AN: Thanks for reading and leaving a review, everyone!
"So what do we do?" Ochako asked.
"There's three Nomu," Izuku began. "The original Nomu, the Female Nomu, and the Winged Nomu. These two new ones don't have Shock Absorption the way the original does!"
"Oh." Ochako's face lit up in understanding.
"Yeah!" Izuku exclaimed as he looked around before indicating a direction. "We need to get to the original Nomu. You're our best shot for getting rid of it quickly."
"That'd be nice," Ochako said as she spotted the Winged Nomu making a new beeline toward them. "If these two would give us a break!"
Taking his turn, Izuku activated Blackwhip. Dozens of thick black tendrils shot out from his hand as they wrapped around the creature before he wrenched it upward, causing it to crash into the ceiling. At least his anger's making it easy to shift these Nomu, even if it's only a temporary solution.
Looking down, Ochako surveyed the situation. The two Shigarakis had their attention split between them and All Might while Kurogiri was nowhere to be found. Not that that meant much. Meanwhile, Aizawa was trying to deal with a group of villains that had managed to regroup after the heros' initial strike. The Winged Nomu was seconds away from recovery, and below them the Female Nomu floated menacingly, its lower half spread out into a sea of black tendrils hovering protectively around its masters.
"Think we have to worry about the second Nomu if we help our teachers?" Ochako asked.
"Maybe," Izuku admitted. "But without Kurogiri it may be inclined to defend them."
"Let's hope so."
Calculating the necessary change in direction, Ochako fired off one of her grappling hooks, feeling the sudden pull as it wrapped around a support beam. Pulling herself along, she adjusted their descent to assist their teachers.
As they approached Aizawa's position, the pair worked together, shifting their weight to flip themselves upright. With precision born of practice, they slammed into the ground, knocking several nearby villains down from the force of impact. The pair went to work, bouncing back and forth to knock out as many villains as they could while Aizawa handled the rest.
Despite them making short work of the villains, it still cost them precious seconds that they didn't have, and before they knew it, the Winged Nomu was descending toward the three of them.
"Well that answers that," Ochako said as she looked skyward. Trusting Izuku, she took off, aiming herself toward the Nomu. "You're persistent, I'll give you that!"
The Nomu tried to lash out, its claws inches away from Ochako as she twisted in midair to dodge the attack. Once she was above the creature, she pressed a free hand against her arm, massively increasing her own gravity. She felt the equipment in her suit shifting to account for the gravitational change as her upward momentum halted and she began falling toward the Earth.
She felt a fierce grin on her face as the Nomu ascended to meet her; she extended her leg, hitting the creature with an axe kick. The weight of her body combined with One For All's power shattered bone and sinew, collapsing the Nomu's shoulder and sending a shockwave that dislocated one of the wings. From her vantage point, the Nomu began falling to the Earth, only to once again get cocooned by black tendrils that dragged it all the way to the ground.
Continuing downward, Ochako went for the killing blow. Extending her leg out, she landed a diving kick on the now-grounded Nomu, driving it into the ground. With practiced ease, she pressed her fingers together, restoring her gravity as she kicked off of the creature and backflipped out of the newly-formed crater.
"That didn't stop it?" Aizawa asked in disbelief.
"No," Izuku replied, turning toward his teacher. "Their durability and regeneration are incredible, and the one All Might is facing…" Izuku glanced toward the hero.
Aizawa let out a long suffering sigh. "And of course there's that third as well."
"We need to deal with the one All Might is facing," Izuku said.
"What makes that one different?"
"These two don't have Shock Absorption," Izuku stated matter-of-factly.
"I get it." Aizawa surveyed the scene around them. "And Oboro's out there causing trouble…"
"Oboro?" Ochako asked quizzically as she landed.
"Nevermind," Aizawa dismissed the question. "I guess I shouldn't have left All Might alone after all."
"It helped," Ochako said helpfully. "There's a lot less villains to stop us now!"
"Good point." Aizawa let out a loud sigh. "Let's go save Japan's top hero."
"And stay down!" Kyoka smacked the flat of her blade against the side of her current opponent's head, sending him to the ground.
