My Hero Academia: Avatar Reborn Ch12
Back with another chapter. Continuing with the USJ. As I thought, the arc was a bit longer than I initially thought so there will be another chapter with wrapping up occurring after that. Really enjoyed writing a certain scene.
Enjoy!
The Avatar has been lost for millennia after the death of Korra, with the art of bending forgotten to ancient scrolls. In an age of quirks, watch as Izuku becomes the new Avatar and brings back the art of bending in his hero academia.
Katsuki had to get back. He couldn't let the altercation with the warp villain end the way it did. Katsuki clenched his teeth. He would get him back for earlier. Small explosions danced across the palm of his hand as Katsuki scanned the ground and he grinned savagely as he spotted a target. As he approached the ground, he used an explosion to redirect his trajectory and let loose his rage at an unprepared villain he had spotted while falling. The villain didn't even have time to shout out before the powerful explosion knocked him into a wall. His last memory before falling unconscious was of some blonde kid breathing heavily with murder in his eyes.
Katsuki skidded to a stop as he took in his surroundings. From the dome above him, it was obvious that he was still in the USJ. The Earthquake zone was the most likely given the city setting he found himself situated in. However, that was based on the assumption that the Storm and Conflagration zones would have the city adapted to match the natural disasters they hoped. Fighting while an earthquake was occurring wouldn't be incredibly difficult for the boy, given that he could fly – or rather propel himself – in the air using his quirk, the experience would no doubt be annoying.
A pitiful scream draws Katsuki's attention back to the sky where he hears the kid with the traffic cone head speak for the first time. Although 'speak' was quite an exaggeration given that all he was saying was a long, drawn-out 'aaah'. Katsuki scowled at the boy's helplessness and considered whether he should intervene. However, his intervention was not needed as he spotted Tail man, who caught himself on the edge of a window using his tail and had tried catching Traffic cone head. The key word being 'tried'. Katsuki snorted as Tail man's attempt only succeeded in him slowly down the screaming boy's fall before they were both pulled down. They landed on the ground in a heap and groaned in pain as Katuski approached them.
"Pathetic!" Katsuki practically spat out. Here he was, put into a position where he could finally take on villains. Where he could finally be a hero! Katsuki had almost been convinced that Fate was smiling on him. And yet, he would be stuck babysitting some of the weakest members of his class.
"Lay off, Bakugo." Mashirao scowled back at the blonde-haired teen, though his facial expression was nowhere near as savage as Katsuki's. "He's hurt, because of YOU!" Katsuki looks back at the stocky boy who was still on all fours, panting. Katsuki hadn't noticed it before but upon a closer examination, he could see burns littered across his back. Katsuki only narrowed his eyes in response, hiding his emotions before turning back around. Koji had clearly been a victim of Katsuki's attempted attack on the warping hero. Katsuki scowled as Koji was a reminder of his failure.
He would get back at that villain for making him look like a fool.
"Watch your back." That was all that Katsuki said to Mashirao, who clenched his fists at Katsuki's apparent lack of responsibility for his earlier actions. There was a loud screech from close by that caught Mashirao off guard. He barely managed to whirl around only to spot a woman flying down on something white – was that a cloud – making her way to him. He could only stumble back, not prepared for the sudden assault and tried to raise his hands to block whatever the villain was about to do. However, it wasn't necessary as Katsuki flew in, releasing an explosion right in the villain's face. The villain could only let out a squawk before flying to the ground, unconscious. The blonde-haired teen half turned back to Mashirao, who had fallen to the ground in his scrambling. Mashirao was transfixed by his gaze, the red in the explosion user's eyes practically darkening with anger at Mashirao's clumsiness. No words were said as he shakily stood up and watched Katsuki blast off to engage with some villains who were approaching from the sky.
Katsuki blasted off into the sky where three more villains were approaching. One of the villains was hideous looking with a misshapen head and dirty, brown wings with a 20-foot wingspan. His neck was longer than normal and it was clear to Katsuki that his quirk was a transformation type of some bird, likely a vulture. Since his body was bigger than a normal person – or what counted as normal in the superhuman society – it was able to support someone else. Katsuki could see a female sitting on Vulture man though he couldn't tell what quirk she had from appearances. Finally, the last villain of the trio had a quirk that looked very similar to the villain Katsuki had just defeated as he was riding on what looked like a cloud. Maybe they were related though Katsuki didn't care much for this observation. What he did care about was the contraption in his hands that looked like some sort of gun. He grinned. Perhaps this would be more of a challenge than he had thought.
"You'll pay for that!" Cloud guy roared out. "Just because you're a kid, don't think I'm going to hold back." He aimed the gun at Katsuki.
"If you chumps think I'm intimidated, think again!" Katsuki's eyes lit up as explosions propelled him up further. "She got what she deserved. You're next!"
The cloud villain let out a snarl and opened fire. Katsuki immediately let out an explosion, propelling himself to the right as the gun fired nails straight through the spot he had just been in. "Get back here," said the cloud villain as he adjusted his aim, trying to follow the student's trajectory with his nail gun but just missing.
