Path of the Dragon: The Story of Gohan

by zzEclipse

Quirkless young Gohan is 15 Years Old when a dormant, mighty power within him awakens and sends him on a journey to discover what it means to be a hero. But to save the world and those he loves, he must shatter past his doubts and limits and go beyond - Plus Ultra! ((Major AU set in the MHA World with elements of DBZ/S))

32. The USJ Incident V - Aftermath

A/N: Man, this was supposed to be uploaded by now, but thanks to Ian, I couldn't upload until now. Thankfully, I was able to enjoy the season 6 premier of MHA and I'm so stoked! What did you all think of it? Mirko was one of my favorite parts of that episode!

I'm going to be catching up on Review Responses I'm behind on from the last two chapters at the end. Okay, enough of this A/N, let's get going!

---

Opening Song:
"Mukoku" by My First Story

THE USJ
FIRE ZONE

"Toru, this way!" Ojiro shouted, bolting through the fiery streets.

"I can't go on anymore… Ojiro," Hagakure moaned as the pair of gloves and shoes collapsed to the burning asphalt. "I'm so… dizzy!"

"Hagakure!" Ojiro sprang forward towards his friend, but Toru had already passed out. Puffs of soot and black smoke blew out in puffs from her shadowy nostrils.

Behind them, Mercenary Tao was killing Ojiro's clones left and right, slicing his hand straight through them with ease and slowly cutting the distance between them.

"I'm coming for you, little Crane," Tao mocked, jabbing a fist through another one of Ojiro's clones, who disappeared into a puff of smoke with a pained gasp.

Ojiro quickly undid the Obi that held his Crane gi together and pulled the gi off of his body. Leaning forward, he wrapped Toru's naked body with it and picked her up in his arms, darting forward into flight.

"Going somewhere?" Tao laughed, lifting a finger towards the fleeing student. "Dodon Ray!"

A narrow beam of light shot out of Tao's finger and lanced towards Ojiro, tearing into his shoulder. Mashirao screamed out in pain and fell back to the ground, twisting his body so that he hit the burning ground on his back. The smoldering embers on the ground burned into the boy, and he howled in pain.

The hour or so that he had spent in the Fire Zone was beginning to break him down. Smoke inhalation, exhaustion, and a fever he had developed made his vision blur, but Ojiro grunted, shaking his head against the pain, refusing to drop Toru. He pushed off the ground with his elbows and jumped to his feet, running as fast as he could away from the mercenary, ignoring the burns and scrapes on his back and shoulder.

Up ahead, one of his clones blasted a hole through one of the buildings in front of them and ushered the teens through.

"Keep going!" The clone shouted. "The entrance is right ahead!"

Ojiro staggered forward but held onto Hagakure, leaping through the hole as the the clone behind him was violently slashed in half by a bladed weapon.

"POP! Goes the weasel!" Twice laughed, landing in an exaggerated pose, holding a bloody razor-sharp tape measure in his hands.

That was it. That was his last clone, and Ojiro was too spent to create any more. He fell to one knee, refusing to drop Hagakure onto the burning ground below. In front of him, a great pillar landed and buried itself on the ground like a spear, and a pony-tailed figure jumped off of it, landing a few feet in front of Ojiro.

Mercenary Tao held his hands behind his back as he walked through the wall of flames in front of him, and they parted down the middle, allowing Tao to pass. He gave Ojiro a victorious smirk.

Ojiro could only stare, panting with exhaustion as the other villain, Twice, stalked him from behind, holding the razor-sharp tape measure with him.

Ojiro's world was spinning now. Even so, he still had one last ounce of fight left in him. He lifted his arm, charging a ki blast in his hand, and a razor sharp blade flew in from behind, stabbing through the back of his hand. Ojiro screamed, clutching onto his bloodied hand.

"Gotcha!" Twice said playfully. "Man! I was aiming for his head. BULLSEYE!"

Tao finally stopped a couple of feet away from Ojiro, towering over the boy with a smirk. Ojiro could barely keep his eyes open anymore, and he placed his arms protectively over Hagakure's head, panting and staring up at Tao.

"So those were the fruits of your labor, boy?" Tao asked, holding his hands behind his back.

Ojiro was too exhausted to respond anymore. His mouth fell open with deep, hollow heaves.

"Look at you," Tao taunted, "prancing about like a Hero for this society, when you're clearly still wet behind the ears. Maybe instead of leaving the Mountains, you should've stayed in school."

Tao lifted a finger, charging it with power.

"Aw, I wanted to kill one of them!" Twice whined.

Ojiro sighed, steadying his beating heart. This was the end.

He opened his eyes to stare at the glaring light forming in Tao's hand… and then a blue wave of energy washed the pair of villains away.

"KAMEHAMEHAAAA!" A mighty, older voice shouted.

Ojiro's eyes flew open in time to see a blur rush past him. The heavily muscled, bearded man at the end of the blur smiled jovially as he smashed into Twice's abdomen, hard, pinning the villain to the ground.

"We got ya, ya son of a bitch!" Master Roshi shouted, pressing the full weight of his muscle form on top of Twice's back.

Mercenary Tao recovered from the blast and twisted his body, landing on his feet in time for another figure to land in front of him, standing between Tao and Ojiro. Ojiro blinked several times and his eyes widened, unable to contain tears of joy and relief.

"Master Tien!" Ojiro said weakly.

Tien's Crane gi flapped with the hot, fiery wind as he brought his hands together in a swiveling motion, performing several gestures as he powered up his attack.

"Tienshenhan!" Tao cried desperately. "No! It can't be. What it the world just happened?"

Tien smirked as he finished his finished powering up his attack.

"I happened," Tien said, confidently and leaped high into the sky. "TRI-BEAM HAAAAA!"

Tien's attack barreled down on the Mercenary, who had no time to escape. The blast hit him straight on and buried him into the ground, capturing the villain and cratering the ground around them

"Tien," Roshi called from behind Ojiro. "Get your boy out of here. I'll handle getting these two good-for-nothings to the police force!"

"Right!" Tien called, floating back down towards Ojiro.

"Master," Ojiro said, relieved. Tears flowed down his sooty cheeks and he fell backwards, completely exhausted, only for Tien to catch him and Hagakure in his powerful arms.

"You did great, Ojiro," Tien smiled at the boy as he started to carry him out of the Fire Zone. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you so much, Master," Ojiro whispered as he rested his head back on Tien's broad arms. "The Crane and the Turtle schools… working together. I never thought I'd see the day."

"It's okay to be rivals," Tien said. "But we're heroes first."

"Yeah," Ojiro smiled, closing his eyes. "I know exactly what you mean, Master."

(…)

The fire zone had been the last of the USJ zones to get rescued. Everyone else had been ushered outside, and dozens of villains were being marched out at gunpoint, to be transferred to secure holding facilities for interrogation.

Outside, most of the students were surprised to find their parents there, accompanied by the school staff and police.

"Mochi!" Ochaco's dad called, running towards his daughter with open arms.

"Mochi?" Bakugo asked. "Who the hell is that?"

"Daddy!" Ochaco yelled, running at him and crying into his shoulder.

"Are you hurt? What happened in there?" Mister Uraraka asked, panicked.

"I'm fine, really, just some scrapes and bruises," she said, wiping her tears and showing her father the cuts on her hands. Her father pulled her into a tight hug again, and Ochaco could feel his shoulders shivering.

"Thank goodness you're alright," he said. "When the school called to tell us about the attack, we all just dropped everything and headed this way. I'm just so happy to see you didn't get hurt."

"I'm okay," Ochaco said. "Gohan kept me safe."

"Gohan?" Mister Uraraka said, holding his daughter's shoulders.

"He's my best friend," Ochaco said quickly. "When the villains attacked, he made sure to keep the stronger guys busy so that the rest of us could escape. If it weren't for him, we would all be dead long before the teachers even made it here."

"I see," Mister Uraraka said, rising to his feet and scanning the crowd of students. "Then he's my hero, too, for keeping you safe. Where is he?"

"He was in really bad shape, so they took him to a medical facility in West City."

"Hmm," Mister Uraraka said, tapping his chin with a finger. His expression finally lightened. "So he's your best friend, huh?"

Ochaco's face flushed bright red.

"Mhm…"

"Well then," her dad smiled. "I would really like to meet this amazing best friend of yours as soon as he recovers. By the way, you look so cool in that Hero Costume!"

"I know, right!" Ochaco shouted, happily. "I'm almost a real hero now!"

Her dad smiled and stared at his daughter for a long moment. A light twinkled in his eye.

"Look around you. You already are a Hero, on. Let's get that hand bandaged up so we can go home."

Ochaco took her father's hand and started walking to the nearest triage center, where wounded students and police officers were being treated.

Behind them, the paramedics were wheeling Mister Aizawa down towards a waiting ambulance, with Present Mic running beside him.

"Sir, what about our Class Rep?" Mina asked Tsukauchi, holding her hands together worriedly.

"Yeah, is Gohan going to be okay?" Melissa asked.

"He's fine, right?" Aizawa muttered, his face swollen and discolored from the brutal beating he had received from Nomu. He grasped at the detective's brown sleeve with his remaining strength. His red eyes were wide and teary, full of dread and desperation. "Tell me Son is safe, Tsukauchi."

"Son-? Ahh, you mean Gohan." Tsukauchi smiled. "Relax, he's alright. In fact, there wasn't even a scratch on his body when the medical staff checked him, but he has fallen into a sort of hibernation that Endeavor seems to be familiar with. He took him to his Palace for further treatment. Speaking of which, we need to get you in for treatment. You're in rough shape, sir."

But Aizawa's concerned look didn't ease. His jaw clenched and he laid his head back down on the pillow.

"Good," Aizawa said, closing his eyes. "I'm so glad to hear that. When I saw him lying there with his eyes glazed over and his neck broken, all I could think about was Shirakumo…"

Present Mic gulped and looked away with a sullen expression on his face.

"I thought that I had lost him, too…" Aizawa finished. "If I'd let another happy hero like him die-"

"No. That won't happen. Listen, Aizawa. That kid? He's a survivor. More than that, he's a fighter; he's truly a credit to your teaching methods," Tsukauchi smiled. "You trained him well. You trained them all well. And that's why they survived today. Now, save your strength. Principal Nezu is going to have the students continue their coursework through distance learning for the next few weeks, until we know we can safely meet again."

"Ya hear that, buddy?" Present Mic said, patting Aizawa's shoulder cheerfully. "Now you get to take all the naps ya want!"

"Can't wait," Aizawa said, dryly. The paramedics wheeled him away into an ambulance and it took off towards the main hospital in the city.

"Alright," Tsukauchi said, clicking his pen closed and slipping it into his shirt pocket, alongside his notepad. "We've accounted for everyone, so I'd say it's safe for the students to leave with their parents. We'll be escorting everyone back to the city to make sure none of the villains that got away attempt to retaliate."

