Chapter 42
For the last ten minutes or so, an unnerving feeling had settled in the pit of Izuku's stomach. It started out like bad heartburn, a mild discomfort but manageable. He thought patrol duty would be enough to shake off whatever this was, but then it began growing, like he was standing in a room full of anxious people. It could have been nothing. He had been on the clock for well over twelve hours now and was running on virtually no sleep, restlessly pondering exactly what had been going through Alyssa Blake's head and why he had agreed to meet up with her. He shouldn't have been doing either of those things. If anything, he should've been on his way home by now. His agency was doing well, almost up to standards that All Might would have been proud of, but instead he had been stewing in this nervous energy while covering for Momozono when she left early to pick up her kids from daycare. It could have been the exhaustion or sleep deprivation, something that always made him a bit on edge when he hadn't gotten enough sleep or had one too many cups of green tea, but something in his gut was telling him he needed to be somewhere else.
The abject feelings of terror and rage he experienced had only grown more urgent with each step through the Koreria District, fluttering around in his chest like a caged songbird. Soon he was starting to spot the familiar markers of Akihabara and the bridges that went over the waterways running around it and felt his own anxiety add to the mix. There was so much noise in his head, so much fear and anger along with a whole other amalgamation of emotions. Suddenly, the anxiousness rose to a fever pitch, peaking and radiating inside him to point that he almost confused it for his own feelings. Then, all at once, the sensation was gone, as if the connection had been abruptly severed. He started running.
He should have felt relief that the strange anxiety attack had ended, but now he felt more on edge than ever. He tried to grasp onto the sensation from earlier before it slipped away, but it was gone, nothing more than a faint flicker of a candle with dying embers. He still kept running, leaps and bounds sending him over obstacles until he was about a block away from the Radio Building- then the anxiety was back, only it had morphed into a more generalized, widespread concern, not as sharp as before. He noticed a small crowd gathering in-between the buildings, clamoring amorously at whatever was going on outside. Sparks of One For All petered out as he landed on a mostly uncrowded street and went over to investigate. It was entirely possible that it was just the opening of some event in the store, but once he spotted a pro-hero in the alley, the paranoia suddenly felt validated.
"Excuse me," he apologized, politely weaving his way through the crowd before they parted after noticing the costume. "Please stay back," Izuku ordered, noticing one of the people had gotten a little too close to the scene. He noted a strange chemical smell to the air before he stopped to discover a disheveled Uwabami leaning over a body splayed out on the ground. "Uwabami?"
The part-time model's cat-like eyes darted towards him, causing her to nearly drop the item she had picked up. Her shock quickly shifted into relief. "Oh-! Deku, what are you doing here?"
Izuku paused, thrown that someone as popular as Uwabami knew who he was. "I was on patrol and saw the crowd."
"Well thank god for that. I was on my break from my Meet-n'-Greet when these villains tried jumping me in the alley. I was about to restrain them when you arrived."
"Do you need any help? Are you hurt?"
"Me? I'm fine. It'll take more than a couple of thugs to take me down," the Snake Hero followed Izuku's gaze to the blood-stained manacles. "Oh this? It's not mine. One of the thugs tried to grab me after cutting themselves." He nodded though her smile unnerved him for some reason. The feeling, while not as intense as earlier, had not dissipated, instead growing with a sharp, focused intensity. Was he feeling Uwabami's emotions? Was that what he had sensed earlier?
"Why did these guys attack you?"
She shrugged. "Money, grudge, a quick lay- since when does a man need a reason to attack a woman? Especially one as beautiful as me."
Izuku narrowed his eyes at this before inspecting the bodies on the ground. He identified two of them from the profiles he'd seen in crime reports to belong to the Crazy Zoo gang, a group of local thugs with animal Quirks that liked to stir up trouble. The gang was small-time, not dealing in anything other than petty theft and drug trafficking. Why would they want to attack a pro-hero that could detect them a mile away? Furthermore, how had Uwabami managed to take care of them on her own? These men were huge and there was no sign of any other heroes or police to back her up. Uwabami was a pro-hero, sure, but she mostly specialized in rescue and support operations. While two of her snakes contained venom and all three of them could detect body heat, her Quirk didn't have many offensive capabilities. Whoever had jumped her had done an impeccable job of it. As far as he knew, the Crazy Zoo gang didn't have anyone in their ranks that had a Quirk that could disguise body temperature, but perhaps they had enlisted a specialist to help mask their presence?
