City lights reflectively roll across the passenger window, a rhythmic pattern on the glass. Staring out of a bullet train as it travels at three hundred kph creates a translucent blurred vision of the world. To Hawks, that's a way of looking at things that is ironically poetic to him. Yet it's a sight to behold all the same. He blinks back his dreary view of everything, allowing his eyes to regain focus. The last time he rode a bullet train, it was with Miss Makima, but sitting across from him now is his intern.
Izuku Midoriya stares down at his cellphone, thumbs rapidly tapping at its tiny keypads. Today's youth are so consumed by their devices. Then again, Hawks can only hope the kid gets to stay that way a while longer. If Makima and the HPSC have their way, the boy won't be having very much of a childhood anymore. Hawks shifts in his seat despite the lush cushioning made for occupants to sink into comfortably.
After another long day of stopping petty crimes during their patrol route of Hosu, he'd suggested that they take the train back to their hotel. It gives them a much needed rest from traversing the city. If a pro like Hawks feels the desire to relax his wings then he has no doubt the hero in training craves a recovery too. It beats straining themselves. Pushing past their limits even has its limits. No. Hawks hangs his head. He knows that's only an excuse. They're taking the bullet train because it's night and the dark means the likelihood of the hero killer being active is higher; this is a precaution being taken to prevent a dire outcome.
Hawks gazes down at his hands, turning them over in his lap, a glazed over look crossing his vacant expression. How he can try to take the moral high ground in this situation when he already so willingly allowed so much to happen … he clenches his hands into fists. This must have been how Lady Nagant felt, he figures. The pressure of guilt weighing on him. The spotlight society shines to glorify him as a hero when he does dirty deeds in the dark should be directed elsewhere. He doesn't deserve any praise. He certainly doesn't deserve this kid's trust in him for a brighter future.
Still engrossed in his phone, Izuku switches between his contacts to check their chats. He had messaged Iida when he got on the train, but never received a response from the other boy. Finding Iida interning in Hosu after their encounter at the graveyard, he can't shake the feeling that his friend is going to do something hasty like going after the hero killer. Izuku then tried texting Jirou next to have her check on him too, but she's not heard back from Iida either. Uraraka responds to his semi-SOS text about calling Iida before he receives the same supportive message from Kirishima. Izuku figures Iida is bound to answer SOMEONE with so many people blowing up his phone. Still. Until that happens, it's hard to sit still and remain comfortable.
"You alright?", Izuku nearly lets his phone slip through his fingers when Hawks suddenly breaks the silence between them. Izuku raises his head, glancing at the hero questionably. Hawks returns the gesture, "You look like you're about ready to fly the coop."
"Ah..", Izuku slides his phone into his pants pocket before sitting back and addressing the hero, "Just some late night nerves I guess" He forces down a grimace when he sees the unconvincing expression on Hawks' face. Briefly, Izuku contemplates telling Hawks about Iida; he doesn't want his friend to get into trouble but that could wind up happening either way at this rate.
"Yeah", Hawks looks away with a seemingly solemn appearance on his face, "Me too" But even with his eyelids lowered, the hero still manages to see something through the train window. A speck that's increasing in size. It's much too low to be a plane. It's too small to be a helicopter. Hawks' eyes widen until they're fully open when he realizes the foreign flying object is heading straight for the train.
All passengers jerk forward in their seats as the shuttle makes an emergency stop, electrified metallic wheels screeching on the track system. The train doesn't overshoot the collision course of the incoming UFO though. "Look out!", Hawks has only a fraction of a second to tackle his intern before a hole is made in the car. Coughs filter out the exhaust of fumes wafting from where metal was broken into.
On the opposite side of where Hawks and Izuku were sitting, a hero lays sprawled out and bloodied. The culprit responsible stands in the opening of the bullet train, a silhouette until residual smoke and debris clears away. Izuku sits up to see it's a four armed creature with an exposed brain like the Nomu that attacked his class in the USJ. If it's anything like that monster that went toe to toe with All Might, then – he doesn't have enough time to finish that thought. Hawks is already barreling into the thing.
"Stay here!", Hawks shouts over his shoulder as his wings carry him and the new Nomu into the sky. Izuku hurries to his feet before running to the brink of the hole from which this enemy entered and now leaves, all so abruptly. He only gets a glimpse of Hawks passing the troposphere before orange illuminates his vision with an afterglow of dense black smog.
