Chapter 13

The Avatar has been lost for millennia after the death of Korra, with the art of bending forgotten to ancient scrolls. In an age of quirks, watch as Izuku becomes the new Avatar and brings back the art of bending in his hero academia.

Part 3 of the USJ arc. What I had originally thought would only be 2 chapters is now hopefully going to be 4.

Plus this is my longest chapter yet being more than 12k words. Loads of views and battles and I'm trying to give everyone something though obviously some of the students will get more attention than others.

Apologies for the inconsistencies but I can't promise anything regarding when the next chapter will be out. In fact, I haven't even started writing it, though I have planned it.

Enjoy the chapter!


"How foolish of you to tell your enemy your plan." Kurogiri mocked the heroes.

Kido grabbed a hold of some of the bandages. "It doesn't matter that you know. Ready?" The last was part directed to the students who all nodded. "Go!"

And the heroes sprang into action.

Tenya fired his engine quirk and sped towards the exit. As the fastest person available, it was his duty to his classmates and as an aspiring hero to escape the facility and contact the faculty back at U.A. He would not fail.

"I won't let you!" The mist from Kurogiri expanded as the villain rushed towards the heroes, intent on stopping their escape. If even one got out of the complex, they could alert the school and other heroes and Master Tomrua's plan would fail.

Yuga grimaced. "Navel…LASER!" The boy fired the beam from his stomach straight at the villain in bursts but Kurogiri dodged most of them easily. However, Kido was not just standing idly and used his wrappings and his Traject quirk to randomly bend the direction of some of the beams which made them more unpredictable and thus more difficult to dodge. One even grazed the villain's brace though Kurogiri didn't let that slow him down. "I…can't do…anymore." Yuga collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain.

Meanwhile, Kurogiri had not given up but changed focus slightly. Kido was the central figure of the group, holding the students together. If he could defeat the pro, the students would be easy pickings. "This is over," the villain declared as he approached Kido, intent on warping the pro into the sky and plunging to his death.

However, Kido had been prepared for this. He leapt forward, surprising Kurogiri and used his quirk to suddenly redirect the villain to his right. Right where Rikido was waiting. "Take this!" Rikido punched the brace. Hard. The brace dented under the force and Rikido roared as he grabbed the villain's brace and threw the villain into the ground with enough force to crack the ground.

"Noooo!" Kurogiri yelled as he picked himself off the ground. Tenya was at the door, desperately trying to pry open the door. Kurogiri moved in the teen's direction but he barely made it a meter before Ochako tagged the brace with all five of her fingers, activating her quirk. Kurogiri stumbled as he started to float and Rikido held onto his brace as the student jumped in the air. Ochako trembled, queasy from maintaining her quirk on both Kurogiri and Rikido. With the help of Zero gravity, Rikido jumped high into the air, far above the plaza, and punched the villain as hard as he could.

"Release!" Ochako couldn't hold her quirk any longer and fell to her knees before puking a rainbow out.

With her quirk no longer active, Rikido fell to the ground near Yuga creating a small shockwave with his impact. Debris flew from where he landed, injuring the navel laser user who was still clutching his stomach in pain nearby. "D-Did we uhhhh-" Unfortunately, Rikido was feeling the aftereffects of his quirk as his brain slowed down.

Meanwhile, the force of Rikido's punch combined with Zero gravity flung Kurogiri far away from the main plaza and he started falling towards the fighting occurring near the fountain where the villains had originally entered. However, before he lost sight of the main plaza, he saw Tenya manage to open the doors and speed out of the USJ. His eyes narrowed at his failure before he grunted in pain as he came crashing down into the fountain.

Kido had managed to redirect any debris that had come his way from Rikido's fall and was mostly fine but the other three students: Rikdio, Ochako and Yuga were all suffering injuries from both the fight and the repercussions of their quirks. Unfortunately, having watched where the warp villain was falling, Kido's attention was drawn to the battle ensuing around the fountain where Eraser Head was fighting a veritable horde of villains. While he was holding his own better than Kido had expected, he also knew that his fellow pro's stamina would run out and just one mistake would be fatal. After all, it looked like both the hand villain and the brain creature had yet to attack. "Can you three take care of Thirteen? I must help Eraser Head."

Rikido nodded, eyes still slightly blank. "Go! We've got-" Ochako's cheeks bulged, interrupting as she turned away and vomited rainbows once more.

"Oui." Yuga's legs trembled as he stood up. He held up a shaky thumbs up.

"Thank you." Kido raced away from the main plaza and down the stairs as he made his way to Eraser Head.


"Twirling Tail Dance!" Mashirao spun in the air before smacking another villain with his tail. The villain flew into a wall. Mashirao leapt back as another villain swung at him, missing. Mashirao glanced back to see Koji cowering behind some rubble with a villain approaching from behind him. "Look out!" Mashirao yelled as he used his tail to jump towards the boy.

"Wha-" Koji fell back as he saw the tail user leap towards him suddenly. It didn't occur to him to look behind him and move out of the way of the approaching villain. Mashirao used his tail to block the swing of the villain's bat aimed at Koji and grunted in pain from the strike. Koji reached out and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

"Stay back. I'll protect you." Mashirao said in between heavy breaths. Koji wanted to say something. He wanted to intervene. He was grateful that his classmate was trying to save him. But he was getting injured on his behalf. Koji had always been shy but now he felt a lump of anger in his stomach at his inability to speak up and do something.

Mashirao dodged another swing from the villain before using his leg to knock the villain off balance and knocking him away with his tail. Two villains who had been watching chose that moment to attack and approached the Tail user from opposite sides. "We've got you now, kid!" The first villain yelled as he opened his mouth to reveal two giant teeth at the student while the second villain lowered her head, pointing her horns at the boy's back as she charged towards Mashirao.

"Stop!" Koji jumped in to intercept and stopped the woman's charge by grabbing onto the horns and bracing. The villain skidded to a halt.

"Koda?" Mashirao questioned as he fell back, grabbing the teeth of the first villain that had attacked from the front. The villain tried to close his mouth and take a chunk out of Mashirao but the boy was strong and managed to hold his mouth open.

Meanwhile, the villain attacking Koji swung her head causing him to lose his grip on her horns before swinging back. Koji brought an arm to protect his face as the horns drew a line of blood. The villain grinned as Koji cried out. "Aw, did the baby get injured," she taunted. Koji glared back fiercely and grabbed her horns again before wrenching them down. The villain was surprised by the strength and was helpless as her face smashed into the ground and she fell unconscious.

Mashirao was still struggling against the teeth threatening to take a chunk out of him. The villain took advantage of the fact that Mashirao's hands were occupied and punched the boy repeatedly in the ribs. Mashirao grunted in pain and tried to twist so that his tail was no longer held beneath his body but the villain was heavy and held him down.

Koji appeared and tackled the villain off of Mashirao, taking both of them by surprise. The villain tried to use his bulk to force the student off him, but Koji was stronger than many gave him credit for and with one punch to the head, the villain was unconscious.

"Woah man. You're strong!" Mashirao approached Koji while clutching his side. Koji rolled off of the villain and lay on his back, panting. "Are you ok?" Mashirao asked. Koji nodded. There was a sudden sound as someone crashed next to the pair and Mashirao swung around, prepared to hit the intruder.

"Finally," Katsuki said, looking at Koji.

Mashirao stumbled and tripped due to abruptly stopping after seeing the intruder was Katsuki. "Oof," he said, falling to the ground. "How about announcing your presence, Bakugo? I almost smacked you into the wall."

Katsuki sneered at Mashirao. "Don't kid yourself, tail guy." He turned to Koji who was transfixed by the blonde's blood-red eyes. "You finally decided to fight."

