Well, three days later yet here we are. I kept having dreams and needed to write before I forgot them, so here you go! It's a little shorter than most of my chapters, but I felt the end there was a good place to stop. At this rate, there should be another two chapters before we reach the end of the movie, but we'll see how that goes.

CallMeCayde: What we have here is a "I'm not hearing a no, I'm not saying a yes" scenario. But there's always a chance until the story has an official pairing in its listing.

Gamelover41592: The attack begins!

LEGOBRICK13: You might need that board and the meme, since I can see the interconnecting web of conspiracy! I won't tell you if that bad feeling is warranted, but I will tell you not every character with a name will survive. Either way, ominous winds blow.

Monkey D. Conan: This chapter should answer some of your questions. Almost all of them, actually. I hope I didn't make you wait too long!

Pirohiko-Baltazar: Yeah, we haven't seen one work out yet. Altair only had a short tryst and Arno's relationship didn't last because of their own drive for revenge.

Chapter 35:

Unlikely Allies

The redheaded Villain kept a smile on his face, a pistol in his hand waving around with an ease of familiarity. Several of his lackies ringed the room, watching the gala's partygoers with various expressions. Izuku pushed on Inko and Momo's shoulders, exerting his surprising strength to slowly force them to their knees behind one of the food tables. The tablecloth broke most of the Villain's line of sight from them, exactly what Izuku was hoping for. Some of the lackies started making a round, pulling jewelry from the more fancily-dressed.

["Everyone on your fuckin' knees!"]

"A robbery?" Inko hissed, breathing too quickly and trying to muffle herself with her hands. "Here? Now? What do we do?"

"We can't do anything," Momo muttered. "We don't have our provisional Hero licenses. Any action we take with our Quirks would go against Quirk Law."

"Not here it wouldn't," Izuku replied, keeping his eyes on the Villains. "The Quirk Laws on I-Island are far more lax than most anywhere else, and Japan can't try us for Quirk use outside of the country's limits, even if we are Japanese citizens. It's part of the charter I-Island has with every affiliated country. I was the tutor for Quirk Law for our Final, remember?"

"Then what can we do?" Momo reiterated. "They've got everyone on the island as a hostage and restrained the top Heroes here, including All Might."

"We need to find out what they want. They could have done a robbery anywhere, so why break onto I-Island?"

["Hey, you!"] the man in the metal mask yelled, turning to point his gun at someone. It was an overweight, blond man in a suit who cowered at the weapon. ["You're one of the island's scientists, right?"]

["Y-Yes,"] the man answered, raising a hand in front of his face as if that would protect him.

["You know the codes to the fault, yeah? Or you can figure them out with enough time? Get up. You're coming with us."]

["No,"] the brunet that had been talking to All Might before interrupted, the redhead turning to point his pistol at the new speaker as he stood to his full height. ["Sam is my assistant. I'm the one you want."]

["I know your mug,"] the Villain muttered. ["You're that famous inventor. Something Shield."]

["David Shield. Yes."]

["Dad, you can't do this!"] Melissa begged, grabbing her father's arm.

["It looks like we don't have much of a choice, Mel."]

["I've decided, all three of you are coming with us,"] the Villain said, jerking his head toward the door.

["Three?"] David demanded.

["Yeah, three. You, your assistant, and your daughter. Gotta make damn sure you do as we say. Having your little girl at gunpoint is a better motivator than all these people down here."]

["What‽ No, that—"] The Villain didn't let the scientist finish, a twist of his wrist causing metal rings to fly around from the back of his outfit to latch around Sam, David, and Melissa's torsos, pinning their arms to their sides.

["Let's get moving, shitstains!"] he ordered, Sam being the first to comply. The lead Villain led all three inventors out the door, yelling back at the remaining men, ["I don't want to hear any fucking commotion down here!"]

Izuku rolled as the attentions of the lackies were redirected for that moment, the young Assassin Initiate hiding under one of the tables. He activated his Eagle Vision, taking in the layout of the enemies as a mix of red and blue outlines walked down the hallway. What dropped a stone in his gut, however, were the number of Heroes that also shown a dim red in the room, said Heroes only lacking the brighter shine of the Villains because they were not actively showing any malice. Takahiro, Claymore, Powerjump, Clair Voyance, and Great Sydney along with almost half of the civilians were all Templars according to his sight.

