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All Might always smiles.
That was what Nana had taught him. No matter how scared or worried he was, if he wanted people to look up to him - if he wanted to bring peace to Japan, he should always smile. To assure people that He Was There, and that everything would be okay.
It wasn't always easy, but after forty years, Toshinori would like to think he had gotten good at hiding his own emotions with a smile.
Less than a minute had passed since the League of Villains showed up, and Toshinori already felt the weight of his smile. Today may very well be the hardest day in his entire career. He wanted nothing more to frown, to scowl, to curse All For One.
But he wouldn't, because he was All Might. And those children - all of them - were counting on him.
And most of all, Izuku and Ochako deserved his support. After all they have been through - he would not let them down. He would succeed where his past selves had failed.
As he watched, he saw the largest of the three Nomu step out of the portal and immediately charge toward Eraserhead. While the other two were unfamiliar, this one at least matched the description that those two had given him: the Anti-Symbol of Peace. With Super Strength, Super-Regeneration, and Shock-Absorption, the hulking corpse was turned into a creature designed with a single goal in mind: to kill All Might.
He didn't want to think what it could do to someone like Eraserhead.
Surging forward, All Might wrapped his arms around his fellow hero and dashed away, carrying him safely out of the raging Nomu's path. Turning his head slightly, he saw the creature had continued forward and slammed into a concrete dividing barrier, destroying part of it.
"Thanks for the save," Aizawa said.
"Of course," Toshinori replied. "What happened back there?"
Aizawa let out a faint growl. "Oboro. The kids didn't tell me Kurogiri was Oboro."
"Surely if they knew they would have told-"
"I know," Aizawa cut off the hero. "That's why I'm so angry." Refusing to elaborate further, Aizawa once again loosened his capture scarf. "C'mon, we have a job to do."
As Toshinori watched, he saw green and pink streaks come flying out of the sky, landing in front of the two Shigarakis. Moments later, the remaining two Nomu appeared in front of them, and he saw his successors squaring up as they prepared to fight. Clenching his fist, Toshinori nodded his head. "Yes we do. I will handle this Nomu. You help the children."
Turning, Toshinori saw that the Nomu had already recovered and was staring at him. Not bothering to wait, Toshinori charged.
"I'm impressed that UA has such strong students," Homura said from her position behind the two Nomu. "It's best if we strangle that potential now before it has a chance to take root."
The two Nomu suddenly seemed to come alive as they both entered a crude combat stance.
"Izu-"
"I know" Izuku clenched his fists as he watched the two Nomu.
"We have more important matters to attend to, but hopefully, you'll provide suitable entertainment to our minions."
"We've got to deal with the true end boss," Tomura added as he flexed his hand.
Without warning, the female nomu's legs both twisted and distended, turning into thick, fleshy tendrils reminiscent of Blackwhip that launched themselves toward the students. Izuku felt Ochako wrap her arms around him as she took off, the pair forming a pink-and-green comet as they launched toward the ceiling.
"Do you have a plan?" Ochako asked.
Izuku watched as the other Nomu spread its wings and flew at them, its accelerated state fast enough to close the distance. "If you increase this Nomu's gravity you can immobilize it, but-"
"-but if I do that I'm locked into heavy gravity, and we can't just launch the original into orbit," Ochako finished the sentence for him.
"Mhm." Izuku bobbed his head.
Landing on the ceiling, Ochako activated Smokescreen, covering their landing point in a dense purple fog before kicking off and sending the two racing downward toward the central plaza.
As they emerged from the cloud, Izuku saw just how close the Winged Nomu was. As if sensing their presence, he pulled back his hand, giving Izuku a clear view of the massive talons that replaced his fingertips. Time seemed to slow down as he called upon Blackwhip, the tendrils extending almost too slowly as they sought to intercept the hand.
No! I won't let you hurt Ochako!
Anger surging through Izuku, Blackwhip exploded forward, catching the winged Nomu and throwing it upward. Time seemed to resume as he heard the loud crash from above.
"Are you okay?" Ochako asked once again.
"I don't think I can use blackwhip on anything but the Nomu," Izuku admitted.
"Mmm," Ochako hummed as they descended. "Good thing we need to take out a few Nomu then, huh?"
Izuku dared a glance at his girlfriend's face and saw her sly smile as she eyed him. Smiling back, he gave her the faintest of nods. "You're right!"
Looking up at the quickly approaching floor, Izuku saw the mass of tendrils that were part of the Female Nomu as they shivered in anticipation of the approaching heroes. Looking for the source, he noticed that the upper half of the creature remained solid - she had only transformed her legs; her torso and arms remained solid.
Does that mean…
Getting an idea, Izuku launched Blackwhip at the Female Nomu. As his tendrils wrapped around the creature's arms Ochako flipped them over, ensuring they would land the ground upright. Using the motion to his advantage, Izuku managed to lift the Female Nomu off the ground, causing the tendrils to retract slightly in her confusion and giving them a place to land.
"Ocha, keep going!" Izuku said as he wrestled with the Nomu, her tendrils clawing at Blackwhip in an attempt to fight back.
The pair landed only to immediately shoot back into the sky. With one final tug, Izuku pulled the Female Nomu upward, knocking her off balance as she toppled back to the ground with a dull crash.
It wasn't enough to stop her, but it gave Izuku vital information. Looking upward, he saw the Winged Nomu flying in as Ochako pulled her fist back, black stars blinking along her arm as she poured One For All into her arm.
"My turn!" Ochako shouted as she twisted in midair. Shifting to one side, Izuku used his weight to assist Ochako as she threw her punch. "Gravity Hammer!"
The energy around her fist exploded in a shower of black lights as the Nomu's claw collapsed upon itself. Bone and muscle shattered under the force of Ochako's blow as the arm itself was pushed back, twisted into an odd angle. The force of the blow was enough to knock the Nomu off course, sending it careening off to the side.
As they continued their ascent, Izuku looked down to survey the situation. As he feared, the blow was a temporary setback as Super Regeneration had already gone to work repairing the damage as the creature regained its balance. As Izuku watched, suddenly it clicked in his mind.
Neither of these Nomu have Shock Absorption!
Sure, Super Regeneration made them durable, and their quirks made them extremely tricky to handle. But without the ability to absorb kinetic force, that gave Izuku and Ochako a lot more options.
With his lips turning upward, Izuku turned to his girlfriend.
"Ochako, I have a plan!"
"Die!" Bakugo roared as he sent a villain flying into a wall with an explosion.
Behind him, Aika was being attacked by a lanky man with purplish skin. The man reeled back before swinging a wicked-looking sword at her.
Quirk, don't fail me now!
Increasing her song's intensity, Aika crossed her arms in an 'x' pattern and blocked the sword. The weapon dug into the soft fabric of her costume, but her costume - and arms - held. Seeing the surprise on the villain's face, a cheeky grin filled Aika's face as she reached out and wrapped her arm around the sword.
I knew it! This is nothing compared to Kyoka's weapon!
She saw the look of surprise on the villain's face as she pulled him forward, only to slam an elbow into his stomach, sending him to the ground.
"So Manly!" Eijiro shouted as he faced off against a large lizard-mutant that gave him a dragon-like appearance. Not wanting to be outdone, he let the mutant clamp down on his arm, teeth failing to penetrate his skin as he brought a knee up and slammed it into his foe's stomach. The villain let go and staggered back, giving Eijiro a chance to catch him in a bull rush, slamming him into a wall and knocking him out.
"Tch," Bakugo sneered as the three had a break in the action. "They really thought a bunch of extras like these would be enough to stop us?"
"I think they underestimated us," Aika agreed, rubbing the back of her head.
"Still-" Kirishima looked at the eight unconscious villains. "There's so many of them, if they were able to catch us off-guard. Or if we didn't all fall through that portal together…"
"You're right!" Aika exclaimed. "I hope everyone else is okay!"
Looking around, she noticed she couldn't see any of the other zones. She was, however, able to see the central plaza. There she saw the telltale pink-and-green comet of IzuOcha as it bounced between the floor and ceiling.