Perhaps there would be a clue here somewhere. Izuku knelt down towards the first figure, a large rhino man by the alias Kasai, observing the worn black and white gloves on his hands as he moved the rhino man's wrists. A red stain was smeared onto the side of the man's wrist. He searched for a wound but found none, his skin too thick and rough from his Quirk. He inspected the gloves closer, recognizing the worn down sights similar to his own Air-Force gloves before letting out a gasp.
"What is it? Did you find something?" asked Uwabami.
"These are Box Spring's gloves. They were stolen from the Kojimachi Hero Museum a few weeks back," Izuku explained, "What is someone from the Crazy Zoo gang doing with a priceless antique?"
"He probably thought they would fetch a good price on the black market."
"Maybe... but that doesn't explain why he's wearing them."
"Maybe someone sold them to him after they restored them?"
"I guess, but who bother with the effort of putting money into restoring a relic like that when better made products exist?" Izuku ruminated over this, recalling what Psyren had told him that fateful Sunday. 'I'm merely borrowing these items for a time. You'll get them back, save for the All Might one. I might just keep that all to myself.' Was this what Psyren meant by getting them back? Was he just going to have to find these lost items from every villain that he or some other hero fought?
Thinking he would find another clue, Izuku moved towards the next body, a rotund man that resembled an armadillo, and lowered two fingers towards his neck. Also unconscious with no visible signs of assault or support items, though his tongue was bandaged, the edge wrapped tightly in what appeared to be part of a shirt used as makeshift gauze. His hands were like armored claws, each digit curled and reaching about fifteen centimeters in length. They were liable to do some heavy damage and while there was dried traces of blood, he strangely found no cuts on them.
Something about this whole incident didn't add up. Izuku had too many questions, and the nervous feeling he had hadn't abated at all. He had to be missing something... or someone.
Izuku strode over to the third body, a small boy wearing a tattered pale hoodie with a raised collar. "Is that...?" he muttered before kneeling beside the kid, inspecting his face. Hitachi Shirogane. Izuku pressed two fingers into Hitachi's neck and found a slow thrumming heartbeat. He looked for visible signs of injuries or trauma but found none. What was he doing here? Had he been knocked out in a choke hold or had it been the work of a Quirk? Drugs were also a possibility along with having a heart condition that caused fainting, but his pulse had been at the regular resting rate.
"You know this kid?"
"Yeah, I met him and his sister awhile back. He was talking about wanting to get into the hero program."
"He sure has a funny way of showing it," Uwabami muttered.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that he tried to attack me. Shirogane was the one that held me at knife-point with this." She held out the long six inch crystal.
"What?! That can't be right. Shirogane-kun would never do something like that."
"Well, he did. He was liable to poke an eye out with those crystals of his if I hadn't intervened. Ask anyone here. They'll tell you the same thing."
Izuku contemplated this for a moment, his lip pinched thoughtfully between his fingers. He wanted to believe in Uwabami's story but he also wanted to give Hitachi the benefit of the doubt. He saw the kid's clean pale hands and then looked back at the blood on Uwabami's bracelets. When had she started wearing manacles instead of her usual wrap-around snake bracelets? Perhaps it was a new support gear or fashion piece her sponsors made her wear. Out of all the heroes Izuku knew, Uwabami had been known to have the most product placement on her. The design certainly looked familiar. "I'm going to call in some back-up. You try and keep the rest of the crowd back while I restrain the individuals."
"Good work, Izuku. I knew I could count on you."
