05/08/2023

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The Emperor's Dragon
Emergence 93 - There Is No Second Chance

Izuku almost wished he had the pain from his broken back to keep him centred as he ran but he had pain of another type to help. He didn't want to run. He'd promised himself he wouldn't run from All Might again but…

He hissed and gritted his teeth. He couldn't think about that now. He had to get away. If he didn't then…

There were so many things that wouldn't happen, if he was incarcerated or worse. His dad would never be freed and… that hurt. More than him running, that thought hurt because he knew it was his fault. If he hadn't killed Tomura then… Then there would have been another chance.

But he had. So he was the only chance. And he couldn't be reckless.

So for the moment he focused on running. He had Compress securely held in a pearl but could feel All Might closing in on him. The Hero had a time limit but he was tired. The light of the city didn't do anything for his energy levels… and that didn't matter, he had to get away. He fired several more scales at the hero but All Might simply batted them away. Izuku dodged the grab he felt coming and then realised there was one place he could run that All Might couldn't follow.

He'd joked about it with Mr Compress on the way here.

All Might couldn't fly.

He could.

There was a risk though. If he didn't rise fast enough, then All Might could jump to intercept him and if the Hero grabbed on to him, Izuku had a feeling that he'd never let go. It was a risk but it was a risk he'd have to take since with All Might following him so closely on foot, it was unlikely that he'd get away, if he just continued to run. There weren't enough civilians around for him to change his hair colour and disappear into them.

Izuku concentrated, looking ahead of him. There was an alley ahead. It was likely he could turn faster than All Might and if he could just get a moment or two ahead of the Number One Hero then he could potentially put some blockers in front of him. Izuku dodged into the alley and thankfully All Might over shot but he was quick to recover. In that time, Izuku had activated two of his quirks. Kilo to lighten himself and Caeli Imperium to fly. He shot into the sky. He used a platform to fly on and while he wasn't sure if it would work, he made a series of other platforms beneath him. They might not do much but All Might would have to crash through them to get to him and even if they slowed the hero by a little, that might make the difference.

He cleared the buildings almost instantly and kept driving upwards. Izuku didn't want to look back but knew he had to. All Might was watching him and then Izuku could tell he was gathering himself for a leap. That made him drive himself up harder. Height was important. Everyone had seen footage of All Might leaping but Izuku knew the man was being careful with those leaps. He had to be to ensure he didn't damage buildings or the footpath or road. To capture him though, Izuku knew All Might would pay the insurance, probably personally.

The buildings weren't that high. Despite that lack of space, Japan had never really built upwards but Izuku knew there was the possibility All Might would land on the roof of a building and use the extra height to leap again. All Might suddenly loomed closer as he jumped. Izuku hissed and growled but didn't stop his upward trajectory.

It took him an instant to realise that the Number One Hero was dropping away and another one to know that it wasn't just his imagination. All Might was falling back. He hadn't gotten enough height. Izuku sucked in several lungfuls of air as he brought himself to a stop. He kept an eye below him. He couldn't afford to have All Might surprise him with a higher jump but the Hero didn't appear happy. He couldn't see exactly but he could see the flashing lights that were around the bar.

Izuku shook his head. All Might must have rushed ahead, which would explain why they hadn't been interrupted by other heroes. He hadn't thought about that at the time. He couldn't afford to be so short sighted.

There weren't that many heroes who could fly but Izuku knew he was a person of interest. He couldn't just stay around. He took another deep breath and began moving his platform.

"Shit!"

All Might was following. The man was leaping from building to building and was no doubt already calling for backup. The Number One Hero was going to follow him and wait him out if he had to. That was if one of the Heroes who could fly wasn't called. He could steal their quirk and drop them to the ground but that would give away that he could take quirks from a distance. And wouldn't necessarily get him away from All Might.

He'd have to go higher. It was dark and that would help. Izuku looked around. There! Clouds. He shifted his trajectory and headed towards them. He wasn't at cloud height yet, but they would give him more options. He was tired, but he had to keep going.

-ted-

Toshinori hadn't been expecting Dragon to be at the bar. He knew the boy was looking for Bokusen but he didn't think he'd have the contacts to get the information, even with the bounty he'd offered. That's why he'd made such a rookie mistake when he'd gone ahead. It was no comfort that if he hadn't, Bokusen would have been grabbed by Dragon and they'd have never known.

The boy had good instincts for battle. He wasn't as strong as him but it was far closer than he wanted to admit and as he'd fought him, Yagi realised he was cataloguing quirks. He was waiting to see… He was waiting to see one of the UA student's quirks. It was somewhat of a comfort that he hadn't. But Izuku obviously had multiple quirks. Strength for sure, probably several strength quirks.

