Izuku bent down, flexing his legs and shooting up towards Nine as fast as he could.
In this case, it turned out 'as fast as he could' was the speed of sound. He honestly wasn't prepared to reach his opponent so quickly and ended up shoulder checking the man instead of using a Smash. Still, being crashed into at such speeds was an effective attack regardless, and Nine was sent hurtling back.
"H-How?!" Nine shouted as the winds under him stabilized and he returned to glaring at Izuku. "You were dead! There's no way you could have come back from that unless… the girl." Understanding crossed his eyes. "It appeared I underestimated her Time Quirk."
Nine's hand had barely twitched before Danger Sense had informed Izuku of the expected attack. He launched forward again, this time being sure to throw a punch forward this time. Three layers of Air Wall formed from the hand that Nine had originally planned to attack from moments before contact.
"Detroit Smash!"
Air Wall shattered like glass in only a second, and Nine brought up his forearms in a cross guard as Izuku's fist made contact with them. Nine found himself flying through the air again, arms very broken from the attack.
"What is this power?!" Nine cried as his arms glowed green from Cellular Regeneration. "And what the hell are those things I see around you?!"
"Oh, he can see us?" En said in surprise.
"Not perfectly, it seems. But he does have All for One, so it's not too surprising." The First said.
"Focus." Second demanded. "He's no match for you now, so hurry up and beat him before he can damage the island anymore."
"Right!" Izuku replied, preparing another Detroit Smash. But Nine was prepared to counter this time.
"Let's see you dodge this!" Nine said as he threw his arms forward, thunder echoed in the clouds above ominously.
"Dodge!" Fourth shouted as Danger Sense triggered.
Izuku was a blur, and suddenly a bolt of lightning passed where he had just been. He sped around the sky with Float, avoiding the bolts that continued to flash around him. Eventually there was a pause in the attacks, and Izuku flew forward at Nine with fists raised.
Two Hydras shot out of Nine's back and tried to intercept him, but he shot two large spears of Blackwhip out of one his extended hands, skewering and dissipating both in a second. He pressed forward, raising a hand back. "Detroit…"
Nine brought both of his still damaged hands forward, producing multiple layers of Air Wall with them.
"Smash!"
His fist collided with the shields, knocking them together, and they pressed together with enough force that they produced a gale upon shattering. The blow would have knocked the two away, but he flung a strand of Blackwhip from his left hand, wrapping it around Nine's right leg.
"You're not getting away again!" Izuku growled out as Nine found himself unable to retreat. The Villain tried pointing his fingers forward and shooting a volley at him, but with Danger Sense and his enhanced speed, it took barely any effort to avoid the desperate attack. He tugged and brought the man closer for another blow. "Give up!"
"Never!" Nine shouted, and a dangerous feeling went up Izuku's spine.
'He wouldn't!' Izuku thought for a moment, but the rumbling from above proved Danger Sense's accuracy. He released Blackwhip and shot back, feeling his hairs stand on end as lightning crashed in front of him.
"He nearly hit himself with that attack!" Banjo shouted as Izuku thought it. "I hate to admit it kid, but I don't think this guy is giving up until he can no longer move."
"That's fine, I can keep this up all day." Izuku growled, preparing for another charge. But the look in Nine's eyes made him freeze for a moment. A frenzy he hadn't seen before now.
"I… I won't lose to the likes of you!" Nine shouted as purple line began to emerge across his skin, growing until they covered every inch of his body. The tubes on his back injected whatever substance were inside them, shattering upon emptying as great purple wings of power began to emanate from his back. "I'm the only one who can stand on top! The only one who will rule this new world!"
Some of the purple cracks of energy across Nine's body changed to the same green from Katsuma's Quirk, and one of his 'wings' changed to the same vibrant hue. In only a couple seconds his broken arms glowed and healed completely back to their healthy state.
"Shit! I think that was a whole bunch of Trigger he just injected!" Nana shouted in worry. "Now he has boosted Quirks too!"
"I can take it!" Izuku shouted, sending a fist forward at Nine. "Detroit Smash!"
Air Wall appeared as before, but this time the shield held. Cracks were sprayed throughout it, but it didn't shatter with a single attack like earlier.
