuku fell to his knees in the middle of the hall, gasping madly.
Oh right, it ran on oxygen. He breathed deeply as he tried to fill his lungs again. He had totally forgot about Mr. Oguro's explanation of his Quirk's downside for a minute there. It could only be used for a few seconds at a time, otherwise he could risk running out of oxygen and falling unconscious (or worse).
If only he had some way to make his cells create more oxygen than usual…
Izuku slapped a palm to his forehead as he remembered. Reaching into himself, he called upon both copies of Katsuma's Cellular Activation. In mere moments he could breathe easy, and the stress in his forehead vanished. Yet he could feel some sort of energy within him drain. He wasn't sure what the Quirk used as fuel, but it certainly wasn't limitless. He'd have to be careful in using both Overclock and Cellular Activation at the same time, otherwise he'd run out of steam before One for All returned to him.
After a couple more sprints and pauses to regain his breath, he found himself back at the door to the giant domed room. The one lined with pods and a hole leading to the outside world. As he slowly stepped through, he looked around cautiously.
All for One had yet to appear, and this absence had grown from thankful, to confusing, to nerve-wracking in only a few minutes. He didn't know what had delayed the Villain so much, but at this point it could be for nothing good. Did he predict that Izuku would come after him and set a trap?
He stepped into the open area, Scanning activated, only to find it just as empty as before. Slowly walking towards the center of the room, he looked up and noticed a figure floating down the gravity well. He threw a hand up to use Laser Bullet, but stopped himself at the last second when he noticed who that was in the slim moonlight leaking from above.
"Ms. Kagome!" Izuku cried out as the nurse continued to float down. He quickly wandered over to the edge of the gravity well, and she cast a curious glance as he did so. "I'm so glad you're okay! How did you get… away?"
Something felt off so he activated Scanning and saw that the woman in front of him was crimson red in its view. The same red that he had seen upon waking up and nearly having his Quirk taken.
'All for One?!'
The moment her feet touched the ground, 'Kagome' shot a hand forward at inhuman speed. Izuku only dodged it by activating Overclock and hopping back several times. He looked up at the woman who had just attacked him, and a sinister grin spread across her lips.
"I'm surprised you could be so naive, Ninth." A voice came out of Kagome's mouth that carried an edge unlike anything she had before. "Do you really think I'd let someone out of my grasp so easily?"
"All for One!" He quickly got into a combat stance. "What have you done to Kagome?!"
"Why, I gave her exactly what she wished for, the greatest Quirk ever! She was truly fortunate that I had a spare copy lying around for just such an opportunity" All for One said with a chuckle. "Unfortunately, this Quirk came with some baggage. I'm sure you must be familiar with that by now, having awakened my brothers Quirk to its fullest potential."
"You're… a Vestige?" Izuku realized. He was just like the First and the rest of the previous users. "But that shouldn't give you control over someone's body. They've never done that to me!"
"Just because they haven't doesn't mean they can't." All for One raised an eyebrow. "They're just a bit nicer about the shared arrangement deal than I am. As the many Quirks I've taken would tell you, I don't share well. I tend to just tune them out, though they've certainly gotten louder lately. Being the copy has its downsides, I suppose."
"But if you're just a Vestige, then Kagome is still in there, right?" Izuku pleaded, but All for One just laughed.
"Most certainly. But without a Quirk of her own, her will is effectively non-existent. It's quite the opposite of the problem I have with One for All. But I have a couple ways around my brother's resistance now. So, sit still and let me take back what's mine." All for One raised a hand and it began to spark with energy. Scanning let Izuku to see multiple different colors, each another Quirk being summoned forth.
"Photon Beam, Heavy Payload, Scatter, Solar Direction."
The room suddenly lit up like a lightbulb as the white beam of light that All for One had used earlier shot out of his hand and was immediately subjected to the various other quirks used simultaneously. It expanded in power, beam quintupling in size. They then split into many colored beams which scattered in direction, like light hitting a prism. Finally, all the beams started changing direction randomly until there was a rainbow of projectiles heading straight for Izuku.
