Hello again, everyone. After having gotten introduced (or returning, depending who you ask) to I-Island and the Shields, it's time to continue the I-Island Arc, and for those of you unfamiliar who found the previous chapter lacking in action, you can rest assured this entry is going to more than make up for it. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing and adapting it for this continuity.
Unfortunately, with my latest college semester having recently started, there comes with that a distinct possibility my output of writing may fall behind some at an as-yet unspecified point in time, but it's for those very reasons that I've taken the measure, from the very beginning, of writing several chapters ahead before I had started uploading this story, so that you all wouldn't run the risk of going a week or more without a new chapter to enjoy. I'm in this for the long haul, and I intend to see it through and try to make the best fanfiction/adaptation of the material that I can that can hopefully stand out one day.
If you liked what you read here today, please be so kind as to leave a review expressing your opinions on how you think I'm doing with this overall story so far.
My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters, the original events surrounding them, and the alterations of established events that occur as a result of their existence in this universe.
A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.
Chapter 38
Invasion
(Вторжение)
Infiltrating the control room for the Central Tower of I-Island had proven almost laughably easy for a well-coordinated team of focused, armored and armed intruders, such as the handful that now had established the foothold they'd been aiming for. In fact, from the very start, infiltrating I-Island, sneaking their equipment inside and slipping into one of the most secure places within its walls was altogether proving this place to be an absolute joke. For a veritable independent micro-nation boasting the kind of security to match Japans' most secure Villain prison, all they could think to themselves as they finished securing their position was how even the most secure location was nothing if it had no sense of security by having no crime to speak of. I-Island as a whole was simply the embodiment of complacency. And now, their advantage was proof of it.
The leader of the masked men once again felt his cellphone buzzing, and as he looked upon his assorted men below, dutifully answered. "Everything is secure up here. There were five security guards, but we've already gotten them restrained. The security system is still working."
"Don't kill them. Just keep them restrained as of now. The operation is about to begin, so make sure you and your men are all ready."
Click
Despite the orders of the person on the other end insisting on keeping things more complicated than they needed to be, that didn't bother the leader. He was simply happy their mission was currently going as they had planned, which brought a natural smile to his face. "Everything is going as smoothly as we'd planned so far."
Finally, the moment of truth was upon them, and he repeated this fact to himself with growing anticipation as he finally donned a plated metal mask over his face, officially signaling to his men the commencement of their main phase, just as the shutter doors leading down to the rest of the Central Tower opened before them. No matter who was going to be down there for them to deal with, they all knew they now had everything they needed to keep their advantage, no matter what. Tonight, everything on I-Island was going to change, if not the rest of the world soon after.
I-Island Academy
Seeing the prestigious academy for I-Island from the outside before had been overwhelming enough for Izuku, but when Melissa Shield had asked him to accompany her somewhere for the sake of importance, he wasn't sure why he hadn't thought they would be coming back. And now that they were walking its hallowed halls, even despite his inherent excitement, he couldn't help but feel like a complete intruder, while Melissa couldn't have felt more natural.
"I would've shown you the school more in-depth before if I hadn't been afraid it would've bored your friends so much. However, you're clearly much more the studious type, like myself, Deku-san. If you weren't clearly so focused towards becoming a Hero, I would almost think you could find a place for yourself here." Izuku wasn't entirely sure how to take Melissa's wayward commentary, to be honest. He never considered himself as intensely observant and studious as the typical Support student was with their inventions, but clearly perspective was a funny thing, as he never considered his habit of observing Quirks down to the letter to be anything particularly standout. It was only through the commentary of his classmates before that made him realize what a bizarre talent that was. So, in a way, perhaps his sunny host wasn't too far off the mark.
"Anyway, this is the lab that I use." Stepping in after Melissa through the door, her personal laboratory didn't look much different from a typical office setting, even though her initial response upon entering was for him to excuse the supposed 'mess'.
Even for such an outwardly plain-looking place, there were still some rather impressive bits of machinery for Melissa to use freely, particularly a large device against the wall that resembled a printer, but was clearly some kind of fabrication device, akin to perhaps a 3D printer, as well as a series of tracks in the ceiling, almost like a miniature crane setup, possibly for adjusting her inventions from lower angles when need be. "Wow, this stuff all looks so professional. I can't believe you're able to conduct research in a place like this."
However, the next thing to catch his excited eyes was a nearby rack lined with an assortment of different trophies and congratulatory plaques, all adorned with her name and picture. "You're really talented, Melissa-san."
"Actually, I haven't been getting very good grades recently. That's why I've been keeping to studying as often as possible. It's because I want to become a Hero, no matter what." As she explained this, Melissa began rummaging through a nearby supply closet, completely oblivious to a momentary look of confusion crossing Izukus' face in response to her words.
"I thought you had said you were aiming to become a scientist before. Are you trying to become a Pro Hero as well?" The idea sounded downright Herculean in difficulty if she was indeed aiming for both, but the brief bit of giggling at his misunderstanding was about what he had expected the more he thought about it.
"No, I gave that up rather early. I am Quirkless, after all." Once again, with her back turned, Melissa didn't see the seriousness that filled Izukus' face at the sound of that word; the word his own life had been cursed with for the longest time. The fact he couldn't possibly empathize with her by sharing the truth of his circumstances made it sting that much further…hell, the fact he had to maintain that secrecy from all his friends and classmates made it all hurt more and more.
"I didn't manifest a Quirk even after I turned five, so Papa had me taken to a doctor. I was told that I was the type that would never develop a Quirk." With every word, all those awful memories of the day he'd been told he would never develop a Quirk of his own left Izukus' sympathetic gaze falling to the ground. "I…I'm sorry to hear that."
"Hm? What are you apologizing for?" The completely oblivious look on Melissa's face as she finally stepped out of the closet made Izuku realize how far he'd let himself once again sink into his own head. "Oh…it's nothing. It's just, to be told that you don't have what everyone else around you does naturally…it just sounds so lonely…it sounds really sad, is all."
Melissa could feel her own curiosity brewing as Izuku kept his gaze turned downward, even as she approached, now with a tiny box in her hands. The boy sounded so serious all of a sudden, it was quite surprising. However, her excitement for this occasion wasn't about to let the mood between them sink. "Well, yes, I was rather shocked, initially. But I had a goal that was close to me."
Finally, this seemed to once again spur Izukus' awareness back to the moment, repeating her words with momentary confusion. As such, she directed his gaze back to the rack of awards and commemorative photographs and keepsakes. "My Papa. He didn't have a Quirk that would allow him to become a Hero, either, but he supports Uncle Might and other Heroes with the power of science. It's indirect, but he's also fighting for peace in his own special way."
Looking over all the photos of David Shield, from his reception of his Nobel prize, to numerous old photos of him with All Might and a much younger Melissa, Izuku could feel the life's worth of passion in Melissa's words. "A person who helps Heroes…"
"That's right. That's the way I hope to become a Hero someday." The driven light in her eyes as she made this vow was absolutely inspiring as Izuku saw the unshakeable smile upon her face, just thinking about it.
Before Izuku could begin to voice his support for her goal, Melissa was already once more on the move, opening the tiny black box in her hand. Inside was what looked like a small red bracelet, like two small red plates attached to each other. "I made this Support item a long time ago while watching Uncle Might."
"While watching All Might?" Izuku couldn't help but express his curiosity, only able to imagine what this inconspicuous little thing could possibly do if she was thinking of the Symbol of Peace while making it. Before he could even ask, Melissa was already in the process of rolling up the right sleeve of his Hero costume and affixing it to his wrist.
"Try pressing the little black panel in the middle." Spotting the tiny little button in the back of his wrist, and seeing the expectant look in her eyes, Izuku proceeded to do as she said. In a matter of seconds, the bracelet began to glow, before suddenly expanding in a hologram-like display, much like Melissa's pogo stick before, and the light began to expand up his entire forearm and around his hand, just to the base of his fingers. Just like that, the light dissipated, and Izuku now found himself adorned with what looked like a full-on armored bracer/glove of the same red armor plate design. "Whoa! T-this is…!"
"If I had to give it a name, I think I'd call it 'Full Gauntlet'." As Melissa gave it its unofficial title, Izuku couldn't hide the amazement on his face. However, while he had been expecting to see her quite happy with his reaction, when he finally took his eyes off the 'Full Gauntlet', he instead found Melissa now looking considerably more serious. "When I first met you and your friends, and saw the scars on your hand, and then saw how you seemed to be limiting your Quirk on purpose at the Villain Attack attraction, I thought that maybe your Quirk is too strong, and your body can't physically keep up."
While Melissa explained this, Izuku once more found himself simply floored by this girls' observation skills. In practically no time at all, she had figured out his most consistent problem with handling One For All from the very beginning.
"This Full Gauntlet is strong enough to take the full power of Uncle Mights' punches three times. If you wear these, I think you'll finally be able to use your full power." Melissa sounded so sure of it, and as Izuku once more looked upon the gauntlet adorning his arm, he couldn't find any justifiable reason to doubt her on it. Frankly, he was simply trying to comprehend the power accessibility she had just granted him, even if it was indeed only for three times. For three times, he could actually be able to harness the full power of One For All with no physical repercussions on himself…at least, he could only hope that would be the case. Either way, to think he had the opportunity for it now was more than a little overwhelming. "My…power…"
"Please, use them." Melissa's sudden request snapped Izuku back at attention, unsure if he was actually hearing her right. "But, isn't it something important to you?"
"That's precisely why I want you to use them. Use them to help yourself become a wonderful Hero who can save people in trouble, okay? I know you can do it, Deku-san." Even with the supportive smile on her face as she said this, it was undeniable, the sheer gravity Izuku could feel in Melissa's words. This wasn't about her using him to conduct a field test. This was her essentially entrusting her own dream to become her own kind of Hero, to him and him alone. She might as well have been saying she believed in him just as much as she believed in All Might himself.
To simply think of it like that, left Izuku with a wholly different sense of drive and self-confidence, as he smiled and nodded in acceptance of her faith in full with a resounding "Okay."
Nikolays' sense of urgency to get to his classmates' meeting place on time was only exacerbated by the setting of the sun. With no immediate public transport available, he and Oleg had to make the run for the Central Tower the entire way from their hotel. Nikolay was simply grateful his formal outfit had arrived when it did and that he didn't have to make any adjustments to make sure it fit, otherwise he knew for certain he would be running late, and risking Tenyas' wrath once he finally showed up.
All the while, Oleg was far less distressed, having made sure since receiving his invite in the first place, that whatever he could come up with would look nice and fit over his Hero suit, which he was still wearing underneath, minus his red eye mask.
The larger Russians' formal party wear was closest in design to a typical tuxedo, albeit one with a more Soviet army color scheme, with a body of olive green, with white dress shirt and red tie, and with a thin golden chain running down from the breast pocket. Even with his long hair in its now-typical ponytail, and his trimmed beard, the rest of him still managed to exude a powerful air, as though this were the most natural look in the world for him. Of course, for his attire with a Soviet air to be seen next to Nikolays' white-and-red imperial attire, the two almost instinctively looked diametrically opposed.
In fact, constantly taking in how natural his fathers' outfit looked in comparison to his own; by the time they had finally reached the Central Tower and were looking over the directory for where the entrance for Lobby 7 was, where his classmates would all be meeting up, Nikolays' anxiety over his clothes had now reached its boiling point. [[Oh, no…Dad, what do I do if I completely clash against everyone else's suits? They're all probably gonna be in tuxedoes and such, while I look like I belong in a fancy marching band by comparison. I'm gonna look so stupid next to everyone! Maybe I should just go back to the hotel, you tell the others I came down with food poisoning, or something. I don't know what I was thinking picking this outfit for myself.]]
Before Nikolays' panic could go any further, Oleg silenced the boy with a firm squeeze of the shoulder, looking into his eyes with fatherly sincerity: [[Kolya, those kids waiting for you aren't just your peers. They're your friends, remember? Real friends don't care how stylish or ridiculous your clothes look. You're not here to try and one-up each other in terms of style, you're all here to have fun and make tonight a wonderful memory together, aren't you? They'll accept you, no matter how you look, and I'm not just saying that as your father or your teacher, but as a man. You've all gone through so much together already; one non-matching suit isn't going to change that. Understand?]]
Looking into his fathers' blue eyes, Nikolay finally found the awareness to take several deep breaths and calm himself back down. That was exactly right, after having struggled through numerous challenges and risked their lives together so many times, what sense was there for his friends to completely distance themselves from him if he came in one unusual party suit?
As soon as he was sure his son was able to breathe calmly again, Oleg finally took his hand from his shoulder, pointing to the directory. [[Alright, Kolya. Go this way and you'll end up in Lobby 7, just like malenkii Iida said. You go have fun with your friends, and I'll head on up to the party, meet with All Might, and see if I can't somehow still manage to mingle with other Pro Heroes after all these years. Don't go spending your time looking for me when you all come up; just go in there together and have fun. That's all tonight is about, okay? Don't worry about anything else.]]
Nikolay took one more breath and finally gave Oleg an understanding nod, and soon father and son had gone their separate ways, with Nikolays' heart still hammering at his chest with every step as he kept trying to psyche himself up for whatever his friends would say once they saw his overly formal attire.
Greeted by the sweet touch of A/C once he stepped through the sliding glass doors into the lobby, he was immediately greeted by the power of Tenyas' voice from across: "Bezpalov-san! I had just finished calling Midoriya-san for being late! Thank goodness you got here when you did; I was just about to call you for the same reason! If there's ever a hold-up keeping you from a group meeting time, then please be courteous enough to inform us!"
As Nikolay still tried to calm himself down to the point he wasn't sweating bullets, he finally got a good look to see that, with the exception of Izuku, Eijirou and (thankfully) Bakugo, all the other boys with invites were here, with Tenya and Shoto of course dressed in dark blue and white tuxedoes respectively, and Denki and Minoru still dressed in their waiter attire. "Whoa, you two thinking of working overtime at this party, too?"
Nikolay and Denki alike were frankly surprised at how naturally that joke had come to the outwardly nervous Russian boy, while the blonde sparkplug was still quick on the rebound with a snarky grin: "Yeah, that's rich, coming from the faux royalty-lookin' dude who misplaced his horse. Seriously though, I'm digging the super fancy threads, Bezpalov-san."
Minoru simply looked indifferent, while Tenya looked as approving of his classmates' attire choice as his naturally stern face could express, and Shoto only reflected the briefest and faintest look of similar approval in his eyes. That was ultimately all it took for Nikolays' anxiety to completely vanish, at least until it would inevitably come time for the girls to see him like this, and open himself up to a wholly different kind of feedback. After all, Mina was especially fashion-savvy; he needed to brace himself for her potentially finding his new look completely ridiculous.
However, before he could dwell on that potential disaster a moment longer, the lobby doors suddenly opened again, revealing Izuku coming in, clearly in a total rush, now dressed in a dark red tuxedo. "Sorry I'm late, everyone! Huh? Wait, where's everyone else?" The freckled boy had taken the words right out of Nikolays' mouth, even if he had personally only been curious about one.
Tenya proceeded to straighten his tie and glasses alike, as though he were answering a superior officer with how rigid he stood naturally. "Yes, well, after we departed the café, I sought out Bakugo-san and Kirishima-san to inform them of the party personally. I only heard back from Kirishima-san less than an hour ago. Apparently, Bakugo-san had no intention of going, initially, but Kirishima-san was miraculously able to convince him in the end. As for where they are at the moment, I can't rightly say. I've tried calling them, but haven't gotten an answer. Considering the time constraint, it's possible they both forgot their phones in the rush. As for the girls, I currently don't know how they haven't gotten here yet. Honestly, what do they all think 'attending as a group' means?!"
Suddenly, the sound of the sliding glass doors drew all the boys' attention, instantly followed by the sound of Ochakos' embarrassed voice: "S-sorry I'm late!" As she stepped in, the boys could all see she was dressed in a quaint yet cute pink dress with a black and white bow in her hair. Minoru and Denki, the others could already hear, were nothing short of cheering in excitement. However, before they could carry on much further, the door opened again, this time revealing Momo in an absolutely form-fitting and elegant lime green gown with her already high ponytail now done up tighter with a golden tiara at the root. "I apologize, everyone. I needed to find a dress to lend Uraraka-san that would fit her, and Jirou-san was having a little difficulty coming up with a satisfactory outfit."
As she and a visibly nervous-looking Kyouka finally stepped in (the latter having practically been hiding behind the class vice president), Denki and Minoru were now literally cheering and chanting in near rabid excitement. As Kyouka finally stepped out into the open, her triangular onyx eyes glued to the floor, she was now revealed to be dressed in a surprisingly frilly dark pink and dark purple dress underneath her normal leather jacket with a black choker around her neck, half of her bangs now tucked behind a red-and-pink bow, her hands adorned in magenta fingerless gloves, grey stockings, and red shoes that didn't quite look like heels. "I-I'm sorry…I-I'm not exactly…well, used to clothes like this."
Among the rest of the boys, Nikolay and Denki both looked particularly stricken by this interesting yet still wholly personal look their quietest present classmate had chosen for herself. "Whoa, looking really cool there, Jirou; got a nice punk rock ballerina thing going on. Somehow, totally suits you."
"I don't know; she kinda looks more like an assassin if you ask me." Minoru piped in, only to instantly get met with a double dose of Kyoukas' earphone jacks directly into his ears, sending him writhing where he stood with feedback.
Aside from that instinctive retaliation, Kyoukas' momentary freeze and the brief flash of tension on her nervous face made it hard to tell if she appreciated Denkis' commentary on her party attire. Following his blonde classmates' lead, however, Nikolay couldn't help but chime in as well: "It's a very unique style you chose, Kyouka-san…it's actually rather…c-cute, if I'm being honest; but I apologize if that's too much!"
Nikolay couldn't bear to keep looking, fearful he'd overstepped a boundary, even as Momo had already taken the liberty of likewise voicing her approval of his almost regal form of dress in order to ease his nerves. All the while, Kyoukas' face had now turned as deep red as her shoes.
That was when the door finally opened once more, and the boundless excitement of Minas' voice practically echoed across the lobby: "Sorry we're late, guys, but we couldn't possibly come looking anything less than stellar! Now let's go in and tear up the dance floor! It's party time!"
Nikolay, on one hand, was grateful to hear his best friends' voice at last, while on the other hand he was also nervous as hell just what she was going to be wearing, and if he was going to be able to keep himself better composed.
Turning around to finally greet her, what Nikolay saw rendered him essentially mute, as standing before him and everyone else, Mina was dressed in a light blue shoulder-less dress that started just at her chest, with a frilly skirt that went down just past her knees. Her waist was wrapped with a light red sash that was topped with a bow, and the equally light red top hem that ran across her chest had another silk adornment just where her heart was, that almost resembled a red rose. Her feet were dressed in matching light red dancing shoes, she had a delicate-looking silver necklace hanging around her neck, her right wrist had a thin silver bracelet, and her horns even had two light red and adorable-looking little bows wrapped around the base of them, contrasting sharply against her pink hair.
