BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I DON'T HAVE SUPERPOWERS AND IT MAKES ME SAD. JURY'S STILL OUT ON TESTING TO SEE IF I'M ACTUALLY AN ALIEN.

Some Villains just want to watch the world burn. Others can do that and also be productive. Fear the criminal who can start a panic and get his groceries at the same time.

My Alien Academia

Chapter 16

Chaos

"I probably should have mentioned that we'd be out late," Hawks said as he and Deku walked down yet another street. "Fun fact—Heroes do daytime patrols mostly to keep up appearances or respond to emergencies, but actual crimes are usually committed at night. Villains think they can get away in the dark."

"That makes sense," Deku said, and stifled a yawn. "Won't most Heroes be tired after patrolling all day, though?"

"You noticed that nothing actually happened, right?" Hawks idly scratched his chin. "Lots of Heroes see daytime patrols as light duty, so most of us are pretty rested by the time it gets dark. Also, you get used to being active for so long pretty fast, so don't worry about it so much." He paused and glanced at his intern. "Something else on your mind, kid?"

Deku shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know; I kind of expected something to happen by now, but at the same time, I didn't, because there are so many Heroes out."

It was true; they couldn't go more than a block without seeing another Hero on patrol. What embarrassed Deku was that many of them waved at him as often as they waved at Hawks; apparently, he had turned even more heads than his internship offers had suggested. However, he had noticed that the Heroes had become more and more serious as it got darker, and now he knew why.

"Kid, you've gotta learn to relax," Hawks said. "Believe it or not, days without anything happening are the best kind of days. It means that no one, Hero or civilian, is in danger. If anything, these kinds of days are what I want most as a Hero."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Hawks looked up at the sliver of sunlight in the distance and smiled wistfully. "What I want more than anything else is a world where Heroes have more free time than we know what to do with. It may sound weird, but I want a world so peaceful that we don't need Heroes."

Deku hadn't thought of it like that; the idea of a world that didn't need to be saved all the time sounded idyllic, and almost certainly impossible. At the same time, it was something worth striving for, and Deku found his respect for Hawks grow just a little more for such a noble goal.

Still, he was getting pretty bored at that point, but he wasn't nearly as annoyed with that anymore. Though a part of him wanted something to happen, he was secretly glad that it had been a quiet day. After the USJ attack, he wasn't in a hurry to pick a fight with someone actively trying to kill him.

Deku froze as he thought that.

Please, universe, don't get any ideas.

Stain didn't even try to hide his sneer as he watched the false Heroes mill around below him. So many targets, but so much more risk. He had far too much work to do to get caught here.

As if by providence, motion nearby caught his attention, and he smiled. Another fake had stopped in an alleyway, almost right below him.

Perhaps this won't be as difficult as I thought.

Stain shifted his balance, and drew his sword. Just as he let gravity assist him in his attack, explosions rocked the city.

Perhaps I was wrong.

Hawks was in the air before the first explosion finished announcing itself. Deku was shocked for several vital seconds as he tried to figure out what was going on, but seeing his mentor flying in the direction of the chaos got him moving, and he was flying behind him as Jetray soon enough.

"That wasn't a gas explosion!" Hawks shouted to be heard over the noise. "Looks more like a fire-based Quirk!"

"Why would a Villain do something like this?" Jetray called back.

"My best guess is that he wants attention." Hawks slowed to a stop and hovered in the air. "Looks like he has it now."

Standing in the ruins of a burning car was what could only be described as a monster. It stood almost twice as tall as a normal person, with bulging muscles barely contained by dark skin, and veins that glowed red. The top half of its head looked like a human skull, but with an exposed brain; curving over its head was a scorpion-like tail, only the stinger was replaced with what looked like a glowing cannon.

The exposed brain was what tipped off Jetray, and nearly sent him into a panic. "It's another Nomu!? What's going on!?"

Hawks glanced at him. "Nomu, huh? That monster from the USJ attack has family, I guess." Feathers began to detach and swirl around him. "Deku, I'll handle this; I'd be a pretty bad mentor if I brought you into a major fight."

"But I—"

"Don't worry, I'm not telling you to go hide in a corner." Hawks' feathers flew out and snatched people out of harm's way when a blast of lava shot out of the Nomu's tail. "You have my permission to use your Quirk; fly around the city and escort civilians to safety, or assist other Heroes if you can. Just try to stay out of anything too big, okay?"

There was no more time to discuss it, so Jetray nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Two large flight feathers flew into Hawks' hands, and he rocketed towards the Nomu, the feathers held like swords. "I have work to do!"

Jetray wanted to stay behind, if only because he really wanted to watch Hawks fight a Villain in person, but he had his orders.

"Other Heroes will be here soon," Ben assured him. "You don't have to be at the center of attention every time there's a crisis."