He knew that attempting to block the beams wouldn't work, just as it hadn't before. So, he tried the second option. Dodging.
'Overclock!'
In a burst of movement, he sped through an opening in the beams. Many of the light beams landed where he had just been, but a majority managed to alter their direction and continue after him. That must be what 'Solar Direction' does. Likely it was some sort of Quirk that allowed the manipulation of light.
He was fortunate that All for One liked to call his attack names just as much as Heroes. Izuku wouldn't be surprised of the Villain did it solely to gloat about all the Quirks he's taken over the years. He seemed to give off that kind of self-centered vibe.
Izuku dodged away a couple more times, but only managed to shake a couple more beams before he felt Overclock's limit start to be reached. All for One must have noticed as well, as the beams all converged for a crippling blow. Using Cellular Activation for a quick recovery seemed like the best way forward, as it would allow him to continue running. But after a moment thinking in Overclock's slowed time, he came up with a better idea.
Throwing both hands forward in a cupped position, he called upon Air Wall to form the most compressed shield he could. A palm sized circle formed, and then Izuku brought out Kota's own Quirk, and water pooled in his hands.
'Air Wall + Water Gun… Hydro Cannon!'
He released the pressure in the air disc, sending the water releasing from his hands forward in a condensed beam straight at the approaching light beam. The two beams met, and the light entered the water. But instead of dispersing the attack, the many converged light beams began to shoot out of the water at random angles, sending them flying harmlessly away before dispersing.
As both attacks finished and the dome darkened, both opponents stared at each other in observation.
"Marvelous!" All for One broke the silence, clapping wholeheartedly at Izuku. "Using a combination of Quirks to form a concentrated beam of water to refract my light-based attack away from you! Showing not just an understanding of your Quirks, but how to use them on the fly! Truly interesting…"
All for One took a step forward, and Scanning showed several enhancement Quirks appear throughout his body. Izuku managed to raise a hand and activate Air Wall in time for one of All for One's hands to crash into hit. While he pushed against the barrier with one hand, his other literally snaked around it, extending in length and fly towards his head.
Unfortunately for the Villain, he had attacked Izuku on the side of his free hand. He activated Overclock again, reaching for the combat knife in the sheath tucked into his waist. The moment the hand got in striking range, he let out a flurry of slashes across the palm, before sheathing the knife.
'Sorry, Kagome!'
Now that he also had the Quirk, he was certain that All for One relied on the small black mark in the center of the palm to take Quirks. While All for One likely had a Quirk that would heal such attacks, it would take a couple seconds to do so. Leaving him a moment to make a move of his own.
He let out the pressure in Air Wall, pushing All for One's hand off it by a millimeter. When his hand came back to press against the shield, he dispersed it and ducked down, leaving All for One to stumble and reach over him. He summoned two Hydras from his back to grab both hands.
With both of All for One's hands grabbed and foothold unsure, Izuku used the Hydra's to swing him up and away from him. With a great tug, the two blue serpent heads sent the Villain flying around and away.
Izuku shot a Laser Bullet form all ten of his fingers as a follow up against All for One as he tumbled backwards through the air, but most of the bullets missed as All for One literally hopped off the air, walking across it with great steps until he was perched high in the domed room.
"Ah, that's better. Air Step was always a favorite of mine. It lets me more easily look down upon you foolish Heroes." All for One said haughtily.
"Or maybe because it just makes it harder for someone to punch your face in again." Izuku shot back. He really needed to work on his mouth. Bakugo really influenced him more than he realized, and he couldn't help but get feisty when things got serious.
All for One didn't seem to mind though, laughing off the remark. "I'll admit, I am rather worried about One for All. Those forty years that All Might had with it transformed my brothers Quirk into a truly terrifying thing. Did you know that it reaching singularity was what triggered this whole thing?"
'What?' Izuku froze. One for All caused the Rapture? He thought it was a mighty coincidence that the Rapture had happened the moment that the transfer process started taking place, but was All for One saying that was what triggered it in the first place?
"Of course, you have put on quite a show without it." All for One continued, unaware of his internal panic. "Though I must give much of the credit to Overclock. It makes me sad that I ended up losing it myself."