That, however, was not the most important fact of the situation. Between all the Templars in the crowd and the Villains, there was no way Izuku would be able to take them all without giving his skillset away. Trying to do it nonlethally would be even more difficult. He deactivated his gift and rolled back, finding Iida with Momo and Inko.

"Fifteen guards in the room and another twelve immediately outside," he reported, "but there's a door less guarded than the others behind us, leading to the kitchens. It's only got two guards and is to our backs, one inside and one outside. If we can get a distraction, then we can slip out. Some loud noise will work. A moment is all we'll need."

"You wish to risk an escape?" Iida questioned.

"We can't just let them do as they want," Momo told him. "If you have any ideas, I can create—"

"No, let me," Inko whispered, causing the students to blink. Izuku, especially, nearly got vertigo with how quickly he turned to see his mother. "J-Just say when."

He nodded hesitantly, unsure what his mother could be thinking but not having the time to think of any better plan. He pushed, slowly moving himself, Momo,, Iida, and Inko when the guards weren't looking until they were near the door in question.

"I'll tackle the guy in here, pushing him out the door," Izuku whispered. "Momo, can you handle the guy on the other side once we're through? Iida, Mom, follow us."

Momo nodded in response, still scanning the area.

"Ready? Now."

Inko reached toward the other side of the room, grabbing a decorative potted fern hanging from the wall. She pulled, the plant tipping over. Gravity took hold, the pot shattering on the head of one of the Villains.

As Izuku had asked for, every Villain in the area turned to the noise, their companion falling under the weight of the fern as its soil scattered over the floor. Izuku moved instantly, catching the guard he'd been targeting in the neck and driving him through the saloon-style door into the kitchen. His gagged cry was not enough to get anyone's attention, his and Izuku's combined momentum knocking the guy on the other end prone.

Momo, Iida, and Inko pushed through the door, Iida stilling the door so its swing didn't alert the guards on the other side. Momo instantly pulled a cloth from her arm with Creation and shoved it over the second guard's mouth before he could react. He struggled only slightly before falling limp, the man in Izuku's arms doing the same as the young Initiate's chokehold forced him into unconsciousness.

"What did you do, Momo?" Inko questioned, both students almost casually propping up the Villains on either side of the door as if they were sleeping on the job. Izuku took the chance while they were distracted, riffling through his target's pockets but found nothing immediately useful besides several hundred iz and a cartridge of 9mm bullets. He tucked both into his pockets.

"Chloroform," the young woman answered, offering the cloth to Izuku. "Useful for nonviolent takedown and capture."

The verdet accepted the cloth, waving it under his target's nose to prevent him from waking up soon. Tucking it into the man's hand, Izuku gestured for the group to move deeper into the kitchen where the staff was slowly poking their heads over the counters.

"We need to go after him."

"Izu, no!" his mother fretted. "That man could kill you!"

"He could kill the Shield's if we don't," Izuku replied. "I refuse to leave either Melissa or her father in their hands longer than necessary."

"I agree with Izuku," Momo offered. "We are Hero students, trained for this. We wouldn't be Heroes if we just stood by after getting out."

"Your son is correct, Ms. Midoriya," Iida agreed. "It does not appear we can sit around and wait for this to resolve itself."

"We can't just rescue All Might and the Heroes in there, though," Izuku muttered, considering the whole situation. "That Villain said they'd taken over the island's security system. If we try a direct rescue, other civilians could pay the price. We need to disable the system first."

"Where can we do that?" Inko questioned.

"We aren't doing anything, Mom. You need to say here."

"Hell no!" Inko hissed, the boy recoiling at her language and force. "I will not stand by while you and your friends charge headfirst into danger!"

"We're trained for this," Izuku tried. "You—"

"I am your mother, Izuku!" Tears formed at the corners of Inko's glare. "I might not be able to fight but I can do distractions at least. I refuse to stand around worrying when I can do something."

"…Alright," Izuku relented. "But leave the fighting to me, Iida, and Momo."

"I don't know where the systems are," Momo cut in, "but they wouldn't be on the ground floor. Izuku, how far can you see with your Quirk?"