In total, only Thirteen, Eraserhead and Eighteen, Gohan, Toru, Sato and Shoji had been seriously injured and required hospital attention. Tokoyami had also been taken in with one serious cut to his arm, but other than that, the remainder of the injuries were scrapes and bruises. Ojiro was injured, but since he had given his Recovery Jelly Bean to Videl earlier, he was able to take one now and avoid going to the hospital.

One by one, the students began to leave with their parents.

After getting her hand and other injuries bandaged, Ochaco's father began to lead her into a police car that would take them to her apartment in the city.

"Come on, Mochi," Ochaco's dad said, taking her hand. "Let's go home."
"Wait, daddy!" Ochaco said, pulling away from her father's hand. "Just give me a sec, 'kay?"
"Sure," Mr. Uraraka said with a shrug.

Ochaco jogged over to Melissa, Ojiro and Tsu.

"You guys!" she called, sliding to a stop in the wet grass.
"Yeah? What's up, Uraraka?" Melissa asked.
"Um…" Ochaco looked down at her costume shyly. "I'm really worried about Gohan."

"Son?" Ojiro asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why? He's with Todoroki and Yaomomo. He's in good hands."

"Yeah but I…" Ochaco sighed. "I really wanna see him. There's something I need to tell him."

Ojiro glanced up to exchange a look with Melissa.

"YESSS!" Mina pumped her fists up victoriously. "It's happening!"

"What are you talking about, Pinky?" Ojiro asked, confused.

"It's okay, I get it," Melissa said with a teasing smile. "Don't worry, I'd like to go see him, too. I'm sure Deku would, too. Well, you heard the Detective. There won't be in-person classes for the next few weeks. Why don't we all just take some rest and go see Gohan tomorrow?"

"Count me in, please," Tsu said. "My siblings will all be in class, so I'll have some free time. Plus, I'm worried about Gohan, too. He was in rough shape the last time I saw him."

"Well, if you're all planning on going then I'll go, too," Ojiro nodded with a smile. "I'm not leaving for the Northern Mountains with Master Tien for another two days."

"Ooh! That's enough time to check up on Gohan and Toru," Mina teased, biting her lower lip playfully.

"I don't know what you're insinuating," Ojiro huffed, crossing his arms and looking away with a blush.

"Okay, I'll send everyone a group text and we can head up to West City tomorrow afternoon, then," Melissa said with a thumbs up. "Try to get some rest, okay? Oh, and Ochaco?"

"Yeah?" Ochaco asked.

Melissa reached into her bag and pulled out a white-shelled device and pressed it into Ochaco's hand. The retracted green lens was cracked and Ochaco gasped, realizing what it was.

"This is Gohan's scouter!" She said.

"Yeah, I picked it up after he dropped it when he transformed into… well, anyways… You should probably hold onto it. When we see him again, you should be the one who gives it to him. It's only right."

"Okay, I will," Ochaco promised, holding the device to her chest. "I promise I'll take good care of it until then. See you all tomorrow!"

With that, the students dispersed, each leaving with their respective parent or guardian. Ochaco walked back to her dad's side and climbed into the squad car with him.

Mister Uraraka stared at his daughter through the corner of his eyes. His little girl was staring down at a broken device in her hands, thinking deeply about something.

"Is everything alright, darling?" He asked.

"Hmm?" Ochaco glanced up. She smiled, rubbing her thumb across the cracked green lens of the scouter. "Yeah. Everything's gonna be alright, daddy."

A long white limousine pulled over behind them to pick up the Satans.

"Come on, Videl," Hercule said to his daughter, wrapping his large hairy arm over her shoulder and palming her arm gently. "Let's go back to Orange Star City. Say g'bye to your b-b-b- ahem! Boyf-f-f-"

"Kirishima, dad," Videl said, annoyed. She turned and blinked at the red-haired boy one last time, with a smile. "My man's name is Kirishima. Remember it, please."

Hercule groaned like something had punched him directly in the gut, but he nodded to Kirishima and pulled Videl with him. Beside Kirishima, Videl's mother gave him an amused smile.

"He likes you, you know," Miguel said.

"You think so?" Kirishima asked, scratching his spiky red hair shyly. "How can you tell?"

Miguel laughed and her glowing blonde hair bounced off her shoulders.

"If he didn't, he would've challenged you to a fight. That's how he scared off every other suitor that followed my daughter home from school…"

"Yeah? Well, I never back down from a challenge," Kirishima responded, closing his fist.

"Oh yes, you two will get along just fine," Miguel said, spreading her white wings and taking rising up into the sky. A soft, glowing light trailed off from her pure white angelic aura. "But remember this, keep your intentions sincere and your hands to yourself. If you even think of doing anything sinful with my daughter, there will be hell to pay."

"N-No problem, Mrs S," Kirishima stammered, laughing nervously. Ah, if only she knew…

Miguel's wings flapped and she soared back towards the group of Pro Heroes that were preparing to hunt down the League. Kirishima turned to see that the other students had already left with their parents, and only one other student remained. Neither of their parents were anywhere to be found.

Bakugo handed his costume case to one of the teachers and slung his backpack over his shoulder, preparing himself to hike back to the city on foot.

"Hey, Bakugo! Wait up!" Kirishima called, running over to walk beside the blonde.

"What do you want, Dumb Hair?" Bakugo growled, slipping his hands into his pants pockets angrily, refusing to look at him.

"Hey, doesn't your mom work at Capsule Corp in West City? My place ain't too far from there. Maybe Endeavor can give us a ride."

"Waddaya mean, 'us'?" Bakugo shouted. "I'm not taking a ride with you!"

"That's an excellent idea," Tsukauchi said, turning to the Saiyan Flame Hero, who was standing nearby with his arms crossed, listening to the Pro Heroes coordinate to hunt the outlying villains.

"Endeavor," Tsukauchi called, getting Vegeta's attention. "Can you arrange a transport for these two students? One of the boy's mother works for Capsule Corp and West City is several hours by car from here…"

"Tch. Nappa!" Vegeta barked, turning to his bulky sidekick.

"Yeah?" Nappa responded.

"Take these two brats to Bulma's. I've got villains to hunt."

"What?! You're seriously going to bench your best fighter? I'm an elite warrior, not a damn baby sitter, Vegeta-"

"Are you questioning my orders, Nappa?!" Vegeta hissed, shooting him a murderous glare.

Nappa's fists unfurled and he shook his head.

"N-no. Of course not, my Lord. Whatever you think is best. Alright, come on, ya little ankle-biters," Nappa relented, motioning for Bakugo and Kirishima to follow him back towards his pod. "Personally, I'd pay good money to see Vegeta's face if he had to meet up with that blue-haired broad and her annoying little kid again… Anyway, you two brats get in the pod – and make room for me!"

"You hack!" Bakugo shouted at the top of his lungs as Nappa squeezed in beside him and Kirishima in the Saiyan pod. "How the hell are we supposed to fit in here with your bloated ass? You'd think the richest Pro Hero could afford adequate transportation!"

"Ohh, what? The brat doesn't like his free ride? I outta make you walk home, ya ungrateful maggots!" Nappa shouted back angrily, whacking the angry sandy blonde with his massive elbow and quieting him down immediately.

"We're grateful, Mister Nappa, sir!" Kirishima said with a quick, nervous laugh, holding his hands up. "We're grateful!"

With the press of a button, the hatch closed and the pod rose towards the sky and shot off towards West City.

With that, all of the students had been taken care of. With the agencies and a handful of other detectives from the Police Force now taking the lead in the hunt for the stragglers of the League of Villains, Tsukauchi headed for his own car and started the long, lonely drive back towards UA High, where All Might and Midoriya had been taking.

His mind was abuzz as he reviewed the crime scenes, activating his Quirk with one eye and focusing on the road with the other.

This move had been bold – reckless, but bold. It had come at a time when the city was still reeling from the terrorist attack in the Marketplace and the attack on the Namekian village.

Only a handful of teachers had known about Aizawa's plan to use the USJ facility tonight. So how had the League known about it, and more importantly, how had they managed to infiltrate so many villains – hundreds of them, completely bypassing every security system set in place to prevent such an attack from happening in the first place?

Unless there's someone helping them from the inside? Will have to investigate further…

Tsukauchi stepped on the gas pedal and sped off down the dark streets.

It was going to be another long, sleepless night.

---

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO – THE USJ INCIDENT V: AFTERMATH

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When Toshinori's eyes opened, he was no longer in his Muscle Form. He also wasn't laying in the streets of the next city over. He was in Recovery Girl's office, laying in a bed that was so small, his giant legs hanged over the end comically. With several blinks of his eyes, Toshinori slowly began to recollect the events that had just happened.

He had rushed in to save Class 1A from the brutal attack of the League of Villains at the USJ, and during that attack, the villains had produced a champion for him to fight. Nomu – the bioengineered Anti-Symbol of Peace.

Nomu had turned out to be Goku.

After a drawn out fight, Vegeta entered the picture and had almost killed Goku, but Toshinori had jumped in between the two at the last minute and took the blow for Goku, after which the villains recaptured Goku before All Might had a chance to save him.

Toshi glanced down at his stomach and found it bandaged tightly.

"Do yourself a favor and don't poke at it," a voice said from behind him. "Still throwing yourself in harms way for people, aren't you Toshi?"

"What the crap?!" Toshi gasped, spitting out blood. "Dave! What the hell are you doing here?"

David Shield smiled at All Might, pushing the thick-rimmed glasses further up his eyes.

"Not the kind of reunion we were expecting, huh?"

"No," Toshi laughed, and the movement sent a sharp pain up his abdomen. "Not at all."

Dave pulled a chair close to All Might's bed and sat down.

"After the police recovered your body, they brought you in secretly here and called me in. We made a makeshift healing pod with Recovery Girl's help and were able to save your life."

"We?" Toshi asked.

The clicking of high heels caught his attention and Toshi looked up to see Tights entering the room. Her white UA labcoat and short blonde hair swayed with her movement.

"Well, Dave drew out the plans," Tights said, shooting Dave a shy grin. "I did most of the heavy lifting."

"Man, this is such a blast from the past. Working together again, huh?" Toshi teased. "You two always were the smartest students in our class. Nerds."

"Yeah, wouldn't last ten seconds without us," Dave laughed.

"No I would not," Toshinori agreed and the three shared a wholesome laugh together.

"It's so good to see you both," Toshi said with a smile. "You'll be happy to know that Melissa is doing exceptionally well in her classes. She's got a long way to go, but she's got heart – and that's something you can't teach."

"I'm glad to hear it," Dave said. "She is a Shield, after all. And a Briefs. Best of both worlds, am I right? I know she'll make a great hero someday."

"I just wish we could've talked about it some more before you sent her over to be so far from home," Tights said, crossing her arms.

"What's there to talk about? This is her dream. Besides, she's really not that far from home if her mother is here, is she?" Dave replied with a strained smile, his teal eyes twitching.