"Don't encourage him, Bakugo. He could've been seriously hurt!" Mashirao intervened.

"Don't be a wimp! Why is he in the hero course if he's not willing to fight." Katsuki responded.

Koji opened his mouth slightly, wanting to say something but paused as Mashirao spoke. "We're facing real villains here! He clearly doesn't even know how to fight. He's already inj-"

"So what!" Katsuki interrupted. "It's pathetic that he would try to enter the hero course without knowing how to fight." Koji looked hurt at that, though he couldn't really refute his lack of ability to fight. "But it's even more pathetic that he would refuse to fight."

"But-"

"I-I-I-" both Katsuki and Mashirao stopped as Koji spoke up, "want t-to fight."

Katsuki grinned savagely at that, slightly unnerving the animal speaker but saying it out loud had emboldened the usually shy boy. "Doesn't it feel good to knock these useless villains out?" Katsuki asked rhetorically, getting in the shy boy's face. Koji didn't completely agree with the blonde's words but he did agree with the sentiment. It had felt good to feel useful and save his classmate.

The three teens turned to see a couple more villains running down the street towards them. Feeling brave, Koji leapt up and charged them, yelling out a battle cry.

"Was that wise, Bakugo?" Mashirao asked. "His quirk isn't suited for fighting. If he gets hurt, it's on your head."

"Perhaps he'll learn something," Katsuki said. The red-eyed teen proceeded to grab Mashirao's tail. "If you're so concerned, maybe you should go help."

"Don't," Mashirao warned, having caught on to the explosion user's plan.

Katsuki grinned and used his explosions to spin while holding Mashirao's tail and the tailed teen got slightly dizzy before Katsuki let go and Mashirao flew towards the villains.

"Twirling tail CRASH!" Mashirao yelled out, the spinning from Katsuki's explosion adding power to his usual move. The teen flew past Koji – who was dealing with one villain – and smashed his tail into the group of villains approaching. Dust flew from the area as Mashirao cracked the ground from the force of the impact.

Meanwhile, Katsuki analysed the situation. 'They must have some villains jamming the alarms otherwise the pros would've already shown up.' Small explosions lit up on his hand as he got excited. 'That's good. Gives me more villains to beat up.' Katsuki exploded forward, entering the fray.

Unlike the villains Katsuki had faced in the sky, the ones on the ground were no better than thugs with some meagre powers and Katsuki had no real trouble facing them, using his speed and reflexes to easily overwhelm them, getting annoyed at how easy the battle was.

The same couldn't be said for his two classmates who were unable to fly around like Katsuki and so were stuck to running and dodging on the ground. Their stamina quickly ran out, especially Koji's and the shy boy collected many bruises. Koji collapsed to the ground, taking in heavy breaths.

"I've got you now," a villain yelled.

"DIE!" Katsuki jumped in, knocking the unsuspecting villain away with an explosion.

"T-Thank-" Koji started.

"You're so weak. Heroes should be the ones saving others, they shouldn't need saving." Katsuki interrupted. "Stay out of the battle. You're a liability." Koji's eyes teared up slightly but he was unable to deny Katsuki's claims.

It only took another few minutes before no villains remained in the Earthquake zone. Whether that was because they had been defeated or they had run away didn't matter to Mashirao, who was just glad that they got a break. "Are you ok, Koda?" the tailed boy asked. Koji nodded. Katsuki wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked into the distance. Mashirao and Koji slowly approached him, nursing their wounds but satisfied at having helped defeat all the villains in the area. "What's the plan, Bakugo?" asked Mashirao.

"I-I thought we could find some of the others," whispered Koji.

Katsuki snorted slightly. He had very quickly realised that the villains must have someone blocking the electrical system of the USJ considering no alarms were ringing nor had any teachers from U.A. had made their way here. However, none of the villains in the earthquake zone had any quirks that could block the USJ's system.

Katsuki reasoned that considering this villain's importance, they would likely be in the centre where the main force of the invasion was stationed with the leaders Katsuki had spotted. Plus, he would get the opportunity to show the villains not to mess with him. "I'm going to the centre." Katsuki blasted off, leaving the other two standing there.

Koji was disappointed that Katsuki had just taken off. After some of the help the red-eyed boy had given him, Koji thought they had been getting along. "Should we follow him?" he asked timidly, pointing after Katsuki.

Mashirao shook his head. "No." He was annoyed at Katsuki's attitude. He had seen arrogant types like Katsuki approach his master for training throughout his stay at the monastery. Mashirao never understood how people could have such an attitude, especially when asking for training from someone more experienced. He always took a bit of forbidden joy in putting them in their place. After all, arrogant people always chose to try and defeat a member of the monastery to prove their strength, only to lose. "Let's try and find some of the others. Where should we go?"

The two of them looked around, before both settling on the same decision. "There," they said, pointing towards the two large domes. They nodded in agreement before making their way to the domes that housed the Storm and Conflagration zones.


"Kaminari, try to get in contact with any of the teachers or any of the U.A. faculty. Jiro, help me defeat the villains. When Kaminari has finished trying to get into contact, he can help you." Both Kyoka and Denki nodded as they all leapt into action.

"Hey, can anyone hear me?" Denki asked, twiddling with his headset, trying to tap into the lines used by any of the teachers.

Meanwhile, Izuku and Kyoka focused on long-range attacks. Kyoka stepped out from the earth wall and used the speakers on her feet to amplify her heartbeat and send sonic attacks at approaching villains, knocking them away while Izuku sent rocks flying at the enemy.

"Watch out!" Izuku yelled. He yanked on Kyoka's arm, pulling her out of the way of more throwing stars from a villain.

"Thanks, Midoriya," Kyoka replied as she stumbled back. Izuku erected a bigger barrier as the villains started utilising their own long-range attacks with all manner of projectiles crashing against the barrier, including throwing stars, boomerangs and even small missiles. While most were easily blocked, the missiles exploded against the earthen wall, destroying parts of it and creating holes. Izuku used his bending to prevent any rocks from falling on them while reinforcing the barrier.

"Change of plans. Jiro, stay here and use your long-range moves to cover me and defend Kaminari." Izuku declared. "I'm going to engage in more close combat."

"Wait!" Kyoka paused as another missile rattled the barrier. "Why do we need to defeat the villains?"

"Yeah, why don't we just run away?" Denki interrupted nervously.

"Have you had any luck, Kaminari?" asked Izuku. Denki shook his head. Izuku nodded, having expected that. "I suspect there's a villain in the USJ who's jamming communications. It's why the alarms haven't been ringing when the villains showed up."

"But-" Denki started.

"There's no time. The longer we stay pinned down, the more dangerous the situation could get." Izuku was using his seismic sense and could feel villains closing in from all directions. When he had briefly stepped out, he had noticed that only a handful had long-range attacks. The rest were wary and kept some distance, but it wouldn't be long before they became bold and closed in. "Kyoka, cover me. Kaminari, keep trying to contact the teachers."

Izuku took a deep breath before charging at his own barrier. The villains were caught off guard by the sudden rumble and there was a pause in their attacks. Izuku used his earthbending to crash straight through, taking a rectangular portion of the barrier with him with which he fashioned gloves. Taking advantage of the villains' surprise, Izuku slammed his hands into the ground, attempting to send a tremor towards them. However, Izuku was annoyed to see that the effect wasn't as pronounced or directed as he wanted. Nevertheless, it did cause the villains to stumble and Izuku leapt forward, using the earth to propel him.