"Whoa, way to spruce up and fit the occasion, you guys! Even you two, Kaminari-kun, Mineta! You all look like total gentlemen, except maybe you, Iida-san! You look more like a secret agent!" Mina complimented all the boys, laughing especially hard to herself when addressing Iidas' rigid posture with his formal dress, completely ignorant to his naturally exaggerated reaction of indignation to her jokes.
Minas' excitement had kept her from addressing everyone one-on-one, but she was already about to fix that when turning to finally address Nikolay, but when her black-gold eyes saw the imperial ceremonial uniform he had chosen for himself, her seemingly unstoppable ability to come up with well-natured jabs and compliments fell dead in her throat, as even through her ecstatic smile, she found herself genuinely speechless, just like the Russian boy before her had.
Of course neither of them had ever seen the other dress in such a formal, fancy way before, what reason did they ever have to before tonight? And yet, it wasn't even their respective clothes themselves that were the reason for the twos' mutual silent stun.
No, it was as though this moment was allowing them to see each other in a light completely separated from school, Heroics or even simple casual hanging out. This was Nikolay and Mina seeing each other in a far more special, once-in-a-lifetime kind of light, a light that in an indescribable way felt so much more…intimate, for lack of a better word.
What was more, even though neither of them would have ever denied just how dearly they held each other in their unbreakable friendship at any moment…if they had been asked why it was that the sight of each other in these dressings and in these circumstances had suddenly left them mutually at a loss for words of how it made them feel…neither of them would have been able to come up with an answer. And that was the single strangest realization in this microcosm moment of all. The only thing they both knew for certain to themselves, was that the moment they had laid eyes on each other in this moment, they had both felt a considerable heavy impact within their chests.
However, before either of them could finally bring themselves to finally say something, the doors opened once more, snapping everyone out of their mutual conversations and to attention, just in time to catch sight of Melissa rushing in with another sparkling smile upon her face; her blonde hair now done in a wavy ponytail with a black bow, a red hair-band, her blue eyes now free of her glasses, her smile adorned with pink lipstick, gold earrings, a brown choker around her neck, and wearing a dark blue-and-white dress very similar to Minas', even with a black sash and white bow around her waist. "Oh, you're all still here? We're just in time, everyone, the party's starting very soon!"
By Melissa's arrival, now Denki and Minoru were bawling messes of joy, while Mina was enthusiastically greeting the American girl with a shower of compliments of her outfit. With nearly everyone finally here, Tenya cleared his throat to try and maintain some kind of control of his peers. "Alright, everyone! Since Kirishima-san and Bakugo-san are likely on their way here, and with the parties' commencement close at hand, I feel it's best we make our arrival. The party is being held on the second floor reception hall, so let's make haste!"
Everyone was in near universal agreement with their own respective enthusiastic cheers (minus Shoto of course). However, despite their presidents' insistence, that didn't stop his classmates from still catching themselves in numerous conversations, even as he was trying to motion them all for the nearby elevators.
"I-I think it goes without saying, but I-I've never actually been to a party like this. Have any of you guys before?" Ochako admitted with great nervousness, not helped when Izuku and Kyouka both looked down in silent admission that they were in the same boat, while Denki and Minoru were almost laughing at the thought of ever having done so before. Nikolays' own silent aversion of his eyes made it more obvious than usual, while Mina had an embarrassed grin of admission on her face. Everyone but Momo, Shoto and Tenya had pretty much admitted their own cluelessness without having to say a word, leaving Ochako looking even more nervous as a result.
"Hey, don't let it get you down, you guys! So what if we've never been to the kind of stuffy party these kinds of clothes would suggest we're going to? Who cares if none of us have ever ballroom danced before? Isn't the whole point of doing things for the first time, that you get to do them with friends? That way we all get to have the same kind of first-time fun together! It could be embarrassing, it could go okay, but either way, it'll be tons of fun! Besides, don't you girls really wanna try getting at least one slow dance with some of the guys here?"
Mina was miraculously still self aware enough to bring her voice just low enough for the last part so none of the boys would overhear, while still managing to lean in nice and intrusively toward Kyouka and Ochako with that knowing mischievous smirk on her pink face, leaving Kyouka tomato red in the face once gain and biting her lip, while Ochako was waving her hands and stuttering in denial, or perhaps better yet, panic.
Thankfully for them, Momo had overheard at least the majority of Minas' proclamation of fun, and couldn't help but include herself with a gracious smile: "I know it's not really my place to say so, and the timing isn't necessarily opportune, but if any of you are at all nervous about potentially slow dancing, please feel free to approach me at any time tonight, and I would be more than happy to try giving you all some pointers, or perhaps a little practice if you're not comfortable with just words alone. I've had more than a little experience with these kinds of events, so it's no trouble at all for me to help whichever way I can."
Kyouka and Ochako were likewise simultaneously grateful for Momo intercepting before Mina could tease them any further, and for the offer to try and help them both at least lessen the risk of making themselves look stupid if the chance for a slow dance did indeed show itself tonight. Unable to help but overhear it himself, Nikolay was likewise grateful, but also found himself nearly coming down with a full-body trembling and frigid sweat at the thought of potentially slow dancing with not just Momo or Mina, but potentially multiple girls in a single night. From everything he'd seen in the movies, ballroom and slow dancing was so much more intimate, so much more traditionally emotionally meaningful for everyone involved, than the break-dancing he and Mina had partaken in together at the arcades weeks ago. He couldn't begin to imagine what experiencing such a thing as this with any of the girls here would leave him feeling like afterward.
Unfortunately for the girls, Minoru likewise couldn't help but eavesdrop on their little impromptu slow dance discussion, with one of the biggest devious grins on his baby-like face as he tried to squeeze himself in. "You know, if any of you ladies find yourselves lacking for a partner once the slow dancing starts, I'd be more than happy to oblige. I've got more than a few special moves you'll never forge-!"
THWIP!
Just as she had a minute before, Kyouka had once again proved the involuntary savior, as she once more jabbed her earphone jacks into Minorus' ears, leaving him writhing on the floor, shrieking. Ochako couldn't help but sigh with relief while Mina and Momo momentarily looked back to their grape-haired classmate, visibly disapproving of his conduct.
"I believe it's safe to say a verbal lecture will be more than enough for you, Mineta-san. Now please try to refrain from your usual behavior tonight." "Yeah, this is supposed to be fun for all of us. Can't you try not to ruin it for everybody by acting all creepy?" With that, Kyouka retracted her jacks from Minorus' ears, and as he tried to get back up while his head was still ringing, Denki was loyally by his side, shooting him an encouraging wink.
"Hey, don't worry about it, Mineta. We saw how many people there already are at the expo as a whole. I'll bet you there's gonna be tons of fine lady Heroes just waiting to mingle at the party. You gotta be able to get lucky with at least one, right?" Thankfully, his improvised attempt at a pep talk had proven enough, as Minoru practically lit up at the thought of being taken as a slow dance partner with any one of the potentially curvaceous figureheads of womanhood potentially waiting for him up there.
2nd Floor, Reception Hall
As confident as Oleg had presented himself for the sake of Nikolay back outside, now that he was alone, he now found himself slowly beginning to feel his own sense of anxiety. Stepping into the reception hall the party was being held in at last, and beholding the numerous faces of high-up Support company heads and Pro Heroes alike did not help, either. So many of them were so much considerably younger than him, it only served as a painful reminder of just how out of practice he ultimately was, regardless of his recent involvements since starting his work at Yuuei.
His eyes were vigilant as he hesitantly made his way inside, before soon spotting the thankfully familiar sight of All Might and David Shield among the other guests, the latter dressed in a light grey tuxedo, while All Might was still adorned only in his Golden Age Hero costume. For once, he wasn't being continuously flooded by adoring fans and peers. Perhaps everyone was simply too into the festivities and food to notice, or they simply had the good graces to figure he was looking to relax as much as the rest of them after a long day of perusing the expo and being fawned over by their adoring fans. Either way, it was the perfect arrangement as far as Oleg was concerned, as he approached the two with as confident an air as he could in this crowd. "All Might, Mr. Shield. I'm glad I was able to find you two so soon. I'm not as confident in striking up conversations with new Pro faces as I thought I was, as it turns out."
"Tunguska-san, glad you could make it. I would've thought you'd be among the first people here when Dave and I arrived. In fact, you're not the only one. I expected Melissa, Midoriya-shonen and Bezpalov-shonen to be here by now as well." As All Might was already scanning the reception hall for any sign of their three young charges, Oleg was already smiling again.
"Yes, they should be here soon, I left Kolya to meet with the rest of his friends in Lobby 7. Turns out all of Class 1-A came to the island as well, and a number of them got invitations for tonight, courtesy of malenkaya Shield, as it turns out. Your daughter is quite the gracious host, as it turns out, Mr. Shield." As Oleg offhandedly complimented the scientists' daughter, his resultant smile of gratitude was clearly genuine, but something about his eyes made it clear there was something else on his mind, although both Oleg and All Might didn't have to guess what it was, given today.
Turning his attention back to All Might, specifically the fact he was still in his muscular form among all these people, Oleg leaned in close. "All Might, are you sure you're still okay to be maintaining this form this far into the night? How much more time do you have?"
Following the Russian Heroes' example, All Might likewise leaned in, keeping his normally powerful voice to a similar whisper: "Don't worry, Tunguska-san. I've been keeping track all day. I'm only going to stay here as long as absolutely necessary. The moment an opportunity arrives for me to take my leave unnoticed so I can revert back; I'm going to take it."
Suddenly, David likewise stepped in, keeping a vigilant watch over the crowd to make sure no one was listening in, inadvertently or otherwise. "Neither of you have to worry. Given everything Toshi has told me about his current limit, and how long he knows he's maintained this form today, I've already set the remaining time limit to my watch. If it starts getting too close and you haven't taken the chance yet due to getting wrapped up in all the pleasantries or whatnot, Toshi, I'll give you the signal. I know how you sometimes tend to get sidetracked, after all."
A glimmer of warm nostalgia became evident on All Mights' face, to see his old friend still as on-point, vigilant and at-the-ready as he ever was back in the old days. "Thank you, Dave."
However, for as reassured as All Might even was, Oleg simply couldn't shake his own air of unease over the whole thing, which was not lost on his always-smiling comrade. "Tunguska-san, I appreciate you showing this much concern for me, I truly do. However, you need to be able to let yourself actually enjoy tonight. I trust Dave just as much as I trust you, so perhaps you could try to place the same kind of trust in him that you have in me. He won't let anything happen to me that'll expose my condition to everyone. Please, my friend, go out there, introduce yourself and mingle with some of the Pros here. If you want to register to become a working Pro Hero again, we both know having some connections ahead of time will only further improve your chances. Things are going to be alright."
Oleg couldn't rightfully ignore the pure confidence All Might had in that sentiment as he said it. The man didn't lie to the likes of him if he could help it. Thus far, today hadn't given them just cause to worry about anything aside from All Mights' overall condition, so if he was able to be this calm and assured that they had nothing to worry about tonight, then Oleg at least owed him the benefit of the doubt. The whole point of their coming to I-Island to begin with was for a momentary change of pace, and he needed to embrace it while he could.
As such, he thanked his friend for his assurances, and with a steadying breath, finally set out to the other guests, ready to try and see if he still had the sociable charisma of his younger days. All the while, as All Might was still watching his Slavic colleague supportively, David couldn't help but watch the other large Hero with a trace of uncertainty. "Did you really mean that, Toshi? Tunguska told me about the experiences you've had with each other before you brought him to Japan last November. You haven't known him nearly as long as we've known each other…not even as long as some of your fellow Pros working at Yuuei, I'm sure. Do you really trust him as much as me; as much as them?"
Despite his American friends' skepticism, All Mights' confident posture didn't slacken a bit. "Yes…I do, Dave. The length of time one knows a person doesn't make a difference, really. There's a lot you can tell about someone right out the gate when you look and listen close enough. I don't trust Tunguska-san just because we've worked together a few times before settling into this new routine of ours. I trust him because back then, just as I do now, when I look at him, I see just how truly similar we are."
Hearing this sentiment again, David couldn't help but let out a momentary wry chuckle, but All Might gave a single shake of his head. "I don't mean in terms of power, presence or charisma like you and so many others would hear. I mean…in heart, mind and spirit. When you get right down to it, when it comes to the kind of Heroes Tunguska-san and I have always strived to try and be, that's where we're the most similar: it's not about our Quirks or popularity or ability to inspire people; it's about our mutual desires to use the power we have to try and do the best we can in this constantly progressing world, to help make those that will inevitably come after us fully understand the inherent responsibility that comes with being a true Hero, a true Symbol of Peace. We're both simply trying to lead the best example we can, even with the mistakes that have been made in the past, to try and lead the best example of what being a Hero truly means."
As All Might espoused this belief, David found himself once more watching Tunguska awkwardly try and work his magic with his fellow Pros around the reception hall, trying to find that same kind of presence of that ideal that he got from All Might. He could certainly see the outward similarities, much like his old Professor Kravchenko had years before. But something this far deeper and fundamental, try as he might, he was simply struggling to pick up on.
Oleg did exactly as All Might had suggested, and had since then been trying his best to introduce himself to as many of the fellow Heroes chatting happily amongst themselves around the hall, but nearly every single time, he found himself being met with variations of either confusion as to who he was when he gave his Hero name, or momentary recognition simply for his involvement in the Vukodlak incident, which led to questions as to whether Nikolay and the other Yuuei kids that had been involved were here, every single time.
Oleg found himself torn between feeling a strange kind of despondency that, for once in his life, virtually nobody here but All Might and David recognized him for who he was; and feeling a deeply-rooted sense of pride that his son was the one who was actually gaining the recognition from these people, without even being here in person yet, to boot.
Oleg had to swallow the sensation of wounded pride building in his throat as he was once more looking around the reception hall for any sign of Nikolay and his friends. He simply had to know what the boy would be thinking, to know that he and his friends had indeed already made quite a wave for themselves, if so many of these Pros already recognized them just by proxy of Oleg himself. This was certainly a conundrum he never expected to find himself in, but he strangely enough felt no resentment to anyone for it. It was simply time doing what it did best: slowly but surely making room for the inevitable future, and if his boy and those kids were already proving themselves to be the faces of that future for the world of Heroics, then Oleg honestly couldn't be happier for it.
Suddenly, the momentary feedback whine of a microphone sounded across the reception hall, drawing everyones' attention to see one of the finer dressed gentlemen among the guests, clearly one of the I-Expo's representatives, standing at the stage on the other end of the hall. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to welcome you all to the first ever I-Expo's reception party. To officially kick off tonight's festivities, let's have the Number One Hero, All Might, who is visiting us today, say a few words and lead us in a toast! Everyone, please give him a round of applause! Please, come to the stage!"
While everyone did exactly that, All Might himself looked noticeably awkward, suddenly being thrown into the limelight out of nowhere, even despite maintaining his constant smile. "Dave, I didn't know about this. I thought I was only here as yet another guest."
Alas, David himself could only give his old friend an embarrassed and regretful grin and shrug of his shoulders. "To be fair, Toshi, this was bound to happen once they found out All Might was going to be here." And so, it was with a regretful sigh of his own, that All Might proceeded to the stage, simply hoping he would be able to keep this short and sweet for his own sake.
As he took his place upon the stage, his eyes were vigilantly scanning the hall for any sign of Izuku, but alas, there was still no sign of them. Knowing he couldn't afford to hesitate, the Symbol of Peace finally spoke up: "Thank you all for inviting me here tonight. I am All Might. I'm not much one for formal talk, so-!"
BZZZZT!
Suddenly, the screen behind All Might flared up red, as the air filled with numerous electric alarms, snapping every one of the guests at attention, awash with total confusion.
At that same time, a series of hundreds of thousands of intercoms simultaneously rang all across I-Island to be heard from every single street and corner as the automated voice spoke out: "This is an announcement by the I-Island security system. We have received a report from the security system that an explosive device was placed in the I-Expo area. I-Island will now be placed into high alert mode. Residents and tourists should return to their home or lodgings. Those that have come a long way should go and wait at the nearest evacuation center. Anyone still outside ten minutes from now may be arrested without warning. Please refrain from going outdoors. In addition, most of the main buildings will be sealed off by the security system."
Lobby 7
The lobby had become a veritable echo chamber from the moment the intercoms went off, catching every one of the students by surprise mid-stride on their way to the elevators. Instinctively turning back to get their bearings from the universal confusion, they all felt their heart rates collectively rise with tension, as the window panes and doors to the lobby all simultaneously became sealed shut with steel shutters, every single one resounding with a penetrating click, proving the kids' only exit to the outside effectively sealed off permanently.
"What the hell? Are we seriously trapped in here?!" Nikolay asked in full serious mode while Ochako and Mina were both visibly growing more and more frightened with the mounting confusion. At the same time, the rest of the boys' attention quickly shifted to a likewise confused Melissa.
"Shield-san, what's going on? How could an explosive device have managed to get through I-Islands' security system to get this far?" Tenya asked with enough intensity to make up for all his peers, while she was clearly racking her brain trying to make sense of it herself.
"I-I don't know, we've been looking over every inch of I-Island regularly since work on the I-Expo had even started, it's not possible that someone could've snuck one in…but the system wouldn't have activated for no reason, either. The control room for it is never left unmanned, so it would take a considerable force for someone to have infiltrated it and hijacked the system to begin with, as well. This doesn't make any sense."
Reception Hall
As the intercom message kept repeating, and the Heroes, representatives and guests alike found themselves awash in their own confusion at this sudden and very serious-sounding interruption, the doors to the reception hall all suddenly burst open. Only instead of the reassuring faces and uniforms of security some had been expecting, they were all instead met with the sight of several men in tactical body armor, matching black-and-white masks, and most shockingly, assault rifles aimed right at them.
The men moved in singular formation, forcing the guests back at gunpoint, just as their leader, a towering man in a steel mask with plated protrusions from his left side, with semi-long red hair and a white coat over his own body armor, stepped in likewise among his subordinates, exuding an air of total control and dominance over the entirety of the hall.
"It's just as you heard, everyone. We have taken over the security system. Don't go thinking you're going to be able to put up a fight. If you do…" As this strange masked man made his announcement, just as he could see several of the obvious Heroes from corner to corner were already getting themselves into a fighting posture, he lifted a single hand, pointing to the screen behind the stage.
With perfect timing, the screen suddenly switched to a video feed of numerous civilians on the streets and in the numerous train stations and the airport, only they were all surrounded by several dozen of the islands' security bots, all of their faces the picture of confusion and fear. This struck a chill through the air of the reception hall, especially in the hearts of the Heroes seeing this, as it became crystal clear just what they were now dealing with.
"…then the security bots will bare their fangs at all the good people of this island. That's right; as of right now, all the people on this island are our hostages. Of course, that goes for all of you, as well." With incensed rage building in their chests, All Might, Oleg, and the rest of the Heroes focused their eyes solely on the man in charge. However, the confident smirk he was wearing through the mouth hole of his mask showed that he expected this, and wasn't the least bit intimidated, evident as he brought his hand to his ear, as though speaking into an unseen earpiece. "Do it."
