Momo POV, one week later
Alarms begin blaring.
"ATTENTION STUDENTS, UA IS NOW ON LOCKDOWN. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. "
I hear the faint sound of an explosion. I snap my head up and look around. I can't see anything, so the sound must have come from outside of the USJ. I pull myself from the rock and start jogging over toward Aizawa-
I hear the sound of a hand grenade in a blender.
The edge of the dome peels upward. I watch as tens of thousands of tonnes of steel and glass are torn apart like tissue paper. I feel vibrations through my feet as the shockwave travels inward. It is a veritable wall of concussive force. There is no time to run.
"BRACE!"
The impact is like a punch to the gut. Dust and shrapnel pepper around me as I'm lifted into the air. My body tumbles as glass shards and steel shrapnel slice against my skin. I land against the soil with a heavy thump that drives the air from my lungs.
I take in a deep breath before pulling myself upright.
The destruction is immense. A massive section of the USJ dome has been cut away, revealing the bright sun outside. I've never seen such power in my life. I scan my surroundings, immediately spotting Kirishima standing nearby. He seems to have fared against the attack far better than I did.
"Yayorozu, are you okay?"
He grabs my arm and helps pull me to my feet.
"I am fine. What is going on?"
He starts waving his arms in a panicked manner.
"I'm not sure, there was that blast and-"
We spot it at the same time. A towering figure standing at the edge of the dome, slowly moving inward. It looks like something out of a nightmare.
It has no eyes, no skin, and no face. I can't make out any discernible features or gender. It is nothing more than an enormous mass of exposed muscle and sinew. It's massive, easily three metres in height and at least half that in width. Its arms are as thick as tree trunks, with a network of bulging veins decorating its sinew.
It blunders forward with the lumbering gait of a gorilla. It looks like it can barely move, lacking the flexibility to shift its joints properly. There is easily half a tonne of mass on its frame, a size that no human should ever reach.
I know in an instant that this villain could crush me in the same manner that I would crush an ant. I watch with horror as it continues on its path, walking closer and closer to the frozen students ahead.
Aizawa sprints forward with Thirteen not far behind. He grabs his capture scarf in hand.
"EVERYONE STAY BACK!"
His hair floats up as he activates his quirk. His scarf whips out and wraps cleanly around the villain's torso. He tugs with all his strength, but the monstrous figure does not so much as budge. Thirteen, realising the importance of the situation, activates her quirk.
Nothing.
The villain walks through the effect of her quirk and continues lumbering onward. Red fluids seep from between the fibres of its flesh, dripping to the floor. It walks past the cowering figure of Mineta and does not so much as spare a glance at the boy. I watch as sparks begin to form in Bakugo's hands.
I hear Aizawa's voice.
"BAKUGO, NO!"
He flies in with a series of small maneuvering explosions before swiftly charging at the villain. He bombards it with a series of explosions as he spirals around it. The force of his blasts shatters the concrete below, creating a cloud of thick dust that fills the air. If the villain notices his attacks, it does not show it.
Bakugo looks furious. He lands on the ground scant metres away and gains a nasty expression. He pulls the pins on his wrist braces-
Aizawa roars at the top of his lungs.
"BAKUGO, STOP!"
There's a flash of bright light as a massive ball of fire engulfs everything. The blast sounds like a gunshot against my eardrums. I screw my eyes shut and try to force the stars from my vision. I blink my eyes open to see a huge cloud of black smoke filling the air.
Once the smoke clears, the villain is revealed. The nightmarish figure is still traveling on its path, uninterested in the boy who attempted to attack it. I watch as burn marks rapidly fade away into nothing. The blackened tissue returns to red, hiding any evidence that it had ever been attacked. The villain must possess a regeneration quirk of some kind.
Bakugo clutches at his wrists with an expression of pain across his face. Clearly the recoil from his attack did some serious damage to him. He gives his opponent a scowl before storming off. If I were to guess, he probably sprained his wrists with that last attack. The villain continues onward until it reaches the centre of the USJ dome. Once there, it freezes in place.
