Author's note : not on break yet. i am still waiting the good news...
Chapter 46: I-Island Crisis: Showtime!
Yuga was sweating bullets and blood, as he tried to atomize all of Mummy's appendices. Sadly, there were many of them, and he could barely see them all… Well at least until at one point every robot around Pony and him were lifted in the air, and even Mummy, who wasn't part of the giant iron tower in the sky because he managed to grab the ground before with all of his appendices.
"PONY! SHOOT!"
The American girl nodded before shooting the horns under her feet, as she kept them for more mobility. However, Yuga had a good eye for moments of weakness, and she trusted him on that one.
"COLORADO SHOT!"
Mummy saw the two horns speeding up, and wondered what the hell was going on with Chimera and Slice, considering the sky and the fact they were supposed to be there. Who the fuck had the strength to do shit like this?!
Anyway Mummy, unlike most Manipulator quirks like Wolfram, didn't need a limb to control what he manipulated. This alone put him in a league of his own, because you couldn't predict when he attacked, defended or even tried to overwhelm him.
Sure, he had to fix himself on the ground because of all the iron on him, the alloy being apparently pulled like all of the other bots. However, he was still able to lift the part of his suit he wanted to use as a sneak attack, to grab the horn flying toward him.
Quickly, it became a struggle of power between Mummy and Pony, as both manipulators pitted their will against each other but honestly, both of them knew the result. Pony was too young to even hope to hold a candle against him.
"Not bad girl, but your skills have no chance to compare to mine, honed in war! Meanwhile, yours were softly trained in a cushioned school. You don't have the experience I have."
Mummy said, as Yuga was forced to take a break, his stomach hurt from the prolonged fight. Truly, he was barely holding on there, but he couldn't leave Pony alone in this mess!
"Maybe but unlike you, we have principles! We shall protect the weak from killers like you!" The French said, raising back on his feet.
Mummy actually laughed at that, and answered with a mad smile: "Because heroes are always on the side of the weak, right? Tell me: how easily do you ignore the violence heroes use when it suits your convenience? How some of us villains, barely fodders are punched, kicked and broken as hard as if they were supervillains by heroes who just want to do a show? So tell me: who saves the weak from the man who saves the weak?"
Pony and Yuga were surprised by that speech, as Mummy continued, holding part of the cement composing the street to form giant fists, holding them with many bandelets.
He was now angry, and stared at them:
"Kill or be killed, kids. The Jedah massacre taught me that! When heroes decided to simply ignore if there were civilians, and just smashed everything to the ground, casualties be damned!
Yes, you kids cannot comprehend what it is to grow up in a war zone! War is a cruel parent, but an effective teacher. Its final lesson is carved deep in my psyche: that this world, and all of its people, are diseased, "Mummy said, as he gloated. He was allowed to. He was going to break them, these children, these pretenders, thinking they were the Good side, "Free will is a myth. Religion is a joke. We are all pawns, controlled by something greater: Memes, the DNA of the soul. They shape our will. They are the culture. They are everything we pass on. The Meme I decided to follow is my chief, my savior. Nine, the ruler of the Strong!"
"Thanks man!" Nine said, for a second, always liking Mummy's speech. It was a bit crazy but fun to hear every time.
"Expose someone to anger long enough, they will learn to hate. They become a carrier. Envy, greed, despair: all memes, all passed on," Mummy said, a firm believer that mankind was condemned to violence, unlike Chimera, giving them heated philosophic debate after a few drinks, "You can't fight nature, kids! The wind blows, rain falls, and the strong prey upon the weak.
Your teachers tell you to see your quirk as a "tool": something that saves lives, a means of justice. Now, there's a pretty meme! Exquisite! It will spare you the burden of all the lives you will ruin to satisfy your crave for violence! It will absolve you of guilt when you enjoy it."
In front of the shaken kids, Mummy closed his eyes, smiling and knowing his speech probably sounded like a deranged man to them. Oh well, with time, they would see the truth of it. They would agree, and they would be broken by his words. Now for the final blow…
"That is until the illusion was broken. Don't be ashamed. It's only nature running its course. You have no choices to make. Nothing to answer for. That's the truth of mankind."