"Fine, but a little warning would've been nice, instead of just dropping your daughter off at my doorstep unannounced," Tight's huffed, slowly losing the sweetness in her voice. "If I had known she'd be coming, I could've prepared a room for her to stay with me."

"Yeah, it wouldn't have been such a surprise if you actually kept in touch with our daughter," David replied in the same tone. "And last I heard, she still has a seven month lease on the apartment I got for her in Jaku, not West City. So I'm not sure which doorstep you're talking about, exactly."

"Ohhhh-kay, you two," Toshinori held his hands up, interrupting the marital spat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to start an argument between you two. I just wanted to let you know that Melissa is doing well in her classes, and is actually being responsible with her schoolwork."

"Yeah, I knew she could do it," Dave smiled, relaxing from his tense demeanor. "That girl can do anything she puts her mind to."

Tights heaved a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, that's true. You should see some of the things she created with Hatsume in just half an hour, Dave. Mel… Our girl is extremely talented. And you're right… I should… No, I will make an effort to be their for her."

"Have you talked to her yet?" Dave asked. "About the reason why we separated and you came here, I mean?"

"Not yet," Tights admitted, brushing a hand across her jawline. "I've been extremely busy, but I'll make the time… I promise. It'll be a hard pill to swallow, but she needs to hear it from me."

"Thank you," Dave smiled and looked up at his ex wife, his teal eyes shining. "It means a lot to me."

"There," Toshi nodded. "That's more like it."

"But Toshi…?" Dave said, turning to Toshinori.

"Yes?"

"There's something you should know."

Toshinori shifted in his bed, pushing himself up.

"What is it, Dave?" He asked.

David sighed.

"It's your Quirk readouts," he said. "The injuries you sustained today took a toll on them… and…"

He looked up at him with worry in his eyes.

"There's a chance that your Muscle Form has been reduced down to an hour and a half now. I know how much being a Hero means to you, what with the promise you made to your master and all, but… this is serious. Your Quirk cells are decaying much more rapidly than normal, especially in the past year. It's almost like you're running out of fumes or something."

Toshinori's jaw clenched and he closed his eyes.

"It's bound to happen eventually," he said. "All Might was meant to be a Symbol, not a person. And that symbol was meant to inspire the next generation of heroes, to bring about an era of heroism."

"But Toshi," Dave said. "If you lose your powers, who will guard the future of our society? Who would be there to carry the torch you're passing on?"

"Who?" Toshinori asked with a smile. He turned and lifted a finger, pointing out the large door to his room. There, sitting on a bench was Melissa and Izuku, waiting patiently for Melissa's parents to come out. "They are here, Dave. They're our living legacies."

"So," David said, resting his chin against a fist, staring at his daughter as Melissa talked with Izuku. A tired, hopeful smile formed over his lips. "He's the future, huh?"

"That's right," Toshinori said, craning his head towards his two students. "They both are. They proved it today."

Izuku was furiously writing something down in his Hero Analysis notebook, while Melissa giggled at something he said.

"Heh. They kinda remind me of the way we were, way back in the day," Dave laughed. Tights gave him a sad smile, but nodded.

"Dave, Tights…" Toshinori said, catching their attention. "I don't think there's ever been a group of First Years who experienced a real fight like this so early in their training. They not only survived, but they also learned what it takes to be a pro."

Toshinori lifted his head with a smile, beaming with pride.

"Those villains made a mistake attacking them," he said. "This class is strong. They're filled with courage and drive. Mark my words – they'll all become great heroes."

Toshinori, Tights and Dave stared off into the rising sun with hope and optimism for the future.

Yes, this class was strong. They were the next heroes that would take up the torch handed to them by the previous generation and continue to shine a light to this world. The League of Villains had tried to erode society's confidence in heroes, but all it had done was proven the strength and resolve of Class 1A.

David smiled and nodded to himself.

The future was in good hands.

(…)

The nightmares had returned, breaking the sleep of restful nights that Gohan had enjoyed. His dreams were fueled with images of fire and death, animalistic roars and dying screams, frightening sounds and disturbing sights of his own body distorting and disfiguring, transforming him into a nightmarish creature…

No matter how fast Gohan ran, he could not escape from the visceral glowing red eyes that pursued him tirelessly, and everywhere he turned, he could hear his voice. It was a familiar voice he had never heard before.

"Kill them, my boy," the voice cackled. "The Heroes, the Police, the Civilians… kill them all and fulfill your destiny as my successor! Rise up and tell the world what you are!"

The mighty roar of the Oozaru filled Gohan's head.

The dozen or so nurses and doctors in charge of the Rejuvenation chambers scrambled as Gohan's vitals spiked, sending the instruments into a frenzied alarm. He was semi-naked, wearing only his undergarments as he floated in the blueish-green liquid inside the chamber, lying deathly still, even as his brainwaves, power level, blood pressure and other vitals fluctuated wildly.

His breathing was erratic and heavy, sending bubbles of oxygen bursting out from under the black breathing mask connected ot his mouth.

"Brainwaves are spiking, doctor," one of the nurses called out, monitoring her screen. "Stress levels elevating fast."

"Double the zolpidem agent! Triple it, if you have to," the doctor commanded, typing furiously into the command buttons on her dashboard, glancing up occasionally at Gohan, who still wasn't waking up. "And amplify the Blutz blockers. The last thing we need is for the boy to wake up and transform into an Oozaru in the middle of West City. Prepare to resuscitate by pulse shock."

"Yes, doctor!" The nurse nodded, tapping a command into her computer. A black liquid flowed down a tube that was inserted into Gohan's new Saiyan tail. At the same time, a mechanical box at the end of the pod began to vibrate, charging up with a defibrillation shock.

"Pulse shock ready, ma'am."
"Good, be ready to engage at my signal," the doctor ordered. "We'll start low and increase by 5 percent."
"Ready doctor."
"Prime the patient."
"Patient primed."
"Shock."

The pulse of electricity flowed through Gohan's body, and it jerked quickly against the shock. Although the cerebral charts did detect brain activity, he still wouldn't wake up.

"No response."
"Again. Prime the patient."
"Patient primed."
"SHOCK!"

Nothing.

"Come on, kid," The doctor muttered, tapping her thumbs against each other nervously. "Wake up… Wake up!"

(…)

"Wake up! Hey – HEY!" The voice stirred Gohan awake. His eyes fluttered open and were immediately blinded by the warmth of the sun overhead. He blinked several times as his vision slowly adjusted to the bright outdoors. The cool breeze blew across his cheek and danced with the soft, tall blue grass on which he was laying down on, on his back. Gohan turned towards the direction of the gruff voice caught a glimpse of who was talking to him.

He was a powerfully built man with familiar spiky hair, who was sitting beside him, arms crossed, gnawing on a long grain stalk. An ugly scar ran across the man's left cheek, adding to his fierce expression. He was wearing dark blue pants, a sleeveless green tank top and had a red bandanna wrapped around his head, keeping his spiky hair up and away from his fierce dark eyes.

"Dad?" Gohan blinked.

The man scoffed and shook his head.

"Naw, you ain't my Kakarot," he said, leaning back on the grass next to Gohan. He continued to chew on the stalk nonchalantly.

"Your Kakarot?" Gohan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's right," the man said, his lips half-closed around the stalk. He shot Gohan a proud glance from the side. "Name's Bardock."

"Bardock…" Gohan repeated. "Wait! I recognize that name. Then that means that you're…"

"Yeah, say it so I can punch you in the gut, kid!" Bardock warned angrily.

"Grandpa?"

"Now you've done it. If I weren't a ghost, I'd beat some manners into you, boy!" Bardock rolled his eyes, spitting out the stalk from his mouth with a smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect," Gohan said shyly.

"Heh. Don't worry 'bout it. I like you kid. You're a chip off the old block, after all." Bardock laughed.

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked.

"You're just like I was," Bardock shrugged. "You're a survivor. Let me tell you a story, kid. When I was around your age, I was fighting a tough sonuva bitch from an ancient kingdom, called Kanassa. During the fight, he infected me with some sorta virus that altered my DNA… It didn't kill me, but I started seein' visions of how I was gonna die."

"Whoa," Gohan said, feeling a shiver crawl down his spine. "That's pretty macabre. So… you saw it coming, then?"

"Oh, I saw it comin' alright," Bardock laughed, licking the top of his teeth with a laugh. "I saw it comin' again and again and again. The bastard thought I was goin' to be paralyzed by the fear of death, but that only fueled my drive to survive again and again. They called me the Wolf of Kansai… wanna know why?"

Gohan nodded.

"Because wolves don't just lay down to die – no, they bare their fangs against fate." Bardock tilted his head and smiled at Gohan, eyes beaming with pride. "That's what you did tonight, kid. No matter how many times you got knocked down, you kept getting right back up like a true warrior. That's why, as soon as I got the chance, I gave you my Quirk."

"Your… Quirk…?" Gohan repeated.

"Isn't it exciting, kid? You're the only Saiyan hybrid with a tail now. Yeah, sure, all Saiyans with Tail genes can transform into oversized apes when they're exposed to the Full Moon's blutz waves, but you – you are something else entirely. You've got Sadalan Saiyan blood running through your veins, kid. And now you, too, can achieve the Sadalan Oozaru form."

"You mean that thing – that monster that took over my mind back at the USJ and murdered so many people?" Gohan asked. "I don't want it, Grandpa! I don't! I'm too scared of it. There's no way I can control it!"

"You're right, you can't," Bardock agreed. "Not yet. That's why I induced you into this hibernation, so that I can train you, at least mentally. Obviously, once you wake up, you'll have to put in the leg work to truly master your new powers."

"We… we can do that?" Gohan asked, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, sure can!" Bardock laughed, lifting off from the ground to stand. He stretched a hand out to help Gohan up and to his surprise, Gohan's hand closed around warm flesh, as if Bardock was physically there in front of him!

"This is a little something called Image Training. As long as you're here, I can teach you to control the Oozaru within you. If you can learn to master this Quirk and combine it with your father's Kaioken…" Bardock smirked. "Well, who knows what could happen? But if we're going to train with Oozaru and Kaioken, there's someone else who should be joining us here."

To Gohan's left, another spiky-haired Saiyan appeared. He was the spitting image of Bardock and Gohan. The wind picked up and brushed against Goku's orange and blue gi.

"Hey, son! Nice to see ya again!" Goku greeted in a happy tone, lifting his hand up in a wave. "Bardock! Am I hearing things, or did one of you mention training just now?"

Gohan looked down at his open hands. The very thought of having to transform back into that monster terrified him, but Bardock and Goku's mighty presence stilled him.

"Okay," Gohan smirked back. "I'm ready. Let's go train!"

(…)

WEST CITY, JAPAN

THE NEXT DAY…

Dende's white Capsule Corp hovercraft arrived at the footsteps of Endeavor's agency in West City, and the students slowly climbed out. Tsu, Ojiro, Izuku, Melissa, and Ochaco stared up at the enormous palace that served as the Number Two Heroe's headquarters, feeling incredibly small next to it.

