Hello, everybody, I'm back and ready to get going! I know you all were waiting for this chapter, so I'm not going to waste time here. So, without further delay, let's get on with it!
Disclaimer: I don't own -man or BNHA; all rights go to their respective owners.
Chapter Twenty-Two: God's Last Angel
"What? Earthquakes? What in the world are you talking about?" All Might spoke into his phone as he paced nervously up and down the hallway. "Even if it's bad, you should have more than enough personnel to take care of that on your own. Remember, I'm a teacher now; I've got to get back to my students."
"Yes, yes, we're aware of your position, but the situation's truly dire. A few survey teams reported unusually high frequencies coming from the ocean floor early this morning. If it's as high as they say, the coast could be struck by a ginormous tsunami within the next twenty hours," a representative from the Hero Commission told him—her voice worried and strained.
"Hmm... this couldn't have come at a worse time," All Might thought with a sigh. "Midoriya and the rest are fairly experienced when it comes to fighting villains, but large-scale natural disasters will be new for them." They'd have to be quick if they wanted to make the deadline. "Damn," he continued, "I guess I'll go and have Mr. Aizawa stop the exam." With that, he put the representative on hold and headed back to the observation room. However, right as his fingers brushed against the doorknob, he heard a scream come from inside. Instantly, he practically pulled the door off its hinges and rushed to join his coworkers. "What's wrong?!"
"Oh, All Might, you're back," Mr. Aizawa said, his tone slightly muted and shocked. "It's Midoriya—the boy just did something insane."
"Huh?" he started with an eyebrow raised. "What're you talking about?" In response to his question, the teacher simply stepped aside, allowing him to get a full gander at one of the many large displays. His reaction was similar to that of his students—his jaw was on the floor, and he was at a complete loss for words. "Is that another quirk?!" he realized at a frightening pace as he shambled over to the main console.
"Those tendrils just appeared out of nowhere, do you have any idea what they might be, All Might?" Mr. Aizawa asked as the teacher in question bit his lip.
"What should I do?" Should he lie and tell them that it was another facet of Midoriya's power? Or admit his true suspicions that they were indeed a new ability? Either way, with this, suspicion would be thrown onto his successor. "I should probably play it safe." It wasn't like he had any idea what was going on, either. "I've got no clue, maybe it's some sort of new move attached to his suit?" In the end, deception was his only option.
"Well... I guess that's possible," his coworker admitted as he turned his attention back to the battle. "Let's just keep watching; we might be able to figure out the truth if we do." After Shinso momentarily disabled Midoriya using his brainwashing, the exam had mostly returned to normal. All of their eyes were glued to Midoriya's back—as if waiting for another unexpected surprise to explode forth from his now-imposing figure. Their attention was so fixated on 1-A's new battle that none of them spared the time to take even a glance at the other monitors. Not even at Walker, who—if one looked closely—was now exuding a foreboding glow that seemed to reverberate and beat like a war drum.
"This feels off," All Might pondered as he gripped the side of a nearby seat, tearing some of the stuffing from its headrest. "I've got to talk to Midoriya before Aizawa or Vlad King wise up." Once this battle was over and done with, he'd have to sprint to make it to his apprentice in time. "Right now, all I can do is wait. How frustrating." Hopefully, Midoriya would have the hindsight to keep this new ability out of the limelight.
"You okay, All Might?" Iida asked when he noticed his teacher's worried expression.
"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine! I'm just a bit shocked at your progress! You've all improved so much since the beginning of the semester!" His nervousness ensured that his fib came out shaken and obvious; however, amidst the chaos, nobody seemed to notice. "Phew," he thought as he bit his lip. For a moment, a brief sense of respite washed over him. His students' logic was automatically ruling out the reality of Midoriya's situation, which meant that—at least for now—their secret was safe. Sadly, fate had other plans.
"That was close, too close," Todoroki grimaced as he crossed his arms. "If it weren't for that new move, somebody really could've died there." None of his classmates voiced these concerns, but all of them felt it. That, at any moment, this bout could spiral into unknown territory. "Well... thankfully, Midoriya and the others seem to have it under control," he whispered to himself. In the end, all he could do was hope that this was the end of the day's headaches. With a sigh, he leaned back against the wall and allowed his gaze to wander. "Walker should thank the heavens that he wasn't stuck in that deathtrap. Speaking of which, I wonder what he's doing." Once 1-A and 1-B's battle resumed in earnest, he quickly stole a glance at his quirkless classmate's monitor. However, what he found was... strange... to say the least. "Huh?" he continued, puzzled, as he walked up to the screen. "Is this thing broken?"
"What're you doing, Todoroki?" Yaoyorozu interjected when she noticed him staring intently at the device.
"It's this display, something's wrong with it," he answered. The monitor which had been assigned to Walker was currently filled with a bizarre white light—almost as if someone had aimed the drone's camera directly at the sun. "Mr. Aizawa, do you know how to fix this?" Perhaps one of them had accidentally cut the feed. Their teacher—who was busy preparing the next match's grading sheets—hastened over with a baffled expression.