"That's it for round two," Momo said as she looked around. "Jiro, is there anyone else waiting for us?"
Kneeling, Kyoka stuck one of her earjacks into the ground and closed her eyes. After a moment, she shook her head. "No, this zone is clear."
"What about the others?" Denki asked.
Kyoka shot her classmate a glare. "I'm working on it!" Closing her eyes again, she reached out and began to check the nearby zones. She didn't need her enhanced hearing to hear Aika's singing to the north of them… along with someone else who had a song-based quirk? What were the odds?
"They deserve each other," Kyoka snarked as she decided that her friend didn't need help - they went through similar training, after all! She then turned her attention south, to the Mountain Zone. "Shit."
"What's wrong?" Momo asked, concerned by Kyoka's tone.
"Ojiro and Hagakure are up there." Kyoka pointed toward the zone. "And they're surrounded."
"How many are there?" Denki asked.
"Probably a dozen still standing." Kyoka stood up and looked at her classmates. "We don't have time to waste."
Momo hesitated for only a moment before she bobbed her head. "Let's go help them."
The three carefully ascended to the top of the zone where they quickly found the emergency scaffolding connecting the two zones together. Taking the lead, Kyoka cautiously crossed into the Mountain Zone, her jacks at the ready in case they were spotted.
"Crap!" Denki exclaimed as he came up behind her.
From their vantage point, they saw Mashirao and Toru surrounded by ten villains still. While there were several lying unconscious by their feet, the two students were still pressed back-to-back, slowly spinning in a circle as they waited for their next opponent.
"We've gotta do something!" Denki continued.
"Of course, idiot," Kyoka hissed. "But we need to be careful! We don't want to do anything that'll get our classmates hurt!"
Denki looked down at his own hands, watching electricity dance along the pole as he felt himself reflexively discharging energy. Getting an idea, he spun around to Momo. "Can you make some sort of metal or- or steel! darts?"
"Of course I can," Momo replied as she reached for her book. "What's your plan?"
"If we can get metal close to the bad guys, I can direct my electricity at them!" Denki explained proudly as he held up the rod and repeated his fidgeting motion. "Then we can take them all out from a distance!"
"Huh, so you can think of good ideas." Kyoka smirked at him.
"Hey!" Denki exclaimed. "I'm not that dumb! I just short-circuit myself out if I overuse my quirk!"
"I'm kidding," Kyoka sighed. "How can we help?"
Once she found the information she was looking for, Momo dropped the book; it quickly fell back into place against her side. Holding out her hands, she concentrated and activated her quirk. Soon a pair of metal darts dropped to the ground, followed by two more, until a dozen were sitting on the ground.
Gathering them up, the three quickly descended, finding a large rock to hide behind. From there, they were easily able to spread the darts out, using their classmates as a distraction.
"You're up chargebolt," Kyoka said.
"All right!" Denki hyped himself up before stepping out from behind the rock. "Hey guys, don't worry 'cause the cavalry's arrived!"
"How'd we miss him?" one of the villains asked as several turned to face the new threat.
"I'd say it's a skill issue," Denki retorted casually as he pointed the steel rod toward them. "Now I'd like to introduce you to my newest technique, Shock Net!"
Activating his quirk, Denki shot tens of thousands of volts of electricity down the rod. As it reached the end of the rod, the electricity jumped in every direction, finding the metal of the electrical darts before leaping to each of the villains. They cried out in pain and surprise from the surprise attack, paralyzed from the electric shock before they all fell over unconscious.
"It actually worked!" Kyoka exclaimed as she stepped out behind the rock. "Good job." She patted Denki on the back, and he gave her a dopey smile.
"Thaaanks," Denki said sluggishly. "But my head still feels funny."
"At least you didn't burn yourself out." Kyoka smirked. "Come on, we'll keep you safe."
Meanwhile, Momo jogged toward her classmates. "How are you two doing?"
"Better, now that you're here!" Toru exclaimed.
"We were able to hold them off, but we didn't know how much longer we could do so," Mashirao confessed. "While individually they were quite weak, their numbers were proving to be a problem."
"I agree." Momo nodded. "Fortunately, Kaminari was able to solve that problem."
