Chapter 29: Tricks of Lightning

Kaminari had just dropped Conduit off at one of the many first aid stations set up, only lingering long enough to hear that Conduit should make a full recovery, even with the meager supplies they had available, when he caught a glimpse of a figure clad in white armor running off. Conduit must've noticed also because as Kaminari was about to walk off in pursuit, he grabbed his arm.

"That your friend?" He asked, Kaminari nodded. Conduit took a deep, annoyed breath before nodding as well. "Go after him, keep him safe. I'll send some heroes to back you up as soon as they're able." Conduit winced as he turned on his left side, his injured arm briefly trapped under his body, his right hand groping behind him to a small pouch he had on his right butt cheek. Once he had what he was looking for, he handed it over to Kaminari. "That's a tracker. Keep that on you, it'll be the only way the heroes can get to you."

Kaminari nodded once, his eyes full of fear, but a brief glimmer of determination could be seen. Conduit chuckled, and poked his heart, "I like that look in your eyes, it means you know what's at risk and what you're fighting for. Remember, fight hard, fight fast, and fight dirty if you need to. Do whatever you need to do to keep your friend safe, and in the unfortunate event you're too late…"

Kaminari was hung on every word, "… fight like hell to make sure no one else meets the same fate," he finished.

"Attaboy."

Kaminari ran off in pursuit of Iida, briefly contemplating riding the wires, but then decided against it. If Iida was following who he thinks he was, then he couldn't risk freaking Stain out. Instead he chose to follow from a distance as quickly and quietly as he could.

Kaminari abandoned all pretenses of stealth as he turned the corner and saw Stain thrust his katana down into the Iida's prone form. His eyes widened in shock as he realized what was happening.

"Iida, no!" He yelled out. Without a second thought, he channeled electricity into his right arm, rearing it back as he threw a bolt of lightning right at Stain, "Get away from him!"

The arc soared through the air, crackling with energy as it met its target. Stain let out a strangled yell as his body seized. No sooner after he had he stabbed Iida and pulled his blade out, his own body convulsed in pain. Eventually it passed, Stain falling to his knees as his muscles gave out from under him, suddenly feeling as if he's been running a marathon.

Kaminari stood a little awestruck at the fact that he finally was able to fire electricity accurately before he quickly remembered where he was. Stain didn't stay down for long, as soon as he was in control of his body again, he threw a knife at Native, who was still downed. Kaminari watched helplessly as it flew through the air and strike true, embedding itself in Native's heart, his already shallow breath hitching before it stopped entirely.

Kaminari gaped in horror as he just witnessed Stain coldly end the life of another person in less than a minute, without thinking anything of it. Not only did he let himself and Iida down for being too slow, he had let Conduit down as well. Conduit had tried hammering into his head that a hero never freezes, but there he was, rooted to the ground, too late to save two people right in front of him.

"Your death will help usher in a new era of Heroes," Stain rasped before standing up. He looked to Kaminari, who was still stood in the final position of his throw, looking every bit like a deer caught in the headlights. "Are the heroes so pathetic and weak that they send children out to do their jobs? I must fix this. Leave, boy. You don't belong here."

Kaminari straightened and gulped, "Uh, yeah. I will. I just need to… uh…" He shook his head before he fell into the fighting stance, his prior nervousness gone, "I can't let you go, not after having witnessed you murder two people."

Stain made an amused grunt as he looked over Kaminari, "And you believe you can stop me?"

"I believe I can try my hardest to." Kaminari took a deep breath and let electricity course through his body, a light hum of energy emanated from him.

Within the first two days of his internship, he and Conduit had literally fried his hero costume. The damage started with small holes that progressively grew bigger as the loose fibers were ignited by the constant stream of electricity. Instead of an open black jacket, white shirt, and matching pants, it had been upgraded with some inspiration pulled from Conduit's own costume. They had to make a rush order at the Office's support labs to get a new suit in working order so Kaminari wouldn't be naked whenever they went out on patrols. It was good timing on their part that it was finished in time for them to make it to Hosu.