In an instant, a series of holes suddenly opened all across the floor and ceiling of the reception hall. The air was quickly filled with the cacophony of confused and frightened cries from the entire crowd, as in the blink of an eye, an insane number of glowing tethers suddenly shot out from every single hole, fully ensnaring every single Hero in the hall with pinpoint accuracy, weighing their arms to their torsos and tying their legs together, bringing nearly all of them to the floor.
Only All Might and Oleg were able to keep themselves on their feet, even as the tethers continued tightening around them to the point it was starting to become a challenge to breathe. Oleg was grinding his teeth, trying to put all his physical strength into breaking himself free, especially as he could likewise hear the strain in All Mights' voice as he likewise tried to fight. "T-the security systems'…own weapons…this isn't good...!"
Olegs' sense of strategizing quickly gave way to stubborn desperation as he focused his gaze on the leader of these Villains, while also focusing his mind on his best possible means of counterattack. Take down the leader, and you leave the rest confused and without a plan, allowing yourself the advantage. This was combat strategy 101.
Positioning his left hand to where he knew he could line up a shot, Oleg focused his mind on firing his prosthetic fingers for his windpipe. If he could at least knock the wind out of him, then that would buy him just enough time to try and bowl the others down, and hopefully give All Might a chance to break himself free.
However, just as he was about ready to mentally order his prosthetics to fire, the leader suddenly pulled a pistol-looking weapon from the pocket of his coat, and with gunslinger-like speed, he fired a single shot that nailed Oleg square in the chest. However, instead of the penetrating agony of a regular bullet, the large Russian was instead met with an overwhelming surge of electricity rushing through every single inch of his body, bringing him down onto his back like a massive oak tree, spasming and writhing as his prosthetic fingers detached from the base on his hand, and rolled listlessly across the stage, now completely useless.
Oleg tried to force himself back into a sitting position, even through his now weakened state, while the leader silently approached, loading another round into his pistol. Oleg knew he only had one last method at his disposal with his prosthetics out of the picture. Closing his eyes, he began focusing all the energy he'd been building up in his body all day, preparing to unleash it in one wall of pure blinding fury. That would surely be enough to leave these men stunned long enough for him to get himself and All Might free.
With all his energy focused into his eyes, Oleg finally opened them, only at that millisecond to be met with another shot from the leader, this time firing a pellet that almost instantly exploded upon impact with Olegs' face, expanding into a cocoon of pure darkness that engulfed the entirety of Olegs' head. It wasn't that he wasn't able to fire his flash bang. On the contrary, he'd already done so. But this Villains' special little bullet had rendered it completely contained within that cocoon, and thus completely harmless to himself and his men.
"Don't push yourself so hard. That material on your face is breathable, but I wouldn't suggest testing how much so, just in case. Those restraints won't loosen, either, no matter how hard you try. Save your energy. Chances are you're going to need whatever you've got left after that sneaky little trick you just tried to pull." Just to further emphasize his position of control, the leader proceeded to slam the sole of his boot square into Olegs' face, the blow not even slightly cushioned by whatever was covering it. The Russian man was once more on his back, while All Might could only watch with silently brimming anger, as the leader silently ascended the stage, dragging Olegs' body behind him like an oversized piece of hunting game, throwing him down beside All Mights' prone form, as though to have them both serve as constant examples to the rest of the crowd.
"Now then, with that little disruption out of the way, nobody else try to move. If you take even one step, I'll kill everyone in here in a second." To even further prove his point, knowing Heroes wouldn't dare try anything so foolhardy with innocent lives on the line, he proceeded to likewise kick All Might down like a pile of bricks. "Good boy. Now, you're all going to learn by All Might and the hotheaded foreigners' example, and do what I say quietly, right?"
As he lay upon the floor, still trying to fight his way out of the bindings, All Mights' eyes anxiously searched the room, soon spotting David amid the crowd, already looking straight at him. He had habitually been expecting his old friend to have some kind of clever trick up his sleeve like he always did; after all, this was far from the first time they had ever found themselves outnumbered.
Instead, though, all David could do was solemnly shake his head; the nervous look on his face making his sentiment unmistakable: 'Toshi, we have no choice but to listen to them right now.'
All Might, even if just for a moment, found himself in total disbelief that his old friend would actually suggest not doing anything when countless lives were in danger. However, even despite his previous suggestions, a new look of intensity fell upon David's expression, bowing his head in complete resolution: 'I will definitely find a way to save everyone. Just remember, the children aren't here right now, so for all intents and purposes, they're still safe. For now, please just don't try anything.'
Lobby 7
"It's no good. The elevators are completely shut down." Kyouka declared upon trying all the buttons for the elevators, to no avail; not even so much as the chime of one approaching.
At the same time, Shoto was busily checking his phone, only to close it with a frustrated sigh. "My phone doesn't have any signal, either. It looks like all reports of this incident are being blocked."
As the gravity of their situation was finally weighing down on them, with Minoru specifically repeatedly muttering "seriously?" to himself in growing anxiety; Nikolay silently looked at the concerned faces of his classmates, repeatedly clenching and opening his hands to try and get a handle on his own growing fear.
"Well, on the bright side, at least this happened before we got on the elevators, otherwise we really would be stuck." However, despite his attempt to try and remind everyone of a thin silver lining, none of them were particularly feeling it, and he honestly couldn't blame them. There was still the question of why this was happening, and above all else, if All Might and his and Melissa's fathers were alright.
"I can't believe the security system would switch to high alert mode just because they found something explosive." Melissa whispered primarily to herself. Despite her earlier claim of I-Islands' impenetrable security protocols, clearly the overall not knowing of the truth behind their situation was forcing her to broaden her perspective. Indeed, it was the not knowing that was ultimately the worst part for all the students as the overbearing silence of the lobby hung heavy.
Finally, with literally no other options for them to act on, Izuku broke the silence: "Iida-san, let's go to where the party is being held."
Everyone there snapped at surprised attention as their curly-haired classmate approached their momentarily confused president. "Why? If this alert is indeed accurate, the responsible thing would be for us to stay here until the situation's been resolved."
"I understand that. However, All Might and Tunguska-sensei are up there." At the mention of the Symbol of Peaces' name, Nikolay could practically feel the tension in the lobby leave most, if not all of their classmates as they breathed a sigh of relief, finally knowing the truth that he and Mina had neglected to inform them of from the beginning.
"Well, if All Might's here, then we've got nothing to worry about. Having Tunguska-sensei around just cements that even further, right?" Minoru asked with a forced air of confidence completely contrary to his near nervous wreck demeanor just seconds before.
With nobody else willing to guess, and personally not wanting to just leave that to an assumption, Nikolay suddenly turned to Melissa. "Melissa-san, would you be able to get us up to the party somehow?"
"Well, the elevators are the only direct way to the reception hall, but if we took the emergency stairs, it would at least get us close enough that we can get some idea what's going on." As she pointed out a nearby door, an overpowering determination filled the hearts of Nikolay, Izuku, and all their classmates, ready to get to the bottom of this like Heroes were always supposed to.
"Please lead the way." With Izuku asking this of her, Melissa's uncertain expression filled with a focus and determination of her own, peaking with a resolute nod as she bravely took the lead, spurring all of her companions to follow suit; all of them hoping this was ultimately some kind of mistake and everyone would be okay.
Reception Hall
"If you stay quiet, you will not be hurt. We are prepared to release you all once the time comes." The leader of the invaders made this point as loud and clear as could possibly be. While the Heroes and guests may not have tried anything foolish since he and his men had made their grand entrance, at least not since he'd put Oleg down for the count, there was no telling what some especially foolhardy Heroes would try and convince themselves they could pull off, even when restrained and faced with innocent lives hanging in the balance.
Momentarily looking back to All Might and Oleg lying at his side on the stage, he couldn't help but slightly smirk at how well everything in their plan was currently falling into place. He had been assured from the start that once they hijacked the security system, the majority of the Heroes would no longer be a problem, even someone as powerful as All Might. However, once he had heard that a Hero was going to be here for the sake of showcasing the very first successful Heroics-field-tested prosthetics, which one in his position naturally had to assume meant being able to somehow attack from a distance even when restrained, or exceed regular physical strength even on a Heroes' level, that left a big potential thorn in their collective side.
But then, out of some kind of serendipity, when the individual who had helped put this entire scheme together in the first place had informed him of what to expect, and had even taken the liberty of slipping in a couple special weapons for him to use when it finally came time to act, the leader frankly couldn't have asked for a smoother outcome. Now the two biggest threats to his mission as he'd so far come to know of had been neutralized, the island was officially under their control, and now all that was left was to finally pursue what they had really come for.
"What are you all after?!" The leaders' head immediately snapped to another of the restrained Heroes, some brash-looking youngster with silver hair and bulky metal apparatuses on his arms. With cobra-like swiftness, he proceeded to move in and slam the toe of his heavy boot straight into the interrupting Heroes' chin, planting him flat on the ground and once again completely at his mercy.
"Didn't you hear me? I said stay quiet, if not for your sake, then for the sake of the people of this island. Honestly, you Heroes never truly stop to think, do you?" As he looked down upon this pitiful excuse for a man on the floor, his earpiece suddenly went off, forcing him to open up communication. All the while, the momentary silence still left all of the guests and Heroes watching feeling increasingly frightened and anxious respectively.
"Oh, right, got it." clicking off his earpiece, the leader swiftly surveyed the expanse of the room, before his eyes focused on a single man among the guests; a rather unassuming middle-aged man with a generous gut, a blonde comb-over, and most importantly, an official I-Expo representative nametag reading 'Samuel Abraham'. With his hawk-like gaze zeroing in on the visibly terrified man before him, the leader moved in with grim intent. "You, you're a researcher here, right?"
"Y-yes?" the man nervously stuttered, practically on the verge of passing out from sheer fright, not helped when the towering red-haired man before him turned to one of his subordinates in an instant: "Take him."
The poor man couldn't even begin to comprehend exactly what all was now happening to him, as one of the other armed men suddenly began making a beeline for him. Was he about to be taken away like their leader said, or was that simply some theatrical way of telling his subordinate to kill him right here in front of everyone?
"Stop!" A single defiant voice suddenly called out from within the crowd, bringing the approaching gunman to a halt, and as such, the leader slightly turned to find another single middle-aged man with messy brown hair and glasses courageously approaching him, as if he had no fear of death whatsoever. If it hadn't been such an abjectly foolish move on his part, the leader would've almost found it admirable.
"That man is my assistant. What exactly do you plan on doing with him?" The leader finally turned to get a better look, and recognition immediately hit him the moment he saw his bespectacled face in full. Now there was no question that serendipity was truly on his side tonight.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. David Shield himself." Turning to his subordinate, he immediately followed up: "Take the assistant too."
As the gunman immediately began motioning for the assistant Samuel to get moving, David still stood defiant before the imposing Villain leader. "And what if I refuse to go with you?"
The red-haired goliath before him froze for but a moment, before a chilling snicker escaped his throat, giving the American nothing more than an over-the-shoulder sneer. "Then somewhere on this island, someones' scream will ring out."
There was no question that despite the devious smile, this man was absolutely serious. Any deviation from his plan on anyone's part would cost innocent lives. Truly, these Villains had put much more thought into the security of their schemes' success than anyone would have initially thought. This realization left David looking visibly frustrated as he met the leaders' gaze. "Fine…I'll go."
With that, David, Sam, and the one subordinate silently made their exit from the reception hall, leaving the rest of the guests and restrained Heroes still at gunpoint and the Villain leaders' mercy, while All Might and the essentially blindfolded Oleg were still left lying powerless on the stage. "All Might…what's happening? I can't see a damned thing in this…and my hearing's still a bit muddled from that shock and kick."
All Might had to consciously keep his frustration in check as he explained exactly what had just happened to his stirring Russian colleague. For a few painful moments, Oleg said nothing, and right now, silence was the last thing All Might wanted to hear. "Tunguska-san, what are you thinking right now?"
"Honestly, I can't stop thinking about the leader of these scumbags. That security system got everyone else all wrapped up, us included…and yet he still somehow managed to have a failsafe to deal with my prosthetic function and my flash bang, specifically. The rest of his men just had machine guns, and yet he had those specific fail-safes at the ready."
With his anxiety for his friend and his growing frustration at his momentary place of powerlessness mingling together, All Might was having more difficulty following Olegs' train of thought than he ever would have before. "What exactly are you suggesting?"
"What I'm suggesting, is that even if by some miraculous chance the leader somehow knew about me and my Quirk beforehand, in all my years, none of my opponents have ever tried blindfolding me with a non-light-reflective material before…at least not until the last test of the final exams just a few days ago. So there's no possible way these men could've known about that sudden discovery in order to know that would work."
The reality of what Oleg was suggesting resonated painfully with All Might, as he couldn't stay silent of the theory this was forcing him to consider: "You're right. I can't imagine these men could've somehow managed to figure that out through any kind of leak in Yuuei's databanks somehow. The only other option…is that there's someone even higher up the chain of command than this apparent leader of theirs…and whoever that person is either has incredible powers of perception when taking the abilities of everyone in attendances' Quirks into account…or has direct access to very private and crucial information on Heroes to help these men make this whole plan feasible to begin with. If that's the case, it's no wonder they managed to get into the island so well-equipped and prepared."
As the gravity of this reality sank in for Oleg as well, he could barely make out the sounds of All Might further struggling. This time, he couldn't possibly say nothing: "All Might, are you sure you can handle this situation with the time you've got left? Who's to say that exerting the power you have left just to break free won't make you run out of time faster?"
"I…I still have to try, Tunguska-san…I am…the Symbol of Peace…and I have to do what I can to save everyone…and get the security system back to normal…it's the only way." Despite the bravado of those words, All Might knew Oleg had damn good reason to be skeptical. Hell, even he was beginning to realize what a bad position he was in simply in terms of his time limit. Olegs' suggestion of pushing himself burning through the time he had left wasn't entirely without merit, either. But still, if he didn't do anything, who knew what would happen to David and the rest of the people on this island?
Suddenly, the briefest flash of light caught the corner of All Mights' eye. Looking to his side through the glass roof of the reception hall that looked straight up the rest of the Central Tower, he was shocked to find the distant yet unmistakable form of Izuku peering down from the third floor balcony, using the flash function of his cellphone to try and signal to him. "Midoriya-shonen…?"
Third Floor Balcony
"All Might's noticed us. Jirou-san, can you try listening in?" Izuku informed the others after a few seconds of trying to catch his attention. Ochako and Mina let out a sigh of initial relief, while Kyouka was crouched beside Izuku, with her earphone jacks plugged into the floor, trying to listen in on the reception hall below. As soon as she was in position, Izuku continued signaling down over the railing. "It's okay to talk. We're listening."
All the while, Nikolay was crouched alongside Tenya and Shoto, still trying to maintain his driven demeanor, despite knowing All Might and his father were literally right beneath their feet. "How are things looking down there? Is anybody hurt?"
Kyouka immediately brought a hand up to signal Nikolay to stay quiet as her brow furrowed with concentration, before repeating back everything All Might proceeded to tell them with even the faintest whisper he could manage. "The Villains have taken over the tower…they've taken control of the island security system…and are holding everyone on the island hostage. They're heavily armed…took out Tunguska-sensei's prosthetics with some kind of EMP gun, and even managed to blind him from using his flash bang attack. The rest of the Heroes have been taken captive as well…and they've taken Shield-sensei away, but there's no telling where just yet. You kids get out of here as soon as you can." Finally breaking away from conveying All Mights' info, Kyouka looked especially nervous now. "Guys…whoever these Villains are, it sounds like they're seriously prepared…and who knows just how many of them there really are?"
The grim realization of how dangerous this situation really was proving to be, was reflected clearly on everyones' faces, with Minoru pretty much trembling like a leaf, and Ochako and Mina both looking downright terrified at the thought of their odds. Nikolay, however, already had his hands balled into trembling fists, his face twisting with frustration and drive all at once. "Dammit…they're right there below us, practically within arms' reach. If I at least had my tuning forks…maybe that'd give us an edge to bring the fight to these guys and save Dad and All Might."
"Or it wouldn't make a difference, and then they'd just capture us, too, if not worse. And besides, the fact is none of us have our suits with us, so there's no point wishing we did, Kolya-san." Ochako argued, clearly just as distressed as he was, but still able to see the reality for what it was, and that right now, wishes weren't going to get them anywhere.
Seeing just how stressed his fathers' situation was leaving Nikolay, Mina swallowed her own fear and quickly crawled over to his side, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Kolya-kun, I get you're worried about Tunguska-sensei and All Might-sensei; we all are. I mean, what the hell, look at me; I'm plain scared to death right now…but just try to breathe, please. We all wanna save everyone, but we can't just go off without a plan, remember? First thing we learned on our internship? You've always been going on about how important planning is since then, so come back to that and please try to calm down…for your sake, most of all."
Placing a compassionate yet firm hand on his shoulder while making sure he didn't avert his gaze, thankfully managed to help Minas' sentiments get through Nikolays' building anxiousness, as his tense face slowly softened, and his aggressive rapid breathing slowly but surely calmed down until he was essentially back to normal. This brought a great deal of relief to the pink girl beside him, as Tenya and Shoto both gave her their own singular nods of approval for her making the effort in keeping their overall team focused and down to earth in this moment of immense tension.
Knowing there was nothing more they could do from here, the students hurriedly retreated back to the emergency stairwell from whence they came, knowing now was the time they needed to figure out what was going to happen next on their part. This was no longer a case of speculation; they were in a full-blown crisis, and with the attending Heroes out of commission, it now technically fell to them to find a solution.
"Alright, first off, we've now officially received All Mights' message. I suggest that we follow the directions of Yuuei teacher All Might and escape from this place." Tenyas' position was unbendable as he declared his opinion, while many of the other students clearly looked conflicted with the idea of fleeing, especially Izuku and Nikolay. However, even despite the conflicted look upon her own face, Momo didn't hesitate to speak up as well:
"I personally agree with Iida-sans' opinion. No matter how we look at it, we're still technically students. As such, we cannot fight Villains without our Hero Licenses." Once again, the logistics of the official Hero world was rearing its head at the most inopportune time, a reminder that hit nearly all the students especially hard, but none more so, again, than Izuku and Nikolay. Some of the most important people in their lives were helpless and in danger, they knew they had the capabilities, if working together, to save them and everyone else, and yet they had to worry about licenses and bureaucracy in order to actually do so without getting punished for it?
It was an objectively frustrating consideration during the Stain and Vukodlak incidents already, and yet it was now proving even more infuriating now. However, while many of the students couldn't help but brood over the unfairness of it all, Denki visibly perked up. "Well, then why don't we just escape and tell the other Pro Heroes out there about—"I'm afraid escaping won't be that easy."
Melissa's sudden interruption now hit the students even harder as they all looked to her to elaborate. "All of I-Island's security is designed to be at the top of its respective field, but the security for the Central Tower, especially, is on the same level as Tartarus, the prison where the most powerful Villains are kept."