I note that the ever-present red fluid is no longer seeping from its flesh. If it has a regeneration quirk, then perhaps the strain of its muscle contractions is causing it to bleed. That would explain why it was only seeping blood while it was moving. It must be a mutation quirk as Aizawa was unable to stop the effect.
I cut myself off from my tangent. I need to focus. I can't help but mumble my thoughts to myself as I analyse the situation.
"The villain has moved to the middle of the USJ. It's standing in the open and is uninterested in everyone here. Why would it perform such a massive attack against the dome, before suddenly showing great restraint? Perhaps… it's conserving its energy. The attack was for a purpose, to make a statement. It's drawing someone out, before standing in the open where it can easily be found."
But who would it be waiting for? The villain is clearly powerful, who could it be targeting at UA? The only notable person at the school is-
Oh.
Oh no.
I grab Kirishima.
"Run. NOW!"
He turns foot and sprints away as fast as he can. I watch Aizawa gather together the class and do the same, pulling them into the mountainous area of the USJ. I should get out of here as well. I shift my weight to-
A gust of wind. All might is suddenly standing perhaps fifty metres across from the villain. His muscles are tense and his stance is aggressive. He has his signature smile across his face, but it looks almost strained. He looks… angry.
"Surrender villain! Do not make me do this the hard way!"
The two eye each other up for a moment. Then, the villain's muscles begin to bulge. Oh no. I turn tail and sprint as fast as I can. My feet pound on the soil as I run for my life. My lungs burn as I push myself faster than I have ever gone before. I grit my teeth as-
A shockwave.
I feel shrapnel dig into my back as the blast smashes into me with the force of a freight train. I'm lifted into the air and thrown head over heels, spiraling over and over. I use precious seconds to form a thick layer of impact-resistant gel, before wrapping it around myself. I curl up as much as I can and brace for impact.
Stars fill my vision. I slam my hands to the ground and dig my fingers into the gravel. I force my eyes open and scan my surroundings. I've been thrown more than two hundred metres back, causing me to end up somewhere in one of the mountainous zones.
I spot a nearby boulder close and quickly determine that it will serve as adequate cover. I use my quirk to form an icepick and use it to help crawl to cover. It's a slow and arduous process, but I can't give up now.
Once there I hold onto the boulder for dear life. I feel the pressure in my ears reach unbearable levels as the wind screams overhead. Nearby grass and trees are torn from their roots as the wind rips everything apart.
I wince as I feel the freezing air tear my shredded outfit from my skin.
I reach a hand down to my stomach and activate my quirk. I create a pair of earmuffs and safety glasses, as well as a thick windbreaker to cover my skin. I shift myself around into a safer position so I can apply them without risk of being lifted into the air.
Putting on the protective clothing is hard, but worth it. The relief I feel once I'm wrapped up in my windbreaker is immense. I take a deep breath. Time for the hard part. I grip the edges of the boulder and pull myself up into a crouching position. I grit my teeth together and force my eyes to peek out over the rock.
I spot two blurring figures.
They are fast. So very fast. Visible mach cones trail their fists as the two fighters strike with all their strength. I watch with awe as a constant stream of shockwaves is sent roaring out in all directions.
Everything around the two is destroyed. My jaw drops as massive swathes of the USJ dome are torn apart by just the air currents alone. It is a level of power beyond comprehension.
The villain suddenly steps inward and delivers an uppercut. All might's head snaps up as blood sprays from his mouth.
The villain takes advantage of this new momentum and strikes a flurry of blows into his ribs. Then, it swings a fist down on his shoulder. There's a horrible cracking sound as his shoulder is dislocated straight from the socket. The villain pins him to the ground and begins to choke the life the life from his throat.
"WASHINGTON-
All might braces his foot against its chest.
"-SMASH!"
The two are blown apart as he kicks it away. All might jumps to his feet and promptly twists his shoulder back into its socket. He rotates his arm as he faces the villain once again.
"So, you're able to match me, even at one hundred percent. In that case…"
The villain dashes forward.
"I WILL JUST HAVE TO PUSH PAST MY LIMITS!"
There's a flash of light as the air between their fists is compressed into a superheated plasma.