Izuku felt Fa Jin charge in his right arm, and he swung back to try a super-charged Smash against the strengthened wall. But Nine took the pause to unleash a veritable swarm of Hydras from his back. Literally dozens of the serpent-like creations snaked towards him, and he flew back to avoid the attack.
He kicked and punched any Hydra that got too close, and when there weren't any in range, he'd send a Blackwhip out to drag one to him. Nine's assault continued relentlessly as he threw in erratic Laser Bullets between the Hydras attacks.
But there was barely a challenge. Danger Sense let him see every attack the moment Nine thought of it. Float let him maneuver through the sky like a knife through butter. Black Whip grappled his opponent's appendages into range easily. Fa Jin was slowly charging in his limbs the longer he fought.
And One for All strengthened each and every one of them to a frankly ludicrous degree. It boosted not only his body, but Quirks as well. It was truly an incredible Quirk.
"I can't help but notice you're not using Smokescreen…" En said disappointingly.
"His opponent can see him with that Scanning Quirk of his." Hikage answered for him. "It wouldn't be of advantage to blind himself now, even with my own Quirk supercharged as such."
Izuku's hair stood on end again, and he looked up to see that the storm was still growing. With Nine's power enhanced, the weather changed once more as hail pellets the size of baseballs began to fall from the sky towards him. Picked up by the gale-force surrounding him, they sped towards him like bullets.
"Damn it!" Izuku cursed under his breath as even more projectiles came flying towards him. Even with his super-senses, dodging the Hydras, Laser Bullets, and the hail was proving trying.
Not to mention there was this weird feeling that was spreading across his body.
The Third appeared in his peripheral. "You need to create an opening and return fire. Try using my Quirk."
'Alright, which move would work best to create an opening?' Izuku thought for a moment as he ran through all of All Might's Smashes. One came to mind, and he dodged the closest Hydra only to immediately dive down at an angle.
The many attacks weaved after him, following in a straight line behind him. He turned around after a moment, and as he predicted the attacks were straight above him, and directly above that was Nine.
'Time for a two-for-one attack! Overcharged Fa Jin + 100% One for All!'
Izuku thrust his arm up, rotating as fast as he could while releasing Fa Jin's energy at the same time. Through physical force alone he managed to create a tornado that swept up all of the attacks, pushing them up and towards Nine. "200% Nebraska Smash!"
"Little shit!" Nine cursed as he was forced to block his own flurry of hail and Hydras flying up at him. His Air Wall caught all the attacks, and he pushed them back down with a blast of air, dissipating the barrier.
'Now! Pinpoint Focus!' Blackwhip shot forward like a spear, weaving past the debris and tagging Nine in the chest now that his Air Wall had vanished momentarily. Izuku tugged Nine towards him before winding up a roundhouse kick. "St. Louis Smash!"
The attack slammed into the point he'd targeted with Blackwhip, and the chest of Nine's bodysuit crumbled to dust as he went flying back. Izuku could see the massive bruising directly on the man's chest, and he knew a few ribs had to have been broken with that attack. But Nine seemed unfazed by the damage, and a moment later it became obvious why.
The cracks of energy running across Nine's body pulsed as they spread further, emerald light shining along them into his chest. Moments later the wounds on his chest had entirely healed, just like the ones from his arms had earlier.
"Seriously?" Izuku pouted as he sped away from the storm Nine had thrown at him in retaliation. As he fought against the wind though, that feeling across his body from before had become more prominent, and he could now recognize it as pain. "Guys, I don't mean to cause a panic, but I don't think the device is completely working."
"What?! What do you mean kid?" Banjo asked, obviously panicking.
"My body is feeling stressed, like I'm going over my limit with Full Cowling." Izuku explained as he did a hard dive to avoid a barrage of lasers. He could feel his body ache at the sudden movement, and he began to make an unfortunate realization.
"That's because all the device does is boost your Quirk without any drawbacks. It doesn't remove the wear and tear your body would face from that boost." The Second said, confirming his fears. "You're technically not even a Hero Student yet, with only ten months of physical training. It's only natural that it would feel fatigued being thrown through the air like a missile."
