BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. THE ALIENS YELLED AT ME AGAIN, AND NOW I'M BANNED FROM MARS. DON'T ASK WHY, BUT I WILL SAY IT INVOLVED CHICKENS AND A FLAMETHROWER.
Wow, look at that! 40 chapters! That's a pretty good milestone! *throws confetti*
So, quick recap: Eri was kidnapped, Chisaki is a dead man. Bird. Man-bird.
My Alien Academia
Chapter 40
Heroes Unleashed
The Eight Precepts' base looked like an old manor, albeit one that had been properly maintained. There was a wall only slightly taller than a tall man, surrounding a garden that led to the main house. It hid its true nature well by appearing as normal as possible.
Even if Deku hadn't been aware of the circumstances, he wouldn't have trusted it; his obsession with Quirks and his experiences with the Omnitrix had taught him not to take things at face value.
"I wonder if these guys know we're here," Uravity whispered by Deku's side.
"Highly likely," Endeavor grunted; his sudden appearance made both of them jump and barely stifle a yelp. "This isn't a nighttime raid. They would have to be blind not to see us coming, but they might be overconfident; they've remained out of the spotlight for a long time."
The Heroes and police waited just across the street from the compound; for every Hero or Sidekick, there were two officers, all equipped with riot gear and assault rifles. Deku couldn't remember the last time there was such a heavy response to a criminal organization; certainly not in his lifetime.
The balding detective stepped forward. "I'm going to read the warrant, and then we will engage with full force. Remember the plan—the Heroes will punch through whatever resistance the Eight Precepts muster, while the police will cover the flanks."
Deku nodded, even though he wasn't being directly addressed; he had to remember that he was only a cog in the machine today.
As the detective marched to the gate, covered by officers and a pair of Heroes, Nighteye's phone rang. Deku looked at him curiously; during operations like these, it was standard procedure to keep any phones off, or at least silent.
"That is my emergency ringtone," Nighteye said with a frown. "Only five people know that number, and they know not to use it unless it is an actual emergency."
Deku shared a worried glance with his team; all of them had a bad feeling about this, but none of them could quite figure out what it was. The only consolation they had was that Nighteye came back after only a few minutes, so they didn't have to wait for long. However, Nighteye looked as grim as anyone had ever seen.
"Detective!" Nighteye managed to grab the policeman before he reached the gate to the compound. "We have a situation."
The detective scowled. "Don't tell me one of the teams at another safehouse spotted our targets."
"Worse," Nighteye said, and made sure the other officers and Heroes could hear him. "A double agent infiltrated UA and kidnapped the girl the Eight Precepts need for their project."
In that moment, the entire world came to screeching halt for the interns. Eri. Somehow, the Yakuza had kidnapped Eri.
"They have her?" Uravity grabbed Deku's hand hard enough to hurt, but he didn't even notice. "Izuku, they have our little girl."
Deku glared at the walls of the compound with such hatred that he almost transformed into Way Big then and there.
"We need to go in," Nighteye said calmly. "The Eight Precepts have had her for less than five minutes. They can't have set up proper defenses yet, nor could they have even started on the final version of their Quirk-erasing bullets. If we storm the compound, we can rescue her."
Endeavor nodded. "Retrieving the girl is now the primary objective, followed by containment of the enemy." He paused, then glanced at the interns. "I believe that we should allow the students to attempt the rescue. They have tunnel-vision, and will be useless in the battle against the rest of the Eight Precepts' forces. Besides, I doubt we could stop them at this point."
"Agreed." Nighteye hesitated, then grabbed Lemillion by the shoulder. "Mirio, look at me."
"Sir?" Lemillion barely had time to blink before Nighteye used his Quirk on him. "Sir! You said you wouldn't—"
"This is a rapidly-changing situation, and I need as much information as possible." Nighteye nodded to himself. "We will open a path for you. Smash a hole through the first bookcase you see, and then follow the tunnel. Just be careful, and watch out for the ambush when you first get inside."
Lemillion blinked, then tapped Deku on the shoulder. "Let's go, guys; we need to get our girl back."
Rather than answer, Deku turned into Rath, but instead of roaring bluster, he only let out a low, menacing growl.
Nighteye turned to the detective. "You have the warrant, but we no longer have time. Allow us to punch through, and then follow after us."
The other man nodded. "Understood. We will be right behind you."
With a curt gesture from Nighteye, Ryukyu transformed into her massive dragon form, and Endeavor created a ball of fire in his hands. The latter hurled the fire at the gate and blasted it apart, and the former charged before the debris finished raining down. Inside the courtyard, dozens of Yakuza soldiers staggered to their feet and tried to fight back. Some of them had weapons, while others used their Quirks, but none of them were prepared for a rampaging dragon in their midst.
In any other situation, even the Big Three would have been content to let the Pro Heroes do the work. It wasn't every day you got to see so many Heroes fight in one place, after all. However, the interns hardly cared at all; the only thing that mattered was a sweet little girl who had to be scared out of her mind.
Rath, Red Riot and Lemillion led the charge, barreling through any thug unlucky enough to get in their way. Uravity, Nejire-chan and Suneater flew overhead, while Triumph carried everyone else in a moving cradle of ice. Even the cheerful Nejire-chan barely waved at Ryukyu as she swept aside the soldiers in front of the main house; then Rath punched the reinforced doors down, and they were inside.
…
Slice felt a tremor above them, and glanced up; when the shaking didn't get worse, she returned her attention to her book.
"Do you think it'll take them long to get down here?" she asked idly.
"Probably not," a Twice said. "I mean, I did leave some clones up there to slow them down, but those are Heroes coming to rescue a little girl."
"Yep," Toga agreed. "Those guys are in full righteous-badass mode. I give these Yakuza an hour, at most."
Slice nodded, and was quiet for a moment. "Hey, Himiko? Jin? You want to mess up these Yakuza pigs?"
"Hell yeah!" one Twice shouted.
The other clone rubbed his hands together in glee. "This is gonna be a bloodbath!"
"Absolutely!" Toga already had a knife out, but then her disposable phone rang. "Huh, must be Shigaraki; he said he'd call in an emergency."
The other Villains waited as Toga took the call. They couldn't hear Shigaraki, but they were intrigued as Toga seemed to agree with every sentence.
"Well?" a Twice asked impatiently. "What did he say?"
Toga's smile promised pain in someone's immediate future. "Turns out that Shigaraki needs something before we go. Can I have a few clones of me, please?"
…
Lemillion liked working with other Heroes, and not just because he believed that they should be working together, not competing. The best part was using himself as a decoy, seeing the confusion on his opponent's face as their attacks passed harmlessly through him, and then watching as another Hero took them down.
That happened a lot over the course of the next few seconds, as fifteen clones of Twice charged, each swinging bladed measuring tapes. Lemillion just laughed as they did absolutely nothing; he didn't really feel like laughing, but he knew that it usually unsettled and frustrated his enemies. A moment later, every single one of the clones was either vaporized by Triumph's fire, or melted by Alien Queen's acid.
"Follow me!" Lemillion shouted. "I know where we need to go!"
"Rath heard!" Rath charged straight through Lemillion. "Rath is punching his way through!"
Rath did just that, obliterating the entrance to the hidden passage, and inflicting serious injury to the small team of Yakuza thugs waiting for them. None of the team stopped to even look at them, though some of them did get worried when they found a wall blocking their path.
"I think they've got a serious lead on us," Lemillion said as they ran. "I'm going on ahead to try and slow them down!"
"Deku, you should go with him," Triumph said. "We'll break through the walls and catch up when we can."
Lemillion pushed One For All to thirty percent, and then used Permeation to pass through the walls at blistering speed. As hyper-focused as he was, Deku still hesitated as he turned into Big Chill.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
Uravity nodded, answering for all of them. "Just get her back, Izuku. Get her back."
Big Chill nodded back, and then flew after Lemillion.
"Well, that's them gone," Cellophane said. "Hey, Red Riot, mind making a door for us?"
Red Riot grinned wildly. "Comin' through!"
…
"Eri, you've been very bad." Chisaki leaned forward menacingly. "Do you know how much you've inconvenienced me?"
For her part, Eri flattened herself against the wall and tried to disappear. This was her nightmare, one she'd started to hope would never be real again. She had started to think that maybe she could spend the rest of her life with Izuku, Ochako, and the rest of her new family. But she saw the malice in Overhaul's eyes, and knew the pain that would follow.
"Hey, Overhaul!" Eri jumped when a Twice clone bounded over. "I got good news, and bad news. The bad news is that the Heroes are tearing apart your little army, and they've already entered the tunnels."
Chrono tensed at Chisaki's side. "And what's the good news?"
Twice put his fists on his hips. "I've got a bunch of me running around to slow 'em down! As soon as we get to the extraction zone, I can make a Kurogiri clone to get us all out of here!"
Chisaki blinked. "Why can't you just make a clone and get us out now?"
Twice sighed. "Because his Quirk is stupid, okay? It only works if he knows exactly where he's going to send a warp gate, and it's hard for him to orient himself inside a place he's never been to. It's easier if we're outside; he does boring stuff, like look at the position of the sun."
"Is that true?" Nemoto asked.
"Oh, sure!" Twice shrugged. "That's what he told me, anyway."
"Fine, we'll keep going." Chisaki thought about it for a moment, then grabbed Eri and thrust her into Twice's hands. "We'll need you intact to make a clone, so you'll hold her and stay with me."
Twice carefully balanced Eri in the crook of one arm, and then saluted with the other. "You got it, boss-man! I'm great with kids!"
"Somehow, I doubt it." Chisaki motioned for Twice to get a move on. "Hurry up."
"Don't worry," Twice whispered, so quietly that only Eri could hear him. "I'm gonna keep you safe, just because it'll really make that jerk mad."
Eri had been terrified. Now, she was terrified and very confused.
…
"Hi, you must be Lemillion!" Toga waved as she did her best to keep up with the Hero-in-training. "I'm Toga Himiko, nice to meet you! Oh, and don't bother trying to capture me, I'm just a clone."