"I can see most of the floor and about half above and below. Now that we have a goal, though, I should know it when I see it. If not, we just need to find the floor that has the most Villains on it."

"This building is 150 floors high," Momo informed them. "We are on the second floor."

["The systems are on the 120th floor,"] a woman Izuku suspected was the head chef told them. She was a short woman with hair like the vines of plants, tiny fruits of various types hanging from buds at their ends. Izuku flashed his Eagle Vision, only for his eyes to widen at her blue glow. She spun a carving knife around in her hand and offered it to Izuku handle first. ["That's what you all were arguing about, right?"]

["Thank you,"] Izuku muttered, accepting the knife and a sheath to put it in. It was nothing compared to his hidden blades or his wakizashi, but it was similar enough to his tanto to be effective, so he secured it to his belt. ['How?'] he mouthed.

In response, another chef, an average man also glowing blue, laid a hand over his heart before directing a questioning eyebrow in Momo's direction. So, he was another person with Eagle Vision, Izuku deduced. He was in no position to answer his silent query, however.

["You all are Hero students, right?"] the woman asked, ensuring eyes were on her and not Izuku's silent interaction. ["Please, be careful. I-Island's never been broken into. They must have had inside help."]

["We can go after that help later,"] Momo promised. ["Right now, we need to focus on rescuing the Shields and disabling the security system. We must get to the 120th floor."]

["They elevators will not be an option,"] Iida commented. ["There must be stairs somewhere, but I do not know if that would be fast enough."]

["The elevator might not be an option,"] Izuku muttered, ["but the elevator shaft might be a different story. The question is, how do we get there?"]

["We can sneak you out the back,"] the man suggested with a smirk. ["Food has to get places fast, so we know all the best paths."]

["We should get moving,"] Iida insisted. ["Every moment we wait is another a life could be lost."]

The male chef nodded, leading the students to a back door he told them was used for food delivery. Moving quickly but carefully, the man took them to a hallway, the elevator just around the corner. There was only one, it's tube a wide cylinder that could hold just about anyone, the pro Hero Godzillo in his so-called Kaiju Mode excepting.

["This is as far as I can go,"] the chef said. ["Good luck."]

"The elevators are being guarded," Izuku told the others. "Two guards." —Iida raised a hand— "And Iida, in case you missed it, we can use our Quirks since I-Island's laws are more lax than Japan's and we are acting in defense of ourselves and others."

Iida lowered his hand, rubbing his chin. "If that is the case, then you can leave this pair to me. The hallway is a straight shot, after all." Gesturing for his classmate to take the lead, Izuku was surprised when Iida readily jumped around the corner, falling into a runner's stance.

"Recpio Burst!" Iida called, his engines tearing through the lower half of his dress pants. The guards barely had time to turn before Iida's powerful legs smashed into the sides of their heads, knocking them unconscious and throwing their bodies down the hall like ragdolls.

"That was very impressive," Inko told him as she, Momo, and Izuku caught up. Iida waved off her praise, Momo forming a crowbar with Creation and wrenching the doors to the elevator open.

"What now?" she asked, checking the shaft to find no sign of the elevator itself in sight. "Inko, it might be best—"

"I'm not letting my baby charge into danger without me," the woman insisted again.

"Momo, do you think you could fashion some harnesses that can hook to these cables?" Izuku suggested. The Templar eyed the cables, making calculations before forming several sheets of metal, hooks, and a pully system. "That's not what I said."

"No, it's not," Momo agreed. "It's everything we need to make our own elevator. We'll need to power it ourselves, but this won't tire us out as much as carrying ourselves would. Now help me put this together.

Their makeshift elevator was assembled in record time, the students hooking it to the elevator cables. Its climbing mechanism was a mounted arm similar to that of a pump trolley. Quickly, trusting that all Momo's calculations were accurate, the three students and one parent boarded the mechanism, Izuku and Iida taking hold of the handles. They cranked, carrying their elevator upward.

Four individuals eyed the Villains that had taken the party captive, their eyes more inquisitive than scared. They were gathered close, two young woman and a single man encircling an older woman, each whispering to each other in their native tongue.

["Man, this is an easy mark!"] one of the Villains laughed, eyeing a couple of the female Heroes they had captured. ["I don't see what all the fuss was about. Hey, you think the boss'd get mad at me if I enjoyed myself?]