Fire breathing, but they knew that from his school enrollments. Some sort of chain quirk, which Yagi had no idea where that had come from. His father had nothing like it. Claws and scales and he had a horrible feeling the scales came from the poor chinese boy All For One had taken a quirk from all those years ago.

Shock absorption had been a bit of a surprise but with a moment of reflection it was a quirk he should have expected. The same with regeneration. He could have kicked himself when he realised what had happened! He hadn't thought that…

No, he should have realised that All For One would have given his son those quirks he considered useful. It wasn't parental care. It was to make his lieutenant stronger. All Might made a note to himself. If he'd seen the quirk on one of those abominations that were called Nomu, then it was possible, maybe probable that Izuku would have that quirk.

At least he hadn't been able to take One For All. That had been a concern All Might hadn't realised he'd known until he felt Izuku pull at the quirk while they wrestled. It hadn't moved but it felt odd.

He squinted up at the sky as he jumped. He should have expected something like flight. All Might shook his head slightly. This had been a bad experience but one he could learn from.

Darn it! He raked his eyes over the sky… Between the lights on the ground and the darkness of night he couldn't see Dragon anymore. There were several flying heroes on their way but he doubted they'd be able to find him.

Yagi sighed.

Tonight had been bad but it was something they could learn from.

Izuku had different quirks than his dad but… All Might leaned against a wall, sliding down it as he released his muscle form. He was on the top of a building so no one could see him. He took a deep breath.

It was happening again. Or rather it would happen again. He hadn't seen the rise of All For One but he'd studied it as best he could. It required a mix of power, charisma and social upheaval. Izuku had the power, and it appeared he had the charisma. Toshinori recognised Mr Compress with him and… If he'd found the location of Bokusen then he'd either charmed it out of someone or paid for it. Either way, there was a sort of charisma there. And…

"Social upheaval," Yagi murmured.

A lot of what Tomura Shigaraki had been doing made sense now. He wasn't necessarily trying to succeed, though he'd have taken that. His failures showed the weakness of Heroes and that eroded public confidence.

Even the kidnapping… They'd gotten Bakugo and Shouto back but… The media had shown no mercy. His reveal had helped calm society but… Dragon, Izuku taking their quirks, that brought back all the criticism. There were questions about how UA had let in a villain. No one seemed to remember that he hadn't done anything at that point.

Toshinori blew out a breath and shook his head. It should, theoretically, be easier to deal with Izuku, rather than his father. Izuku didn't have the experience All For One did but… that just simply meant he wouldn't be as predictable. And there were two of them… Both with access to those Lieutenant's All For One had left but more importantly, to his cash resources and what he'd no doubt built since their last encounter.

He couldn't do this.

Physically he probably could but… This was too important to risk. He had to pass on One For All and to do that, he had to find someone worthy but also someone who knew the battle they'd have to fight. Izuku may not have his father's strength or manipulative nature but…

Whoever inherited One For All had to be sure of themselves. They had to be mature, and confident. They couldn't be led astray.

Yagi laughed harshly. They had to be a hero, in every sense of the word. There were some students at UA who could fight the war… But… He felt like he needed to see others. This was too important to limit his choice. He'd have to talk to Nezu.

Toshinori got to his feet.

The night hadn't worked out as planned but it wasn't a disaster, and next time… He'd be ready.

-ted-

As soon as he was sure All Might had lost him, Izuku powered a few more kilometres before he landed. He deliberately picked a secluded alley to land in and as he got there he collapsed. He was so tired!

He got the pearl that was Mr Compress out and flicked it over to the far side of the alley before letting him out and pushing his quirk back to him.

Izuku slumped against the wall, breathing hard. He needed rest.

He watched, from the corner of his eye, as Atsuhiro looked around. The man quickly realised he was no longer in the bar but Izuku could tell that he wasn't sure exactly where he was.

"Back in Tokyo," Izuku gasped the sentence.

That brought Mr Compress' attention to him. "What?" He appeared shocked.

"Just tired," Izuku tried to reassure him as he slid down the wall.

It was obvious that Atsuhiro didn't understand. Izuku closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the wall. "You use energy to use your quirk," he began explaining.

He sensed Atsuhiro nod but also knew that the man had no idea what the explanation was to be. It was one of those things that was so simple that others didn't think about it.

"So do I," Izuku told him. "And then when I use multiple quirks, the energy requirements multiply," he added and waited for the man to understand.