"How do you lose a Quirk?" Izuku asked, admittedly curious. Overclock was an incredible Quirk. Did he give it to someone else instead of stockpiling it with his others? But why would he give away such a broken Quirk, unless… "You couldn't use it, could you? Not after the injuries All Might gave you."
"Correct. Overclock's main function is increasing the 'speed' that its users brain operates at, which was rather hard when I quite literally had lost most of my head. And its reliance on Oxygen to run was rather taxing when I had to breathe through a tube." All for One explained, confirming Izuku's suspicion. "I ended up giving it to one of my old experiments, from the same line as Nine. I'm sure you remember the Sky Egg Bombing and the Naruhata Lockdown Incident?"
"Should have known you were responsible for those." Izuku sighed.
"I was only in an oversight role at the time. They were all Six's plans. Of course, the self-centered fool ended up dying before he could return what was given to him." All for One looked back down at Izuku with a smile. "So, I must truly thank you for this opportunity to return it to me. Although… How did you give O'Clock his Quirk back, I wonder?"
"I'll never let you get the chance to learn!" Izuku growled. He couldn't let All for One get his hands on Eri.
"Then it appears we are back to our entertainment then." All for One summoned a giant ball of fire in one hand and of ice in another. "Let's see how you respond to a few more combinations of Quirks. Do try to make this interesting."
Izuku called up Water Gun in one hand for the fire and Laser Bullet in the other for ice. He could tell this was going to be a long fight. He could only hope that Nezu gets through the terminal's system soon.
Back down the long corridor, the rest of the group had split into three groups.
The children sat in the corner, trying to stay out of the way of the adults.
Melissa worked with her Uncle Sam to try and combine the pieces from the Q.A.D. and Scanner together. It was slow work, as she was not at her father's level yet. But there was still progress, and they hoped to have the device ready before All Might emerged.
Oguro and Wedge both were assisting Nezu with the terminal system. Wedge was watching the screens for any change in operations, while Oguro assisted the rodent with piecing together the localized EMP device. The former Vigilante apparently had a lot of experience working with esoteric devices, like his taser gauntlet.
"Anything changing yet?" Nezu asked Wedge from below, prodding the electronics inside the open panel.
"Nothing but some static." Wedge answered.
"Alright, time to try a different encoding sequence then. We're rather fortunate that there are no limits on erroneous inputs." Nezu said.
Fortunate indeed, Wedge agreed. They had managed to create a device that could interfere with the alien's systems just fine. But they had yet to find the type of direct signal required to override the biometric lock. The only option was for Nezu to try his best guess at translating the alien's machine code, plugging it in to the terminal, and have Wedge try and use it.
This was attempt fifty-two.
"So… Do we have any more of a plan other than getting All Might out and hoping he can beat All for One?" Wedge couldn't help but ask. He knew that All Might was great, but even still. "You said he beat this guy before, right?"
"Yes. But I fear it might not be so simple this time. All for One will be expecting that All Might will be willing to risk himself this time." Not to mention that he didn't need to worry about losing One for All if he killed him, Nezu didn't add. "Besides, All Might's current injuries have weakened his power significantly. I fear as he is, he won't be much of a fight for All for One."
"Wait, seriously?!" Wedge stared down at Nezu. "Then what are we even bothering for?"
"Don't fear. I believe I can find a solution. All for One received similarly severe, no, more so, injuries during their fight. Yet he is perfectly fine now. It was obviously a recent feat, as he wouldn't have been silent for so long otherwise. This indicates that the alien must have had some way to reverse the damage, likely with the same DNA altering properties that All for One used to be recognized by the UFO." Nezu gestured to the nearby room. "If this place is meant to experiment on people with Quirks, then they must have some sort of Quirk to manipulate their bodies."
"That doesn't sound risky at all." Oguro said under his breath.
Nezu simply shrugged. "I admit it is a long shot, but we need All Might at 100% or we stand little chance of success."
"Lovely." Wedge added.