Now, he was wearing a black jacket zipped most of the way up, with thick strips of white lines rimmed with yellow designed like lightning bolts running across his chest and down the sleeves. More subtly, he had thin black lines running along the "solid black" part of his jacket that looked like a circuit board. If you looked closely, you could see small sparks of electricity running through them, just as live as the lightning bolts. He wore matching black pants, a similar design of lightning bolts that started from the cuffs of his pants up, covering his shins, and ending at his knees. He kept the earpiece on his right ear, but it was now integrated into his blue-lensed glasses.

"Last chance for you to surrender," Chargebolt offered.

"I could be saying the same to you. You're not even a hero yet, I would hate to end your career so soon, though don't think yourself safe. You could let me go about my unfinished business. You'd even be able to retrieve your friend and that Fake with no problems."

"Out of the question. Only one of us will be making it out of this alley. Either it'll be me while dragging you behind me, or you after having killed me, because there is no way I'm letting you go after what you just did."

Stain barked a laugh, "A good answer! Arrogant, but I suppose it's to be expected at your age. You may become a true Hero yet."

"I'm not looking for your approval."

Chargebolt dashed forward, his arm raised up for a punch, the muscles in his legs overcharged as he channeled electricity through them, giving him the boost needed to catch Stain by surprise. Judging by Stain's widened eyes and hastily brought up guard, he succeeded.

Stain blocked the attack, but he still froze as he felt his body seize from making contact, Chargebolt's electrical current running through the channels in his costume, briefly stunning him. Chargebolt took advantage of the brief second when Stain froze, taking a half-moon step forward, his right hand still up from the strike. He thrust his left hand forward in straight punch to Stain's diaphragm, the combined force of overcharged muscles and electrical output flinging Stain back multiple meters.

Stain coughed as he fought to catch his breath again, his body feeling more lethargic. Far too quickly, Stain realized he had no way of defeating him. Any punch or kick with Chargebolt's body would result in him seizing up again as if being tased. Any slash by his sword would result in the electricity snaking through the blade, into the hilt, and into his body. He could try using throwing knives, but those only work on distracted opponents, not ones whose focus was entirely on him.

The only avenue he had left was retreat, and while he wasn't against it, he knew the second he turned his back, he would be giving Chargebolt the satisfaction of knowing he was stronger. The already tipping scales of the fight would lean heavily to Chargebolt's side and he would be at a distinct disadvantage. Stain growled at his luck. He was trapped.

"Bad matchup, it seems," Chargebolt commented, having noticed Stain coming to the same conclusion. He slammed a hand on the concrete, sending an electrical current into the ground all around him. Stain tried jumping back to avoid getting hit, but found his boots rooted to the ground. He saw the electricity snake closer to him and braced himself for the inevitable shock, but it never came. Instead, his body slammed to the ground. He grunted in surprise, trying to push himself back up, but found he couldn't move his arms from where they were stuck.

"Surprised?"

"Who the hell are you?" Stain grunted. "You're no mere child, that's for sure. You're not a hero either."

"Does it really matter? After tonight, we'll never see each other's faces again." Chargebolt brought a hand up, electricity crackling on his palm, "And good riddance too. You killed my friend over there." Chargebolt nodded his head in Iida's direction. Stain tried to follow, but his head was stuck, his left cheek plastered to the ground, and Iida's body was out of his sight.

"He was a real stick in the mud, really uptight and uncompromising when it came to rules and proper procedure, but he was earnest in his actions and had the heart of a hero."

"You must be talking about someone else, because all I saw in him was a heart of hate and eyes of anger." Stain tried pushing himself up again, but couldn't move, his body felt magnetized to the ground, without any sign of slack. "The kind of anger that isn't superficial, but buried, raw, true, overwhelming. They let themselves become consumed by it. Who you called a friend was nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing. You should be thankful I removed the threat."

"Yet I'm not." Chargebolt positioned himself above Stain's frozen body, his hand showing a finger gun, aimed directly at Stain's body. "This'll hurt a lot, and then it won't."

Before he could fire, his earpiece crackled to life, immediately he was assailed by yelling, requests, call outs, all sorts of info that the heroes had been missing throughout the attack. Chargebolt yelped in surprise before bringing his hand up to adjust the settings. He cycled through the different channels, filtering through the noise until he was met with a voice of a hero.