Yuga stood silent for a second, thinking despite himself about this before Pony yelled in rage:
"Well consider this: FUCK YOU! Having a bad childhood doesn't give you the right to be an ass! Suffering doesn't give you the right to hurt others! Losing someone doesn't give you the right to kill!
You aren't a philosopher or a warrior. You are a petty criminal, and we will bring you down."
The French stood up finally completely, before sparkling, his fighting spirit replenished by a Pony doing her best.
"Elle a raison! While violence is inherent to mankind, and even if you are right about memes… Then the meme I will believe in is justice!"
Then Yuga channeled all of his strength… His enemy should have a limit on how much he could control. If he put everything on the line for one final shot… He should be able to actually strike him.
"THAT'S FINE BY ME! BECAUSE IN THE END, THE ONE WHO IS RIGHT IS THE WINNER!"
Mummy actually noticed the shining from the French, and he raised one of his giant fists to punch him.
Laser versus a giant fist of concrete. Both stared at each other, while Pony was still locked, all of her will against Mummy, barely holding on.
Thankfully Yuga forced him to divert his attention, as she was sure couldn't actually surpass their enemy if he went full power against her.
The shock hurt everyone's eyes, as the shining light shone brighter than the brightest of sun, when the shadows were covering everything else.
"I AM THE LIGHT OF JUSTICE!"
"And I am reality. Sorry kid, it is a bit stronger than ideal."
Mummy sounded almost apologetic, as he used the second fist to slap Yuga in a wall, avoiding the contest of power between his stone fist's solidity, versus his burning laser.
"YUGA! NO!"
"Don't worry little one. He should have a few broken bones, but nothing this Island cannot fix. Besides, kids like you always will have a cushioned life. Even if you fail here, it won't stop you from having a good school," Now, he could divert his full attention against her, as blood began to appear under her nose, "Besides, I am at least a rank A villain. Honestly, the fact you both managed to stay alive is impressive. You can easily go to some university once you're an adult."
Pony wiped it and stared angrily, and determined.
"I WILL GO TO THE SAME UNIVERSITY AS MY UNCLE!"
"Some Ivy university I guess?" Mummy said, with a smug smile, as he had noticed the girl had some fancy clothes betraying her origins.
Then something happened, surprising everyone in the fight. Something hit the ground, at full force, causing a small tremor and making Mummy and Pony fall on their behind. After all, the unknown missile hit the ground between them, and the sight made Pony cry with relief. Everything was going to be alright.
"TRY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS!"
From the dust, a man erupted, and Yuga, barely holding on to consciousness, saw a man as tall as All Might, and probably as large. One who properly proceeded to kick Mummy, sending him flying further from here…
Before adjusting his glasses, somehow intact despite his suits being in tatters.
"FRENCH KID! Thank you for the light! We wouldn't have seen you without your BEACON OF HOPE! Now… Let me handle this."
Senator Armstrong crackled his fist as he entered the fight, while Mummy got back up too.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?"
"The strongest quirkless person in the world, asshole." Armstrong said, before rushing like a football player against the Manipulator, who called back both fists he created to squash Armstrong like a bug. Mummy even allowed himself to smile, despite his previous brief panic, as both stone hands transmitted him the impact.
"The STRONGEST BLOOD STAIN, YES!"
Then the rock exploded, again. Armstrong resumed his course… before punching with all of his might Mummy in his chest.
Mummy thanked his new alloy, as it took most of the shock, the fist sending him upward. He still felt three ribs cracking under the impact.
"DON'T FUCK WITH THIS SENATOR!"
The mercenary used his bandelets to stop his fall, above the Senator, who had way too much strength to be a Quirkless. Yes, even accounting for the fact the average Quirkless was stronger than Quirkless people before the Dawn of Quirk. Armstrong was plainly as strong as some of the strongest strength enhancers Mummy knew!