Everything explodes. The boulder I am hiding behind is instantly reduced to rubble. I feel my heart stop as my body is lifted up into the swirling hurricane. My body spirals around within the maelstrom as I desperately try to think of a plan. I scream as-
Something wraps around my waist. The air is pulled from my lungs as I'm suddenly yanked downward by a strong force. Someone catches me just moments before I would have hit the ground.
"Yaoyorozu, are you okay?"
Aizawa unwraps me from his capture scarf. He places me down and I take a moment to empty the contents of my stomach onto the ground. Once I manage to shake the dizziness from my vision, I take a look at my surroundings.
We're in a deep divot of rock, presumably somewhere in the mountain zone. The rest of the class are huddled together, while Aizawa and Thirteen stand guard. Thankfully, everyone seems fine. I am the only one with any significant bleeding.
I pull myself to the edge of the divot and poke my eyes above the cover. It's blurry, but I can still make out the battle even from here. All might's strength and speed is now matching the villain blow for blow. Every building within half a kilometre of the two titans has been flattened.
It's a battle between gods.
Suddenly, the villain overextends a fist. All might steps inward and locks the offending limb up under his arm. He braces his feet, before twisting his body. There's a sound like fabric tearing as the villain's arm is snapped like a toothpick. The Hero leaps back and observes his opponent.
The broken limb suddenly untwists itself, before slotting back into place almost as if it were pulled by a magnet. A moment later the villain is back in the fight as if nothing happened. Two things click together in my head. First, it definitely has a regeneration quirk. Second, it hasn't been seeping blood since the fight started.
But why? It was bleeding when it was walking before, is that not a mechanic of its quirk? The muscle contractions caused by walking are nothing compared to fighting. Surely it should be pouring blood everywhere now that it is fighting All might! The only thing I can think is that-
What if it is being damaged by its own muscle contractions, but the blood from before was a sign that its regeneration wasn't working at the time? Maybe the villain was unable to feel the pain when Aizawa was erasing its quirk, leading us to believe that it was unaffected. I race over and grab my teacher.
"Mr Aizawa, you need to use your quirk on the villain!"
He shakes his head.
"There's too much wind, I can't open my eyes up there. My quirk has no effect on it anyway, it has some kind of mutation quirk."
I resist the urge to scream.
"No, it has a regeneration quirk! The blood from before was because your quirk was working, it was simply ignoring the pain!"
I create a pair of safety glasses and shove them into his hands. He replaces his stupid goggles with my safety glasses and clambers up the edge of the incline. The two of us poke our eyes out from behind cover.
Aizawa activates his quirk.
There's a sound like a steel cable being stretched beyond its failure point. It's a low, grinding sound that reverberates in my ribs. Then, a series of high-pitched twangs ring out as individual muscle fibres begin snapping one by one. I watch in awe as thousands of cable-thick fibres whip out in all directions.
The villain begins to slow as its tissue disintegrates away by the second. The more it attempts to fight, the faster it sheds its mass. A cloud of red erupts outward as shredded flesh joins the air.
All might presses the advantage. He moves in and begins hammering blows into the villain's body. Within seconds, the villain is overpowered and promptly beaten into the dirt. The shredded body of the villain goes still.
Aizawa's hair lowers.
The villain does not get up. All might takes a step back. He is bleeding and bruised, but alive. He won.
I can't help but cheer.
Mirio POV, ten minutes later
Blue lightning flows across my skin as I sprint through the UA halls. I received a call from Nedzu a few minutes ago informing me of what happened. Apparently, some villain broke into the USJ and attacked Toshinori. Somehow, the unnamed criminal actually managed to actually put up a fight, and Toshinori is now in the infirmary.
I wish I could use Permetation to help with my mobility, but unfortunately, I'm in my school uniform. I'm not sure Toshinori's heart could handle seeing his successor suddenly appear through the wall stark-naked. Regardless, I still reach the infirmary at a record pace. Once there, I shove myself through the door.
Toshinori is sitting on the edge of a bed with Recovery Girl at his side. The rest of the room is empty, meaning we can talk in peace.
"Toshinori, are you okay?"
He gives me a small wave.
"I'm doing fine my boy, just a few bruises! It takes a lot more than a few punches to take me out!"