That specific comparison left all the students visibly shaken. Anyone who followed the goings-on of the Hero world, especially when it came to the arrests of notorious Villains, knew what Tartarus was. Hell, after their respective encounters with Stain and Vukodlak, pretty much all the students in this stairwell couldn't not know what Tartarus essentially was: the place where the worst of the worst Villains in Japan were thrown to while away the rest of their lives, unable to hurt innocent people ever again.
So if this tower was on the same level, then there was no getting around it: these kids were simply not going to escape. Nikolay instinctively began clutching angrily at his sleeves, trying not to start falling into his aggressive desperation again, while Mina and Ochako were visibly trying to keep their mutual fear from overwhelming them, despite how easy it would've been for them to just let it.
Out of nowhere, Denki just let out an especially exasperated sigh in realization of how outwardly screwed they seemed to be. "Man, this is some straight-up 'Die Hard' levels of shit we're in, isn't it?"
"Holy crap, Kaminari, is 'time and place' just a totally alien concept to you?!" Minoru immediately snapped, clearly having long since let his own fear completely take him over. Tenya, at the same time, was already chopping his arm through the air in clear disapproval. "Mineta-sans' valid criticism aside; keep in mind of our hosts' presence, Kaminari-san! A stressful situation is no excuse for such crass language in a civilians' presence!"
However, despite the two fronts of judgment he was now the subject of, Denki was actually not backing down as he instead stood up with an unexpected air of his own confidence. "Whoa, I'm not saying that just to hear myself talk, you know. I mean, think about it: a tower taken over by a bunch of Villains with guns, and we're pretty much the only hope the Heroes and guests have of being saved. I mean, we all know it, so why even argue? And besides, we have each other to try and figure this thing out, remember? The guy in that movie only had a single cop on the outside, one pistol, one machine gun and his own wits to save the day. We just gotta use ours pretty much the same way."
The normally dimwitted blonde sparkplugs' impassioned point was not lost on any of his classmates, as they all looked notably impressed with his thematic reasoning, and most importantly, the heart of it all: they did have each other and their instinctive wits to count on. With all the other challenges those very same things had gotten them through up to this point, there was no reason to think they couldn't essentially do the same thing here.
"Kaminari-san's right." Nikolay finally stated, drawing everyones' eyes to him as he stood resolute in his own decision. "The Pro Heroes in here can't help us, and neither can the ones outside. If they can't save everyone, and we can't get out, then we have no choice but to try and do something to save them, regardless if we have our Hero Licenses or not. Otherwise, there's no telling what those Villains might do, not just to All Might or my Dad or even Shield-sensei, but everyone on the island; including the rest of our classmates."
The reminder that their own classmates across the island were, in fact, likewise in the crossfire hit Tenya and Momo especially hard. Spurred on by Nikolay and Denkis' respective cases, Kyouka finally stood up with her gloved hands clenched, her eyes reflecting similar determination as theirs. "I agree with them. There isn't any other real choice here."
"Are you guys crazy?! Those Villains down there were actually able to catch Tunguska-sensei and All Might! If they were prepared and tough enough to take both those kinds of powerhouses down, what chance would all of us possibly have against them?" Minorus' frightened exclamation echoed up and down the stairwell, while Ochako and Mina clutched their arms, their faces both wrought with immense worry and indecisiveness. Both sides had their valid arguments: without a way to reach other Pros for help or even to escape, then it really did fall to them to try and save everyone, which they both wanted to do more than anything else; but on the other hand, the fact the Villains had the entire island under their control, and the students were immensely outnumbered and in this case literally outgunned, left them feeling just as wary of their chances once they decided to actually act. It was easily the worst kind of razors' edge decision they found themselves having to make.
All the while, looking upon his left hand, Shoto finally spoke up: "I agree with Kaminari-san, Jirou-san and Bezpalov-san. We are still learning how to become Heroes, after all. A situation like this is exactly what that's for."
With one of their classes' highest ranked students now starting to voice such sentiment, Momo couldn't keep quiet anymore: "Look, all of you are correct in that we have an inherent responsibility to try and resolve this situation since we made the decision to try and become Heroes. Be that as it may, we still aren't legally allowed to act on our own, regardless of the intentions."
"Does that really mean it's alright for us not to do anything, though?" Shoto wasn't necessarily asking Momo for an answer. If anything, he was asking this of himself as he kept looking at his left hand, before slowly clenching it into a fist. It was clear for Izuku and Nikolay just what had to be going through his head right now. It was that desire to become his own kind of Hero that had helped Shoto Todoroki make peace with using his left side of his Quirk, and now for the second time, he was being faced with something as infuriating as red tape and technicalities keeping him from being able to honor that oath to himself, on top of simply their sense of duty as future Heroes.
"I want to save them." The stairwell had fallen gravely silent in the wake of everyone's opinions, but the straightforwardness of Izukus' sudden declaration drew everyone's attention.
"Deku-kun?" Ochako instinctively muttered with surprise, while the green haired boy lifted his head to meet the eyes of his friends, a fire burning just behind them. "I want to save everyone…and I know that deep down, behind any surface-level words, you all want to do the same. Regardless what your hearts or your minds might tell you in the moment, we all know we share that unifying desire as aspiring Heroes to save people and stop Villains…so that's exactly what we're going to do, together."
Even if it wasn't the most verbose speech in the world, the intent behind it was undeniable, and it brought a flare of inspiration to everyone around him, with Nikolay especially feeling a swell of gratitude in his chest that they were on the same page, with Melissa soon likewise smiling with gratitude to hear him finally voice their full intent.
"You're seriously planning on fighting the Villains, Midoriya?! Have you seriously learned nothing from USJ and Stain?!" Minorus' outcry of disbelief was swiftly and suddenly silenced when, at last, Nikolay, Denki, Ochako and Mina finally stepped forward from their spots, looking down at the grape-haired boy with disbelief of their own: "What about you, Mineta? We all fought a big-time Villain like that Vukodlak freak together and won! Why are you suddenly acting like you've never faced a serious threat before?"
Denkis' argument was swiftly answered as Mineta refused to back down from his latest show of self-preserving skepticism: "The only reason we did that was because that monster would've ended up hunting all of us down if we didn't do anything! That was a case of our own lives being on the line! But this right here?! This is way over our heads! We're dealing with way more than one Villain, armed with guns and Quirks no doubt, and we have hostages to worry about on top of everything else! Right now the Villains down there don't even know about us, so we're essentially in the clear!"
Ochako suddenly stamped a single foot down, rendering Minoru silent, as her eyes were torn between worry and anger, clenching her own fists as well. "Vukodlak would've tried to kill us if we didn't do anything to stop him, there's no doubt about that! But don't try pretending like we only fought for ourselves, Mineta-san; we were fighting him to save our teachers, and countless other Heroes he doubtless would've hunted down if we'd just left him be!
"Right now, our teachers and countless other Heroes and civilians are in the exact same kind of danger, so this is essentially no different than it was then! Our odds weren't any better then, but we still managed to win because we were working together! We beat someone with years of hunting Pro Heroes under his belt, and I know we can beat these guys too if we just put our heads together again. I don't want to just sit here doing nothing if we can actually do something!"
Ochakos' passionate decrying of Minorus' cowardice lit a similar fire in Mina, as her fear quickly disappeared from her face, and her black-gold eyes lit up with inspiration, and a confident smile returned to her lips, striking a fearless fist into the air in encouragement. "Urara-chan's right! We've all got our own super-strong Quirks on our own, but if we put them and our brains together, there's nothing we can't accomplish, and that includes saving everybody on this island! We're supposed to be Heroes, aren't we? So forget stuff like licenses for a minute, and let's try actually doing something to save everyone!"
With their groups' two potential fence-sitters having finally made their standpoints clear, Nikolay stepped forward to join the rest that were ready to act, a clenched fist held over his heart. "We're either all together on this, or we don't stand a chance. No ones' stance here is wrong, whether it's our numbers against theirs, or any of the legal details, but none of that changes the fact that in situations like this, Heroes need to act. Your ideas haven't steered you wrong so far, Midoriya-san, so whatever plan you have in mind, we're behind you on it all the way."
A deeply grateful smile began to grace Izukus' face when he could see his very same kind of devotion to their roles as Heroes fill the expressions of all his friends, even the initial skeptics like Tenya and Momo. "Thank you, everyone. It's true, what you've all been saying so far: we have to do something, but we shouldn't be doing anything that'll get us in trouble like what happened with the Stain incident, either. That's why we need to come up with a plan to save All Might, Tunguska-sensei and the others, without actually fighting the Villains. Even if it may seem impossible from the outset, we still have to try."
"I may actually have just the solution." Melissa's sudden announcement snapped everyone else to attention, as her once nervous disposition now radiated her own sense of courage and inspiration. "The I-Island security systems' control room is on the top floor of this tower. If the Villains have taken control of it as Uncle Might says they have, then the authentication locks and passwords should have been disabled. As such, we should be able to completely restart the system. We just need to get away from the eyes of the Villains and reach the top floor. Then, maybe we can save everyone."
The summation of Melissa's plan was simple enough that it left many of the students looking downright hopeful at their chances of success now. "Yeah, if we just get the whole system restarted, then maybe the security system will go back to normal, then All Might, Tunguska-sensei and all the other Heroes can wipe the floor with those Villains themselves." Denki sounded downright ecstatic at the thought of it, it all sounded so outwardly easy.
However, Tenya, Shoto, Momo, Izuku and Nikolay didn't look nearly as easily assured, with the young Russian being the first to express what they were all essentially thinking: "The plan itself is simple enough, but the execution is guaranteed not to be. If they're controlling the security system for the entire island and the tower, then there's no question that they'll be keeping the control room manned at all times, and have every security measure set up to keep anyone from getting anywhere close to it. On top of that, we still have no idea if the Villains in the reception hall and however many are in the control room are all we have to deal with. For all we know, they could have a team set up on every floor of the tower for the added security, and to try looking for any stragglers that weren't in the reception hall when they took over."
Shoto and Tenya nodded in full agreement before the red-white-haired boy decided to chime in as well: "Remember what Jirou-san said before; the leader of the Villains had the foresight to equip himself in a way that allowed him to disable Tunguska-sensei's projectile prosthetics and his flash bang ability. They used the security system to ensnare the rest of the Heroes, and yet had the specific means to deal with that unforeseen detail. That has to mean they have access to enough information to know every Hero in attendance and their Quirks, and therefore, how to deal with them in a situation."
Following off his other two classmates' theories, Tenya decided to step in likewise: "That's right, and with Bezpalov-sans' suggestion of teams looking for stragglers, we have to assume they're already looking for us as well. If Todoroki-sans' theory is correct, and they do in fact have information on every Hero in attendance, then that would have to mean they would have seen our names on the attendance list as well, especially since Shield-san had the rest of our official invites confirmed only a few hours before. They must have realized by now we weren't in the reception hall, and are therefore loose somewhere in the tower, and the thoroughness of their scheme thus far proves they're not about to let a handful of potential spanners in the works like us run freely. We need to be prepared for a confrontation somewhere between here and the control room, no matter what."
Everyone in the stairwell knew Tenya was absolutely right. Whether their plan was to actually avoid fighting the Villains outright, it was downright naïve to think they wouldn't run into trouble between here and the control room, especially with how many floors they had to cover in order to get there. As such, Izukus' eyes focused on Melissa. "Melissa-san, please wait here."
"I'll go with you, too." Melissa's denial of the green-haired boys' suggestion was swift and firm as she stood her ground. Of course, Izuku was caught by surprise by this sudden stubbornness: "B-but you don't have a Quirk…"
"Do you have anyone else among you that can change the settings of the security system?" That one question pretty much diffused any attempt at an argument the Yuuei students could have made, as they all knew none of them were anywhere close to what was normally considered a 'computer genius'. As such, Melissa took one affirming step forward to further solidify her position among them: "I'm a student at the I-Island Academy; I think I can be very useful here. It's true, until we get to the top floor, I'll essentially just be in the way…but please, let me help you to save everyone, too."
The sheer amount of resolve Melissa was displaying as she stood her ground before everyones' concerns was, frankly, awe-inspiring. For many of them, not the least of all was Nikolay himself, this decision of hers, even when knowing the sheer dangers they were liable to face, was the very concept of true Heroics in its purest form.
As such, Tenya cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention and momentarily take charge before finally making their move: "All right, everyone understands what we have to do and where we have to go. Shield-san must be protected at all times, no matter what. I feel we all understand this."
Everyone was in full agreement, before Melissa spoke up once more: "There's something else you all need to know. None of us should risk doing anything that will put the Villains on alert, for the sake of the hostages. The tower security system is wired into every single inch of it, meaning every window, wall, floor, ceiling and doorway. You can't just go using your Quirks to brute force our way to the top floor. Doing so will set off the security system."
This revelation left Nikolay, Mina and Denki looking especially stricken down. This meant they were essentially being sidelined for the sake of keeping their presence hidden and the hostages all safe.
Reception Hall
Olegs' perception of time was already beginning to suffer, being engulfed in impenetrable darkness as his head was. It was the only the continuous frightened whimpers of the audience that were keeping him at full alertness. All Might had long since stopped continuously struggling against his binds, which was essentially a good thing. When the chance would inevitably come for them to finally break free and take these Villains down, his compatriot was going to need all his strength at the ready.
Suddenly, he could barely make out the sound of a mildly surprised grunt of acknowledgment from All Might. Just minutes ago, he had explained to Oleg that he had been signaled by Izuku from the next floor up, and had described their entire situation to him and the rest of the students. Oleg could only ask what came naturally in this situation: "Is it malenkii Midoriya again?"
All Might didn't say anything, which just left the large Russian beside him increasingly anxious, but he didn't dare speak up any louder, lest it draw the attention of the Villains still standing guard.
After a good half a minute, he could hear All Might let out an especially heavy sigh, and this was good a sign for him to say something as any: "What's going on? Was it him?"
"Yes…and Bezpalov-shonen, Todoroki-shonen and the rest. I could see it clear as day in all their eyes…Tunguska-san…they're going to try and save us." The thought of his son going up against these heavily-armed criminals nearly had Oleg writhing on the floor against his binds, but it was only through one synapse of reason firing in his head, that he didn't. This didn't leave him feeling any less fearful, though.
"Did you try to signal for them to just stay put? They have no idea what they're really up against." The regretful sigh from All Might answered his question immediately, and he soon let out one of his own. Of course…students like Midoriya, Nikolay, Shoto, Tenya, Mina and Ochako wouldn't just stand by and do nothing when people were in danger, even if both teachers had straight-up told them to do so.
It was just as his son had told him he had come to realize as a result of the entire final exam, that Heroes must act in a situation and never just give up, even if they don't initially have a plan to go off of. After that, for him to fall in with his classmates to act in this situation was just to be expected. However, even if he could greatly respect his sons' decision as a fellow Hero, as a father he couldn't help but mentally climb the walls with worry. As teachers, he knew he and All Might would inevitably have to reproach their students for taking action so recklessly, but for now, he could only silently yet continuously pray to whatever universal force would listen, that Nikolays' friends would be able to help him in keeping all of them safe, whatever they ultimately ended up doing.
From the moment they had all returned to the stairwell after silently expressing their universal intent to do everything in their power to save everyone, Izuku and Melissa had taken the lead, as they and the rest of the students began to run up the stairwell, with nothing but adrenaline and desire burning through their veins with every step. It didn't matter how far they would have to go, knowing they couldn't use their Quirks to hasten their ascension up every floor of the tower; they would take every challenge put in front of them head on if it meant stopping these Villains and saving their teachers, loved ones, and all the innocent people of I-Island.
Top Floor Control Room
None of the Villains escorting David and Sam had uttered a word the entire way up to the darkness of the security system control room. They just kept their focus on their unknown task at hand, and their gun barrels on the two scientists' backs. This only caused the tension in both men to surely mount with each passing moment, until they finally found themselves being forced into the control room proper, where another handful of these masked men were standing with their guns at the ready, with one manning the terminals personally.
"Alright, I brought the targets," the villain leading their transfer finally spoke up, while the one at the terminals didn't even bother taking his eyes off his work. "Excellent. Have them get to work on opening the vault."
With that, the former Villain suddenly removed the mask from his face, revealing a rather temperamental-looking young man with purple tattoos under his eyes, and semi-long very light brown hair. "Acting so high and mighty…"
SSHING!
In the blink of an eye, the long-haired Villain suddenly extended a massive shimmering steel blade from his forearms, almost completely engulfing his hand, before just as quickly leveling its razor sharp edge right to David's throat. "Well, you heard him. If you and your fat friend there don't want to die, then hurry up and get that vault open."
Taking into consideration both his and his assistants' lack of Quirks, and the sheer level to which they were outnumbered, and these mens' willingness to resort to violence, David once again found himself with no other choice but to begrudgingly accept: "R-right."
Seemingly satisfied, the blade-handed Villain finally removed his hand from the scientists' throat, immediately turning to the other masked men at the ready. "Take them out of here, and make sure they don't try anything clever while getting the vault open." With that, the rest of the armed Villains forcefully motioned David and Sam out of the control room, leaving the other two to their own business manning the security system.
Emergency Stairs, 30th Floor
Nikolay hadn't even stopped to consider just how much ground he and the others had already covered by the time they finally came to a stop to get their bearings. Realizing they had only made it up thirty floors so far, however, the slowly building physical toll was beginning to register up and down his legs. He could only wonder if any of his peers were feeling the same way. "Melissa-san…what's the top floor of the tower, exactly?"
Melissa was likewise struggling to catch her breath, but looking not the slightest bit discouraged from it: "The 200th floor."
To simply hear it said out loud left Nikolay already feeling completely winded, and Denki and Minoru were clearly feeling the same way: "We seriously have to climb up that high?!"
"It's a better choice than risking running into Villains, Mineta-san." Momo stated as matter-of-factly as ever, while Mina was still jogging in place to keep her momentum and heart-rate steady: "Yeah, c'mon you guys, we've gone through training harder than this; keep it up! I know you can do it! I believe in you!"
Her encouragement was thankfully able to spur everyone to keep going as though they had only just started, and they continued at that fiery pace all the way past the fiftieth floor. However, while the Yuuei students were still managing to keep their uphill running pace with no further problems, Melissa wasn't faring as well, and Ochako and Mina both realized this, as she had fallen behind the rest of them, visibly struggling to continue up each step.
"Melissa-chan, would you like me to use my Quirk to help you up?" Ochako offered once she could hear how the poor girl below was struggling to catch her breath. However, Melissa's shaking of her head in denial was resolute, even despite the grateful smile on her face. "Thank you, Ochako-san…but I'm fine. You should save your Quirk for when you really need it."
Both girls couldn't help but admire Melissa for pushing herself so hard for everyone elses' sake, even when she didn't have a Quirk like they did. Nevertheless, this didn't stop them from stepping back down to take Melissa by her hands to help her up the rest of the way, supportive smiles on both their faces. "Even if we can't use our Quirks to help, that doesn't mean we can't help you at all, Melissa-chan. You need to keep your strength up for when we get to the top, after all."
Minas' encouragement brought a feeling of immense gratitude to Melissa's face as she accepted hers and Ochakos' manual help. From there, they kept pace with the rest of their classmates up the next several flights of stairs, with Melissa kicking off her heels along the way to make the rest of her traversal that much easier.