He paused for a moment, feeling a sinister feeling in the air before pressing a finger to his ear to alert his team to his location. He then double tapped for emergency services, waiting for the dial tone. "I need a team of officers and an ambulance at the corner of 1 Chome and 15-6 Sotokanda by Akihabara Station. Potential hostiles, proceed with caution." He was about to inform them of their Quirks and the body count when he snatched the hand that had reached out to touch him and forced it back, pinning the snake woman against the alley wall.
"What are you d-?!" gasped Uwabami as she struggled against his hold.
"Who are you?" Izuku glowered, his tone like ice as he peered into those frightened yellow eyes.
"Wha... what the hell are you talking about?! I'm-!"
"No one outside my family and closest friends call me by my first name, and until today, I've never met you before," Izuku demanded, fists clenching over the blood covered manacles. "Try again! Who. Are. You."
Uwabami paused and then let out a scoff. "Great deduction skills, Sherlock... but what makes you so sure that I'm not the real Uwabami?"
"A number of reasons, mainly that the bracelets you're wearing aren't what she normally wears, not to mention that they were stolen about five weeks ago. In fact, I bet that if I ring up the support manufacturing number, I'll find Warrior Queen's maker," he explained, causing the woman's expression to falter. "Another reason being that all while I've held you here, your snakes haven't once tried to attack me, which means they're not real or you're waiting for something. But most of all, it's because of the missing person you're not talking about that attacked you and the kid on the ground. You claim to have never met him before, but you knew his name."
He held her gaze for a moment, noting the strong chemical smell from her clothing as he watched Uwabami's careful façade drop entirely from her face, replaced by an impressed expression. She let out a long, slow whistle. "Smart boy. I'll be sure to avoid such a careless mistake next time."
"There's not going to be a next time."
"Debatable."
"Where's the fourth body!? The one who's blood are on your wrists!"
"Why don't you figure it out since you're so smart, hero~ though it appears you've got bigger problems than me right now." Izuku frowned, not quite understanding what she meant. Then he saw them- the remaining civilians gathered at the edge of the alleyway, the looks and mutters of concern that passed between them behind their camera phones. The lips around the serpentine woman's pearly-white teeth pulled into a gleeful, malevolent grin. "There are certainly a lot of people here. Are you really willing to risk their lives and your reputation by attacking another pro-hero unprovoked?" she said in a honeyed voice, like she was trying to talk her way out of a ticket with looks alone.
The muscle in his jaw jumped. She was right. Image was everything to a pro and not a lot of people knew who he was, so to them, he might appear as a villain attacking their favorite pro-hero. "Back down now, and I'll be sure to let this go. I'm certain I could pull a few strings for you, maybe even raise you up a few ranks past being a D-List wannabe hero."
Whatever spell she had cast broke as Izuku glare sharpened in stark determination, his hands clenching tighter over her wrists. "It doesn't matter what happens to me as long as I stop you, Toga!"
The woman stilled for a beat and then laughed- a loud, mirthful laugh -like he had just told her the funniest joke in the world. "Toga?! You think I'm that little deranged vampire? Oh sweetie, I knew you were naïve, but I had no idea you were so short-sighted. I don't need that psychopath to do my job."
Izuku wavered, trying to digest the imposter's words, but that had been a huge mistake. Small projectiles whistled past him towards the direction of the civilians, causing him to move instinctively to protect the crowd of bystanders, but the projectiles didn't hit the civilians. Instead they aimed for the villains, syringes of green liquid embedding themselves into Arikui and Kasai's necks. Another whistle and the syringes pressed down, plunging the unknown substance into their skin.
Izuku slammed 'Uwabami' back into the wall, his hands pinning her blood-stained manacles in a vice-grip. "What did you do!?" She only smirked, watching as the rhino man picked himself up, a now empty syringe clattering to the ground. Suddenly, his armored skin appeared bigger and bulkier than before like heavy plates of armor, his muscles bulging with pulsating veins that lead all the way up to his red, blood-shot eyes.
"Oww! You're hurting me!" she yelped, feigning injury as he cuffed her with a set of handcuffs. Those blood-red eyes shot in the direction of the imposter's cry. Kasai then let out a thunderous roar, launching himself at the duo.