"Is that the best you can do?" Katsuki mocked as he dodged. Nails whizzed past him as he used the explosions from his hands to propel himself through the air. Suddenly his instincts screamed at him to change direction and he was suddenly knocked off his course. His eye twitched in annoyance. In his haste, he had forgotten Vulture man and the villain on his back. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen what had grazed him, but whatever it was, it had blown him straight into the line of the nail gun. Luckily, he had reacted quickly after his instincts had warned him and had thus recovered quickly. Nevertheless, two nails found themselves lodged deep into Katsuki's leg, drawing a strangled gasp from the boy.
"I hope you hadn't forgotten about us." Vulture man circled above Katsuki with the villain on his back peeking over the edge of the wing. Katsuki growled at the implication that they were looking down on him and blasted up towards him. A cursory glance at the Cloud villain revealed that he had stopped firing his nail gun. Perhaps he was reloading, or he was waiting for something. Whatever the case was, Katsuki knew he couldn't lose sight of him either as the Cloud villain was following him as he went up towards the vulture.
The Vulture man flapped his wings aggressively and this time, Katsuki was too close to dodge and took the full blast of the attack. He was practically knocked out of the sky as the impact from the wind of the vulture's wing flap slammed into him like a wrecking ball. As Katsuki fell, he could see the grin forming on the Cloud villain's face as he lifted his gun and aimed it straight at the teen.
Katsuki had had enough. He wouldn't let these villains make a fool of him. His blood was rushing, sweat pouring out more easily. He let out a guttural cry as he propelled himself towards the Cloud villain and into the nail barrage.
The nail gun had originally been made during the lawless times when quirks were first popping up. Their simplicity was their strength. However, once the hero association was established, the need for nail guns that could arm vigilantes was gone and thus the technology was never refined or progressed much. One major fault of the nail gun was its inaccuracy and the weapon that the Cloud villain had was clearly of shoddy quality.
With a small explosion, Katsuki adjusted his flight pattern to avoid most of the nails. The air blast by the Vulture villain coupled with his own explosion meant that he was speeding straight towards the Cloud villain who was caught off guard. "Who…who are you?!" He couldn't believe that this kid had just flown straight through the firing range. His eyes widened in fear as he saw the savage grin etched on the blonde's face, two new nails sticking straight out of his biceps, dripping blood down to the hand that was now pointed straight at the Cloud villain's face. The hand slowly lit up and the Cloud villain could only tremble in fear before the inevitable.
"DIEEEEEE!" Katsuki screamed, firing an explosion even larger than the one he had used against the warping villain. The Cloud villain was instantly knocked unconscious from the explosion as they were blasted into the ground with considerable force. There was a sickening crunch that Katsuki did not allow himself to indulge in as he immediately propelled himself back up.
The remaining two villains in the sky had been completely caught off guard by this kid suddenly attacking one of them with perhaps even more brutality than they had planned to inflict on the children here at the USJ. Their shock turned to dismay as their inattention allowed the blonde to position himself both out of the way of the Vulture man's air blasts and within range of attacking the villains.
However, they managed to get their wits together just in time as the Vulture man flapped his wings desperately to try and get some distance while the hand of the woman on top transformed into a sword which she swung haphazardly at the blonde. In the end, their actions only brought them a few more seconds as Katsuki dodged the sword swing with a well-timed explosion before rushing forward. He kicked the woman straight off the Vulture man's back and she fell to the ground, screaming.
"Get off!" The Vulture villain yelled. He tried to barrel roll and shake the persistent teen off, but Katsuki was having none of it.
Katsuki clung to the villain's neck before coming right up close and looking straight into his eye. "Maybe next time you'll think twice about being a villain." And with that, Katsuki fired an explosion to daze the villain before aiming a stronger one at the villain's wing. The villain could only screech in pain as their left wing was damaged and he lost control of his flying. Katsuki calmly jumped off before a commotion near the two classmates drew his attention.
He didn't even look back as the Vulture villain crash-landed, pleading to be saved.
Tsuyu grunted as something collided with her back as she fell. She craned her head back, trying to see what it was but frowned in confusion when there was nothing there. She then spotted the gloves clinging tightly around her. "Toru?"
There was a short "yes!" in confirmation as they fell and Tsuyu could practically feel that Toru had screwed her eyes shut, desperately clinging to Tsuyu like a lifeline.
Tsuyu raised a hand to hold onto Toru before using her tongue to swing to the ground safely. However, even once they had reached the ground, Toru didn't undo her death grip, and when there was no sign of her letting go, Tsuyu gently said, "We've reached the ground. It's ok." She patted her hands in a comforting manner as Toru slowly slid off and opened her eyes.
"Thank you, thank you, thankyou." As soon as she had let go, Toru hugged Tsuyu tightly who patted her on the back comfortingly, ignoring that the girl hugging her was practically naked.
A loud crash drew a short scream from the invisible girl as the two students tried to find the commotion. It wasn't that difficult as they spotted Fumikage. In the darkness of the zone they were in, Dark shadow had naturally increased to the size of a car. Dark shadow's claws tore through the side of the building as Fumikage tried to slow his descent. The attempt was successful, and he dropped down next to the pair of girls, none the worse for wear. "Yo, what's up?" Dark Shadow greeted the pair in a friendly manner, which Tsuyu returned by rubbing Dark Shadow's head.
Fumikage gave the sentient quirk a look before turning back to his classmates. "Where are we?" The three of them looked around. They were within a dome. Buildings stretched in all directions around them and it was dark. Thankfully, there were streetlights to illuminate the area or they wouldn't have even been able to see each other. The wind whipped around them in a frenzy, tugging harshly at their clothes while chucking rain against them with force.
