Guess who is back?
"So you think it is All Might's fault?"
"Please, don't put the words in my mouth. Obviously, I am not blaming All Might," Mister O said slowly, as if speaking to a child and not a college student. "But let's face the facts, the school was attached right before the year when he promised to teach. He was stated to be on campus during the attack. So why did the Symbol of Peace just sit back while those poor kids were killed?"
"He issued an official statement where-"
"Where he said nothing of substance. Seventeen kids are dead. Seventeen kids are never coming back home to their families. And All Might just hides behind the official statements? What kind of bull-"
"You should stop watching this guy," Mirai stepped inside the room with a cup of tea. "You should know by now that these types always speak before thinking."
He sure did. It was so easy to forget how, back when he debuted, so many dismissed him as yet another naive and hotheaded upstart. One that spent so much time in America, no less. They gave him a few months - a year at most - until he either faded away into obscurity or died at the hands of countless villains running through the country.
He proved them all wrong within eighteen hours. Eighteen hours that he spent dashing all across the city like the wind. Natural and man-made disasters, lowly criminals and villains attacks. Cats stuck on trees, lost children and trouble with directions. It was as if he was everywhere at once. And yet, not a single person that he rescued or helped felt like he was in a hurry.
With the bright smile and unwavering strength in his eyes, he would proclaim to any and all, "I am here!"
"Doesn't make any of his words less true."
Would the Symbol of Peace slip up and let that massacre happen? No. He would not.
He was not strong enough. He was too weak to prevent the massacre. He was too weak to protect David or find Melissa. He was too weak to save his master. And now...
Now it seemed that he was too damn weak to even avenge her.
All For One was alive. Alive and spinning his web as he always had.
He needed a Quirkless kid running towards the certain death to remember what it was like to be a hero.
"All Might," his former sidekick spoke, his voice even. "He is here."
Togata-kun stepped through the door, the humble and respectful smile seemingly unremoveable from his face. In his eyes, however, All Might could see the determination that betrayed the boy's simple looks.
He wanted to wait longer. To hold onto One For All as long as he could until he found the right heir.
Or did he? Perhaps, he was simply fooling himself all this time.
If he made Mirio his heir last year like Mirai had asked, could this have been prevented?
The boy has mastered a Quirk of his own to such high degree within the short three years. One For All was powerful but if combined with Mirio's Permeation, it could be unstoppable.
To be the Symbol of Peace that ended his country's evil was his dream.
"Let's go."
Perhaps it was time to pass that dream onto the next generation.
)O(
"Alriiiight, Class 1-A!" Present Mic cheered. "You have battled the crazy robots and dealt with Aizawa's annoying tests! But are you ready to start the real hero stuff? If you are, let me hear you say it!"
The class remained awkwardly quiet.
"Ah, come on, seriously? You are going to make me cry over here!"
"You are going to make me cry with all your shouting, Mic," Vlad King groaned before turning to his own class. "Originally, today's class was supposed to be led by All Might. Due to his own circumstances, Mic and I are going to hold today's joint exercise between our classes. I hope for your cooperation."
There were a few whispers and murmurs among the two classes. It was no secret that All Might and some of the school's teachers were under heavy scrutiny for the events of the Entrance Exam. As a fan of the Symbol of Peace, it was hard for Izuku to even watch the videos of some jerk acting as if All Might himself orchestrated the attack.
"Such is the nature of the masses, Midoriya," Doctor said dryly. "Public opinion is a fickle and spineless beast. They will worship you one moment and tear you down the next. In my own timeline, I have seen people elect monsters into position of power on nothing more than a whim."
Izuku sighed, not seeing any counter to this argument. It was a cynical thought but he would need to be naive to deny that. He himself saw how fast people's opinions could change. Like when his former classmates went from ignoring or mocking him to wanting to be friends.
"Now, we are going to break you into pairs, one student from each class," Vlad King explained as he and Mic each reached inside the two boxes. "The purpose of today's exercise is not only testing your combat ability but also you cooperation skills."