The group continued up each floor, ignoring the fire building in their chests from the constant rush and physical strain. However, by the time they finally reached the 80th floor, with Tenya having since gained the lead, he suddenly came to a screeching halt around that very corner, forcing everyone else to come to a halt before they'd come crashing into each other. "The shutter!"
Indeed, the stairway to the next floor up was completely sealed off by a very heavy duty-looking steel shutter. To know they had managed to get this far, only to now have a literal wall in their way, left all the students visibly frustrated, especially Nikolay, Mina and Shoto, knowing their Quirks would have been perfect to get them through. As such, Shoto turned back to Melissa: "Shield-san, if we can't break our way through without alerting the security system, is there another way we could go that could help us get further up the tower?"
By this point, at the same time, Minoru had become so thoroughly exhausted, his first instinctive reaction upon stopping was to try and support himself against a nearby door to try and catch his breath, sounding like a boy dying of a month of thirst. "If we can't go any further up or open any of the doors without alerting the Villains, then what the hell are we supposed to do?"
As he made this despondent claim of defeat, he didn't realize his hand had naturally grasped onto the handle of that very same door, and as his body listlessly swayed from his exhaustion, he didn't even realize he'd still been holding onto the handle, until he and the rest of his allies suddenly heard the resounding click of the door opening by complete accident on the tiny boys' part.
Everyone immediately realized what Minoru had inadvertently done, but now was far from the time to admonish him for acting so carelessly, as Izuku once again took the lead, hurriedly urging the others to follow before the security system did who-knew-what in response.
Reception Hall
The lack of any notice from his men up in the control room pretty much confirmed to the leader of the Villains that everything was proceeding as planned. As such, he kept up his regular patrol, watching closely for any sign of one of the Heroes, or perhaps even one of the guests, getting the bright idea of trying to be a Hero.
Suddenly, his earpiece began going off. Considering the timing of everything else, it seemed unlikely that David Shield would have gotten the vault open, as his men were supposed to have told the man, this early. Therefore, this could only bring news worthy of at least mild concern, as he answered.
"Sir, the security system has picked up a door opening on the 80th floor. The camera feed caught sight of the intruders in the adjoining hallway; it's a bunch of kids, probably the unaccounted invites and the Shield girl, based on the attendant listing."
From an unforeseen problem, to an unexpected solution to one lingering inconsistency in the plans' execution, that was all this was as far as the leader was concerned, as he couldn't help but smile to himself. "Let down all the partitions on the 80th floor. We're gonna box them in like rats."
Hanging up, he turned to two more of his men standing by his sides. "You two, get to the 80th floor and take care of the kids up there. Don't let them get away." With cries of confirmation from both, his two henchmen hurried out of the reception hall. Even with two less down here in terms of manpower, the leader was still unconcerned. No matter what a bunch of kids could have fooled themselves into thinking they could do, his men were more than capable of handling them.
All the while, having overheard the leaders' conversation, All Might and Oleg could only think virtually the same thing: 'Be very careful, children. Villains are always very crafty. Stay on your toes and leave nothing to chance with them, for everyone's sake.'
80th Floor
Even though no alarms had started going off, nobody was about to start assuming they had gotten lucky and not alerted the security system. Needless to say, this overlying sense of new danger had left Denki considerably annoyed with Minoru at that moment. "Dammit, Mineta, when someone says not to go opening doors for any reason, maybe don't go leaning against the only door in the whole room!"
"Keep your voice down, Kaminari-san! We don't want to advertise our presence any more than we already have!" Tenya ordered over his shoulder, while Izuku and Melissa were keeping pace with one another. "Melissa-san, is there another way from here we could be able to get further up the tower?"
"There's another emergency staircase like this on the opposite side, to help prevent a panicked crowd overflowing one stairwell in an emergency. We just need to hope the shutter for that one hadn't also been dropped." However, as they continued to run, Mina suddenly perked up in realization.
"Wait, since Mineta already alerted the system to us being here, that pretty much means there's no point trying to stay quiet, right? Even if the shutters are down, I could just melt our way through." Ochako and Nikolay both looked at their pink friend in joyous realization of her point, but Melissa unfortunately didn't.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Mina-san. I'm sorry I didn't say this before when we were trying to avoid alerting the system, but the shutters for I-Island are built to be able to withstand virtually all kinds of offensive Quirks, and that unfortunately includes various types of acid as well." Just as quickly as their spirits had practically soared, the trio quickly fell back down to disappointing reality. It was nothing short of ironic, how things that were supposed to make people feel safe now stood as complete detriment to them securing the safety of everyone.
Suddenly, the sound of an electric motor started echoing from further down the hall, and before the students' eyes, a large set of steel shutters came clamping down, cutting the hall off in front of them, quickly followed by another that much closer, then another.
"The ones behind us are closing, too!" Momo exclaimed, and just as she said when everyone looked back, every section of the hall they had come down was being systematically closed off as well.
"Dammit, Mineta!" Denki instinctively exclaimed upon realization of just how screwed they now were. However, through his building adrenaline, Tenya looked back to the way they were going, and spotted another door in the very next section from theirs, the one still open to them, even as the last set of shutters was already beginning to close on them. "TODOROKI-SAN!"
"Right!" Not even needing to be told, Shoto immediately slammed his right foot down, producing a colossal spire of ice rushing forward, jamming the shutters open just enough for everyone to hurriedly throw themselves through the opening to the other side, with Tenya once again taking the lead and revving the engine in his left leg to the point it produced a fire through his pant legs, just as he unleashed a massive kick that exploded the door outward into a million pieces. "Let's cross inside here!"
Once they all stepped inside, they were met with the sight of what looked like an expansive indoor park area with numerous trees lining the paths ahead. "Whoa, what is this place?" Ochako asked in surprised wonder now that the tension had considerably died down.
"This is I-Islands' Plant Factory. It's supposed to help us study how Quirks affect plant life." Melissa hurriedly explained as they continued on their adrenaline-fueled sprint for the nearest ways up.
And as luck would've had it, there was a single elevator shaft standing right down the path, the perfect means to continue on their way, assuming it hadn't likewise been shut down like the ones in the lobby.
"Wait!" Kyouka suddenly exclaimed, bringing everyone skidding to a stop. Before anyone could even ask what was going on: "Look at the display above the doors."
Following her focused gaze, everyone quickly realized the numbers on the screen above the elevator were quickly rising. Knowing what they did now, they realized this could only have meant one thing:
"They're sending their own men after us now!" Nikolay realized, his hands already in a white-knuckled fist as he tried to see what his partners were all thinking of doing, with Minoru looking like he was on the verge of crying with fear again. Ochako, Mina and Momo were likewise nervous as hell, but still clearly ready to fight if it came down to it.
"Let's hide and let them pass us. They might not know where we are exactly, so we still have the advantage," Izuku suggested, and without argument, everyone split from the path, hiding themselves behind the shrubberies and trees, just waiting for the accompanying ding of the elevator doors opening.
As they waited with growing anxiety, Denki couldn't help but ask: "Melissa-san, do you think we could be able to use that elevator to get the rest of the way up the tower?"
Unfortunately, the look on Melissa's face did not bode the answer he was hoping for: "No. Only authorized personnel can operate the elevators from this point up, and we can't destroy them to keep the other Villains from pursuing us, either. They're built as sturdy as bomb shelters, just like the shutters. Right now, the emergency stairs are still our only option."
Before anyone else could say or suggest anything, the resounding ding of the elevator suddenly sounded out, and everyone ducked behind cover, just waiting to see who was coming. Soon enough, the elevator opened to reveal two men in matching uniforms and body armor, one much taller, lankier and animalistic (weasel-like, specifically) in the face than his stocky partner, as they stepped out into the open.
"Those outfits…it's just as we thought…those are some of the guys that took over in the reception hall." Izuku muttered primarily to himself, while everyone else could feel an anxious chill run up their spines.
"Those guys said the kids were somewhere up here." "Yeah, they certainly picked an inconvenient place to go, didn't they?" As the two chatted amongst themselves, it was becoming abundantly clear that they were only getting closer and closer. Even despite the soundness of Izukus' plan to keep hiding, that gut instinct of fear when knowing danger was coming was becoming very evident on Minoru and Ochakos' faces especially. Mina was trying to keep her composure as well, despite the fear in her eyes, and Nikolay was digging his fingers into the grass beneath him, trying to fight the urge to get out there and take their two enemies down, regardless of the consequences, despite his minds' better judgment.
"I found you, you damn kids!" Everyone instinctively flinched like they'd just gotten electrocuted the moment that angered voice shouted from across the way. Now all anyone could think was what they were going to do, if anything. Nikolay was virtually one muscle spasm away from launching himself out there and fighting with everything he had, even if it would at least buy the others the chance to get away.
"Huh?! What the hell did you say, you bastard?!"
Just as suddenly as his adrenaline had spiked, Nikolay and everyone else's tension had suddenly vanished at the sound of an unmistakable voice laced with rage. Everyone instinctively peeked through the foliage to find, to their unifying disbelief, the sight of a sharply dressed Bakugo and Eijirou standing right out in the open before the two Villains, both of them clearly completely unaware of just who exactly they were being confronted by.
"Oh my God, Kiri and Bakugo?! What are the odds?! Seriously!" Mina exclaimed in a relieved yet piercing whisper, while Nikolay and the others were simultaneously relieved to see two more of their classmates faces (yes, even in the case of Bakugo, from Nikolays' perspective), and nervous as to what they could possibly do to help keep the two from getting hurt, if not worse.
"What are you two doing here?" the shorter of the armored men asked with no patience, while Bakugo simply leaned forward with that same spiteful sneer as always. "That's what I want to know, dammit!"
"H-hey, let me handle this, okay?" Eijirou hurriedly intervened, forcing himself between Bakugo and their two mysterious greeters, trying to put on as casual a smile as he could in order to avoid tensions escalating any further. "Hey, um, sorry, we got kinda…well, okay, really lost. Uh, would you be able to tell us how to get to the reception party, by any chance?"
However, despite the casual air Eijirou was trying to put on, the two men simply glanced to each other, and even from where they were watching in the bushes, the rest of the students could see they were clearly not thinking of meeting his attitude in kind. Realizing that a fight was pretty much going to be inevitable, Nikolays' eyes zeroed in on the gathering as a whole, trying to figure out the best way to approach this that wouldn't risk the two getting hurt in the process.
"You think you can fool us with that shitty little act?! Take this!" Suddenly, the taller Villains' arm tore through his sleeve, opening up like a massive cylinder, before producing a massive wave of air with a single swing, coming right for an already bracing Bakugo and dumbfounded Eijirou.
"KIRI, MOVE!"
BWOOOM!
SHHHK!
In the blink of an eye, just as Mina instinctively cried out for Eijirou to get out of the way, Nikolay suddenly launched himself straight up through the bushes, just as Shoto threw his right arm forward, producing a colossal wall of ice, cutting the Villains' wind attack off from Eijirou, and forcing the red-haired boy to fall back on his rump with sheer surprise.
With surprising cohesion despite communicating nothing with words to each other, as Nikolay began to descend from above, Shoto similarly swung his left arm in the same direction, producing a sizeable plume of fire filling the air between the Villains and the ice wall. With that in his sight down below, Nikolay threw both his arms forward and proceeded to fire a massive concussive blast through both hands at once, the physical force of the air dispersing the fire right back at the Villains in a shockwave, forcing the two to throw themselves away from each other to avoid getting burned, while the surrounding wave of heat quickly reduced the ice wall to water, just as the Russian boy landed before Eijirou and Bakugo, and Shoto leaped out to join the three as well.
While the Villains hurriedly got back to their feet, Shoto quickly planted his right hand to the ground, sending a trail of ice back to the others amid the bushes, and suddenly causing a massive pillar of ice to start rising from beneath their feet, sending them further and further up while he and Nikolay stayed behind. "We'll try to buy you all time! You just try to find a way to the top!"
"Wait, I can fight too, let me help!" Mina suddenly called down, already preparing to jump down from atop the ice, but even as Nikolay and Shoto kept their focus on their two opponents, the young Russian still spoke out with all his heart:
"No! Stay with Midoriya-san and the others, Mina, please! We'll try to regroup with you all as soon as we can!" As much as it pained him to have to separate from all of them, and as much as it pained Mina to have to leave any of her friends behind when faced with danger, the emotion in his desire for her to stay and help protect the others was unmistakable. As such, even with her worry starting to come out through tears in her eyes, she clenched her fists in acceptance, ready to do her part for her friends that were still here, no matter what.
Looking back down to him standing bravely alongside Shoto to protect Eijirou and Bakugo, she felt a new surge of admiration build in her chest. "Don't do anything reckless, Kolya-kun…you, Todoroki-kun, Kiri and Bakugo get back to us safe…please."
"Whoa, definitely wasn't expecting to run into you guys here of all places. What the hell is going on?" Eijirou finally found the wherewithal to ask as he watched Shotos' ice column rise more and more, with Bakugo simply staring at the two Villains ahead with simmering bloodlust.
"You didn't hear the broadcast earlier? Villains have taken over this tower and are holding all the guests and Heroes hostage." As Shoto explained all this, Eijirou looked completely shocked, only made worse when he saw the grim seriousness in Nikolays' green eyes especially.
"It's true…they even got All Might and my dad, too. We need to buy the others time to get to the top floor so they can restart the security system and save everyone." Just as he said this, the steam that had engulfed the whole area from the meeting of Shotos' fire and ice suddenly began to disperse by numerous invisible spheres, as though they were literally being negated from existence, while the two Villains had finally recollected themselves and were now approaching the four boys.
"You kids…don't go underestimating your elders!" As the shorter of the Villains announced this, his body suddenly began to convulse, before his short hair began to grow, his skin turned purple, and his muscles began to contort and grow, until he was ultimately bigger than all of them, roaring like a ferocious animal just to punctuate the kind of challenge the four boys now really faced.
With nothing more needing to be said, Shoto suddenly threw a gust of ice straight for the hulking Villain, who proceeded to start charging his way through every crystallized spire with impressive speed. Realizing a simple assault wasn't working, Shoto quickly erected another ice wall between them, and following his lead, Nikolay proceeded to fire another two-handed blast into the wall, sending a flurry of crystals straight into the Villain by surprise, momentarily stunning him just long enough for the Russian boy to launch himself up from the ground, send a surge of kinetic energy into his right foot, and fire it right at the beginning of a kick. This granted him a highly strengthened kick straight into the Villains' jaw, sending him reeling back from the surprising force, though not falling, as he caught himself by his feet before he could topple.
However, this was enough of an opening for Bakugo to come rushing in from the side while he was distracted, before kicking himself up into the air right behind him, his attacking hand at the ready as he roared out "DIE!"
A deafening explosion tore through the air as he unleashed a flurry of explosions point blank into the Villains' back, not even relenting when the smoke ultimately cut off Bakugos' sight of him.
Before anything else, however, the smoke suddenly began getting swallowed away by yet more of the lankier Villains' air hollowing spheres. Bakugo immediately began to start firing explosions at him as well, but his opponent already had him clearly spotted, as he ended up consuming every explosion the boy sent at him, rendering his attacks completely useless.
In that moment of diverted focus, Bakugo didn't even notice the ground was beginning to shake as the hulking Villain had taken that chance to get on his blindside and come rushing him like a one-person stampede. He was too fast for Bakugo to be able to dodge or intercept, he'd left himself completely open.
"BAKUGO!" Eijirous' momentarily panicked voice pierced the air, before Bakugo found himself getting shoulder-charged out of the way by the red-haired boy, who now found himself standing in the Villains' trajectory. However, his reflexes were on point, as he quickly crossed his arms together and hardened them at once, just at the moment of impact, thankfully saving himself from the majority of the damage. However, it still wasn't enough to prevent him from getting blasted back from the insane momentum behind that charge, ultimately crashing straight into the wall behind himself.
As Shoto and Nikolay both looked back in concern for their sharp-toothed compatriot, they quickly found themselves once again on the defensive, as Shoto proceeded to send a flurry of ice and fire alike for the lankier Villain, who once again proved his advantage by consuming every single attack, while steadily closing the distance between them. Nikolay was already in the process of grabbing several pieces of rubble from Eijirous' impact, firing them up into the air in preparation to launch himself up and use them as kicking off points to try and get behind their current opponent.
Once he was sure he had enough, he quickly launched himself up into the air, bouncing from rubble piece to rubble piece, keeping his eyes solely focused on the Villain, who was fortunately still distracted by Shotos' continuous assault. He could only hope his hunch that the man's Quirk solely functioned on what was directly in front of him turned out to be accurate.
As he reached the last kicking off point in the air before he could proceed to start firing them off for the Villains' back, another roar from the beastlike Villain broke his focus, just in time to see the purple brute jumping through the air right for him. Nikolay instinctively redirected his hands to try and force him away, but the Villain was simply too fast, as he managed to grab the Russian boy by both hands in one grip, and proceeded to swing him right back over his shoulder in preparation to drive him straight down into the unforgiving ground.
BKOOOM!
A sudden round of explosions going off where the Villain hung in the air stunned him just enough to make him lose his grip on Nikolay, sending the Russian boy twirling listlessly through the air like a rag doll, before miraculously managing to get his bearings and fire from his appropriate hands and feet in order to steady his position and break his fall just enough to where the crash landing didn't end up breaking any of his bones.
As soon as he had come to a stop, Nikolay hurriedly fired himself forward across the ground in a sprint, bringing himself to a stop in the middle of the path, just as Shoto and Bakugo found themselves landing in the exact same spot, the unlikely trio now standing back-to-back-to-back, as they found the two Villains now standing menacingly on both their sides.
"Well, well, looks like these kids aren't like the rest of the simple guests down below. Just who in the hell are you lot?" The lankier Villain demanded, while the hulking brute was simply grunting savagely in preparation to attack once more.
However, none of the three boys let themselves be intimidated, even Nikolay as he now found himself actually fighting alongside his most disliked classmate of all. Right now, he was simply too focused on making sure they actually got out of this alive.
"Like we'd even bother telling you, you damn Villains!" Bakugo spat defiantly, while Shoto simply furthered himself into a better fighting stance. "You don't deserve the courtesy of knowing my name."
With his adrenaline and desire to win reaching its zenith, Nikolay likewise got into his own stance, shifting his focus from one Villain to the next, hiding every bit of fear he still felt behind a visage of pure focus. "Just know that you're going to regret picking this fight."
Having since disembarked from Shotos' ice column once they reached a suspended walkway far above the Plant Factory, the rest of the students and Melissa were once again rushing as fast as their legs could carry them, all silently expressing their confidence in the others that they would be able to manage the two Villains below, and most importantly, come back to them unharmed.
As they ran, Ochako and Momo could both see just how deeply worried Mina and Kyouka both were, solely through their eyes. They weren't letting that consume them, as their faces were still solely focused on helping their group get further towards saving everyone that was counting on them. However, the fact that the friends they held so dear were in serious danger and had asked them to leave them behind was clearly weighing heavy on their minds. Nevertheless, the fact they were pushing themselves this hard in order to respect the wishes of their friends and allies, despite their emotional anguish, was entirely admirable.
