AN: Thanks for reading and leaving a review, everyone!
"Ok, spill," Kyoka said as classes broke for lunch.
Ochako winced internally as Izuku jumped at their friend's sudden appearance next to Izuku's desk. Recovering first, she looked at her friend. "What do you mean?"
Kyoka pointed her jacks accusingly at the pair. "I could hear the anxiety all morning. Himiko too, but she's already gone." There was also the unspoken 'and I know it has to do with you two,' but Kyoka knew better than to say that part out loud.
Ochako looked at Izuku, throwing him a silent question. He subtly nodded to her in reply. Turning her attention back to Kyoka, she relented. "Come with me."
Grabbing her bag, Ochako led Kyoka out of the classroom and into the girl's bathroom. Silently, she directed Kyoka to check the stalls. Doing as asked, the other girl used her ear jacks to verify that they were alone. Nodding her head, her gaze returned to her friend.
"Ok Raka, what's going on?"
"It's the USJ," Ochako said, her voice barely a whisper - just in case. She knew it was enough for the other girl.
Shock flashed across Kyoka's face, before she recovered, her eyes narrowing as she leaned in. "What's going to happen?"
Ochako simply mouthed the words, "Villain Attack."
Kyoka let out a startled yelp before slapping her hands over her mouth, her eyes going wide. "And we're still going?"
Ochako nodded solemnly. "This is our best chance to fix things."
Kyoka looked like she wanted to protest before pursing her lips and blowing air out in frustration. "And what about us?"
Ochako rubbed the back of her head. "It turned out the last two times…"
Kyoka glared at her friend before letting out a pained sigh. She knew something like this was going to happen! She just didn't expect it to happen this early into the year! "Ok, what do you need me to do?"
Ochako's expression softened. "Don't tell Shizu. Just - be ready to protect our classmates," she whispered.
"Guess this is why you two were so methodical with our costumes."
"Ehehe." Ochako gave her friend a broken smile. "I think we were all doomed. Between Izu, Melissa, and Song, none of us were safe."
"Fair." Kyoka shot a crooked grin back. "Anything else you can tell us?"
Ochako shook her head. "We have some ideas but nothing concrete. We've gotta figure this out as we go."
"Gee, way to boost my confidence," Kyoka deadpanned.
"Don't worry." Ochako tried to reassure. "We'll figure it out!"
"I'm sure you will." Kyoka smirked. "Ok. I'll do my best out there. I just wasn't expecting our debut so early."
"Neither were we." Ochako gave her friend a small smile. "Thanks. For understanding. Now c'mon, let's go catch up with everyone."
As the bus pulled up to the USJ, twenty students, directed by Izuku and Ochako, left the bus and formed up outside the doors. As they stood there, Aizawa gave his students a hard look, examining all of their hero costumes.
"Yaoyorozu, I'm impressed the rush order came through already," Aizawa said.
Momo gave him a confident smile as she flicked her now much-smaller ponytail. She had replaced her simple leotard with a pair of snug red combat fatigues and a pale gray tactical vest in a design reminiscent of what Public Security wears on operations. Her bookshelf was gone, replaced with a utility belt that easily had a dozen yellow pouches, and at her side hung her Yaoyorictionary. Despite her considerable resources, she was not able to get the rush order of her digitized version ready in time, but at least, she wouldn't have to worry about falling the wrong way.
"After thinking it over, I spoke to my grandfather asking for his blessing to base my costume designs off of his old uniform. He was ecstatic, and after he listened to the reason for the changes. he declared we should spare no expense to get it done as quickly as possible."
"Aww, that's no fair!" Toru stomped ineffectually. "I'm still waiting on my quirk analysis!"
Aizawa frowned at that. "Speak to me after class, we'll see if we can speed that up. At least UA's gym uniform should be sufficient for today. And Kirishima…"
"I know my arms are still exposed." Eijiro slapped his black vest. "But this was the best the support department could do on short notice. They're working on a new harness that will expand as I use my quirk, but this should be plenty for whatever we're doing today!"
Aizawa closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes, I believe you're right. Very well, it's time to begin your rescue training. Follow me."
The massive doors to the USJ opened up to reveal All Might and Thirteen standing there, ready to receive them. As the students were ushered inside, Thirteen stepped forward. "Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulations Joint. Here we will begin your lessons on rescue training!"
The hero pushed a button and a holographic display showing a map of the building appeared with twenty glowing dots representing the students in the entrance area; three glowing dots represented the heroes. "As you can see, we are here in the entrance area. Down these stairs leads to a central plaza which is our primary access route to the other six zones. Each zone represents a potential disaster you could face as a hero in Japan. Today, we will break you up into teams and have you spend ten minutes trying each zone to get a feel for what you may face."