"Excuse me?" the girl in the navy dress raised her hand. "In such case, wouldn't it make more sense for us to decide who we team up with by ourselves?"
"It could," Vlad King said. "However, in the field, you don't always get to choose your partner. While the majority of team-up missions are organized beforehand and takes things like compatibility and experience into account, there are times when two or more heroes have to work together and adapt to their situation."
"And our first team are..." Mic pulled out two names. "Todoroki and Monoma! You guys are going to play the heroes!"
"Their opponents are Yoarashi and Kendo. You will play the roles of villains."
The scenario was fairly simple. But it was the simplicity of it that allowed to assess their strengths and weaknesses as both individuals and teams. Not having to go first, Izuku aimed to use this opportunity to plan his turn as much as possible.
"So... You are that Midoriya kid?"
He turned to the voice, surprised to see just a mouth. Said mouth grinned and laughed before someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Sorry, you just looked so serious," the girl in the dark blue scaled suit said as her mouth returned to its normal position on her head. "I just couldn't help myself!"
"No worries," he smiled back. "And yeah, I am Midoriya Izuku."
"Ha, knew it!" she extended her hand. "Tokage Setsuna, pleasure is all yours."
"It certainly is," he replied, cheekily ending her joke. "I saw you among the recommended students' ranking."
"And I saw you kicking that giant robot's ass. Kind of puts me to shame."
The two then talked about their classes and experiences so far. Tokage was an interesting person - the kind that could bring anyone out of their shell and put them at ease without much effort. Their conversation took a turn when the first match began and they were brought into the room to observe it.
"So, who do you think is going to win in this match?"
"Hmm, hard to say. Both teams got students from the recommended list. I've seen Yoarashi use his Quirk during the apprehension test. In addition to simple raw power, he also has quite the control over it. I don't know anything about the other three to account for that."
"That's fair," Tokage chuckled. "I've seen both Yoarashi and Todoroki in action. Though it is their personal history that might decide the match."
They had a personal history? Come to think of it, he did see Yoarashi give Todoroki a glare now and then. He always assumed it was just something he imagined but it seems he was wrong.
"Aaand begin!"
"Alright, Monoma's Quirk allows him to copy other people's powers. While he might limit himself to just copying Yoarashi's Quirk, I think that we would best assume that he might have copied them from some of my classmates," Kendo's logic was sound as she tried to formulate a plan. "We need to approach this slowly and-"
Todoroki, it seemed, had other ideas. He didn't say a single word as he pushed past the girl and placed his hand on the building. In a blink of an eye, the ice covered the entire place and even they could feel the sudden drop in the temperature.
Just what kind of monster is this guy?
"An efficent one, Midoriya," Doctor was amused. Not impressed, however. "But raw power is hardly anything that you should concern yourself with. There are thousands of idiots that only know how to throw their fists around without much thought behind it."
Were these the actions of an idiot, though? Or did Todoroki simply not care about the exercise?
"You should stay back," the boy said to Kendo. "I can take care of the rest myself."
"S-Sheesh," Tokage chuckled with her body shaking. "Talk about having a chip on your shoulder, right?"
"Yeah," he agreed. "I don't think Todoroki got the point of the exercise."
"What are you talking about, man?" Kaminari asked. "The dude just froze the entire building. It's game over for Team B."
"The purpose of the exercise was to test cooperation, though," Mineta argued. "Sure, some guys can take down lots of villains by themselves but the point of this exercise is to prepare us for situations where we must work together."
"... Are you saying this because he is a pretty boy who just left a hot girl behind?"
"Obviously, but I am still right!"
He was, Izuku thought. However petty Mineta was, it was still true that ignoring the purpose of the exercise was simply wrong. Todoroki was able to freeze an entire structure today. But what if tomorrow, his mission required more than just brute-forcing his way through? Not to mention that his attitude was not going to earn him any friends if he kept it up.