"Chargebolt!" the hero called through the comm, "Chargebolt come in! "

Chargebolt blinked a few times in confusion before replying, immediately breaking back down into the hysterics he was feeling prior to the fight, "Hi! Yes! Chargebolt here, I'm in need of assistance! Badly!"

Stain was still stuck to the ground, but he perked his eyebrows, noting the drastic change in personality Chargebolt was displaying. Gone was the cold-hearted fighter that was there moments before.

"I'm at, uh…" Kaminari glanced around the alley he was in before running out briefly to get his bearings, "Four-two-ten Ekou Street and-" he screeched out loud as he looked upon the scene before him.

The first thing he noticed was the growing pools of blood from under Iida and Native. He rushed to Iida, who was closer to him and placed two fingers on his neck, looking and praying for a pulse. Nothing. He looked at Native and let out a depressed sigh, the knife in his heart was proof enough it was too late. His gaze finally settled on the third prone form on the ground, devoid of any blood around them.

Curious, he walked closer, rounding around so he could get a glimpse of the face. When he got there, he found Stain staring at him, very much alive and glaring daggers. He yelped again, falling to his butt, and scooted himself as far back as he was willing to go, bringing his arms up to cover his face and closing his eyes in anticipation of an attack. When he wasn't immediately overcome with pain, he brought his arms down slowly and peeked out from under them. Stain was still glaring at him, but he didn't move a muscle.

His earpiece crackled again, "Chargebolt? Come in, what happened?"

"I- how far away are you?" he asked instead, "The- there are two confirmed KIAs, and I'm currently staring down the Hero Killer."

"Kid, get away from there. Now!"

"I'm not in any danger, I swear! He's just laying here, like he's paralyzed or something. I have no idea what's going on."

"Hang tight, kid! We're nearly there now, with some heavy reinforcements."

Stain only heard the conversation from one side, but noticing the lapse in words, he spoke up, "Who are you, really?" Kaminari froze, Stain's grating voice filling his ears, "Too well trained to be a student, too cold-hearted to be a child, too insensitive to reality to be innocent. No. I was wrong. I didn't remove the wolf in sheep's clothing. He was nothing but a child too willing to be tainted by anger. The true wolf is you."

He turned around, his face devoid of any emotion, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Chargebolt! We're right here!" he heard from his earpiece. The voice was heard around the next corner as well, seconds away.

"Oh, there's my cue." He stomped on the ground, his foot sparking with electricity. He took a deep breath in, "HE'S LOOSE AGAIN! HELP!"

Suddenly, whatever force that kept Stain locked to the ground was released. Not wasting any time, Stain leapt at Kaminari, hoping to cut him down before the incoming heroes could interfere. Kaminari started to scream again, just barely dodging out of the way. He tried to mount a solid counterattack, but unlike before, it was like he really was fighting a kid. Kaminari's attacks were still wreathed with electricity, but his movements were wild and sloppy. While dodging, Kaminari tripped over one of Native's outstretched legs. Stain immediately pounced on him, taking care to look in his eyes to see when he would stop acting. If he learned anything during his hunts, it's that a person shows their true self in the moments before death. He raised his katana, preparing to thrust it down, staring straight into Kaminari's eyes, searching for the first hint of the fighter he was before. The blade was still coming down, but all he saw was true fear. The blade kept falling.

Just before it could pierce Kaminari's jacket, Stain was thrown off of him by a torrent of fire.

Stain was sent deeper into the alley, turning over a few times before he skidded to a stop. When he recovered, he knew he was outnumbered and likely outclassed, but he couldn't help but smile widely at the assortment before him.

Intentional or not, the heroes were stood in an arrowhead formation, Endeavor at the head with two of his sidekicks and son standing in row behind him. Beyond them was the assortment of heroes that were caught up fighting the black and pale green Nomus. Manual was among them as well, but immediately went to Iida's side despite knowing that he was gone. He could see some shuffling behind the numbers, assuming that was where they ferreted Chargebolt too.

"You are caught, Stain. Surrender peacefully," declared Endeavor, his voice commanding respect but also almost begging for him to act out so he could fight.

"Why would I surrender to piles of trash?" Stain replied, his grip on his katana tightening. "Does the hammer succumb to the nail? Does wood snuff out fire already ablaze? You all think yourselves as heroes but you're nothing more than fakes, frauds, has-beens and wannabes, utter insults to the title of Hero. None more prominent than you, Endeavor."