As he reached the nearest target, the villains had started to recover. The villain that was Izuku's first target brandished long, sharp nails and swung them towards the green-haired boy. However, Izuku easily dodged the first swipe while using his rock glove to counter the second hand of the villain. The villain yelled out in pain as two of their nails broke. Taking mercy, Izuku tripped the villain and forced them to the ground before creating shackles from earth and binding the villain instead of knocking them out.

Izuku kept his high-density rocks that he'd fashioned after Sir Nighteye's seals orbiting around his head. As he approached a group of villains, he sent them flying towards the villains. The rocks were small enough that the villains didn't think they were a threat. They were proven wrong when the rocks smashed into their stomach, knocking the wind out of their lungs. The villains doubled over and Izuku got in close and created more earth shackles, binding the enemies in awkward positions. In this way, he went around defeating several villains. There were several close calls and Izuku had to sacrifice two of his rocks to intercept missiles as well as create barriers to block several of the long-distance attackers. The area looked like a battlefield with the earth gouged out all over the place.

It was at this point that the villains deemed him a threat and focused their efforts on the green-haired teen. He was quickly surrounded and tensed as he slowly regarded the villains. "We've got you now, kid." One villain said.

"Yeah, surrender." Another villain taunted. "There's no way you can beat all of us."

"If I surrender, do you promise not to harm us," Izuku said, eyes hard.

The villains were a bit surprised and glanced at each other. Smirks stretched on their faces. "Yeah, kid," said one of them.

"Pinky promise." Another commented, stifling a laugh.

Izuku could see that they were lying, plain as day. It was practically written on their faces. He decided to attack first and grabbed what looked like air before tossing it towards two other villains. They grunted as a body crashed into them. Izuku had sensed a villain with some kind of invisibility approaching him using his seismic sense and so had grabbed the villain's leg when they were close enough before tossing them. The invisibility seemed to be temporary as the villain shimmered into existence as soon as he crashed into two others.

"What the hell! You brat!" One yelled, but Izuku was already in motion. He knew that as soon as he attacked, the villains would not hesitate either. Using his hand, Izuku swiped along the ground, gouging out a piece of earth that he proceeded to launch towards some villains but one of the villains created some energy barrier that blocked the rocks.

Izuku propelled himself forward to them but one of the villains sent one of the pieces of rubble speeding back towards him. Izuku easily sent the rock flying away with his earthbending but the move had briefly distracted him, allowing a villain to get in close. The villain's hands proceeded to shine extraordinarily brightly. It was like staring at the sun and it blinded him. Izuku stamped the ground and the villain with the shining hands was sent flying as the earth under their feet was suddenly lifted.

Izuku desperately rubbed his eyes, trying to regain his vision. He felt a villain approaching with a bat of some kind and dodged the swing before punching the villain in the stomach with the rock glove, dropping them to the ground in pain. Izuku calmed slightly, though his nerves were still racing from being unable to see. Sure, he had sparred without sight, but to actually fight real villains without sight felt like a big jump. Nevertheless, he was able to deal with and bind another trio of villains that had approached him thinking he would be easy pickings since he was effectively blind.

"Who the hell is this kid?"

The villain with the missiles sneered. "I'm done with this." He aimed his hand, pointing the barrel attached to his wrist at Izuku and fired several missiles in quick succession. Izuku was preoccupied with a villain and so noticed the attack too late. He still had trouble with projectiles when his eyes were closed. The first missile exploded the ground right next to Izuku, sending the boy flying. His vision was slowly returning, and he saw the other missiles approaching and so sent the debris that had been sent flying with him to intercept the missiles. The villain gritted his teeth in annoyance as the other missiles exploded in the air without hitting their target.

However, another saw their opportunity and sent several throwing stars while Izuku was in the air. Izuku hadn't seen them and two of the weapons found their target in Izuku's side, causing the teen to yell out as he landed on the ground. The missile villain grinned and sent another projectile straight at Izuku.

"Now, Kaminari!" Kyoka yelled.

A few minutes earlier

Kyoka sent sonic attacks at approaching villains, successfully keeping them from advancing. Izuku was doing a great job of keeping the villains occupied and soon, the villains weren't focusing on the two teens.

"Are you just going to sit there?" Kyoka asked Denki.

Denki coloured a bit. "I have to keep trying to contact the teachers."

Kyoka rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that excuse. If it didn't work before, it won't work now. We have to help Midoriya."

"I think he's got it under control," the electric user said, whimpering slightly. He didn't want to admit that he was afraid of the villains. "Besides, I can't control my quirk, I'll just end up injuring you and Izuku."

"Don't be such a loser. You could just get in close." Kyoka's eyes were hard, judging the other teen. "Whatever. I can't force you."

She stood up, about to leave but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm not a loser!" Denki responded, voice still wavering slightly. Kyoka smiled slightly as Denki followed her.

The two exited the barriers only to see that the villains were all surrounding Izuku and he was struggling. He was slightly hunched and clutching one side. One of the villains looked like they were about to fire something. "Now, Kaminari!" Kyoka shouted while simultaneously sending a sonic attack. As the missile was fired, the sonic attack knocked it off course causing it to explode in mid-air. At the same time, Denki jumped onto the missile villain's back, unleashing a large amount of electricity and frying him. The villain collapsed to the ground, twitching. The villains were all shocked, having forgotten about the other two students. Izuku took the opportunity to rejoin his classmates. "Midoriya, protect us with some sort of earth shield," Kyoka said.

"Why?" Izuku asked, confused.

"Just do it!" Kyoka snapped. Izuku hastily obeyed as the two crouched down and Izuku raised a thick slab of earth.

Denki smiled. "Yeah boys and girls. Now I can go all out!" The villains were starting to recover from their shock. Izuku realised what was about to happen and used his earthbending to change the slab into a sphere that covered Kyoka and himself. "Indiscriminate shock: 1.3 million Volts!" Denki generated a huge electric charge that he dispersed in an area around him. Instantly, more than a dozen villains screamed as they were shocked and dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Izuku opened the sphere as he and Kyoka appreciated the power of their classmate's quirk. "I've gotta say, I didn't expect this from you, Sparky," Kyoka said as she made her way to Denki. "Kaminari?" Kyoka asked when there was no response.

Denki turned around. "Yaaaaay!" Denki's expression was vacant as he held up a double thumbs-up. "Yay!" he repeated. Kyoka covered her mouth with a hand but couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Ah, so there must be a limit to how much electricity he can discharge," muttered Izuku. A twinge of pain reminded him of the injury to his side, causing him to grimace slightly.

"Y-you look s-so stupid!" Kyoka said between peals of laughter.

Unfortunately, the good mood was not to last. One of the villains leapt up, catching the students off guard and grabbed Kyoka. Izuku instinctually moved forward but the villain was smart. "Stay where you are." The villain held up a sparking hand to Kyoka's neck. She swallowed in fear as she could feel her hairs stand on end from the electricity. "Otherwise, the girl gets it."

Izuku scowled as he realised the villain had been pretending to be unconscious. Even Denki's face changed slightly at Kyoka's capture. "Let her go," Izuku said.

"You're in no position to make any demands," the electric villain replied. "Now listen here, you're going to let me go if you want the girl to return home in one piece."

Izuku nodded while slowly shifting his hands, trying to get to his pockets.

"Keep your hands where I can see them!"

Izuku immediately followed the order, raising his hands up as the electricity sparked more over the villain's hands. Izuku's eyes widened as he realised that this villain was most likely the one jamming the communications. He locked eyes with Kyoka and was glad to see that she understood that he was going to do something, even if she didn't know what.

Izuku stepped forward, hands still up. "Don't get any closer." warned the villain.

"Why did you all attack the USJ?" Izuku was honestly curious, but he had only asked the question to distract the villain.