"Thanks for letting me know," Lemillion said absently. "What are you doing here?"
"Just pointing you in the right direction," Toga said cheerily. "See, the League really hates the Yakuza, so Shigaraki asked us to infiltrate them and sabotage whatever their plans were. Well, actually, he never gave us orders, but that's what we decided to do!"
"So you're helping us?"
"Eh, more like we have the same enemy. Not the same thing." Toga pointed to a fork in the path. "Take the left tunnel; the right is a dead end."
"How can I trust you?"
Toga giggled. "I guess you can't, but this is one of those split-second decisions, right? Anyway, you should hurry; Twice can't keep that adorable little girl safe for long." Her eyes widened when she saw Big Chill round the corner. "Oh, is that Izuku? Hi, Izuku! The real me is looking forward to cutting you up again!"
The reminder that Toga had stabbed Deku several times was enough to make Lemillion whirl, just so he could have the satisfaction of punching the psychopath, but the clone whipped out a knife and slit her own throat in one quick motion. All Big Chill saw was the clone dissolve into a puddle of brown goo.
"What was that about?" Big Chill called out.
"Nothing," Lemillion said. "I'm going on ahead, take the left path!"
With that, he upped One For All to forty percent, and rocketed forward. He wasn't someone who typically vented his frustrations through violence, but between the Eight Precepts and the League of Villains, he really wanted to punch something.
…
"Do you guys think it's too quiet?" Alien Queen asked. "We're in their headquarters, so I thought there'd be more fighting down here."
"They probably sent their soldiers outside to stop the attack," Genesis said. "It's unlikely that they had time to lay traps."
Suneater bit his lip. "Still, with Twice around, there should be an army of clones to stop us."
"I'm not complaining," Cellophane half-joked. "This just means that we'll be fresh for the real fight!"
"Speaking of fighting…" Triumph brought his hand to his earpiece. "Endeavor, do you read?"
"I hear you, Triumph," his father said a moment later. "What's your status?"
"In pursuit of the enemy, and the hostage," Triumph reported. "We've had almost no resistance so far. Lemillion and Deku went ahead, but we're less than two minutes behind them."
"Understood. We've almost finished up here, so teams will be entering the lower levels to assist you soon. And Shoto?"
Triumph raised an eyebrow at Endeavor's use of his real name. "Yeah?"
"… be careful."
"Thanks?" Triumph ended the call and shook his head. "Weird. He actually sounded concerned."
Alien Queen lightly slapped his shoulder. "Save Eri first, work on your issues later!"
"Right." At least Triumph could physically attack the people who had taken Eri, so that would make him feel better.
…
"We're almost there," Chrono announced. "We just need to get through the next room, and we'll reach the exit."
"You heard him," Chisaki said to Twice. "Make the clone and get it ready."
"Sure thing!" As enthusiastic as the Twice sounded, he was starting to sweat. He had hoped that the Heroes would catch up by now, since he had lied about creating an army to slow them down. Now, he would either have to stall, or outright attack the Yakuza, and for all that he was a Villain, he had no intention of exposing a child to that kind of crossfire.
"Hold it!"
Twice almost laughed in relief; there, panting heavily but standing tall and surrounded by golden light, was Lemillion. He had just phased through the wall Overhaul had left to slow down any pursuers. Of course, that meant absolutely nothing to Lemillion, but he might still have a problem with the room full of opponents; Chrono and Irinaka were tough, and the Eight Expendables were nothing to scoff at. Then there was Chisaki himself; Shigaraki had made it clear that the Eight Precepts leader was, as he put it, boss material.
"You guys really made it hard to get here in time," Lemillion said as he took deep, steadying breaths. "I haven't had to push myself like that in a long while."
Chisaki scoffed. "Just one kid? How pathetic."
Lemillion grinned. "Oh, I won't be alone for long. The real question is, how many of you will I take down before my backup arrives? I'm thinking I'll get at least three of you."
"Arrogant little corpse, isn't he?" Rappa bashed his fists together and stomped forward. "Let me take 'im, Overhaul!"
Chisaki was already heading for the exit. "Just make it fast, Ra—"
Lemillion was already moving, and though Rappa tried to intercept him, he phased through the big man to drive his fist into Chisaki's face. A blink of an eye later, and he destroyed the Twice clone, caught Eri in one arm, and darted back.
"I'll be taking Eri back now," he said calmly. "Give up now, and maybe you'll get to say goodbye before you're hauled off forever."
…
Despite his confident exterior, Lemillion was worried. Had Eri not been in the room, he would have easily picked off each Yakuza by slipping in and out of the walls and floor. As it was, he would have to fight with one eye on the girl, keeping her safe until the others showed up. He estimated that he needed at least two minutes.
Fine, he thought, I won't give them a chance to even think about Eri. I'll make myself the biggest threat in the room!
He dashed back as far as he could, and then placed Eri on the floor. "Stay right here, okay? Deku and the others will be here very soon."
"D-don't!" Eri gasped out. "Ch-Chisaki… he'll kill you!"
Lemillion gave her his best smile. "He has to touch me to do that, and I won't let him."
With that, he stepped away and cracked his knuckles. "Okay. Let's do this."
Before, his golden aura had merely crackled; now, it was like One For All had manifested in a storm around him. The sheer force of it cracked the floor around him, and sent most of the Yakuza staggering to the floor.
One For All… sixty percent!
Using One For All at even thirty percent for several minutes straight was hard, but doable. He could even manage forty percent for short bursts without hurting himself. He had never even tried to reach sixty percent before; he just hoped he didn't shatter his skeleton with this move.
Rappa threw a hundred punches in the span of two seconds. In Lemillion's eyes, it was like Rappa was moving in slow motion; he could have dodged the attacks, even without Permeation. As it was, he sank into the floor and popped out behind Rappa; before the man even registered that Lemillion was gone, he was smashed into the ground with a quick chop.
Nemoto drew a pistol, but Lemillion reached out and used Blackwhip to snatch the weapon out of his hand. He also happened to break the man's wrist at the same time. Focused as he was on the fight, Lemillion was only dimly aware that he had yet to thank Melissa; she had built small nozzles into his gloves that let him use his newest Quirk without shredding his sleeves.
He started to charge towards Setsuno, but a wave of dizziness overcame him, followed by horrible pain as his muscles started to tear apart. He fell to his knees, and his vision blurred; he almost missed Sakaki Deidoro and Setsuno approaching. The former had knives in his hands, while the latter had his katana. Sakaki's Quirk, Sloshed, made his targets feel drunk, and it got worse the more alcohol he drank.
Lemillion tried to summon Blackwhip, but Setsuno drove his sword into his arm. Fortunately, Lemillion used Permeation to avoid getting stabbed, but it took all his concentration just to do that.
"That was impressive," Chisaki said as he got up. "If you weren't bound by your laws, you could have killed me with that punch."
Chisaki looked terrible; blood dripped down his face, and one eye was swollen shut. That all changed when he took off one glove and put his hand to his face; for a moment, it looked like his face exploded, and when it came back together, it was like he'd never been hit at all.
I thought I'd knocked him out, Lemillion thought bitterly. Now he can undo any damage I did to his goons.
"Kurono, target the girl," Chisaki ordered, not taking his eyes off Lemillion. "If you move, Hero, or try to avoid my hand, she will suffer. You don't want that, do you?"
Lemillion gritted his teeth. "You're a monster, Chisaki."
"I'm no monster," Chisaki said, kneeling down so that he was level with the young man. "I'm just using the curse of Quirks to make a cure for this disease. Really, you should be thanking me for restoring the natural order of things." He then narrowed his eyes. "And don't use my name so casually. I am Overhaul."
Every instinct Lemillion had screamed at him to move, to use Permeation, to not get touched, but he knew that Chisaki would follow through on his threat to hurt Eri.
Think, Mirio, think! Lemillion refused to let fear show as Chisaki's hand came closer. Izuku, I could really use some help here!
…
Ingenium punched a Yakuza soldier in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out.
"How many…"
A kick, and then another man fell with a cracked knee.
"Guys…"
A third man collapsed from a swift blow to the temple.
"Do the Eight Precepts have!?"
"I received a report from the other teams," Sir Nighteye said calmly as he dodged a wild slash from a knife. "The locations they hit were curiously understaffed. It seems that Chisaki may have planned a mass relocation."
Sky Dancer flipped overhead, kicked another thug in the face, and gracefully landed in midair. "Or he thought stealing a kid right out of UA was a big-enough risk to get all the extra security."
"That is a possibility," Nighteye admitted. "Still, we should have this mess cleaned up in a few more minutes, and then we can go after the interns."
"Good," Endeavor grunted as he melted an iron pole before it connected with his face. "I've read the details about Overhaul, and I don't like the idea of my son getting anywhere near him."
"It's nice to see you care about all the kids, including the hostage," Ingenium said, his sarcasm so thick it was almost visible. Endeavor wasn't the only one with family headed right into danger, but at least he care about more than one person.
"Concentrate, all of you," Ryukyu growled as she flattened an entire squad of Yakuza, then bowled over three more with her tail. "The sooner we're done here, the sooner we can go after the kids."
Everyone, Hero, police and Yakuza alike, were nearly knocked over by a sudden tremor; nearby, the manor walls began to crack and tilt.
"Oh, that can't be good," Fat Gum said. "What's going on down there?"
…
Things happened very fast. As soon as Big Chill passed through the wall, he had only a few seconds to process and act. Eri wasn't in the line of fire, which was good; Lemillion was inches away from Chisaki's hand, which was bad. It would take Deku less than half a second to transform from one alien to another.
Don't just analyze, don't just react.
There was a flash of green light, and then a thin blade of diamond sliced Overhaul's hand off at the wrist. By the time Chisaki had screamed and staggered back to repair it with Overhaul, Diamondhead landed on the ground and put himself between Lemillion and certain death.
Had Chisaki been anyone else, Deku might have held back a little; even knowing what he had done to Eri, deep down, he doubted he would have committed such brutality. However, Chisaki's Quirk meant that, as long as he had one hand left and a brain to decide what to do, he was almost immortal.