If Endeavor was affected by his words, he didn't show it, only making a grunt of acknowledgement before taking a step forward, "Good. We get to do this the hard way."

Stain's eyes widened as far as they could, his smile turning manic, "Come! Just try me! I alone will correct this world. I will rid it of Fakes. I will let the world know the folly of their ways for creating and nurturing False Heroes!"

Stain lunged forward the same time Endeavor did.

The beat of the helicopter's blades grew louder, the air displaced by it was buffeting around Kagero and Kurogiri. Neither of them bothered looking at the helicopter, both keenly aware that there was at least one camera pointed at them. Kurogiri bent at the hip and whispered in Kagero's ear.

"Should we move to another location? We lost sight of Stain, and I can only assume the feed from the camera is live. The heroes may be able to find us if they're watching it."

Kagero chuckled, "Kurogiri, if there are any heroes watching what's happening here from their TVs right now, then they're too far away to do anything and will be too late by the time they get here. The heroes in this city are the biggest threat to us right now, but they should be too busy dealing with the Nomu and Stain to even think about trying to find us." Kagero lightly stretched before standing back up, turning himself so he was facing the helicopter head on, his eyes searching the body for the camera lens he knew was pointed at them, "But you're right, it would be nice for a change of view."

Kagero pointed to the explosions and back to himself, pantomiming to the camera that the attack was because of him. Satisfied that even the slower thinkers of those watching got the message, he gave a lazy two-fingered salute before walking through the portal Kurogiri created. When he re-emerged, he found himself looking over the small battlefield between the heroes and the two Nomu. The heroes were still having trouble containing the threats, with only one being remotely successful. Kagero looked on with a glint in his eyes.

"Was it wise to let the news know the attack was our doing?" Kurogiri asked. "I thought the goal was to stay off of the radar."

Manual was still on fire control, but instead of the one, there were now three more hydrants torn off, their streams looking like geysers going off. He stood in between two of them, his arms and hands splayed out, eyes screwed shut in concentration. He had enough fine control over the water to where small branches of water spread out from the geysers, making it look like the area was surrounded by trees of water. Kagero watched, impressed with Manual's display of skill.

"Citizens and heroes aren't the only people that watch the news." Kagero replied smiling, thoroughly entertained by the heroes' attempts at defeating the Nomu.

The other heroes were still fighting off the Nomus to the best of their abilities, but they weren't making any progress. He saw a pair of heroes throw what looked like shuriken at the back of the black Nomu. He laughed at their futility. They might as well be throwing pebbles against a brick wall hoping to knock it down.

The pale green Nomu stopped wrecking the buildings around them and was now fully on the offensive. They may be mostly mindless, but at least the Doctor and Master gave them enough processing power to create a barebone strategy. While the black Nomu fought the heroes hand-to-hand, the pale green one would intercept any non-physical attacks sent its way and fling them back twice as strong. At times, it would even take hits by the hero with the ram horns only to hit them right back with more effectiveness.

Mindless, but not dumb. A perfect combination for tools of destruction.

"Nomu," Kagero spoke, his voice entirely lost in the chaos but still heard crystal clear by the two below him. The Nomus stopped what they were doing in mid-action and craned their heads in Kagero's direction.

Confused by the sudden stop, the heroes followed their gaze. Stood on the ledge, Kagero's figure was clearly seen, the light from the fires illuminating him from below, painting him in a grim light. Some heroes tensed in response upon seeing him, others cursed at their luck. They had been entirely unsuccessful at removing two threats, but now what tiny sliver of a chance they had left was gone as the new arrival displayed control over the monsters. Kagero raised a hand, the Nomus and heroes all turned to follow the direction he was pointing. Manual was the target, the only hero that didn't shift their attention.

At a command unheard by the heroes but by the Nomu, they screamed in response and jumped back into action, both gunning straight for Manual. Three steps behind, the heroes connected the dots, running off in pursuit, yelling to each other a quick plan of action. The screams of both the Nomu and his comrades caused Manual finally opened his eyes, releasing his hold over the water. His sight took a second to readjust to the inconsistent light and to blink through the smoke, but when they came into focus, he was staring at the exposed brain of the black Nomu, one of its arms brought down to its torso, preparing for a devastating blow to his body.