Izuku is thrown back down onto his ass with a rough slam, the entire train shaken when a shockwave sends tremors through the track that it's suspended on. Flames flicker and flash from Hosu City as ashes coat the sky in dark clouds. Another explosion like the one that just went off, only this one is much further away, rocks the bullet train again. Izuku forces himself to get onto his feet when he realizes that the entire city is under siege. Hawks has his hands full with only one of what is responsible for this damage.
"Stay put?", Izuku rips at his dress shirt so that its buttons pop out. The ripcord attached to his chest drops and dangles freely. "Screw that!", and he leaps from the train before giving it a tug.
Civilians stumble and trip as they flee from the attacking creatures that have just struck down in the middle of Hosu. Cars swerve out of control, going from streets to sidewalks in an attempt to bypass traffic and escape. Fire rains down on them as they panic. Endeavor's sidekicks do their best to evacuate everyone while their boss unleashes a blazing whirlwind on one of the Nomu. More flames shoot up and cover the area. His son, Shoto, tries to disperse some of the fire with his ice.
A woman scoops up a cat, diving out of the way before a fireball can strike. Collateral damage becomes too difficult to avoid as Endeavor fends off various creatures himself. Shoto throws up an ice wall to shield the civilians from as much of the battle as possible but it's easily shattered. "You have to control your flames!", he shouts at his father with irritation evident in his tone. The callout goes unheard though. More fire. More destruction. Shoto grunts when he's forced to duck aside as well.
Endeavor grapples with a pale skinned Nomu, muscles bulging with effort to outmatch one another. The flaming beard covering the hero's face flares as he roars with fury. One mighty step at a time, he begins pushing the monster back. All the while, Endeavor charges up for a powerful attack; fire engulfs the creature and sears its flesh in a consuming glow of heat. Orange radiates the burning buildings, an uplift of more soot inbound.
Atop one of the rooftops, Tomura Shigaraki looks on with amusement. He's been watching the lab experiments wreak havoc on Hosu for awhile now and the heroes are powerless to stop it all. After his rejection from Stain, he thought it'd be fun to let loose on his frustration a bit by targeting the hero killer's turf, but this is turning out better than he'd hoped. His cyan hue of hair billows in the wind as embers raise from below him, casting him in a red light.
An accursed high pitched buzzing suddenly drowns out the roar of flames and screams, making Shigaraki wince. Honed on one decibel, it's not the familiar brattle he remembers, but he still identifies the annoying sound. Shigaraki tilts his head to see the U.A brat he faced down with more than once. Flying in with chain extensions for ziplines, Izuku Midoriya enters the fray. The boy cuts and carves through a smaller Nomu, lending an assist to Endeavor.
Shigaraki sneers. He feels his fingers twitching. The villain wants to dust something badly. He settles for scratching under his chin. Red eyes stay locked on the chainsaw boy, watching the bloodshed below that's beginning to shift in the heroes' favor. "Kurogiri…", Shigaraki summons his servant when it gets repetitive, "I've seen enough" A warpgate opens behind the villain for him to step backwards into. If anyone were to look up at the rooftop now, they'd never know he vanished without a trace.
Izuku ducks under a heavy swing from a yellow Nomu. While its arm is raised high, he responds with a slash from one of his chainsaws, carving a laceration under its pit. The creature cries out with a distorted echo in response. Izuku takes that as a good sign and keeps pushing. Another swing. Another swipe. He knows the attacks may be a little sloppy, but there's no need to be refined when fighting these things. They might have their skulls scalped to prove otherwise, but they may as well be brainless. Izuku brings it down by piercing his two chainsaw bound arms through its chest.
Endeavor is too busy battling his own slew of the creatures to notice or care. Shoto on the other hand, runs up to his classmate with a look of relief flashing across his face. "Midoriya!", the younger Todoroki gets Izuku's attention long enough for them to retreat from the fight. Izuku shoots a chain line into a water tower so that he's able to swing out of range.
"Todoroki – What's going on here?", Izuku reels in his dislodged chains so that they rerope as proper threads on his arm bars. He's covered in burns from being so close to the fire of the battlefield but his healing factor has already kicked in that Todoroki refrains from icing them.
Shoto glances back towards the clash with his father and the modified monsters. The elder Todoroki is struggling, sweat glistening in the glow of his own flames. "I don't know but da- Endeavor can't hold out for much longer", he tries to reign in on the concern that might come across in his tone.
"He's overheating", Izuku nods when he gauges the hero with his own analytical gaze. Their match during the Sports Festival is a backminded reminder of the fault in quirk overusage. "Your ice isn't going to cut it… We need someone better suited for cooling him off."