"So even with the device, Ninth's still on a time limit?" The Third sighed. "But that Villain is hurt by using Weather Manipulation, right? Do you think you could outlast him?"
"No, he has Katsuma's Cellular Regeneration." Izuku explained as he tried to approach Nine again for another attack. "If I had to guess, he's using it to heal the damage he usually took. And with that Trigger boost…"
He was forced to fall back as multiple blasts of lightning cut off his path of approach and Nine flew into the storm above.
"So that's it? He's just invincible as long as he's roiding out?" En complained. "Can't we just keep punching him until he's tired? Worked pretty well for the Eighth."
'Tired…' Something in the back of Izuku's mind tried to tell him something, but he found himself suddenly distracted by the multitude of Hydra's emerging from the storm cloud above. As he fended them off like before, he glanced over at the Second.
"I know now's not the best time to ask, but what's your Quirk?" Izuku asked.
The Second gave him a serious glare. "You cant-"
"Can't use it without possibly dying, I know!" Izuku growled as he released a charge of Fa Jin in his legs to boost away from the Hydra's attempting to encircle him. "But won't the device negate it?"
"It's not that simple… But you are right. We're running low on options." The Second relented. "My Meta Ability is called Gearshift. It allows me to alter the speed of anything I touch, increasing and decreasing their acceleration completely independent of inertia. It used to only work on small objects, but the strengthened version within One for All is likely able to be used even on yourself now."
"T-That's incredible!" Izuku shouted, forgetting about the fight momentarily. "Why am I not using that right now? I could probably beat Nine in literal seconds with it!"
"Focus Ninth!" Hikage reminded just as a swarm of hail approached and Izuku returned to avoiding attacks.
"Because the drawback for doing so is immense. I was able to test my Meta Ability on insects and very small creatures like frogs, and the results weren't pretty." The Second continued to explain as Izuku dodged the ice raining all around him. "It accelerates everything, which usually isn't a problem for inanimate objects. But for a living body, will quickly run out of energy faster than can be recharged. And with the boost from One for All and the device, it'll probably be able to accelerate your entire body down to the cellular level."
"So it uses up oxygen, just like Mr. Oguro's old Quirk!" Izuku quickly made the connection. He threw a fist forward in the direction of Nine, blowing away the clouds and revealing him again, shield raised. "But shouldn't the Q.A.D. negate that problem?"
"You mean like it's currently negating the strain from going all out currently?" The Second responded sarcastically. "I'll admit, the device may let you use it on yourself for a couple seconds. But in the state your body is in, you'll likely asphyxiate yourself immediately. And this Villain won't give you a chance to catch your breath."
Swarms of lasers zigzagged from Nine's hands through the sky towards Izuku, and Izuku summoned multiple strands of Blackwhip from his own hands. He batted each and every bullet of energy out of the sky with an explosive strike with the dark energy. In the process, they gained the same red energy from Fa Jin that his arms just had.
"Huh, didn't think my Quirk would work on things other than limbs." The Third admitted.
"Kinetic energy is kinetic energy! Wish I could have done that back in my day!" Banjo said in a jokingly jealous tone.
'Blackwhip + Fa Jin… Blackchain!' Izuku blasted towards Nine again, already thinking of ways to use this new combination of Quirks. Nine himself summoned forth the Hydra's again and raised his arms ready to shield himself. Previously, he would have quickly become surrounded by the Hydra's and overwhelmed before getting an opportunity to attack directly. 'And now… Blackchain + 100% One for All!'
"Oklahoma Smash!"
Izuku spun his body as fast as he could as he continued soaring towards Nine, letting the strands of Blackchain fly out and strike the Hydra's that attempted to get in close. The tornado of black and red energy tore its way through the serpents straight to Nine. Most of Fa Jin's energy had been dissipated by the attack, but the leftover Blackwhips remained.
As the shields of Air Wall emerged Izuku crossed his arms in front of him, causing Blackwhip to from two combined trails behind him. Releasing Fa Jin in his arms, he swung at the shield in a violent cross chop.
"200% Carolina Smash!"