The villain snorted. "I came to-" Izuku abruptly slid his foot forward, shifting the earth underneath the villain, causing him to trip back and lose his grip on Kyoka. Kyoka leapt into action, connecting her earphone jacks to the speakers on her legs and sending a wave of her heartbeat towards the villain. The villain was thrown back and Izuku rushed forward, placing himself between the villain and his classmates. Before the villain could react, Izuku stamped the ground, causing the earth to rise and encase the villain's lower body, trapping him.

"Are you ok?" Izuku asked to which she nodded, a bit shaken up, but none the worse for wear.

Denki stuck both hands out in a thumbs up. "Yay." That got a chuckle out of the girl who looked a bit relieved.

Meanwhile, the electric villain was still struggling while trapped. "Don't think this is it for me. I'm going to get out and then you'll pay!"

"Midoriya, knock him out," Kyoka said, turning to the green-haired boy.

"Why me?" Izuku squeaked. It was one thing to attack them while in the middle of the battle but it didn't feel right when the villain was already trapped.

Kyoka scoffed. "Sparky is out of it and I don't have a move to knock him out." Izuku opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the ground trembled, causing the teens to stumble. "What's happening?" Kyoka asked, looking around wildly.

Izuku frowned as he couldn't feel any hidden villains nearby. Another tremor shook the earth and then Izuku saw something that he dreaded. Smoke curling from the peak. "It's been activated. The volcano."

Kyoka's eyes widened at Izuku's words. "No way," she breathed out. The tremors were becoming more frequent.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion as the electric villain somehow burst free from his earthen prison. Izuku's eyes hardened as he realised the villain must have remotely activated the volcanic eruption, all to serve as a distraction as he escaped. But before Izuku could act, Denki – who had already been standing close to the villain – latched onto him and with a surge of electricity, knocked him out which surprised Izuku. Not only was he surprised that Denki was functioning enough to make that decision, but he was also surprised by how easily the villain was taken out by electricity.

However, he didn't have time to think about that as lava sprung up close to their group. Kyoka jumped back in fright while Izuku leapt forward and stamped the ground, creating a short but wide barrier of earth in the path of the lava. Izuku realised that the battle must've weakened the ground around them, allowing lava to leak from the internal chamber out. "Come on, Midoriya." Kyoka had grabbed Denki's hand and yanked him away from the lava and was leading him down the side of the volcano. Izuku made to follow.

"Wait!"

"Don't leave us here!"

"We don't want to die!"

The villains that were trapped on the ground yelled out to the retreating students.

Kyoka spared a glance back before continuing on but Izuku paused and looked back. "Midoriya?" Kyoka called back, questioningly when she realised Izuku had stopped.

"We can't leave them." Izuku implored. Kyoka struggled slightly between her desire to escape safely and making the heroic decision to 'save' the villains. "Continue down the volcano and switch off the simulation from the control booth." Izuku directed.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'll hold off the lava for as long as I can," Izuku said as he turned around, facing up to the peak. Kyoka was about to say something but Izuku interrupted her. "Go! I'll be fine."

"Come on, Kaminari," Kyoka muttered as she dragged the still dumb teen with her down the slope. She knew she couldn't change the green-haired boy's mind and there was no point wasting time.

Izuku tried to calm himself. He hadn't wanted to turn around and face his classmates, lest they see the fright on his face. The lava was successfully being diverted by the barrier Izuku had made, cooling and slowing as it passed around the group. However, the amount of lava that had sprung up from the leak was nothing compared to what was stored within the volcano.

Another violent tremor shook the volcano, more powerful than any other so far and Izuku almost fell over. "Hey, come on kid! Set us free!" The villains clamoured, the noise and rumbling causing some of the villains that had fallen unconscious to begin to awaken. Izuku stared around and almost considered it, his heroic instincts telling him to save them. However, the logical side of Izuku knew that he could not let the villains free. Not only would they likely attack him, but they could also spread to other areas of the USJ and attack his classmates and Izuku couldn't let that happen.

Izuku used the earth to reinforce the bindings around the villains and bring them together into one big group. The villains complained loudly as they were jostled and cramped together but Izuku paid their comments no mind. He attempted to lift all the villains into the air using earthbending but the weight that needed lifting was far too great for the burgeoning earthbender. Sweat poured down Izuku's face from the strain but only a couple of villains rose before Izuku stopped, causing him to drop them back.

The hero in training realised that there was no escaping with the villains and since he had decided to save them, the only option was… to battle the volcano.

Since he had grouped the villains, it was actually easier to protect them as Izuku had to cover a smaller area. Izuku – from his position between the villains and the approaching lava - swung his arms, creating small trenches in a V-shape that would direct approaching lava away as well as create more earth walls behind the trench. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he inspected his handiwork. It was shoddy, but Izuku was being careful to not thin the earth and create more leaks. Izuku could only hope Denki and Kyoka were able to stop the eruption from building up.

Unfortunately, his hopes were soon dashed. The ground trembled as the very volcano seemed to groan before lava erupted from the mouth of the volcano. Izuku's face was awash with orange as he stared at the lava spewing out like a fountain. A cloud of ash rose higher and higher into the sky as the shockwave of sound and air blasted out from the peak, crashing into Izuku and echoing throughout the USJ. The villains' faces fell as several tried to crane their necks to see where the lava was coming from, and they started clamouring and shouting.

Lava rolled down the slope like a river, the bright orange glow lighting up the volcano. Rocks launched from the eruption whistled through the air, crashing into the ground with force. Izuku used his earthbending to break the smaller rocks into dust which showered over the group, terrifying the villains. For the larger boulders flung by the volcano, it was all Izuku could do to redirect them while they were in the air. The boulders smashed into the ground, forming cracks in the weakened areas.

While the eruption was almost too much for the lone teen to handle, Izuku was glad that some of the more dangerous elements of a volcanic eruption hadn't been simulated. Izuku had been terrified of having to deal with poisonous fumes and pyroclastic flows. The fast-moving cloud of hot gas and volcanic matter was only produced by certain explosive eruptions and was often considered the deadliest of all volcanic hazards.

Suddenly, one of the villains – who had managed to wiggle away from the group and towards Izuku – grabbed the green-haired boy's leg with their one free hand, surprising Izuku. "Please, kid, you gotta let me go! I-I've got a girl and a kid w-waiting for me," the villain said between sobs.

Izuku stared at the tears and couldn't help but feel that they were real. "Don't worry. Me and my friends will protect you." The villain half sobbed and half snarled at that, not at all willing to put his faith in some kid.

Unfortunately, with Izuku distracted by the villain, his attention wasn't on the descending lava which had already filled the shallow trench the boy had made with a large pool collecting behind the earthen barrier, nor was he looking at the falling debris.

A particularly loud whistling drew Izuku's eyes away from the pleading villain and he was shocked to see a boulder larger than a car hurtling towards them. Since he had been distracted, it was now very close. Izuku desperately tried to stop the rock from falling but it had too much momentum and was too heavy. With another sharp twinge in his side from his earlier injury, Izuku was forced to his knees as he let go of his earthbending. All he had to show for his efforts was a slight decrease in the boulder's speed.

There was a whoosh as the boulder landed in the pool of lava next to Izuku and the villains. Izuku's eyes widened as a wave of lava was flung up. Izuku could almost see the arc the lava was travelling in slow motion. He could visualise where it would fall. The damage it would cause. The noise of the villains faded and he could barely feel the tremors of the volcano. His tongue felt dry, eyes closed and face beaded with sweat as Izuku instinctively reached a hand out. "No!"

Izuku kept his eyes closed for a couple of minutes. His legs were shaking, but strangely he didn't feel any burning pain from the lava. Of course, perhaps the lava was so hot that he couldn't feel it. He peeked an eye open, only to be shocked by what he saw. Even the villains were stunned into silence.