"Th-th-this must b-be th-the storm z-zone." Toru's teeth chattered harshly as she spoke. Fumikage turned to her as if to say something before whipping his head away as if he had been burned. Toru cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"Here, take this." Fumikage took off his cloak before handing it to her.
Toru hesitantly took the cloak. It was a nice gesture, but she wondered why the boy had turned around and wasn't even looking at her as he handed her the cloak. A smile tugged at her lips. Did emo boy have a crush on her? She badly wanted to tease her about it, but Tsuyu's voice interrupted her thoughts. "You might want to use the cloak," she said while briefly glancing down.
Now, when she had designed her costume, she knew she would only be wearing gloves and shoes and so, when training for the U.A. entrance exam, she had done so with the same level of exposure in order to get used to being outside with practically no clothes. Therefore, she sometimes forgot that she was basically naked. While that would ordinarily not be a problem as she was invisible so no one could even tell what she looked like, in the storm zone, the rain was so heavy, the water was pouring down her body, practically framing her figure.
For anyone to see.
With a yelp, Toru swung the cloak around her while covering her areas with her hands as if someone would be able to see through the heavy cloak. "You can turn around, Tokoyami," Tsuyu said. Fumikage slowly turned back around and Toru was a bit disappointed to note that his dark feathers covered up any blush the boy might have had, Unfortunately, she did not have such an advantage and blushed heavily when she realised that Dark Shadow had not moved because he had never turned around in the first place. Tsuyu noticed her blush but decided not to comment on it, instead saying, "You should hide within one of the buildings. I expect we'll be getting some company soon."
Upon hearing those words, Toru practically ran to the nearest building. There was a flash of hesitation where she wondered whether her classmates thought her a coward for so quickly leaving them to fight while she hid. However, she quashed that feeling and continued on.
"Aren't you cold?" Tsuyu asked Fumikage who looked at her. Beneath his cloak, he simply wore black tracks combined with a plain black t-shirt.
"Dark Shadow," Fumikage said simply. The sentient quirk rose up over the bird-headed boy, shielding him from the rain which Tsuyu nodded slightly at.
Fumikage then looked questioningly at her and there was a pause before she realised that he was offering for Dark Shadow to cover both of them from the rain. "No, it's ok." The boy searched her expression to see if she was just saying that but was convinced and turned to survey the surroundings. Tsuyu loved the feeling of the rain against her. Rainy weather was her favourite.
"So, what's the plan, Tokoyami?" Fumikage turned around, surveying the surroundings. Unfortunately, the storm zone had clearly been designed to reflect the chaos and darkness of a real storm and thus he couldn't tell which way they needed to go to escape. When Fumikage didn't speak, Tsuyu decided to say her own thoughts. "We could stay in one of the buildings and wait for the teachers to come." However, even as she said it, she didn't sound convinced by that plan. With the number of villains Tsuyu had seen in the main plaza, there was no telling how long it would take for them to be found hiding in one of the buildings of the storm zone. And with no heating and villains that could soon be swarming the area, simply hiding was not a great option.
"Revelry in the dark." Tsuyu blinked at that and turned to Fumikage questioningly. However, he ignored her glance, acting as if he hadn't said anything weird, or rather anything at all.
"Perhaps we should try to find the exit and leave. Our friends might need our help." Tsuyu suggested, to which Fumikage nodded. In his mind, he was worried about villains attacking them. Class 1-A had clearly been split up because they would be easier to defeat. However, they couldn't be defeated unless villains came to attack them.
She almost missed the sound due to the roar of the wind and rain. However, Fumikage hadn't and yanked her hand as she jumped back. A villain struck the ground where she had been standing with a staff. He – or she – wore a heavy, black cloak that helped protect against the rain and also concealed their identity. Tsuyu hesitated slightly as she wasn't sure whether the 2-metre staff they wielded was the villain's quirk or simply an additional weapon.
The villain raised the staff to attack again and crouched as if going to jump forward, but Tsuyu was ready this time and used her powerful legs to leap close to the villain. The fact that the villain continued trying to use the staff made Tsuyu think that it was her quirk. While the length of the staff gave the villain great reach, once Tsuyu jumped forward, she was now far too close for the villain to use the staff effectively and his reach was now a weakness. She wrapped her tongue around him before promptly flinging him away. She hoped that the fall would be enough to knock him unconscious. She turned around, only to see that Fumikage had run further away to deal with two more villains who had approached from the opposite side of the street to her opponent. Like the previous one, these villains also wore cloaks though one of the villains' hoods had fallen off from the wind to reveal a lizard head. She frog-leaped her way to Fumikage, intent on helping him.
Fumikage watched as Tsuyu jumped forwards to deal with the staff-wielding villain. Splashes behind him caught his attention and he whirled around. Luckily, having a sentient creature proved useful as Dark Shadow was already on the case and blocked a strike from a villain that looked like a lizard. The Lizard villain's forked tongue flickered out in frustration before he grinned and jumped back. Upon jumping back, a second villain – who had been standing just behind the Lizard villain – suddenly thrust his hands to the ground. With all the rain, there was a solid two inches of water flooding the ground. The second villain pulled their hands out, now holding a chain of water and swung it towards Fumikage. The chain wrapped around Fumikage several times, squeezing tightly and trapping him in place.