Nezu hummed, continuing to test his device. "Quite. Also, my ears are detecting light sound coming from your pants pocket. They seem rather faint, but I figured you would want to know."
"What?" Wedge quickly dug into his pockets to pull out his transmitter.
They were state of the art and some of the most powerful miniature transmitters created. His squad used them to communicate with each other, and their signal could be boosted by the X-66's. If he was receiving signal all the way down here, then that must mean that they were nearby. He quickly put it in his ear and listened in on the usual frequency.
"Rogue 3, the bogey's on my tail!"
"Rogue 5, roger, moving to assist. This UFO is fast!"
"Any eye on that woman who flew out of the larger one?"
"She entered the structure below, so the system's lost visual."
"Who was she? The Q-Field readings were literally off the charts!"
"Rogue Squad! They're here!" Wedge exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention. He tapped the transmitter to begin speaking. "This is Rogue 1, do any of you read me?"
He tried to communicate with them a couple more times, but his team continued to talk as if he wasn't there.
"Damn!" Wedge cursed. "Their signals are boosted enough to reach me, but this thing doesn't have the power to reach them back. At least I can hear what's going on up there."
"I'd make you a signal booster, but I'm afraid getting this terminal working takes priority. What appears to be going on above?" Nezu asked.
Listening for a few more moments, he summarized what was being discussed. "Rogue Squadron is currently engaging a smaller UFO. It sounds evenly matched for now. There's a giant storm keeping the rest of the forces outside, meaning backup won't be arriving anytime soon unless we take out whatever is creating it."
"Must be Nine." Oguro said, and he cursed under his breath. "Guess I should have grabbed that bastard too while I was at it."
"For him to be able to create a storm substantial and long enough to keep out the military was beyond our predictions. All for One must be using the same Quirk that healed him to keep Nine's body stable enough to support that storm." Nezu theorized, before turning to Wedge again. "Anything else?"
"Yeah. Apparently, a woman was seen descending from the larger UFO down into the underground structure we are in." Wedge revealed.
"It must be Ms. Kagome! I don't know how, but she must have escaped!" Melissa said, but Wedge frowned.
"I don't think she was so fortunate." He replied, and everyone looked at him worriedly. He pointed to the Scanner that Melissa held. "The X-66's are equipped with devices similar to that one. They read Q-Field's and record all kinds of other biometric info. Apparently, this woman had readings that were incredibly high."
"But… Ms. Kagome is Quirkless." Melissa said.
"Not anymore, it seems." Oguro let out a sigh. "And if it's anything like the last time I ran into someone with a Quirk from All for One, I doubt the Nurse is the one in control currently."
She let out a gasp as she looked towards the exit. "Then the one that Izuku went to fight is…"
"Kagome, yes. Likely with some version of All for One, if the readings were really so high." Nezu chittered to himself, a noise that the others hadn't heard before and sent them on edge. "This wasn't in my predictions at all. Where did he acquire a second complete copy of his Quirk?"
"Let's not worry about that right now. We should focus on getting this terminal running." Wedge reminded Nezu.
"Ah yes, apologies." Nezu seemed to snap back to his work. "I fear I got a slight distracted running my new set of predictions and odds."
As they tried a couple more sets of codes, Wedge listened to the chatter on his communicator. It was mostly chatter from his squad, followed every so often from someone up the chain that, yes, the rest of them were still stuck outside the storm.
"Wait, who's that?"
Wedge suddenly snapped to attention at the sudden alertness of his squamate.
"There's someone emerging from the UFO again!"
"They have the same Q-Field signature as the woman from before."
"There's something going on with the lightning- Shit! Evasive maneuvers!"
Their time was running out.
All for One had taken the field again.
All for One let out a stretch as he put the finishing touches on Nine's body.
A dozen Quirks and some severe gene editing, and the former experiment of his had turned into the perfect weather control device. It probably came at the sacrifice of most of his motor functions, and a lack of brain activity outside of the commands sent through the Controller Quirk, but Nine's body didn't matter to him at all. All that mattered was his Quirk.
After ensuring that the commands for the storm wall were still running, he took a moment to analyze the state of his forces.