"Uh, guys?" Jirou spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to herself. "Does anyone else hear that?"
Before she could clarify, the wild gusts of wind burst out of the building, shattering windows and ice that covered the structure. The images on the screen shifted to the empty hallway where Todoroki was facing a very pissed Yoarashi.
"Really, man? Just up and freeze us, will you?" the boy spat. "Is this how you wanna do things in the future?"
"I don't have time for this," Todoroki's voice was even. "Step aside."
Izuku expected Yoarashi to laugh at the threat. Or perhaps to grin at the challenge.
He never expected his face to shift into one of hatred.
"You are just like your damn dad."
Yoarashi moved just in time to avoid the wave of ice sent by Todoroki. The boy's lips twisted into a small scowl as he froze the entire hallway. Yoarashi used his wind to avoid the direct hits and get behind Todoroki only to slam into a wall of ice that formed out of thin air.
"So damn cold... So dismissive of everyone around you!" Yoarashi growled. "Where is your passion, huh, Endeavo-"
"Shut up!"
As the two fought over the reasons unknown to the rest of their class, Izuku's eyes turned to Kendo and Monoma. The girl was using the ongoing chaos to sneak inside the building and stealthily approach the room where they hid the weapon. Or, at the very least, where it was supposed to be.
He let out a soft sigh, drawing the attention of those near him.
"Is something wrong, Midoriya?"
"The match is already over," he said just as Todoroki froze Yoarashi's to the wall. "The villains have won."
"What do you-"
"Look at roof camera."
Tokage and the rest of their group looked at the screen. There, they saw the weapon that was one of the two main objectives floating up and away from the building.
"What the fu-"
"The villains won!" Present Mic announced, his voice carrying with the siren announcing the end. "Man, way to start off the day, guys."
"You are not supposed to have favourites in this exercise, Mic," Vlad King scoffed, though he himself didn't look quite pleased. "Teams A and B, return immediately."
The four students returned from the building and stood before the teachers and their classmates. Out of all four of them, only Monoma looked satisfied. In fact, the blonde kid from Class 1-B was outright grinning like a cat that ate the canary and then the rest of said canary's family.
"Anyone here can say why Team B won?"
"Because the pretty boy messed up and-"
"Anyone besides Mineta, please?"
"Todoroki-san went ahead without a plan beyond freezing the entire building," all eyes turned to Yaoyorozu. "It was a wise move to incapacitate the opposing team before they could implement whatever strategy they had in mind but it relied on the assumption that the they would be frozen in place when he entered the building. Or that they wouldn't be able to free themselves. Instead, he separated himself from his teammate and went in without any backup plan in case the villains were still free to move."
"Excellent analysis, Yaoyorozu-san," Vlad Kind gave a brief compliment before turning to the classes. "Let this be an important lessn to you all. No matter how confident you are in your abilities or the villains' weaknesses, never allow that confidence guide your actions. And when you work with another hero, listen to them as much as you would want them to listen to you."
He gave Todoroki a small but intense glare.
"And never dismiss your colleagues as unnecessary."
The half-and-half boy had nothing to say, instead choosing to grit his teeth in frustration.
"Alright, anything you would want to say about the Team B's performance?"
"They won thanks to Monoma," everyone turned to Izuku. Criticising the losing team was a normal and expected thing. But it would be wrong to pretend that winning team was much better. "Yoarashi used his Quirk to shatter the ice, which allowed him and Monoma to fight back. But instead of formulating a strategy or using the element of surprise, he went after Todoroki and engaged in the unnecessary battle."
Were it him in Yoarashi's place, Izuku would move as quiet as possible and ambush Todoroki before he could realise that the two weren't just frozen near the bomb.
"Meanwhile, Kendo-san snuck into the building and used the chaos of the situation to get to the weapon. And she would've gotten to it if Monoma didn't use several Quirks to first soften the roof and then launch the payload into the air when Kendo was already inside the building and couldn't see it."