"Dark Shadow," he cried out, urgently.
"You got it, boss!" Dark Shadow swung an arm straight through the chain into the ground. There was a brief moment of panic in Fumikage as he thought that the chain hadn't been broken but that thought was fleeting once the chain started to dissolve and it splashed back into the ground. The Lizard villain jumped towards the student, claws out, intent on causing some damage while Fumikage had been trapped but Dark Shadow wasn't having it. It immediately swung its other arm towards the jumping lizard, backhanding it and catching it off guard. The Lizard villain flew from the power behind the strike and smashed against the building, the force of the impact causing the villain to cough up blood.
Unfortunately, a third villain had been biding his time and with Fumikage occupied with the lizard villain, he had found his chance. The man's face was uncovered revealing a cruel smirk and sharp antlers on his head like a crown. The villain lowered the antlers on his head, aiming them at the bird-headed student and started to charge.
"Look out, Tokoyami!" Tsuyu leapt forward, fear heightening the urgency in her voice. She whipped her tongue out, wrapping it around the villain, slowing him in his tracks. However, she had underestimated the power of the villain's charge. The villain grasped the slimy appendage and with a fierce yank, Tsuyu was pulled forward, off balance. She couldn't free her tongue from the villain's fierce grasp. The villain grinned nastily at her and swung his set of antlers in her direction.
"Noooooo!" The cry that left Fumikage's mouth was guttural. He had turned around in time to see Tsuyu try to stop the villain and the sight before him made his blood boil. Unfortunately, with his attention diverted to his peer, the second villain he had been fighting saw an opportunity and proceeded to tangle the teen in chains made of water once more.
Tsuyu had managed to avoid getting completely skewered, but the gash the villain had torn into her side was still horrific. She collapsed to the ground, breathing raggedly as she held a hand to the wound. Her breath shook as she applied some pressure and her vision swam from the pain. Blood pooled out, colouring the water around her red.
"Heh. One more ought to do it." The antlered villain stalked forward with measured steps, taking delight in the misery of his prey. Enjoying the hunt. Blood dripped from the tips of his antlers. Tsuyu's blood. Unfortunately for him, in his excitement, he had forgotten about the other student. Perhaps he simply didn't think any student could pose a significant threat to him.
A deadly mistake.
Fumikage stared at Tsuyu's form, wide-eyed. He couldn't hear the wind's howling nor could he feel the watery chains that bound and squeezed him. Bodies collapsed over each other, limbs cut off and thrown around the street haphazardly. The smell of blood made him want to puke, the red permanently staining both the street and young Fumikage's mind. He looked up and saw him and let out a scream of fury. A scream that came from the depths of his soul and promised revenge.
"Fumi-" Dark Shadow tried to shake him out of his thoughts but then Dark Shadow felt it. He could feel where his master's mind had taken him and the feeling of hate flowed through their connection. Dark Shadow grew, the hatred fuelling him, energising him. The rush of power was addicting. The size of an SUV, then a school bus, then a garage. Dark Shadow grew so big that he reached the third floor of the buildings surrounding him. He let out a roar of delight. It was rare that his master gave him this much freedom. He usually was on a much tighter leash. The roar echoed throughout the storm zone, reverberating off the walls of the enclosure, creating ripples in the water that pooled on the floor.
The antler villain turned around to see an image that would be imprinted in his mind for the rest of his life. What was previously a decent-sized purple creature with yellow eyes had now grown to the size of a 3-4 bedroom house and loomed over him, its red eyes staring deep into his soul. The villain took a step backwards in fear, his quarry forgotten. His instincts told him that he had to get away.
Unfortunately for him, he had no chance.
Dark Shadow surged forward, bearing down on the villain before he could even take another step backwards. The villain shrieked out, pleading to be let go, tears streaming down his face. However, Fumikage was far too trapped in his memories to hear the villain's pitiful blubbering or control Dark Shadow.
The villain was lifted into the air in the sentient quirk's hands. The force applied all around was immense and he wasn't surprised when he heard a crack. However, it didn't stop at one and by the fifth crack, the villain was screaming in pain for it stop. Perhaps Dark Shadow heard him and decided to deliver his own sense of mercy. Whatever the reason was, the quirk squeezed tighter on his victim till he felt his fists clenched together fully.
The screams stopped.
What was left of the villain splashed onto the ground. A far larger area of water was now coloured red. An intact hand was swept away by the flow of the water, providing both evidence of the villain's existence and a clue to their identity. Blood dripped from the giant fists of Dark Shadow who rubbed the crimson liquid over his face, relishing the sense of domination that action gave him.
The third villain glanced back once the screams stopped and let out a shuddering breath, pleased that he had decided to leave when he had. As soon as the boy's quirk had grown in size, the villain had decided that he was out. They weren't getting paid enough for this and he had no intention of dying. He let go of the chains in his hand causing them to dissolve and had run as far and as fast as he could. By the time his accomplice had stopped struggling, he was already far enough away that the students wouldn't catch up to him. Not that it would matter since no one would see him again.
"Tokoyami!" Tsuyu by this point had managed to get some semblance of control over her breathing and was standing up on shaky legs. "W-what did you do?" However, Fumikage was too far away in the recesses of his mind to hear her. Even more unfortunate was that Dark Shadow had heard her.