["As long as we don't kill them,"] another replied. ["Boss doesn't want casualties, remember?"]

["Eh, no one will die,"] the first waved off.

{"Mother,"} a man whispered, rotating so his hulking frame hid his sisters and mother on one side. This man was Andre de Blanchet, a student of the Hero college of Marvel University, Texas campus. He stood at 6'8" with short, dirty blond hair and angular, half-French features, his skin well-tanned from hours in the sun. His voice was rougher than those of the women. {"Let me at them. I could render all of them unconscious in moments."}

{"No, my child,"} the oldest said. She was a beautiful, well-proportioned woman of five feet, her dark hair framing her face. Her eyes were like pools of emeralds shimmering in the light, something each of her children had inherited. Her name was Alexandra de Blanche. {"We will leave, but it will not be you who gets us out. That would leave too much evidence and collateral. I wish to leave without the others any the wiser."}

{"Then you recommend Annabelle?} the oldest child asked. She was practically a carbon copy of her mother, the only difference a lighter shade to her hair and a slight accent to her French. Her name was Abrielle.

{"Yes,"} Alexandra replied. {Annabelle, do you believe you can do this?"}

{"Get us out with no one knowing?"} the youngest asked. She was still a teen at 19 years, but her beauty was supernatural. Strawberry blonde hair fell to her wide hips and her glittering, green eyes sparkled with a clever mischievousness. She was the smallest, somewhere around 4'10" even in heels, and her voice flowed like silk. {Of course, Mother. I can do this."}

{"Then please, begin."}

Annabelle stepped away from the group, breathing deeply. Before any of the Villains could question her, she opened her mouth, releasing a melodic tone that echoed through the room. She sang, her music entrancing all in the room. She danced as she sang, waving her arms as if conducting for a symphony only she could see. It was a slow tune, the words about love, loss, and the memory-stealing effects of time. Her family followed in her wake through the crowd, unaffected by her music. The people stood like statues, unable to move or comprehend what was happening, eyes half-lidded and unfocused.

Alexandra, Abrielle, and Andre stepped through the door first, holding it open for the youngest child. Her song entranced the guards in the hall, allowing the family free reign to walk down the hallway and out of sight before the youngest ended her music. Her influence ended, Villains and captives alike continued about their business, unaware that a family of four had extracted themselves or that they had ever been present.

Abrielle grinned, turning to her sister. {Your Peritia: Siren never fails to amaze me, little sister. It remains no wonder you earned enrollment into le Parcours Héros de l'université de Bordeaux."}

{"Now Abrielle,"} their mother chastised. {"You know not to mention that school around Andre."}

{"That was three years ago,"} the brother sighed. {"I'm well over my rejection. You know that, Mother."}

{"And it's not like you dislike having him close at Marvel,"} Annabelle pointed out. {"Every time we talk, you ask when I am coming home."}

{"France is simply too far from me, ma plus petite fleur."}

{"I am no further than Samuel in Madrid."}

{"Samuel is not my flesh and blood. You are."}

{"Did we not escape for a reason?"} Abrielle reminded them.

{"We did,"} Alexandra agreed. {"My children, let us go investigate these Villains. I am curious to their motives. I fear they will interfere with our most important project with their most unfortune timing. Will you guard me?"}

{"Of course, Mother,"} her children replied.

Izuku and the others were almost to the 100th floor when the elevator started to lower, the incoming room of metal causing a rush of adrenaline that quickly countered their panting breath and aching muscles. Sparks sparked as the cables their elevator was attached to moved different directions, grinding through the grip. Momo swung her crowbar, breaking open the glass doors of the closest floor and ushering everyone through before sliding out herself. No sooner had she done that than the elevator smashed into the top of their contraption, warping the Quirk-made metal. It creaked and groaned before losing its grip, the device that had carried them most of the way going into freefall down the shaft.

"Well," Izuku commented. "That was good while it lasted."

"It did allow us opportunity to circumvent over three-fourths of the distance," Iida noted. Izuku activated his Eagle Vision as they recuperated. There was no one on the floor as far as he could tell, which would allow them free time to find the stairwell. Since his Isu sight couldn't show him maps (was that something it could eventually do, he wondered), he hurried to the edges of the hallways to read the signs.