"How is the infiltration of the Main Facility going, my other half?" He spoke to the copy of himself through their shared mental connection.
"Rather amusingly. It appears that the current holder has taken the others' Quirks and is using them quite efficiently." The copy replied with a joy that made him roll his eyes.
"I suppose that we could take One for All first before regaining control of the system. Just remember that when our brother's Quirk emerges-"
The copy let out a laugh. "I remember the plan. We came up with it! Do you really have so little faith in yourself?"
All for One just sighed as he turned his attention elsewhere. He didn't know why his other self was having so much fun playing around with their Quirk, but he could deal with that later.
At least he was certain that the copy wouldn't screw up when it came to One for All. The urge to rejoin with his brothers Quirk was so important to him that at this point it had become instinctual. Any copy of his Quirk would have an imprint to complete such a task, even outside of his will.
He wondered if Nine ever had the same urges in his encounter with Izuku Midoriya?
Focusing back on his own task, he activated his Controller Quirk and connected to the available network. "Flyer, what is your status against Rogue Squadron?"
[Enemy formation is better equipped than previous units. They appear to be equipped with weaker versions of this units shielding and beam technology.]
"Can you defeat them?" He asked.
[This unit is unable to calculate exact odds. However, they possess a means to wear down this units shields, and their covering formations make sustained fire against them risky.]
"Well then, it sounds like we need to even the score then." All for One began to walk towards the opening. As he did, he prepared a number of Quirks.
Heat Resistance Quirks for the lasers. Reactionary and Sensory Quirks to anticipate enemy movements. His usual suite of Speed and Strength Augmentation Quirks.
'Ah, it feels good to be able to use so many Quirks at once again.'
He dropped into the gravity well, but after floating down a few seconds he skipped out of it and levitated under his own power using Air Step.
"There's someone emerging from the UFO again!"
Radio Receiver picked up the transmission from one of the jets circling around the storm, trying to flank the UFO. His other Quirks picked up the sudden attention he was now receiving from Rogue Squadron. X-Ray, Infrared, and another form of detection that he could feel, but not explain.
"They have the same Q-Field signature as the woman from before."
'Q-Field scanning?' So that was what the feeling was. It was as if his whole soul was under a microscope. He did not like it. The Doctor had always gone on about how Q-Fields were the future of Quirk Study, but as its progress was made on I-Island alone, they were never able to reap the benefits.
So, they could read his Quirk Factor. So what? It just let them know that they were dealing with someone far above them. All for One raised an arm up and began to speak.
"Lightning Rod, Elemental Form: Spear, Spin."
Random strikes of lightning found themselves shooting out from the storm into All for One's raised hand, taking the shape of a great stake. As the bolt continued to grow, it also began to spin, sparking dangerously above him.
"There's something going on with the lightning- Shit! Evasive maneuvers!"
All for One merely smirked as he watched the jets all turn, as none could be fast enough to avoid an attack like this. He took aim at the nearest jet, and called upon two more Quirks as he threw.
"Spring-like limbs, Air Cannon."
There was a thunderous boom as the spear cracked across the night sky with a flash of light. It pierced right through the back of the craft, and it began to make a rather chaotic tumble towards the ground. It managed to pull up at the last moment, making it a much more controlled crash. But it was still out of commission.
"Shit! Rogue 5!"
"I'm alright! Focus on shooting that bastard down!"
All for One merely smirked at the radio chatter as the squad of fighters all converged towards him. He prepared a new patch of Quirks to defend, while sending a command to the Flyer to coordinate a counterattack.
"One down, six to go."
"Are these readings accurate?"
"Yes, Mr. President."
The Acting President of the United States put his hands in his head once again. So, the rumours were true. That Man was leading the enemy's assault. The dreaded Demon Lord of Japan. The one that had supposedly been killed years ago, back from the dead and working with this extraterrestrial force.
"He's already shot down one of the X-66's, and at this rate, his and the smaller UFO's combined might will take out the rest shortly." The analyst who had spoken before said. "Once they are shot down, it is likely the two will not stay in the same location for long."