"HOW DARE YOU HURT UWA-CHAN!"
Already shifting gears, Izuku reached his arm out in an attempt to stop the oncoming assault. "She's not your Uwa-chan! She's-!" Izuku tried explaining, but the disguise was too good and the drug had already taken effect. Whatever cognitive functions Kasai's brain had left for reasoning had been erased with pure adrenaline pumping rage, something he suspected to be due to whatever variant of Trigger that was coursing through the villain's body. Blackwhip rushed out of Izuku's right arm to bind him, but instead of restraining the criminal, Kasai pushed back against the energy ropes, tearing them to shreds. Opting for Plan B, he ignored the pain and raised his free hand and slugged a Detroit Smash into the villain's gut, the force knocking the latter back a few paces. He grunted and then continued his charge.
It didn't do anything?! Izuku thought as he adjusted his hold on 'Uwabami.' Deciding to change tactics, Izuku leapt into the air with the fake Uwabami, leaping over the charging rhino man's shoulders as three more strands of Blackwhip grappled onto the side of the building, sending Kasai to charge into the side of the building. A large crater was left behind, but the impact seemed to do nothing more but stun him. I can't let him do another attack like that again with so many civilians around! He'll destroy the structural integrity of the building!
"GIVE HER BACK!" Kasai thrashed, lowering his head so that the horns that had grown out of it were ready to bulldoze him.
"If you want her so badly-" Izuku muttered, readjusting his hold, "-then you can have her!" With the force of forty five percent of One For All, he flung the fake Uwabami at the charging villain, causing the two figures to slam into one another. Izuku's free hand went for the next pair of handcuffs in his utility belt and clasped the second set onto Kasai's wrists before attaching them to the imposter so that neither could get away from the other. They were a stronger kind of restraints made with iron cords that grew tighter the more you pulled, a Mei Hatsume specialty. He hoped it would be enough.
Izuku was about to tighten the restraints when he felt something sinister in the air. He spun around, just narrowly missing the blow from Arikui's sharp claws aimed for his back. Seconds later, a long pink tongue lashed out at him as he flipped backwards in retreat. Rather than hit him, Arikui's sticky tongue wrapped around Izuku's leg and yanked him forwards, dragging him across the ground. He fired a quick Delaware Smash Air-Force at the pangolin man's head, stunning him before Izuku was abruptly slammed into a wall. He crumpled onto the pavement in a heap, landing on some of the trash collected outside. Rather than retaliate like his associate, Arikui skulked over towards where the other gang members were cuffed, away from the civilians. Izuku scrambled to get off of garbage heap when something sharp prodded his side as he reoriented himself. At first, he thought it had been an injury from one of Arikui's claws but it turned out to be a warped umbrella patterned with little rubber ducks. The same umbrella Izuku had stood under and saw posted on Muse-Musume's art Instagram account. Suddenly, all the blood drained from his face.
There was another body in the alley, one he hadn't noticed earlier, hidden by the trash collection pile he'd fallen into. Lying collapsed in a heap, buried beside him, was the body of Alyssa Blake. Izuku's breath stilled. It was like his heart had stopped in the moments leading up to this. He couldn't recall ever moving until he found himself crawling next to her and checking her for injuries.
"Alyssa.. Hey! Can you here me? Come on, wake up." No response. A trail of red ran down the side of her face from a cut on the crown of her hairline, her forehead sticky and wet with blood. Her glasses were gone. That was the one odd detail that surfaced while he tried to process all of this.
"Alyssa, please, you've got to wake up." She didn't move. Quickly, Izuku undid the pocket on his utility belt and pulled out some medical gauze before applying pressure to her head. All questions about what she was doing here and why all ended with the same conclusion- it was because of him. It was his fault. He pulled his hand back to see that some of the blood had bled through the gauze, leaving a crimson, black stain. His hands started to shake, the sight of her blood stained on his clean white gloves reminding him of a scene that looked all too familiar. Sudden images and memories flashed in his head.
'No... please...!'