"HOW?!"
Armstrong smiled, before touching what seemed like a wound on his heart, and his skin was colored black.
"NANOMACHINES, SON! They harden under physical trauma! You are my field test for this! If God created humans and Evolution created Quirks… WELL, SAMUEL COLT AND I MADE EVERYONE EQUAL!"
Senator Armstrong, the most influential and rich Quirkless in the world. Born in a rich family, he went to the University of Texas, determined to be his own man. He played in his American Football School Team and brought them to Nationals. He then went to the Army and was known for his qualities as a leader, knowing how to use his teammates' quirks as another tool, and everyone thinking him quirkless… Well, they were in for a rude awakening.
So, as Samuel Colt did in his time, Armstrong decided to work on Quirkless equality, but by working on it practically, not legally. He used his huge fortune to finance what was the leading tech company for hardware and software, always innovating. His dream was now realized: An artificial heart pumping nanomachine into him. Yes, he asked to be the first test subject for the product, considering a true leader who trusted in his project wouldn't make others shoulder the risk.
Turned out that being Quirkless was actually really useful for Nanomachine tests: There was no need to fine-tune the machine to a quirk, and considering two quirks, even if they looked similar, needed years of fine-tuning to not blow up… Well, it was very useful to be quirkless. You were the baseline. The fine-tuning only took a few months.
A quirked person, even with a simple emitter quirk, would take years. Mutants were currently totally not compatible.
His trip to I-Island was actually to establish a collaboration with David Shield, as the project was a State secret and David was known for his high confidentiality.
Also, a not-so-hidden secret was the fact that Armstrong adored his niece, Pony, and was ready to throw a hand to protect her. Seeing her on the Island was a huge bonus.
Pony relaxed instantly, before trying to tend to Yuga. Her uncle was here, and he was a Senator, one of the most important in the USA. She knew exactly who would be his bodyguard, especially if there was an opportunity to meet All Might.
Mummy stared haughtily at the Quirkless Senator, "Oh, so the little boy has some toys to fight? You THINK THAT'S ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH ME AND MY BOSS?"
Senator Armstrong smiled, and suddenly, the thunder stopped above them. No more electricity came down as a heavenly bolt to try to strike Serafina, who was by now bleeding from many other wounds, the same as her nephew. Nine, even though he was unscratched, was now pale as he realized what was going on.
"No more thunder, 25 meters around me."
Everyone stared at the calm woman, who descended from the sky as a goddess, a power of nature… Which was what she was, her frame close to All-Might, and the cape flying in the wind.
Stars and Stripes arrived.
"Now, which one of you wants to go first?" The woman asked, in a cold and intimidating way, while Serafina laughed lightly.
"Finally… Took you some time. Must be funny for you to come to help me."
Cathleen sighed, as the Amazonian had a point: before the fall of Brazilia, they had requested USA's help in exchange for various favors. SS was sent to deal with the situation. To everyone's surprise, Serafina actually managed to find and exploit some weaknesses in the "New Order" Quirk to avoid losing.
She then negotiated with the USA their retreat, and in exchange, she wouldn't broadcast to the whole world what she found.
So, yes, having Cathleen save her was quite ironic but a good kind of irony.
Nine contemplated the situation for a second and then decided to use Weather Manipulation.. And create intense wind to blow everyone away.
"Mummy! We retreat!"
"You got it, Boss!"
Mummy was a professional, and he knew he was wounded. Thankfully, he could move despite the wounds thanks to his quirk, while at the top of the highest tower, there was now… A sun? What the hell was going on?
Nine, quickly, pressed his comlink to contact his team and order the retreat.
"SITREP, NOW!"
"Slice here, I am okay! Currently trying to find Chimera, as he was probably beaten by the Green Optional Target!"
"... HOW?!" Nine yelled as Chimera was probably his strongest teammate, especially with Garaki's gift.
"Optimus Prime. No, I shit you not about that." Nine decided he both liked and hated his cousin.