"Right." Jetray flew up to gain a better view, and winced when he saw three more fires around the city. "This isn't good."

He banked and flew towards the space between Hawks' fight and the nearest fire, but then something, a feeling, began niggling at the back of his mind. He flew up higher, until the city looked more like a map, and realized what it was—all four explosions had formed a rough square, and Heroes were flooding the spaces between each 'dot'.

It feels like this was done deliberately, Jetray thought. To keep people out, or someone in?

On a hunch, he headed back down, towards the center of the square, which happened to be a maze of alleyways… exactly the kind of terrain favored by the Hero Killer. Moving at incredible speed, Jetray searched the area, hoping that he was wrong.

He wasn't; less than ten seconds after starting his search, he found a man with wild hair and covered in bladed weapons standing over a bleeding figure with a raised sword.

Unlike with the explosions, he didn't hesitate. There was someone in danger, and he had to help them; it was that simple. Faster than the human eye could track, he plunged into the alley and fired his neuroshock beams from his eyes, directly into the Hero Killer's back.

"Get away from him!"

Stain rolled with the unexpected hit and came to a ready crouch. Standing—or rather, hovering—between him and his latest target was what looked like a bat and a stingray mixed together with red paint.

"Don't worry," the creature said, tilting its head just enough to look at the false Hero, but also keep Stain in his sight. "I'm here to save you!"

Despite the stinging pain in his back, Stain grinned. Finally! Someone with their priorities straight!

To Stain's surprise, the creature slapped the hourglass dial on its chest, and transformed into a more humanoid shape. "DIAMONDHEAD!"

Ah, so that's who it is. Stain might have been dedicated to his mission, but he still heard things. Recently, gossip had been flowing about a boy who had a Quirk that gave him multiple forms, and multiple powers. He had won the Sports Festival, which meant he was either skilled, or lucky.

"You've made a poor choice, child," Stain said, and readied his bloody sword. "Your decision to prioritize another's safety is commendable, so I will not kill you, but I cannot allow you to stand in the way of my work. I'll have to hurt you a little."

The student widened his stance, blocking the false Hero behind him as much as possible. One of his arms shifted and transformed into a curved blade.

"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone, Stain!"

Stain's smile widened; this one had courage, and appeared to have genuine integrity. Perhaps he had time to test this would-be Hero before he completed his work for the night.

Diamondhead kept his blade-arm ready as he placed his other on the ground. A mass of diamond spikes rose up around Native, the Hero he'd just saved, and created a rough cone. That would keep him safe for a while.

Across from him, Stain grinned. "And you're keeping the victim safe? Good; most fakes don't even think about the injured around them."

I wish I'd just grabbed Native and flew off, Diamondhead thought. But I have no idea how bad his injuries are; I might make it worse if I try to move him. My best bet is to keep Stain here until help arrives. Speaking of which…

"Yeah, but I don't really know how well I'll do against you all by myself," he said out loud.

"Ah, I see where you're going with this," Ben said, though only Midoriya could hear him. "Sending location to all contacts in the city… sent. Good luck, buddy."

Something Midoriya had learned was that, while transformed, his phone 'merged' with the Ultimatrix. Apparently, the real Ben had asked Azmuth to add that feature, turning the Ultimatrix into a way to communicate. Neither Midoriya nor Holo-Ben had the time to send a full message; instead, his location and the word 'help' was sent to Hawks, Triumph, and Virtus, the only people whose contact information he had that were in Hosu.

He just hoped that they would get here in time.

"I'll give you one chance," he said, trying to buy precious seconds. "Surrender, and no one else has to get hurt."

"Offering compassion, reluctant to cause harm." Stain idly twirled his sword. "You're ticking off every box that a true hero should aspire for. But can you back up your words?"

Stain was fast. As far as Diamondhead knew, the man had no speed-based Quirk, but he was almost a blur as he charged. The sword was inside his reach before he had time to react, and if he hadn't been made of living diamond, the blade would have carved a deep gash in his chest. Instead, there was a shower of sparks, though the impact was sudden enough to send him staggering back.

Diamondhead tried to hit him with his blade-arm, but Stain leaned out of the way, and then ducked when a punch was thrown.

"You've got the fundamentals down, and you have power," Stain commented gleefully. "But you lack refinement! Your technique isn't there yet—the heart of a hero, not the skill! All the more reason to let you live!"

Is he… evaluating me? Diamondhead fired a burst of crystals at Stain, who nimbly dodged out of the way. Maybe I can keep him here until help arrives.

"Triumph! Put a wall between the enemy and the civilians!" Endeavor unleashed a wave of fire at the Nomu rampaging down the street.

Rather than respond, Triumph stomped down with his right foot, and a thick wall of ice erupted to protect the innocent people trying to get away. He was reminded of when he did something similar at the USJ, though Heatblast's flames were much more powerful than his father's.