This was because, floating in the air was the wave of lava that had tried to incinerate them, looking innocent as it bathed their faces in its orange glow. Izuku could feel the heat radiating off of it and once the novelty of the situation wore off, Izuku could feel the strain from holding up the lava and decided to wonder about the 'how' later. Feeling the burn in his arms, Izuku swung his arms behind him and the lava deposited itself behind Izuku and the villains. Izuku closed his hands into fists and the lava rapidly cooled. Izuku let out a breath he had been holding.

"What the…what was that?" One of the villains asked rhetorically.

"Shhhh!" Another villain said, properly terrified of Izuku. "Do you want to be burned by lava?" The villain was convinced that Izuku would douse the villains in lava if they defied him even though Izuku had gone to such lengths to save them.

Izuku ignored them as he walked towards the pit of lava that had formed. The tremors had stopped now and Izuku was greatly thankful that Kyoka and Denki had successfully switched off the volcano. He had been concerned that whatever that electric villain had done to start the simulation had been irreversible. Nevertheless, that wasn't the case as no more lava was spewing from the mouth of the volcano and the cloud of steam and ash slowly thinned. Izuku took a look at the lava pool, which was already cooling and hardening. It would take too long to try and cool all the lava, so instead, Izuku reached a hand out, and tried to use his new ability to only cool the lava against the earth walls he had set up. At first, nothing happened and Izuku grit his teeth, his hands shaking. He thought about the desperation and how it had felt and suddenly felt a connection to the lava and closed his hands which were still held out in front of him. This caused the lava to harden, which reinforced the wall, making it thicker and slightly taller. Any remaining molten lava could safely cool behind the walls without it spilling out.

"Midoriya!" There was a far-off cry causing Izuku to turn around and see Kyoka and Denki jogging slowly up the slope. "Are you ok?" Kyoka asked between breaths.

"Yes, I'm fine!" Izuku hollered back. It wasn't long before Izuku's classmates managed to reach the green-haired boy though they were panting from the exertion of running up the incline of the volcano. "Thank you," Izuku said. "Without you two, I would have-" Izuku didn't finish the rather grim sentence.

"Y-Y-You're welc-come." Denki stuttered out, his brainpower returning.

Meanwhile, Kyoka surveyed the area, noting all the rubble that had fallen from the volcano as well as the lava lake – which was still steaming – and holes in the ground. "You're a beast, Midoriya," she declared, causing Izuku to blush slightly at the compliment. "So, what's the plan now?" she asked Izuku.

Izuku opened his mouth before closing it. A blur of motion in the distance had caught his attention as he stared past Kyoka and Denki, down the slope towards the fountain.

Where Aizawa had been fighting.

"Jiro, Kaminari, stay here and keep an eye on the villains," Izuku said as he walked past them. "Try and see if you can contact U.A."

"Wait! Where are you going?" Kyoka asked.

"Aiz-Eraser Head is in trouble. I have to-" Izuku hissed slightly and put some pressure on his side with a hand.

"You're in no condition to fight," Kyoka exclaimed. "Let's try and find the others and we can escape."

However, Izuku wasn't hearing it. "I have to help him. Stand back," he declared as he crouched down. Kyoka came forward, trying to hold onto Izuku but he slapped the ground and a slab of earth rose and pushed Kyoka back. Izuku didn't even look back as he cracked the earth he had been standing on, jumping off the volcano.


The sentient quirk opened its gaping maw, blood dripping from its corners as the creature turned to look at Tsuyu, studying the trembling girl. It didn't recognise her and crept forward while Tsuyu stumbled back.

After all, if Dark Shadow didn't know her, then she must be an enemy to Fumikage Tokoyami.

A figure stood in a nearby alley and chuckled at the scene before him.

Tsuyu stumbled back as Dark Shadow inched closer. The creature could sense that his prey was weakened and was in no rush, knowing that she couldn't run away. Tsuyu collapsed to the ground with a splash and let out a gasp as a sharp pain jolted from where the antlers of the now-dead villain had pierced her. She continued shuffling back as Dark Shadow rumbled forward. In the darkness of the Storm zone, its red eyes glowed sinisterly.

"Tokoyami, it's me! Tsu!" she cried out. The sentient quirk was so big that Tsuyu could no longer see her classmate, her view obscured by Dark Shadow. At her words, Fumikage looked up, but his eyes were dull as if he wasn't really looking at the world around him. "You know me, Dark Shadow." Her voice trembled in fear. Dark Shadow paused briefly but the small glimmer of hope was quashed when the creature moved forward with greater speed. Tsuyu stopped, almost accepting her fate as Dark Shadow loomed over. The spirit roared and swung one of his deadly claws. The razor-sharp claws tore through the side of the building on the way to Tsuyu with ease and approached her.

However, before Dark Shadow could claim another, its prey was snatched from the clutches of its claws.

Tsuyu didn't even have time to cry out as a large paw blindsided her from behind, smacking her to the side through the building. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

Dark Shadow's claw slammed into the ground not a second later, causing cracks to spread out from the point of impact. It howled in anger at having missed its prey and drew back from the unknown entry, swirling protectively around the still lost Fumikage.

Fumikage had to get home. Spurring his short legs on, he ran through the streets, taking the route he was so familiar with. Taking a turn, he unexpectedly slipped and fell. He ignored the sting, his mind preoccupied by the sight of the red covering his palms. Hands shaking, he slowly turned his head to see what he had slipped on. Bile rose up his throat as the innards of a clanmate were splattered across the ground like a messy meal. Fumikage leapt to the side and emptied his stomach onto the sidewalk. He refused to look back at the sight, instead frantically wiping his hands against the ground before taking off.

Breathing heavily, Fumikage ran away and shortly reached his home. "Mother! Father!" he called out as he threw open the door. A noise from the living room caught his attention and he raced there. His eyes widened and he screeched to a halt as he saw both his parents laying on the ground, face down. "No," he muttered. He rushed to their side and hesitantly put his hand out, but a voice stopped him.

"They're already gone." A voice spoke up from the shadows. One that Fumikage recognised.

"Who did this?" Fumikage asked quietly.

The figure stepped forward and stood there lazily. "Me."

Fumikage's head jerked up as he stared into the cruel, green eyes of his brother.

The dullness faded from Fumikage's eyes as the memory blended into the present and he was staring into the same green eyes piercing through the darkness of the Storm zone. "You?!" Incredibility bled through Fumikage's voice. "What are you doing here?" Having escaped his memories, Fumikage gained a small measure of control back over Dark Shadow who shrank, though only slightly.

The figure reached up and lowered the hood covering his face. Fumikage was surprised to see a panther mask over their face and for a brief moment thought he had made a mistake. However, the green eyes were too familiar and Fumikage could never forget the panther that was currently lying curled around the figure's feet. "I thought it had been too long since I had last seen my little brother," Kuro said mockingly, the mask muffling his voice.

Fumikage's eyes widened in rage. "You have no right to call me that!"

"Call you what?" Kuro said, putting his hands up. "Brother?"

Fumikage snarled at that with Dark Shadow growling as well. "You forsook that right the night you killed-"

"Blah, blah, blah." Kuro interrupted. "I have no interest in talking about dear old mommy and daddy." The panther stood up as Kuro slowly started pacing forward. "I wanted to know if you had it in your heart to forgive your older brother." Fumikage ground his teeth together, his growing anger once again feeding Dark Shadow. "After all, if it wasn't for me, you would still be trapped in that pathetic excuse of a village, rotting away."