"That can't be good!"
"What can't be?"
Aika pointed at the central plaza. "Mido and Raka went to help All Might. I don't know what's going on, but I've seen them in training enough. They're trying to evade something."
"Woah." Eijiro tried to follow the blur. "Do you think they can actually help?"
"Of course Deku and Round face would try and jump in," Katsuki grumbled. "Thinking they could help All Might. Of course they're in trouble!"
"That's not-" Aika protested.
Katsuki cut her off with a pair of explosions as he launched himself forward, his companions forgotten. "Don't worry, All Might, I'm coming! I'll show you- I'll show you what I can do!"
I'll show you I'm not behind Deku, or Round Face, or that annoying Idol, or anyone!
"Should we go after him?" Kirishima asked.
"Of course!" Aika said, only to suddenly hear someone singing behind her.
Eijiro seemed to catch it too and activated his quirk just in time to intercept the attack that was aimed for Aika. He stumbled into her as he took two bolts of energy to the chest, their force enough to move him despite his Hardening preventing actual damage.
Turning around, she saw a girl who couldn't be much older than her, with long lavender hair and a long, flowing maroon dress. In her hands were what appeared to be a pair of crossbows made out of energy, but they faded as she stopped singing.
"Tch, guess that was too weak. Next time you won't get so lucky!"
The girl changed her song, and a large oversized bow began to form in her hands. From around her, Aika and Kirishima saw another half-dozen villains emerge from the ruins.
"Go, I'll watch your back!" Kirishima shouted.
"What? No!" Aika countered.
"They're your friends in the central plaza," Kirishima explained. "Let me protect you so you can protect them!"
Determination filling Aika's face, she stepped forward to stand alongside Eijiro, dropping into a combat stance. "No. Mido and Raka told me to keep everyone safe. I'm not leaving without you."
Eijiro gave his companion a fierce grin. "Fine then, let's hurry it up so we can go meet up with your friends."
"Right!" Aika turned back toward the new villains and started a new song.
With an angry grimace on her face, the girl fired her bow at the pair.
"Too slow!" Kyoka announced as she blocked a villain's pipe with her sword. Plugging her ear jack into the amplifier on her ankle, she fired a Heartbeat Blast and knocked him back. She followed up her attack by hitting him with the flat of her sword, sending him to the ground.
"I'm impressed," Momo said as she swung her own staff out, knocking a villain off their feet. Spinning her weapon before sending it downward, she landed a solid blow to their head, knocking them out.
"Hey, this is actually pretty nice!" Denki announced as he smacked a villain with the staff. As he did so, he sent a wave of electricity through it, shocking the villain and stunning him.
"I can't believe you didn't think of that," Kyoka snarked.
"That's not fair!" Denki replied. "I didn't have some fancy second year to help me with support gear like you did!"
"I guess that's true," Kyoka replied lazily as she fired another Heartbeat Blast, causing a villain to fall to his knees as he covered his ears. Not giving him a chance to recover she responded with a swift kick, sending him flying.
As he hit the ground, Kyoka looked to see how the others were doing. Like her, Momo had taken down five of the villains, while Denki took down a mere two by himself.
"Man, how am I so far behind," Denki asked as he looked at the two girls. "You both have training and gear, and I make myself dumb if I use my quirk too much."
"That just means your quirk counselor sucked," Kyoka said.
"Whatya mean?" Denki asked.
Kyoka lifted her collar slightly to reveal the suppressor resting on the back of her neck. "I'm sensitive to loud noises, so I had this built to keep my ears safe when I need to. I'm sure UA's counselor and support staff could come up with something to help! Also-" She jabbed a finger out to the metal staff in his arms. "Didn't you just figure something out?"
Denki looked at the staff in his hands and then back at Kyoka before his face lit up. "You're right!"
Kyoka was about to continue when she heard a loud crash. Looking toward the central plaza, she saw a pink and green comet with smoke billowing behind it. "Those two…"
"What's happening?" Momo asked as she followed Kyoka's gaze.