He took a look at the blonde. Despite being smug about it, Izuku couldn't say that the other boy didn't deserve it. He was clearly more focused on winning the exercise instead of engaging in the unnecessary fight. The fact that he could use several Quirks also deserved some attention.
"Yes, all very good points," Mic chuckled. "Sure, winning is great and all, kids. But don't let victories make you believe yourself invincible."
Izuku looked at the expressions of Yoarashi and Todoroki. They reminded him of the reflections Doctor so often saw whenever he lost. The knowledge that the failure was all on him. And that he was the one to blame for his mistakes.
"Now... Who is going to be next?"
)O(
"Me! I am next!"
Kin grinned as the next man pushed past the other clients. It was rude and obnoxious but guess what? It also made the other customers feel like they were about to miss out on the deal of a lifetime. And the more desperate they were, the more money they were going to throw her way.
"Here you go!" she said cheerfully, handing the man the coveted suitcase. "One pair of vibro-shock gauntlets. Congratulations, you got the last pair, too!"
A lie, obviously. She had around ten more of those lying around. But judging by the envious looks some of the men gathered here gave the customer, she could totally sell the remaining stock for twice the going price. But for now, she still needed to sell the remaining merchandise. And after that? She could relax and count all the money she made tonight.
Ever since All Might failed to stop her little stunt at the Entrance Exam, the crooks and wannabe gangsters have been getting bolder. Not enough to rampage through the streets but enough that they believed their day was coming soon. And when that day came, they would need the best weapons and tech on the black market.
Which, of course, was hers.
"Alright, next product is this-"
"I'd drop it if I were you."
The voice manifested right behind her just as the sand wrapped tight around her wrist. She recognized the man as Snatch.
"Should you be really grabbing a girl like that?" she chuckled. "Or are you heroes above the harassment lawsuits?"
"I will take you to the station and you can report me from there."
Oh, he had a sense of humor, too? That's cute. What she didn't find cute were the panicked faces and running feet of her customers as they fled.
"You should never get between the girl and her money, old man," she hissed, charging up her entire body. He couldn't have picked a worse opponent than her. "I am the living lightning and you are about to become a glass!"
In the flash of white and yellow, she released the small storm of electricity. She didn't care if it hit any of the fleeing criminals - they were already leaving with their money. Hell, if she hit them, she could get whatever they had in their wallets once she shattered Snatch into pieces.
Except that Snatch didn't end up a glass statue for her to smash or sell. Instead he disappeared into air, which only added to her frustration.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she charged up her fists, ready to blast him away. "You can't hide away forever, you know."
She stepped on the crack in the floor. Instantly, the powerful stream of sand exploded upward, blasting her in the face and making it hard to breathe.
"You are not the first villain with an electric Quirk," she coughed and retched, trying to get the disgusting sand out of her throat with little success. "I suggest that you give up before this goes any further."
The ground under her feet broke apart and the sand started pulling her in. She could feel the soil around her body shift and trade places with sand. He was literally grounding her? Screw that!
She cursed and blasted at the sand again and again as it continued to pull her down. A tendril of it wrapped itself around her wrist. With a sickening snap, it was broken like a twig. She screamed and let more sand get in her throat.
"I warned you," the hero clicked his tongue, his grip growing tighter. "Surrender, now!"
Fighting back against the hold on her entire body, she had only one hand remaining. There was no rhyme or reason to her blasts - just the desire to be free.
And today, the heavens seemed to favor her.
"What the- nghh?!"
It was not a calculated move. It was simple dumb luck that one of her blasts struck one of the cases where she kept the vibro-shock gauntlets. It was the same dumb luck that kept her blast strong enough to activate them without frying the circuitry.
Blasting herself out of the much looser sandpit, she smirked at the sight of the hero trying to crawl away from the gauntlets. Whatever her blast had done to them, it seemed they had the inconsistent enough frequency that it prevented the pro from adjusting to it.
She would have enjoyed his squirming more if some asshole didn't punch her across the room.