The dual attack blew threw Air Wall but failed to reach Nine directly. Before he got a chance to retreat though, the two trails of Blackwhip followed behind Izuku's initial attack and slammed into him in an X-shaped pattern. Nine was launched back from the force, but he was almost fully healed before he could even stabilize himself, leaving no room for a follow-up attack.
'Seriously?' Izuku complained silently. He slowly froze though as he observed Nine's body during the healing process. 'Wait a minute… those lines of energy going across his body. The ones that appeared when he used Trigger. They're growing in size after each hit.'
As Nine's healing finished the glowing cracks of energy ceased spreading, turning from green to purple. Then, as he called on the weather to smite Izuku, they began to slowly increase in size again.
"The Trigger!" Izuku shouted as he fled momentarily from the wrath of the tumultuous weather. He could feel each breath begin to grow harder to take. He didn't have too much more time at his best. "Something's happening to his body the more he uses his Quirks! Look at the lines on his body!"
En hummed after a moment. "The kid's right. That man's starting to light up like a Christmas tree."
Nana let out a gasp. "Of course! Trigger temporarily enhances Quirks by manipulating chemicals the body uses during Quirk use to go over its limits with minor repercussions. The drugs can only supply so much though, and if when it's all up…"
"He'll crash, hard." Banjo finished for her. "Just one small snag. You still need to outlast him, and that's not looking to promising kid. Don't act like we can't see you panting like a dog over there."
"I'm fine!" Izuku insisted. "For now, at least."
Izuku flew around Nine in a large arc, trying to come up with a plan. He just needed Nine to use his Quirks more than Izuku did. Specifically, Weather Manipulation and Cellular Activation. Those were the ones that appeared to cause the most noticeable change.
Weather Manipulation made sense, as it seemed to tear the man's body apart with each use. But Weather Manipulation was also a dangerous Quirk, not to mention that even stronger uses of it might tear I-Island apart before he could win, defeating the purpose of fighting.
That meant he had to get Nine to use Cellular Activation more instead. But how?
Cellular Activation was being used to counteract Weather Manipulations downside, and also heal any injuries Izuku landed. The first option was not optimal, as he had just rationalized how he should try to minimize the damage from the weather in the first place. But getting through Nine's guard to land a direct hit was proving more tiring with each attack, and Izuku knew his opponent was too smart to be fooled by the same trick twice.
What else was there? What else did he know about Katsuma's Quirk?
'It increases the activity of cells throughout the user's body and that of anyone they are touching, increasing regeneration, recovery, and physical condition. It draws upon the users stamina, meaning if used on themselves they are trading off short term improved ability for long term functionality. That's perfect if I could just get him to use it, but how?!'
The question kept repeating in his head. There was something just out of reach, he could feel it. If only there was some way to push his body even further. Something that could affect his entire body at the cellular level…
"Oh."
"Finally got a plan?" Nana asked as Izuku ceased strafing.
"Maybe." Izuku said nervously. He turned to another of the Vestiges. "Hey, Second! How do you activate your Quirk?"
"Did you not listen to a word I said?" The Second rose his voice. "If you use it on yourself then your body will-"
"I know! I'm not planning to use it on myself." Izuku interrupted with a smirk. "You said One for All boosted Gearshift's range to be able to affect myself. How much more do you think the Q.A.D. raised it?"
He could feel the incredulous looks from the Vestiges, and he Second finally spoke up. "What sort of crazy idea do you have?"
Nine watched as 'Deku' paused in his flight for a moment, seemingly conversing with the specters that floated along with him. He wasn't sure what they were, but he could see their faint glow with Scanning, each the color of one of the boys Quirks.
And the one he was talking to currently was the cyan color, the only of the Quirks Nine had yet to see fully with his Quirk-based vision. Even with whatever device that boy was wearing improving his Quirks, he had yet to use it.
'Could he not know how to use it?' Nine thought, before readying a wave of lightning. He had nearly been beaten by the wannabe Hero activating a new Quirk at an inopportune moment once, and he wouldn't let it happen again.
The moment he summoned the bolts from the clouds above the boy dodged with the help of his warning ability, before flying towards him again. Likely to land another useless blow against him. With the increased power gained from his specially modified Trigger, he could heal far faster and longer than usual.