It took a moment but Izuku sensed when Atsuhiro understood.

"I have stamina but-" he sighed.

"There's only so much stamina you can have," Mr Compress murmured.

Izuku nodded and then gathered his strength to pull out his phone.

"Did you mean it?" Atsuhiro asked.

"Mean what?"

"All Might has your uncle's quirk?"

He nodded. "It's obviously a little more complicated than that."

"So why don't you take it?" Mr Compress asked.

Izuku gave him a weak smile. "Can't," he almost laughed. "That's why it's complicated. I'm going to call Kurogiri," he added.

"But you got us away from All Might?"

He nodded. That should have been obvious.

"How?"

"He can't fly," Izuku murmured as he forced his eyes open and looked down at his phone. He got the coordinate app open and managed to save his location and sent it to Kurogiri's phone.

"You can?" Atsuhiro seemed surprised.

"I told you I could," Izuku retorted, looking up at him. He had said he could fly them to Kita.

"I thought you were joking," Mr Compress admitted.

Izuku shook his head.

He wasn't sure what the magician thought of that but he was silent for a moment or two. "So what do you want now?" Atsuhiro asked.

Izuku knew what he wanted but he had to think about the steps. Even so, he knew he owed Atsuhiro an answer. If they were to work together then, he needed people who believed in the same things he did and were working towards the same goals. They couldn't do that if they didn't know what it was he wanted.

"I want the same thing I wanted before," Izuku told him. "But I now have a better idea of the enemy," he added. "And, if you are staying, if we are going to work together," Izuku corrected, "then I want to know about your quirks, and your weaknesses."

Atsuhiro was experienced enough to know that a good leader knew those details.

"I have some ideas for compensating for weaknesses," Izuku said. "But, they aren't conventional suggestions," he added.

At that, Mr Compress looked amused. "Not conventional?" he challenged softly.

Izuku thought about the feel of Atsuhiro's quirk. "You have a touch based quirk, which means you have to get in close to use it," he summarised. "But if your enemy is faster, or stronger, or any number of possibilities, you are at a disadvantage in close combat," Izuku went on, again, knowing he wasn't telling Atsuhiro anything he didn't already know. At least, nothing he didn't know if he was honest with himself. He closed his eyes and again rested his head against the wall.

"That is a fair assessment," Mr Compress said eventually.

"So… what if I could change that?" Izuku offered the question.

"Change it?" Atsuhiro murmured the question but Izuku could tell he was thinking about it. A moment later, Izuku was pleased when the magician asked another question. "You mean give me an extra quirk?" There was a note of surprise in his voice.

He nodded. "Strength, speed, I don't know," Izuku admitted but he could feel the frown Mr Compress was giving him. The magician wasn't entirely sure of the idea. He could see the advantages but he was not accepting it. Izuku would be slightly worried if he accepted it without question. He didn't need blind followers. He wanted those who could think for the-

Oh! That's what his dad wanted!

I want to give you a choice.

He knew that but he hadn't really understood it. His Dad had wanted to give him a choice, because he wanted Izuku to believe in him, in his choices. He wanted Izuku to work with him, not just for him, making decisions to further his goals independently and taking opportunities that may not be obvious. His father wanted him to believe in his goal as much as he did.

Izuku wanted the same. He wanted them to follow him, not because they had to but because they believed he was right.

"We can talk about it later," Izuku said as a swirling mist appeared beside them. "It's only an idea for now," he added. He needed to find out if they would even consider the idea and then what quirks were available. He needed Yakuni back.

Kurogiri materialised. There was a slight twitch of his eye that was all the question he needed to ask. He'd been expecting three of them.

"All Might was there," Izuku answered his unspoken question.

The misty man nodded his understanding. "Shall we go?" he offered instead.

Izuku nodded again and forced himself to stand and was surprised when Atsuhiro put one hand under his arm to help support him.

Izuku looked up at him and got the impression that Mr Compress was smiling.

"I think we need to work on the plans, together," the magician said and Izuku felt his spirits rise.

He might have had to run today. But that was today.

Tomorrow…

That was a new day.

-ted-

Welp, Izuku got away and All Might now gets to fear that Izuku really will be his father's son. Hint for the number one hero - he already is. And while Izuku has trained with his quirks, he doesn't have anything that stockpiles energy. The solar power isn't enough to offset his energy requirements. Let's hope, Yakuni, who was on a quirk collecting trip for Izuku before he got sent to the Shie Hassaikai has something for him.

My discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all!

-ted-

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