"Did your Hero training cover this?" Inko questioned. "Jumping out of elevator shafts?"

"Not exactly," Momo admitted, "but All Might-sensei does say no plan is without its weaknesses and we should always be ready for it to fail."

"Oh, well if All Might says it…" Inko rolled her eyes, a slight dusting of pink over her cheeks.

"No one around," Izuku announced for the sake of his companions as he returned. "We need to keep moving."

"Midoriya is correct," Iida nodded. "Are there stairs nearby?"

"Not… exactly," Izuku muttered. "The quickest way up I could find is an external ladder for emergency maintenance."

"Well, this classifies as an emergency."

"And we're doing maintenance in some capacity," Momo chuckled.

"Lead the way, Izu," Inko urged. Izuku nodded, leading the group to a wall that looked like any other. He reached forward, hooking his fingers into a small crease and pulling to reveal a hidden door. Another door on the other side held a sign reading [ATTENTION: sudden drop. Proceed with caution] in English.

Izuku pushed the door open, a cold wind forcing its way into the confined space. Inko shivered, Izuku holding the portal open and gesturing for Iida to go first. Momo followed second and Inko third, Izuku unwilling to put his mother in such a precarious position without being able to catch her if she fell.

They climbed another seven stories, bringing them to the 105th floor where the stairs ended. Inko was most thankful for the break, getting her feet back on solid flooring and no longer exposed to the elements. They came into an area lined with rows upon rows of similar blocks of technology, lights on the machines blinking with lights of various colors.

"Ah, the servers!" Iida realized. "Can we wrestle control of the system from those Villains here?"

"Unlikely," Momo replied. "Even if I knew what tech to make, how to make it, and which port to plug into, I don't really know anything about coding since it's such a niche skill."

"It was a fine suggestion," Inko muttered, offering the speedster some words of comfort.

["What do we have here?"] a voice demanded, the group of four spinning around to see a pink-haired man standing before a crowd of robots. Said robots were ovular in shape, their grey metal supported by three legs with omnidirectional wheels hooked to the bottoms. Their red sensors blinked ominously as the man pulled a cigarette from his lips. ["A few little rats think they can mess with our work?"]

["You will not succeed,"] Momo swore, forming a launcher similar to a bazooka from her shoulder. The roset's eyes widened, the man diving to the side as a grey goo splattered over the robots directly behind him, quickly solidifying into something like concrete. The rest of the machines' red lights started blinking rapidly, the robots surging forward around their immobilized brethren.

Izuku whipped his rope-dart forward, stabbing into the man's shoulder as he came out of his roll. He grunted in pain as Izuku pulled, dragging himself toward his chosen opponent and leaving the robots to his classmates.

"Izuku!" his mother yelled, but the boy was not focused on that, swinging his foot forward to kick the man. He, in response, raised his arm to block, the hand and forearm there turning into a blade half as wide as his torso. Izuku pulled his gifted knife free in his offhand, slashing at the Villain only for sparks to come as blade met blade.

["Heh, you're a tough one,"] the man chuckled, slashing at the verdet who dodged around. He reached up with the hand that wasn't currently a sword, yanking the rope-dart free and ignoring the trickle of red that started to soak into his black outfit. ["I don't really want to deal with you."]

["You do not really have a choice,"] Izuku rebuffed, retracting his rope-dart into the bracer on his wrist. The man pulled a grappling hook from his pocket, shooting it upward so its hook caught into the railing of the catwalk above.

["Just play with the robots like a good little boy!"]

["Like Hell I will let you get away!"] Izuku growled, using his rope-dart in a similar manner.

"Izuku!" Inko yelled, stumbling backward as a security robot blocked her path. She growled, reaching forward to take hold of the robot's inner wires with her Quirk before wrenching backward, her limited telekinesis ripping them free of their places inside. The robot sparked briefly, letting out a series of beeps before its lights went dead. However, for each one she all but internally disemboweled, another two seemed to appear, blocking her path as her pride and joy gave chase to the roset.

Izuku ignored his mother's frantic cries as he chased after the Villain. He was unsuited for combat against robots without any of his primary weapons, but a human was another matter he could deal with using his own hands and he trusted Momo and Iida to keep his mother safe. Surely the robots did not have a kill function.