"Damn it," she scoffed as she took a look at the new arrivals. Death Arms and Kamui Woods. "Do you guys not have any purse snatchers to stop today?"
"We made some time just for you," the bigger man smiled right as he crushed the gauntlets into scrap. And now it was three on one. "I would give up if I were you."
She was exhausted. One of her hands was broken. Still had enough juice to fight but was that enough to escape, too? Kamui's Quirk was strong enough to insulate her attacks. She could already see them take positions for the man to cut her blasts short while the big guy charged her down.
She could go full-out. But this would leave her absolutely drained and unconscious for the heroes to pick up. And with how bright and loud the blast would be, there would definitely be someone to get her.
Which left her with only one option.
"I need help."
The two heroes exchanged the cautious looks.
"We can get you the help you need," the wood-wielding hero took a careful step towards her. "You still have to pay for what you've done at U.A. But if you surrender now, we can help you."
She chuckled.
"I wasn't talking to you."
"Kamui, watch out!"
Meta clashed against metal as Death Arms blocked the steel tail that came from the shadows. The metallic appendage retreated into the shadows before its owner stepped into the light.
"Scorpion," the name tasted bitter on her tongue. And for a good reason. "Did the Boss have no one better to send my way?"
"How about I leave you to these three, then? I would certainly not shed any tears if they threw your ass behind bars."
"Enough, both of you," the third voice interrupted them and drew everyone's attention to its owner. Kin couldn recognise those animal rags and unpleasant smell anywhere. "We got work to do."
Did she do something to piss the big man off?
"Seriously, Huntress?" It was Scorpion's turn to groan in frustration. "I told you, the Sparky over there and I distract them while you attack from the shadows. This was the plan!"
The Huntress didn't even look at the man as she cracked her knuckles.
"I do not recognise you or any of your thoughts as anything valid to myself."
"Okay, that's it," Scorpion raised his arms before turning to the exit. "I am out of here."
"Orders from above," Huntress was nonchalant. "Ignore them at your own risk."
Scorpion didn't leave. Without any further argument, he took a stance as they surrounded the heroes.
Huntress tossed her a little pick-me-up - the special battery that could power an entire city block for a week. She crushed it in her palm, feeling the energy flow and surge through her system.
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
Kin grinned as her eyes glowed white with energy.
"Let's kill them!"
)O(
"Up next, Midoriya Izuku and Uraraka Ochaco as heroes!"
"And the villains fighting them are... Tenya Iida and Kuroiro Shihai."
Izuku took a look at their opponents. He had the pleasure of getting to know Iida during the Entrance Exam. If his performance during the exam was not enough indication of his skill and power, then what Izuku observed during the physical assessment tests would have been enough to qualify him as the main priority.
But he couldn't forget about his partner, lest the guy ends up a dark horse in this exercise.
"So you are going up against Kuro, huh?" Tokage smiled. "Gotta say, he is a pretty good match against you."
"Is that so?" he returned the smile. "Anything you could share about him?"
The lizard girl smirked, "Sorry, but I am not taking away this bonding opportunity from my classmate."
It was then that someone tapped him on the shoulder, alerting him of their presence. Turning around, he was faced with the smiling face of his partner for the exercise.
"G-Good day, Uraraka-san," he gave a small bow. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Oh, thanks!" the girl smiled. "So, we are up next, huh? How do you think we should go about this?"
"That depends on what we should expect. What is Kuroiro's Quirk?"
"Oh, it allows him to merge his body with anything black-colored. Travel through it, too."
Hmm, that certainly made him a tough opponent. It was their luck that the kid was on the villains' side for this exercise. Otherwise, he would have beaten them in record time.
"Then they are most likely to use him to confront us."
Iida had more power but Kuroiro had the advantage of being able to travel from one room to the next without any obstacles. The most likely scenario was that they would try to separate him and Uraraka. Then Kuroiro could travel back to Iida so that they could gang up on whoever got to their room first.