"Wow, he actually lives in a castle?" Ojiro said, whistling in awe.

"That's the Lord of Saiyans for you," Melissa said, crossing her arms over her All Might T-shirt and walking in front of him towards the entrance. "Don't let it fool you. Behind the opulence and the fame lives a monster who used my aunt Bulma to satisfy his own desires, then tossed her away as soon as she got pregnant."

"I remember the scandal," Tsu added, tapping her chin with her finger. "Wasn't he also married to Shoto's mother at the time?"

"Yeah, and he had several kids with her already," Melissa huffed. "Poor Shoto. No wonder he hates Endeavor. Yaoyorozu was telling me about it. That's what drove his poor mom to the breaking point…"

"Oh, this should be fun, then," Ojiro said with a nervous grin. "A Namekian, a Crane, and the daughter of his baby mama's sister, all coming to knock on his door at the same time…"

"Don't worry, Ojiro," Ochaco said, eyes staring straight forward. "We're just here to see Gohan, that's all."

Before they even got to the door, the sound of rushing wind blew in from behind them, overhead. The students looked up in the direction of the rushing wind to see two figures flying straight towards them, wearing Saiyan battle armor.

The two figures landed in between the students and the entrance to the palace, slowing their descent and touching down. The tallest of the two figures was a bald man with a long mustache that framed his face down to his chin and a body that was solid muscle.

"Heh," Nappa scoffed at Vegeta as the doors to the palace opened. "Lookie here, Vegeta. A couple of UA shrimps came to see ya."

"What do you want?" Vegeta said, with a razor edge to his voice. "I have very important business and you're in my way."

The students glanced at each other nervously.

"W-well, we're here to see Gohan, sir," Izuku squeaked, staring down at his white T-Shirt. "If that's okay, I mean."

"Yeah, we're worried about him," Melissa added. "Your agency isn't answering my calls or giving us an update on his condition."

"Aww, isn't that thoughtful of you?" Vegeta mocked, turning away from the students dismissively. His red cape swayed behind him. "So you thought I'd open my doors to a bunch of teenagers so they could roam about aimlessly and get in my way?"

"Precisely," Dende said. "This isn't your palace, sir."

"Dende…" Ojiro warned.

"What did you just say?" Vegeta purred, freezing in his tracks.

"Heroes are paid for by our taxes. That means that you work for us! Plus, I've got some engineering expertise. Perhaps I can lend a hand and- and…"

A twisted smile filled Vegeta's scarred face as he quietly approached Dende, standing so close that he completely towered over him.

Dende gulped and quieted down.

"Oh, what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Vegeta mocked. "I've got the best Saiyan scientists in West City working for me, but the little slug-boy from that homeless shelter thinks he can add anything of value? Don't make me laugh!"

Vegeta lifted a palm and shot off a ki blast that eviscerated the mailbox that was standing beside Dende, making the namekian teen jump with surprise.

"Run home to your father, little Namekian, before I teach you some manners." Vegeta growled with a vicious scowl. "This is no place for vagabonds or inferior races!"

"We didn't come here to see you, Mister Endeavor, we came to see Gohan. And we aren't leaving without seeing him!" Ochaco growled through her teeth, shoving past Dende to stare at Vegeta indignantly. "So if you're sooo busy, just tell us where he is and get the hell out of my way!"

"Uraraka," Ojiro hissed through his teeth, nervously. "Let's not forget who we're dealing with here. This guy's got a license to kill, remember?"

But Ochaco met Vegeta's fiery gaze with her own, refusing to back down. There she was, a cute, short, brown-haired school girl with her hands on her hips staring back defiantly at the proud Lord of Saiyans, who stared down at her with his bulky arms crossed.

Izuku's glance shot between Ochaco and Vegeta nervously.

Dende glared at Vegeta, fuming from the racist remarks, but he maintained his composure.

The corner of Vegeta's lips trembled and turned up into a smile, and the Saiyan threw his head back in scornful laughter.

"HAHAHAHA!" he cackled. The students behind Ochaco and Shoto took a nervous step backwards at the Pro Hero's reaction as he continued to cackle scornfully. After a few moments, his laughter subsided and he gave Ochaco a chilling smile that sent a shiver down her spine.

"You've got guts, kid. I like that. Who knows, maybe you've got a pint of Saiyan blood in you after all," Vegeta said, crossing his arms and turning around. "Very well, then. Follow me."

The Rejuvenation Chamber was a brightly lit room that was lined with dozens of human-sized pods filled with a blue liquid. The sound of oxygen bubbles guzzling to the top of the tanks mixed with the constant beeping and buzzing of the life-saving pods.

Some of Endeavor's sidekicks that had arrived from battle were entering into the pods, only to reemerge after a few minutes, their wounds completely healed. They glanced over curiously at the tiny group of students that were following Vegeta into the chamber's entrance.

"No doubt, you can all see that my warriors only stay in the Rejuvenation Chamber for a few minutes, and then their wounds are healed." Vegeta said, leading the students around a corner towards a chamber at the very end. Gohan's half-naked body was floating in the liquid, unmoving. "But as for your little classmate…"

"Gohan!" Ochaco shouted and ran over towards his pod. The other students jogged over to join her, and Vegeta gritted his teeth in irritation. Ochaco pressed her hands around the round tank. Gohan's spiky hair floated upwards with the oxygen bubbles that escaped the black breathing apparatus that covered his face.

Ochaco turned to face Vegeta, who walked up to the group and stood with his arms folded over his chest.

"How long has it been since he's in there?" She asked. "Why's he still asleep?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you brats," Vegeta growled. "The boy's been in there ever since he arrived from the USJ. Physically, he is sound. There's not even a scratch on his body; but mentally…"

Vegeta pointed at the screen that monitored his brain activity.

"As you can see, he's not quite all there, anymore," Vegeta finished.

"Anymore?" Melissa asked, concerned. "Does that mean…?"

"That's right, you're very perceptive, aren't you?" Vegeta muttered, sarcastically. "There's nothing more that the Chamber can do for him. His injuries are healed, but his brain has not. I have the best doctors in West City working with him, but even they don't understand why he isn't waking up. Now, the only thing keeping him alive is the machines. The minute we pull the plug, that'll be the end of it."

"But… sir," Ojiro said, gulping against the growing lump in his throat. "We're not planning to do that. We're still going to give Gohan a chance to come out of this state… right?"

"The Rejuvenation Fluid is a miracle elixir that can cure almost any injury or disease, but…" Vegeta sighed. "If he remains submerged in it for more than three weeks, it will poison his organs, and he'll die a slow, painful death."

Vegeta turned his scowl towards the students.

"And make no mistake about it. He may not be awake, but he will still feel every last agonizing moment. So if he doesn't wake up in three week's time… he will be disconnected. He is a Saiyan, after all. He deserves an honorable end."

"No way," Izuku gasped, shaking his head.

"Deku…" Melissa said, sadly.

"No, there's just no way!" Izuku said, his voice rising and his green eyes narrowing. "No disrespect to you, Mister Endeavor, but you don't know who you're talking about. Gohan's the strongest student in our class, and he's got the heart of a true Hero. There's no way it can end like this… there's just… no way…"

Tears sprang to Izuku's eyes and his voice cracked. He quickly turned away from the group.

Melissa couldn't keep the tears from watering her eyes, too, and she pulled Izuku into a tight hug. The two students cried silently and Ojiro closed his eyes, breathing in slowly.

"Ribbit," Tsu croaked, sadly. "If only Koda were here… Maybe he could try talking to him telepathically…"

"Koda's across the country right now," Ojiro sighed, shaking his head. "Besides, I tried calling him, but he's not picking up."

"Hmph. Children, thinking and acting like children," Vegeta scoffed. Izuku glared up at the Flame Hero, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. Vegeta unfolded his hands and pointed a finger at Gohan.

"You see this?" He shouted at them. "This is what happens when a Saiyan is coddled and raised to fight fairly when he should be vicious! Power is for those who are willing to do what is necessary to survive. You may claim that I don't know Gohan, but I say that it is you who haven't the slightest clue about who he was. Not only did I know the little runt, I knew his father, too! He was a mighty warrior like no other – but despite all that power, all of that potential, he was cut down in battle at the ripe age of 21 because he refused to take out his opponent when he had the chance. Let this boy's death be a lesson to you all. Life is cruel. The only way it makes sense is if you grab it by the collar and FORCE IT TO MAKE SENSE!"

The students silently glared at Vegeta, unable to answer him.

"You're wrong, Mister Endeavor," Ochaco said, looking up at him defiantly. Her clear brown eyes narrowed down with determination that lit a furious fire in Vegeta's belly. He gritted his teeth in anger at the girl's audacity.

"Am I, now?" Vegeta growled. "Please, by all means, enlighten me."

"Gohan's not going to die like this. I swear it. You say you knew him since he was a little boy? Well, I've only known him for a few months, and I know the kind of person he is. He is a fighter, a survivor. I know he's going to beat this, and prove you wrong. You'll see."

Vegeta's eyes twitched.

"Alright, that's it!" He growled. "Field trip's over. Get the hell out of my palace!"

(…)

The days passed by quickly, and All Might's wounds had finally healed. The school closed down so that it could beef up its security, as it had been attacked twice now. The students had gone onto distance learning through a virtual classroom, while Pro agencies continued to help the Police Force hunt down the remaining members of the League of Villains.

Although teachers were forbidden from performing Hero Work, the Pro Hero Association agreed to make an exception for All Might. So every day after class, All Might would tie into a secure virtual conference with Tsukauchi, Krillin and a handful of other Pro Heroes that were leading the search for Nomu.

By now, the League had been splintered. Nearly all of the leadership had been apprehended, their armies and cells either captured or eliminated, and some of the remaining cells had begun to absorb one another. And there was more…

Tsukauchi revealed to the group of heroes at an in-person conference that the DNA samples that had been taken from the broken Majin Mask did, indeed, belong to Son Goku.

All Might stared down at the photograph that Tsukauchi had brought to the conference. It had been a photograph of Goku in his early teens, when he had gotten his driver's license… What a nightmare that day had been…

Goku… Toshinori thought. I will find a way to save you… I promise.

Krillin was also stunned to hear that his best friend's DNA was somehow used to bring the monstrous Nomu to life.

"We need to get this guy, Toshi," Krillin said, staring down at the photograph. "We need to get Goku back, somehow."

"We will, Krillin," Toshinori promised. "We will."

Tsukauchi approached the two heroes and placed a mug of coffee down on the table in front of them. He sat down in the chair in front of them and rested his arms on his knees, sleeves rolled up. Two large bags outlined his eyes and scruff was beginning to shadow his handsome face.