The sentient quirk opened its gaping maw, blood dripping from its corners as the creature turned to look at Tsuyu, studying the trembling girl. It didn't recognise her and crept forward while Tsuyu stumbled back.
After all, if Dark Shadow didn't know her, then she must be an enemy to Fumikage Tokoyami.
A figure stood in a nearby alley and chuckled at the scene before him.
"Try it now, Shoji!" Minoru's voice echoed from deep within the boat and Shoji hit the ignition button. The boat rumbled as the engine spluttered for a few seconds before going silent. Shoji snorted slightly as he picked up a bunch of expletives coming from the engine room with his multiple ears. There were a series of more bangs as Minoru desperately tried to fix the boat.
Shoji, Mina and Minoru were stranded in the tsunami zone of the USJ and none of them had quirks suited for the watery terrain. Even more unfortunate was the fact that the villains had clearly known about the various zones at the USJ as almost all of the villains surrounding the water had quirks suited for such combat. Shoji had spotted several with fish-like appendages that helped them swim faster. Therefore, they had no chance of swimming to safety and their best option was to repair the boat and use it to get to shore. Even if some of the villains could keep up with the boat, once they reached the shore, the battle would be far more equal.
Therefore, Minoru set to fixing the engine while Shoji checked the helm to make sure that it was working fine. Minoru had delegated the task of defence to Mina which the pink girl would normally have not followed given it had come from Minoru. But given the circumstances which led to that allocation, Shoji knew Mina would follow through, if simply as a small gesture to apologise for her earlier comments. The boy with multiple appendages shook his head slightly at her attitude but could understand where it was from. There was no doubt that Minoru was a pathological pervert but there was a time and place for the kind of comments that Mina had made and in Shoji's experience, people were simply a product of the environment they were brought up in. That didn't excuse Minoru's actions but no one in the class had taken the time or effort to try and understand the boy. That was something that Shoji vowed to change if they got out of this.
When.
Unfortunately, the villains were getting rather antsy and after 10 minutes with basically no sign of life on the boat, several of them decided to risk climbing onto the boat. Sure, they didn't know what quirks the kids had but they were children. They were adults! They could handle these students.
The first villain peaked over the edge of the boat and seeing no one gestured to the three others who were joining him and the four of them clambered onto the boat, water noisily dripping onto the deck. The four of them crept through a door into an empty room. Or rather, what appeared to be an empty room.
Mina breathed shakily as she kept quiet behind the door. The boat wasn't very sturdy, so she had decided it was better to catch the villains off guard rather than try to defend a barricaded door, especially since she was the sole defender.
Once the four villains had all stepped into the room, Mina made her move. Using her quirk, she slid forward and lashed a kick out at the villain that looked the most dangerous. Mina spun, her leg connecting solidly with the knee of the villain with a sword for a nose. The villain screamed and dropped to the floor, his leg now bent oddly.
The other three villains turned to the aggressor, but Mina had already begun her second attack. Still spinning on the acid she had created at her feet, she flung some acid straight at another villain from her hand. However, the villain blocked the attack with an arm before leaping forward and opening his mouth impossibly wide, Rows of jagged shark teeth revealed themselves, the villain eager to take a bite. Mina managed to just twist out of the way but was off balance and ended up moving too close to another villain who lashed out, gouging into her skin with 3-inch long nails. Mina gasped in pain and grasped the offending hand and wrenched herself free.
She slid along the floor, getting some distance. Mina shakily stood up, blood dripping from her right arm from the gouges left by the Nail villain. However, she wasn't the only one injured from the first contact. The Swordfish villain tried standing up, adopting what he probably thought was a fierce expression but that looked a lot more like a grimace from the obvious pain in his knee. The Shark Teeth villain was avoiding touching his arm where there was a patch of red skin that sizzled from the acid Mina had thrown earlier and even the Nail villain had been burned by her acid when she had freed herself.
"Give it up, girlie!" The only person to not yet be injured spoke. He looked up normal, but to Mina, all that meant was that she couldn't figure his quirk out based on appearance. "We outnumber you. You're no match for us," the villain said, sneering.
Mina snorted. "Oh please, I've already burned two of you. Unless you all want to taste my acid, I suggest you leave while you have the chance." She pointed to the door behind them. However, she had put on a show of false bravado. Her arm throbbed in pain, and she was trying not to shake in fear.
The villains hesitated before the villain with the unknown quirk sneered. "Nice try." With that he swung his arm out and thick cables emerged from the tips of his fingers, catching Mina off guard. Before she knew it, her arms were tightly bound to her sides and she was being yanked forward. She immediately released strong acid to burn through the cables. She didn't know what material it was but it was stronger than she expected and she was being pulled forward with the Swordfish villain standing in the middle of her path.
Suddenly she jerked to a stop. For a second, Mina thought that her acid had managed to chew through the cables but while they were almost gone, her arms were still trapped. "Don't worry, Ashido," a voice called out from the side, smug. Mina jerked her head to see one Minoru Mineta, who had used his sticky balls to create a chain to hold her in place. She had never been so happy to see the little creep.
"Who's the pipsqueak?" asked the Swordfish villain, angry that the pink girl wasn't currently skewered.
"He's obviously another student," growled the Shark Teeth villain.
"Did you hit your head when the little girl knocked you to the ground?" The Nail villain laughed mockingly causing the Swordfish villain to turn angrily towards him.