"Sounds like a job for me!", Izuku and Shoto pivot when they hear somebody interject from behind them. Trotting his way towards the two prospective heroes is Manual, his usually white suit tattered and torn with patches of soot.
Izuku recognizes the hero when they convene, "You're the guy that was with Iida!" He glances about in search for his other classmate. When he doesn't locate his friend, he turns back to face Manual. "Where is he anyway?", Izuku asks.
Manual frowns, an expression Izuku would reciprocate if not for his chainsaw form. "He ran off on his own when the chaos started", the hero turns his head away as though redirecting a far off gaze as he elaborates, "I've been looking for him ever since and that's how I stumbled upon you two."
Instantly, Izuku puts together the missing pieces. He knows now for certain that Iida came to Hosu hoping to hunt down the hero killer for revenge. "He must've gone after Stain", Izuku begins heading away from the flashy fight to start searching alleys.
Shoto starts to follow him, "What?! Then we need to find him."
Izuku turns back, stopping to talk only briefly. "No. You two are the only ones who can aid Endeavor right now. I'll go on my own", his voice is strained with an urgency that returns to his body when he uses his chains to grapple away.
Left without much room for negotiation or argument, Shoto swears under his breath before nodding in agreement with Manual that they'll trust Izuku's judgment. They begin dousing fire with water and ice, cooling the perimeter for starters. It creates a chilly mist that wafts over Endeavor. He's shrouded in smoke as more Nomu surround him.
News of the incident in Hosu begins to spread like the literal wildfire it is. Sirius shares a look with Tsuyu as they listen to the report on the Oki Mariner's radio. Aizawa and Shinso pause their sparring to listen as well, Aizawa grabbing the remote to raise the volume. Makima watches a live broadcast with her golden gaze. The whole world waits for what happens next.
Itsuka Kendo from Class 1-B enlarges her hands to wave people forwards, signaling for crowd control to move everyone to safety. Alongside her are Momo Yaoyorozu who's created signs with her quirk to hold up and Uwabami who's calming civilians. The panic still remains but it's relatively easier to manage this far out from the main source of conflict. Evacuation proceeds as well as it can.
But beyond that, within the confines of an alley space, trouble still remains. The pro hero Native cowers under the blade of the hero killer. Blood has been spilt, splattering the brick walls like fresh graffiti. Stain rolls his tongue along his lips, salivating out of his mouth. "I'm not sure what all that commotion is but it makes for a good distraction to finish you off", the hero killer ignores all the yelling from residents in that prefecture. He's honed in on his target.
In fact, he's so focused that his instincts nearly aren't enough to help him avoid a flying kick. Stain leans back to dodge a swipe from a padded leg. Whizzing past him and landing on the other side of the alley is a knight in shining white armor. "Who dares–", Stain arches his neck to see the interloper of his query pulling off their helmet. Tenya Iida tosses his hardened mask aside to be with the hero killer face to face. The slits in Stain's mask narrow into a razor sharp stare, "Those eyes… You're seeking vengeance."
"You killed my brother!", the engines in Iida's calves roar with his voice. He glares through his glasses at the man who murdered his older sibling, sheer hatred reflected by their lenses. The boy is overcome by his anger, grinding his teeth together; he balls his hands into fists despite being more accommodated with his feet.
"Be careful with what you say next", Stain laces his words with a tone of warning as he levels his sword to be shifted away from Native and pointed at Iida, "Or your age won't be enough to save you."
Hearing that, Iida is overcome with more rage than he thought possible. If this is the same merciless murderer that killed his brother then he won't accept any pity. He'll meet that challenge head on by digging his heels in deep and running full speed ahead. "I'm going to kill you!", Iida yells while blindingly rushing in.
Stain sees all the faults in the boy's form no matter how fast the attack comes. With a rearrangement of his wrist to twist his sword's position, he counters the high speed movement with his own. Iida feels his legs taken out right from under him before he twists skybound. Stain cuts his opponent across the legs and the charge is prematurely ended. With a hard slam against the pavement, Iida lands on his back. The boy's glasses fly off before clattering along the filthy floor.
The wind knocked out of him, Iida can barely groan as he chokes out a strained response to the pain flooding his system. He tries moving his legs to stand back up but they protest with a pulse of agony. Stain has drawn first blood. Deep grooves were made in the padding, enough to reach flesh and tear through it too. That's all the hero killer needs to keep the boy down for the count. Stain swings his sword up to his mouth so he can see the blood soaked blade up close. Then, he runs his tongue along its surface.