"The class reps are helping the teacher," Kyoka said.
Denki's jaw fell as he watched the comet streaking through the sky. "We really were screwed in the battle trial, weren't we?"
Kyoka rolled her eyes. "Yes. I'm glad you finally figured that out."
"What should we do?"
"We should help the others," Momo said, turning to Kyoka. "You can track where the rest of our class is with your hearing, can't you?"
Kyoka nodded. "It'll take a bit to filter out the noise, but yeah, I can."
Momo gestured toward the group on the ground. "The others might not be so lucky. We should try to rescue as many of our classmates as we can and regroup. If All Might can't handle what's going on in the middle…" Her face soured. She turned toward Denki. "Do you want me to make you anything else?"
"N-no!" Denki said quickly, shaking his head as he held out the staff. "This is perfect for right now!"
Kyoka watched the fight in the center as she fought a war with herself. On one hand, she wanted to run to aid her friends. But on the other hand, Momo was right - even more than she knew. With the crazy quirk Izuku and Ochako shared, if they weren't enough to back up All Might… she shuddered involuntarily.
Besides, they asked her to watch out for their classmates.
"You'd better win this," Kyoka said before she turned toward her classmates. "Alright, let's go find our classmates." She pointed her sword at the ground. "Right after we deal with this ambush."
As she spoke, half a dozen holes opened in the ground, revealing a second wave of villains ready to attack the students.
The three students tightened their grip on their weapons and charged.
"Stay behind me," Shoto ordered as he sent a wave of ice down the street, freezing several villains in place and turning the rain-slicked pavement into a hazard.
"And let you get yourself killed?" Himiko asked as she threw a knife.
"What are you?" Shoto asked, turning in surprise only to hear a villain cry out in pain from an alleyway.
"Did you expect to seriously just freeze the whole area?" Himiko asked as she charged the villain, tackling him to the ground.
She was actually surprised at how easily the villain gave up. While he struggled to free himself, she had a harder time sparring against her friends - let alone facing Izuku or Ochako! Once he began to relent she pulled capture tape out of a hidden pocket. With practiced ease, she bound his arms and legs before inspecting the knife wound. Satisfied that the villain didn't need immediate first aid, she finally stood up.
"That was inefficient," Shoto pointed out.
"At least I didn't take out one of my classmates," Himiko snarked back.
"What are you-" Shoto cut himself off when he saw what Himiko meant.
"C-cold, kero." Tsuyu wrapped her arms around herself as she shivered from the cold of the nearby glacier Shoto had created.
Shoto stepped toward his classmate. "You don't do well in the cold, do you?"
"N-no," Tsu said.
"It would be best if you took her and left then," Shoto said as he turned toward Himiko.
"And what are you going to do?" Himiko asked, narrowing her eyes at her classmate.
"Stop these villains," Shoto retorted as he sent another wave of ice out, sealing another alleyway shut. "And then figure out their true plan."
Himiko opened her mouth and promptly shut it. She knew what was going on, but telling him would lead to more questions that she didn't want to subject Izuku to. Finally deciding on an answer, she spoke. "We should stick together-" She shot a sideways glance to her miserable classmate. "-that means letting us handle the villains."
"I don't think-"
"I don't care what you think!" Himiko snapped at her classmate, pointing a knife at him. "You did this during the battle trial and look at what happened!"
"Hmph." Shoto hooked a finger around his chin. "I see. You and your brother really take after each other."
"Of course," Himiko grumbled. "I've learned a lot from Izu. You should too."
Walking over to her classmate, Himiko wrapped herself around Tsuyu. "Come on, let's get you someplace warmer."
As she started walking, Himiko saw the telltale green-and-pink energy trail that showed Izuku and Ochako going all out in the central plaza…
…and the handful of villains that stood in the middle of the street blocking them.
"I can help, kero," Tsuyu said as she pulled away from Himiko.
Giving the frog girl a slight smile, Himiko pulled a pair of knives out. "Let's show Todoroki what we can do."
We're coming!