Nine swore in his mask, as he could hear Armstrong running in a straight line to get them, while Cathleen Bates was using some kind of boots to air walk behind them and rushing to get them. Shit. That one was hard, as Nine and his crew couldn't count on Kurogiri to evacuate from the Island. They actually had a submarine but they needed to be fast before Mizunaka went off without them.
"Extraction point, once you have found Chimera! Mummy and I will try to buy some…"
Suddenly, they heard a cough in the vox, a bloody one. Nine turned back to see Mummy actually slowing down… Before turning back. He was grabbing cars with his quirks, creating for himself some kind of mini mecha suit.
"MUMMY? WHAT THE FUCK?" Nine yelled, seeing one of his oldest friends stopping to run.
"... I think I have a lung punctured, boss. A few ribs were broken. We were supposed to have evacuated BEFORE SS was here… And now she has a teammate. More importantly: All heroes are free from the bots now. How long before the Frenchies are there? Or All-Might?"
"We can…" Nine tried to say something, but Mummy stopped him.
"The only way to save the group is if someone buys time. Slice is needed to save Chimera, who will heal from whatever got him. You are the boss. I am hurt badly, and I know I won't make it to the extraction point."
Nine knew Mummy was right, as he sped up to the tower, in hopes to get Slice and Chimera. He was closer to his limits and he would be down for a week even if they reached the submarine.
That's why he didn't stop when Mummy did. Because he knew he was right, though it didn't make the choice easier to make.
Mummy smiled, under his bandelets, as he got ready to attack Armstrong and SS.
"I told it before, Boss. Meme is the DNA of the soul and my meme… as loyalty is to you and the group."
A man had to be true to something, no matter what happened. Mummy… Mummy lived through so much with Nine and the others. They were his reason to live in this insane and bloody world.
"Mummy. I will come back for you."
Mummy nodded, as Nine sped up, the rain pearling from his eyes.
He was a soldier, and he couldn't cry over the sacrifice.
—--
When Mummy got arrested, he had every bone in his arms and legs broken, only moving thanks to his will and own manipulation. It needed the combined effort of Armstrong, SS, Godzillo and Serafina who rested enough to join the battle to finally bring him down.
Nine's crew was nowhere to be seen.
—--
"Now, no more gloves." Wolfram said, before using his quirk despite the blood coming from his nose. Hu. All For One was apparently right on a thing he liked to say: There was nothing more dangerous than a cornered animal, with no hope of survival.
Well, Wolfram knew he was going to survive, but still. He was under a lot of pressure, and clearly, he made a mistake by underestimating Izuku or going easy on him because he was Hisashi's son. He forgot for a moment that Izuku was also Seikyo's grandson, the result of his side project to see what would happen if they bred a child from a former OfA's holder and one of his own.
The result was a quirk that was either a big class Five or a small class Six. Wolfram, in his current form, was a Five. All For One, New Order and One For All were class Six. Endgame was a bit weaker than them, considering he needed a medium to work and Izuku without cards was effectively Quirkless.
Everyone in the arena stared at each other, before looking at the Crown. Izuku took it immediately, before Wolfram focused his quirk on it, to bring it to him. Fortunately, Tooru was with Izuku and together, they barely managed to prevent the Crown from leaving their hand. However, this wasn't going to be an easy fight. Izuku still had an idea to win, but they needed help.
"MELISSA! MEI! I NEED ONE OF YOU TO PICK CARDS IN MY PANTS!"
Both girls stared at the magician, and Melissa actually felt fear in full force. She was hidden and in safety inside the bubble. Outside, Wolfram was walking in his metal suit toward Izuku and Tooru clearly with the intention of crushing them. She wasn't meant to fight in the front line!
Mei, on the other hand, got up and smiled madly. Time to test baby #245!
Her shoes had small reactors and springs allowing her to do some mad dashes in one direction: very useful to check as many expositions as possible in the shortest time lapse.