Fumikage had heard enough. "Dark Shadow!" he hollered, the spirit rearing up. "Eviscerate," he hissed, pointing to his masked brother. Dark Shadow rumbled in delight. The creature had no problem following orders if they were this fun to carry out. It surged forward, intent on gobbling the masked figure.

Kuro smiled underneath the mask before whistling sharply. "Bashenga." The panther narrowed its four red eyes and leapt in front of Kuro, catching Dark Shadow by surprise. The panther swung its heavy paw, nailing the spirit right between the eyes. Dark Spirit yowled as it crashed into a wall.

However, it was simply an inconvenience as Dark Shadow roared, excavating itself from the rubble before launching itself towards Bashenga. The panther simply stood its ground. Dark Shadow slammed into the panther with its clawed hands, pushing it back, the panther's paws digging shallow ruts in the concrete. "Is that all?" Kuro mocked.

Fumikage's eyes blazed at the insinuation that he was weak. "Dark Shadow!" Kuro could practically see his brother's hate fuel Dark Shadow, a slight purple glow travelling through the tendril connecting the two. Dark Shadow swelled slowly and rumbled as it slowly began to overpower the panther spirit.

"Oh?" Kuro's eyes widened slightly behind the mask, half-impressed. Cracks spread out in the ground as Dark Shadow continued pushing and with a grunt, the ground beneath Bashenga gave way. Having lost its footing, the panther was knocked away, but not before Dark Shadow swiped its flank with razor-sharp claws that left shimmering gouges.

Bashenga yowled in pain as it stood back up, the smoky wisps at the edges of its wounds knitting back together. "That was almost impressive, little brother." Kuro walked up to the side of his spirit and rubbed the panther's belly. "But it seems you still have much to learn."

At those words, Bashenga seemed to dissolve into darkness and melt into Kuro through his hand. Fumikage did not know what the villain was doing but he knew it was bad news. "Dark Shadow, stop him!" Once again, the spirit charged ahead, maw agape. However, it was too slow and as the creature went to crush its foe in its jaws, it was stopped.

Kuro started laughing, a dark sheen covering his arms as he used his hands to stop Dark Shadow's fangs from crunching down on him. With relative ease, Kuro heaved and started walking forward, pushing the straining spirit back. Dark Shadow swung a claw which Kuro dodged by jumping high into the sky. Fumikage looked up but the rain obscured his vision and before he could call out to his partner, Kuro came crashing down with pinpoint precision. Kuro's legs smashed into the top of Dark Shadow's head with unnatural strength and the spirit sent chunks of concrete and a wave of water flying as it crashed into the ground.

The force of the impact caused Fumikage to stumble, while Kuro laughed as he stood on Dark Shadow's head. "You're not even worth my time." Kuro hopped off the spirit and started walking away. Fumikage's hands shook as he panted, both in rage and fatigue. The boy ran to his partner, who grunted as it pulled itself out from the ground. Fumikage thought furiously.

The traitor was already almost out of sight, the dark surroundings of the storm zone reducing visibility drastically. Dark Shadow made to lunge towards Kuro but Fumikage exercised whatever control he had to stop him. Fumikage strained as Dark Shadow continued roiling against his control, intent on simply destroying. "Calm down, Dark Shadow," Fumikage muttered, between breaths. He collapsed to his knees, splashing in the water, his nose bleeding from the stress of holding Dark Shadow back.

A thought occurred to the teen.

What if he wasn't in the way? What if he had been holding Dark Shadow back earlier? What if he gave up control?

So consumed was Fumikage with the thought of revenge that he spared no thoughts to his surroundings nor his classmates nearby. He simply let go.

Dark Shadow roared in glee as it felt the leash surrounding it dissipate, the surrounding water pushed back from the shockwave of the roar. It swarmed around Fumikage, growing larger once more and encasing the teen like a vehicle would encase a human. However, unlike a vehicle, the human within was simply a passenger, unaware of the situation around him as Fumikage was trapped in a never-ending nightmare, the anguish he felt fuelling Dark Shadow. Satisfied, Dark Shadow rampaged, lashing out at the buildings around it as it tore its way through the street towards Kuro. Buildings creaked and groaned as chunks were ripped out.

Glass shattering could just barely be heard over the roar of the rain and was the only indication for Kuro of the impending threat. He turned around and only had time to cross his hands protectively over his chest as Dark Shadow slammed into him as they took off towards the edge of the enclosure.

Grabbing Kuro's leg, Dark Shadow flung him and he crashed into a wall, indenting it. Before he could recover, Dark Shadow was there as the spirit rammed straight through the building, taking Kuro with it. The building rumbled, before collapsing, unable to support itself after a giant hole had been carved into its base. As the building toppled in the background, Dark Shadow screeched to a stop while Kuro's momentum carried him forward, skipping twice over the water before coming to a halt.

The mask covering the villain's face fell off, having cracked multiple times from the force of the various impacts it had sustained. Blood dripped over the black fur covering Kuro's face while his ears twitched due to the rain. He growled deep in his chest. "Bashenga, finish this." The panther burst out, snarling. Dark Shadow paused briefly, its eyes lighting up cruelly. While the feline was still as large as it had been, without the boy holding him back, Dark Shadow was now larger.

An unspoken signal triggered both creatures to rush each other. There was a flurry of claws and teeth as the spirits fought. Dark Shadow used its claws the size of the surrounding streetlamps to gouge into the panther's flank while Bashenga used its powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth to tear into Dark Shadow. Their tussle crashed into several buildings but while Dark Shadow fought savagely, Kuro directed Bashenga with precise control, directing the fight to the edge of the enclosure.

"Now!" yelled Kuro. Bashenga swung its paw. However, the spirit's aim was off and Dark Shadow easily knocked it away from itself.

Except, that was the plan.

Bashenga's claw left wide marks in the enclosure's wall, sending off sparks from the electricity running through it. Dark Shadow cried out at the bright light and just for a brief moment, was distracted. Something that the panther capitalised on by slamming Dark Shadow into the wall.

The walls of the enclosure had been designed to be sturdy. In fact, sturdy was an understatement. But in the face of the force of two spirits, weighing tonnes, it stood no chance. The section of the wall caved with a huge groan as Dark Shadow was pushed straight through, out of the storm zone.


Eijiro panted as he released the hardening over his hands and fell back. "Phew. You alright, man?" He yelled over the roar of the flames.

Hanta lay on his back, breathing heavily. He grunted in response to Eijiro. The tape user was nursing broken skin all over his body. Overusing his quirk caused his skin to dry out but it was the additional sweating due to all the surrounding flames that had accelerated the negative effects of his quirk.

Thankfully there hadn't been too many villains. Eijiro was a bit surprised. He had initially been nervous at the thought of facing hardened criminals but when it came down to fighting, they were weaker than he had expected. Even with the harsh environment, Eijiro had managed to defeat any villains and protect his peer. While he would face the villains in hand to hand, Hanta would stay behind and use his tape to capture the villains making Eijiro's job easier.

The hardening user stood up slowly and looked around. Smoke was rising all around them from the flames. Thankfully, by choosing to climb a tall building, they hadn't been troubled by any flames. "Come on, Sero. We can't stay here." Eijiro turned to the other boy who sat up with difficulty.

There was suddenly a loud crash that shocked both boys. After their conflict with the villains had ended, it had become relatively quiet. There had been some small echoing noises that both Eijiro and Hanta had heard, but they seemed far away, outside the conflagration zone. However, this sound boomed throughout the enclosure as they turned to see a section of the wall collapse. "Oh, SHIT!" The curse word slipped from Eijiro's mouth unintentionally as the metal from the enclosure groaned and splintered, crashing to the ground, creating a cacophony of sound.