All Might. Puddle. Bruises. Blood.
'Get up! Please get up!'
Bones. Red. Black. Numb.
'Don't die! Please don't die on me!'
Antiseptic. Blood. So much blood...
'It's all my fault!'
Sirens. Noise. BPM. Death.
'I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!'
Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to let himself fall into despair. Alyssa was still alive, which meant that he could still save her. "It's okay, you're okay... You're safe now-" he said, his voice barely above a whisper, trying to sound encouraging as he smiled through the tears, "-because I am here, and I'm going to get you to a hospital, okay? Just hang in there."
Her moan petered out into a barely audible whimper in response, causing relief to flood through him. Her breaths were shallow, but her pulse was unusually fast. Most of the bleeding had stopped, but he still kept pressure while he assessed the rest of her. Her clothes were damp, soaked in some sort of liquid solvent. He noted the clear liquid drenched the front of her hoodie while he undid the zipper, exposing the earbuds wrapped around her neck. An angry rash ran down her neck towards her chest, possibly due to whatever was on her clothes.
Then he noticed dried bits of blood stained on her palms. After that, Izuku barely paid any mind to the anteater villain freeing his accomplices with his claws or rhino man now barreling towards him. A mass of dark energy burst from Izuku's arm, shredding the sleeve of his costume and Air-Force glove as Blackwhip spilled from his right arm. Rage and pain laced through the hero as the lariats lashed out at their target like a wild animal, ensnaring Kasai around his legs before yanking him off his feet. The rhino man thrashed in the air, unable to reach the wild, energy ropes that bound his legs together as he dangled like a fish on a hook.
"Wait here for me," Izuku muttered to the unconscious girl as he pushed back the stray bits of hair, the blood now smeared from his hand. His eyes turned fierce as they glared at Kasai. "This won't take long..."
He took a step towards the dangling villain as he struggled. Taking advantage of their height difference, Izuku rotated his stance and raised his arm as Blackwhip yanked the villain down to meet his fist. "NEW YORK SMASH!" Izuku bellowed, feeling the impact as his hand met Kasai's chin. His head snapped back from the mighty blow, launching him like the finishing knock-out move in a videogame. He then turned his gaze towards 'Uwabami,' who had been freed and had been trying to sneak off.
"You're not going anywhere!" he glowered, causing the imposter to flinch under his gaze. A long pink tongue shot out to halt his pursuit. Arikui was on the offensive again, ready to take him on as he curled up into a ball and rolled at Izuku like he was a human bowling ball. He couldn't dodge and there was nothing for his Blackwhip to grab onto or throw at him. Making a snap decision, Izuku raised his foot and kicked the villain up at the base of his iron sole like a soccer ball, yelling, "WASHINGTON SMASH!" Arikui was launched straight up in the air before Izuku leapt up to follow him. "ST. LOUIS SMASH!" Izuku hit Arikui point-blank with the roundhouse kick, sending him flying directly into the escaping villainess below.
He then dropped into a three-point landing before striding towards the defeated villains. On her hands and knees, the image of Uwabami flickered out of existence for a moment like a computer glitch and instead replaced it with a glimpse of Pysren wearing a silver and navy battle suit, only they were wearing something he thought he'd never see again: All Might's support gear. But it looked different. Before it had bulk enough for All Might to be armor, but now it was more form fitting like the pieces had been moved around, even having additional plates added to the armor. It was also entirely painted black.
"Like the new upgrade? I'm told black has always been a bit more slimming on me," spoke Psyren through the scrambled voice filter. "Granted an assault riot vest is really not my style, but it sure can take a hit, especially with my improve-" They barely having time to react as Izuku rammed his fist into their gut, though the relic absorbed most of the blow.
"I don't have time for your games, Psyren!" Izuku spat, his usual heroic grin warped by a furious snarl. "That girl lying on the ground- I saw the blood on her hands! It's her blood that's on your wrists, isn't it?!"
The villain wheezed, voice straining in gasping chuckles, "I was just... trying to defend myself. She was the one... that got in the way."