There was the risk of damage to his body after it wore off, but Cellular Activation should mitigate that, if not outright remove it. All he had to do was beat this child before then, which would be a cakewalk.
'He's not as used to combat as I am. I can already see his body begin to slow. An incredible Quirk is worth nothing if your body is unable to handle it.'
As Deku sped towards him, Nine summoned his Hydra again. They pounced forward at their prey as it bounced around the clouds. How was he planning to get through his guard this time? They both knew the same trick wouldn't work twice, so what next?
Much to his disappointment, he flew straight at him, getting as close as he could while avoiding the Hydra. Nine kept his hands at the ready, waiting to throw up Air Wall at moments notice.
'A frontal assault? With the amount of dodging he's doing, he won't have the strength to break through my shield immediately, leaving himself vulnerable. What is he playing at?'
"Smash!" Deku shouted as he flew forward, leg extended towards Nine.
Nine summoned multiple layers of Air Wall, and as predicted there wasn't enough force to shatter the barrier. But right as the foot made contact, a giant bomb of purple smoke exploded out of the boy, momentarily blinding him before reactivating Scanning.
"That doesn't work on me!" Nine shouted in reminder, releasing the pressure built up in Air Wall to blow Deku and the smokescreen away. He saw the light of One for All fly back, only for it to stop closer than it should have. When his view cleared, he could see his opponent had grabbed the Hydra heads around him with that black energy, using them as supports as he stretched back.
'He used the momentary pause when my vision changed to setup a slingshot on my own Quirk!'
He tried to call up another arrangement of Air Wall, but the air had been pushed away so recently and Deku came flying forward with them half-formed. An arm shot through them as Deku attacked with a palm strike.
"Florida Smash!"
Nine could feel his chest crumple from the blow as he was sent flying, but he blocked out the pain. He was used to it. After a second, the warmth of Cellular Activation flooded his veins. It was an odd feeling, your body repairing in real time. But as he could feel himself breathing again, he simply shrugged.
He had worked hard for this Quirk, and he would be sure to enjoy it.
He turned his attention back to Deku, only to find another plume of smoke flying out of him. The quantity of the smokescreen was so great it appeared like its own purple cloud among the stretch of blackened storm. As it engulfed him, Nine just sighed.
"This resistance is pointless."
He watched the light of One for All fly around him, and he called upon the winds to blow away the cover. But the purple light in One for All kept coming to the surface, replacing anything he knocked away quickly.
"Why are you trying to obscure yourself so thoroughly? I can still tell what you're doing!"
There was nothing but purple in his normal sight, but that was fine, as he could see Quirks, and that was all that mattered. He sent out more Laser Bullets and Hydra's, giving up on blowing away the cover for a time.
"If you wish to waste what little time you have remaining on this game of cat and mouse, then I'm more than happy to oblige!"
It was true. He was using Cellular Activation throughout his body, always keeping himself at top shape. Restoring his wounds, keeping him sharp. Whereas Deku had slowed down considerably, the last couple attacks clearly having pushed past some threshold. His light was moving like a snail in Scanning's vision, barely dodging his current attacks with only inches to spare.
After a minute or two of mindless dodging, Nine got fed up with waiting for Deku's next move.
"Soon you will be dead, and I'll be the King of this world! What can you possibly do to stop me?"
He called upon Weather Manipulation to summon forth a great tornado around himself and blow away the pitiful distraction. The wind gathered with a swipe of his hands, and with a single great push the sky around him became clear again.
"Now, lets quit delaying the inevitable."
Raising his hands up, thunder began to echo around him. But before he could bring them down, he noticed something strange about his arm. Looking down at it with Scanning, he could see it was under a Quirk's effect. A cyan color draped along his arm and reached across his entire body.
'This is… the boys unused Quirk! Did he tag me with it during the last attack?'
Looking up at Deku above him, he could see now that it wasn't just him that was moving slower, but everything. The clouds, the rain, the arcs of lightning.
No, they weren't moving slower.
He was moving faster.
Scanning quickly allowed him to deduce that it was a Speed Altering Quirk of some sort affecting him. But why was his opponent making him faster?
"What the hell are you doing-!" Nine found his shout cut off as he let out a cough, and a familiar copper taste touched his tongue. He checked his mouth, only to find blood running from it.