"That's why I called you both to meet me in person," Tsukauchi said. "We have a lead. One of the villains we captured in the USJ is ready to talk, but he will only talk to All Might…"

Toshinori looked up at Tsukauchi and steam began to lift up from his body. His muscle form grew and filled in the baggy clothes he was wearing.

"Take me to him," All Might said in his powerful, booming voice.

(…)

Tarturus – that's the unofficial name for the Special Prison for Villains, a much more quaint and charming name that in no way described the horrors that the imprisoned faced.

The facility was almost as old as Quirks themselves, and was shrouded in mythological notoriety as well as notoriety and controversy. Over the many, many years that it had been standing, Human rights activists and politicians had cried for the abolishment of the facility due to its severity towards its prisoners.

And yet, day in and day out, year after year, world governments would ship in supervillains that were too powerful or dangerous to be kept in local prisons. Men, women, young and old, Tarturus did not discriminate.

Out here in the island, hundreds of miles from any sort of land and accessible only by a well secured bridge, even if one were to escape the belly of the beast, there would be nowhere to run.

The wind howled like a weeping ghost, pulling on All Might's Red and White striped Silver Age costume, and his red cape flapped behind him as he exited the vehicle and followed Tsukauchi, Krillin, Sansa and the others towards the entrance of Tartarus.

High above them, dozens of security guards were walking along elevated and well lit guard towers, totting state of the art energy weapons and armor. All Might felt their gazes burning on his back, but he pushed the unnerving feeling to the back of his mind.

He had more pressing matters to worry about.

The warden of the facility was a corpulent old woman with a short white hair, silky dark skin and old, but sharp green eyes, the type of eyes that saw ghosts – haunted and faithless.

"All Might," she said, matter of factly, extending a hand to shake All Might's. For an older woman, her grip was incredibly firm. "Welcome back to Tartarus. It's been a while since I've seen you around here."

"It's really good to see you again, Warden Waller," All Might said, giving her hand a firm shake. "Sorry, my supervillain fighting days are long behind me. I'm a teacher now."

"Hear, hear," Waller said, unenthusiastically. "So few heroes our age get to say those words. But we can reminisce about the past later. Onto the task at hand. Prisoner 696 – Jin Bubaigawara, alias: Twice. We've prepared him for interrogation. Please, come this way."

Warden Waller turned and nodded at the two heavily armed guards standing at attention behind her, who turned and lead the police and heroes into the facility.

The interrogation room was a dark room, lined with seats. The prisoner being interrogated was chained on the opposite side through bulletproof glasses, attached to an electric chain that would send a soul-paralyzing burst of electricity, should the villain attempt to escape.

Twice sat on that chair, with the electric chains wrapped around his torso. A crown made of electrodes adorned his head, which would provide a fatal discharge if things got out of hand.

All Might breathed in and out, clenching his jaw.

This terrible facility and every human rights abuse that happened in here went against everything he believed in.

How could society expect its criminals to be reformed if they were treated like sub-human animals? But then again, what could society do with those who refused to be reformed?

There wasn't a right answer. Life was rarely that black and white.

The door behind them shut and lights burst to life with a vibrating hum. Twice lifted his head groggily.

Brown streaks of mud were streaming down Twice's scalp.

Twice licked his pale, dry lips.

"Alright, alright," he sighed with a mischievous smile. "You caught me. NO THEY DIDN'T!"

"You said you wanted to talk," All Might said, leaning forward and resting his giant elbows on the table. "You look like you could fall apart any minute now. So talk."

"Heh, do I? Thanks." Twice smacked his dry lips together. "It's what happens when I take a little too much damage. Guess I should have read the small print for the side effects, huh? TOO BAD I CAN'T READ!"

"You were there that night, all those years ago, weren't you?" All Might asked, his eyes narrowing. "I remember you. Your mind wasn't as… splintered, as you are now."

"No I wasn't!" Twice shouted. "I SAW THE WHOLE THING!"

"What? What did you see, Twice? Is this about Goku?"

"Go-who? B-B-BINGO!" Twice said, his body jerking against the chains sporadically. His eyes were hysterically widening and shutting, as if he was losing his mind.

"What happened to him, Twice? What really happened to Goku's body?" All Might asked, firmly.

"Did you like him, All Might?" Twice snickered. "Looked just like the real deal, didn't he? OF COURSE HE DID! WE WORKED SO HARD ON HIM!"

"You… no! It's not true! Tell me it's not true you bastard!" All Might roared.

Twice gave off a thorny, maniacal laugh as his skin began to melt into a puddle of mud.

"You know, All Might, my clones have always been top notch! BUT THEY USED TO BE MUCH MORE DURABLE," he cackled. "Much closer to the real thing, could actually take a beating for a while and still keep their form… COULD BLEED RED BLOOD, TOO!"

The villain cackled a grated, gurgling rasp as tears of mud began to leak out of the orifices of his face.

"Twice!" All Might shouted.

"...but don't worry, All Might. You may not have caught the Original Nomu, but maybe you'll have better luck catching the one that got away…"

"Stop talking in circles and answer me!"

"He's a little stronger than the Original, meaner, too. But the extra Quirks are tearin' him up from the inside."

"WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO GOKU? TELL ME – WHO THE HELL DID I BURY?!"

"If you don't hurry, he might just melt away, and you would've failed to save Goku a third time. WOULDN'T THAT BE A CRYIN' SHAME?!"

Twice's head slumped back, his laughing turning into an unsettling death rattle as his jaw melted away and dropped to the floor. The villains' body began to dissolve and liquefy.

Krillin brought a hand to his mouth and turned away from the grotesque scene.
"Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick!" He groaned.

In seconds, the villain and his clothes had all melted into a puddle of mud that pooled around the interrogation chair. It was over.

Without a word, All Might fell back in his chair, his hands curling into meaty fists.

"So that's it, then," Krillin said. "The Goku who died in Toshi's arms back then, the same Goku we buried in Mount Paozu…"

"Was one of Twice's copies," All Might finished in a hushed tone. "So it's true. Nomu really is Goku. All for One must have captured him somehow and forced Twice to make a copy of him to fool us into thinking that Goku was dead – only to hold the real Goku prisoner, and to transform him into a monster."

"And what about the other Nomu that Twice mentioned?" Krillin said, turning to Tsukauchi. "Apparently, one of the copies he made from Goku got away. There could potentially be two Nomu out there, ready to wreak havoc on society. Tsukauchi, what do you make of this?"

"This is news to me," Tsukauchi sighed, pressing two fingers against his temples. "If what Twice just revealed is true, then we're in greater danger than we first realized. Either way, there's little more we can do here. Come on, let's head back to the base. Maybe if we sift through the evidence a little more, we could find a link to-."

"Wait," All Might said, holding a large fist up. "We're not finished yet. There's one more person I need to see."

Tsukauchi and Krillin exchanged worried glances.

"W-w-wait a minute!" Krillin stammered, the corners of his mouth trembling. "Surely you don't mean- But… but he's a monster, Toshi! It's too dangerous!"

"Toshi," Tsukauchi said, placing a hand on All Might's broad shoulder and giving him a firm shake. "I understand the swell of emotions you must be feeling right now, but consider the risks. He hasn't been awakened in almost ten years. It's just too dangerous…"

"No," All Might shook his head, looking away. "I need to see him. He needs to know. He… He was family once, too."

Tsukauchi sighed, but nodded at the guards.

"Alright," he said, rubbing his tired eyes. "Take us down to Death Row."

…

Even at its impressive speed, the elevator ride had still taken almost twelve minutes to reach the final destination. The doors opened and immediately a sedentary musk filled the air, making Krillin gag.

Death Row. Twelve of the world's worst criminals were housed deep in the innermost cellblock of the entire facility, hundreds of miles below water. These criminals had not seen the light of day in years, and for some that couldn't be killed, decades or even centuries!

Such was the case of Cell #1. All Might had heard the horror stories of the creature living inside that cell, sealed away in a purplish pink, cocoon-like egg. To this date, there had been no way for authorities to destroy the ancient organism sealed within, so they simply locked him up in hopes that he would never be released.

The creature was the original, the very first super villain.

His name was Majin Buu.

All Might felt a drop of cold sweat trickle down his scalp as the tiny group passed Buu's cell, making their way around the corner and passing the cell of a newly incarcerated villain that could not be kept in General Population. The villain had pale skin and his arms were wrapped in a straight jacket.

"Flesssshhhh! Flessssh!" The villain moaned, his sharp teeth snapping behind a restrictive steel mask that covered his mouth. His body shuddered, pulling weakly against the chains that held him in place, as a blue liquid was injected into his spine through a long glass tube attached to his back. With a final quiver, the villain groaned and slumped against his restraints, succumbing to the tranquilizer's effect. "Fleshhhhh…."

Krillin looked away and rubbed the chill running down his arms.

They continued walking forward until they neared the end of the dimly lit hall and stopped at a large metallic door.

Prison Cell #9.

At the top of the entrance door was a video monitor that lit up as soon as All Might and the guards arrived. After a moment of static, the warden's face appeared on the monitor.

"All Might," Waller said. "I am well aware of your relationship with Prisoner Nine, but please bear in mind that due to being a flight risk, he has been kept in a general state of sedated somnolence until his execution date, so please refrain from giving him too many details about the outside world."

"Don't worry, Warden," All Might nodded. "I'm only here to discuss family matters. I trust that we will have privacy?"

"Of course," Waller said with a short nod. "All microphones will be muted for your privacy. We will only monitor the video feed, for safety reasons. You have ten minutes."

The monitor flickered off and there was a loud buzzing that filled the hallway. The red light on top of Cell #9 blinked from red to green and the metallic door creaked like broken, hollow bones as it opened.

The mechanical clicks sent a chill down All Might's spine. The tiny group entered the dark, cold cell and took their seats facing the several layers of bulletproof glass. The lights on the other side of the glass came on, flooding out the shadows and illuminating the muscular form of the 7 foot tall villain.

Krillin shivered and Tsukauchi swallowed against his dry throat as the villain's large, dark red eyes fluttered open. The man stirred awake and the many titanium chains that bound his limbs together rattled as the villain finally woke up.

A pair of drugged, reddened eyes opened and blinked several times, adjusting to the bright white lights surrounding him.

His eyes slowly lifted upwards and focused on All Might.

All Might drew in a long breath, held it for a moment and slowly released it, clenching his jaw.

"Toshinori," the creature said, smirking. "Well well, isn't this a nice surprise. Look how old you are. How long has it been now? Seven, maybe eight years?"

"Eight. Ever since Goku died. And look who's talking. You don't look that young yourself…" All Might allowed himself a smirk. "Raditz."

"Attention, Prisoner Nine," Waller's voice rang over the intercom. Raditz's dark red irises flicked up to the square metallic box on the corner of his cell. "Good evening. It is the 24th of April, Age 2022 – approximately 18 months until your sentenced execution date. You have ten minutes to talk with All Might, at which time you will again be sedated. Any sudden movements will also trigger sedation. Nod if you understand."