Melissa stared at the pink haired girl, who didn't seem to understand how dangerous it was, outside the bubble… But there was something beautiful to it. Melissa slapped her face and went up to the only intact station. She was a support, and she was going to do exactly what she was supposed to do: SUPPORT THE HERO.
This meant asking for help from anyone who could hear them.
Wolfram raised a hand, ready to throw some projectiles at Mei, when he saw her coming. Fortunately, Mei had a thing most people thought she lacked: a very good instinct for danger. Hell, her lab was classified as an environmental hazard by Power Loader for a reason. You had to be very insane or with a keen instinct to survive a trip in it.
Mei was both.
Also, she wasn't dumb: she saw Wolfram trying to not kill Izuku despite reaching an insane power level earlier.
So, she positioned herself behind him, to avoid Wolfram's powerful strikes behind her… Before giving another deck to Izuku and taking his position of holding the crown. Izuku and Tooru appreciated her well toned muscles, a sign that lifting metal every day gave Mei a hell of a body.
"BAD MOVE LITTLE GIRL!"
Wolfram said, before ripping a portion of the wall, to act as a sword. He couldn't exert too much pressure on the crown, to not destroy it. His body craved power and the crown was not that strong… He still needed it to access his full potential, and get away.
Izuku clapped both hands together, knowing what card to summon. It wasn't the best pokemon, but he should be enough to protect the girl, at least for an instant.
"MR. MIME! I CHOOSE YOU!"
The psychic pokemon, known for his barriers, appeared and quickly created as many layers as he could in front of the girls.
"Mime!"
"Your cards are annoying, kid!"
"Thank you sir! Now for my next show…"
Izuku once again burned cards as fast as possible. Now, many of his decks were composed of cards made to be sacrificed, and his decks were arranged by family, game, and theme. Well, that is, for his hero suit. In his civilian clothes, he didn't have that many powerful cards. Even Optimus Prime was a bit overkill… as a result, Izuku truly didn't have many useful cards.
He regretted having left his X-Men deck at home, as Magneto would have been extremely useful in this situation.
Still, it didn't mean he was defenseless. Izuku slapped a card from a deck he found in a flea market, about an old anime. He didn't know it but he liked the appearance and design, so why not use it?
From nowhere, a tall man with a beard not well shaven appeared. He was clad in a white holy suit, clearly showing he belonged to the old Roman Catholic Church, as he pulled two bayonets from pretty much nowhere, and looked everywhere, not understanding where the fuck he was.
"I SUMMON YOU, THE HOLY WARRIOR: FATHER ALEXANDER ANDERSON!"
"What in Bloody heaven…" The Father without a father barely had the time to finish his sentence that Wolfram tried to attack, swiping to the left with his huge metallic arm, "NEVERMIND! BACK TO BUSINESS!"
Father Anderson was a simple man. He liked to pray, take care of children and purge the demons and the heretics from the world. In his book, anyone trying to attack children was most likely a heretic and/or a demon, especially if they wielded weird power like this masked man. Everything about him screamed bad guy.
So, Wolfram tried to swat Anderson aside, except the Catholic Hunter was quite agile, as otherwise, it would have been difficult to kill vampires. Wolfram didn't like seeing the Vampire hunter on his arm, running, and as a result pushed, even more, his limits, trying to remember the strength given by the Crown.
It felt as if his mind was reaching his DNA, feeling it breaching under the stress and the danger. Because this blond man actually triggered every instinct he had about meeting a crazy killer. Wolfram wasn't going to go down easily, and he sent away his arm and the catholic priest with it. Now, usually, Anderson would have simply jumped away and killed the bastard.
Except this time, the attack would hit the kid and the strange clown behind him. Anderson gritted his teeth, before using his knife and trying to slow down the attack, with his body if needed. Shit, that was going to hurt, wasn't it?
Even with the healing factor, Wolfram was going to kill him, or at least force the priest to regenerate… Izuku being low on cards.