"So what should we do now?" Toru asked.
As she guided Denki toward the others, Kyoka looked toward the middle. "Let's see if we can help the others out."
Having had time to warm up, Tsuyu was showing how dangerous a combatant she could be as she kicked a woman with long snake-like hair, sending her flying. As she landed, she saw a skinny man with razor blades extending out of his wrists charging her.
"Why don't you take on someone your own size?" Himiko asked as she stepped in front of the man, parrying the razors with her own knives.
"How can you get away with using knives?" the man complained. "That's all I have! And you get to use them and you've still got your quirk!"
"Then you need to get more creative!" Himiko countered as she delivered a knee to the man's chest, causing him to double over. "It's the person behind the quirk that matters!"
Himiko followed up with a swift kick to the man's legs, sending him to the ground. She was getting ready to give him another kick when she felt her classmate's hand on her arm. "He's down, kero."
"Oh." Himiko looked down to see the man's eyes were closed. "I guess I kicked him harder than I thought."
"The path is clear. We should get moving."
"Looks like Shoto listened at least," Himiko said as she sheathed her daggers.
As if summoned by saying his name, Shoto trotted over to them. "Midoriya, Asui, wait."
"I said to call me Tsu, kero."
Shoto stopped in front of them, seemingly ignoring the frog girl's statement. "While you were dealing with them, I decided to interrogate one of the villains I had dealt with. It turns out they're trying to kill All Might."
"How?" Tsuyu asked. If Himiko wasn't so perceptive, she would have missed the faintest hint of disbelief in her classmate's tone.
"They have these creatures called Nomu," Shoto elaborated. "They are some sort of bioweapon designed to take All Might head on. And win."
"And one wasn't enough?" Himiko asked, wanting to skip ahead to new information.
"Apparently there were comments about hidden mid-bosses. So they brought plans B and C along as well." Shoto stared at Himiko. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
"You'd have to ask my brother." Himiko feigned ignorance but turned away. "If they weren't lying to you that means he's in serious trouble."
"Hmm," Shoto mused. "I agree. With that many threats, it would be best if we evened the odds."
Tsuyu looked between her classmates, seeing the resolve in their eyes. While she may not have the training that those two did, she wasn't about to back down - how could she face her siblings if she did? "We should hurry, kero."
"Yeah, let's go!"
Path clear, the three continued out into the open plaza.
Aika felt a dull pain as the sonic bolt hit her, the pressure enough to send her sliding backwards. It was only due to her training and quick reflexes that she caught herself and managed to remain upright.
"Argh, why won't you just go down?"
"Shizu's too manly to break that easily!" Kirishima slammed his fists together. "Her song is unbreakable!"
"We'll see about that," the woman growled. "My song will stop at nothing to destroy this corrupt system."
Her reply was enough to give Aika pause. Taking a chance, she stopped singing to speak to the woman. "What do you mean, destroy the corrupt system?"
"You heard me!" the woman replied. "Heroes, villains. They're labels we give to people so they have an excuse to fight. To stoke conflict." She leveled a finger accusingly at Aika. "If we destroy the whole Hero system, we can end conflict in Japan!"
"That doesn't make any sense!" Aika exclaimed. "Nobody is that powerful!"
"Homura is. She has the ambition, and she's been given the tools to do it."
"You're deluding yourself!"
"No more than you are!" the woman countered. "You say you want to be a hero and protect people. But all you're doing is perpetuating the cycle of violence! Nothing will change!"
"That's-" Aika cut herself off.
Izuku and Ochako found that out first hand! And they're fighting to stop it. And they-
-they asked me to help!
"You're wrong!" Aika said definitively. "My song is meant to help people, to give them hope! Because that's what it means to be a hero."
The woman scoffed at her. "Fine, I'll take you down just like the others. Maybe once you see how weak your song really is, you'll change your mind!"
As the woman started singing, a crossbow seemed to form in her hand as it began to launch an endless barrage of bolts towards Aika. She raised her arms and began to sing, but she was worried she made a mistake - that her quirk wouldn't activate in time.
Fortunately, she wasn't alone.