"I know what you are implying." The President in an annoyed tone, but he sighed as he glanced to another nearby assistant. "Have they finished setup for RAGNAROK?"
"Yes sir!" The assistant place an open briefcase on his desk, spinning it around to reveal a screen and control console inside. On the left was an overly ominous big red button, with a glass case over it just to make it clear that this was not something that should ever be pressed. "The target has been selected. All that is needed is for the button to be pressed."
"Thank you." He replied, staring at the button. He sat there in silence, long enough that the others around him began to grow nervous.
"Um, Sir?" The General tried to get his attention.
"Put me in contact with Rogue Squadron." He replied.
The General looked conflicted. "But Mr. President! If we have them fall back, the targets will-"
"I know, damn it!" He shouted. "Just… Get them on the line."
The General eventually sighed himself. "Understood, Mr. President."
As the General obtained a line of communication for him, he sat back and closed his eyes. He thought his Country was beyond having to make such tough decisions nowadays. Things had been so peaceful for so long, and now he was going to ruin that. With the press of a button, he was going to potentially ruin billions of lives, to save a couple billion others.
He missed the days when his problems could be solved by a Hero coming in to save the day.
But there were none left, and this wasn't that world anymore. This was one of hard choices now, and he was going to make them.
However, he couldn't do it with out telling those that he could. He was already ushering who knew how many to destruction and couldn't tell them, but he wouldn't let his consciousness leave those he could tell in the dark. They deserved that much.
"Here you are, Mr. President." The General presented him a headset, and he put it on slowly.
He tapped the receiver and began to speak. "Can you here me, Rogue 2?"
"Loud and Clear, Mr. President!" The acting squad leader bellowed out. "Apologies, but now's not the time for an evening chat!"
He found himself letting out a laugh despite himself. "I am the one who should apologize. We… will be commencing another operation soon and-"
"Don't worry about it, Mr. President." The pilot interrupted.
"But when the operation commences-"
"Sir." The pilot interrupted again. Was he worried about the enemy listening in? "We've always been ready to follow Star to hell and back, so we're prepared for anything. Do you understand?"
"I… I do. Thank you, Rogue Squadron. We will commence the operation shortly." Taking a deep breath, he felt a pit in his stomach.
It was time. He turned to the operating system for RAGNAROK and raised a hand towards it.
May God have mercy on his soul.
"Fuck!" Wedge kicked the bottom of the terminal with his boot, the thus echoing across the room. He continued to curse at no one at a frightening volume. The children jumped at the sound as everyone else turned to look at him.
"Hey, Buddy? What's going on?" Oguro asked worriedly. "They shoot down another of your squad."
"No! The Acting President was just on the line. He didn't say it but… He's going to blow this place sky high!" He revealed, producing a gasp from the others.
"What do you mean?" Melissa asked, suddenly panicking.
"He made it clear that the squad weren't going to make it out alive. A Nuke is the only thing that can think of that would take out the UFO right now, and it must be a big one." Wedge explained, glancing down at the terminal. "All for One appearing must have spooked them. They see no other option. Damn it!"
He slammed his hand down on the console, only for the screen to change from red to green.
"What?"
"Then it is a good thing I finally cracked the code!" Nezu cheered.
"And what good will that do?" Wedge asked. "You said it yourself. All Might can't win in his current state. What else can we do?"
"I'm afraid we can only try our best, Captain." Nezu answered. "He's our only option. Even I'm not paranoid enough to keep the DNA of other Heroes on me 'just in case'. Truly, which Hero would be eccentric enough to just hand out a literal part of them to other people?"
"An absolute weirdo, that's who-" Wedge suddenly stopped himself as he brought a hand to his chest.
Underneath his vest he could feel the charm that had been given to him by her boss. A representation of how she was always standing with them no matter what. A golden ring of knotted lochs.
He quickly pulled out the charm connected to the chains that held his dog tags. "Hey Nezu, how do you turn this thing on?"
"Just place the relevant DNA on the circle where your hand is, choose the person you're looking for, then select the biggest button on the screen." Nezu answered quickly. As Wedge slapped the yellow ring on the scanner and began selecting the options he had mentioned, Nezu raised an eyebrow. "Who exactly are you summoning?"