Wolfram actually had a last ace in his pocket, and he grabbed it. He hated to death being forced to do that, especially as he knew he would actually have to thank Garaki's traitorous ass for his improved Trigger, one refined for high quirk users like him. He took the red pill and ate it, while everyone was recovering from the attack…
Instantly, he felt the corrupting power of the drug taking place inside his body. Wolfram felt the absolute fucking difference between the Crown and the Drug: One was something that felt good, natural, unlocking things he didn't know existed about him, guiding him to his full potential. The other was like drinking 20 energy drinks.
Wolfram yelled in pain and suffering, as he summoned the metal around them, all of the bots. He needed strength. He needed to be useful!
"ALL FOR ONE!" Wolfram yelled at the top of his lungs, his undying loyalty to his boss being the only thing making him stay conscious, as the metal from all the robots began to form a giant structure around him, turning him into a giant, a real one.
"AUSTERLITZ RUSH!"
The voice came from nowhere, and everyone had to stop watching it for a second… Before Wolfram had to raise his giant arms, to protect his body from the hundred of bread striking him almost as fast as a train.
In the sky, a man floated on two pieces of bread, a beret on his head, and wearing a french flag. The hero suit was tacky, and the quirk seemingly dumb. Bread Manipulation.
It was suddenly less dumb when the #1 French hero had bread made according to some old military recipe, making the bread as hard as stone. Combined with the speed, it was pretty much having the ability to shoot a hundred guns at the same time, and directing the shot.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
Blood flowed from his nose, and Wolfram knew he was going to be out soon. Even with the Trigger boost. The master of Magnetism closed his eyes, and from the depth of his soul, accumulated as much strength as he could spare, even if the internal cohesion of his Titan was crumbling and pressuring his body, hurting him.
He even felt the steel ripping and wounding his body, as he fell with it a bit.
Wolfram accumulated all the strength he could, as the repeated bread attack continued to try and find a weakness in his armor, while the deranged priest tried to strike down his feet to climb inside the giant…
Then he raised a hand, in the direction of Tooru and Mei. A giant spike, made from half of Optimus' body, pierced Mime's protection and the pokemon. Wolfram made a second movement, the spear blooming into a metallic flower, slashing everything around the girl, and forcing them to get out or get cut.
The Crown began to fall.
Wolfram used his hand, as if to grasp it from afar, the flower closing softly on the crown, as everyone yelled in terror. Below him, a deranged Alexander was climbing, spouting some nonsense about purging the heretics. Wolfram closed the metal around them on Alexander, creating a breach in the giant armor he was building around him, his eyes still closed. Ok, he still had it. He was in control.
However, if he died, he would kick Hisashi in the dick, and tell him he should have asked for a vasectomy.
Now, All For One's right hand asked for the spear to come back. He didn't have the time to do a precise manipulation, as Captain France would not miss the opportunity to take him out.
Everything for All For One.
Everyone stared, as Wolfram got his arm pierced by his own lance, in the most direct attack they have ever seen… The surprise turned into terror when the teenagers saw the villain putting the Crown on his head.
"NOW… BOW TO THE KING!"
Trigger and Crown. Wolfram knew he couldn't capture Izuku in his state, and he would barely manage to get away, to be honest.
Even if All Might hit his time limit around now, he wasn't the only hero with enough strength to deal with him. A lot of heroes were here and his move with the robots destroyed the distraction that should have occupied them.
Still, he could at least make his exit as grand as him.
The energy rushed again in his body, as he felt it morphing this time… The metal from his arm is mixing with his body.
Fear… Anger…
All of that disappeared, in the profit of happiness in his pursuit of loyalty. He could feel his Quirk coursing in his vein, and his cells fusing with it.
The villain, as the power surged through his brain, had a revelation. If the Crown showed him the way, the Trigger gave him the energy to walk it. Now, he was seeing the Door, as his body seemed to absorb the steel to make him stronger, preparing him and his shell for more power, evolving further. Magnetism was him, and he was magnetism. He just had to pay a price for more power.
A price he was more than willing to pay, as he felt some part of his personality being traded away, as his body was being remodelled.