Iida feels his muscles tense, like he's already been struck by a blow that he's still bracing for. Whatever the opposite of stretching is what he feels, a tightening throughout his entire body. He waits for it to go away. But it doesn't. He tries turning but he can't. Not even his head can move. "Wh- What is this?", he somehow manages to form words with a slurred speech pattern.
"Frauds like you deserve to be purged", Stain spits with disgust, "I'm glad I was able to catch you early" He flips the katana so that its sharp end is pointed down. Cocking his arm back, the hero killer goes for the finishing blow.
Iida can only watch in horror as death comes for him. But the blow never comes. A jagged chain wraps around the blade, each looping motion hitching the razor edge. A sharp tug litters the alley with a spray of sparks that only comes from steel scratching steel. Stain's sword slips from his hand as it's pulled away and dragged to the opposite side of the alley.
Caught in his peripheral vision, Iida sees who came to his rescue. "Midoriya?!", he gasps in shock when he sees his classmate revving chainsaws with hysterical laughter, "How did you find me?!"
The crazed cackling ceases suddenly, Izuku's cocked head pitching forward. "I – I actually don't know", he brings one of his chainsaw armbars up to lightly scratch his metallic skull to convey his confusion when pausing to actually think about his arrival on the scene, "By all accounts, it should've been impossible, considering how big Hosu is."
"What is this? Another fake?", Stain scowls at what's yet another interloper that dares deter his crusade. Appalling appearance aside, that laugh wasn't very heroic either when compared to All Might's. He slides a second katana from his back sheath to replace the first.
"Eh?", Izuku tilts his head as he gauges Stain, "You must be the hero killer" When he looks past the villain and sees Native in poor condition, he steps further into the alley.
"And I take it you're here to capture me for praise like all the other false filth?", Stain edges his way closer to Native as he tracks Izuku's advancement. The hero killer crouches low like a wild animal ready to fight over its meal.
"Nah", Izuku shakes his head. Stain raises his, surprised by that answer. "I came here to rescue my friend", Izuku gestures with a chainsaw towards Iida before pointing at Native with it, "And now I guess also that guy over there."
Stain eyes Izuku closely. He moves his katana between Iida and Native, "It's too late for them", the sword comes up in the middle as it reflects the hero killer's glare, "But it's not too late for you to save yourself."
"What kinda hero runs away?", Izuku swings his arms apart as he takes a stance, "I guess you leave me no choice!" The chains on his arm bars wind faster. Revving reverberates down the alley.
Stain's mouth splits into a smile, a wicked expression far worse than his sneer. "You leave me no choice either then", his katana takes a new position that points its sharp end between the space of Izuku's chainsaws.
"This is chūdan-no-kamae", Jirou speaks in a soft tone so close to his ear that her voice may as well be a whisper.
Izuku's left foot slides slightly behind the right, both feet parallel to each other but his left heel marginally raised. He keeps his hips straight forward as Jirou had instructed him to. His spine stays perpendicular to the floor. He tenses when Jirou grabs him from behind, even if her touch is as gentle as possible.
"Your shoulders need to be more relaxed", she pushes on his deltoids so that they move down. Her mouth comes closer to his ear. Izuku shivers despite the warmness of her breath, "Do you feel it?"
Izuku blushes as he nods. Then he remembers she can't see from behind him and answers shakily, "Y- Yeah…"
He gets smacked upside the head. "Ow!", Jirou releases his shoulders and he's free to turn around as he rubs his skull, "What was that for?"
"Dude, you still aren't relaxed!", she places her hands on her hips with a huff. "Quit being so nervous and try to focus."
"I am trying!", Izuku whines indignantly. He can't exactly explain to her he's being skittish because of her proximity. So he just continues to squirm in place.
"These are more than just basic stances", Jirou sighs with exasperation. She tosses him a water bottle before opening her own, "The katana is supposed to be part of the stance as part of your body", she pauses to take a sip, "It's important to get this part down cause … in your case, it literally is."
Izuku clips the end of Stain's sword with a parry of his right arm's chainsaw. It throws the villain's aim off just enough that the left arm's chainsaw can finish the counter with a second clash. A double tap of blades. It's a novice move. Yet it catches Stain off guard just enough to defend against the strike. They both slide back from the sudden and brief exchange. It was a mere second of fighting and they've both already surprised one another with their skill.
Stain repositions himself, surprised that his opponent is versed in swordsmanship at all. Izuku retakes his original form that he learned from trial and error with Jirou. The chainsaw boy had only a few weeks to practice the basics before starting his internship, sloppy swings able to have some fluidity to them now, but it's nowhere near what he just saw from his opponent. The gap between combatants is large. And yet, Izuku still readies himself for another clash.