As the holographic display in the middle began to display the selected user, Wedge grinned widely.
"You were right. Only All Might could save you back home." Wedge said cockily as a female form was projected in the center, eight long tufts of hair flowing back. "But lucky for you, you're in America. And we've got our own Number One."
Rogue 2, also known as Biggs, was currently flying to his doom.
Their squad had managed to avoid being flanked by the smaller UFO for now, but with their numbers down to six, it was getting harder to prevent. And not to mention their new bogey…
Whoever they were, they shot down one of their jets with a single move. They had tried blasting back, but the mysterious man reflected the lasers back with barely any damage sustained. And the scans made it clear any damage that had leaked through was healed in a mere moment.
But taking them down now wasn't their objective. He just had to keep them here for as long as possible.
His Q-Field Scanner beeped, and he turned his gaze back to the mysterious man just in time to see him charging up another bolt of lightning. Being the closest jet to the man, he realized that he was probably the next target.
If that was the case, he wasn't going down without a fight.
Turning sharply, he pointed himself towards the attack and charged his beam, firing forward. He could see the beam splash off a shield formed by the man, but he didn't care. He wouldn't go down without a fight.
She wouldn't have.
There was a crack of thunder, and the spear of lightning flew for a second time. Biggs braced himself, letting out a cry as the bright lightning approached and blinded him. He was ready to face his fate.
But as the light nearly swallowed him, a figure flew out of the ground below, positioning themselves between him and the lightning. Their silhouette appeared before Biggs, and he was sure his life was flashing before his eyes. Why else would she be here?
Then his communicator crackled to life, and the voice that came out made it clear this was no illusion.
"I can hold lightning!"
The bolt of lightning found itself caught in the hands of the interceptor, and with a great heft, was thrown back to its sender.
"What-?!" All for One found himself too baffled to react as a streak of light flew through his chest, piercing it through. It wasn't enough to kill one such as him however, but as he stumbled back, he glared up at the newly arrived figure with unbridled rage. "How are you of all people here?!"
Biggs snapped back into focus, punching his craft forward and underneath his savior, who landed on its top with a thud. She stood tall and proud, with a costume of red, white, and blue, and eight tufts of golden blonde hair.
"Is that really you?" He asked in disbelief, his voice quivering. "Star?"
"Damn right it is!" Her familiarly boisterous voice cried out. "I couldn't just sit back and nap while you boys had all the fun!"
"It… It can't be."
The entire oval office was silent as the Acting President sat frozen on his desk, fingers mere millimeters from the button to fire RAGNAROK. He slowly brought it back, placing a finger on his headset's transmitter.
"Is that really you, Star and Stripe?" He asked, producing a roar of murmuring from the small crowd that had appeared around him. A nearby man set the receiving signal to a speaker nearby, and after a moment, there was a reply.
"You bet it is! This the Acting President?" Star's familiar voice echoed out across the office.
"It is. H-How are you… What is…?" He found that he didn't even know where to start asking.
"I don't know the full story, but you can thank Nezu for my miraculous return." Star answered for him. "He found where these aliens were keeping us and managed to get me out. Don't worry Mr. President, he'll have All Might out here before too long to punch this bastards face in again as well."
'All Might and Star and Stripe!' The Acting President could hardly believe what he was hearing. The two top Heroes in the world were both soon to stand against this menace. It was almost too good to be true.
Did he dare believe in Heroes again?
"Star and Stripe," He tried his best to summon his strength back. "Can you… really save us?"
"Of course!" The Number One Hero responded immediately.
"I see." He smiled slightly as he reached to the RAGNAROK launch button and put the cover back over it. "Then as the Acting President of the United States, I ask you to please save everyone. Us, and the rest of the world!"
"You got it!" Cathleen Bates, also known to the rest of the world as Star and Stripe, answered. "Don't worry, me and my brothers will give these surprise visitors of ours a good old-fashioned American ass-whopping!"
Next Chapter: No Space for Old Quirks