Captain French didn't have a spider sense or something like that. However, when a villain got an artifact of doom and was glowing, it was always bad news. ESPECIALLY IF HE WAS LAUGHING MANIACALLY.
"FRENCH DECAPITATE KINGS!"
As his only answer, he got a volley of metallic spears against him, forcing him to fly fast to dodge them… Before noticing they were following him, and getting faster than him. Apparently, the villain just got a significant boost in strength.
"YOU CAN'T HOPE TO DEFEAT ME! NOT YOU, NOT THE KIDS… NO ONE ON THE ISLAND CAN!"
Wolfram surged with energy, his quirk altering his body further, his veins turning gray and his eyes black. Yes. YES. THE POWER WAS HERE, IN HIS HANDS.
He actually beamed with power, electricity arcing on his body, steel protuberance fusing with his flesh.
Then Wolfram heard a laugh, coming from above… The French was laughing happily. Why?
"Yes, we can't beat you… BUT HE CAN!"
Suddenly, Wolfram felt as if a bigger fish was summoned. Something so big it was inhuman and borderline eldritch.
A voice boomed in the air, but the sound was too powerful and too ancient to make sense for any of them.
None of them had noticed, because of the thunder and the storm which made the sky as dark as the black night but something taller than several buildings was standing behind them, as the water dropped from him like a natural waterfall.
A stench emanated from the being and he stared everyone down, older than any of them, more profound than they could comprehend. The being formed a fist, made of hundreds of waste rejected in the sea. Freezers, trucks, probably some industrial waste and a ship were inside the fist.
The Old Man, the Living Quirk of Trash Manipulation, was here.
Thanks to his effort to clean the oceans, the trash inside of them has diminished by 60% since the 21st century. This means he was actually standing on the floor of the ocean, right now, as he was *that* tall.
The part everyone was seeing on I-Island? The tip of the iceberg, really. True, he had lost any precise control of his body a long time ago. He also lost a good chunk of his body against the Ashen King, who kept incinerating him during their fight.
He was still a being All For One would avoid fighting, unless he had what he wanted to deal with him.
Wolfram saw the hit, and pushed his newfound strength against the giant hand and to his surprise… He felt he was actually pushing it back. Yes. With the crown, his faith, and the drug, he could do it. If there was enough metal inside the Living Quirk, he could even probably…
If he could achieve his Apotheose, he would become All For One's ultimate weapon. His Dragon!
"Hey, sir? For my last trick, I will make a Crown disappear!"
Izuku, below him, had a big smile. He was showing a card to everyone at the top of the tower. Disarmament from Yu Gi Oh.
"Son of a bitch." Wolfram said, before feeling the Crown exploding, and the Door of Power getting further away from him. As a result… The power boost too also faded away. Which meant Wolfram was now very close to a giant fist, coming to make contact with his face.
"Fuck."
He got smacked down, K.O. on the floor of the top of the tower.
Wolfram, despite his evolution, was down… Though his skin stayed gray and he was looking more like a heteromorphic mutant than anything else, proof some change would stay with the villain.
Izuku, Tooru, Mei and Melissa yelled with joy, as they managed to apparently save the situation… Well except for Samuel, but honestly, so many things happened they didn't have the time to think about it until now.
Also, knowing that everything was alright as the situation ended, the teens finally gave up, and let the fatigue take control of their bodies, falling to the ground.
—--
In his lab, Garaki and Emilia opened the champagne.
I-Island was a tremendous success!
Their equipment confirmed Muscular took control of Chimera, if only for a few moments. It clearly had his memory, his soul and even his skills. It meant they had the definitive proof Soul and Quirk were linked…
And more importantly, they properly established that resurrection was possible! That alone was magnificent!
The second thing they proved, thanks to Wolfram…
Transcending to a higher level was possible artificially.
These two findings were the cause of what would be known as the beginning of a new organization, and everyone would know about their name.
The New Humanity was born, and Garaki would be their creator. Now, all he had to do was resurrect their leader, the one who gave him purpose all these years ago.
It was time to begin the project "Burning Ember".