"Hmph," Raditz growled, but nodded. "Eighteen months."

He looked back down to All Might and raised his chained arms towards him.

"I don't suppose you're here to get me out, eh, Toshi?" He said with a tired cackle that rattled the chains around his body against the black prisoner uniform. "After all, you are the one who put me in here in the first place. You and Kakarot…"

"I'm sorry, Raditz," All Might responded, folding his large arms over his chest. "But you know that's not true. You're in here because of your own actions."

"My actions," Raditz repeated with a snicker. His eyes narrowed. Suddenly the villain let out a rambunctious laugh, his floor-length thick black mane shaking, smacking against his heels.

"That's right," All Might responded, annoyed by Raditz's utter indifference. "You should be out here, celebrating your nephew's accomplishments, guiding him now that his father is…"

"You honestly want a monster like me guiding Kakarot's son?" Raditz asked, mockingly. "Some quality uncle/nephew bonding time, like we're some big happy family, eh?

"You are family, Raditz. But you've certainly lost your way. You killed hundreds in your rampage across America. And don't think I've forgotten what you did to Grandpa Gohan, your wife Nao and her parents… or what you did to your daughter Hana…."

"I tried settling down and playing the part of a normal, happy, loving husband, but I… just couldn't. They were a constant reminder of my failure to achieve my true potential. I am a god among men, pretending to be something I wasn't. I realized the truth – they made me weak, Toshinori," Raditz said, his smirk dropping. "I disposed of that weakness."

"And what about young Koten?" Tsukauchi cut in, his teeth baring with rage. "Did you kill him too? His body wasn't found with the others…"

"Koten…? Nah, I didn't kill him. The brat clung onto me for days, but he was too weak and sickly to follow my footsteps, and after a while, he fell behind," Raditz hissed, turning to face Tsukauchi. "I'd tell you where to find him, if I knew, but I never looked back."

"Are you kidding me?" Krillin huffed, rubbing the side of his head. "This guy's the very definition of a monster!"

"Krillin?" Raditz asked, amused, squinting his eyes and leaning forward. He threw his head back in laughter. "Ha! It really is you! The years haven't been kind to you, have they, my little bald friend? How is that lovely wife of yours? Sure, we left her in pieces the last time she fought me and Android 13, but look on the bright side – maybe her Daddy and David Shield outfitted her with a nice big red mute button – HAHAHAHA!"

"You leave Lazuli's name outta your filthy mouth, you bastard!" Krillin shouted, balling his hand into a fist in front of him.

"Wait," Tsukauchi said, rubbing his chin. "You two know each other, Krillin?"

"Yeah," Krillin said through bared teeth. A bead of sweat rolled down the right side of his jaw. "After he butchered his family, this animal went on to join the Red Ribbon Army. On the night of the Los Angeles attack of 2008, Raditz and his Red Ribbon cronies nearly killed Lazuli and her twin brother, Lapis. Their father was able to save them through cybernetic augmentations, but she was never the same."

"Doctor Sam Gero was a brilliant engineer who had defected from the Red Ribbon Army years ago," All Might explained, turning to the two detectives. "He and his twin children sought asylum in America, where he ended up working alongside me and my sidekick at the time, David Shield. So when the Red Ribbon finally found him, they launched an attack on the entire city. Gero's daughter, Lazuli, and her brother Lapis were true heroes that day – they almost died protecting Gero, David and Tights. But in the end, Goku was able to save them from the Red Ribbon androids. But Raditz wasn't after the Doctor. He was after something else – something he had obsessed over incessantly all of his life and just couldn't let go…"

All Might lifted a fist and looked down at it. Golden sparks of electricity ran alongside his closed fingers, lighting the room with its sparkling glow. Raditz stared at the golden power with hungry, wild eyes.

"It should have been mine!" Raditz roared, extending a giant hand out and closing it over the chains. "I'm the one who deserved One for All, Toshinori, not you! But you were always Mother's favorite pet and you weren't even her son. You used her to get your hands on the power that was rightfully mine!"

"That's not true and you know it," All Might shot back. "I loved Gine. She was the mother I never had!"

"I don't care!" Raditz spat out. "I am her firstborn, not you. So why did she give it to you?"

"Because…" All Might gritted his teeth. "Because she loved you, Raditz. Master Gine knew you were too weak to handle the enormous responsibility and physical-"

"I AM NOT WEAK!"

Suddenly, the villain lurched forward at the glass window, but the bulbous chains held him back.

Tsukauchi, Krillin, Sansa and the rest of the guards took an instinctive step back, drawing their weapons and aiming them at the monster trapped within the cell. All Might's eyes narrowed, but he didn't shrink back from the villain's taunt.

"Stay back, Nine!" Waller hollered over the intercom forcefully. "Inject him – NOW!"

The two tubes that were screwed into Raditz's spine whined as the needles inside them flicked forward, burying deep into his spine. The glowing purple sedative in the vials gurgled, injecting into the large villain, who howled in pain like a wounded animal. Raditz fell to one knee, panting and sweating profusely as the sedative began to induce him back into his comatose state. The chains that bound him tightened, and Raditz fought against them with diminishing strength.

He looked up at All Might, his reddened eyes full of burning hatred.

"I'll show you, Toshinori! When I get out of this place, and make no mistake, I will get out of this place…" the villain grunted, drawing in a labored breath. His dark red, bloodshot eyes widened like a ferocious animal. "I'm going to choke the life out of Kakarot's son with my bare hands! And he'll die squealing alongside you!"

All Might lowered his head, releasing a sigh.

"I was a fool… to think that you'd ever change," he whispered, mostly to himself. After a brief moment where the only thing that filled the silence and thick tension was the labored rasps emanating from Raditz's mask, All Might opened his eyes and looked back up at the villain, his azure eyes burning with steely reassurance.

"No. You will not be hurting anyone any more. I made a promise to Master Gine a long time ago, and I intend to see that promise through. The peace we've worked so hard to achieve will not be undone. You're going to stay in here until it's time for you to face Justice. Just know that… this isn't what any of us wanted for you, Raditz. You did this to yourself. This will be the last time we're going to see each other. I'm so sorry."

All Might stood up from his chair and turned to leave, his cape swaying through the air dramatically. Tsukauchi lifted a hand at the blocky camera that was aiming down at him, waving at it with his index finger. A loud buzz filled the air and after three seconds, the titanium door opened with a clicking whir.

"I will kill you all, Toshinori! I swear it!" Raditz grunted groggily as the sedative took hold of him. Raditz collapsed to the floor, pulling weakly against his chains. "I will retake from your rotting corpse what's rightfully mine and show the world my power! Do you hear me?! That's my promise to you, Toshinori! Toshinori! TOSHINORI!"

Raditz's enraged screaming was cut off by the slamming of his cell door.

"Good-bye," All Might whispered, his gaze dropping to the floor. "Nine…"

Ending Song:

"Let Me Hear" by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

On the night that they had escaped from the USJ, Kurogiri delivered the wounded Tomura Shigaraki back to the hideout of the League of Villains.

The purple and black mist faded away as Tomura's body hit the wooden floor of Club Dark Black. The dim glow of the bar's light washed over him, and Tomura allowed his head to drop. Here, he had always felt safe. It was the only real home he had ever known. Unlike the lonely house he had grown up in as a child, here, it was always filled with likeminded individuals that didn't treat him like a weakling.

They knew better. Here, he was treated like a god among men, the way his Master had promised.

But it was different this time. The sense of security and stability brought on by the establishment was gone.

The bar had served as the headquarters for the League of Villains, and had once been bustling with the leadership of the many factions that had joined the league. But now they, too, were gone. The lights, the drunken laughter, the booming music coming from the jukebox in the corner – they were gone. GONE!

It was all gone.

Tomura groaned in pain as the mist cleared away.
The wounds he had sustained from Snipe's bullets had completely broken the bones in his right arm and both legs. A warmth crawled up from his pelvis and a couple of his ribs where he had been shot and were now broken.

Tomura rested his cheek against the floor as the mummified hand that covered his hand fell away.

He had failed. Not only had All Might survived, but the damned heroes had even managed to defeat Nomu. Why did he fail? How could he have failed? Was he still too weak? Even with the Master's training… was he still the same weakling as before?

Enraged tears filled his eyes and rolled down onto the floor and Tomura slammed his head against the floor, hard enough to break the skin. Warm blood trickled out and ran down the side of his jaw.

The swash of liquid pouring into a glass overhead caught his attention. At the bar, The Doctor, one of his master's most loyal servants, raised the glass and glanced down at Shigaraki.

"Young Tomura, is that you?" The doc asked with sarcastic amusement, taking a sip from his glass. "Why are you lying on the floor like that? Where are the others?"

"We…" Tomura sobbed. "I failed. Shot in the arm and legs… All those underlings wiped out… and even Nomu was beaten! We failed. Those kids were so strong, and the Symbol of Peace wasn't weakened at all!"

Tomura grunted as he lifted his head up with an indignant, tearful scowl directed at the shadow-covered man who was sitting in a wheelchair opposite from the doctor. The man was wearing an expensive black suit and his disfigured face was connected to various tubes and hoses that hanged from a rolling apparatus behind him. The only thing that Tomura could see underneath the life saving cybernetics was his master's warm smile.

"You were wrong, Master!" Tomura shouted, his eyes twitching with rage. "SO WRONG!"

The man in the wheelchair smiled down at Tomura, and his compassionate smile didn't waver.

"No," he said soothingly. "I wasn't. We just weren't as prepared as we should have been. If Spopovich and Yamu had done their job earlier, it would have delivered a crippling blow to the heroes, but no matter. Nomu will deal with those two, as well as the other cowards who fled from battle, after he finishes another round of reconditioning."

"Yes," The Doctor interjected, pouring himself another glass. "Although Nomu has killed tough opponents in the past, he's never faced off against someone as powerful as All Might. And I admit, perhaps I underestimated the pull his loved ones would have had on his mind, despite wearing the Mask and having Yurin there to reel in his leash. Speaking of which, where is Nomu?"

A purple warp gate opened and Kurogiri stepped out, wearing his regular bartender clothes – a white collared shirt with gray pants and matching slacks, and an elegant gray vest with striped necktie. Kurogiri's yellow eyes glowed in the dimly lit room.

"I have just transferred Nomu back to the laboratory for his reconditioning," he said. "He struggled, but I was able to get him plugged back into the stasis field before he could escape. Unfortunately…"

"Well? Speak, Kurogiri!" the Master ordered, his smile melting away along with the fatherly demeanor. "What happened?"

Kurogiri gave off a sound that sounded like a grunting, nervous sigh.

"Unfortunately, the Heroes were able to confiscate the fragments of the Majin Mask. I tried to get it back, but Endeavor was there, and I couldn't risk getting caught."

