"That's it, that's why I don't use my fire."
Izuku, alongside Todoroki and Endeavour, exited the temporary agency. Endeavour wanted to hunt the hero killer, though they did not get far before the explosions began.
"Why did you tell me this, Todoroki?"
"You told me your own secret, I was under the impression that meant I should tell you one as well."
Todoroki's social skills had never seemed complete to Izuku, but after learning what he had, he couldn't blame the boy.
Endeavour had rushed towards the chaos, leaving Izuku and Todoroki to catch up. With Todoroki's insistence that the Horse would be more useful for civilians, they were forced to run towards the fires that had sprung up around whatever had caused the initial explosion.
That was until Izuku skidded to a halt, overwhelmed by the shear anger and desperation pouring from the alley next to him. Glancing inside, his whole body froze in fear. A man, dressed in dark red- or more accurately, bright red stained with blood- stood over the prone form of Tenya Ilda, with a sword raised to pierce the teen's spine.
The blade descended but was knocked off course by the shield that crashed into the blade-wielding man's skull. As he staggered back, Izuku got a better look at the man, recognising him from the few blurry images of him that existed. The Hero Killer stood to his full height, but was forced to divert his attention to the wave of ice that crashed into him.
"Sublimation." His word was calm despite the bitter cold that had engulfed him, as he spoke, the ice shifted, before lifting into the air. The sound of cracking and shattering filled the alley, the ice forming into jagged spears that surrounded the bellicose killer. "Leave now, or I will be forced to cull you along with these fakes." Irritation crossed the man's face as he saw Izuku's and Todoroki's stances shift, they weren't going anywhere.
"Impressive abilities, but regeneration can do nothing for carbonised cells." Endeavour looked down at the charred corpse that was once a Nomu. These creatures had fought All Might? They could barely stand up to even his weakest flames, maybe the Oaf truly was getting weaker. He looked around the flaming road, already being extinguished by some of Backdraft's sidekicks. The damage wasn't what concerned him, no, rather it was the apparent lack of his interns that told him something was wrong.
"Endeavour!" One of the water manipulators ran up to him, worry stricken across his face. "Have you seen my intern? Ingenium's brother, about this tall-" Endeavour tuned out the man's words after the mention of the turbo hero. Stain was in Hosu, Tensei's brother had taken an internship that wouldn't benefit him and now Ilda alongside his interns were missing.
"Where did you come from?" He demanded, all ready lifting into the air. As he flew up, he spotted the gigantic glacier that had risen from the alleys and immediately knew his prediction was correct.
Winded from the ice that slammed into his stomach, Todoroki was forced toward the far wall, where he was restrained by his own ice. Izuku had long been paralysed by Stain and with the murderer's ice manipulation, Shoto could do nothing to prevent the hero killer's victory.
"Todoroki-" He glared at Izuku before he could say anymore, no matter what, he wouldn't use that power. "If you don't do anything, you'll die, we'll all die. You'd have failed and all that's going to do is prove him right. If you do this, if you let people die because you refuse to help them, you'd be just like him. Right now, you're no better than Endeavour." The Hero Killer flung his sword, aimed for Shoto's head, but before it could hit, something in the teen's eyes changed.
When it did, the light of day came early for Stain.