"If you want, I'll stab you first!"
"Ooh, I'm so scared of the hobbling swordfish," retorted the Nail villain.
"Now is not the time," snapped the Cable villain but the other two ignored him.
Just when it looked like a fight was about to break out between the villains, Minoru decided it was time for these villains to get off the boat. "Well, if you are all quite done." His voice trembled, belaying his true emotions. The villains turned back to him; their faces outraged by his audacity. "Mina NOW!"
All the arguing had bought Mina plenty of time to melt the cables holding her and with the Cable villain distracted, he didn't even realise when the cables holding his prisoner went slack. From her angle, she was able to see Minoru's hand holding one of his sticky balls behind his back and got the message to wait. She slowly removed her tan waistcoat which Minoru had attached his sticky balls to earlier. She was glad they had been attached to the waistcoat instead of her bodysuit or she wouldn't have been able to move forward without breaking the deck.
When Minoru screamed her name out, they both leapt into action. Since the villains hadn't been prepared, when Mina threw more acid at them, they all stumbled back into each other and tripped, falling to the ground. However, their faces filled with dread turned to surprise when the acid splashed harmlessly across them. "What?!" They tried to get up but were even more shocked when they realised that they couldn't.
"Like my handiwork?" Minoru asked smugly. He had thrown several of his sticky balls at the villains when Mina had attacked and as the villains fell on top of each other, they all stuck together, tangled up. The villains struggled desperately to break free but couldn't overcome the adhesion the balls had. It was an exercise in futility. Now, how to dispose of them, "Shoji! We need some help with clean-up." Minoru called out.
Shoji had already made his way there after he heard the commotion and rushed into the room just seconds after Minoru called out his name. He looked around the room, quickly appraising the situation. "Are you two ok?" he asked.
Mina let out a sigh of relief. "We're ok. Thanks to Mineta," she said after a pause, giving a sincere nod to the short boy.
Minoru gave a small smile before laying out the next steps. "Ashido, help me tie up and secure the villains."
"What should I be doing?" Shoji asked.
This time Minoru's grin was larger. "There are some barrels that I want you to bring from the next room and place on the deck."
Both Shoji and Mina were confused. "Barrels?" Mina asked.
"Just some explosives to distract the rest of the villains out there while we make our escape," explained Minoru.
The three of them set to work, Mina and Minoru using rope as well as more sticky balls to properly secure the villains so they wouldn't escape while they made their way to shore while Shoji brought three barrels and placed them on the deck. Minoru took his place at the helm while Mina joined Shoji on the deck.
"On my mark," Minoru started. "3, 2, 1, NOW!" And with that, the engines roared to life as Shoji and Mina dumped the three barrels overboard, the pink-haired girl using her acid to ignite them. Three large explosions occurred, spraying water over the two students and creating a shockwave that threw the remaining villains in the sea into disarray. The water rushed back to the epicentre of the explosions, dragging the shouting villains with them. However, the boat was long gone and the three students escaped, making their way to the beach, away from the tsunami zone.
A day earlier
The figure strolled through the warehouse with measured steps. It had been a while since he had had been here and memories made their way forward. As he walked, he glanced to either side, eyeing his master's new projects and wondering how they were progressing. Several tanks were placed on either side of the central walkway with what could only be described as creatures within them. The tanks were illuminated brightly, providing the only lighting in the warehouse so far. The sound of his steps echoed throughout, punctuating the dull hum of machinery.
As he continued on, there was a new light, one not provided by one of the tanks, but rather from a large monitor. "Master," the figure said simply, kneeling.
The figure in the chair didn't bother turning around, smiling beneath the mask at the title his subordinate addressed him with. "I want you to go with Tomura tomorrow."
Dragon was surprised by his master's wishes. The plan to invade the USJ was to test the young apprentice: Tomura Shigaraki. Master had told the young boy that the goal of this mission was to kill All Might but Dragon privately thought that goal to be fake. After all, All for One wanted to be the one to defeat the latest in the long line of One for All users and the one who had given them the most trouble. Not only had All Might escaped following the death of Nana Shimura, but he had also returned as the most powerful user of One for All and had even set back All for One's plans following his defeat five years prior. "I thought Tomura did not want my presence at the USJ." Tomura desperately wanted to prove himself to his father and thus wanted to use his own strength. Dragon didn't understand why All for One wanted to assign two Gates to accompany him.
The air grew slightly chilly, alerting Dragon to his slip. All for One slowly turned around in the chair, soundlessly. "I am not asking for your opinion. You will accompany Tomura and observe how he performs. And should things not go according to plan, you will step in to ensure that all valuable assets are returned safely. Is that clear?"
As soon as his master had turned around, Dragon had bowed his head and after All for One had finished talking, Dragon simply nodded, not wanting to receive any punishment. All for One turned back around to stare at his screen, thus dismissing him.
Dragon started to walk back, thoughts whirling of the upcoming mission and the people he would meet from his old school.
Shoto assessed the opponent in front of him. Unlike the previous three villains who were no better than street thugs with quirks, the cloaked figure before him was far more dangerous. Shoto could feel a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his head. This person was a villain. Someone who had killed before and would do so again.