"Lemillion!" Diamondhead then turned into NRG. "Take Eri and go the way we came! Don't stop, just run! I'll hold them off!"
"Deku, you can't take them alone!" Despite his words, Lemillion staggered to his feet and picked up Eri.
NRG shifted slightly and blew a hole through the wall Chisaki had created, then turned back to the Eight Expendables and fired a beam of radiation at their feet.
"Mirio. Go."
Lemillion grimaced, but even with his own reservations and Eri struggling in his arms, he turned and ran. It killed him to admit it, but Deku was right; he had pushed himself far beyond what his body was capable of, and then tried to pick a fight with ten extremely dangerous people, all while handicapping himself by protecting Eri. If he tried to fight now, he would just get in the way; by getting Eri out, he was removing any reason for Deku to hold back.
"Okay," he bit out, "good luck."
Eri reached out for Deku. "Izu, no!"
She wasn't the only one to reach out; an already-healed Chisaki, seeing his prize literally snatched away, put his hand on the floor.
"You're not taking her away!"
Lemillion might not have been in any shape to fight, but he could still run; he used ten percent of One For All to leap forward, slipping through the hole Deku had made an instant before Chisaki closed it again.
Good luck, Izuku…
…
Uravity was so focused on catching up to where she thought Eri was, she almost missed the girl in Lemillion's arms. She skidded to a halt, spun around, and nearly tackled Lemillion in her attempt to hug Eri.
"Eri-chan! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Eri was trembling in her arms, and tears ran down her face. "Izu… Izu is back there! Chisaki will kill him!"
Uravity gestured for the others to go on ahead, while she and Lemillion stayed behind. "Oh, sweetie, Izuku is going to be okay. We're all going to go help him, and then we're going to go back to UA together. I promise."
Uraraka had no experience in parenting, but she drew on every memory she had of her own mother comforting her after a nightmare, and her recent experience as Eri's guardian. She poured every ounce of confidence into making it seem like the best possible outcome was the only possible outcome.
"I have to go help Izuku, okay?" Uravity removed her helmet long enough to put a gentle kiss on Eri's forehead. "We'll be back soon, so stay with Uncle Mirio. He'll take you outside where it's safe."
Eri gripped Uravity's hand tightly; the fear on her face, so out of place on a child so young, broke Uravity's heart.
"Okay."
Uravity put her helmet back on and looked at Lemillion. "Get her out of here."
"I will." Lemillion held Eri close with one arm, and pointed back the way he'd come with the other. "You'd better hurry, or there won't be anything left for you to beat up."
"I'm sure Izuku saved me one." Uravity used her Quirk on herself and activated her wings. "He's considerate like that."
…
"You are, by far, the dumbest Hero I've ever met," Chisaki said. "You should have run with your friend; now, it's just you against us. We'd still chase you down and kill you, but you'd live at least a few more seconds."
NRG brought his fists together with a clang. "Every second I slow you down gets Eri just a little further away from you. Besides, I won't be alone for long."
Kurono leaned closer to Chisaki. "Sir, if other Heroes are coming, maybe we should pull back."
"No." Chisaki flexed his fingers. "Eri is the key to all of this. We kill these Heroes, catch up to Eri, and get her back. Then we can rebuild. Rappa, rip open that can."
Rappa cracked his knuckles. "You got it!"
Before he took three steps, NRG transformed, and was replaced by what looked like a green sea turtle that had learned to stand upright. The Omnitrix dial sat in the center of his front shell, which had odd holes.
Terraspin tucked his head into his shell, then spread his arm-flippers; his legs came together, almost merging, and he started to hover. The flippers spun like the propellers of a fan, and air blasted out of the holes in his torso. The strong wind blew Rappa back like a cannonball, and would have crashed into Chisaki, but Tengai Hekiji—a man with short blonde hair and a mask similar to Chisaki's—activated his Quirk, and a dome of translucent yellow energy surrounded him and the rest of the Yakuza.
"Rappa, get up," Chisaki ordered, and then turned to Terraspin. "That's your big plan? Knock us over with wind? Try again, kid!"
Chisaki pressed his hand to the floor, and spikes sprouted up underneath Terraspin; they would have impaled him, but he leaned forward, still spinning, and began to fly.
"Kill him!" Chisaki shouted.
Terraspin was near the high ceiling, and with none of the Yakuza possessing effective long-range Quirks, they resorted to more mundane methods. Several of them drew pistols and fired, but the bullets merely bounced off Terraspin's shell, or were deflected by his high-speed flippers.
For his part, Terraspin was annoyed; he hadn't used this alien in a real fight before, and had hoped that it would surprise the Yakuza. Instead, all he'd done was give Rappa a few bruises, while the rest were saved by Tengai's barrier.
Fine, I'm done playing around. Time to go Plus Ultimate!
Terraspin was momentarily hidden by another flash of green light; when it faded, the Eight Precepts got a good look at Ultimate Terraspin. He wasn't any bigger than before, but his shell was completely exposed; every plate was gone, leaving little more than a collection of thick sticks stuck together. Instead of flesh, the interior of his shell was made of twisting wind; the visible core, the center of his shell, was a sphere of black wind that pulsed like a heartbeat. Similar black spheres replaced his arms and legs, as was his head was another black wind-sphere; the only difference was a pair of crackling green lines, similar to eyes, which hovered just in front of the top sphere.
"Last chance," he said, with the voice of wind passing through a pile of dead leaves. "Surrender now, or you will get hurt."
Chisaki scoffed. "You think you're impressive, kid? There are eleven of us, and one of you."
Ultimate Terraspin would have smiled if he still had a mouth. "Count again in a couple of minutes."
"You'll be dead by then." Chisaki pointed at him. "Kill him!"
Sakaki hurled a pair of knives, but one of the wind-spheres expanded into a full-blown tornado; the wind not only knocked away the blades, but hurled Sakaki into the far wall. Ultimate Terraspin wasn't done, and knocked down Rappa and the giant brute that was Katsukame Rikiya. The rest dove for cover, or hid behind Tengai's barrier once again. Chisaki placed his hand on the ground and made a wave of spikes erupt underneath Ultimate Terraspin, but he easily flew out of the way.
Ultimate Terraspin's four 'limbs' turned into enormous tornados, and lashed out like they each had a mind of their own. Wherever the wind connected with the concrete, it carved a deep furrow, and had it directly connected with anyone without superhuman durability, it would have critically injured them at the very least. The problem, one that Deku had had since first using Ultimate Terraspin, was that he was all power, and almost no control; it was all he could do just to point his wind in the right direction.
Had he been fighting anyone else, he wouldn't have even considered using Ultimate Terraspin, but this was Chisaki. There was more than enough hatred for that man to loosen his self-control.
He also didn't need to worry as much anyway; Tengai kept putting up barriers to keep his comrades alive, though the sheer power of the windstorms knocked them around inside the domes.
This is getting annoying, Ultimate Terraspin thought. I need to catch them, not kill them. What else can I turn into that can fight all of them at once?
Fortunately, he didn't have to come up with a solution, because the wall behind him shattered once again, and he was joined by the other Rising Stars, two of the Big Three, and Kirishima.
"Deku, are you all right?" Genesis asked as she created a taser in one hand, and a shield on the opposite arm.
"I'm fine," he replied, even as he turned back into Terraspin, and then Diamondhead; Ultimate Terraspin was simply too dangerous to use in an enclosed space when there were allies close. "What about Eri?"
Had the situation been less serious, Uravity would have given him a supportive smile; as it was, she kept her eyes on the enemy. "Lemillion is bringing her to the surface, and the other Heroes are on the way to meet them. These guys won't touch her again."
"You think you can stop us?" Overhaul's voice was calm, but the Heroes could see one of his eyes twitching. "I won't let a bunch of children who don't understand how the world should be get in my way. Kill them all!"
"Deku, take Overhaul," Suneater said, his arms already morphing into huge tentacles. "We'll keep the rest of them off you."
"Thanks." Diamondhead charged, but almost tripped over Irinaka's puppet-body.
"You won't go near Overhaul!" the tiny puppet shrieked, and a muscular arm tore free from the inside-out, clutching a needle.
"Watch out!" Triumph shouted. "They've got Trigger!"
No one was fast enough to stop Irinaka from injecting himself; after that, all hell broke loose.
…
Before the first tremor had faded, the Heroes had already stormed the building. They had no idea what kind of condition their interns were in, and each of them wanted to kick themselves for letting students charge into a potential battle with hardened criminals. They all knew that they would have disobeyed orders to rescue Eri, and giving them an objective gave them at least a little control over the teens, but that just made it the best of a list of bad decisions.
"Turn right at the bookcase," Nighteye said as they ran. "Lemillion should rendezvous with us in less than two minutes. He will have the girl."
"Understood," Endeavor grunted. "Nighteye, you and Ryukyu will escort them outside."
Ryukyu wanted to protest—after all, she had four interns down there, and thus had the most to lose—but she knew Endeavor was right. Her Quirk made fighting in close quarters a challenge at the best of times, made even harder with allies nearby.
The Heroes' path was delayed by the appearance of several Twice clones, and two clones of Slice. Ever since learning of Twice's Quirk, the entire Hero community had a destroy-on-sight order for the clones, to keep them from creating an army in minutes. Endeavor immediately roasted the Twices with a burst of flame, several of whom were in the middle of making more clones. The Slices used the melting clones as shields, then used their hair as spears, heading right for Endeavor. Fat Gum jumped in the way of the attack, and though the hardened hair dug into his body, it didn't actually hurt him; he then wrapped his arms around the hair, holding them fast.
"Any time, guys!" he shouted.
Ingenium dashed around him, charging straight for the clones; both his arms were pulled back, and the engines sticking from his elbows began to hum menacingly.
"Double Recipro Thrust!" With a burst of power, both arms drove their respective fists into the stomachs of the clones. Both of them burst goo, and melted around Ingenium's hands.
"Oh, that's gross," he complained as he shook the mess off. "I hope this doesn't stain my gloves."