"She's innocent!"
"No one is truly innocent..." Before he could respond, the plates around Psyren's arms cocked back, revealing small openings that were coated in aluminum, revealing some of Hitachi's crystals jammed inside. Psyren then punched the air, unleashing a warbling sound-wave that was magnified by the support gear. Glass shattered from the windows, shards tinkling from the sky as the sound-wave devastated the area. Izuku could hear the panicked screams behind him. While some had done the wise thing and fled, a few curious onlookers stayed to watch the fight, phones raised to capture the moment. Too many had stayed behind. He had to block.
Raising Blackwhip as a shield, he used it to cover himself while his other arm snatched Alyssa and Hitachi and tugged them behind him to escape the blowback. He could feel the shockwaves emanate through Blackwhip all the way up his arms. It was like being punched from the inside. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like if he had actually been hit. Something like that would do way more damage internally than any of his punches could.
'It might be beneficial to mid-to-long range fighters, but for a close-range fighter like me, it would quickly break and become useless.'
That was what All Might had said when he explained about the rare-might item David Shields had designed. He could see the appeal now. It may have had improvements, but it was still a bulky, decades old equipment. It could still be broken. There was still hope. He just needed to figure out how to get in close. Izuku stared at Alyssa, watching her curl up with her hands clasped over her ears, and something in his brain clicked.
Alyssa's noise cancelling headphones... Izuku leapt for the headphones dangling around her neck, shoving the mesh rubber sport tips in his ears. Psyren unleashed another punch while he countered with his Delaware Smash Air-Force. He could still feel the vibrations in the air, but now his head was clear enough to think.
I'm sorry, All Might...
He yanked the villain forward, black lariats still wrapped around his arm. They curled around him in a spiral as he delivered the final blow. "INDY SMASH!" A few tears trickled down his cheek as Izuku watched as All Might's gear shred itself apart, mourning the lost gear of his late predecessor. Then his eyes focused on Psyren and the cracked helmet that had lolled to the side. They didn't move. Their face still obscured by the black screen, though the shallow movements of their chest showed that they were still breathing. One motion and Izuku would finally uncover who they were.
A sharp cough brought him back to attention. Alyssa was now rolled over onto her side, gasping for air. "Alyssa!" Izuku was by her side in an instant, all thoughts of unmasking Psyren forgotten at the moment. He placed his hand tenderly on her back, rubbed small circles as she went through her coughing fit before calming down. Then she fell into another coughing fit, sounding like she was about to hack up a lung. Her eyes were bloodshot, her pupils blown wide before they rolled back into her head, passing out again.
"Alyssa..? Alyssa!" Something was wrong. Her chest rose and fell in small, short bursts. What was happening to her!? Was she having a seizure? Had she been exposed to someone's Quirk or was she hallucinating? There was that odor again, stronger now and it made his head spin. Quickly, he undid the clasp around his neck and held the respirator to her mouth. "Just breathe, 'lyssa. Breathe!"
"What happened..?" Izuku turned to see that Hitachi was awake. He looked fine albeit a bit disorientated. "What's wrong with her? Is she okay?"
"I don't know. The paramedics are on their way."
"Dude, you need to get her to a hospital now!"
"I can't just leave you here-!"
"Dude, just go! There's no time! I'll be fine. I'll explain when they arrive." Sirens could be heard in the distance, but they felt so far away. He wasn't supposed to leave a crime scene, let alone move someone with head trauma, but it could take forever for the police and paramedics to arrive with how crowded the streets were- it was a Saturday during rush hour -and he was the only hero on the scene.
Deciding to risk it, Izuku gave Hitachi a short nod and went to scoop Alyssa into his arms, trying to be as gentle as possible. She was the exact opposite, choosing now to snap awake before throttling and striking his chest and face multiple times before he finally managed to restrain her with Blackwhip. Despite being overused today, it didn't hurt him like before- Alyssa lacked the strength like others to break free -but it still hurt him just the same. He needed a trauma blanket. He pulled Gran Torino's scarf from his neck and added a few more layers of Blackwhip for good measure until it looked like Alyssa was wearing five layers of black clothing. Then he pulled her close and wrapped his own arms around her. "It's okay, you're okay," he whispered to her. He hated seeing her this way, but he could still do something about it. He couldn't heal her, but he could get her to people that could.
A blast of wind shot behind him as he took off towards the sky, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. If she had been conscious, she would have hated flying this high, but she had grown limp in his arms. Perhaps that was best for now...
Izuku tried activating his communicator on his ear before he remembered he still wore Alyssa's earbuds and nudged the outside of the device with his shoulder. "This is Deku! I've captured the villains! Suspects are Crazy Zoo members Kasai and Arikui, along with a villain called Psyren! Villain has sound Quirks and potential other abilities, including appearance changing! They're with one of the injured civilians awaiting an ambulance and officers on at the corner of 1 Chome and 15-6 Sotokanda by the Radio Building! I am..." Izuku broke off, suddenly feeling very woozy. Even with the fierce winds, the chemical smell on Alyssa was stronger now with his face so close, and he had no spare respirator to filter out the sedative. His eyes suddenly felt very heavy. If he could just rest for a moment... NO!
Izuku activated Burst, giving him an extra jolt to stay awake. "-I am currently inbound for a hospital with the other! She has blunt force trauma to the head and is unconscious! Do you copy!?"
He heard a whisper of radio static in his ear before he heard Kira-Kira's voice, "Read you loud and clear, Deku. A team at Reibankurofuto Hospital has just been alerted for your arrival. Just look for the big 'H.'"
"Thanks!" Everything appeared to be moving in slow motion, but Izuku still felt like he wasn't moving fast enough. "Hang in there, Alyssa! Please! Just a little bit longer!" he pleaded, adding another burst of speed with his Quirk. Burst was starting to work into overtime now, exhaustion creeping at the edge of his power. He had to be close to ten seconds now. No! Not yet!
Then he spotted the helipad on the roof- the big 'H' -and flew towards the hospital building. He tried not to jostle Alyssa too much as he landed with a THUD, scaring some poor EMT half to death from his dramatic entrance. "SOMEONE HELP HER! PLEASE!" he shouted, unsure if he was speaking at a normal decibel. The wind was so loud and his ears were still ringing. Blackwhip receded from his arms as Izuku gently placed Alyssa down on the gurney the staff rolled over to them, suddenly feeling more drained than he had ever been as the last bits of Burst petered out. "Please help... her..." Izuku slumped against the ambulance, watching as the EMTs strapped her to the gurney before his vision blurred.
"Sir, are you alright?!"
Izuku waved away the EMTs, muttering, "help her" over and over while he caught his second wind. Thirty seconds. That was how long Burst had been activated. He would cry out with joy if he could, try and analyze what had changed, but right now his highest priority was to make sure Alyssa was okay.
The hero's shoulders sagged with relief as he watched the hospital staff cart Alyssa past the ER double doors. Then he leapt back into the sky. He still had one more job left to do.
Author's Note: Blatant references are Ravencroft Institute (Reibankurofuto) from Marvel and the uppercut move from Mortal Kombat. Izuku also has two reference moments, one of them sort of paying homage to the dying Uncle Ben moment from Spider-Man and Izuku 'sensing a disturbance in the Force' is clearly a reference to Star Wars.
So fun fact- the reason that Psyren's sound-waves were so powerful was because aluminum and diamonds can amplify sound. Another fun fact goes to Izuku's newest moves. I named the uppercut he gave to Kasai New York Smash because the uppercut is one of the most powerful hits in boxing that usually results in a knockout (and NYC is pretty tough). Washington Smash pays homage to Washington's love of soccer with Izuku's front axe kick to Arikui. Indy Smash is an upgrade to All Might's Nebraska Smash, only it doesn't suck up enemies and it needs Blackwhip attached to it make it more focused. It makes the punch act more like a drill than just generating tornado-like winds (a reference to Indiana's motor speedway and Indy also being in Tornado Alley).