"They have the time to prepare for us, too," Izuku muttered. "They can't make it impossible for us to pass through the corridors but they can break every single lightbulb in the building."
His Spider-Sense would alert him of the danger but then they would just stall him. Did Doctor have any advice? No. No, he needed to do this one himself. He couldn't rely on the Doctor to make all the decisions and plans for him.
"Both teams, get in the positions."
"I think I got an idea."
Risky, sure. But better than no plan at all.
"Do you trust me?"
The girl still remembered the way he fought at the Entrance Exam. If he was not trustworthy, then who was?
"Definitely," she smiled. "Now let's hear that plan of yours."
)O(
"Aaand the last bulb is broken."
Shihai chuckled as he stepped back into their room, satisfied with his work. Some might call him cheap for doing this but he liked to think himself thorough. If you had the time and opportunity to prepare for an opponent, was that really so bad to do so?
His partner certainly thought so.
"-conduct unbefitting a student at U.A. or an aspiring hero!" the blue-haired boy ranted. "Did you really have to go and destroy the school's property like this?"
"Relax, man, this entire building was made to be destroyed."
"Still, to take such blatant advantage of the time afforded to us... Does this not feel unfair to you?"
"Nope," he smiled. Before Iida could say anything else, he continued, "Look, it is obvious that you are a man of great integrity, Iida. And that makes sense since you come from a long line of heroes. But think about it, we are playing the villains here. Would it not be disrespectful to our classmates if we held back against them?"
He could practically see the gears turning in the speedster's head before he said with the absolutely most serious look on his face, "We must dye ourselves in the colours of evil."
Man, this guy was a riot!
The siren announced the beginning of the battle.
"Alright, I am off!"
He stepped into the shadow and appeared in the corridor. Sliding along the black of the ceiling, he enjoyed the cool shade as he waited for the heroes to arrive. There was no question about who he should go after, of course.
Uraraka was his classmate and he liked her a lot as a friend. But she was a lesser threat than Midoriya. He needed to occupy the spider while Uraraka would run into the trap laid out by him and Iida. He didn't need to beat Midoriya. Just stall him long enough to guarantee a win.
Scummy? Cheap? He didn't care as long as they won.
"Why is it so dark in here?" There was Uraraka. "Let's stay close for now, okay, Midoriya?"
He followed the two figures as they went deeper into the dark.
"Oh, man."
"What?"
"I dropped the tape," Midoriya groaned. "J-Just wait a few seconds while-"
He descended on the white-clad hero in a blink of an eye, enjoying the cry of shock from both him and Uraraka. Really, it was Midoriya's own fault for wearing a suit this flashy. White spandex with neon green lines? Shirai couldn't even see in the dark and he still saw him coming a mile away.
"Sorry, heroes, but you are in my domain now."
"Midoriya! I-"
"Go!" the boy cried out. "Handle Iida and the weapon!"
Uraraka nodded and ran off into the dark. That worked even better. If he could hold Midoriya here long enough, then the team would simply run out of time.
"You should give up, man," Shirai grinned as he pressed Midoriya against the ground. He expected the local celebrity to be tougher than that. "Just let it go and- Woah!"
He was thrown off like nothing. Like he weighed nothing to the other boy. So he was as strong as the rumors said. Not good. Not good at all.
"Alright, I'll take this seriously then," he said as he slipped into the shadows. Moving through the dark of the hall, he watched the boy's every move. With that damn mask on, he couldn't even tell where the guy was looking. "I heard about your Spider-Sense. Awesome stuff, really!"
He stuck from beneath Midoriya, his leg missing the hero by an inch as he stepped away.
"But what good is it if I can strike you faster than you can react?"
Psychological games were his forte. He lacked raw power to take out the guy so he would rely on disorientation and hit-and-run tactics. Which would be a lot more fun to use if the guy didn't decide to become a mime all of a sudden!
"Are you too good to talk to me?" he taunted. "Is that it? Fine then, talk or don't, I am still taking you down!"