"What's going on?" Hanta sat up slowly, slurring his words slightly. As his eyes landed on the hole, he could only exclaim, "What the f-!"

"Come on!" Eijiro interrupted, pulling Hanta onto his feet, who cried out slightly in pain. "I think I saw Dark Shadow crashing through that hole. Tokoyami might be in trouble."

"Are you sure? Whatever crashed through must have been huge." Hanta replied. They had never seen Dark Shadow anywhere near that big.

"Let's check it out." Eijiro made towards the stairs causing Hanta to roll his eyes. Sure, the tape user was in a bit of pain but he wasn't made of glass.

Hanta shot tape towards Eijiro, wrapping it around him before leaping off the building and taking the red-haired boy with him. "What are you doing, Serooooo!" Eijiro's voice echoed through the enclosure as he suddenly found himself in the air, hurtling towards the ground.

Hanta grinned slightly, ignoring the pain as he shot another piece of tape to bring the two safely towards the ground. They landed rather ungracefully but since there was no fire there, Hanta considered it successful. They made their way around the flames towards the direction of the giant hole. "Woah!" Both Hanta's and Eijiro's eyes were wide as they saw something flash by that was almost reminiscent of a kaiju. "Who's got the big cat?" Eijiro asked, looking up at the creature towering above them as it rushed past.

"I think it's a panther," Hanta replied.

Eijiro rolled his eyes. "Dude, now is not the time to worry about the specifics."

"Hey!" An unknown voice yelled from close behind the two boys. Both Eijiro and Hanta practically jumped in the air, turning towards the sound. Eijiro hardened his arm while Hanta aimed his elbows at the offender only for the two of them to come face to face with two other classmates.

"What are you doing here, Ojiro, Koda?" asked Hanta. He had assumed that when they had been warped, everyone in each zone would be falling together. After all, he and Eijiro had fallen in the same place.

"Wait! Are you ok?" Eijiro was concerned as he saw the bruises that littered both Mashirao and Koji.

Koji smiled as he put a thumbs up while Mashirao replied, "We had our fair share of villains in the earthquake zone but with Bakugo there, it went better than I hoped."

"Where's Bakugo?" Eijiro looked around. Koji and Mashirao shared a look as they remembered the conversation they had. If they could even call it that.

"He decided to continue fighting near the fountain," Mashirao replied after the long look he and Koji had shared.

"What! That's crazy." Eijiro yelled. "We need to help him."

Mashirao frowned. He wasn't too keen on following after someone who didn't really care about the rest of them. But before he could say anything, Hanta spoke up, "First we should get Tokoyami."

"Tokoyami was-" Mashirao's question was cut off as Eijiro suddenly pushed him out of the way. And just in time as part of the building came crashing down where Mashirao had been standing. Luckily,

"We need to get some distance from here." Hanta said, pointing towards the hole in the enclosure. "If we go through, we can get away from both the panther and the fire."

"What about Tokoyami?" Eijiro asked.

"You said you saw him near the hole. If he's not there then you probably saw something else. We'll check on the way out of this fiery hell." Hanta was not keen on staying in the Conflagration zone any longer and welcomed the chance to feel some rain. After having broken into the conflagration zone, the fight between the Tokoyami brothers had pushed deeper into the centre of the area, away from the Storm zone.

Hanta and Eijiro took off with a confused Koji and Mashirao behind him. One big question they had was 'How could a panther be doing anywhere near this kind of damage?' as buildings were being broken behind them.


Pain.

Pain was all Dark Shadow could feel.

Just seconds earlier, the spirit had felt more joy than it could ever remember because it had finally been free to battle and rampage. And it had found an opponent that could take a couple of hits. A find that was as thrilling as it was frustrating.

However, then Dark Shadow and Bashenga - the panther - had crashed through and it was like a supernova exploding against Dark Shadow's senses. After crashing into the Conflagration zone, the first sensation was the oppressive heat that came billowing from the fires dancing across the city. Nevertheless, it was not the heat, but rather the light those fires threw up that caused the most damage.

Dark Shadow roared, thrashing about in confusion as it started to shrink, unable to hold its massive form in the light. It desperately pounded the ground, putting out surrounding fires but it was a losing battle. In a last-ditch attempt, it tried to draw on the bond between it and the beaked human it was attached to, but having fully taken over control, Dark Shadow was left alone, without any power being put in from Fumikage. And so, it shrank.

Fumikage burst free from Dark Shadow, dropping to his hands and knees as he took deep gasps of air. He was disoriented, his vision slightly blurry as he couldn't really remember what had happened over the course of the last few minutes. Standing up on slightly wobbly legs, Fumikage took stock of his surroundings and as his vision cleared, he focused on the figure of his brother ahead of him. And his heart stopped briefly at the nightmarish image before him.

The red rivulets of blood had dried on Kuro's head but glinted nastily against the light. The fire threw up dancing shadows across the panther-headed man, the emerald green eyes glowing through said shadows. And standing above him was his faithful panther spirit, four crimson eyes framing the snarl on its face. It was a picture straight from hell for the younger Tokoyami.

Kuro licked some blood from the corner of his mouth as he stalked forward. Fumikage had surprised him but once it became clear that he possessed no control, Kuro was far less impressed. He stopped in front of his brother who had fallen to his knees in fear, Dark Shadow cowering behind Fumikage. "To think I had been impressed even briefly." Kuro scoffed at the pitiful site in front of him. He turned around sharply, walking away angrily. Bashenga followed and for a second, Fumikage thought he was safe. But as it turned around, the panther's tail lashed out, catching Fumikage full in the chest and the boy was flung away before he could even realise what had happened.

Fumikage was unconscious after crashing through the first two walls, not realising how many more he would crash through before coming to a stop.


Shota Aizawa had been prepared for a slightly mundane day of rescue training. Most likely the students would flounder in the face of the unknown situation and rather realistic effects. However, he had not expected villains to appear in the heart of a U.A. compound.

Nevertheless, he wasted no time in assessing the situation and quickly jumped down towards the fountain, practically flying down the steps as he acrobatically leapt over multiple steps with each bound. As he made his way down, he pulled his signature goggles down, obscuring his eyes. He heard some shouts of panic from the plaza he had just left and was annoyed as he realised that one of the main villains – the warp villain - he had been worried about had gone missing. Unfortunately, he simply had to trust that Kido and Thirteen could protect the students without him.

Shota rolled as he landed, coming up into a run as he approached his first villains. He practically rolled his eyes at the disorganisation as the villains at the front had mid to long-range quirks. With his glowing red eyes hidden behind the goggles, Shota wasted no time, taking advantage of the villains' confusion to kick and punch them into submission, knocking them out quickly.

"Why didn't they use their quirks? Idiots!" One villain yelled before finding out that she couldn't use her quirk and being pummelled by Shota. It was times like this that made the hero Eraser Head glad he stayed out of the limelight and didn't have the notoriety of attention seekers like All Might.

"Wait! I've heard of this guy. He's Eraser Head," one villain yelled out. Shota scowled and instantly sent his tape flying towards the villain. "He can erase your quirks." The villain barely managed to get the words out before Shota flung him into the ground.

"Ha!" One rock villain scoffed. "I bet you can't erase the quirk of someone like me." He banged his fists together as he charged towards the lone hero.

With the villain practically announcing his approach, Shota rolled his eyes slightly. The hero expertly dodged the lone punch thrown at him, simultaneously kicking the villain in the face. And while the villain was disorientated, Shota wrapped him in tape, huffing slightly as he flung the heavy rock villain crashing into two more approaching villains.