The hero killer comes with an overhead cut. Izuku brings his chainsaws together to catch the incoming blade mid way. It's a match of strength with their weapons caught in the middle. Until Stain slides his sword through the slits of the bladed chains. Izuku backs away when his enemy's katana comes loose. He has to lean back with more effort when Stain pushes further into his space. Izuku loses his footwork when it becomes a close quarters match.
The hero killer's sword swings upright, chopping inwards at Izuku's face. Izuku raises a chainsaw to catch it halfway. Stain presses in, the revving teeth of the chainsaw edging close to its owner. Izuku pushes back with a grunt of effort until the jagged tips inch away from his head. The katana slides off with a screech and Izuku staggers from the suddenness of no weight to lean against. He has no time to react to the pivot and spin of Stain's sword.
"Midoriya, don't let him cut you!", Iida shouts from the sidelines as he watches helplessly. He finds feeling in his tendons again that he's able to slightly raise his head. But it's not enough to reclaim movement and do anything as Izuku gets a gash across his chest.
Izuku hisses while guarding his front but the damage has already been done. Stain jumps back with agility that propels him all the way across the alley. From there, nobody can stop him from licking the blood off his blade. Like Iida, Izuku feels the effects of the hero killer's quirk. His body tightens itself and restricts his movements. "Wh- What the hell.. ?", Izuku gasps with struggled grunts.
"Children playing at heroes", Stain steps back into the alley when he sees Izuku has been immobilized. When he returns to the space where Native passed out from blood loss, he jabs his katana into the hero's head to finish the deed. "It's time you kids realized this isn't a game", the blade slides back out slick with brain matter.
"No!", Iida strains himself to steadily rise up onto his elbows. The hero killer's quirk is subsiding slowly. Body trembling as it tries to power past the dwindling remains of its effects, Iida forces himself to keep crawling.
"Oi", Izuku's voice cuts through the alley sharper than the blades of his chainsaws could have. Iida and Stain stop to look at him. The cut on his chest is already closing up, healing factor doing its job. "Iida, when you can move again, I want you to run out of here and go find backup", the amber glow of his gaslit eyes shift to glance in the downed boy's direction, "No arguing cause it's you who got us in this mess to begin with" Iida swallows everything but his guilt, nodding. "I'll hold off this guy till you get back."
Stain steadies his sword, watching each of the boys closely. "I won't be letting him leave so easily", the hero killer warns against them trying their plan as he bends down to retrieve his previous katana.
"Yeah, well, I won't be letting you not letting him leave so easily", Izuku retorts.
Stain's sword no longer remains level, tilting with his head. "Huh?"
"Bleh!", Izuku opens his maw so that his tongue sticks out. The long appendage hangs down to claim the string on his sternum. With a pull of his tongue, his chainsaws rev back to life. And so does he.
"How… ?", Stain stares in bewilderment when Izuku reclaims control of his body. He instinctively tightens his hold on the handles of his katanas, dual wielding them.
The jumpstart to his system gets Izuku's blood circulating again. Rejuvenated, he laughs like he did when he found the right alley. A devilishly gleeful cackle grates the hero killer's ears as much as the buzzing blades attached to the manic boy. Slobbering with his mouth still open and tongue still hanging out, he retakes the stance that Jirou had taught him with a newfound vigor.
Iida stares, shocked, mouth agape. Before pushing himself up and scurrying back with his feet scuffling across the pavement. He wastes no time running away, without glancing back. Izuku is left alone with the hero killer, each of them starting to reveal their bloodlust to one another. It oozes out of the alley and chases Iida as he cries out in distress.
Having told Todoroki and Manual to stay behind and having seen firsthand how much Endeavor or the other heroes have their hands full, Izuku knows there's no support coming any time soon. He hunches like his opponent. But it's as if the villain can read his thoughts as he asks, "What do you plan to do alone? I told you this isn't a good guys versus bad guys game."
"What am I gonna do, huh?" Izuku licks the upperpart of his mouth like he's thinking, tongue wiggling as though he has something stuck between his teeth. "I love me some bad guys", he can only remember his previous fights with other villains and decides to lean in with the experience, "Cuz nobody's gonna complain when I murderize em!"
Hearing that, Stain narrows his glare to be as sharp as his katanas. "I'll cut you a second time and put you down for good now", the blades draw themselves up and dart with the hero killer's dash.
"Come here and try it!", Izuku breaks into laughter again as he rushes in with the same low charge. He keeps his arms poised so that the chainsaws guard his body.
Each of them leap at the other, starting their duel.