["Get back here!"] Izuku yelled, throwing his rope-dart again. The man ducked, dodging off the catwalk and into one of the corridors of the next floor. The Hero student pulled himself forward and kicked off the wall in an impressive show of dexterity, keeping up with the other man despite his longer legs.

["How annoying,"] he grumbled, spinning around as his forearms and hands turned into blades once more. Izuku met him mid-jump, his knife catching the first blade in a reverse grip that braced the dull side against his arm. The other slashed from the side, Izuku disengaging to hop away from the attack.

Refusing to stay in one place, Izuku started moving, trying to duck in with hit-and-run tactics to counter this man's more rigid, sweeping style. The roset growled, shifting backwards to turn an attack that would have cut down to his bone into nothing but scratch on his arm.

["Dammit, kid,"] he growled, trying to smack the knife out of Izuku's hand with the flat of his blade only for the verdet to shift his grip, parrying the attack. ["I don't want to hurt you. Just go back to your friends and fight the robots for half an hour."

["And leave you Villains to your devices? Not a chance!"] He spun, launching his rope-dart at the man again, but he no longer had the element of surprise on that front. The man transformed one of his arms back to normal, catching the dart and bringing up the blade in an attempt to sever the rope.

It didn't work, the constitution of the nano-carbon fiber repelling his first attempt.

["What—?"]

["Surprise!"] Izuku jumped forward, trying to jab the knife into the Villain's side. The roset parried again, his teeth digging into his cigarette. He kicked off a shoe, balancing on one hand as his foot turned into a sword, forcing Izuku into a back handspring lest his face have a new scar. His rope-dart stabbed into the floor, Izuku using its retraction to pull him forward into another kick, this one just narrowly missing the roset's side and he twisted his way back on his feet.

["Damn heroic types,"] he muttered, self-sharpening his blades against each other. ["I don't have any beef with you, kid. Don't make me do this."]

["Your boss started this when he took All Might and the Shield's captive!"] Izuku retorted. He charged in, swiping with his knife.

["Where'd you even get this, the kitchens?"] the man questioned, narrowly avoiding the blade as his eyes narrowed. ["Don't tell me…"]

["Surrender now, Villain!"]

["Wait!"] the man ordered, jumping backward from the Hero student. ["I think we're on the same side!"]

["The same side?"] Izuku echoed. ["Do not make me laugh!"]

["This isn't what you think. That fighting style of yours, it's Assassin's Fist, isn't it?"]

Izuku stumbled. ["How—?"]

["Nothing is true,"] the man said, holding his arms up and deactivating his Quirk. ["Finish the phrase, kid. Nothing is true."]

["…Everything is permitted,"] the boy breathed. ["You…? You're an Assassin‽"]

["Michael Corvain of the US Brotherhood, California Branch,"] the man replied, setting his hand over his heart and offering Izuku a small bow. ["But right now, my codename's Swordkill. It's stupid, I know, but Wolff isn't good with nicknames. Never has been. You?"]

The student relaxed a little, slowly sheathing his knife. ["Izuku Midoriya, Initiate of the Osaka Brotherhood."]

["Japan, huh?"] Michael chuckled, offering a hand. Izuku shook it, still trying to wrap his mind around this turn of events. ["That explains it. You're only an Initiate, but you've got Hero training I bet. I heard you guys have, like, Hero high schools or something."]

["What do you mean?"] Izuku blinked. ["You do not?"]

["Most of the world has Superhero as a college profession,"] the Assassin shrugged. ["You know, like being a lawyer or a doctor. Most colleges in America have a Hero course of some sort, or you could go to a community college if you want to just be a Sidekick or have a license to use your Quirk in particular professions, but most everyone with aspirations try to get into Marvel U, DCU, or the Isom Institute of Meta Practice. We can't just let kids run around trying to stop crime when there are adults to do that. The popularity of Spider-Man kind of got a lot of kids killed during the First Wave before things normalized."]

["I… Huh."] Izuku didn't know what to do with this knowledge, but he supposed it made sense since All Might did attend a Hero College in California after graduating from UA. The Admiral Hudson College of Heroism and Technology if he remembered right. That was where he met David Shield in the first place.

["What are you doing here, anyway?"]