The villain had unleashed a truly gargantuan amount of fire in the previous attack. More than Shoto himself had ever tried to generate though he couldn't claim to have truly pushed the limits of his fire. Nevertheless, it wasn't the quantity of flames that the villain produced that really surprised Shoto, but rather the existence of such a villain. Shoto had never heard the name Dragon and was not aware of any villains in Japan that boasted firepower close to Endeavor's. It was possible that Dragon was from a foreign country, but a villain of his strength would have surely made his way to international watch lists. And even if he hadn't, Shoto knew that Endeavor would have told him of the villain's existence, if only to try and get the boy to develop his own fire. It seemed unlikely that such a villain would just pop up out of nowhere.
"I find it hard to believe that I've never heard of you," Shoto said, eyes narrowed.
Dragon seemed to stare at him for a few seconds before speaking slowly. "Perhaps you should be more concerned about your friend."
Shoto scowled at that before taking a quick glance at Momo. Having heard the villain, Momo stood back up, trying to hide the pain in her arm but winced. Shoto's instincts had saved her from the fire attack. She hadn't even sensed the villain but was suddenly yanked to the side while Shoto created an ice barrier. Nevertheless, Dragon's attack was swift enough to slightly burn her arm.
"I'm ok, Todoroki." Momo had created a small pouch within which she placed shards of broken ice from the ground. She let out a hiss of relief as the cool cloth was placed against the burnt skin.
Shoto's eyes darted back to make sure the villain didn't try anything but was surprised as he caught the villain's body stiffen. "Did she call you Todoroki?" asked Dragon. Shoto scowled slightly and almost didn't respond back but decided that he was intrigued as to why this villain was interested in the name Todoroki. Shoto gave a short nod back. "Are you Enji's son, Shoto?"
"That bastard is barely a father to me!" Shoto lashed out, barely registering that the villain in front of him had referred to the number 2 hero with such familiarity as opposed to calling him Endeavor. Momo discreetly looked at Shoto. She had been caught off guard by the viciousness of his response and looking at him now, she could see him practically grinding his teeth with a rather wild look on his face.
"Problems with your father?" Dragon taunted. "I suppose Enji did his best but the youth these days are rather rebellious."
Momo's eyes darted between the two, taking note of Shoto's growing rage. She wasn't sure why Dragon was provoking the heterochromatic but with the growing tension, she knew that they likely would come to blows. She shifted slightly so that Shoto obscured the villain's line of sight to her and discreetly activated her quirk.
"You know nothing! You have no idea what Endeavor did or what he is willing to do to achieve his goals." Shoto spat out.
"Perhaps not." The cloaked villain regarded Shoto closely. "But I expected more from the son of the number 2 hero."
Momo instantly knew that would trigger the fight. "Wait, Todoroki, we must fight together."
But Shoto chose not to listen to her and sent a fast ice attack to the villain. The ice reached its target and encased it, surprising Momo. However, she still remained tense, unconvinced that such a simple attack would thwart the villain.
"Still no fire?" Dragon stepped from behind the ice, unscathed. "I wanted to see your flames. Perhaps when facing those thugs from earlier, your ice was enough. However, even when facing an opponent who uses fire you chose to attack with ice." Shoto grit his teeth and Momo nervously looked on while using her quirk discreetly. "Any reason you could give to not use your fire is likely childish."
"Don't insult me." Shoto tensed and launched a massive wave of ice. The avalanche of ice sped towards the villain who smirked in response.
After almost 10 seconds of continuous ice production, Shoto cut it off, dropping to his knees. Producing such a massive volume of ice was exhausting for the teen and he shivered due to the accumulation of ice on his right side. The temperature of the area had plummeted, and Momo's eyes were wide from the scale of the attack. There was enough ice that the attack could've been seen from the other side of the USJ. She could practically feel the cold radiating off of the boy's body. She let out a breath she had been holding and could see the mist in the air. "Are you-"
There was a loud crash as a glow emanated from the ice. "I thought that was enough," murmured Momo while Shoto narrowed his eyes. The ice exploded out from where it was glowing as a stream of fire shot out. The villain stepped out from within the ice attack and there was a blur as the villain rushed towards the two students. Luckily, Momo had been ready for a while and with the molecular structure in her mind, produced a shield of tungsten large enough to cover most of her body. She stepped in front of Shoto and just in time as Dragon unleashed a fire blast from her mouth.
"Impressive," Dragon said as the flames crashed against the shield. Momo grit her teeth as she was pushed back slightly. "But how will you deal with this!"
Momo peaked over the shield at those words only to see Dragon sped towards her. "Todoroki!" Shoto created a shield of ice in front of Momo's tungsten shield but he wasn't quick enough so the ice hadn't become very thick. The villain drove his shoulder straight through the ice and bashed the shield sending both it and Momo flying. She yelped in pain as she landed roughly on the ground. The shield was dented heavily and spiralled away as it fell down the mountain.
"Yaoyorozu!" Shoto yelled. He growled in frustration and sent a spike of ice in Dragon's direction but the villain didn't even bother using his flames and swatted the spike with a fist, breaking it into shards. The villain used his other arm to grab Shoto's neck and lift the heterochromatic into the air.
"Pathetic." Dragon squeezed slowly and Shoto could feel his windpipe spasming, trying to draw in air and keep him alive. He tried to speak out but the only sounds he could make were that of his choking. "Even with your life and the lives of your friend in danger. How disappointing." Shoto scowled as best he could and reached up to grab the villain's hand, intending to freeze the villain but Dragon grabbed the teen's right hand. Shoto's eyes widened, and his vision began to blur. He started forming ice along his forearm, but before anything significant could form, Dragon twisted and there was an audible snap. With the restricted windpipe, barely any sound left Shoto's mouth, but the pain was evident as the muscles of his body clenched in response.
"Todoroki, close your eyes!" Momo yelled. After realising a fight was likely going to occur, she had made some smaller creations and stored them in her pouch. She clambered up from her spot on the ground to see Shoto being choked by the villain and so she flung several objects towards the pair. Shoto reacted instantly while Dragon turned around to face Momo only to be blinded by several flash bombs going off in his face. Dragon dropped Shoto as his hands leapt to his face, trying to rub out the spots in his vision. "Come on, Todoroki."
Together, Shoto and Momo ran away and once they felt they were at a safe distance Momo directed them where they hid behind one of the rock formations of the mountain. Shoto's head was beaded with sweat, the pain from his broken right arm making his vision swim. "Here," Momo handed the boy a thin piece of metal. Shoto placed it over the sleeve of his broken hand and grit his teeth as he tried to align the arm. Momo moved as if going to help but a look from Shoto stopped her. He proceeded to form ice over his forearm and the splint in order to keep it as still as possible. "We should get going."
"No," Shoto said, "I want to face him."
"Absolutely not!" Momo was aghast at his decision. Until now, she had thought the boy a rather logical individual but right now, he had clearly lost his exposure. However, she also wasn't very surprised by his choice given the instability he had shown earlier. So, while she was fearful, she wasn't unprepared. Nevertheless, she tried to convince him otherwise. "There is no way to beat him by ourselves. We need to escape and at least get the help of one of the teachers."
"How right you are." The two students stiffened as they heard Dragon's voice.
"Get back!" Shoto yelled to Momo. The two students jumped away from the rock formation they were hiding behind as Dragon shot flames from his mouth at the outcropping. The flames blackened the rocks with some melting and Momo stared at the heat produced from the villain's flames. Shoto didn't hesitate and sent another wave of ice from his foot but this time, far more controlled than earlier. However, Dragon simply leapt over the approaching ice and ran towards the teens.
Momo smiled.
Shoto was surprised when there was a sudden explosion where the villain was. Dragon was knocked to the side by a mine that he had unwittingly stepped on and Momo had no intention of giving him time to recover. She pulled out another device from her pouch and fired the net gun at the villain. "Todoroki, trap him. Give me some time." Shoto nodded and used his ice to encase the villain while Momo focused on her quirk. She had only made this structure a couple of times and given its size it would take slightly longer.
Loud sounds emanated from the ice shell. Cracks appeared in the ice before Dragon broke through the cocoon with sheer power. Shoto took a step back as the villain removed the net. 'How is this villain so physically strong?' Shoto fired more ice trying to hold the villain at bay. Dragon dodged to the side, using his speed to zig-zag towards them while dodging the attacks thrown at him by Shoto. The cloaked villain managed to close into striking distance and threw a punch at the heterochromatic. Shoto just barely managed to produce an ice barrier, but Dragon punched straight through it, sending him flying back. "How much longer, Yaoyorozu?!" Shoto asked as he fell harshly to the ground, almost biting his tongue to hold back the cry that threatened to escape his lips from having his broken arm jolted.
"It's ready!" Momo panted. She had used much of her lipids in this creation, but it was worth it. She aimed the cannon straight at Dragon. At this close range, even with enhanced speed, there was no way the villain could dodge. "Fire!"
"I commend your efforts, girl," Dragon took a deep breath in, "but it's not enough." The flame he shot out was thin and precise, burning a bright orange as it entered the barrel of the cannon, exploding it.
"Ahhhh!" Momo yelled in pain as she had been standing right next to the cannon and was thrown back by the resulting explosion, unconscious.
"It was a good try." Dragon approached the girl and stood over her.
"No!" Shoto screamed. "Get away from her." This battle had been a humiliating experience for a teen who had so far not struggled against an opponent when using his ice. But now he was worried. No, he was scared for his life and that of his classmate. But more so, he was angry at the villain that was the cause of it. Flames flickered before roaring to life on Shoto's left side.
"Ah, finally." Dragon stood between Shoto and Momo who was lying behind him.
"Take this!" Shoto shouted as he fired his flames at the villain. Dragon scowled slightly as he saw the attack. It was painfully clear that the teen had not practised much with his flames, especially compared to his ice as the attack was imprecise and not well controlled.
Dragon, instead of dodging, simply opened his mouth and swallowed all the flames. Shoto panted in exhaustion, eyes wide at having his attack eaten. Dragon let out a breath, smoke curling from the edges of his mouth. "How reckless." He seemed to absorb the energy of the flames as his muscles bulged and the villain blurred towards Shoto, faster than he had moved yet and before Shoto could react, he was knocked into the ground by a punch from the massive villain. Shoto's vision darkened as he saw the villain standing over him. As he fell unconscious, he realised that if the villain had not eaten his fire, the flames would've burnt Momo. But in the end, it didn't matter as they were both at the villain's mercy.
Part 2 of the USJ. Really enjoyed writing the Tokoyami scene. I feel like Dark Shadow is such an interesting character that isn't really expanded much on in the anime. I have some plans for Dark Shadow and his beaked compatriot.
See you next time!