He screamed out in terror, his eyes going wide as saucers before they shut again, his whole body getting ready to receive the killing blow. He heard two heavy thumps of footsteps and winced, expecting the hit. Instead of hearing the scream the Nomus let out, he heard a deep grunt and felt the temperature in front of him rise dramatically. Stunned, he opened his eyes again, only to be blinded by the brilliance of fire right in front of him.

His eyes trailed upwards as he followed the flames that consistently flowed on Endeavor's costume, seeing his face set in a sneer, arm outstretched from the punch. The black Nomu was sent backwards, its feet scraping against the concrete but not falling over, the arm that Endeavor struck hung limply to its side, a portion of its arm showing the bright red of muscle fibers, the skin on its arm having melted off.

The pale green Nomu screamed as it attacked Endeavor from behind, who swung around, prepared to catch it, but the temperature suddenly dropped. Ice started creeping up the Nomu until it reached the base of its skull, leaving it completely immobile. Endeavor grunted in acknowledgement to his son who was stood further back, his right leg forward, a trail of ice leading out of it. Without hesitation, Endeavor grabbed the Nomu's head and sent a stream of fire into it, the color changing from orange to yellow to white to blue, the ice encasing it sublimating instantly. As the fire died down, the Nomu's skull was nothing more than a charred chunk.

"Endeavor…" Manual gasped, unable to stop himself from gaping at the sight.

"I alone will be enough to handle this, go-" Endeavor was cut off as he heard another scream followed by a crack. He turned his eyes to the black Nomu he hit away, the arm that was hanging limply and bent at an awkward angle snapped back into place, the skin that was melted started to grow and expand, covering the arm completely once again. "Regeneration, huh? So that's how it's going to be…"

Endeavor ran forward, the black Nomu doing the same, but before they could connect, the smell of ozone filled the air. Endeavor stopped abruptly, letting the Nomu close the distance a little more before it was hit by a massive lightning bolt, illuminating the entire area in a purple hue before the crack of thunder rumbled in the air.

Stood atop the crumpled body of the Nomu was Conduit, his right foot planted directly on the Nomu's head. He applied more pressure on the brain, his purple lightning coursing through his leg before he channeled into the Nomu.

For the first time that night, the Nomu let out a scream of pain, its regeneration unable to keep up with the steady current. Conduit kept it up until the screams faded into nothing and, like the pale green Nomu, its head was nothing more than a charred husk.

Put off by someone stealing his glory, Endeavor stomped up to Conduit, "I didn't ask for any of your help. Your assistance wasn't necessary."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I did it. Here," Conduit replied, breathing a little heavily. He tossed a responder to Endeavor, who caught it without breaking his stride, "If you're quick enough, you might be able to catch my intern fighting the Hero Killer."

Endeavor grunted an acknowledgement, "Shoto! We're moving. Kido, Onima, I saw a flying monster on the way here, bring it down. Everyone else, with me. We're going to put an end to this show once and for all."

Endeavor ran off without waiting for a response, expecting everyone to fall in step behind him. After a moment of confusion, they ran after him.

A hero walked up to Conduit, watching Endeavor and the rest run off, "You're not going along with him? You said it was your intern that's fighting the Hero Killer." He was dressed in dark clothes with a deep purple tactical vest with a high collar, his face covered in bandages with only his eyes showing. "Shouldn't you be the one making sure he's alright?"

"I gave him near-full authority to use his quirk to fight back, and he's a monster when he actually tries. I'm not worried." Conduit shrugged and raised his injured arm, the gauze that was wrapped around it bleeding red, "Plus, I'm injured. Can't be going into a fight in this sorry state.

The hero, Kido, cocked his head to the side, pointedly gesturing down at the Nomu's body Conduit was still standing on.

"That wasn't a fight. The thing broke my fall."

"Sure," Kido raised a hand to where his ear was, "Open line. Give me a sitrep." He waited a few seconds, the static in his ear the only response he got. "Damn, communication's still down."

"I'll deal with that. Good luck hunting," Conduit bid his farewell, jumping into the sky aided by lightning, landing on a powerline.

Kagero watched the entire exchange happen.