'How?! Cellular Activation should be healing me!'
Nine looked down at his own body, only to find it almost entirely covered in jagged lines of green energy. The formerly bright emerald light had dimmed to a dull shade, and it pulsed weakly. The energy he had been using to heal was almost entirely depleted somehow!
"Gearshift." Deku seemingly answered as he approached.
'I'm still faster! Don't let him approach!' Nine thought, trying to send his Hydra's forward at super speed. But they suddenly slowed down, and he felt the strain on his body lessen slightly.
"Once I touch an object, I can set it as a target for the Quirk." Deku explained, now dodging the slowed attacks with ease. "I can then increase and decrease the targets speed from any distance as long as it's set. Down to the cellular level."
"No! Stay away from me!" Nine shouted, trying to summon forth lightning. The pain of using Weather Manipulation wasn't being negated anymore, but that didn't matter right now. He couldn't lose now! Not when he was so close! He gathered as much lightning as he could to strike everywhere around him. "Die!"
"Transmission!" Deku was enveloped in the same Cyan energy as before, and right as the lightning came crashing down everywhere, he vanished.
"Top Gear!" And appeared right in front of Nine, letting out a gasping breath. "The only place you couldn't hit was where you currently were."
Nine tried to fly away but found his body not responding as it should. The warmth of Cellular Activation had finally left, leaving his body tired and broken. He proceeded to fall as Deku wound up for a closing move.
"Damn you! I was so close! My power was greater!" Nine screamed.
"Maybe, but you knew nothing about the power you took, and it ended up wiping you! For someone so high on their own power, it was your reliance on the one you stole that defeated you!" Deku shouted as he flew down toward him. "Whereas I got all my strength from others! That's why I'm not afraid to use it to help others in turn!"
Deku began to spin forward, increasing in speed due to the cyan energy of Gearshift and the built up energy of Fa Jin. He built up force before winding back for one final punch. "California…"
Nine raised what little of Air Wall he could, but he knew it was futile.
"Smash!"
With one last blow, Nine's broken body flew back. He smashed into the top floor of the Central Tower, and this time he couldn't get back up.
The sky slowly began to clear after Izuku's last attack, and he felt Danger Sense drop as the ever-present storm dissipated, revealing the beautiful night sky. He let out a shaky sigh as he fought to catch his breath.
"I…I did it." He said in disbelief. Nine had been a Villain that could equal, no, even surpass, All Might.
And he beat him.
He felt himself stagger in midair suddenly, and the reassuring voices of the Vestiges registered in his ears again,
"Midoriya, you need to land, now." Nana insisted. "You're running on adrenaline after pushing yourself to keep up with a Gearshifted Nine."
"Not to mention using it on yourself. Did you even listen to a thing I said?" The Second added in disappointment.
"Sorry. It was the only thing I could think of to dodge his desperation attack." Izuku said to them as he slowly floated down to where Nine had landed. He touched down next to the great crater that he had created where a Helipad had originally been, seeing Nine laying at the epicenter. There was a slight shift of the man's chest, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."
"Are you really that worried about killing him or not?" The Third asked, and Izuku shot him a look.
"Of course, I am. Besides, I need him alive if I want to get Katsuma his Quirk back." Izuku explained as he sent out a strand of Blackwhip. He wrapped it around the unconscious Villain before lifting off again. He jumped off the side of Central Tower, lowering himself midair down a couple dozen floors to the Wind Farm where is friends were.
"Izuku, you did it!" Melissa shouted, being the first to notice him as he floated down to the platform.
"Melissa." Izuku said happily, trying to keep his balance as she wrapped her arms around him before he had reached the ground. He let the Blackwhip holding Nine drop, as the defeated man clanged to the floor. "Sorry for taking so long."
"I'm just glad you're alright." Melissa said with tears in her eyes. "I knew you could do it though. Didn't doubt it for a moment. My Dad and Uncle Sam's work is the best after all!"
"Yeah, I couldn't have done it without their help. Speaking of help, how is Eri? Did she manage to heal Wedge and Mr. Oguro?" Izuku asked, looking around for her.
"Err, about that." Melissa began rather worryingly. "She may have gotten a bit overenthusiastic about using her Quirk."
Izuku paled. "Oh no, did she make someone vanish? Did she turn them into a baby? Please tell me she didn't turn Mr. Oguro into a baby!"
"W-What?! No! No, everyone is still in existence and not a baby." She assured, letting out an amused chuckle. "There was just some unexpected side-effects. Like with Mr. Oguro and Katsuma-"
"Katsuma!" Izuku remembered, glancing around frantically. "That's right where is he? I need to get Nine to give him back his Quirk!"
"Izuku! Just… look." Melissa tried to calm him down. She turned and pointed in the distance.
There he could see Wedge and Mr. Oguro lying next to each other on the ground, sleeping. They both looked fine, but he could see there was something different about Mr. Oguro from this distance. He wasn't sure what though. And the trio of children were all huddled together and watching him from a ways off. Katsuma had Kota and Eri's hands, sharing a familiar green energy through them.
"H-How?" Izuku asked as he began to walk over to the children, who all got up and excitedly approached as well.
"Katsuma was still out of it when you left, so Eri used her Quirk for only a moment. But it seemed that it rewound his body to the point before he had his Quirk taken." Melissa guessed.
"But Nine still had the Quirk during our fight." Izuku said with growing surprise. "Eri managed to unintentionally duplicate a Quirk. That's…"
He didn't quite have a word to describe it. Amazing? Terrifying? The whole deal with Quirks was that they were unique, one of a kind. But with All for One's assistance, Eri had been able to create another of this unique ability that Katsuma had. With Overhaul's 'assistance', she had been able to remove Quirks as well. The ability to manipulate time had always been crazy. Izuku had known that. He had written who knows how many pages on practical uses for Rewind, but this was incredible.
"Deku!" Katsuma shouted, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You beat the Villain!"
"I told you he would. My big brother is the best Hero ever!" Eri said with an earnest smile he hadn't seen on her before.
"Of course he did." Kota scoffed, glancing at Izuku like he wouldn't notice. "It would be disappointing if he lost after all that talk about- Look out!"
'Huh?'
Maybe it was the light-headedness from losing his breath so much recently, or the adrenaline dying down after seeing all his friends safe. Whatever the reason, he turned painfully slowly, just in time to see Nine's battered form stood up, holding a gun forward.
"Why didn't Danger Sense react?" Hikage asked in surprise.
"Because he's not aiming for Midoriya!" Nana realized. "The kids!"
There was a bang, and Izuku threw himself forward. He didn't have time to activate a Quirk, and he was so tired that something like Gearshift wouldn't work anyways. So, he simply put himself between Nine's target and the man himself.
He felt something impact his chest, and he let out a grunt. He ignored the pain he knew was about to come and tried to push whatever energy he had left into One for All, running towards Nine to stop him from firing again. But as he swung at Nine, he saw a smirk on the mans face as he felt Full Cowling begin to collapse.
"Ninth! That wasn't a normal bullet, be care-!" The First's voice filtered out to static as his specter disappeared, followed immediately by the rest of the Vestiges. One for All's power slipped from his body, and despite wearing the best Quirk boosting device in the planet, he couldn't feel a trace of it.
'Quirk Erasing Bullet's! How did he get those?!'
Izuku's fist hit Nine's forearm with a rather pitiful smack, and the man followed up by gripping the gun in his hand by the barrel and swinging it at his head. It crashed into the Q.A.D., and while it prevented a concussion, he could feel parts of the priceless device shatter into pieces as he fell backwards.
"I… won't be defeated… by you." Nine spat out, stumbling towards him.
Izuku simply got to his feet, raising his own hands. He didn't need his Quirk to beat Nine anyways. Not in the state he was currently in. Mr. Oguro had taught him a thing or two about close combat, and he knew now was the time to but his lessons to the test!
The two stared each other down for a moment. Melissa and the children stood back, unsure if they should help Izuku. Wedge and Mr. Oguro were still asleep. There was silence as they all waited for the other to make the first move.
But then something else did.
The tower itself shook slightly, and everyone brace as they glanced around.
"What?! But the storm is gone!" Melissa shouted.