Shota could tell that he was tiring as the battle went on. While untrained and thus quite weak, the sheer volume of opponents that the villains had gathered was of issue. As he fought, Shota looked to see both the villain with all the hands as well as the villain with the exposed brain just standing there and watching him. More worryingly, another of the ringleaders – the one with the cloak – was now missing. Having fought for a while now, Shota wasn't worried about most of the villains, but it was clear to him that the ringleaders were strong, though he couldn't tell how strong. He was worried that the cloaked villain had gone after his students. He could only pray that they would make it out safely.

However, Shota's worrying had distracted him, and he had to jump to the side wildly to avoid a sword slash from a villain. Seeing his chance, Tomura Shigaraki leapt forward, making a mad dash towards the hero. Shota jerked back as the villain was suddenly so close to him and just barely managed to block the punch aimed at him with his own arm. Tomura smiled as his prey took the bait. "I've got you now, Eraser Head" he teased. Twisting his arm slightly, the hand-covered villain turned the punch into a hold centred around Shota's elbow and activated his quirk just as the hero blinked.

Shota immediately could tell something was wrong and with a violent wrench, freed his arm from Tomura's grip before kicking the villain, who went flying away, giggling. " Tomura didn't bother to engage Shota again, instead more interested in something that had crashed into the fountain behind him. After all, the damage had already been done.

Shota observed the damage to his elbow with a pained grimace on his face. Even though the villain's touch had only lingered for a second, it had instantly chewed through the skin of his elbow and had even damaged the musculature there making his arm practically useless. Having seen the quirk used on him, Shota was fairly confident that it was this hand villain that had turned the U.A. barrier to dust.

However, now was not the time to dwell on that as several villains closed in like hyenas taking advantage of dying prey. Shota barely managed to avoid the villains and with each passing minute, he accumulated more and more knicks and scratches.

Meanwhile, Tomura investigated the crash that had destroyed half the fountain and was surprised to see Kurogiri there. "What are you doing back, Kurogiri?"

The warp villain groaned in pain as he extricated himself from the rubble of the fountain. "I'm sorry, Master Tomura." Tomura stiffened at those words, realising that something had gone wrong. "I separated them as planned but one of them managed to get away."

Tomura's fists trembled, the hand covering his face hiding raging, red eyes. His hand leapt up and Kurogiri flinched slightly as Tomura furiously started scratching his neck. "You fool. Kurogiri, you idiot! How could you let a bunch of high school students defeat you? If you weren't Father's pet, I would end you now."

Kurogiri bowed his head in shame. "I was too kind to them and one student escaped. The faculty at U.A. will likely respond soon and arrive here." Tomura stopped scratching. "Perhaps now is the best time to leave," Kurogiri suggested.

Tomura whirled around, a smile peeking out from below the hand. "No, wait. If the faculty knows, then so does All Might and he'll come running to play the hero and save the kids. Then we can enact the plan." Tomura clapped his hand in glee. "In the meantime, we can have some fun." He turned his attention to Eraser Head only to suddenly be taken aback. "Huh?"

While the two villains had been having their conversation, Shota had been battling hard. With the pain from his elbow and the loss of that arm's functionality, his mobility had been reduced. Nevertheless, that didn't mean he was out. He conserved his movements, dodging attacks expertly and only retaliating when needed. However, the more he moved, the greater the breaths he took and the slower he got.

"We've got him now!" a villain yelled. There was an uproar of sound around Shota and three villains approached him from different directions. Shota ducked under the first villain's staff strike, blocked the punch of the second villain, stepped close towards the third villain and knocked him out before he could react. Suddenly a rope wrapped around his ankle, pulling his leg out from under him and Shota fell to the floor. Seeing the opportunity, the first villain swung his staff down, aiming straight for Shota's head. And the hero could not react in time.

However, the grin was wiped from the villain's face as his staff missed its intended target.

"Bro, how did you miss?" The villain was dumbfounded as his partner taunted him. "Woah, watch out!"

Kido had made it just in time from the main plaza, using his bandages and Traject quirk to redirect the staff from a distance before jumping in and delivering a kick to the villain standing above Shota. "Come on, Eraser Head." Kido offered a hand which Shota didn't hesitate to accept before standing up.

Meanwhile, Tomura growled as Eraser Head once again escaped demise. "No fair. You can't call a support character in the middle of the battle." With the addition of Kido, Shota was far more confident in dealing with the weaker villains. Even though they had practically never worked together in their entire hero career, the two operated almost seamlessly, using their bandages and cloths to ensnare villains from different directions.

Tomura grew increasingly frustrated at the increasing success of the heroes, a fact that Kurogiri quickly noticed. "Do you want me to intervene?" asked the warp villain.

"No," Tomura said with finality. He turned to face his Nomu, who had not moved from his position since they had arrived. "I want to do a test run before the final boss arrives." Looking back at the heroes, he pointed at Kido. "Break that one. He shouldn't have hacked his way in. And bring me Eraser Head."

The Nomu tilted its head in understanding before blurring forward. Villains were just a minor obstacle to the beast who trampled through them with no regard. Both Kido and Shota were surprised at the introduction of the new variable and were just barely able to react. Shota turned his quirk-erasing gaze onto the Nomu but was very shocked when the creature's speed barely slowed.

"Don't just stand there Eraser Head!" Kido yelled as he redirected the Nomu's first punch straight into the ground, cracking it from the force. However, the sudden change in momentum threw the Nomu off balance, allowing Shota to use his binding cloth and wrap it around the Nomu's throat. But when he went to yank the creature down, it did not budge.

"Watch out, it has some kind of super strength," Shota warned. He quickly tried to unwrap his hands from the binding cloth but the Nomu was quick and grabbed the cloth. The Nomu threw another punch aimed straight for Shota's gullet and even with his Erasure quirk active, he knew that such a punch would be potentially fatal.

Once again, Kido was his saving grace, using his wrappings to redirect the punch just to the side of Shota's flank. Shota was extremely glad that had missed as he could feel the wind from the pressure of that punch. Unfortunately, he was rather helpless when the Nomu's response to Kido's intervention was to harshly backhand the bandage-covered hero. The blow was crushing, instantly breaking ribs as Kido flew backwards, rolling along the ground before coming to a stop. He did not move from that spot, a fact that the thugs surrounding him shared cheerful grins with each other about.

"NO!" Shota practically screamed, moving towards Kido. The Nomu was quick as lightning, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him towards Tomura, away from Kido. Shota thrashed, attempting to wriggle out of the iron-tight hold on his uninjured arm.

"Break it," Tomura ordered. The Nomu wasted no time and with just a little effort, snapped Shota's uninjured arm. A guttural cry of pain left Shotua's lips before he was suddenly smashed face-first into the ground, blood washing the surrounding stone, effectively silencing him.

Meanwhile, having been on the harsh end of a beatdown, the thugs surrounding Kido were slightly wary. "Are you sure he's out?" one asked.

"He's not moving at all," another replied.

"It would be pointless for him to play chicken," one commented.

"Wait, who even is he?" One clueless villain asked.

"What does it matter?" replied one of the villains, rolling her eyes. "It's a hero, that's all that matters."

"Let's gut him a few times to make sure." This comment drew a lot of nods as the villains closed in.

However, fate had different plans for Kido as a shadow fell over him. Before the villains could even realise that someone was approaching, Izuku Midoriya crashed onto the scene.


Mammoth of a chapter to write with all the different characters and viewpoints but I'm happy with how it turned out.

Thanks to sergeant peace, Leo 23, rolandrichardson16 and RT89 for the reviews. And just to say the rolandrichardson16 has hit the nail on the head regarding OFA and Raava so if you want clarification, you can read their review. And yes, I too wonder sergeant peace.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what worked and what didn't.

See you next time!