While Thirteen continued to explain the basics of Rescue training, Aizawa kept a laser-focus on the map. He knew the power grid would likely go down briefly to lure the villains in, but he still wanted to know how they planned to bring it down.
There!
In the Downpour Zone, he suddenly saw two new dots appear near the wall. That was the power substation they attacked.
His suspicions were confirmed seconds later as the map suddenly vanished; all of the lights in the USJ turned off. Seconds later, the emergency shudders on the dome opened, bathing the building in sunlight to offset.
As the plaza lit back up, a singular black portal hovered there. While their classmates watched with a mixture of tension and curiosity, Izuku and Ochako were on high alert, waiting to see who would emerge from the portal.
Neither expected to see three people emerge from the portal.
In the back, the shadowy form of Kurogiri looked exactly like they expected him to. Dressed in his bartender's attire with black smoke curling around him to hide his features.
No, their attention was on the two figures in front of him.
On the left was Tomura Shigaraki dressed in a black form-fitting bodysuit with reinforced padding around his joints and a striking red cape. Unlike the version Izuku remembered, he had discarded his hands, showing the world his face.
And on the right was Homura Shigaraki. A tall lanky woman dressed in a form-fitting red bodysuit with the same padding and equipped with an inky black cape. She had pale skin - although not as pale as her brother and catlike brown eyes. Her hair was a dark navy, almost black, and hung in a singular ponytail that ran halfway down her back. Unlike the woman Ochako remembered, she had discarded the dozens of watches that used to be strapped onto her costume, opting for a simpler outfit.
"Greetings heroes," Tomura began. "We are the League of Villains…"
"...and we are here to announce ourselves to the world. By killing All Might," Homura finished.
"What's going on?" Katsuki demanded as dozens of portals began opening in the central plaza.
"This- this is part of our training right?" Denki asked. "One of those illogical amuses that Aizawa was talking about?"
"No," Shota said as he pulled down on his capture scarf, loosening the fabric. In a smooth motion, he placed his goggles over his eyes. "This is very real."
"Thirteen," All Might ordered as he turned toward the center. "Protect the students and try to escape."
"Yes sir," Thirteen replied.
In truth, they knew that there were a dozen heroes en route to the USJ as they spoke, and Aizawa and All Might's true objective was to disable Kurogiri and capture Shigaraki alive. But that was ultimately a secondary concern for Thirteen. Their job in particular was to keep the students safe. To try and escape as quickly as possible while the other heroes took care of the League.
"All Might," Aizawa said.
"Let's go," All Might replied.
In tandem, the pair leaped down to the central plaza. All Might's thunderous landing sent a shockwave knocking dozens of villains onto their backs.
"Ocha-" Izuku whispered, his mind suddenly back in a different life.
He was back on the streets of Jaku, watching Uravity decay in front of his very eyes, her brown eyes staring back-
"Izu." Ochako grabbed his shoulder, pulling him out of his dark thoughts. "Are you ok?"
"I-" Izuku looked at Ochako. She was here. She was alive. And so was he. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he nodded. "Y-yeah. I just- bad memories."
"I know what you mean," Ochako said as she pulled Izuku into a hug. "We got through Himi. We'll get through this."
"Thank you." Izuku smiled as he returned the hug. As much as he would love to hold his girlfriend longer, he quickly pulled back. "I'm ready."
"Umm, sorry to interrupt you two, but Thirteen's trying to get the rest of us out of here!" Aika exclaimed as she gestured toward the rest of their class. Thirteen was already heading toward the door with most of their classmates following. Aika, Kyoka and Himiko looked expectantly at the couple.
"You three go on ahead," Izuku assured her. "We're going to help All Might."
"We want to help too!" Himiko demanded.
"You can hel-"
"Ocha-" Izuku interrupted her. "Look!"
Standing up, All Might rushed forward.
Something was wrong. There shouldn't be two Shigarakis! Worse, there was no sight of that massive creature - the Nomu. The break-in happened according to plan, so they thought it would just be Tomura!
And the number of minions here - it was much higher than he had anticipated. Not enough that they couldn't stop it. But it made his mission all that much more imperative. They needed to disable Kurogiri before the others arrived!
Raising his arm, he clotheslined a pair of villains who were approaching, sending them to the ground. As another villain approached, he saw Aizawa's capture scarf lash out, entwining itself around him before his fellow hero threw the villain toward another, knocking both out.
Meanwhile, both of the Shigarakis were content to simply standby and observe. If the kids were right, they were observing him, trying to gauge his strength.
Well, he was ready to disappoint them.
Punching another villain and sending them crashing several meters away, All Might shot a glance at Aizawa. His companion reeled a villain in only to deliver a stunning elbow to the villain's chest before dropping him unceremoniously to the ground. Task complete, he gave All Might a single nod.
I'm ready.
Smile tightening, All Might took two steps forward as he clenched his fist, winding up for a punch. Channeling One For All's strength, he felt the air itself gathering around his fist, compressing into a projectile. With a triumphant cry, he released the punch, sending a tremendous gust of wind toward his true target.
The mysterious smokey form of Kurogiri stood there impassively as the gust of wind connected, the force not enough to move his augmented form.
However, it was enough to dissipate the smoke around him, giving Aizawa a chance to Erase his quirk.
…at least, that was the plan.
"O-Oboro!?" Aizawa's glare was shattered as he saw the scarred features of his friend staring impassively at him.
Why didn't the kids warn him!? He couldn't help but blink in surprise.
And that's when it all went to hell.
"Kurogiri, now!" Homura called out.
Three new portals appeared, obscuring Aizawa's view from his old friend and preventing him from erasing his quirk a second time.
And from each portal, a massive Nomu surged forward.
"This is bad-!" Izuku said.
Ochako turned toward their companions. "Protect everyone else, we're going down there."
"P-protect them?" Kyoka's eyes went wide.
"They have a teleporter." Izuku pointed out as green lightning crackled across his skin; his Gauntlets snapped into place around his hands and feet. "They're going to try splitting everyone up."
"And what are you going to do?" Aika demanded.
"Help even the odds," Ochako said, black stars erupting around her as her own gauntlet split apart, wrapping around her fists.
The two gave each other a single look before they were off, green and pink missiles aimed directly at the two Shigarakis in the central plaza - and the three Nomu that were under control.
With their friends gone, the three girls looked at each other. They saw the resolve in each other's eyes, and they all bobbed their heads in agreement.
"Izu and Ocha are trusting us," Himiko said as she gestured towards their classmates. "Let's keep everyone safe."
"Right!" both girls agreed.
Turning, they rushed over to where their classmates were nearing the door. For a brief moment, they hoped that Izuku and Ochako were wrong, that they'd be able to get out safely. But then those hopes were dashed as black mist began to surround their classmates.
"No!" Kyoka was the first to respond. She spotted a black portal forming under Momo's feet. Acting fast she charged toward the other girl, wrapping her arms around her as she pushed her forward, hoping to let momentum carry them to safety.
"Watch out!" Denki called as he took a diving leap, connecting with Kyoka. Unable to keep her balance with the other girl in her arms, she was knocked back into a portal along with the other two students.
"Kyoka!" Aika called out as she stretched out her hand, only to watch the portal close.
Trusting that her friend would be able to take care of herself, she looked around. She saw her friend Mina dancing away from a smoke cloud as she took Mezo's outstretched hand, pulling her to safety. Other members of 1-A helped each other, but then she saw something she should have expected.
"Let me go!" Katsuki growled, explosions popping around the palms of his hands as Eijiro struggled against his classmate's grip.
"Come on man!" Eijiro insisted. "We've gotta move!"
"I. Don't. Need. Your-" Katsuki insisted, trying to tug his arm free with each word until a portal opened up underneath him, and he fell in.
"Woah-" Eijiro yelped as he felt himself getting dragged in, his arm flailing.
"Kirishima!" Aika called out as she dove toward her classmate, her arms wrapping around his free hand. She stumbled forward as she tried to find purchase, but with nothing for her boots to catch onto, she found herself losing against the combined weight of the two boys and was pulled into the portal as well.
Himiko didn't fare much better. She saw Shoto fall into a portal, only to be caught by Tsuyu as the frog girl wrapped her tongue around her classmate. Tsu stuck to the floor, anchoring herself in place but unable to retrieve her classmate. Grimacing, she dashed up to her classmate. "May I?"
"Wish pweasure," Tsuyu said, her eyes grateful for the help.
Wrapping her hands around Tsuyu's torso, the two began walking backward, pulling Shoto partway out of the portal. Finally able to leverage her tongue better, Tsuyu flicked it upward, pulling their classmate completely out of the portal.
"We did it!" Himiko said excitedly.
In her excitement, she failed to notice the black mist creeping up behind her, until it slid underneath her, dropping her and her classmates into unknown danger.
Himiko felt a brief moment of falling through the air before landing on her back, the air knocked out of her lungs. As much as she would have liked a moment to recover, she felt a pain in her chest a moment later as her classmate landed on top of her.
"Thanks for the landing, kero," Tsu said weakly as she rolled off of her classmate.
"I didn't-" Himiko sucked in a deep breath as she pushed herself upright only to get a faceful of rain. "Well that answers where we are."
"This is troublesome," Shoto said as he pushed himself to his feet. "With you two here, I won't be able to stop all of the villains surrounding us."
"What are you-" Tsuyu paused and tilted her head, suddenly realizing what Shoto was talking about. "Kero."
"Well then-" Himiko pushed herself upright as she drew a pair of knives from her holsters. "We'll just have to fight our way out."
Despite the fear she felt, she could feel a predatory grin spreading across her face.
"What the hell!?" Katsuki demanded as the three got to their feet. "I was gonna be fine if you didn't try and grab me."
"You were gonna launch yourself right into one of those portals!" Eijiro insisted. "I was trying to help you!"
"I don't need your help!" Katsuki yelled. "I don't need anyone's help! I'll show everyone what I can do by myself!"
"Do it another time Blasty!" Aika said as she glared at her classmate
"What are you-"
"Look around you!" Aika thrust a hand out. "While you were busy arguing, you completely missed it."
Bakugo looked like he wanted to snap at the girl, but then he saw what she meant - they were surrounded. Relenting, he turned his back to his classmates. "Tch, fine. I needed something to take my frustrations out on anyway."
Aika looked at Kirishima; both bobbed their heads before spinning around, back to back, and she began to sing.
Kyoka spit out a mouthful of dirt as she pushed herself upright.
"Ehehe, sorry about that," Denki said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Thanks you- you- dolt!" Kyoka glared at her classmate.
"He was only trying to help," Momo defended as she offered her hand to Kyoka.
Kyoka sighed as she took her hand and used the leverage to pull herself upright. "I know. But now we're stuck-"
Kyoka froze mid-sentence as she realized she wasn't alone. Dropping to her knees, she stuck an ear jack into the ground.
Villains.
About a dozen of them, scattered around the area… hiding underground.
"We're surrounded," Kyoka announced before letting out a resigned sigh. Grabbing her sword from her belt, she pulled it out, watching it unfold to its full length.
Nodding in understanding, Momo opened a pouch on her utility belt to reveal that it was full of energy bars. Grabbing one, she shoved it into her mouth and tore half of it off in a single bite. As she chewed, she extended her free hand, creating a metal quarterstaff for herself.
"H-hey what about me?" Denki asked. "Can I get one of those?"
"Of course," Momo said as she tossed the quarterstaff at her classmate. Shoving the remaining half of the bar into her mouth, she created another staff for herself.
She barely finished when the three heard a rumbling in the ground. The ground parted as villains rose out of their makeshift shelters.
Izuku grit his teeth as he rocketed toward the USJ, moving at blistering speed toward Tomura Shigaraki.
I'm not going to let you hurt anyone, not this time!
Responding to his anger, he felt Blackwhip surge behind him, massive tendrils ready to bind and immobilize his foe. With a fierce yell, Izuku threw his hand forward, directing the quirk toward his opponent….
…Only to see a fleshy black shield block the tendrils. Izuku felt his quirk wrap around the shield, but when he pulled back it felt like the tendrils were moving through water as they passed through the black shield.
No! What kind of quirk does that Nomu have?!
Not wanting to collide directly with the shield, Izuku launched blackwhip downward, pulling himself to the floor where his impact caused a miniature crater.
"Impressive." Tomura clapped. "You must have been one of the mid-bosses we were warned about."
"Two of them," Homura corrected as Ochako slammed down next to Izuku.
Izuku took one glance at Ochako and knew that she ran into the same problem - one of the Nomu had stopped her.
Tomura grinned. "Good thing Sensei added some extra high level minions to our party."
Turning his gaze back to the two Shigarakis, Izuku watched as the shield turned almost liquid-like as it was sucked back toward its host - the large female Nomu - and reformed into a leg. She looked much like the Nomu he was familiar with - with pitch black skin, exposed brain, and birdlike beak. But it was obvious her quirks were different.
Seconds later, she was joined by a second Nomu, a male body easily twice her size with massive vulture-like wings.
Izuku's fists tensed as his eyes met Ochako's.
This is worse than they had anticipated. There were heroes on the way, but their intel was horribly out of date! They had no idea about Homura nor about the two other Nomu.
It was up to them to tilt the odds back in their favor.
AN: In his office, Nezu saw the notice on his computer immediately.
USJ: Monitoring System Offline
"Well then, it's time to spring the trap."
Hands flying over his keyboard, Nezu pushed out a notice to the teachers, along with a number of other heroes who were 'visiting' the campus today. In a few minutes, they would descend upon the USJ and, if all went to plan, they would secure both Tomura and Kurogiri. Then they could begin the hunt for All For One properly.
Hopping out of his chair, Nezu grabbed his coat as he left his office.