While Endeavor battled the Nomu, Triumph kept watch; as an intern, he wasn't supposed to fight something like Nomu unless there was no other choice. Besides, Endeavor seemed to have things in hand. He was about to back up behind his ice wall when he felt his phone vibrate; as was protocol in the field, it was only supposed to do anything if there was a message from a Hero, or another student in the area.

Still keeping one eye on the fight, Triumph looked at his phone; two seconds later, he felt a twinge of fear in his heart.

Izuku!

"Endeavor!" he shouted, even as he sent the coordinates from his phone to Endeavor's.

His father drove the Nomu—a musclebound brute with no eyes to speak of—into the ground with a devastating punch. "What!?"

"I have an emergency call, I'm responding now!" With the bare minimum said, he spun on his heel and ran down the street. "I've sent the location to your phone, send backup when you're done!"

"Shoto! Come back!"

"No time!" Triumph yelled. "My friend is in trouble!"

"What kind of trouble!?" Manual shouted over the chaos.

"I'm not sure," Virtus admitted, "but my friend would not have sent it if it was not serious!"

Manual scowled, and then used his Quirk to hose down a fire with the water from a hydrant. "Okay, as soon as I'm done here, I'll follow you with as many Heroes as I can grab. Just be careful, and don't take unnecessary risks!"

"Understood!" Virtus ran off as quickly as his boosters would allow. He prayed that Izuku was all right; he had almost lost his brother, he didn't want to lose one of his best friends.

This isn't working, Diamondhead thought with frustration as his punch missed once again. He can't hurt me, but I'm not fast enough to hit him. What do I have that's both fast and tough?

Stain jumped back and threw a knife right into Diamondhead's eye; if it had hit almost any of his other aliens, the injury would have been crippling, if not lethal. Instead, the blade shattered on his face.

"It's in the name." he pointed to his face. "Diamondhead."

"Just testing," Stain said, and it bothered Diamondhead to see just how happy the maniac was. "It's good to see that a Hero can back up true ideals with power."

I still need to buy time.

"So, I have a question," Diamondhead said, even as he made sure to keep Native safe. "You hate 'false' Heroes, right? Anyone who does this for the fame and fortune?"

"Exactly. All I want is a world where Heroes truly live up to the word. Anyone else must be purged, or else their corruption will spread."

"Then I have a scenario for you. Say someone wants to be a Hero; for the most part, they honestly like helping people, but the reason they became a Hero in the first place is because they want money to help their family. Does that mean they deserve death?" When Stain didn't immediately answer, Diamondhead kept talking. "Do shades of grey not exist in your world?"

"No, they don't." Stain hefted his sword again. "To be a Hero is to be selfless, to sacrifice for the common good. Anything else, anything, is just a reason to not be a Hero at all."

What do I have that can fight without worrying about those blades? Wait, I've got it!

"Well, that's too bad." Diamondhead's hand moved to the dial. "Because I know someone like that, and she's one of the best people I know."

Stain started to charge again, but then took a step back and shielded his eyes from the green light. Diamondhead was gone, replaced by—

"BUZZSHOCK!"

The living battery giggled maniacally. "You should have given up when you had the chance."

"And you shouldn't have given up a form that could protect you from my blades!" Stain rushed forward. "I have hopes for you, boy, but associating with a false Hero will corrupt you! I will purge this world of them before it takes root in you!"

The sword came down on Buzzshock's head, and two horrified voices rang out in the night.

"IZUKU!"

Triumph saw Virtus at the same time as the other boy saw him. They were almost at Deku's location, and there was no time for talk, only action. Triumph only hoped that they were in time to save—

They turned the corner just as Stain brought his sword down on a strange creature—it had to be Deku, it couldn't be anyone else, no matter how much Todoroki wished otherwise in that moment—and split him in half.

"IZUKU!"

There was no thought, only shock, grief, and overwhelming anger. Triumph's left side erupted with flames, and he sent an inferno straight at the Hero Killer. The murderer ducked, only to get Virtus' Recipro-assisted boot in his face that sent him tumbling down the alley.

Both boys were panting heavily, on the verge of tears or rage, neither knew, but then they saw something that caused their hearts to swell with hope.

Though he had been cut in two, Deku's body still hadn't fallen. In fact, both halves started to tremble, and then regenerate; in seconds, two identical creatures hovered in the air and laughed.

"Surprise!" The living batteries flew over to Stain and fired bolts of green lightning from their hands; Stain cried out in pain, and then fell to the ground. One Deku—or were they the same?—flew back toward his friends. "Guys! You're here!"

"Izuku?" Virtus almost reached out to grab him. "You're alive? How?"

"Oh, you saw that?" For a moment, Deku looked guilty. "Sorry. This one is called Buzzshock; he's got electrical powers, and he can be divided into copies of himself."