Sky Dancer rolled her eyes and was about to make a snappy comment, but then she saw who was running towards them. "Hey, Lemillion! You've got the girl!"
Lemillion gasped for air as he gently put Eri on the ground. "I'm… okay… whew! I pushed myself way too hard today."
"Where are the others?" Endeavor demanded. "Any injuries to report?"
Lemillion took one more breath, then stood up straight and began his report. "When I left, Deku was holding off Chisaki and the Eight Precepts leadership. The rest of the team should be reinforcing him now."
Ingenium did some quick math in his head. "It'll take us at least five minutes to reach them, assuming we aren't delayed. Can they hold out for that long?"
"We have to trust that they can," Sky Dancer said grimly.
No one voiced the alternative; it was too terrible to consider.
"We must hurry," Endeavor said. "Ryukyu, Nighteye, take Lemillion and the girl outside, then take command of the situation out there. We'll go after the students."
"You guys should go on ahead without me," Fat Gum reluctantly said. "I'll catch up when I can, but I'm just going to slow the rest of you down."
The other Heroes nodded and hurried off. Unlike his faster peers, Fat Gum noticed something as he jogged down the tunnel after them. The door wasn't guarded, but it was locked from the outside; in Fat Gum's experience, a door was only locked inside a guarded compound if there was something valuable inside.
More attention-grabbing was a small sign hanging from the doorknob, with a message written in sloppy kanji, and decorated with smiley faces:
Tell the police to stop losing these.
Intrigued, Fat Gum opened the door. What he saw made his eyes go wide. "Well, I'll be damned…"
…
The entire room shook and twisted, as if it was a living thing—because, in fact, it was. Irinaka had used his Quirk, Mimic, to possess the walls, floor and ceiling. Normally, he could only take over something as large as a refrigerator, but with Trigger pumping through him, that limit was greatly reduced, and his control over his new body made him incredibly dangerous.
Had the Heroes only been fighting him, they would have had a serious problem, but there was also Chisaki, Kurono, and the Expendables in the room. That meant that Irinaka couldn't go all-out without hurting his master. However, he was still causing problems for most of the Heroes; the floor bucked and heaved, making it extremely hard for them to maintain their footing. Even those who could fly—mostly Uravity and Nejire-chan—weren't immune to the danger, because Irinaka could turn chunks of the room into roiling tendrils that threatened to crush them.
Irinaka wasn't the only one to use Trigger. Hojo Yu, a burly man whose Quirk let him grow crystals all over his body, could now launch them like harpoons, and even make rudimentary weapons in his hands out of the substance. Katsukame's Quirk allowed him to absorb the life-force of those who touched him, which increased his size and strength, but with Trigger, he could affect people within twenty feet of him.
The latter's power was the biggest threat for the Heroes, especially in the confined quarters, but again, the close proximity of the other Eight Precepts members helped balance things out. Tengai in particular nearly collapsed when Katsukame got too close, and that made his barriers flicker.
With the risk posed by Katsukame, the Heroes focused on him first. Nejire-chan charged up her Quirk and unleashed it in a massive spiral that bowled the giant over. The force of the blast sent him crashing through a wall—which caused Irinaka to growl in pain as his new body was damaged—and drove him back before he harmed anyone too much.
After that, the Heroes stuck to the plan.
Cellophane went after Setsuno, and fired a line of tape; Setsuno's sword cut through part of it, but that was only to get the blade out of the way. Cellophane shot another strand that looped around the man's head, covering his eyes; without being able to see, the man couldn't use his Quirk, which meant that the biggest potential threat to Midoriya was temporarily neutralized. Cellophane was about to swing across to knock Setsuno out, but the undulating ceiling made him overshoot and crash near Chisaki.
"Hanta, move!" Genesis created a javelin from her hand and hurled it at Chisaki in one fluid motion; she was disappointed, but not surprised, when he caught it in one hand and disintegrated the pointed end in one swift motion. It did, however, buy Cellophane the time he needed to attach some tape to the far wall and drag himself out of Chisaki's range.
From there, everyone moved, and everything happened at once.
…
Genesis created a shield to block Kurono's arrow-shaped hair, which lashed out at her like a nest of cobras. The two began a dance of sorts, darting around the rapidly-shifting battlefield; Kurono slashed at Genesis' shield, while also trying to avoid the small explosives she created from her legs as she moved.
"You threatened the boss," Kurono hissed. "I'm going to make you suffer for that! All I have to do is hit you once, and then you're going to watch as I skin you alive!"
"Then I just have to make sure you don't hit me," Genesis retorted. She tossed a flashbang grenade over her shield, and closed her eyes an instant before it exploded.
Kurono wasn't so lucky, and blindly lashed out with his clock-hand hair. Genesis dropped her shield and ran in low; she slid on her knees to cover the last few feet between them, and barely avoided having her scalp sliced open on the way. When she stood up, she had already created a set of brass knuckles on each hand; each blow was aimed at vulnerable spots, like joints and stomach. She even managed to land a punch to Kurono's groin, which doubled him over long enough for Genesis to drive her knee into his face. It cracked one of the lenses of his mask, and she thought she heard his nose break, even as she realized how dangerous her position was.
As close as they now were, Genesis had no time to create something to protect herself from Kurono's hair, which slashed across her thigh. She hadn't even hit the ground before his Quirk, Chronostasis, began to affect her. She was now nearly frozen, her body only able to move at the barest fraction of what she was capable of.
"That hurt," Kurono said, his voice muffled with pain. "I only hit you with my minute hand, so this won't last long, but all your friends are too busy to stop me from cutting your pretty head off."
Genesis furiously thought about her options, but she could barely blink, much less fight. She needed an opening; more than that, she needed a miracle.
As if the universe heard her thoughts, the entire room trembled, and then every inch of the floor, ceiling and walls were covered in ice. No, Genesis realized that the ice didn't cover the room, but had emerged from around it, as if it was being cryogenically frozen.
The sudden loss of footing made Kurono slip, which bought Genesis precious seconds to use her greatest weapon—not her Quirk, but her mind. She recalled everything she knew about Chronostasis, and a hypothesis Midoriya had proposed—the very reason she was made the ideal choice to fight Kurono in the first place.
…
"You could also fight Nemoto," Midoriya had admitted, "but he'll just keep asking you what you're about to do, and being forced to answer could interfere with your ability to quickly create something. Even if it doesn't, he'll still know what your next move is, and he'll be able to avoid it. Better leave him to someone else."
"Then how do I fight Kurono?" Yaoyorozu asked.
Midoriya's smile was fierce. "Well, every report about his Quirk says that it just slows down the body, not the mind. Your Quirk relies on just a supply of lipids, and your mind. As long as you have an opening…"
…
… I can still win! Genesis thought fiercely, as Kurono's head lined up perfectly with her outstretched hand.
Chisaki's right-hand man could only watch as helplessly as his would-be victim as a long pole, topped by a metal fist, shot out of her palm at considerable speed. There was a crack as it connected with his skull; he stumbled drunkenly, spun around once, and collapsed.
Genesis kept her eyes on him as she waited for Chronostasis to wear off. Once it did, she stood up; the gash on her thigh burned, but she ignored the pain as she limped over to Kurono with a pair of freshly-created handcuffs.
Her part in this fight, at least, was over, but she was satisfied that she had won her fight.
…
"Where are you planning to strike me?"
"In your gut!" Red Riot grimaced as Nemoto rolled out of the way at the last second, just like the last ten times. Forcing him to answer every question gave Nemoto just enough time to stay out of his reach.
Before he could think about trying to attack again, Nemoto drew a pistol and fired twice. Had Red Riot not Hardened his entire body at the last second, he would have died instantly from a bullet to the brain and the heart. As it was, the shots ricocheted into the floor and ceiling; a moment later, Red Riot was smashed to the ground by a tendril of ceiling waved around by Irinaka.
Come on, just hold out as long as you can, he thought. Remember what Midoriya told you!
…
"Most of our moves require us to focus, and Nemoto can draw that out of us," Midoriya had said. "But you can hold him in place, keep him distracted and focused on you."
"Okay, but how does that let me beat him?" Kirishima had asked.
"One of two things will happen; either you'll outlast him and take him down, or one of us will finish our own fights and hit him while he's distracted. Both scenarios require you to be unbreakable."
Kirishima had grinned. "Oh, I can do that…"
…
Red Riot knew that he could outlast almost anyone in a battle of stamina. He had intentionally allowed the strongest members of his class—specifically Bakugo, Iida, and Midoriya's physically-focused transformations—to hit him as often as possible during training. After taking one beating after another from Rath, he knew that his Quirk had grown strong enough to take all but the most terrible of hits.
And Nemoto Shin was not a heavy hitter.
Maybe I can throw him off his game, he thought. It'll probably only last a second, but that's all I'll need!
He reached deep inside himself, dredging up every ounce of strength and willpower he had. His body creaked and groaned as bones, muscle and skin turned harder than stone. His teeth and hair looked more like ragged chunks of rock, and his fingers sharpened into wicked claws.
"What is that!?" Nemoto demanded as Red Riot looked more like a demon than a human.
"I am…" Red Riot held his arms out. "UNBREAKABLE!"
Nemoto tried to backpedal, but the young Hero was on him. He was no faster than before—if anything, his increased density made him slower—but Red Riot had surprise on his side. He pinned Nemoto's arms to his sides in a bear-hug, and tackled him to the floor; Nemoto struggled in his grip, but that soon stopped when Red Riot slammed his head into the Yakuza's. He did it again and again, only stopping when blood trickled out from underneath his mask, but Nemoto was still fighting. Red Riot pinned his forearm against Nemoto's throat, then used his other fist to punch him in the chest with all the force of a wrecking ball.
He knew he should have felt bad about breaking Nemoto's ribs, but he really didn't. After studying the man's file, he knew that Nemoto would have backed Chisaki's plan to kidnap and torture a little girl to the hilt. As far as he was concerned, breaking some of this monster's bones was a light punishment.
Finally, when Nemoto's only movement was ragged breathing, Red Riot stood up and cut his Quirk. He still had a few seconds of time left, which meant that he hadn't pushed himself too far; if he gave himself a minute to rest, he might even be able to use Unbreakable again, if only for a short burst.
Nah, no time to rest, he decided. I can go help someone else.
Before he could choose who to help, the entire room trembled, and everything began to freeze. Red Riot shivered, and wished he had at least a shirt.
"What the heck did Todoroki do!?"
…
Virtus vaulted over Hojo, barely avoiding a spike of crystal that had been aiming for his head. He then ducked under Tabe's snapping jaws, and rewarded the maniac with a swift kick to the leg. Hojo tried to go after Virtus again, but Suneater caught him by the ankles with a massive tentacle and dragged him off.
"You're fighting me," Suneater reminded Hojo. "We're not done yet."
High on Trigger, Hojo only growled and slashed apart the tentacle with his crystals. That was the last Virtus saw before he had to dart away again, Tabe hot on his heels.
Of all of Chisaki's enforcers, Tabe was the last Virtus wanted to fight. The man disturbed him more than he wanted to admit; his Quirk, Food, allowed him to chew through almost anything, and digest it just as fast. The problem for him was that his metabolism was so fast that he never felt full, and it had driven him insane. Sadly for him, his family had been against Quirk-suppressing methods that might have helped their son, and instead tried to force him to control his Quirk.
That had only lasted a few years. Then Tabe ate them.
"Come and get me, monster!" Virtus taunted as he ran.
"Eat!" Drool dripped down Tabe's mask as he sprinted after his prey. "Eat, eat, eat!"
He may be insane, but his reflexes are good, Virtus thought. I'll have one shot at a finishing blow; I just need to build up enough speed.
That was easier said than done. The room was large, but not large enough for him to build up enough momentum. He could try running laps around the room instead, but as his near-miss with Hojo had shown, the risk of running into another fight was too great.
Then he had an idea. It was dangerous, and not a little crazy; in short, it was something a Hero would do.
…
"Tabe has the same weaknesses as any normal human being," Midoriya had said, after everyone had taken a breath after reading Tabe's file. "The dangerous part is his mouth. Take that out, and he's no longer a threat."
"His file suggests that his mouth is far more durable than normal," Iida pointed out.
"There's more than one way to stop someone from biting. Just knock the wind out of him, and he'll be too busy gasping to do anything else."
…
"Recipro Extend!"
Virtus charged towards the nearest wall, engines at full power. Tabe continued to chase him, but paused in confusion when Virtus shifted, and then rocketed up the wall. He then reached the ceiling, shifted again, and aimed himself straight at Tabe, who was so surprised that he couldn't react in time. Virtus flew at just under the speed of sound and snapped out a kick that connected solidly with Tabe's chest; the air was forced from the man's lungs, and more than one rib snapped from the force of the blow.
Tabe gasped, futilely trying to fill his lungs with air as he weakly shook on the ground. Virtus almost paused to pity the man, but knew that even a few broken ribs wouldn't stop him for long. Instead, using the last of his Recipro Extend, he drove his foot into Tabe's head to knock him out.
Virtus had just enough time to take a breath, satisfied that he had quickly finished his fight, and then the room trembled, and ice began to coat everything.
"I hope Triumph is all right," he said to himself. "For now, I should find someone else to assist!"
…
"You're a quick one, aren't you!?" Rappa laughed as he unleashed blow after blow.
Fortunately for Froppy, she was able to keep just out of his reach, and whenever he got too close for comfort, she jumped over to the nearest wall, or even the ceiling. Either move was still risky, because Irinaka could easily swat her aside, but most of his attacks were now focused on Triumph.
"Come on, just say something!" Rappa demanded. "If this fight is gonna last long, at least tell me your name!"
Froppy hopped away again, determined not to say anything. If she could throw Rappa off his game, even a little, then that could provide an opening for her. She knew she would only have one shot, and if she mistimed it, Rappa would crush her.
What are his weaknesses? His legs, of course—Izuku already mentioned that. What else do I have that can work against him? He's ridiculously strong, and he's tough enough to use that strength without hurting himself. I could kick him all day, and probably not hurt him. Should I just keep him busy until I can get help? No, the longer this takes, the more chances there are of someone getting hurt.
Froppy leaped to the side to avoid another barrage of punches; these were so close that she could feel the air pressure against her leg.
There is something I can do, but it's risky, she thought. Not just for me, but for him. Then again, he's so tough that he could probably take it.
Froppy jumped up to the ceiling and rolled up one sleeve to get what she needed. Then, with a steadying breath, she leaped down to Rappa's level.
"You want a fight, ribbit?" Froppy crouched low. "Come and get me."
"Now that's what I like to hear!" Rappa charged, one arm drawn back.
Again, Froppy jumped away, but this time, her tongue shot out and lashed against Rappa's arms, one after the other. It was barely a tap, and it was lightning-fast, but Rappa was an experienced fighter. He grabbed the tongue and swung Froppy around like a wrecking ball; he spun around once, twice, and then hurled her into the wall. She managed to avoid hitting her head, and she didn't think anything was broken, but it hurt.
"I like your attitude, frog-girl," Rappa said as he loomed over her. "Too bad you didn't have the power to back it up!"
"Maybe not…" Froppy wiped away the blood that trickled down her chin; she had cut the inside of her mouth on her teeth. "But I'm smarter than you, ribbit."
Rappa laughed, but before he could throw his fatal punch, his arm slumped limply to his side. "What the hell? What's going on!?"
Froppy pushed herself to her feet. "I can do anything a frog can do, ribbit." She nodded to herself as Rappa's other arm went limp. "That includes producing paralyzing toxins. I coated my tongue with them before I hit you. It's a good thing you're strong; if you were a normal human, this might have killed you."
"That's…" Rappa slumped to his knees as the toxins pushed further through his body. "That's not fair…"
Froppy allowed just a bit of her anger to slip its leash as she leaned in close. "You want a fair fight, ribbit? Maybe you shouldn't have let your boss kidnap and torture a little girl."
Before Rappa could reply, Froppy drew back one leg and kicked him as hard as she could in the temple. Between that and the toxins, he was out like a light. Before she could even think to celebrate her victory, the room shook, and then ice coated the floor, walls and ceiling. She immediately began to shiver as her physiology reacted badly to the sudden cold, and only the heating of her nanotech costume prevented her from entering hibernation.
"You're my friend, Shoto, but sometimes I really hate your Quirk, ribbit," she muttered.
…
Suneater grimaced as Hojo carved apart more of his tentacles. He was starting to run low on the food he'd eaten, and his opponent wasn't giving him the chance to eat more. He couldn't even distract the man with words—not that he was any good at banter—because the Trigger had turned him into a rabid animal.
Hojo's crystals continued to grow at a rapid pace, until his entire body was covered. He looked like a bizarre nightmare-version of Diamondhead.
Fortunately, Suneater had sparred against Diamondhead more than once. Midoriya had proven to be a difficult opponent because he was analytical and used tactics; all Hojo had was raw aggression and no restraint.
Suneater dodged another headlong charge, then wrapped a tentacle around Hojo's leg; with a grunt, he heaved Hojo up, then down with impressive force. The crystals surrounding Hojo's body cracked, and even shattered in some places.
That's another thing Diamondhead is better at, Suneater thought. This guy's crystals aren't as durable.
Hojo roared as new crystals replaced the old, and he charged again. Suneater smashed him aside with a clamshell on one hand, then grabbed the back of his head with a crab claw on the other. He dragged Hojo along the ground, then slammed him against the nearest wall. Hojo flailed about, but only managed a few glancing blows that Suneater ignored as he continued using the man as a living battering ram. Crystals broke and fell to the ground like hail; some of them jabbed painfully into Suneater's feet, but only until he manifested six crab legs, which he used to brace himself and protect against the shrapnel.
Finally, after what felt like forever, Hojo stopped struggling. His crystals receded, and Suneater could see how much damage he'd done. The man's arms and legs were broken, and blood poured from his nose and mouth; the surgical mask he'd worn had fallen off early in the fight, allowing Suneater a good view of a mouth without many teeth left.
Suneater would be the first to admit that he wasn't fond of hurting people, but he didn't feel as bad as he might have. Hojo had become a deranged monster because of the Trigger, and would have killed anyone he could reach.
Besides, after some reconstructive surgery, he could look forward to a nice, comfortable cell in Tartarus to recover in.
Suneater saw Nejire-chan still fighting against Katsukame, but before he could scuttle over to help her, he was nearly thrown off his six pointed feet when the room trembled. Ice coated the floor, and he stumbled; not far away, he saw Katsukame swat his girlfriend out of the air, and she vanished behind a cluster of spikes jutting from the ground.
"Nejire!"
…
Cellophane swung through the air, timed his approach, and let go. Unfortunately, Setsuno saw the kick coming and rolled out of the way; he lashed out with his sword, and only a desperate leap backwards saved him from getting his head cut off. He still got slashed across the chest; it hurt, but it was shallow, and it didn't stop him from moving.
"You're gonna regret that trick you pulled with that tape!" Setsuno shouted.
"The only thing I'm regretting is not knocking you out already," Cellophane grunted, jaw locked from the pain.
Setsuno laughed and held out his free hand. Cellophane's helmet was ripped off his head and flew towards the Yakuza; he was surprised long enough that Setsuno was able to line up a clean shot and threw the helmet back in his face. Cellophane saw stars, and he thought his nose broke under the impact, but he shot a line of tape up and pulled himself to a safe distance.
I'm really starting to hate this guy, Cellophane thought as he wiped blood from his nose. Okay, let's see if I can't play to my strengths.
Cellophane fired one line of tape after another; half was used to pull himself around in the air, while the other half landed in clumps and strips all around Setsuno, limiting his movement. He tried to cut his way clear, but enough bits of tape clung to the blade that it started to cause some issues. It got even worse for Setsuno when he took his attention off Cellophane for one second too long, and that was all he needed to tape Setsuno's foot to the ground, then used another strand of tape to rip the sword out of his hand.
"Now you know how it feels!" Cellophane shouted, then taped the sword to the ceiling.
His Quirk only works on stuff on me, so as long as I keep his weapon out of his hands, I'm good!
Setsuno dove for a pistol that had fallen to the ground during the chaos, but the tape around his foot tripped him up, and he handed on even more tape. A few seconds later, and Cellophane had practically cocooned the man, tying him up to his nose in tape. After a moment of consideration, he knocked Setsuno out with a swift kick to the temple, and tried not to feel self-satisfied.
He was about to head in the direction of Genesis, to see if she needed help with Kurono, but the room suddenly shook, and then started to freeze over.
"I am not ready for winter, Shoto," he grumbled.
…
Alien Queen scowled as she skated around yet another barrier in her path. Tengai was a defensive fighter, and needed allies to really do damage, but he was just as capable of slowing someone down as he was protecting someone else.
She wanted nothing more than to fight Chisaki, but Tengai kept getting in her way, and it was starting to make her angry. Well, angrier—Ashido wasn't someone who fell into a rage, but she had been nursing her hatred of Chisaki possibly even more than Midoriya or Uraraka. She loved Eri, and had been heartbroken when she caught a glimpse of the girl's scars, and when she'd learned who was responsible, she had genuinely contemplated murder.
It wouldn't be hard to pull off; ever since discovering her Quirk, counselors had cautioned her to be extra careful. One wrong step, and she could easily become a Villain; half the reason her parents had supported her joining the Hero Course was because it would teach her valuable self-control. However, in the face of her hatred, all that discipline was thrown out the window, and the only reason she couldn't go after her real target was because of annoying creep in a bird-mask.
Fine, she thought when another barrier diverted her path yet again, I'll take him down first, then help Midori.
"You cannot hurt me," Tengai boasted. "Your acid is powerful, but my barriers are not something that can be melted away."
That was true; though solid, Tengai's barriers didn't have anything for her acid to break down. Alien Queen had learned this the first time, but she had been distracted by her anger. When it cooled down, just a little, she remembered the strategy meeting with her friends.
…
"Tengai's barriers are strong, but he can't move while he uses them," Midoriya had said. "And they don't have a floor; they're just domes. If someone keeps him distracted, someone else can dig underneath the barriers to take him down."
"Who would be good for the digging part?" Uraraka had asked.
"Well, I think Mirio could just walk through the barriers, but I could get underneath Tengai as Armodrillo. Another good option…"
…
Would be me! Alien Queen thought fiercely.
Still, she didn't have someone to distract Tengai, so she improvised. She aimed one palm at the top of the barrier Tengai was using to shield himself, and sprayed as much acid as she could. She made the viscosity as thick as possible as it covered the half bubble, to distort his vision through the transparent barrier and hopefully disguise her real objective.
With her other hand, she pointed at the ground just outside the barrier. She hosed the ground with her strongest acid, melting a hole in the floor. Then, as fast as she could, she jumped into the makeshift tunnel; she prayed that Tengai didn't move as she covered herself in acid and practically swam through the ground, then aimed up. She hoped she had measured correctly, and the burst up from underground. Sure enough, she was inside the barrier!
Tengai stumbled, the first time he had lost his composure. Alien Queen threw a punch with a fist coated in acid, but Tengai managed to block it with a small barrier over his outstretched hand. It saved him that time, but she was inside his reach now. She dropped a glob of weak acid on his foot; it didn't even damage him, but it scared him, and gave her the opening she needed to strike him in the jaw with her elbow.
"You!" Alien Queen kicked him in the side. "Are in!" Another strike to the face, this time with an acid just strong enough to make his eyes sting. "My way!"
In desperation, Tengai wrapped his own fist in a barrier and lashed out blindly; he managed to catch Alien Queen in the jaw, even as she kicked him in the kidney. He fell to the ground, barely conscious, and Alien Queen staggered back; just before she could recover, Irinaka swept around a column of stone that hit her in the head.
She heard a shout of denial, and as her vision went dark, she wondered why the floor was so cold.
…
Nejire-chan groaned and brought a hand to her head; she jerked it back when her skull was lanced with white-hot pain, and it came away bloody.
"I need to stop getting hit in the head," she mumbled.
She was confused when the room suddenly got darker, and it took her half a second to realize that it wasn't that the lights were going out, but that Katsukame was looming over her. Rather than just pulverize her, he seemed content to just stand there as his Trigger-boosted Quirk affected her. With the drug coursing through him, he didn't need direct contact; anyone who came close would have their energy stolen.
"Thanks for that," Katsukame rumbled, as his muscled bulged and he grew a few inches taller. "You've got a lot of energy, girly. I can't wait to see how strong I get when I take it all!"
Nejire-chan tried to ready her own Quirk, but her bell had been well and truly rung, and she couldn't even get to her feet. It didn't help that she could feel her stamina draining with every second.
Katsukame raised his foot to step closer, but his entire body was suddenly engulfed in enormous tentacles.
"Get away from her!" Suneater shouted, as angry as Nejire-chan had ever seen. Both his arms were a mass of tentacles, and his feet were giant talons that dug into the floor and gave him leverage.
Nejire-chan felt a surge of hope when Suneater dragged Katsukame back, but a few seconds later, the tentacles went slack, and Suneater fell to his knees.
"Nice try, kid," Katsukame taunted. "But grabbing me was the dumbest thing you could have done. I'm all charged up, and now, I'm gonna squash you like a bug."
Suneater weakly turned his head towards Nejire-chan. "I'm… sorry…"
Seeing her boyfriend like that, helpless and about to die, was a waking nightmare for Nejire-chan. They had all come here to rescue Eri, and dying in the process was not part of the plan. Adrenaline, fear, and anger pushed her concussion aside, and she rose to her feet; swirling energy gathered in her hands, brighter and more powerful than anything she had summoned before.
"You won't touch him," Nejire-chan growled, and aimed her hands up. "You. Won't. Touch him!"
Katsukame looked back, only to get a face full of barely-controlled energy that sent him rocketing up, clean through the ceiling, the compound above, and out into the open. Nejire-chan wouldn't find out until later, but Katsukame landed headfirst on a fire hydrant, knocking him out instantly.
Nejire-chan collapsed; she had used more energy in a single blast than she usually used in a whole day of intensive training. She felt like she could barely move, which was annoying, because she was lying on a floor covered in ice.
"Nejire?" With a herculean effort, she looked up to see Suneater, also collapsed after direct contact with Katsukame.
"Yeah, Tamaki?"
Suneater dragged himself over so that he could grab her hand. "That was really cool."
Nejire-chan smiled, even as her vision darkened again. "Thanks. I'm gonna take a nap now."
She was unconscious before her head hit the floor.
…
Uravity barely avoided another tendril of stone as she flew towards Sakaki. She could have ended her fight earlier, but she had to constantly dodge Irinaka's flailing, which was even harder when he could attack her from all directions.
Funnily enough, Sakaki was the easiest part of her battle. His Quirk, Sloshed, impacted his victims' equilibrium, but it was having almost no effect on her. Her arm had been created to counteract her own Quirk's side-effect, which meant that the worst Sakaki could do to her was make her a little nauseous. She had done worse to herself for years.
"How come you're not sloshed?" Sakaki demanded, then hiccupped and downed a whole bottle of sake in a few seconds. "You should enjoy the party, girl!"
Uravity scowled and leaned left to avoid a knife—which Sakaki had hurled with uncanny skill, and made her wonder how much of his behavior was an act.
"No thanks!" she called out. "I don't think I'm a drinking girl!"
That seemed to offend Sakaki, because he threw four more knives, each of which barely missed. "You're gonna be so boring when you get older!" He cackled. "If you live that long, of course!"
"Being a Hero is exciting enough," Uravity said, mostly to herself. "I don't mind a boring home life."
Keep him talking, she thought. I just need to find an opening, and I can take him down, just like Deku-kun said!
…
"I'm positive you can take down Sakaki," Midoriya had said. "Even if your arm doesn't compensate for his Quirk, you're the best close-combat specialist for dealing with him, since you know how to deal with nausea better than any of us."
"He's right," Yaoyorozu had added. "The rest of us have our targets, and none of us can deal with something like Sloshed. If Sakaki isn't taken down quickly, he could interfere in all our fights, putting us in serious danger."
"Your job is simple, but one of the most important," Midoriya had continued. "You have to beat Sakaki, and get him away from the rest of us as quickly as possible."
Uraraka's hands were balled into fists. "I will. I promise."
…
I have a job to do, and I'm not going to let my team down! Uravity flew low, nearly skimming the ground.
Sakaki saw her coming and threw another brace of knives; some missed, two bounced off her wings, and one grazed her helmet. A final knife, hurled in desperation, sank almost to the hilt in her left bicep; the pain was terrible, but Uravity had momentum and adrenaline pushing her forward. She reoriented so that she was hovering perpendicular to the floor, flaring her wings to slow down, and curled her legs up to her chest. As she got close to Sakaki, she kicked out with both feet; she connected solidly with his chest, knocking him onto his back.
I've got him!
Uravity canceled her Quirk and landed on top of Sakaki; he flailed about with his remaining knife, but she had received plenty of training from Gunhead about how to deal with that. She quickly disarmed him, then proceeded to punch him over and over; his drunkenness dulled his sense of pain, and it took several minutes for her to practically dismantle him.
Finally, once she was sure the fight was over, she stood; she was panting heavily, and blood soaked her left arm. She thought about pulling the knife out, but knew that would make things worse.
"At least I didn't lose the other arm," she muttered.
Despite the pain and loss of blood, she determined that she could still help, and looked around to see where she would be most useful. However, just as she was about to head over to help Froppy in her fight, she heard a shout, and then felt a rumble. A moment later, the room froze over, and the sudden cold turned the blood on her sleeve to red ice.
"I do not like that," she muttered. "What did Shoto just do?"
…
Triumph knew that his job was important; from the beginning, everyone had known that Trigger might come into play, and of all the Eight Precepts, there were three who were the most terrifying under its effect. Fortunately, only one of them had used it—unfortunately, he was the one fighting him.
While powered up on Trigger, Irinaka's Quirk basically made an entire room an enemy combatant, which put the entire team at risk. Not even Midoriya had been sure if he could deal with Irinaka if that happened, but Triumph had stepped up to volunteer. Besides, he knew that Midoriya wanted to fight Chisaki more than any of them, and Triumph wasn't going to begrudge his friend that.
That didn't mean fighting Irinaka was any less irritating, though. While Triumph could shoot bursts of fire or columns of ice, he couldn't go all out, for fear of hurting his friends because of a loss of control. Irinaka didn't have that problem; though high on Trigger, his control was nearly perfect, and he could lash out within inches of a teammate, while being scarily accurate against an enemy.
The one good thing was that Irinaka had trouble targeting more than one person at a time, and Triumph had his immediate attention; for everyone else he tried to attack, it was more like random flailing.
"You can't stop us!" Irinaka bellowed. "A bunch of children won't prevent the rise of the Yakuza!"
Triumph just narrowed his eyes and shot another burst of flame at where he thought Irinaka's real body might be, only for the fire to splash against the wall with little effect. He'd tried freezing the room, but Irinaka merely shifted the entire structure, like a shrug, shattering the layer of ice.
If only I could freeze him from the inside-out, Triumph thought as he jumped back to avoid a claw made of stone. That would stop him, but I don't know where to strike for that to work.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of pink; he risked a glance to the side, and saw Alien Queen trying to help Deku fight Chisaki. On the way, she was blocked by Tengai, and the two fought. Triumph wasn't too worried; his girlfriend was more than enough to take down Tengai. That changed when a lucky strike from Irinaka caught her in the head. Triumph felt his blood run cold when he saw blood fly through the air, and then Alien Queen hit the ground.
"MINA!"
With a cold hatred now coursing through him, Triumph didn't hesitate. There had been one way to freeze Irinaka, but he hadn't taken it, because of the risk to himself. The primary goal of a Hero for a Villain-fighting scenario was to defeat said Villain as quickly as possible, with as little collateral damage or injury as could be managed. Self-damaging strategies were actively discouraged, unless all other options had been exhausted.
Were there other options? Probably, but Triumph didn't care anymore.
The next time Irinaka reached for him, he didn't dodge, or block with a column of ice. Instead, he let his right arm be engulfed in stone; even as his wrist cracked and broke, he unleashed a frozen hell.
"Absolute Zero," he said through gritted teeth. "ICE AGE!"
In an instant, the walls, floor and ceiling were frozen from the inside. Irinaka tried to escape before being frozen, but he only got halfway out of a wall before freezing over. Triumph could tell that he wasn't dead, but he would probably suffer hypothermia if he didn't get medical attention soon.
At least all that ice numbed my wrist, he thought as he pulled his arm free. That's going to hurt later. Wait… Mina!
Leaving Irinaka alone for now, he jogged over to his girlfriend. She was alive, but unconscious; blood streamed down her scalp, turning her pink hair purple. Triumph gently cradled her with his good arm, but as he looked around for someone to help him, he nearly fell over when the room trembled again. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he knew the cause by the rapid flashes of green light.
"Finish this, Izuku."
…
Deku hated Chisaki so much that it almost hurt. All he could think about was putting that monster down, and it took all his self-control not to make it permanent.
Of course, that made his fight much harder. As long as Chisaki still had hands, he could use Overhaul to repair any damage Deku did to him. And Deku was doing a lot; every time Chisaki tried to impale him with spikes formed from the floor, he would turn into Ghostfreak to avoid them, and then retaliate with lightning from Buzzshock. However, Chisaki would fight through the pain to repair the damage to his skin and nerves, and they would do it all over again.
Sometimes, Chisaki would try to rush in close, hand outstretched to reduce Deku to a smear on the floor. When that happened, Deku would turn into Big Chill, using his intangibility to avoid getting killed, and counterattacking with blasts of frost. He had considered using Heatblast to deter Chisaki, but he stopped after the first time; Chisaki had powered through the heat, using his Quirk to constantly regenerate his burnt skin, and Deku had been forced to retreat as he got close.
"I'm not stupid," Chisaki said, his voice eerily calm. "I saw that ghost-thing you turn into during the Sports Festival. I won't let you get close enough to possess me."
Ghostfreak decided to try anyway, but Chisaki put his hand on the ground, hiding himself from view with a wall that erupted up in front of him. By the time Ghostfreak passed through the wall, Chisaki had vanished in a tunnel; Ghostfreak wisely decided to remain intangible, which saved his life when Chisaki burst up from underground and would have killed him instantly.
He's getting used to my movements, and he probably knows about most of my aliens' powers, Ghostfreak thought sourly. I guess there's a downside to being famous.
"You've inconvenienced me," Chisaki went on. "You're only delaying the inevitable. I'll kill you, heal my men, and take Eri back. Once I have her, I'll harvest her over and over, until I have what I need to cure this world of Quirks forever."
Deku turned into Heatblast and unleashed a wave of fire before he even knew what he was doing. "You won't lay a finger on her again, you monster!"
Chisaki created an angular shield out of the concrete floor, diverting the worst of the flames away from him, while simultaneously healing his burns. "I'm a monster? I'm not the one who transforms in so many ways that they can barely be considered human. You don't even see it, do you? You're so enamored with being a 'hero' that you can't see how Quirks are destroying this world! They're a plague, a stain on humanity's genetic purity! I'm just correcting an evolutionary defect!"
"Don't make it seem like you're on some noble quest," Heatblast spat. "You tortured a little girl to create a weapon, all so your criminal friends could have some respect again! That's just pathetic!"
Chisaki's eye twitched. "Don't you call everything I've worked for pathetic, you idiotic child! I am saving this world, and if I have to kill Eri and bring her back a thousand times to do it, I will!"
Deku knew he was telling the truth, and that scared him. Chisaki was completely dedicated to his cause, though whether or not he had merely used it as a rallying cry was unknown. And, really, Deku didn't care about that; all that mattered to him was that Chisaki would never stop trying to take Eri from the people who loved her.
Not for the first time, Deku wondered if he would have to kill this man.
Chisaki sent another wave of spikes at Heatblast, then dashed out of cover. When Heatblast saw that he was running in Red Riot's direction, he flew after him. He thought that Chisaki was going to try to kill one of his friends, but he was wrong—Chisaki skidded to a halt by the unconscious Nemoto, and put his hands on the man's chest.
"Sorry," Chisaki said, though he didn't sound sorry in the slightest. "I need a little more power to kill this pest."
Heatblast stopped when, to his horror, both Chisaki and Nemoto abruptly exploded. He watched with morbid fascination as the two men literally merged into one being; he mostly looked like Chisaki, but he now had an extra pair of larger arms, made of dark flesh and lines of blood, and his beak-shaped mask looked organic.
"How many transformations do you have?" Chisaki asked him in a double-toned voice.
"Fifty-three," Heatblast immediately replied, then clapped his hand over his mouth.
Somehow, combining with Nemoto had given Chisaki a second Quirk!
Chisaki put one of his four hands on the ground; Heatblast was so shocked by this development that he didn't react in time, and was hurled into the far wall by a column of stone. He wasn't badly hurt, just stunned long enough that he was unable to stop Chisaki from reaching another of his fallen men. This time, it was Rappa; again, there was an explosion of gore, and Chisaki now had a third set of arms, even larger than the second pair. He also had the same dark flesh around his calves and feet, which now looked like talons, and his hair was wild and longer.
Heatblast fired another column of flame, but Chisaki charged right into it, blocking the fire with his newest arms. When he stepped in close, Heatblast thought he was about to be destroyed, but Chisaki's new arms got in the way of his originals; instead of immediately killing him, Chisaki punched him a hundred times in only a second.
He can't use his original Quirk through his new hands! Heatblast realized. And I think he can only use his new Quirks through the new parts of his body!
As Deku wracked his brain to counter this, he was again too slow to stop Chisaki. He propelled himself backwards on a stone platform, and landed next to Kurono; this time, Genesis, who had seen his previous transformations, was close enough to try to intervene. She created a stun gun and raised it, but Chisaki was faster; one of his Rappa-arms swung out and smashed into her side. There was a sickening crack as several ribs broke, and then Genesis was sent hurtling across the room, trailing blood as she flew.
No more. No one else is getting hurt today!
Heatblast turned into XLR8 and charged. Chisaki had already merged with Kurono, and now his mane of hair had become a twisting mass of arrows that lashed out. Just before the Kurono-hairs touched him, XLR8 turned into Diamondhead; the arrows couldn't cut him, which meant that the Quirk couldn't affect him. Diamondhead stabbed Chisaki through one of his six shoulders—the lowest of the three pairs, and the easiest to reach, because Chisaki had gained so much mass at this point that he was almost ten feet tall.
Chisaki grunted from the pain, but then used his Rappa-arms to pummel Diamondhead into the ground. He reached out with his Overhaul-hands to utterly destroy Diamondhead, but he turned into Big Chill and sank into the ground just in time. Deku wanted nothing more than a few minutes to process everything Chisaki had done, and what he was capable of, but Chisaki wasn't giving him that time. He used Overhaul again to turn the ground around him into a crater, exposing Big Chill.
Deku also knew that he couldn't afford to strategize anymore, anyway. If he gave himself room to breathe, he would give Chisaki the same luxury; that would give him time to assimilate more of his men, and more of Deku's friends would end up like Genesis.
Big Chill nearly had a heart attack when he saw Chisaki going for Katsukame; this time, the unconscious Nejire-chan and Suneater were directly in his way, and Chisaki wasn't above killing someone he perceived as an obstacle.
At the speed of thought, Deku turned into Echo Echo and screamed; the sonic wave knocked away the unconscious Heroes, saving them from Chisaki's outstretched Overhaul-hand. Instead, that hand landed on Katsukame; the explosion that followed was much larger than the ones before, and when the gore rematerialized into one being, Deku stopped seeing Chisaki as human.