"I may not be able to sing, but I can still protect those around me," Eijiro said as he held up his arms, absorbing the bolts. With each blow, Aika watched him get slowly pushed back, but he refused to wield.
"Thanks for the save!" Aika grinned at him. "Ready to take this woman down?"
"Ready whenever you are."
Filled with newfound resolve, Aika locked eyes with the woman and began to sing.
Kirishima risked a quick glance at her, and she nodded her head, holding three fingers out. Silently, she counted down to zero, before the pair scattered, breaking in different directions as they charged toward the pack of villains.
I'll show you my resolve!
All Might leaped backwards, giving himself some precious space.
It bought him half a second before the Nomu was once again on him.
"I see, this is the tactical prowess of Homura," All Might said as he blocked the blow. From the briefing, he remembered that Tomura used the creature more as a blunt instrument, trying to win through sheer brute force. While Homura used the creature more subtly, treating it like an inevitable force that would eventually win as long as he didn't have a chance to recover.
He shuddered to think how it would be to face the creature with his injury.
I could take it out, but then I risk burning through my embers even further. All Might thought to himself. And that would mean…
The menacing smile of All For One played in his head, just as clear as that fateful day six years ago.
All Might didn't have time to finish that thought as the creature tried to grab him, his massive claws pressing against his side.
"I see, you seek to use my injury against me!" All MIght's smile tightened. "How unfortunate for you."
Wrapping his arms around the creature, All Might lifted the massive creature and suplexed it, slamming its head into the ground with enough force to bury it in the concrete.
He estimated that it bought him five seconds of breathing room.
As All Might waited for the Nomu to free himself, he heard two familiar voices as his successors came up behind him.
"All Might!" Izuku called out. "We're here to help!"
"What?" All Might exclaimed.
"This one is designed to handle All Might's quirk," Ochako explained. "Not mine."
"The others are strong, but they aren't purpose-built to counter you," Izuku quickly added. "If the three of us take care of this one…"
All Might's smile brightened. "I understand."
Before Izuku could continue, the pavement cracked and shattered. The Nomu rose back up to its full height, its demeanor serving as a reminder of how little the move slowed him down. Not wanting to give the creature a chance, Izuku had already summoned Blackwhip, dozens of tentacles wrapped around the creature and fighting to hold it into place. All Might watched as Ochako surged forward, a hand pressing against the exposed skin and removing the creature's gravity.
"All Might!" Izuku shouted.
"My turn!" All Might roared. Surging forward, he once again wrapped his arms around the creature before throwing it toward the ceiling. He watched as the creature punched a hole through the ceiling, sailing away from the USJ.
"Very good," Tomura clapped. "You've defeated the phase one boss and exposed your strengths."
Not wanting to give his opponents an opening, All Might charged forward, only to see a inky black portal appear in front of him with black tentacles surging forth. He felt one wrap around his hand and immediately knew what was going on. Not wanting to take a risk, he wrenched his hand free before hopping backward.
"So you know how dangerous Kurogiri's portals are, too," Homura mused. "Very perceptive of you."
"It wasn't hard to figure out when you have your pet acting like a kraken," All Might lied.
"Very true, perhaps I underestimated you. Or perhaps your injury isn't slowing you down as much as we hoped it would be," the woman said coyly.
All Might was about to retort when they heard the sound of the doors slamming open. There at the entrance stood the draconic form of Ryukyu, who along with the towering form of Mt. Lady had pulled the doors open. Behind them stood Sir Nighteye, Fat Gum, and Kamui Woods along with a dozen other local heroes and UA staff members.
"I guess we're done playing around," Tomura said with annoyance in his voice.
"Unfortunately this means we'll have to skip phase two and go right to phase three. A shame, I like my dramatic build up," Homura added.
As the heroes and students in the central plaza watched, Homura touched the Female Nomu, and it suddenly became wrapped in an orange glow, its tendrils suddenly twitching even faster than they previously did. The Winged Nomu was next, landing beside her and allowing her to touch it before it too became wrapped in an orange glow. Finally, Tomura offered his hand, and she reciprocated with a high five, causing him to be wrapped in the same glow.
"Let's end this, heroes."