He jumped from behind him but slipped into the shadow on the ground once Midoriya's fist came too close to his face. His hands rose from the flat surface and grabbed at the boy's ankles. With a high-pitched yelp, the boy fell to the ground.
"Owie..."
... wait a damn fucking second.
"Uraraka-san?"
Even in the dark of the hall, with the mask covering the face, he could see the lips twist into a smile as the girl laughed, "Surprise!"
They've been had! Did the two switch the costumes? When? How? Did it even matter?
"Iida!" he shouted into the intercom. "Don't engage Uraraka! It's a trap!"
No answer. But no announcement of their loss either. He had to hurry.
"Not so fast," Uraraka smiled as she grabbed him by the wrist. Using her Quirk to make him weightless - which explained why he was thrown so easily before. Her other hand reached for a small vial on the belt. "Can't let you leave a poor girl like me in the dark all by herself, right?"
She smashed it against the floor, causing the content explode and cover them both in the gross webbing. With not a single speck of black for him to slip into.
Alright, no need to panic. He was out but Iida could still turn things around.
"And the heroes win this match!"
Shirai sighed as Present Mic-sensei announced their defeat. He was so hearing a lecture from Vlad-sensei for this. But he could handle that. But there was something much worse for the poor boy that nobody realised.
This was my chance to show off before Komori-san.
)O(
Shinji had his fair share of team-ups in his relatively short time as a pro hero. Despite wanting to establish himself as a solid solo hero, he was not stranger to the concept of teamwork and didn't see himself as above this.
Death Arms was one of the many colleagues he had frequently teamed up. And while he hasn't worked with Snatch before, he was aware enough of the man's Quirk and how it worked.
In this line of work, you learn to adapt quickly to the people you team up with. You needed to understand not only your partner's Quirk but how you could build up on it and how yours could help them in return. Lack of cohesion wasn't only bad for the teamwork but had detrimental effect on the individuals' performance as well.
Case in point, their villains.
"Fucking hell, Kin!" the green-armored man, Scorpion, cursed out as he was almost hit by the electric blast. "Get your eyes checked out already!"
"No real names, asshole! It's Electro!" the girl send a bolt of lightning at the man, this time deliberately. Which left her open to the giant fist made of sand, courtesy of Snatch. "Bastard, you distracted me!"
Despite surrounding them, the villain's lack of cohesion and clear hostilities didn't allow them to take full advantage of not only having them locked in but also the advantage they had in power. Meanwhile, his colleagues and Shinji formed a tight three-man circle that helped them cover each other's weaknesses while counter-attacking fast and hard.
"Think we can hold them off until the backup arrives?"
"You mean if they don't kill each other first?"
At that, Shinji willed the wood extend from his right arm into numerous branches. Death Arms grabbed him by the leg and swung him around with the speed and strength enough to knock the three off their feet. Making it much easier for Snatch to cover them in sand and keep them on the ground.
"Stand down," the man said sternly. "Final warning."
"Argh, see what you two did?" Scorpion growled. "I got my ass kicked by a bunch of C-Listers because of you!"
If they had any energy left to continue, they certainly had no intention to use it properly. Just who would hire these guys for anything?
"My fault?" Electro hissed. "You came here acting like some hot shit and couldn't even kill one of these assholes."
"I could kill all three if you didn't get in the way!"
"Enough," their ally said from her own spot of sand. "We are here on a mission. Resolve your petty squabbles once we are done with these three."
Shinji had no interest in listening to more of their bickering. He was about to contact his office to check how long they had to wait until backup when Snatch collapsed onto his knees.
He was sweating and breathing heavily, his eyes diluted and his skin suddenly pale.
"Finally."
The sand trappings Snatch had the villains in collapsed. Unlike what usually happened, the sand didn't return to the hero's body leaving the man a pale and crumbling mess.
"What did you do to him?"
"How about you come closer and find out, Woody?"