He saw Endeavor running to the area, the light of his fires illuminating his entire route, a stark contrast from the otherwise darkened city. When he came busting into the scene, he half expected him to attack the Nomu with fire, with no regard to anybody or thing in the surrounding area but was pleasantly surprised to see that Endeavor had at least half a brain.

He saw his son's red and white hair coming from a different direction, flanked on his sides by two of Endeavor's sidekicks. The way his body tensed even before the ice came was a clear indication he saw the pale green Nomu sneaking up to attack his father. Instead of calling out, directing Endeavor's attention to where his son was instead of the imminent threat, he opted to freeze it. Smart, but ultimately unnecessary. The Nomu screamed its intentions and Endeavor was fast enough to be ready to block. Endeavor grabbed its head and unleashed a torrent of flames, killing the Nomu. Kagero clicked his tongue, Damn Lowers.

He saw Conduit making his way to the area, but at the time he couldn't put a name to the hero, just that he was familiar. He saw him jump off the roof and seemingly call upon a massive lightning bolt, striking down the Nomu. The Nomu went down, but he knew that it wouldn't stay that way, the regeneration would kick in soon enough. He saw Conduit stomp his foot down again and heard the Nomu cry out. The electricity coursing into its brain and down its body, making its muscles tense where they were, unable to move to attack. He saw Conduit keep the flow going until the screams died along with the Nomu. Kagero's eyes widened at the sight, impressed that someone was able to deal damage faster than regeneration could keep up.

When Endeavor and Conduit had their conversation, he watched as the other heroes just stood around in awe. None of them checked to make sure the Nomus were down. None of them moved to contain the fire, not counting Manual, who was clearly still coming to grips at how close he was to dying. None of them bothered telling either Endeavor or Conduit that there was still an enemy in the area. Kagero was still stood on the ledge, not trying to conceal himself in any way, and nobody checked to see if he was still there or tried attacking him now that they had the chance. They ran off as soon as Endeavor barked orders, none of them bothering to look back.

He shook his head.

"It's pathetic how whipped the heroes are," he complained. "They were outgunned and fighting their hardest not even twenty seconds ago, but the second someone else who was stronger came along, they immediately bowed down to them. Such weak wills."

Kurogiri hummed, "What would you like to do? Perhaps we can pick off a few from the back of the pack."

"And do what? They're not even worth trying to break. There would be no fight, just defeated acceptance. Like I said, they've been whipped already. Once it's clear they're not the strongest person in the room anymore, they'll duck their heads and stick their tails between their legs. I don't want pets."

Kagero broke into a run in the direction Endeavor went in, leaping across the rooftops with ease, looking for the moving light along the walls of the buildings. As he got closer, he heard voices. How did I beat them here?

He slowed, following the voices silently. He came to an alley and was immediately hit with the stench of ozone and blood. He peered over the ledge and found the reason why. He counted three bodies on the ground, maybe three deaths, and a blond teenager. His mind supplied that this was Denki Kaminari, electricity-type quirk. That explains the ozone. So then one of those bodies must be Stain. Did he kill him?

Kaminari yelped, causing Kagero to duck reflexively, wondering if he had been seen. He doubted it, but it never hurt to be cautious. He stood up slowly, seeing Kaminari fiddle with something on his ear. He said something, ran off, then came back. Seemingly done with the conversation, he heard Stain speak up, "… too well trained to be a student, too cold-hearted to be a child, too insensitive to reality to be innocent. No. I was wrong. I didn't remove the wolf in sheep's clothing. He was nothing but a child too willing to be tainted by anger. The true wolf is you."

Kagero felt Kurogiri materialize next to him, "Interesting…"

"What is it?"

"Someone else just caught my eye."

Kurogiri's eyes became slits as he scrutinized the scene, "The child? Should we bring him back now? He is alone."

Kagero opened his mouth to reply but stopped, hearing a hero's voice ring through the alley. Right afterwards, Kaminari screamed at the top of his lungs with Stain lunging for him. The alley filled with the flickering light of fire another second later. Again, Kagero was stood looking over the heroes, watching them as they moved Kaminari further behind them, adding more bodies between him and Stain.

He watched as Stain and Endeavor jump at each other, engaging in a fight, "Interesting indeed."