Before long, they finally found themselves right back in another circular hallway like the one they had entered the Plant Factory from. Unfortunately, as Tenya was the first to discover, the steel shutters on this level had likewise all been shut, leaving them at yet another dead end.
"Oh, for gods' sakes, give us a break! What are we supposed to do? We're like rats caught in a trap here!" Minoru bemoaned at the realization of what a waste of time their efforts had ultimately proven to be. For once, even Denki couldn't help but agree with his diminutive friends' anguish: "Is this really as far as we're gonna get?"
However, while everyone else was watching their surroundings for some kind of clue, Izuku suddenly jolted with realization when he pointed to something a ways away: "Melissa-san, do you see something that looks like a door on the ceiling? Over there."
Following his gaze, everyone quickly noticed a small vent, and a similarly small door tucked against the edge of the ceiling. "Yes, that's the door to the maintenance room for the sunlight system!" All at once, everyone else's once defeated expressions lit up with realization that all was not lost.
"Wouldn't that have an emergency ladder for the maintenance crews to get to and from the maintenance room?" Tenya asked, but the moment Melissa confirmed there was indeed a ladder inside; Mina was already on the move, eagerly approaching Ochako.
"Urara-chan, I can handle this! If you can just use your Zero Gravity on me, I can get over there, melt the door and get the ladder down for the rest of us!" Ochako looked to be in full agreement with her pink friends' plan, already about to take her gravity away, before Kyouka suddenly stepped in.
"Hold on, girls! The whole reason Kolya-san and Todoroki-san are fighting is to essentially distract the Villains from our presence. If we risk opening any more doors, we could risk bringing even more of their forces down on us, not to mention whatever other security measures they have available. And if that were to happen, we'd be looking at a fight with two less powerhouses to help us." As she, Mina and Ochako looked to Melissa; she gave an unfortunate nod to confirm exactly what Kyouka was suggesting, leaving the pink and rosy-cheeked girls sighing with defeat.
"However, there is a way to open the door that wouldn't set off the security system. The only problem is that it can only be opened from the inside in order to do that." As Melissa explained this, Momos' eyes suddenly widened with realization.
"There may actually be a way we can work with that." As everyone turned to her for clarification, she suddenly created what looked like a star-shaped charge from the palm of her hand. With the push of the single button on its face, she proceeded to fling it right for the vent next to the door, where upon impact, it suddenly exploded, leaving the ventilation shaft completely open.
"With the vent being right next to the door, it's got to connect to the maintenance room through the outside of the tower. If someone could crawl through the vents and get in from the outside…" all at once, Ochako, Mina and Melissa all simultaneously lit up with realization, as they simultaneously exclaimed: "They'd be able to open the door from the inside and extend the ladder for us!"
All at once, as if their minds were now on the same wavelength, everyone's eyes focused on a very wary-looking Minoru, who clearly did not like where this discussion was going. "Whoa, hold on you guys, stop looking at me like that!"
However, Ochako, Kyouka and Mina were already on the move, steadily approaching him while he was fearfully backing away, half-expecting them to practically drag him kicking and screaming. "C'mon, Mineta-san, you know you're the only one that can fit in that small vent!" "Yeah, you're literally the only one who can do it!" "This is your chance to finally shine; don't you wanna at least try and go for it?"
However, despite the encouragement of three pretty girls, Minorus' sense of self-preservation wouldn't let him be talked into it, as his built-up fear finally exploded out of him: "ARE YOU ALL FREAKIN' INSANE?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HIGH UP WE ARE?! ONE GUST OF WIND AND I'M DONE FOR! FORGET IT! I'M NOT DOING IT!"
However, while the grape-haired boy was on the verge of having a terror-induced heart attack, Denki suddenly slipped in right behind him; placing an encouraging hand upon his shoulder, and giving him an encouraging smirk of confidence. "Think about it like this, Mineta: if you manage to pull this off and become a distinguished Hero as a result, then you'll definitely become a huge hit with the girls."
Minorus' fervent horror suddenly came to a complete stop, as though he were actually having to process what Denki was suggesting. Following the blonde boys' lead, albeit with great reluctance, the three girls leaned in further, giving Minoru no choice but to look them in the eyes. "Please! Please! Please!"
"Think about it, Mineta: harem! Harem! It could be right there waiting for you at the end of this if you just do it." With the insistence of the girls and Denkis' devious attempt at encouragement going into both his ears at once, Minoru finally grabbed onto the spheres of his hair for dear life, squirming with physical indecision between his own fear and his desire for popularity with girls.
"DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! FINE, I'LL DO IT! I JUST HAVE TO CLIMB AND OPEN THE DOOR, RIGHT?!" Without waiting for an answer, Minoru plucked two spheres of his hair from his scalp, launched himself from the walkway railing, and planted them against the side of the wall, before plucking yet more spheres of hair, and using them as makeshift handholds to bring himself higher and higher up, until he ultimately squirmed his way through the vent entrance, officially disappearing from sight, and leaving the rest of the group on the walkway to wait in anxious silence for him to come through for them.
"Hey, Kaminari-kun, who exactly were you picturing when you made that little harem promise to Mineta?" Mina suddenly asked to break the silence, catching Denki by surprise to see all the girls, but Melissa, were now staring at him with particularly judgmental eyes.
"Yes, we never exactly addressed that little stunt you two pulled with the cheerleader uniforms at the Sports Festival, did we?" Kyouka stated in full agreement, her earphone jacks momentarily starting to rise, ready to strike at him now that it was out in the open.
"H-hey now, don't start making assumptions, I wasn't meaning anything specific by it. I mean, c'mon, there's bound to be more than a few lady Heroes down at the party. Once we save them, I could just say Mineta is the one to thank, and he can ogle them and whatnot. You guys don't need to worry, honest!" Denki finished up by bringing his palms together as though he were asking for penance.
Of course, such a forced display of innocence made it obvious to all the girls that he was just plain full of it and didn't want to get an earphone jack to the head. But before anything else could be said or done, another explosion suddenly tore through the maintenance door above, quickly followed by an extending ladder from the smoke.
"Oh man, he actually came through! Oh, thank god!" Denki muttered in relief to himself as everyone immediately got to work making their way up.
As each one of them made their way up into the maintenance room, especially the girls, Minoru stood with an especially self-satisfied smile on his face. "No need for everyone to praise me all at once, just the ladies will do, just the ladies."
Of course, Kyouka, Momo and Mina couldn't hide their distaste at his attitude, but to their surprise, as well as Denkis' and Minorus', when Melissa came up, she immediately gave the tiny boy the most grateful smile he'd ever received from anyone: "You were incredible, Mineta-san. Just as to be expected from a future Hero."
As she continued the rest of her way from the ladder, Minoru looked like he was about ready to die and go straight to heaven, joyful tears in his black eyes as he let out the faintest squeal, before just as suddenly striking a fully motivated thumb up to the air, looking like a totally different person altogether: "WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR, PEOPLE!? LET'S GET FIRED UP AND DO THIS!"
Even after the girls had been once more put off by his perverted nature seconds ago, his newfound enthusiasm couldn't help but be contagious to everyone else, as they all gave a similar courageous fist to the air and resultant cheer in response, before finally continuing on their way for the top floor at last.
Top Floor Control Room
"What the hell, man, you still haven't managed to catch those brats?" This was all the sword-handed Villain could say the moment he'd decided to check in on his teammate manning the security system for the whole tower, only to find the now slightly smaller bunch of Yuuei students and the daughter of David Shield still running free through the halls, only now they were aware of the eyes on them, as one of their bunch was systematically destroying the cameras with what looked like earphone jacks from her earlobes.
"Damn it! The boss sent two over to take care of the bunch in the Plant Factory on the 80th floor, but they're putting up more of a fight than we expected." As the Villain manning the controls hurriedly explained this while trying to keep a bead on the ones further up the tower, the sword-handed one decided to step away before ringing up his own earpiece.
"Hey, 80th floor; the rest of those brats are getting away! What the hell's the holdup?"
Plant Factory
"Shut up! We're trying to deal with the bunch still here!" The hulking purple Villain argued into his own earpiece while trying to make out the state of the field through the smoke of their ongoing battle. The sound of something zipping through the air drew his attention, just in time to find the hotheaded blonde boy with the explosions come screeching down from above, his hands at the ready for a downward explosive strike. "DIE!"
The explosions ripped and tore across the Villain as he took the brunt of the impact; however he was just as quick on the retaliation, as he soared upwards and brought his massive fists down to the ground, creating a massive shockwave that uprooted the very brickwork, sending Bakugo flying back from the wind force.
However, where Bakugo was blown away, Nikolay came swooping right in, timing his propulsions through his feet to go from a mid-air run to precise mid-air jumps, before flipping himself over and aiming his hands and feet precisely to fire through them so that he could launch the very same uprooted debris right back in the Villains' ugly mug, each one nailing him squarely where the Russian boy intended to aim, and hitting him hard as he tried to force his way through the frustration and pain each deflection filled him with.
Once Nikolay couldn't keep himself in the air and landed back on his now bare feet, having long since destroyed his shoes and lower pant legs, the Villain let out a furious roar as he launched himself into the air, ready to drive his fists into the boys' head and drive him square through the ground like a hammer and nail.
However, the young Slav was just as alert, hopping up and firing his hands forward to launch himself backward and out of the way, just in time for Bakugo to come soaring right back into the fight, firing another chain of explosions straight into the purple brutes' face, forcing him further and further back, only to be met with a face-full of explosions with each retreating step.
At the same time across the battlefield, Shoto found himself sliding this way and that on his ice in an attempt to escape the lankier Villains' air hollowing sphere every single step he could take. His attacks were relentless and quick, giving Shoto little time to strategize, let alone counter with an attack from either of his sides.
However, after sliding as far as he could get at breakneck speed, it at least allowed him a chance to fire a line of ice right for his own target, but the Villain was just as quick on his feet, launching himself up and spinning like a cyclone past every ice spire Shoto could make, letting loose with his attacks with every move, until eventually all that was left was several perfect spheres of ice rolling harmlessly across the floor.
Soon, all three Yuuei boys found themselves with their backs to each other once more, all of them trying to maintain a steady breathing pattern as the Villains continued to circle them like a pair of especially bold apex predators.
"The skinny one…his Quirk isn't necessarily erasing space…he's essentially hollowing it out." Shoto stated to his two allies, while Nikolay likewise focused his eyes on that same Villain, and Bakugo was staring down brute ahead.
"Is that how it is? Damn it, these bastards just won't stop! I can't keep playing with you assholes forever!" With the beginnings of a flame beginning to spark within his palms, Bakugo swiftly fired himself up and over to his massive target, firing a rapid chain of explosions from one hand after the other, launching himself into a fiery spin, while the hulking Villain already began to charge at him in kind.
"HOWITZER…IMPACT!" With this bellowing war cry, Bakugo finally stopped detonating from his palms just long enough to emerge from the fiery cyclone he'd engulfed himself in, hand outstretched just as the Villain was right in his face, and with that explosive buildup behind him, he proceeded to let loose with the biggest explosion yet, consuming them both in the devastating inferno.
Once the flames had given way to smoke, the purple brute had emerged flying from it, reverted back to his much shorter self, before crashing listlessly to the floor. Nikolay, for once, actually felt relief to see Bakugo emerge victorious, however the moment was more than short-lived, as the now one remaining Villain, upon realizing he was now on his own, was already on the counter-offensive, firing a veritable cyclone of his air hollowing sphere right for the explosive boy now standing motionless.
"Bakugo!" Shoto exclaimed the moment he realized he was too far away and a fraction of a second too late to make another ice wall to absorb the strike. However, in that same fraction of a moment, acting on complete reactive impulse upon realizing the luck of his own position, Nikolay had fired himself across the Villains' attack trajectory just soon enough to turn himself around and fire another blast from one hand in Bakugos' direction, only strong enough to knock him out of the way to where only the left sleeve of his outfit got torn away by the attack.
The Villain was already reeling his arms in preparation for another barrage to take both Bakugo and Nikolay out of the picture, but a momentary glance to the inside of his webbed arms revealed not only several dark red fragments of the now vanished sleeve, but also several droplets of a liquid unlike water. "What the hell?"
"It's the sweat from my palms, asshole. It's like nitroglycerin." The Villain turned utterly pale in the face once he saw the knowing smirk on Bakugos' face, as though getting blown out of the way and losing a sleeve was all part of his own plan. At the same time upon this realization on the Villains' part, Shoto was likewise quick to act, swinging his left arm with a fiery blaze sent right at the stunned Villains' position, for him to only realize what was about to happen far too late.
BKOOOOM!
The resulting explosion shook the entire Plant Factory from top to bottom as the Villain was completely engulfed in the apocalyptic fireball, leaving Shoto, Bakugo and Nikolay ultimately standing victorious as the smoke finally cleared. The Villains' body literally bounced off the ground as he flew from the epicenter of the explosion, only for Shoto to swiftly lay another patch of ice, engulfing him in midair from the chest down, completely immobilized before he could even realize what had just happened.
However, the three boys couldn't let the sensation of a hard-earned victory sink in, as Nikolay quickly turned his attention to the massive dent in the nearby wall, where Eijirou was still planted firmly against it, forming what he had once heard Denki describe as the 'T-pose'. He, Shoto and Bakugo hurried over to the grimacing red-haired boy, who for all intents and purposes didn't look to be hurt, but after what they had just gone through, none of them were willing to leave that to chance.
"Kirishima-san—"Are you alright?" Shoto and Bakugo immediately opened up, while Nikolay rushed in, looking over his closest friend among the bunch, especially worried, as Eijirou finally managed to speak. "I…I can't move. Help me."
"That's because of your Quirk, you moron. Just turn it off." At Bakugos' notice, Eijirous' once grimacing face went slack with embarrassed realization, before the crystallization of his body quickly faded, and he pried himself out of the perfect indentation he'd left in the wall.
"That was a hell of a hit you just took, Kirishima-san. Are you sure you're alright? You had me worried there." Nikolay finally admitted as he helped brush a bit of the dust from the shoulder of a smiling Eijirous' suit jacket.
"Well, my head's still kinda ringing, but other than that I've never felt better. Still, that really surprised me back there." While he was already laughing the whole thing off, Shoto just sighed with his own subtle relief. "I'm just glad you're uninjured."
"It's just a good thing that Quirk of yours is based solely on not getting your ass kicked in a first round knockout, Hair-For-Brains." While Bakugo still had that typical sneer and abrasive way of speaking; miraculously, the real intent behind his words was clearly more supportive than it sounded, ultimately being his own way of expressing relief Eijirou hadn't been hurt. Hell, for once, even Nikolay could pick up on it. And to further cement it, when Bakugo turned his back on the trio, for a moment he was silent, before letting out the quietest "thanks." At this, Eijirou and Nikolay alike both actually found themselves smiling at what they were hearing.
At least, that was until Bakugo decided to set his red eyes on the Russian boy in question, and the sneer quickly dissolved into that common infuriated baring of his teeth as he began making a beeline for him. "As for you, you Bolshevik bastard, the next time you find yourself in a battle, instead of just crow-barring yourself into someone else's fight to make yourself feel useful, how about you actually try using your so-called skills for someone who actually needs help!? I had that purple prick handled; I didn't need you to interject yourself for me!"
All at once, that sense of a slightly better understanding toward Bakugo as a person was replaced by that same festering indignation, as Nikolay felt all that old anger come rushing right back. "Are you serious right now?! We barely got out of that fight in one piece, and you're suddenly going to get in my face just for trying to make sure you didn't get yourself killed?! That monster had you on the ropes and we all know it! The least you could do is at least acknowledge that I was just trying to help end this fight that much faster, because the rest of our classmates are heading further up this damn tower as we speak, probably facing all kinds of problems that they need our help with, but we can't do that for them, because we're wasting time down here arguing!"
Suddenly, the sound of a multitude of moving metal parts began to echo across the Plant Factory, forcing all four boys to divert their attention from the growing argument, only to now find themselves faced by a quickly growing army of nearly a hundred red cylindrical spider-like robots staring them down. Bakugo, Shoto and Eijirou were already getting their fists at the ready as they took in their odds. "Looks like the Villains are really starting to get serious."
At the same time, Nikolay was darting his eyes all around, taking in how many robots they could each manage to take on by themselves, before turning his attention back to Shotos' ice column, and the suspended walkway and nearby ladder extending from the ceiling. That was the best sign he could ask for that the others had gotten out safely. Now was just a matter of buying them the kind of window where they could follow after them.
Turning his attention back to the threat at hand, a thought suddenly occurred to him: "Todoroki-san, the rule about us not legally being allowed to fight Villains; do you know if that extends to machinery that's essentially been hijacked by Villains from a distance?"
Even though he didn't take his eyes off the robots, a look of contemplation and realization flashed across Shotos' face. "No, I'm pretty sure it doesn't, as a matter of fact." As though he was already starting to understand what his Russian ally was thinking, Shoto began to open his right hand.
"Like it makes a goddamn bit of difference; I'll smash these buckets of bolts myself!" Bakugo exclaimed as he was already beginning to reel his right hand back to unleash hell on the robotic masses.
SHHHKK!
Just as Bakugo was about to take his leaping charge, a massive cylinder of ice suddenly encircled the area around them and extended up into the air well over their heads, essentially sealing them inside. Just as he and Eijirou were about to ask what Shoto thought he was doing, Nikolay suddenly fired himself up from the ground, rapidly firing from his palms the entire way up, shattering the ice cylinder piece-by-piece from the ground up, and sending a torrent of large ice crystals flying outward with every blast, and straight into the robot masses all around them.
Within seconds, Nikolay had reached the top and reduced the entire ice cylinder to nothing, before finally falling back to the ground below, where Eijirou was quick to catch him and set him back on his feet while the Russian boy was trying to get through his spell of dizziness from such sudden excessive use of his Quirk and extensive spinning motion all at once.
Once he could see straight again, he could see, with a look of immense relief, that his idea had actually worked, and that 360-degree ice dispersal attack had managed to destroy all the robots they had been faced with, either run through or crushed under the torrent of ice he'd sent their way.
Just as he was about to suggest to his three allies that they start trying to catch up with the others, his ears caught wind of one more mechanical whirring just behind him. His head turned on an alerted swivel to find one final robot suddenly lunging for him, too fast for either him or Shoto to effectively counter.
SLAM!
A lightning-fast jab from the hardened shard of Eijirous' fist drove straight into the robots' side, practically folding it in half from the force behind it, and sending it crumpling into a pile of scrap in seconds. As the red-haired boys' intense expression instantly softened alongside his fist, he looked to his Russian friend and gave him a supportive smile and thumb up. "You missed one. Still, that was some pretty badass teamwork, Kolya-san, Todoroki-san; right, Bakugo?"
Everyone instinctively turned to see what, if anything, Bakugo had to say in response to the last-minute all-around save Nikolay and Shoto had just done for them. His face was still twisted with that sneer, his red eyes practically burning through the two boys in question. His whole body was barely trembling as his fingernails dug into his palms; his fists were clenched so tightly.
His body physically couldn't allow him to say so, but the honest truth was that, yes, that had been some damn good teamwork in crowd control…only it had to come from the half-and-half and the commie crybaby, of all people. That was the one thing, aside from his own sense of pride, that was keeping him from simply thanking or congratulating the two.
Suddenly, yet more mechanical whirring began to echo across the entire factory, and taking in their surroundings, the four boys found themselves quickly becoming surrounded, this time by even more robots than before. Bakugo was of course already beginning to get his hands at the ready, but while Nikolay was likewise starting to get into his fighting stance again, it became clear to him just what this really was.
"Guys, we can't afford to stay here. There's no telling just how many of these things the Villains could send at us if we stay and fight; this is ultimately nothing more than their attempt to distract us. We need to focus on getting back to the others up the tower." Thankfully, while Bakugo would've clearly been happy to stay and fight, Shoto and Eijirou completely understood where Nikolay was coming from.
Upon realizing he was ultimately the odd man out in this unspoken decision, Bakugo gritted his teeth with frustration. "Goddammit…FINE!"
BKOOOM!
With a deafening chain of explosions, Bakugo proceeded to launch himself higher and higher toward the ladder extending from the ceiling, while Eijirou jumped in front of Nikolay, who proceeded to fire both his hands just short of point blank against his back, launching the red haired boy like a cannonball for the ladder as well.
From there, Shoto proceeded to send himself upward with a plume of fire from his left side, while Nikolay likewise launched himself upwards, slamming hard against the ladder at the same time as he was clutching it for dear life upon impact. Soon, all four boys were hurriedly making their way up each rung; in their own ways all silently hoping they wouldn't be too late in case the others had, indeed, run into trouble.
Top Floor Control Room
"Hey, I managed to dig up some info on those kids that have been causing trouble. Get this, with the exception of Professor Shields' kid, the rest of them are all Yuuei students. Genuine Hero reserves!"
The Villain manning the security system sounded downright shaken to know they were now officially dealing with more than a handful of genuine Hero students, while his sword-handed compatriot could only start chewing on his thumbnail in frustrated contemplation while referring all this info through his earpiece to their leader down below. "Those brats are probably on their way up here to try and restart the security system."
He could practically hear the plotting gears turning in their leaders' head as he took this new information into consideration. "You started the security drones on the 80th floor, right?"
"Yes, sir." "Then raise all the partitions on floors 100 to 130."
He couldn't help but do a double take to make sure he had actually heard their leader correctly, and it was almost as though the man himself could just sense his underlings' skepticism: "Just do as I say."
110th Floor
"Hey, doesn't it seem like we suddenly got really lucky? We haven't come across one closed shutter for a while now." Denki eventually asked once he and the others had finally reached and passed the 100th floor, only to this time find not a single steel shutter slammed in their faces on any of the floors that followed.
"Yeah, if we can keep this pace up, we might actually reach the top floor in no time!" Minoru proclaimed eagerly, while those like Kyouka, Izuku, Momo and Tenya weren't allowing themselves to let their guards down or drop their running pace.
"Do you think it's possible the Villains lost track of us?" Ochako asked, somewhere between optimism and skepticism.
"Not likely. They have cameras on every single floor." Kyouka reminded her, while Mina was clearly thinking back with a troubled look in her eyes. "It's possible they might be trying to lead us somewhere they can get the drop on us. That's what Nezu-sensei tried to do to us at the final exam." This particular reminder made Denkis' previous excitement fall flat with painful remembrance, and realization of just what they could potentially be walking into.
"Either way, even if it's just to get a little further up, we'll go where they want us to go." Izukus' statement of intent was resolute, inspiring that much further dedication and confidence in his comrades as they continued on, readying themselves for whatever obstacles would stand in their way.
130th Floor, Laboratory
Indeed, just as had been altogether suggested by everyone, once they had reached the 130th floor, they soon found themselves looking through the double doors to a T-shaped causeway next to a spiraling column structure, and the walkway was littered with several dozen of the security drones.
"There are so many!" Izuku muttered in grim realization of the challenge that was just waiting for them on the other side, while Tenya stood in similar resignation. "Looks like instead of trying to seal us in, the enemy has settled on just straight-out capturing us."
"If they're resorting to those kinds of measures, it must mean they've realized we're Yuuei students by now." Izuku said in realization, while Momo closed her eyes to focus.
"In that case, we know what to expect, as well." Without another word, she began to produce a glowing sphere from out her back, until it popped away from her body, and swiftly turned into an expansive insulation sheet that draped over her and the rest of the students but Tenya, Denki and Minoru.
The class president himself, nodded with acceptance, thinking back to what they had all discussed on their way up to this floor. "Right, then we'll proceed with Plan A. Kaminari-san, we're all depending on you."
With a confident smirk, and an encouraging thumb up from Minoru, Denki brought both his hands forward. "I'm counting on you too, Iida-san." With that, Tenya proceeded to grab onto Denkis' wrists, and the moment the doors to the walkway opened, he proceeded to rev up his engines in his legs, and kick himself off into a single-point blinding spin with Denki in hand, before ultimately letting go and sending the young sparkplug high into the air over all the robots' heads.
"Take this! Indiscriminate Shock 1.3 Million Volts!"
The moment his feet finally landed dead center among the robots, Denkis' entire body exuded a blinding electrical storm that covered the whole expanse of the lab. However, the robots immediately ducked their heads into their armored bodies, which Izuku could spot even from a distance from under the insulation sheets' protection. "Kaminari-san, they're defending!"
"Damn it…then how about this: 2 MILLION VOLTS!" with that, the electrical storm only proceeded to grow that much brighter and that much more intense, even as Kyouka finally took a look for herself to look on in disbelief.
"No, you idiot! If you do that, you know what happens next!" Within the next few seconds, the electrical storm finally ran its course, and the laboratory grew dim once again, filled with the stench of scorched metal, while Denki now lay motionless among the mass of now fried out robots, with that giggling dopey grin on his face.
"Well, even at the cost of that, it looks like his attack actually worked. The robots have all been short-circuited." Izuku noted as he and the others finally stepped out into the lab, seeing, to their relief, that none of the robots were indeed moving. Denki had essentially just bought them their one ticket to keep moving.
BZZZT!
Suddenly, every single one of the robots popped their heads back out from their armored centers, and immediately fired a multitude of bindings ropes around Denkis' listless body. His attack had been completely useless.
"Dammit, Kaminari! These things are too tough!" Minoru cried out in horror that they were now surrounded and exposed, just as Tenya once more took charge: "Everyone, we have no choice! We go to Plan B!"
"Right!" As Momo gave her understanding, she and the rest of the students quickly reached into their respective outfits, pulling out a single red cylinder they quickly twisted and snapped in half, before throwing them into the mass of robots, resulting in a multitude of thick sparkling clouds of smoke to quickly fill the laboratory. "These smoke bombs should be able to interfere with their sensors and communications for a little time."
"Mineta-san!" Izuku ordered, and with a furious cry of desperation, Minoru proceeded to start plucking his hairballs from his scalp again, throwing them en masse at the approaching robots, sticking their wheels helplessly to the floor. "Give Kaminari back, dammit! He's got a harem waiting, too!"
The moment he could see the forward line of robots was immobilized, Izuku quickly turned back: "Ashido-san, thin their numbers out!"
"Got it!" Without hesitation, Mina began building up two large globs of acid in both her hands as she began sliding to and fro between the immobilized robots as fast as she could go, using the coating on her hands as a last line of defense against any ensnaring ropes the robots around tried to fire at her as she passed. At the same time, she proceeded to start swinging her arms in a sweeping arc with every turn, splashing more and more of her acid on the robots unlucky enough to be close to her, easily melting through their armor and circuitry, rendering them all completely lifeless every time.
With the majority of robots occupying the other walkways and the central platform systematically having gotten melted, now the students were simply left with the robots on the central walkway itself to deal with. However, what numbers were still there weren't deterred, as they instead began joining up at the sides, and ultimately formed a blockade spanning the width of the walkway, while others jumped over the barricade and began barreling for the students.
"Oh, for crying out loud, these things just won't stop!" Minoru exclaimed in petrified disbelief, before Tenya dutifully stepped forward, with Izuku at his side. "Midoriya-san, let's make an opening!"
With an agreeing nod, Izuku tore away the jacket of his suit, revealing the red bracelet on his right wrist as he pressed the button upon it, all while focusing his power at the same time; sparks beginning to emanate from his body once more. "One For All…Full Cowl! Full Gauntlet!"
The bracelet immediately glowed and encompassed his entire forearm, returning to the fully armored gauntlet as it had before in Melissa's lab. With his eyes focused on the obstacle ahead, and the power of his Quirk burning through his entire body to a degree he'd never felt before, he had to make the psychological effort to keep it restrained, even despite knowing the full extent of power his new tool granted him. "First, 30% of my full power…SMASH!"
The moment before impact, with that very amount he'd commanded through every fiber of his being channeled into Full Gauntlet, Izuku threw his right arm straight into the first of the robots leading the charge, channeling a massive shockwave of impact that tore through the entire laboratory, sending every single one of the remaining robots flying helplessly. As he saw the immediate aftermath of what he'd just done, even through his laser focus, Izuku couldn't help but feel overcome with disbelief. 'I…I actually did it! The Full Gauntlet really works! My arm doesn't hurt or anything!'
As the robots plummeted out of their way, Denki was still flying listlessly through the air as well, only to be caught by Tenya and brought back to the other students unharmed. "Jirou-san, can you hear anything? Are there anymore coming?"
With some time having been bought to breathe, Kyouka had her earphone jacks planted in the floor again, listening intently, only to dart back up in full alertness. "There's more coming up from the left walkway!"
"Alright, then we have no choice but to take the right walkway! Let's move, Class 1-A!" With Tenyas' command, everyone immediately began sprinting forward with fire in their hearts, all effectively emboldened by the incredible display of power Izuku had just displayed to get them another way through.
"Wait, guys!" Mina suddenly called up to her classmates, and just as they began to come to a stop to ask what was going on, she immediately doubled back and proceeded to conjure up more thick acid in her hands before throwing two arcing splashes of it across the aforementioned walkway Kyouka had warned them of, soon dissolving the entire thing and leaving enough of a gap between them and the door that even the robots wouldn't be able to jump. Returning to her clearly grateful classmates, Mina couldn't help but smile brightly: "That should at least buy us a little extra time."
With several thankful nods from her friends, they all once more proceeded onward, further emboldened by their handling of each obstacle that had been put in their path thus far.
"What's with your arm all of a sudden, Deku-kun? That was amazing!" Ochako couldn't help but express with admiration, while Izuku was simply too excited to blush at being complimented by her. "It really was, wasn't it? Full Gauntlet works perfectly, Melissa-san!"
"Oh, you actually brought it along with you, Deku-san?" The surprise in her voice was unmistakable, to which the freckled boy couldn't help but chuckle in slight embarrassment. "Actually, I didn't know how to take it off before we had to get here."
As funny as such a moment normally would have been, nobody dared slow down to laugh, all simply too focused on moving forward and saving the day, every victory leaving them more and more inspired to give their all and beyond as future Heroes.
Reception Hall
With every minute that passed that his men weren't telling him the Yuuei students had been captured, the Villain leader felt his already limited patience growing thinner and thinner. When his earpiece once again rang, he answered before it could even finish its first pitched note, anxious for some kind of progress. "Anything yet?"
"Boss, there's something messing with the sensors on the security drones! We've lost track of those kids, and we haven't gotten any updates from the men on the 80th floor at all! I think they've been beaten!"
In his head, the leader was beyond fuming with anger, but on the surface, his stone-like stillness betrayed any such emotion to anyone else. He had to keep his composure. Even if this wrench in the works was proving more and more troublesome, that still wasn't going to interfere with their mission. "Don't lose your presence of mind. If what you've been telling me up to this point is accurate, then it's likely there's someone among those brats with some kind of hearing Quirk."
137th Floor
The students had been forced to carry Denki along like human luggage since they had escaped the 130th floor laboratory, but that wasn't deterring them as they continued up each subsequent stairwell. After a handful, Kyouka had decided to stop and investigate for any potential traps lying in wait for them. Those few precious moments of silence left many of them growing anxious, but no less ready to keep fighting after having managed thus far.
As she listened through the walls, Kyoukas' brow furrowed with tension. "I hear a lot of those drones' wheels coming up from the floors below. They're probably going to be amassing somewhere up ahead."
"Can you hear anything from up above yet?" Izuku asked, to which Kyouka finally pulled her plugs from the walls, already getting up and ready to run. "No, it's clear so far."
"Right, then let's go!" With Tenyas' command, the group was on the move again, soon emerging through the doors of the 138th floor, within which they found an expansive hall lined with towering computer servers from floor to ceiling, probably running every system in the entirety of the tower.
Nevertheless, the students continued to run, only forcing themselves to a stop when the only doors ahead suddenly began to open before they were even halfway there. From the shadows soon emerged a multitude of well over a hundred robots, wheeling out like a veritable crimson wave to stand in the students' way.
"It's just like Kyouka-chan said, they set a trap!" Ochako exclaimed, already posturing herself to go on the attack alongside Mina, Momo and Kyouka, while Izuku, Melissa and Tenya were scanning the environment for anything to use to their advantage. "Let's break through, Iida-san!"
"Wait! If the servers here are damaged, it could potentially affect the security system. We might not be able to restart it if you fight in here!" Melissa's sudden explanation left nearly all the students wide-eyed with shock at the immense obstacle they now had to contend with, one that they literally couldn't afford to conquer with fighting.
Just to punctuate what they were up against, even more mechanical whirring drew all eyes up above, just in time to find several dozen more robots leaping from the floors above, landing with increasing power. "Just how many of these things are there?!" Minoru exclaimed, nearly on the verge of tears.
However, while Izuku was desperately trying to think of a plan, Momo suddenly stepped forward, a determined fist over her chest as she stared down their overwhelming number of enemies. "Midoriya-san, Shield-san, we'll hold the security drones here."
As Izuku was momentarily blindsided by this sudden suggestion, he looked in time to see Tenya likewise setting Denki down, while Ochako, Kyouka and Mina were beginning to step forward with equal intensity. "That's right, you two get moving and find a different route up."
Izuku could hear and see it in Tenyas' voice and all the girls' faces; their minds were unanimously made up, and he needed to act in order to respect the price they were risking to pay. "Melissa-san, let's go!"
Like a shot he was off, but as Melissa began to run after him, she suddenly stopped and turned back. "Ochako-san, come with us."
The gravity girl was snapped out of her determined stare, looking to the blonde girl confusedly, already on the verge of protesting, before Mina suddenly piped up: "Go with them, Urara-chan; we've got this!"
Ochako knew her pink friend well enough to know she wouldn't just say that to boast. If she thought they could handle it, and that Izuku and Melissa really needed her help, then Ochako needed to act on it. "Right. Please be careful, you guys."
As soon as she had left with them, the students that stayed behind immediately went into action, with Tenya focusing all his power into his legs for one all-encompassing attack. "RECIPRO BURST!"
With fire erupting from the pipes in his legs, the class president bolted up and over in the blink of an eye, driving his leg down in a devastating drop kick that produced a wind current so immense, it swept the first couple waves of robots right off the ground and straight into the wall like insects against a windshield.
With the next waves of robots already advancing, Momo, who had been kneeling for the last several seconds to focus on her next creation, finally managed to conjure up a sizeable cannon about Minorus' size, before turning to address a momentarily uncertain Kyouka. "Jirou-san…I'll leave handling this to you. I'll focus on creating ammo for you."
Emboldened by the responsibility and trust of their vice president, Kyouka hurriedly took command of the cannon while Momo focused on creating one small cannonball after another. With every shot Kyouka fired afterward, one robot was suddenly encased in an instantly drying glue, stopping one after another dead in its tracks.
At the same time, Minoru was fighting through his agonizing tears as he kept tearing his hairballs from atop his head, aiming for the ground before every approaching robot he could find, once again sticking them in place or knocking them over like turtles on their shell, all while screaming with anger and pain: "Dammit, I won't let you rust buckets rob me of my harem!"
All the while, Mina was once again sliding like a gust of wind between multiple robots, dodging or melting their ensnaring ropes, and sometimes even propelling herself into a spinning jump, using the robots' heads like springboards to kick herself back into a mid-air back flip, throwing more and more globs of acid from her hands onto the very same ones, melting the robots down in seconds, while still making sure not to let her pride in her minor victories stop her from constantly moving so she wouldn't get caught.
Unfortunately, the students could only keep up their attack formation for so long. Tenya had managed an admirable run with his Recipro Burst, annihilating over two dozen robots with a series of blindingly fast and devastating high and roundhouse kicks, but after ten seconds, the fires roaring from his legs suddenly sputtered out, the inevitable result of using his special move.
At the same time, as Kyouka kept focusing on firing again and again, she soon found herself run dry again, with the robots still advancing. "Yaomomo, ammo!" Unfortunately, as she reached back, she wasn't met with the normal feeling of Momo placing another round in her hand. Looking back, Kyoukas' focus changed to worry when she saw how out of breath and exhausted Momo now looked after having been focusing on creating nonstop for nearly an entire minute. "Forgive me, Jirou-san…I've reached my limit with Creation for now."
Instinctively looking up for some kind of confirmation on their situation, Kyouka quickly found Minoru now looking especially woozy, with blood now running down his face from his scalp. "I'm…I'm wiped out, too…"
"Kyouka-chan, look out!" Minas' voice cried out, and when Kyouka instinctively turned back to the threat at hand in response, she found two robots simultaneously leaping right for her, too close for her to counter with her earphone jacks.
PSSSSST!
Just before impact could be made, both robots were nailed in midair by a flurry of cloudy slimy globs, right before Kyouka found herself getting tackled out of the way before they crash landed, and immediately continued to melt into puddles of sizzling scrap. Kyouka was immediately back in the game as she felt Mina help her back to her feet.
However, at the moment she was doing so, she failed to notice another robot come wheeling in a rush from behind her, catching Mina completely unaware. It was only through Kyoukas' sense of alertness that she saw the next threat coming, and immediately fired her earphone jacks right past Minas' sides and directly into the robots' eye, firing the strongest pulse she could in that split second, shattering the robots' head from the inside out and sending it toppling over.
The two remaining girls looked to see the sheer number of robots they still had to contend with. And unfortunately, they had already ensnared Tenya, Momo and Minoru, effectively removing them from the picture.
Taking their odds into account, and then glancing over to the direction she knew Izuku, Melissa and Ochako had gone, Kyouka grimaced with realization and acceptance of what the only possible course of action was left that would best help them overall. "Mina-san, go after Midoriya-san and the others. I'll try to hold these things off as long as I can."
Kyouka kept her eyes on the approaching machines, readying herself for whichever one would make the first move, but she didn't even have to look to know the look of disbelief and refusal Mina had at what she was suggesting. "What?! No way, I'm not leaving you and the others behind like this, Kyouka-chan, not a chance!"
"Just listen, would you?! Between us, your reflexes and fighting ability with your Quirk are ultimately better. If Midoriya-sans' group runs into further trouble and they can't handle it, there's no telling what'll happen to the hostages. At least if you're there, they'll have that much more of a chance! So please, just listen to what I'm saying and go after them! I'll do what I can here, don't worry!"
Mina momentarily kept looking back between Kyouka and the doorway she knew the others had gone through, and back. Seeing the dead serious look in Kyoukas' eyes, silently begging for her to go after their friends, Mina sucked in a deep, reluctant breath through her teeth, fought back the beginning of hesitant tears, and quickly took off into a sprint that turned into another blindingly fast slide, immediately flinging more handfuls of acid at the nearest robots in her path, while Kyouka was hurriedly following her trajectory with carefully aiming her earphone jacks for whatever robots Mina missed. Doing this, within seconds, Mina had miraculously managed to make her way through the metallic mob for the doorway, and was immediately taking off after Izukus' group, leaving Kyouka sighing with relief, before once again turning her attention to the robots she was now going to fight tooth and nail to keep from chasing after them.
Top Floor Control Room
The sight of the security drones having slowly but surely overwhelmed the majority of the Yuuei students in the server room left the Villain manning the terminals chuckling in satisfaction. "Yeah, that's what I thought. That's what you punks get for getting all cocky."
However, as satisfied as he was with their own progress, his sword-handed compatriot was nowhere as lax after what he'd seen play out through the most recent confrontation. "Okay, so we managed to whittle their numbers down, but what about the four that ran away?"
This managed to diffuse the confident fire in his comrade, as he was already hard at work. "I'm trying to hone in on them now. There's only one place they could ultimately end up at, so I'm sending more drones to take them out there. The rest in the server room will take care of that last straggler in no time."
As faithful as he sounded in this last second strategy of his, the other Villain remained unconvinced, instinctively chewing on his thumbnail in aggravation. "These damn brats are so annoying."
138th Floor, Server Room
Kyoukas' combat reflexes were being given a run for their money, as she kept diving, rolling and flipping as best she could from every attack being sent her way, while taking every opening she could find to throw her earphone jacks into the nearest robot and hit it from the inside out with another concentrated pulse. However, these machines were relentless and doing the smart thing, and trying to attack her in groups, forcing the purple-haired girl to focus more on not getting caught, rather than whittling their numbers down.
Frankly, the fact she had somehow managed to destroy the robots holding Momo, Tenya and Minoru prisoner in the chaos of it all was nothing short of a miracle. She had lost sight of them in the chaos that followed, but she could only hope that meant they had managed to get themselves out of the scene of battle just long enough to recuperate and get back in to help her. In the meantime, she could only hope her hunch for a strategy was proving correct, and others weren't simply chasing after Mina and Izukus' group while she was stuck down here.
Unfortunately, before long, Kyouka suddenly found herself with her back against one of the support beams for the upper floors of the server room, and with numerous robots now encircling every route she could have taken forward to escape. With no way for her to go further back without risking this continuing fight damaging the servers, she ultimately let out a defeated sigh, at least able to take pride that she'd managed to hold her own for this long by herself. 'I did what I could, you guys. Just make sure you get to that control room and make this all worthwhile.'
All of a sudden, Kyouka began to feel the skin on her arms rise as the server room began to grow exceptionally cold. Lifting her head in curiosity, her eyes widened at the sight of a very familiar mist beginning to build in the doorway from whence they'd originally come. Before she could even think, she suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of Nikolays' accented voice from behind the mist: "Everybody, get out of the way!"
Like a switch had flipped in her head, Kyouka was immediately on the move, slipping her frame in between two servers. In that instant, a thundering bass-like boom echoed through the entire server room, as the mist suddenly shot out from the doorway and down the length of the room, engulfing all of the robots in it while Kyouka had just managed to avoid getting caught in it herself. Within seconds, the boom had run its course, and the mist had finally cleared. Realizing the coast was clear, Kyouka finally inched her way back out into the open to find the middle pathway of the server room had now frozen over, with all of the robots helplessly encased in ice in the process.
"Kyouka-san! Thank god you're okay!" The sound of Nikolays' approaching and deeply relieved voice couldn't have sounded sweeter than it did right now, as Kyouka was awash with relief of her own at the sight of him, Shoto, Eijirou and Bakugo making their way into the server room.
"Whoa, damn, this looks intense! Did you do all this before we got here, Jirou-san?" Eijirou asked in shock as he and Shoto were already in the process of undoing the binding ropes around Minoru, Momo and Tenya.
"No, we've been trying to keep these things distracted to buy Midoriya, Ochako, Mina and Shield-san time to get further up the tower. I can only hope they haven't run into any more trouble yet. Yaomomo and Minetas' Quirks are out for the count." As Kyouka explained this, the four returning boys looked to the only other doorway in here, knowing that had to be the way the others had gone, and they needed to catch up as soon as possible.
"Chances are the Villains are going to focus on trying to stop them more than anything else, so we need to hurry. Are you going to be alright looking after the others from here, Jirou-san?" Shoto asked matter-of-factly, to which Kyouka gave an affirming nod, still just grateful help had arrived in the nick of time.
Just as she began to head over to tend to Momo, Kyouka suddenly felt a single hand gently grab her shoulder, and she looked back with steadily widening eyes to find Nikolay giving her a very warm smile. "I'm glad you and the others are okay, Kyouka-san. Thank you for everything you did to help them. Seriously."
It wasn't a Shakespearean speech of gratitude, but by god, it might as well have been, if the way Kyouka felt her face heating up in instinctive response was anything to go by. However, she refused to let herself get wrapped up in it, as she put her own hand over his and gave him a grateful nod and confident smile of her own; giving the young Russian the confirmation he needed that they would be alright, to finally go off after the rest of his comrades to catch up with the others. Kyouka didn't even dare to think of not smiling in response to that little moment as she hurried the rest of the way to start tending to the rest of her classmates here.
Rooftop Wind Power Generator
Izuku, Melissa and Ochako hadn't even given thought to how many more floors they had ascended before they had suddenly found themselves back outside again on an open rooftop, whereupon a large tower stood in the center, with several wings made up of multiple wind turbines extending from its sides.
"Melissa-san, why did we take this route to end up here?" Izuku asked upon taking in the layout of what they were potentially working with, to which Melissa pointed straight up to the top of the turbine tower.
"If we continued the regular route through the interior of the tower, more security drones would just be waiting to stop us in our tracks. This way can provide us with a shortcut. This way, we can ascend straight to the top of the tower all at once, just so long as we can reach that emergency exit at the top."
Following her pointing finger, Izuku and Ochako quickly spotted, just as she'd said, a single door just behind the safety railing at the very top. The proverbial finish line was practically a hairs' breadth away.
Suddenly, the sound of hurriedly approaching footsteps spurred Izuku and Ochako to turn around on the defensive, only to be stricken with surprise at the sight of Mina sliding up to them through the door they'd just come out of, her eyes wide with anxiousness as she looked back to make sure she wasn't being followed. "M-Mina-chan, what are you doing here? Are the others okay?"
Ochakos' instinctive worried questions were only answered as Mina looked to her and Izuku with complete seriousness, barely coming to a stop from her slide to avoid crashing into them, she'd been in such a rush. "Those robots are relentless! Yaomomo and Mineta are worn down, and they captured Iida-san, too! Kyouka-chan pretty much begged me to join up with you guys in case you ran into anymore trouble! I don't know if those things are already chasing after me, but they're bound to show up sooner or later!"
The gravity of the time that was now against them registered in Izuku and Ochakos' eyes as it was, but none more so than Melissa, who turned to address her three allies with that same deeply-rooted determination on her visibly nervous face. "In that case, we need to hurry…and that's why I wanted you to come with us, Ochako-san. With your Zero Gravity Quirk, I know we can make it to the top without any further problems."
Ochako was visibly stricken with the sheer trust Melissa was placing in her at the final stretch of their journey…and that was what made her resolve that much stronger as she clenched her fists, ready to do whatever it took. "Understood! Melissa-san, just grab onto Deku-kun and hold on tight!"
The blonde young woman did as suggested, and the moment she knew she had a good hold, Ochako quickly moved in and put her hands to both her and Izuku, before giving them both the slightest push upward, sending them high and higher at a good enough pace. Watching as they continued to float up, Mina hurriedly joined Ochakos' side. "Once you're sure they've made it and give their gravity back, let's both float up to join them, Urara-chan. Those Villains are probably gonna fight harder than ever to keep them from reaching the control room. They're gonna need our help, no matter how strong Midori-kun is."
Ochako looked like she couldn't have agreed more, but before she could say so; both girls were stirred by the sound of a nearby door across the roof opening, revealing an incoming flux of over a dozen robots. "Oh, damn. Keep focusing on getting them to the top, Urara-chan! I'll keep these things off your back!"
As Ochako kept her eyes on her two friends up above, Mina quickly charged into an attacking slide, darting from side to side and throwing a handful of acid with each turn, either melting the robots legs out from under them, or just melting their center masses away entirely. Even as they kept coming and forcing Mina to get more creative with her evasive tactics, she wasn't letting them gain any ground.
At least, this was what she had hoped she was accomplishing, focusing on dealing with the major concentration of robots, rather than the one that actually managed to get past her side as she was focused on not getting ensnared in any of their ropes. As such, this one straggler was managing to close in on Ochako, and the gravity girl didn't even realize it, until a momentary glance back from Mina made her realize her own carelessness. "Urara-chan, behind you!"
Minas' cry had even managed to reach up to Izuku and Melissa, as when they looked down to see Ochako so open and defenseless, they likewise couldn't help but react: "Ochako-san, undo your Quirk and run away! Hurry!"
"No! If I do that, you guys can't get to the top and save everyone! We'll be fine!" It was an incredible show of bravery for Ochako to declare as much so confidently, even as she looked back to see the one robot rushing in to attack her. All the while, left with no other choice, Izuku was staring intently up at the approaching emergency exit above, silently begging himself to go faster and faster, in the hope that he'd be able to make it just soon enough for Ochako to undo her Quirk and use it to save herself. It was literally screaming through every inch of his brain.
At the same time, Mina was continuing to try and melt down as many of the approaching robots as she could, but their numbers were somehow starting to become too much even for her, as her continuous sliding, throwing and splashing could only hit so many, and more and more just seemed to keep replacing the ones she was hitting. The fact she had to focus on keeping any more from getting close to Ochako, despite the one that had gotten lucky, was only making the gravity of their situation that much worse.
BKOOOM!
At the moment the one robot had finally lunged for Ochako, it was suddenly blasted into a thousand fiery smithereens, as to Ochako and everyone else's shock, Bakugo had come flying in from practically out of nowhere to meet that very same bucket of bolts with an explosive palm at the ready.
Before anyone could even say his name, his attack was quickly followed by an unmistakable deep BWOOOM tearing through the air, practically sweeping the majority of the mob of robots about to swarm Mina, right off the ground and over the edge of the tower, all plummeting helpless the nearly 150 stories to the ground below.
Once Mina removed her arms from her face as a reaction to the massive air current in order to better see what was happening, she felt her entire body lighten from all her worry and fear to see Nikolay rushing out from the same direction Bakugo had just come in, closely followed by Shoto and Eijirou as well, laying down another glacier path to take out most of the remaining robots, and smashing into the others or throwing them into each other, respectively.
"You guys…you actually made it!" Izuku called down in immense relief at the sight of his four classmates safe and sound, and bringing the much needed fight to give the girls much more breathing room and support.
"Of course, we weren't about to let you guys do all the fighting for us, you know!" Eijirou called up confidently as he hurriedly grabbed a leaping robot and flung it into a couple others, while Bakugo was propelling himself back and forth across the air with numerous explosions to lay waste to every robot he could find.
All the while, Nikolay and Shoto were working in tandem, with the Russian boy creating a massive wind front with each of Shotos' ice and fire attacks to either immobilize or incinerate each new set of robots making their way onto the roof. Their assault wasn't stopping, but the newly arrived Yuuei students weren't giving them an inch of ground. Watching this, even Eijirou couldn't help but comment with an approving smile: "You know; you two actually make a pretty cool team!"
"Shut up and keep fighting, Weird Hair! These rust buckets aren't gonna just wait for you to get back in it!" Bakugo snapped when he saw the red-haired boy momentarily distracted, quickly bringing him back to attention just in time to cross and harden his arms to absorb another lunging robots' strike, before just as quickly driving that same fist straight into its head.
For all the progress they were making, keeping the robots from closing in on Ochako and Mina, the fact remained that more and more of the damn things just kept coming, no matter how many got blown to bits or swept over the towers' edge. This soon became completely apparent to the boys, as Shoto, Bakugo and Eijirou quickly turned to address their peers. "We'll keep holding these things off! You all focus on just getting up to the top, alright?"
Eijirous' suggestion was loud and clear, and while Nikolay looked uncertain of leaving them behind, he was quickly spurred to attention when Mina grabbed his shoulder with considerable urgency. "We have no idea what the Villains in the control room might have waiting for Midori-kun and Melissa-chan once they get up there, Kolya-kun! We and Urara-chan should go up after to give them backup!"
With everything they had gone through already to get this far, there was no way Nikolay could have ever called such a scenario hyperbole. With a fully understanding glimmer in his eye, he focused his eyes on Izuku and Melissa above, and quickly got himself into his normal launching position, the only signal Mina needed to know it was time to get on his back and get ready.
The moment he felt her arms holding on firmly from over his shoulders, and with the desire to catch up with his friends up above in time, Nikolay immediately launched himself and Mina skyward, while Eijirou, Shoto and Bakugo were continuing to expertly keep up the offense/defense against the security drones.
Even as they were finally starting to near the emergency exit, glancing down to see Nikolay and Mina ascending to join their side left Izuku and Melissa with a growing sense of gratitude for the assured assistance against whatever was waiting for them beyond that door.
FWOOOSH!
All of a sudden, Izuku felt himself and Melissa getting thrown like paper dolls right off course in the face of a sudden gust of wind. From down below, Ochako immediately spotted this, just at the same time as Shoto did, and he immediately went into action, rushing in and tearing away his own suit jacket as his eyes focused on one of the nearby turbine wings. "Bakugo, use your explosions to aim one of the turbines at Midoriya-san!"
"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, DAMMIT!" Despite this rebellious outburst, Bakugo still proceeded to fire himself at full speed towards the same wing, throwing a multitude of explosions at the first turbine he could see, which managed to dislodge it from its place just enough to where it was now pointed in the direction Izuku and Melissa were currently flying against their will.
With not a moment wasted, Shoto proceeded to ignite the entirety of his left arm and throw it forward, sending a huge plume of fire straight into the spinning turbine, resulting in a colossal front of hot wind erupting from the other side, hitting Izuku and Melissa full-on, and altering their trajectory to where they were now free-floating right for the side of the tower they had previously been going for.
Seeing this miraculous save for their friends, Nikolay proceeded to starting firing from his feet with every stepping motion he made, breaking into another mid-air run right for the same spot Izuku and Melissa were heading for, with Mina still hanging on tight and practically aglow with anticipation for whatever was going to come next.
"Deku-san, we're about to crash into the wall!" Melissa's urgent cry brought Izuku back to full attention after the initial shock of how Shoto had saved their lives. With his eyes focused on the quickly approaching solid wall, his eyes fell once more to the Full Gauntlet on his arm.
At that moment, he quickly recalled one of the most important details Melissa had told him of it: it was only going to be able to handle the full power of All Mights' punches three times. With the power of his Quirk once again beginning to channel all across his body, and focusing on the one spot of the wall they were about to hit, Izuku knew this wasn't going to be like the laboratory, he couldn't afford to treat it the same. 'No holding back this time…I have to use up one of my punches here!'
"One For All: Full Cowl! DETROIT…SMASH!"
With the sparks emanating from his right arm as his body glowed bright with sheer power, Izuku threw his right arm directly into the wall, producing a deafening blast of pure force that produced a cloud of smoke and rubble resembling more an artillery barrage than anything else.
Nikolay and Mina couldn't even see Izuku or Melissa through the plume, but that ultimately didn't matter. The fact was that they had broken through to the top floor, and they were going in with them. This was it, the one true final stretch to finally stopping these Villains and saving everyone on I-Island, and they had each other and every single one of their friends down below to thank for making any of this possible. They were still risking everything with each moment, but the fear that fact would have once inspired was nowhere to be seen or heard from. They knew this was what it meant to be a real Hero, and they were ready to embrace it with everything they had as they rushed into the plume after their friends.
Reception Hall
"What the hell do you mean several of those kids made it to the top floor?! That settles it, I'm coming up myself! Send Swordkil to deal with those brats until I arrive! Keep protecting the control room!" The leader of the Villains was, for once, now genuinely infuriated as he loaded his pistol upon hearing the news, storming for the doors with several of his thugs in tow, leaving only a handful more to keep watch over the guests, many of them still too frightened to even verbally express relief that at least some of the Villains had left.
All the while, after having spent so much of this time trying to focus on everything he could hear the Villain leader saying, Oleg couldn't help but notice the increasingly labored-sounding breathing of All Might. The all too faint sound of steam beginning to emanate was also impossible for him of all people to miss. This was the worst possible timing for this part, especially. For all intents and purposes, his comrade was running on fumes as far as maintaining his form was concerned. It was essentially going to take a miracle for this situation to get resolved in time for All Might to get out of public view before letting go of his muscular form at last.
"Tunguska-san…even if our circumstances are different, I know this situation is just as difficult for you as it is for me…but don't let your worry or frustration take over. I'm not in a position to talk, I know that much…but right now, we both just need to keep having faith in those children up there. You heard the leader, they've actually managed to reach the top floor entirely on their own. That's the one thing we need to hold onto right now more than anything else."
Oleg simply couldn't believe it; even when his own power was literally on the verge of running out and being left unable to do anything about it, All Might was still making the effort to try and assure his friend so he wouldn't push himself too hard. That wasn't the trait of your every day Hero, that was practically the trait of a saint. However, he wasn't about to say so and risk making All Might laugh enough to lose focus and potentially revert out of his form as the Symbol of Peace.
Regardless, he knew the wisdom in his comrades' words. "You're right, All Might…of course you're right. As worried as we may be for them…as their teachers, we've both seen what those kids are capable of. No matter how bad things may look…I can feel it, as I'm sure you can, too: they'll still be able to find a way to win and save everyone in the end, no matter what…because those are just the kind of Heroes they've all dedicated to help themselves and each other become, the kinds that find a solution in even the most insane circumstances, no matter the limitations of reality they may face along the way."
There was an indescribable sense of reassurance Oleg and All Might alike felt in the pit of their chests to just hear those words spoken out loud. However, that still didn't change the fact of just the kind of opposing forces their students still had to face off against…and with that, all they could do was continue to silently voice their belief and support in those brave young Heroes with every ounce of their respective spirit and heart.
And there is the new chapter for this week. I hope that filled your desire for action you may have felt was lacking in last weeks' chapter. Next week promises to be even bigger and better. I look forward to springing that one on you all on 09/04!
If you all liked what you read here today, please be kind and leave a review expressing your thoughts on this story as a wholr or this chapter, whichever you prefer. Until next week, stay safe and have a nice rest of your week, everyone!