Scorpion swung his tail, the metal appendage stabbing into the spot where Shinji stood a second ago. How did he get faster out of nowhere? Was that his Quirk? Some kind of boost?
"Think fast!"
Using his tail, its tip embedded in the ground, Scorpion launched himself at Shinji and was in his face in a blink of an eye. The hero swung his wood-armored fist at the man's head. He expected him to dodge or block it. He didn't expect the villain to just let it connect.
"Thank you for the meal~"
The realisation hit a second too late as the man grabbed his wrist and Shinji felt all the energy slowly and painfully leave his body. His wooden constructs grew grey and brittle before falling apart and turning into dust.
"Kamui!"
Death Arms rushed to his side only to be blasted aside by the electric charge. Before Electro could attack his colleague some more, however, Huntress pushed the girl aside. He could see their lips moving he couldn't focus enough to listen to what they were saying.
He watched Huntress fight Death Arms. She saw her dodge and weave past any punch or swing as if she was dancing. He saw a spear manifest in her hands out of thin air before she stabbed it through his friend's shoulder. He sank to his knees and twin daggers appeared in her hands. His screams cut through the air.
"Man, that was a good meal," Scorpion sighed as he let go of Shinji's wrists leaving him to collapse onto the ground. "I certainly got more out of you than that old man."
His gaze shifted to Snatch. The man was also drained of any energy. Too weak to fight back or do anything as the girl grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up.
"What was it that you said again? Final warning, right?"
Her form grew yellow, then white.
There was a a flash of gold and black.
"Shoul've killed us without giving one."
She said that to a crystal statue that was Snatch just a second ago. Without any arms or legs, his expression was frozen in a silent plea.
"You are so ugly," she chuckled. "I almost don't want to put in work to sell you."
She took a minute as if considering if she should just drop him on the ground. She, of course, was not merciful enough to end the man's misery here and now.
"Ah, what the hell, money is money."
"We are done here," Huntress dragged Death Arms bloodied and barely breathing body behind her. She took a look at Shinji. The man has never wanted to be invisible more. "Wait, why is this one still alive?"
"To send a message," Scorpion sat down by his side. "Electro is going to take Snatch's body to sell. You will take Death Arms to make him a pet or feed him to your pets. Someone needs to be left alive to send the message."
"Why not just kill him then?" Electro asked. "One dead hero speaks louder than ten living ones."
"Thank you for asking," the villain sounded genuinely happy. "You see, I believe that death-"
"Forget it, lost interest."
As three headed to the exit, bickering and cursing at each other, Shinji tried to reached for them. With his last bit strength, he forced his body to stand up and rush at them, his hand forming a crude and brittle wooden shard.
His legs gave out a second later, body collapsing like a stringless puppet.
"See?" Scorpion laughed as he pointed at him from the exit. "Pitiful."
)O(
To those joining me, your loyal Mr. O, just now:
The massive weapon bust ends with the death of Snatch, kidnapping of Death Arms and hospitalization of Kamui Woods. Three beloved heroes of Japan meet their unfortunate fate at the hands of still unidentified villains.
Thanks to my inside source, I was able to obtain the footage from the event. The link is posted below in the pinned comments. But be warned, the footage is extremely graphic.
... I am sorry. I am sorry, my dear viewers and fans. I really am.
But I just can't go on like this.
First, U.A. gets attacked and children die while our "heroes" are stuck in their own teaching lounde.
Now, three heroes are brutalized by the villains we know nothing about? And during the bust of some secret weapon ring?
Why is the public kept in the dark?
Why are we living in ignorance and fear?
Are we supposed to just sit and wait until our friends or family are added to the list of victims?
Why is the so-called Symbol of Peace doing nothing?
And how long until this "Peace" is gone for all of us?
And that's it.
Welcome to new villains: Scorpion and Huntress.
Originally, I planned to write out the full fight between Izuku and Iida but I felt that it was better to contrast the more lighthearted battle between students and more dramatic one of pro heroes against villains.
Hope you enjoyed it!