["I should be asking you that!"] Izuku rebuffed. ["I heard the Templars practically control I-Island, but staging a whole hostage situation‽ Kidnapping the Shield's‽ All during the I-Expo‽"]

["This isn't a simple stick-up, kid."] Michael explained. ["I-Island's currently situated over an underwater Precursor site. We'd known about it for a while, but we got word there was a Templar on I-Island getting too big for his britches. He wanted to hire mercenaries to cause a distraction in the hopes they'd kill his supervisors and give him access to the site so he could plunder it for himself and get rich reverse-engineering the tech. Would've gotten him killed by the Templars themselves in the end, but we didn't want it to fall into Templar hands either way. When we found out who got hired, Wolff, Soml, and I infiltrated the company and took over."]

["So Wolff is—?"]

["Tall guy, metal mask, swears a lot? Chose the name Wolfram because its Swedish or something for metal?"]

["That…"] Izuku blinked. He sighed, running a hand down his face. ["So, why would the Templars do this during the I-Expo? Would it not be safer to start some other time?"]

["They're bringing in a special team for study and dismantling of the site for study later. Hid them among the influx of scientists and Heroes so none of the locals would get suspicious since they tend to know about all the research that requires that."]

["Then why did Wolff grab the Shield's? They do not have anything to do with this?"]

["They were the most convenient, unfortunately,"] Michael said, scratching the back of his head. ["We don't know who has access to the site, but our spies told us that if anyone could find a way to upgrade a pass to that level of clearance, we'd need to get Melissa Shield to do it. She and her dad aren't in any danger from us —stay your blade from the innocent and all that— but we need their cooperation to make this work. Look, it'd be easier to show you than to explain."]

["Wait, you want me to join your mission?"]

["Or I could knock you out right here and pretend you know nothing. Up to you, really. We're wiping the footage as it rolls, so there'll be no evidence. That's Soml's specialty. It's why Wolff calls him Tapper."]

["…Fine,"] Izuku decided. ["I will join."]

["Great. More hands in the know on our side is always good in situations like this."] He reached up to his ear, pressing a button before breathing hard, panting. ["Hey, Dohl! Get your ass to the 106! I've got a Hero brat here being a nuisance!"] He reverted back to his normal voice. ["Anyway, let's—"]

["Hold on. I need you to promise you will not hurt my classmates or mom."]

["Dude, you brought your mom to a Templar nest?"] Michael's eyebrow threatened to disappear into his hair, his eyes suddenly taking on more of a judgmental glint.

["It was not by choice,"] Izuku sighed, running a hand through his own hair. ["Look, I will explain on the way. Just promise me."]

["Fine, fine,"] he insisted. ["They can handle the robots, right? And they're set to nonlethal. They'll just get knocked unconscious, ok? Broken bone at worst."]

["Ok."]

["Good. Follow me."] The American Assassin turned, taking off down the hallway. Izuku followed, having to push to keep up with the older man. He led the student straight toward the staircase, the two coming down the hallway with the door when it opened and one of the mercenaries stepped through.

["Alright, I'm here,"] the man said. ["What do you need, Sword—?"]

In one swift movement, Michael activated his Quirk and sliced cleanly through the man's neck. Izuku gawked as the man's body fell backward, blood pooling from both stumps that used to be connected. Michael flicked his elbow, cleaning his blade-arm before reverting it back to skin.

["What are you waiting for?"] the Assassin questioned, picking up the head and pulling the mask off. ["Get your disguise on before the blood ruins it."]

Swallowing heavily, Izuku set about to do as bid, reminding himself that there was more at risk than just himself.

["Why did you do this?"] he asked. ["Was he not one of us?"]

["This guy? Nope. He was just some other despicable mercenary that's killed for money. He was just unlucky to be around your size. Hurry up. I'll message Soml and Wolff to let them know we've got one more, then we're going up."]

End of Chapter 35

I did promise that shit would hit the fan, didn't I? I also promised this arc would be nothing like the movie. How's this for different? Who are the de Blanche's and how will they affect this mission? What will Momo, Iida, and Inko do in response to seeing Izuku chase after a dangerous Villain? What will Izuku be forced to do now that he's joined the Villains in their heist? What secrets does the Precursor site under I-Island hide? Tell me what you think!

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods