As Izuku bolted to the raid site in Kamino ward, he received a phone call from Nezu. Twice in one day, I wonder why? He thought sarcastically. "Nezu? What is it?" The chimera was frantic as he explained. "It's a disaster, they have a new kind of Nomu tearing through the heroes. They can't attack it." Izuku searched for the best route as he explained, "I'm already en route. I'll try to heal them and see the situation. And I don't think it's a Nomu that's tearing through the heroes." He could hear relief on the phone. It was clear that the rat was clearly stressed, and hadn't prepared for this. Just glad that he was able to do something. "Thank you. What about Monoma?" Izuku was, surprised with his lack of empathy right now... but, the boy had been a pain in the neck. And a traitor to everything he held dear, as it turned out. While he was willing to turn over a new leaf, it had been far too late for the blond. "He's dead. AFO killed him for betrayal." "I see... just get there quickly." The call ended and Izuku stowed his phone inside his jacket. He was almost there, and he was surprised, no, shocked by what he saw there. Then again, he did have a premonition that it was coming. How the fuck did he manage to smuggle a Wendigo out here?! It was a green one, leaving its poisonous trail behind as it charged at Mirkuo, the one hero who could outrun it. She was leading it away from the other heroes, who were seriously injured. She cursed: "Who the hell is this?" Izuku fired an amrita orb at it, and it raged in pain. If Izuku had the lifeseed, it would've been a third of its health in damage, but as that particular artifact was lost with Astra, his damage output was cut down by a third. It would take 9 well placed shots to purify it. And he only had 20 shots. Meaning that he had to make them count. Mirko grinned as it turned its attention to him. "What did you do?" He explained as he carefully avoided it's lunges, "It can't be hurt physically. You need to hit it with energy." She was unconcerned by the presence of the kid, but just grinned that they were able to fight. "Right! Keep doing what you're fucking doing! I'm going to help the survivors, since I can't touch the damn thing!" That was when he noticed the pure destruction happening at the moment. Buildings were destroyed, and there were lots of people still trapped. "Go! I've purified many Wendigoes before!" She nodded, and leapt to the nearest person. Izuku nimbly dodged its strikes. The attacks had a lingering field of effect, meaning that he had to move, and couldn't just duck out of the way. Staying out of range, he dodged, and fired the god hand five more times. Two of the shots missed due to the Wendigo moving erratically. He was down to 18 bars of energy. If he kept firing at it on impulse, he would run out of energy. So, he waited for the optimal times to do so. When recovering, a hit, colliding into a wall? Another orb launched. It set into a dance, until he was at less than 4 bars left. In desperation, it charged, and Izuku fired three shots rapidly in a panic. One of them hit... and it stopped. Roaring, Izuku could see that light was piercing it's tattered veil like body. Thank goodness... It then rose into the air, and Mirkuo, checking on the boy after seeing about the other heroes, could only gasp in surprise as it turned into a being of pure light. A ghostly figure shimmered for a moment, seemingly smiling down on Izuku with its emotionless face, before disappearing for good. It dropped a few orbs of energy and an acorn on the ground. He aimed the god hand and collected the orbs. I'm sorry daemons... but I can't let you grow here. He picked up the acorn. The heroine looked at it, fascinated. "That..." He sighed tossing it to her, "Keep it." before another boom echoed in the distance. Both of their attention locked onto where it sounded. Shit! That must be where he is! The greenette thundered away, using the suit to get within range of some of the rubble. It was good that he'd figured out how to calibrate the Viper Coil to things other than the Deadeye bolts, as he needed mobility now. Mirkuo observed as he used a grappling device to get himself above the wreckage and enough momentum to start heading in the direction of the main fight. Not to be outdone by a child, she followed quickly, noting how the suit seemed to mirror her own quirk. Mechanical rabbit legs on that kit? Heh, he can't outdo the real thing! AFO laughed as the heroes attempted to stop his attacks. They were woefully unprepared for a supervillain of his caliber. He even had a surprise shipped over from the states. A unique specimen found wandering outside the Rocky Mountains, but was every part as lethal as it appeared. He looked into everything he could, but there was nothing but whispers and Algonquin legends. And so, he brought it over for the doctor to study. Unfortunately, the heroes released it by accident during their raid. And it tore through them. It was already difficult to control, but... they get what they deserve. However, when he heard its pained shrieks, he knew the new player was on the field: Izuku Midoriya. The elusive new teacher of UA. Nobody knew who he was or where he came from. He taught what was believed to be a pointless topic in the eyes of many... but AFO knew that wasn't the case. The one that could easily defeat a Nomu, and nearly tore Kurogiri apart from the inside. Getting a control quirk was already hard enough for the first time... but a second? It took too much effort. And so he gave his message, but it was clearly being ignored. Such a foolish child. It was then that he heard his arrival with his enhanced senses. He could hear Allmight call to him. "Midoriya, get out of here!" Smiling at his nemesis' anguish, he turned to the boy, running to him in his exosuit. It wasn't anything impressive to the eye, but he knew it was the key to his strength. Somehow, he could defeat a nomu by stealing its quirk. "So, you ignored my warning..." "How could you let a Wendigo loose in the city?! Imagine if it bred?! It would kill everyone!" "Sometimes, terrible things must be done for a better world." "A better world? AFO, I know what you stand for. You want to rule, with an iron fist. I know what your first movement turned into. You give a devil's deal, and enact your will." "Someone like you would never understand what it was like back then." To his surprise, he spoke compassionately, keeping the villain's focus on him so the other heroes could recover. "Bullying, physical and emotional abuse, harassment, threats, suicide baits. They're all things I experienced for a decade because I was born quirkless. Same with you, right? Well, people hate what is different to them. You've dedicated your life to striking back against those people... when they're all dead and gone. I think I understand why you find me interesting... it's because I am a mirror to you." That brokered silence between the two. Izuku continued, "I admit, when I don't know much about something, I compile everything I know. So, I did what historians do. Research. You were one of the first. An amazing gift, and yet the world didn't appreciate it. But it does now." He breathed in, "I am probably the only quirkless boy in Japan, and yet I struggle against a world that does not care for me. It's highly likely that attitudes to quirkless won't change, as the new always dominates and defeats the old. Invasive species. Humans compared to Neanderthals. But I will still stop you from using things that shouldn't be meddled with in your screwed up motion of revenge." His speech was over, and the villain laughed, "You make a compelling point, Young Midoriya. However, with a power such as mine, am I not best fit to rule?" "No. You are just like Andrew Fisher. Your power has long since gone to your head, and even with the capability, you're not worthy of it. The things you could tell us of the past... but my answer remains. You cannot just rule through might. The era of kings is long gone." Izuku tensed. "A shame you do not see things my way." As he was about to use his air cannon quirk, when Izuku raised his gauntlet and pulled energy from him. That quirk was taken in the process. That was the power he feared from him. Why he didn't want Izuku to be here. He was a perfect counter. He could drain any number of quirks from him, and he'd never be able to get them back, because they didn't become a part of Izuku's body, but stored in the suit as energy of an unknown nature. I'll have to retreat... It was then that he noted that the boy was draining a lot more than just the one. He'd extracted 24 with precision and ease. "You know, perhaps you should give up before one of the quirks taken is the one that has kept you alive. This was a suit designed for war, and can be lethal if you don't surrender." "I won't be taken down this easily. My pride won't allow it!" He rushed out of the way, seeing that the last orb the boy extracted came from a nearby tree. So it can affect any living thing, eh? Not just quirks... that suit. I want it. "Hand it over. That suit. It's... perfect... I'll pay you anything for it." Izuku's voice became as cold as ice. "Pay me for it? You think I can be bought... Over my dead body." "That's a price I can certainly afford to make you pay!" The villain launched at him readying an attack, but Izuku was out of the way by the time he got there, looking around he found the boy up in the air, a grappling chain retracting back into the right gauntlet. Enhanced mobility in more ways than one... He noticed that a wound caused in the previous engagement was healing rapidly, and that it was already showing that it wouldn't leave a scar. It can heal me in ways quirks cannot... I need that suit. In his thoughts provoked by desperation, he failed to notice as Izuku absorbed more and more orbs from him. Siphoning strength. He only realized it when one reinforcing his ancient bones was taken away, and his arm broke when trying to attack. "Gahh! You..." Izuku was clinical with his explination, as he saw much of what he despised in the villain. AFO didn't realize it, but he was being compared to a quirkless megalomaniac. "I have taken away 76 quirks. Based on your current strength, I estimate that you don't have many left. I still want you to surrender." His voice was cold, as if he didn't really want him to. He then realized why the child was so cold. Ever since he said anything about the suit. He knows something... something that I do not. "Why do you protect the suit so much? What other secrets does it have?" Izuku had continually ripped out more and more until there was only one quirk left in his arsenal: AFO itself. He could feel himself dying. "Can you tell me, a dying man?" The silence hung in the air, for a moment, then two, before Izuku relented, "Maybe, if you tell me where Kurogiri and Shigaraki went." "They went to a place nobody knows, one whose influence whispers to time. The home of the monsters you fear in the night." Unfortunately, that riddle was easily solved, and he held fear as Izuku's eyes brightened slightly in recognition, and nodded, "Thank you." "What about my answer?" He shook his head, then raised the gauntlet of the suit. There was a device in the palm, a mirror of his own quirk, in a way. "No. I don't trust you to stay dead. And every historian knows dead men do tell tales. Now die like the sick puppy you are." He then waited as the villain's breathing went ragged and the man withered away, becoming naught but dust and bones.