He was huge, easily twice as large as Katsukame had been; instead of legs, he had a thick, sinuous tail, with a torso that looked like a distended ribcage, and two pairs of arms that were each nearly fifteen feet long. The head of Chisaki's new body was like that of a reptile's, with its jaw open and menacing; inside the mouth was Chisaki's human upper body, moving like a bizarre tongue.
"Enough of this," Chisaki droned; echoing behind his voice, it sounded like several other voices were screaming in agony. "You're going to die now, and I'm taking Eri."
Deku's anger overtook his fear. "Never going to happen." He vanished in a flash of green light. "HUMUNGOUSAUR!"
…
"I'm gonna kill those kids," Sky Dancer griped as the older Heroes ran. "Never should have let 'em off on their own."
"It was a calculated risk," Endeavor grunted. "We do not need them to defeat Chisaki, only hold him in place long enough for us to get there."
"Yeah, but did you see how mad they were?" Ingenium asked. "We should have had a Pro stay with them the whole time to keep them in line."
Endeavor didn't even look at him. "I do not know about your little brother, but I know that my son will not cross that line. I trained him well enough for that."
"That's low," Sky Dancer muttered, then nearly tumbled out of the air when the entire compound shook again. "Oh, what now? That wasn't an earthquake, was it?"
"Deku has that Armodrillo form," Ingenium said. "It could have been him."
"Underground, in a confined space?" Endeavor shook his head. "No, that would be irresponsible with fellow Heroes in the area."
The rumbling got worse, and then the tunnel in front of them exploded—not from an actual explosive, but from a pair of monstrous forms crashing upwards, towards the surface. One the Heroes recognized as Humungousaur, but it took them a moment to realize what the other was.
"Holy crap, was that Chisaki?" Sky Dancer blinked. "Since when can he turn himself into a monster!?"
Endeavor made a snap decision. "Ingenium, Sky Dancer, continue forward and find the other students. I will go after Deku and fight Chisaki. Go!"
Sky Dancer was about to protest, but Ingenium grabbed her shoulder and gently pushed her onward. "Okay, good luck!"
Endeavor used fire from his feet to push himself into the air, following after the two fighters. "This was not how this was supposed to go."
…
"You're gonna be just fine," Lemillion promised, and put Eri in the back of the ambulance. "These nice people are going to take you to the hospital."
Eri grabbed his cape; she didn't say anything, just shook her head, but Lemillion could see the fear on her face. She was still terrified of doctors, and after encountering Chisaki mere minutes ago, Lemillion didn't blame her.
"Hey, why don't I go with you?" he asked gently. "I'll stay with you until everyone else gets back."
Eri's breath hitched. "They w-won't come b-back. He'll k-kill them, all because of me!"
Lemillion glanced back at Sir Nighteye, who was speaking to someone on his phone; he caught Lemillion's look and nodded.
"Deku and the others are going to be fine," Lemillion promised. "They told me that they would stop Chisaki, and Heroes don't break their word."
If anything, Chisaki was the last obstacle to this whole operation. When Nighteye and Ryukyu had returned to the battle on the surface, most of the Eight Precepts soldiers were defeated by the Heroes and police. Nighteye was overseeing the process of securing and transporting the captured Yakuza, while Ryukyu took command of a group of Heroes to take down the remaining holdouts.
Lemillion still worried about the rest of his teammates, but he kept those worried hidden behind a cheerful smile. Eri was barely holding together as it was, and it would only make things worse if he didn't show confidence. Lemillion realized then how much heavier All Might's burden had been, if he had to do that for everyone.
Just as things started to quiet down, the compound rumbled again; some of the less-experienced Heroes and police shouted in alarm, but everyone else simply tensed, and readied for another fight. A moment later, half the Yakuza headquarters exploded outward in a shower of wood and masonry, and then the hybrid Chisaki tumbled out of the dust, followed by Humungousaur; the former struck the latter with a giant fist, and then Humungousaur retaliated by grabbing Chisaki by his monstrous body's throat and choke-slamming him into the ground. Lemillion watched as the monster that had once been Chisaki opened its mouth, and the man reached out towards Humungousaur.
Deku transformed just in time, flying away as Jetray, even as he peppered Chisaki with energy. Chisaki tried to swat him away, and as he did, he caught sight of Eri, who was trembling in absolute terror.
"Eri," Chisaki hissed, and reached out for her. "You're coming back with me!"
Lemillion was exhausted, but he forced One For All to activate, and he put himself between the girl and her tormentor. Fortunately, he didn't have to do anything; Chisaki's monster-hand was severed at the wrist by Diamondhead, who then turned into NRG and blasted Chisaki with radiation.
"Get her out of here!" NRG shouted. "Lemillion, get her somewhere safe! I can handle this!"
"He's right," Nighteye said, raising his voice to be heard. "Everyone, evacuate the area; Deku is the only one who can match Chisaki now!"
Lemillion grabbed Eri and dove into the ambulance, then banged his fist on the driver's seat. "Go, get us out of here!"
The paramedic didn't need to be told twice; the Pro Heroes could barely handle seeing a genuine monster, so the poor man didn't have a chance. He turned on the sirens and drove out as fast as he could.
Lemillion grimaced; he wanted nothing more than to help Deku in his fight, but even the tiny bit of One For All he'd just used had nearly knocked him out. He had pushed himself too far, too fast, and it was coming back to bite him.
"Izu…" Eri's voice shook, and tears rolled down her face. Lemillion held her close, but kept watch over the fight until the ambulance turned a corner, and he couldn't see anymore.
Next time, he swore, next time, I won't have to run because I wasn't strong enough!
…
NRG swore up a storm in his head as he was smacked aside by Chisaki; it didn't hurt, but the monster was already chasing after Eri. He turned into XLR8 and got in front of Chisaki, then turned into Articguana and froze Chisaki's tail to the sidewalk. Chisaki roared and severed that part of his tail; he then used Overhaul to rebuild it.
He adapts too quickly, Deku realized. I have to hit him hard enough and fast enough to take him down, or he'll just keep going until he kills me.
There was an option, he knew, but it was purely theoretical; he'd done minor versions of it since getting the Omnitrix, but for what he had planned… well, he wasn't sure how it would affect him, but he definitely wasn't going to be happy when this was over.
Once again, he turned into Jetray and started to fly circles around Chisaki, firing neuroshock blasts all the while. Chisaki might have become unstable, but his instincts were sharp, and he was able to predict his flight path. Jetray barely dodged a massive hand, and then turned into Heatblast; he threw waves of fire as he fell, then turned into Big Chill before he hit the ground, and blew ice wherever there wasn't a burn.
"Stop that!" Chisaki screamed. "Stop getting in my way!"
But Deku didn't stop; if anything, he sped up. He transformed again and again, never using the same alien too often, never creating a pattern for Chisaki to follow. Heatblast, Eye Guy, NRG, Echo Echo, Water Hazard—he used every alien with a ranged attack, only switching to a flying alien before he fell back to earth. Soon, it didn't look like he was staying in any form at all; to those watching the fight, it looked like a green ball of light was flying around Chisaki at incredible speeds, hitting him with everything from sound to fire to ice and everything in between.
Deku was transforming at the speed of thought—pure instinct, relying on what he knew he needed, and never using it for more than a second.
I'm not Ben Tennyson. I'm not All Might, or Hawks. I am the Hero I choose to be. I am Deku, and this is my power!
Deku flew faster, and hit Chisaki even harder; the monster's flesh was burned, frozen, electrocuted, and peppered with spears of diamond. He was being hit by so much power that he was even starting to lift up into the air!
This is my Ultimate Move! Deku Unlimited!
Forced up and back, directly over the Yakuza compound, Chisaki could only watch as Jetray turned into Way Big, who drew back a massive fist.
"YOU LOSE," Way Big boomed, and punched Chisaki's monster-form in the head with every ounce of strength he had. The impact shattered the Overhauled flesh, and then Chisaki's bones. He landed on top of what was left of the compound, utterly destroying the building, and sending a huge cloud of dust into the air.
As exhausting as that had been, Deku didn't dare transform back to normal until he was sure Chisaki was down. He examined the Yakuza, and noted with no small amount of satisfaction that he was finally unconscious. He returned to his human form, and nearly collapsed; he was out of breath, sweating, and felt like he could sleep for a week.
"Deku!" He peered over the edge of the hole he'd made, and saw Uravity waving up at him. Amazingly, everyone else from the team was awake; not all of them were standing, and most were hurt, but they all looked up at him expectantly. "What happened? Are you all right?"
Deku took a deep breath, and held back a wince when his chest ached. "It's over! We won!"
With that done, he let himself fall to his knees; Chisaki was defeated, and Eri was safe.
The nightmare was over.
Holy crap, this was a monster of a chapter. I could have broken it up into two chapters, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging on another cliffhanger, so here we are. And on Christmas day, too! Here's your present! Now Imma sleep.
Seriously though, I had to seriously plan every single fight. Unlike previous parts of this story, there was no random draws of the hat. Midoriya and his friends had time to analyze the enemy and make a plan. Remember, Midoriya is a Quirk-nut and tactician, and Yaoyorozu is a certified genius; between the two of them, they were going to come up with a good plan.
As for why Nighteye told the other Heroes to back off? To him, Deku was probably the only one there who could safely fight Chisaki; anyone else had a very good chance of getting killed by his Quirk. By the way, I hope I did Deku's unique move, Deku Unlimited, justice. It just seemed like a really cool idea.
Keep in mind, this isn't the end of the arc, just the climax. There are still some loose ends to tie up, but there's a lot less stress involved. Though you might have noticed a distinct lack of the League of Villains for most of this chapter; don't worry, they're gonna do stuff next time.
I won't have any new chapters until after New Year's, so have a happy holiday, everyone! See you next year, where I hope things are better for us all!
For the last time this year, I'd like to thank the following Patrons for being awesome (if you want to join them, there is a link to my P-atreon on my profile page):
Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, John Collins, Red Bard, Aaron Meek, killroy225, Lokthar
Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844, Ben Stueckle
Ultra Muffins: RangersRoll, Adam Costello
Next Chapter: Cleaning up, and getting revenge…
Plus Muffin!