"WHAT?!" The Doctor shouted, slamming his drink on the bar and rising from his seat. His bushy chestnut brown eyebrows furrowed down over his tiny circle glasses and his thick mustache lifted back, baring the Doctor's teeth. "This is a travesty! Do you have any idea how many years it took to develop a model suitable for Nomu's brainwaves?! How much time and resources were spent just on reviving Nomu because the previous models kept killing him? Not to mention, our enemies now possess one of the only weapons in our arsenal that gave us any sort of advantage!"

All for One looked over towards the doctor and sighed. The wheelchair squeaked eerily with his movement.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped, unfortunately," he shrugged. "But the attack was not a complete failure. We gained precious intel that will certainly prove useful to our cause. Isn't that right, Vice Rep?"

The blank screen on the monitor in front of them flashed with life, revealing the face of the UA High student that had been working as a mole for the League. The boy was sitting cross-legged on the floor and he pushed his glasses up his nose with his middle finger. He scoffed at Shigaraki.

"Seriously? What kind of villain are you?" The boy mocked, shooting an irritated look across the room towards Shigaraki. "I practically handed you the heroes on a silver platter, you cretin!"

"You… you must have warned them somehow," Shigaraki hissed, pointing an accusing finger at the boy on the screen. "I should've known better than to trust you or your intel!"

"Well, if you don't want my help-"

"That's not," Shigaraki growled and looked away, irritated. "That's not what I said."

"Goodie," the Vice Rep said cheerfully. He lifted a hand to the camera, revealing a round white device with a cracked lens.

"That… That's Shorty's scouter!" Shigaraki shouted. "How did you get a hold of that?"

"C'mon, Villain, are you seriously still doubting my resourcefulness?" the boy shrugged. "The authorities brought it back to UA to see if Miss Briefs could decode it and reveal any useful information. Too bad she seems preoccupied at the moment."

"Why should I care about that old device, anyway?" Shigaraki shouted angrily, feeling an irresistible itch crawl up the back of his neck. "Don't tell me you plan on blackmailing us with it. Because if you are-""

"Not at all," the boy said, plugging the scouter to a transmitter attached to his side of the screen. "I took the liberty of wiping out all traces of the League of Villains. I did, however, find this little nugget of information that I think you might be interested in. I, for one, feel like this footage should be leaked to the entire country, but as a favor to you and a sign of my good faith, I'll give it to you."

The monitor flashed, replaying footage from the Squall Zone at the USJ. Shorty had transformed into a great ape and was pressing down both paws on top of a spiky-haired student. The itch growing in Tomura's neck spread around to the front of his throat and he clawed at it in irritation as Gohan's face came into clear focus of the Scouter's recording.

"You say that I'm a weakling because I've been holding back, but that's what makes me strong!" Gohan was shouting at the screen with his fist raised, glowing with power. "It takes discipline and courage to reign in your emotions – only the weak are controlled by them! That's what it means to walk the Path of the Dragon!"

Tomura couldn't stand it anymore, and he clawed away furiously at the itch, drawing blood. His eyes widened and his breathing became an audible growl.

"You weakling! I'm going to crush you!" Shorty roared, pressing down even harder on the student.

"I am not a weakling!" Gohan shouted. He swung his glowing, golden fist forward, unleashing the gathered storm within – the blazing head of a golden Dragon that engulfed Shorty, bathing the recording with a blinding white light.

"I'm Son Gohan! And I am the Dragon of Namek!"

"WHAAAT?! SON GOHAN?! That brat…" Tomura growled, grinding his teeth audibly. His reddened eyes widened like a vicious animal. "That brat… that BRAT! Does this mean that he's… he's my…?!"

"Ahhh! How fascinating," the doctor responded, turning to face All for One. "This proves what I've believed all along, Master. The son of Son Goku is alive. Imagine if we could exploit the Mark within him. With Goku, Gohan and Koten by your side-"

"Don't call me that! My name isn't Koten!" Tomura shouted in a monstrous voice, leaping up from the ground and slamming his hands on the bar table. The table trembled violently and grayed out, exploding into a puff of dust, dissolving right before the Doctor's very eyes. The Doctor glared back at Tomura, unaffected by the young man's taunt. "Don't you ever dare call me that again, do you hear? Or else I swear, I'll destroy every last corpulent atom in your body!"

"Calm yourself, Tomura," All for One said, soothingly. "Naturally you feel upset, but the Doctor didn't mean any harm. And he does bring up a good point. This boy, this Son Gohan, is your cousin, the son of Goku."

"Well, what are the chances of that, eh, Tomura?" The doctor chortled. "It looks like you still have some living family after all."

Tomura turned back to face the frozen image of Gohan's face, ignoring the broken bones in his body.

"Son Gohan…?" he whispered. "My living… family?"

All for One rested his chin on two fingers, leaning against the seat of his wheelchair with a smile.

"So, the boy survived after all, and now he's even stronger than before. Well, isn't that interesting? He is more like you than you know, Tomura. He, too, is alone, lost without a home or purpose, living a life outside the law. Like you, he needs someone to show him his place in this world. It's up to you to save him, and bring him home – IF, you deem him a worthy piece for your board."

Tomura slowly lowered his fingers away from his bleeding neck and his heaving shoulders slowed.

"...Gohan…" he whispered, his eyes glued onto Gohan's face.

"Take all the time you need. Start over as many times as you want. One day, you will become a Symbol of your own, Tomura. You will show the world that you are not a weakling, like your father foolishly claimed. You will show this dark, cruel society that it should fear you."

"My father…" Tomura hissed. He bent over, grunting in pain and picked up the mummified hand up off the floor. He slowly placed it in his face and looked up at All for One with tears in his eyes.

"I have a father," he said, voice trembling. "His name is Shigaraki."

---

A/N: And with that, we're one chapter away from the Season One Finale!

So many revelations in this chapter, huh? A lot of you have been asking about Raditz! Where was he? What had he been up to? Does he get a redemption Arc in this fic?

Well, now you have the answer. I plan on expanding his backstory when I write out All Might / Goku's spinoff. But just about every fic I've read ends up giving him a sort of redemption arc, and understandably so. He is a really cool character.

But I wanted to try something different this time. This time Raditz is ten times more chaotic evil than in DBZ canon. He's replacing the supervillain "Nine" from the second MHA movie, "Heroes Rising." And yes, you're absolutely right. We are definitely going there. ...cough... Season Three Final Arc ...cough…

Ahem! Anyways… speaking of switching roles, you'll notice another character that's been switched out – Utenmaru Kurumada, aka "Endeavor's Driver." I love that character so much for having a snarky attitude and a short fuse, and for being one of the few with the power to shut Bakugo up. I felt Nappa was a natural fit to replace him as Endeavor/Vegeta's right hand man. As a result, he's the one who gets a sort of redemption arc. Haven't you ever wondered what Nappa would be like if he was a hero?;)

And then, Koten, the youngest son of Raditz… now who could that be?! ko-Ten… it's actually not that clever and I'm sure you all caught on to who that was immediately hahahahaha

And finally, the jailer, Warden Waller, is a nod to Viola Davis' character with the same name in Suicide Squad – Amanda Waller. She's one of my favorite characters from that film, and I just love the way she isn't intimidated by any of the villains and considers them scum beneath her feet. Truly, an awesome villain that encapsulates the saying Bad meets Evil.

Okay, that's all I could think of for now. Thank you again to everyone who's reading and sending me your reviews and PMs. It's so much fun interacting with everyone!

Onto the Review Responses!

Azizah Putri – 1 chapter 1 . Sep 22

Kurowe : to be another member harem thotb of corse

Sorry, but that's incorrect. There is no harem in this story. This fic is strictly a GoChako pairing. In this fic, just like in real life, it's actually possible to be really close friends with someone of the opposite sex WITHOUT any romantic interest or sexual attraction.

Melissa is the "Lucius Fox" and the "Nightwing" of the Lookout, Gohan's future Hero Agency. Meaning, she creates the support items and keeps the base running with cutting edge tech, and at the same time, works with Gohan as a partner.

And by the way, she has a boyfriend, and it's definitely not Gohan.

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Hmm – chapter 31 . Sep 22

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuu, I was hoping he would get rescued early lol but I guess you can't get all the good stuff lol

Hey, Hmm! Sorry to disappoint! Don't worry, we haven't seen the last of our favorite monkey boy. He'll make a comeback soon. And like All Might said, rather than tearing him down, all that accomplished was making him even more determined to save Goku.

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kerrowe – chapter 10 . Sep 19

So for what reason is Melissa taking heroics instead of support?

kerrowe – chapter 9 . Sep 19

Isn't Melissa out of place in a hero class? She's better suited for the support classes as that's what she mainly did before!

Unless she plans on fighting with her creations or got into the whole ki and super training stuff too. I can't see her being a good fit for an actual hero class.

I combined both of these reviews, since they're both essentially the same question.

Well, as explained in Chapter 13 – Fated Rivals, Melissa wants to become a Hero so that she can achieve and live out the dream her father had when he was young, but was never capable of pursuing due to him having a career, a family, etc. Her motivations have also been hinted at in a few of the chapters, but will be front-and-center in her very own arc at the end of Season Two (I-Island Arc).

As far as her being out of place, that's part of her arc, not just in her Hero's Journey, but as a character in herself.

She's not good enough.

That's why she's Quirkless, that's why she keeps flunking her tests, unless Gohan or Midoriya is there to help carry her. She keeps losing fights, and the ultimate gut punch was her mother leaving them and later rejecting her (at least, that's what Melissa feels at the moment).

Because she's not good enough to be a Hero.

In her arc, she will come face to face with… Perfection… and she'll have to overcome her own feelings of inadequacy and prove that even though everyone counts her out, she is good enough. She'll be a Hero, too…

So no, she's not just another buxom blonde for the "harem," as another user commented.

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kerrowe – chapter 8 . Sep 18

In canon Mineta is actually pretty fantastic academically actually. Scored 9th place on the midterms.

Yeah, he's really smart and his Quirk is super useful. Unfortunately, I needed three sacrificial sheep, and he fit the bill. Sorry! But just because he didn't make it into UA doesn't mean he's no longer on the hero track. In Chapter 8 – The Day Has Come! A Stunning Revelation, it's revealed that students who score exceptionally well on their tests but don't make the cut are given recommendation letters to take the Entrance Exams in other schools.

One can imagine that such a prestigious reference letter from UA would do miracles for a scholastic career. We may yet see our perverted Grape diaper baby yet!

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kerrowe chapter 3 . Sep 18

I bet somehow someone's quirks is the dragonballs.

Though if anything happened to that person so do the balls.

Gohan has jt rough. At least he has a new dad?

Though thinking about Trunks... Vegita might be in the know too huh?

Dragon Balls… Hmm, I better not comment on this right now. But… yes, anything like that would most definitely have to be a Quirk rather than a mechanical marvel or something like that.

As for Gohan, yeah. His harsh upbringing is what motivates him to make this a better world for Goten and every other struggling family out there. Plus, he wants to motivate people to look out for one another, in a society where people would rather let the Pro's handle it – thus creating one of the main supervillains of this story.

And as for Vegeta, oh yeah, he definitely knows. He knows everything.

We'll see more of Vegeta and Gohan's relationship in the second arc of Season Two.

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JustinCase – chapter 31 . Sep 16

Mannnn! Such a bittersweet ending, with the Goku flashback. but now i want to know how the League is going to contain him without the mask. Oh yeah, Bulma and Young All Might? I can ship it!

Videl's mom taking on an angelic hero theme was nice! As a nod to her family's spiritual naming costom. I bet Ibara Shiozaki will be her biggest fan! and I want to see more of her too. And i loved the callback to mr satans pistol! Poor monster carrot.

Bakugo and Kirishima becoming closer friends was nice too. And of course Izuku and Melissa being sweet to one another was a nice throwback to Two Heroes. Gonna need that next chapter asap plz!

Yeah, lots of feels, no doubt. As for containing Goku, they have Kurogiri monitoring him in his prison, a stasis field. If he escapes, Kurogiri warps him back in there. Plus, they have spare Masks to keep him plugged.

You like Bulma x All Might? They're really close friends in the spinoff I'm outlining. It's complicated, like all of Bulma's relationships, but they never actually become a couple, especially after All Might's biggest rival enters the picture…

Ha! That comment about Ibara just gave me an idea for the Sports Fest!

Sorry it's taking a little longer than normal to update. We're one step away from the peak of the mountain after a one and a half year hike. It's exhausting, but we'll make the climb together!

Thanks for your review!

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Brandon Dupere chapter 31 . Sep 15

Merci pour ce chapitre, je l'attendais depuis un moment déjà. J'ai vraiment aimé le moment ou les héros et la police sont arrivé pour sauver la situation, surtout le passage avec un méchant qui prend peur devant Hercule au lieu de l'inverse. Par contre, le passage avec Nappa m'a vraiment fait dire WHAT... WHAT TH F*CK, je croit bien que des explications sur ce choix seront nécessaires. À part ça c'était un bon chapitre.

Ouais, le moment où Hercule sort un pistolet géant pour tirer sur Majin Buu vit dans ma tête pour toujours, et je voulais trouver une façon hilarante de l'incorporer dans la fic.

Et quant à Nappa, je voulais lui ouvrir la voie pour qu'il devienne un héros, même s'il n'est pas à cent pour cent un "bon gars". Son personnage est tellement amusant à travailler et c'est dommage que nous n'ayons pas pu le voir davantage avant qu'il ne soit tué par Vegeta dans Dragon Ball Z.

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X3runner chapter 31 . Sep 13

Man bummer feels by the end but fun fights also is vegi head going to get in trouble for collateral damage and it makes me think is he still obsessed with being hero #1

Yeah, sorry for the feels! And we'll get a little more into how society reacts to Vegeta's wanton destruction – it actually highlights one major flaw in this super hero society and how it goes a long way to create villains like Stain and Dabi. As for him being obsessed with becoming #1, oh, no doubt he is still thinking about it.

Without Goku there to rival him, it feels like Vegeta's hit a bit of a slump in his ambition as well as his power, and that leaves lots of room for growth and a redemption arc in the next Season.

Thanks for your reviews! I really appreciate reading them every chapter!

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yeosherman3 chapter 31 . Sep 12

Damn! So close to saving Goku too, Well, next time the Heroes and Villains meet, there won't be any more stealing Goku away from the Heroes' hands for the LoV.

Yeah, so close! And no doubt – this isn't the last time we'll see Nomufied Goku and best believe the Heroes are going to do their best to save him! Thanks for your reviews!

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Hmm chapter 30 . Aug 28

I can imagine this nomu having the same fit as time breaker bardock ngl

Also dang I thought Gohan actually died for a second there, good job there, also man, imagine if Goku actually managwd to come back, would be a really cool plot twist

Also still hyped for that Gohan x Fuyumi fic, now I can imagine Natsuo saying something like "wow big bro Gohan looks really nerdy now huh" (spoiler: referring to Gohan's new hair in superhero)

ngl I think the music a thousand years would fit Gohan and Fuyumi's story

also I can imagine Shoto and Shinsou(and perhaps Natsuo) teaming up to get Gohan and Fuyumi together again(this is before the arranged marriage stuff)

Absolutely, Nomu took on several top Pro Heroes and not only held his own, he pounded them into the ground! And even though he was mind controlled, he couldn't help but let some of that Son Goku personality shine from under that mask.

And yeah, Gohan's gonna get the mother of all Zenkai boosts after this one, huh? This won't be the last time we see our favorite Spiky haired Saiyan. I promise!

And for the GohanxFuyumi fic, I'm coming up with some ideas still. That's a good song that you chose. There were two songs that I listened to on loop that connected me to the story I was writing. They are "Not Today" by Imagine Dragons and "Light Years" by The Midnight. I highly recommend yougive them a listen and let me know what you think about the lyrics. I feel like they encapsulate the tone perfectly. Two broken souls making each other whole again.

And ngl I friggin hate Shinso, so I'm going to have to find a way to put my bias aside and write him as a good character! Haha It's a work in progress, but I'll get there eventually.

I've got about eight more chapters to go on "My Stepmom is a Super Hero." Once I'm done with that one, I'll write the first chapter for the Gohan x Fuyumi fic.

Tentative title is "A Love Like Winter."

COMING SOON…

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JustinCase – chapter 30 . Aug 27

Damn so Ochako finally admitted her feelings for my boy. that was so sweet, like a King Kong/Incredible Hulk moment where the love interest stops the rampaging monster and helps calm him down. Loved it.

The only thing I didn't like is how Gohan is portrayed as Royalty, since his family is considered low class. And that's a big reason why I think Bardock was so badass. Because he was low level but with a heart of a fighter! I think we need a little clarity there.

I did enjoy how the great ape stomped Nomu and the rest of the villains , though it would've been nicer to see more of him. Maybe have everyone team up to fight him in a momentary truce or something. Oh well, I loved how Koda and Tokoyami helped to stop him. The part where Tokoyami relates to Gohan since they have monsters living inside them basically, was very touching.

Looking forward to the next chapter. My guess is All Mights gonna get whooped and Krillin will arrive in time to help Goku recover his memories and stop him from killing All Might. We'll see. Update soon!

Yep, expect fireworks in the Season Finale! We've been muddled in the doom and gloom of Armageddon for so long, it's time for some fluffy romance again!

Yeah, we'll get further into the lore of Gohan's Family in the Endeavor Arc. Hint: They are known in Saiyan History (in this universe, anyway) as The Fallen Family. You'll see why in the next season.

And it was so satisfying to have Oozaru Gohan go Ape shit on the villains, pun SHAMELESSLY intended! Lmaooo

It's a nod to how Kid Gohan whooped Vegeta in the Saiyan saga of DBZ after transforming into the Ape. It's funny that you mention a truce… Next season, they're going to need all the help they can get, even from unexpected places, so stay tuned! Exciting things to come, for sure!

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yeosherman3 – chapter 30 . Aug 26

Damn, something tells me that All Might is gonna get whooped since he is in shock still about the man he knew and buried dead right in front of him, alive... somewhat, and Goku is now just a beast wrecking about en.

Oh yeah, no doubt that was Shigaraki's intention, too! But like All Might said, rather than breaking him down, all it did was give him the motivation to save Goku. It isn't over yet! And yeah, Goku without any restraint? Terrifying!

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X3runner chapter 30 . Aug 23

Seeing gohan accomplish the basic task requirements for ssj4 in this arc was cool. I really liked how ochako was a badass here. I wonder since endevor/vegita is all about legacy here would he try some royalty arranged relationship type thing here with gohan and his daughter?

I'm reworking Super Saiyan 4 into it's own Quirk because it's just so damn unique and cool looking! Kinda like a mutation-type Quirk, rather than the conventional power-up type that Super Saiyan would be labeled as, perhaps.

And I'm definitely trying to build Uraraka up to be a strong female lead, similar to how she was in Season Two and in the summer camp in Season Three, where she faced off valiantly against strong opponents. She was so cool, and I want to expand on that, rather than just make her a scared little girl, crying for help in the corner.

And well… it's awkward, since Fuyumi here is Goten's teacher. So… it'd be really weird, but I think it would be hilarious if Vegeta was still trying to marry the two and they're like… "NOOOO!" XD

Thanks for the reviews as always, X3!

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Brandon Dupere chapter 30 . Aug 22

Wouaaaah, la dinguerie cosmique quoi. Comment Gohan va faire pour revenir au lycée, pour poursuivre ses cours, après ça. Et aussi, j'avais quelque doute sur l'intérêt de cette fanficfic mais plus j'avance dans cette histoire et plus sa me captive. À chaque fois que je lis une fanfic crossover de dragon Ball z avec un autre univers, je les lis toujours jusqu'au bout pour savoir si, au finale sa va me plaire et c'est le cas de celle-ci, contrairement à une fanfic crossover mélangeant les univers de dragon Ball z et d'un autre univers avec 90% des éléments du premier film twilight. C'était nul, contrairement à cette histoire alors continuer.

Salut Brandon ! Je comprends ce que tu veux dire. Parfois, nous faisons des choix narratifs qui n'ont pas beaucoup de sens, et je sais que c'est également le cas avec cette fic ici. Il y a beaucoup de choses que j'ai silencieusement laissé mourir, par exemple, comment Gohan faisait des bruits de singe lorsqu'il communiquait avec Koda, ou comment Videl Satan a nommé ses mouvements d'après de célèbres athlètes et célébrités américains. et vous remarquerez peut-être que mes personnages n'apparaissent plus à la fin des chapitres pour prévisualiser le chapitre suivant.

Mais j'apprécie vos aimables paroles, et je veux juste que vous sachiez qu'elles me motivent à continuer à faire de mon mieux pour écrire une histoire captivante que vous apprécierez tous, malgré les nombreux changements dans le canon et les traditions établies.

Merci beaucoup pour votre avis ! Je vais lire un autre chapitre de votre histoire dès que j'aurai fini de télécharger ce chapitre.

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NacNak chapter 30 . Aug 22

This chapter? This one right here? Muah, chef's kiss, 10 out of 10.

Hi, NacNak! You have no idea how happy it made me to read this. I literally wore the biggest smile all day after seeing it. Thank you so, so much for your kind review! You all make this worth it!

Okay, that's it for Review Responses. Thank you very very much to all of you who wrote me your thoughts, even the ones that didn't necessarily like the direction of the story. I appreciate the feedback, regardless, because it shows me areas in which to improve.

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Thanks again to everyone who followed and favorited. I don't mention this enough, but thank you all so much! FFN was acting weird for a few weeks and not notifying me when someone new would follow/fav, but I keep seeing the stat climb and climb. We're so close to 200 Favs now! Thank you very very much!

Next up, the season finale!

Don't miss it!