Triumph looked back at Stain, who was trying to fight back; he managed to 'kill' the other Buzzshock, only to be faced with two more. He 'killed' them several times, but within seconds, nearly twenty of them buzzed around his head, cackling and shooting bolts of lightning.

"That's useful," Triumph said.

"Yeah, I couldn't think of anything else that was fast enough to hit him, and not be hurt by a lucky swing." Buzzshock pointed to a cone of diamond. "There's a Hero under there, and he's hurt. If we let up on Stain, he's going to kill him."

"Understood." Now that the panic was over, Triumph was more than ready to get into the fight. "If you can keep him pinned, I can weaken him enough for Virtus to land a finishing blow."

"Sounds good." A scream of frustration caused Buzzshock to giggle. "I think Stain is having a bad night. What do you think, Virtus?" There was no answer. "Virtus? Tenya?"

Virtus was staring at Stain; everything had gone red, and all he wanted was to put the Hero Killer in the ground. He took a single step forward… and then stopped when Buzzshock zapped his arm with a tiny bolt of electricity.

"Ow!"

"Whatever you're doing, stop it," Buzzshock snapped. "We need to stop him, not kill him. If we're going to be Heroes, we can't take justice into our own hands. You know this, Tenya—what would your brother say if he knew what you were about to try?"

And just like that, the spell was broken; Virtus' shoulders slumped, and he let out a deep breath. "You're right… you're right. I can do this."

Buzzshock and Triumph shared a look, and then the former nodded. "We'll give you an opening, just be ready."

Virtus nodded and took a runner's stance. "Just tell me when."

"ENOUGH!" Stain was hurt by the lightning, but the pain only fueled his rage, and he burst through the mob of Buzzshocks and charged the students. "This world will be purged!"

Triumph tried to disrupt his charge by creating a mound of spiked ice, but Stain vaulted over it, and kicked Buzzshock out of the way when he tried to intercept him. The Hero Killer hurled a knife with enough force to bury it in Triumph's shoulder all the way up to the hilt. The boy barely had time to register that he'd been hit when the knife was ripped back out by an attached wire, and landed back in Stain's hand. The murderer's tongue licked the blood off, and just like that, Triumph collapsed to the ground.

"Todoroki, are you all right!?" Virtus asked, while every Buzzshock blasted Stain with more electricity than was strictly necessary.

"I've never been stabbed before, but I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be pleasant, so, no," Triumph said through gritted teeth. "And I can't move. Looks like Deku was right about his Quirk."

Virtus grimaced; things were far from ideal—if they were, none of them would have been fighting the Hero Killer in the first place—but they were far from dire. The swarm of Buzzshocks was keeping Stain from getting too far; they had learned their lesson, and none of them were letting up on the lightning.

"Virtus," one Buzzshock, possibly the original, said, "we're gonna try something. Don't worry about collateral damage to one of us, just kick as hard as you can, and aim for his leg."

Virtus trusted Deku, and he nodded. "Do it."

"Dogpile!" one Buzzshock shouted, and over a dozen of them grabbed onto Stain. Individually, Buzzshock didn't weigh that much, but all of them together meant that Stain was too slow to react, especially with his nerves damaged by the electricity. "Now!"

"This is for Tensei!" Virtus shouted, and his boosters glowed. "Recipro Extend!"

Virtus' outstretched foot sent two Buzzshocks flying, even as it smashed into Stain's right leg. There was a sickening crunch as something broke, but the impact jarred the other Buzzshocks enough for Stain to shake them loose, and then drove the hilt of his sword into Virtus' head. The helmet kept him from getting too badly hurt, but the boy's bell was rung, and he stumbled back. Stain brought his sword up to finish the job, only to be slammed back by a column of ice that rammed into his chest.

"Triumph, you can move?" Virtus asked.

"No," came the answer, "but I can still use my Quirk. Good thing I've got so much practice with my ice. Now, someone take him down!"

"Let's see you get up from this!" Five Buzzshocks grabbed onto Stain's limbs, and their bodies crackled with electricity, while three more hovered overhead. "Battery Blitz!"

Lightning coursed through Stain's body from the direct contact, while the trio above combined their blasts into one powerful bolt right into his chest. For a moment, everyone was tense as they waited for Stain to make his next move; instead, he collapsed, his body twitching from the sustained shocks.

Virtus looked down at the unconscious man. "Is… is it over?"

Buzzshock nodded slowly. "I think it is."

"This is starting to get annoying," Hawks muttered as he narrowly avoided the Nomu's lava. "This guy just won't stay down."

Normally, Hawks could take down a Villain in two or three minutes on a slow day, maybe five if his opponent was on the tough side, but this Nomu seemed to have every advantage. His lava burned away his feathers, and he was tough enough to take anything Hawks dished out.

Still, I can't give up; if this guy runs wild, he could kill a lot of people.

"Hawks, get out of the way!"

Acting on instinct, Hawks pulled up, just as a torrent of fire slammed into the Nomu's head. Hawks grinned down at the ground.

"About time you got here, Endeavor!" he called out. "You getting slow in your old age?"

"Shut it, you punk!" Endeavor shouted. "I've already beaten two of these things, and I was chasing another!"

"Okay, sheesh!" Hawks' eyes narrowed. "If you can hold that tail steady, I'll disarm him, and you can finish the job!"

Rather than argue, Endeavor ducked under a spurt of lava, stunned the Nomu with a devastating punch, and then grabbed the tail. In an instant, Hawks brought down his longer flight feathers and sliced the end of the tail clean off; Endeavor followed it up with a double-fisted blow that drove the Nomu's head into the street hard enough to shatter the sidewalk.

"Good, that's done." Endeavor narrowed his eyes at Hawks. "Get back in the air and find that other creature; it was flying south last time I saw it. If you can't find it…" He pulled out his phone and typed something. "Go to that location; at least two students are there, and might be in trouble."

Hawks looked at his own phone, and realized that he'd missed a message during the fight. His expression never changed, but his pulse sped up when he saw that it was from his intern.

"I'm on it," he said without his usual smirk, and took to the air. "Dammit, kid, I thought you wouldn't get into trouble!"

After briefly turning into Diamondhead to free Native, Deku and Virtus applied what first aid they could to the injured. Fortunately, Triumph was only affected by Stain's Quirk for a few more seconds after the Hero Killer was defeated, though Native was confused.

"How come he got free so quickly?" the man asked. "I still can't move!"

"I had a theory that the Hero Killer's Quirk had a time limit based on blood type," Deku muttered as he wrapped bandages around the Hero's shoulder.

"I have type O blood," Triumph offered. "That might be the least affected. What about you, Native?"

"Type B." Native frowned, though at that point he finally started to move again. "I guess it affects my blood type for a while. Sorry about all of this, kids; I'm supposed to be a Pro Hero, but I couldn't do anything."

"Honestly, I don't think anyone would do well against the Hero Killer in a one-on-one fight," Deku said.

Triumph scoffed, but there was no heat behind it. "I think you would have taken him down eventually with that Buzzshock form of yours."

Deku shook his head. "Honestly, I hit him with enough volts to take down a normal person a dozen times over, but he kept fighting. He was… a fanatic, and he refused to stop. I think he would have fought his way clear before I found the right amount of voltage."

Virtus looked over at Stain, who had been disarmed after a thorough search, and then frozen up to his neck by Triumph. "I agree; he just kept fighting until his body couldn't take it anymore."

"Um, how are we going to get him out of here?" Deku asked, which brought everyone else up short.

"I… guess we just leave him in the ice?" Triumph said. "We can keep an eye on him until more Heroes arrive to take him into custody. I'll stay and make sure the ice doesn't melt."

"Right." Deku handed Virtus the rest of his medical supplies and ran to the alley's entrance. "I'll flag down any Heroes and show them where to go."

"Deku, wait, we should—" Virtus tried to go after him, only for the world to sway, and he fell to his hands and knees.

"What's wrong?" Native asked, his tone serious and direct; clearly, he knew what he was doing. "I saw you take a hit to your head; I'm taking off your helmet." It was difficult to see in the dark, so Native turned to Triumph. "Can I get a little light?"

"Sure thing." Triumph generated enough fire to drive off the darkness.

"All right, let's see what we've got here." Native gently prodded the burst skin running down the side of Virtus' head, and then examined his eyes. "Looks like you might have a slight concussion. Any nausea?"

"No, just dizziness, and my head hurts," Virtus said.

"Okay, we'll get you checked out at a hospital, but your helmet probably saved you from a lot worse." Native shot a glare at Stain. "That guy is way too dangerous for anywhere other than Tartarus."

"He deserves everything the law can throw at him," Virtus said, voice full of venom.

"I heard something about your brother during the fight." Native frowned as he examined Virtus' costume. "He wouldn't happen to be Ingenium, would he? I heard that he was on the mend; you're both lucky."

Virtus nodded, but didn't mention the Vigilante that had saved Tensei's life. There was too much going on to bring that up right now.

"Well, that was certainly a show," Shigaraki mused. "Good teamwork, and the Midoriya kid had a form that neutralized the Hero Killer's skills and equipment."

"You seem pleased," Kurogiri noted.

"I mean, yeah, the Hero Killer could have lived up to his name a bit more," Shigaraki admitted, "but the plan was to get him caught or killed, so I'd say tonight is going well. In fact, I think we can complete a bonus quest while we're here."

"And how will we do that?"

"Just wait and see," Shigaraki said, his grin wide enough to be seen around the hand over his face.

"Guys, some Heroes are on their way!" Deku announced. "They'll be here any—"

Triumph saw it first; logically speaking, he knew that his delayed reaction was a combination of pain, coming down from the adrenaline, and just plain inexperience, but he would regret not acting, and could only shout.

"Look out!"

Before Deku could register the warning, a blur flew down from the sky and snatched him up. He yelped in fear as strong claws gripped his arms; the flying Nomu had grabbed him in a way that prevented him from using the Ultimatrix, and he was helpless.

"Deku, don't move!"

Even in the grip of the monster, Deku felt his fear vanish when he heard Hawks' voice. The Winged Hero swooped down with a double-kick directly into the Nomu's exposed brain. The shock of the high-speed impact was enough to loosen the Nomu's grip, and Deku slipped into the open air. He didn't fall far, because a handful of feathers hooked under his hood and gently lowered him to the ground.

A moment later, the defeated Nomu crashed to the street in a heap, and Hawks landed next to his intern. His wings were half the size of what they once were, but other than that, Hawks looked none the worse for wear.

"Ouch," Hawks muttered, "I'm gonna have some bruises on my feet for that move." He turned to Deku. "You okay, kid?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Deku said shakily as he got to his feet. "Th-thanks, Hawks."

Hawks grinned and was about to speak, but the sound of clapping got everyone's attention, from students to Pro Heroes. Standing on the edge of a nearby rooftop was a familiar face to anyone who had been at the USJ incident, or had been briefed about it.

"Well, look at that," Shigaraki called down mockingly, "you self-righteous Heroes managed to catch Stain. It only took you months, and how many of you did he kill or maim before that happened?"

"The League of Villains," Deku said under his breath. "They are behind this."

Hawks detached more of his feathers and prepared to launch them at Shigaraki, but then he saw the portal behind him. Fast as Hawks was, he wasn't fast enough to stop Shigaraki from taking that single step back to safety; instead, he settled for waiting and watching, taking in every detail for later examination.

"You might have caught Stain, but you haven't stopped anything," Shigaraki continued. "His ideals live on in the League of Villains, and we won't stop until this world is purged of anyone who can't live up to what a Hero should be!" He pointed down at the growing crowd of Heroes, while several nearby civilians who hadn't been able to get away from the chaos pulled out phones and recorded everything. "The League of Villains is coming for you all!"

"Enough of this!" Endeavor, who had just arrived on the scene, drew back his arm and hurled an orb of fire at Shigaraki; it was far too late, and Shigaraki was warped away long before the flames reached him.

As if a switch had been thrown, all the Heroes let out a sigh of as the tension drained out of them; all that was left was the cleanup.

"All right then," Hawks said nonchalantly, though Deku could see the tension in his eyes. "I guess that's it for tonight."

Word of the incident in Hosu City spread like wildfire across Japan, but it was especially poignant for the Hero community. For most, they were happy that the man who had killed so many of their colleagues had finally been captured, though everyone was waiting impatiently for the details.

For several young interns, one of the details that had been released had them all on edge.

Hero Killer captured after an attack on Pro Hero Native, and UA interns under Manual, Hawks, and Endeavor.

Ashido had freaked out right in front of Sky Dancer, and only calmed down a little when her mentor all but ordered her to call her friends and see if they were okay.

Sero had turned in early, but knew he wouldn't be sleeping for a while after the news hit his phone.

Asui had been on a late-night mission with Selkie, and had turned off her phone. She didn't find out what happened until the next morning, when she listened to a near-hysterical message from Ashido.

Yaoyorozu had been about to retire for the evening, when Ryukyu had calmly but urgently asked her if she had seen the news. When she found out that three of her friends had been taken to the hospital after a fight with the Hero Killer, she feared the worst, and her fingers slipped several times as she tried to call one of them.

Uraraka had been in the middle of learning a kick from Gunhead when one of the man's Sidekicks ran into the dojo and hurriedly turned on the television. Uraraka felt more nauseous than after using her Quirk on herself, and practically begged Gunhead to let her find out what had happened.

To the Rising Stars' frustration and mounting panic, they couldn't contact their three friends until the next day.

"All right, Todoroki-san, just don't do anything strenuous with your right shoulder for about a week, and you should be completely fine."

Todoroki nodded and put his shirt back on. "Thank you, Doctor."

"No need for that." The doctor turned to the next patient. "As for you, Iida-san, your concussion was indeed minor, but head injuries must always be taken seriously. You should be fine, but if you notice anything strange over the next few days, such as headaches for no reason or sudden dizziness, go to a doctor again as soon as possible."

Iida bowed, though he did so much slower than normal. "I understand."

"Thankfully, Midoriya-san, your injuries were only superficial." The doctor smiled at Midoriya. "Just some bruises on your arms, and those will heal in a few days." He shook his head. "I've treated plenty of Heroes in my career, but if you three can keep your injuries at this level, you'll have long and healthy careers ahead of you."

The boys had been brought to the same hospital as Native; the Pro Hero had suffered the worst injury, with a deep gash across one shoulder, but he would recover. Still, even after the doctors had said that the boys' injuries were minor, the students' mentors had all insisted that they stay the night. Todoroki mentioned that it was probably a way for the adults to keep them in one place while they spoke to the police.

All three of them had spoken to detectives and given blow-by-blow accounts of the fight with Stain. Since they had received permission from their mentors to use their Quirks if necessary, and a life had been at stake, none of them were in trouble for fighting a Villain without even a Provisional License, but they were asked to keep quiet on the details for now.

"So…" Todoroki waited until the doctor left, and then looked at his friends. "We're telling the others, right?"

"A-are you sure?" Midoriya asked. "The police said not to talk about it."

Todoroki shrugged. "I might not have been friends with them as long as you, but I'm pretty sure they'll be worried sick. Do you want to lie to them about this?"

Midoriya felt a surge of guilt; he had already been lying to them about having a Quirk, and the thought of lying further was unbearable.

"I really don't," he said.

"Nor do I," Iida agreed.

"Then we'll tell them, as long as they don't spread it further." Todoroki leaned back in his hospital bed. "They probably already know that something happened. I vote that Midoriya tells them we're fine."

A mischievous light flashed across Iida's face. "Seconded."

Midoriya shot Iida a betrayed look, and then a pleading one at Todoroki, but the two boys gave him no sympathy.

"Have fun," Todoroki said. "I'm sure at least one of them will be hysterical by now."

The door slid open, and four people walked in—Manual, Hawks, Endeavor, and a man the boys didn't recognize. He looked human from the neck down, but he had the head of a beagle.

"Hello, boys," the dog-man said. "My name is Tsuragamae Kenji, Chief of Police. First of all, I'd like to express how pleased I am that none of you were seriously injured, woof."

The three boys—as well as Ben—stared at him. Woof?

Yes, Asui had her 'ribbit' thing going on, but they had all thought she did that because it was cute. Apparently, it was biological, if Tsuragamae was any indication.

"Second, we've come to a decision regarding the Stain incident." Tsuragamae's face made it hard to read his expression, but he looked reluctantly accepting of something. "None of you are in trouble for your actions. You were under orders from your mentors to assist where necessary, and you took appropriate steps; had there not been someone in danger, and if you had just tried to fight instead of running away, we would be having a very different conversation.

"However, you are still students, and we don't want others your age to think they can go up against hardened criminals without a license. As such, you will not be credited with Stain's capture; because of the burns Stain suffered, Endeavor is being given the credit, and no one will be the wiser."

Todoroki looked at his father; Endeavor was obviously annoyed with being rewarded for something he didn't do, but he understood the necessity of it all. Hawks, on the other hand, looked far too amused at the older man's discomfort, and kept coughing into one hand to avoid laughing. Manual nervously glanced at the other Heroes, and inched back when Endeavor sent Hawks a withering glare.

"You do have permission to tell your families, provided that they not say anything," Tsuragamae went on. "But I ask that you refrain from doing so until after the press release later today, woof. Aside from that, while I cannot say anything officially, I want to thank you three for what you did to bring Stain to justice."

With that, the police chief left, followed by Endeavor after he gave his son a quick once-over and a brief nod.

"Hey, kid." Hawks patted Midoriya on the shoulder. "We're gonna spend the rest of your internship at my office. Just because you're not in trouble doesn't mean you're off the hook. Besides, I've gotta let my wings regenerate for a couple of days to get back up to a hundred percent." Hawks' diminished wings flapped once to emphasize his point. "You'll be discharged within the hour, so we'll head back then."

"Good, then he has enough time to let Uraraka know that he's okay," Todoroki said, his expression stoic, though his tone hinted at his amusement. "She's probably worried sick."

Hawks did a double-take between Todoroki and Midoriya, and finally lost the battle to control his laughter.

"Izuku, are you okay!?"

Midoriya held the phone away from his ear as Uraraka practically shouted. "Y-yes, we're all fine. Todoroki needed a few stitches and Iida has to take it easy for a few days, but nothing was too serious."

"Good… that's good." Uraraka took a steadying breath that sounded like static over the phone. "What about you? Were you hurt? I know you could heal yourself, but…"

"I just got a couple of bruises on my arms," Midoriya said, trying to put as much confidence in his voice as possible to help calm her down. "I didn't even need to use Swampfire."

At least Midoriya was getting practice in reassuring people; he had already called Ashido, Yaoyorozu, Asui and Sero to let them know that everyone was fine. Ashido had cried in relief once she found out that everyone was fine, Sero had demanded details—which Midoriya couldn't give until later—Asui had started apologizing for not calling sooner, and Yaoyorozu had fussed as much as possible over a phone call. He had also called his mother—and had dealt with her crying over the phone for a good ten minutes before she calmed down. He had put off calling Uraraka for last because… well, he couldn't come up with a good reason, other than he didn't want to hear her sound so worried.

How do I do this? He wondered. What would All Might do? Wait, I don't think acting like All Might is going to help. Too bombastic. Maybe act like Hawks? No, he always sounds like he's trying too hard to be casual.

Ben appeared next to him; he couldn't read his mind, but the hologram gave him a knowing look. "Just be yourself, buddy."

Just be Izuku. Okay.

"Ochako." Midoriya's voice was soft and kind. "We're all okay. I promise. You can see for yourself when we get back to school."

"… Okay." Uraraka's voice was small and fragile, but no longer on the verge of hysterics. "Thanks for letting me know, Deku-kun. I've gotta go; Gunhead told me to come back inside as soon as I talked to you."

"Sure thing, Ochako. I'll see you in a few more days." In the corner of his eye, he saw Hawks pointing at a nonexistent watch on his wrist. "Looks like Hawks wants to get going. Try to have some fun, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Now, Uraraka sounded a little amused. "Bye, Deku-kun."

"Nice job," Hawks complimented after Midoriya hung up. "You got her to calm down without sounding condescending. Lots of Heroes have to work on that."

"I w-was just t-telling her the truth," Midoriya said nervously. "No one was badly hurt." His eyes suddenly went wide. "T-today w-was my first t-time talking to g-girls on the phone."

Hawks' grin had long since reached shit-eating levels. "That's adorable, kid. Come on, I'll buy lunch on the way back; you earned it."

Shigaraki leaned back in his chair and smiled. It had been less than twenty-four hours since Stain had been captured, and already his underworld contacts were setting up meetings for him. Dozens of Villains now believed that the League of Villains shared Stain's ideals, and since Shigaraki had claimed that Stain had been part of the League… well, they weren't exactly clamoring to join up just yet, but they were taking him seriously.

"That was an excellent performance, Tomura. You only lost a few disposable pawns, in exchange for eliminating a rival, and gaining both newfound respect and potential recruits from the Villain community."

Shigaraki bowed towards the TV. "Thank you, Sensei."

"I do have one question, however." There was a pause as Shigaraki's master thought. "You had the flying Nomu try to kidnap the Midoriya boy. Explain your reasoning."

"I had a couple of reasons." Shigaraki started to pace back and forth. "First, people are going to ask why I tried to take him, specifically. 'Maybe he sees the kid as a threat?', or even better, 'Maybe there was a darker reason?' People assume the worst possibilities, so maybe they thought I think Midoriya could be a Villain. Whatever the case, if I can get the Heroes to doubt the kid, even a little, that'll help us in the long term."

"You're trying to erode the pedestal society will no doubt place him on… I'm impressed. What was your other reason?"

Shigaraki grinned. "I had a theory about his Quirk, but I had to test it to be sure. Now… now I know how to beat him."

I think I mentioned this before, but I like the idea of Shigaraki evolving more as a Villain. I want him to be dangerous, not just with his Quirk, but as a strategist. We've seen this in the manga/anime, but I like the idea of Midoriya's powers being the catalyst that forces Shigaraki to think strategically, both in the short term and long term.

Also, if that fight with Stain was a little short, I apologize. It's just that Iida isn't as revenge-crazy as in canon, and Midoriya has the Ultimatrix. And he has Buzzshock, who is probably the perfect counter to someone using bladed metal weapons. And I decided that the three boys wouldn't get in trouble for what they did, since they had orders to use their Quirks—they just aren't getting credit for the win, which feels like a decent compromise. Also, Todoroki does have type O blood, if you didn't know. Oh, and I know that Stain didn't have that knife attached to a wire, but it seemed like something he should have, so there you have it.

As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. It is available as a PDF on my website (link in my profile), and on Amazon as both an eBook and physical copy. Sales help get me noticed, and you get something to read; it's a win for us all!

Another way you can help out is by donating on P-atreon (link in my profile). Donations are one of my primary sources of income right now, and it would be amazing if it grew enough for me to live on, just so I can write fan fiction and new books every day without worrying about stuff.

Here are some of my Patrons who are helping me achieve that dream:

Serious Muffins: jafr86, SpaceEmperorSpar, Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, ChaosSpartan575, John Collins, Calleo, Casey Pak, Red Bard, Ultimatrix10, Shaolin Khalil

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844, killroy225

Ultra Muffins: Adam Costello, Jeffrey Perigo, Matthew Bunting, RangersRoll

Next Chapter: Midoriya and the Rising Stars finish their internships, but while Stain is behind them, a new crisis emerges, and it's targeting the Ultimatrix…

Stay safe out there!

Plus Muffin!