He looks terrible. He's covered in bruises and has a trail of dried blood around his mouth. Recovery Girl is busy wrapping him up in bandages. I can't help but gasp as the severity of the situation strikes me.
"What happened? The alarms started going off and then everyone was hearing explosions! Nedzu called to inform me that you fought a villain at the USJ, and to go over to the infirmary to see you. What on earth happened?"
He spits out a little blood. He wipes it from his face before speaking.
"There was a villain. He… or perhaps it, was freakishly strong. I was only able to match its strength once I pushed myself past my limits. The villain was just… monstrous. It seemed to be using a regeneration quirk in order to allow its muscles to operate way beyond any normal limits. When Eraserhead used his quirk, the villain pretty much exploded. Its body was unable to handle the strain of its own strength and tore itself apart."
That is a lot to process. Some random villain with power on the level of One for All shows up, proceeds to explode… and that's that? Where are they even finding these people?
"Okay, so that's completely nuts. Did any of the students get hurt?"
He shrugs.
"Ah, apparently the villain ignored everyone else. Some of the students received mild injuries from the shrapnel, but no one was seriously hurt. I didn't really stick around long enough to get the full story."
That takes a lot of weight off of my chest. I was seriously worried that he was about to say that we had dead students on our hands.
"Okay. As long as the students are safe, that's all that matters. That being said, how the hell was this villain able to fight you? I thought that only All for One was able to match One for All?"
Toshinori pauses. He's tapping his fingers against his thigh in a rhythmic motion. I give him a moment to collect his thoughts.
"Well, I knew that I lost a lot of power after my injury. But, I didn't realise that it was this much... This is the second time in my career I've ever had to go all out. I don't really get many opportunities to test out my full strength, so it's hard to know when I'm getting stronger or weaker. It's hard to gauge your limits when everyone is normally taken out in one punch."
He lets out a discontent sigh before continuing.
"Transferring One for All definitely had a big effect as well. I'm running on fumes, and I can't pull out any more power from the quirk. I've probably got another five years or so in me, I can only keep my form up for three hours a day now. If I were to guess, I'm probably operating at about one percent of my original power."
It's a terrifying thought. The Symbol of Peace is doomed to one day run out of power. I will have to start accelerating my plans, I need to step up into my role faster. If villains as powerful as All might now exist, then I will need to be ready for them. I have to be.
"So, what do we know about this villain? What were their motives, why did they attack UA at all?"
He scratches the back of his head.
"Ah, I have no idea! I'm sure Nedzu will debrief us all tomorrow!"
Should I have expected anything else?
Izuku POV, the next morning
I click on the news article that Hitoshi has sent me.
'UA press conference: Villain attacks UA, is defeated by All might!'
Wait, what?
I sit up a little straighter in my chair and skim through the article. The information so far is that a villain broke into UA, for the purpose of attacking All might. The villain ambushed him in one of the training facilities and forced him into a fight. As expected, the villain got their ass handed to them and is now under arrest. No surprises there.
Thankfully none of the students or staff were injured as a result of the battle. Overall, it was a bit of a scare, but nothing more. The only question I have left is what kind of moron would attempt to take on All might?
If Father was unable to beat him, then what chance does anyone else have? All might seems to be just as strong as the day he faced Father, and I doubt that will change any time soon. Attempting to fight the Symbol of Peace alone is stupidity of the highest order.
I pick up my phone and tap on a familiar icon. It rings for several seconds.
"Hello, Momo Yaoyorozu speaking?"
I feel myself relax at the familiar sound of my friend's voice.
"Hello, Akatani Mikumo speaking. I saw what happened on the news, are you okay?"
She remains silent for a moment.
"Yeah. It was pretty scary, but we were all fine. I can't really talk about it, but we were never in any real danger from the villain."
I can sense that there is more there, but I don't really want to push for info. Her class is likely under orders from the police not to say anything. Pushing for answers would just make her upset. Perhaps I should talk about something else?
"In less pressing news, how are your preparations for the sports festival going?"
She pauses.
"Oh no."
Ah. She totally forgot about it, didn't she?
"Did you forget?"
I hear the telltale sign of her fidgeting with her pen.
"I haven't thought about it."
I let out a groan.