"Out there!" Eri shouted, pointing out over the skyline to the North Lake of I-Island.
In the artificial body of water, lights could be seen in a circular pattern illuminating underneath the water. A blaring siren echoed out hauntingly across the night sky, and the area within the lit circle raised up out of the water to reveal a giant hatch. It swiveled open with a great metallic screech, and something began to raise itself out of the lake.
It was a great metallic disk, almost 300 meters in diameter. It floated up through the air without any obvious engine, despite its massive size. It was some sort of giant… flying saucer.
Izuku felt his mouth drop open, fight completely forgotten as the unidentified flying object continued to rise until it was just level with the top of the Central Tower. It then began to approach him, and he finally remembered to breathe again.
Once the vessel reached the Central Tower, a light appeared from the middle of the bottom of the disk. It passed over them all as if to scan them. Then, the location where the light was opened to reveal a circular hole into the saucer.
And then Izuku felt his feet leave the ground.
"Wait, what?!" Izuku flailed his limbs as he felt some tugging sensation pulling him up towards the light. He glanced back to see that he wasn't the only one being raised up. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the sleeping Wedge and Mr. Oguro floating up.
"Ahh!" The three children screamed as they held onto each other for dear life.
"No! What is this?!" Nine shouted, still trying to claw his way towards Izuku despite the insane interruption.
"Izuku!" Melissa shouted, and he turned towards her. The two tried to reach towards each other as they approached the saucer. But right when they touched, they entered the vessel itself, and a force pulled them away, forcing them each into their own pods around a circular room.
"What is going on?!" Izuku shouted, pulling against the metal wire restraints that wrapped around him suddenly and kept him lying in the pod. He looked to his left, only to see Kagome was already asleep in one of the pods. A pin pricked his arm, and his eyes began to droop. "W-Who…?"
A figure appeared in front of him, finely dressed, with stark white hair and crimson red eyes. He looked down at Izuku with a smile that sent shivers down his spine. As sleep finally began to take him, the man leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"It's finally time to end this extended rebellion of yours and come back to me, little brother."
"All… for… One…"
Izuku's eyes closed, and for the first time in a long while, there was no one waiting for him in the darkness.
Dragon, Chameleon, and Komodo all stared from their boat floating just outside of I-Island. They had nearly been swept away by the storm that their boss had summoned, and when it had stopped they had been relieved for a moment.
Until they saw it.
As the UFO that had had appeared over I-Island suddenly flew east at speeds that would rival most jets, they continued staring. As it flew towards the horizon, they watched in absolute silence. After a few moments, Komodo was the first to speak up.
"What the fuck just happened?"
Chameleon let out a sigh. "Something beyond our pay grade. Is Nine or Kagome answering?"
"Nope. But Nine's device is flying away in the same direction as that thing." Dragon quickly confirmed, looking up from his phone. "Well. I don't know how to say this boys, but it looks like our boss was just kidnapped by aliens."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"All in favor of saying 'Fuck it' and going back to Japan, say Aye." Dragon asked.
"Aye." Chameleon sighed.
"Hell Fuckin' Aye." Komodo swore.
"Alright then, all hands-on deck. Let's get the hell out of here." Dragon said, as the three scrambled to get the Yacht moving again.
As they did, Komodo paused to look back at the empty horizon where the flying saucer had just vanished over. He shook his head as he muttered under his breath. "Seriously though, what the fuck just happened?"
Next Chapter: Back to the Beginning
That's right... Aliens! (Que the Ancient Aliens Meme)
I've been hinting at it for a while now, so I hope you all weren't completely caught by surprise! Don't worry, next chapter will start a new arc that should go on to explain what the hell just happened here.
The Smashes Deku used were all canon moves with minor adjustments, besides Florida Smash (a palm strike named so due to being the flattest State). The trick with Gearshift was something I came up with later, as originally they just punched each other until Deku won. This fight may have seemed to be the biggest the story could have, but trust me when even crazier is in store!
Be sure to leave a comment on what you think of the I-Island Arcand the story so far! And a special shoutout to Partner555 for editing the TVTropes page after each and every chapter! If you want to add to it as well, check this link: /Fanfic/TheOnlyHero