"The hell?" he cursed as he tapped the side of the monitor. "Do I need to reset the system?" he pondered as he reached for the console's control switch. The moment his finger brushed against the dashboard, the screen's speaker suddenly started to crackle and pop like a roaring campfire. It was so loud that it drew the attention of everyone in the room, even All Might—who was still fretting over Midoriya's new power.
"Mr. Aizawa is that—" he was cut off when a massive explosion shook the facility—knocking many of the students off their feet and causing most of the computers' wiring to tumble down to the floor. In an instant, the majority of the technology went up in a sea of sparks.
"Are we under attack?!" Vlad King screamed as he rushed to protect his students. "What's going on?!"
"I don't know! Calm down, everyone!" Aizawa told his colleague as he hastily prepared his bindings for combat. In situations like this, it was integral to keep a collected mind. "Vlad! Go ahead and call the principal! We've got to let the rest of the staff know that something's happened! The rest of you follow me!" Whatever was going on, be it an assault or some unforeseen natural disaster, they were prepared for it. "First thing on the agenda is ensuring that the kids are safe!" They'd take stock after joining up with Midoriya and the rest. Without a second thought, he practically leaped up the facility's steps and into the main lobby.
"Holy..." Sero muttered, his mouth agape, as he stared at the wanton destruction before him. The hardened windows, which could withstand military-grade explosives, had shattered like cheap porcelain. In fact, the entire campus was in a state of disrepair. From their position, they couldn't make out most of the fine details, but it seemed as if the shockwave had completely obliterated the main building's glass and lightbulbs. The sight appeared to be ripped straight out of a war movie, and it chilled them all to the bone.
"Aizawa... Mr. Aizawa!" All Might yelled as he waved a hand in front of his frozen coworker's face. "C'mon, we've got to get moving!" he continued as the man returned to reality. After giving his comrade a slight nod as thanks, 1-A's teacher rushed down the path that led to the arena. All around them lay fallen stones and cracked concrete, not to mention stray wires and bent pipes. "The damage gets worse the closer we get, did one of their attacks light up a forgotten gas mane or something?" Knowing the principal's strict building guidelines, he doubted that was the case. With no other theories coming to mind, all he could do was bite his lip and continue trudging through the ruined hall. Eventually, they all arrived at the balcony which oversaw the entire complex—although, with all the damage, it'd be more accurate to call it a pile of rocks at this point.
"Guys! There you are!" a familiar voice called out to them from down below.
"Ashido! You're okay!" Kaminari responded as they all slid down the debris to join their classmates. Thankfully, the girl wasn't alone; all of the battling students were there. A few, especially Monoma, was covered in slight cuts from head to toe—no doubt the result of the deluge of broken glass which caked the ground.
"What in the world was that explosion, Mr. Aizawa?" she asked as she tended to some of her minor wounds. "We were fighting down in one of the alleys when the blast hit. Did the League attack the school?"
"We're not sure yet. We're just as lost as all of you." Truth be told, all of them were running on nothing but fumes and instinct. "Still... now that we know you're safe, we should head back to the main campus. Are you all capable of moving on your own?" he asked as he turned to Midoriya. "That power he used must've drained quite a bit of his stamina. If necessary, Vlad or one of his classmates will have to carry him back." His worries aside, the boy looked relatively alert and energetic. Although, upon closer inspection, Aizawa realized that he was simply too shocked to voice his weariness.
"Midoriya, are you okay?" All Might interjected as he placed a hand on his apprentice's shoulder. In response, he simply stretched out his arm and pointed to something off in the distance.
"It's... the city," he muttered in a sickening tone. Off in the distance, he could make out the distinct visage of shattered skyscrapers. Their campus wasn't the only area affected by the blast; the shockwave must've stretched all the way to the coast.
"Ah, damn, this isn't good," Aizawa hissed as he scowled and squinted. "Some helicopters are speeding towards us from the city. Whatever happened, we can be certain it originated from here." Right on cue, all of their phones exploded in a chorus of buzzing and ear-piercing rings. "Tch, it's the Commission." He could probably guess why they were calling.
"Tell them it wasn't our fault!" All Might spoke as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "This school's gone through enough controversy this year, the students don't need another disaster pinned on their backs." Knowing the media, they'd use this to smear U.A. without a second thought. "We've got to find out what happened before we're swarmed by reporters."
"I agree," Aizawa said as he shifted his attention back to the dilapidated arena. "It doesn't appear that this was an attack by the League." If it was, the school's security system would've noticed something. Therefore, the blast had to have come from somewhere within the campus' borders. Or, if he trusted his gut, somewhere nearby. "I can't really tell at this distance, but it appears that the damage to the city is relatively minor. Compared to this place, it barely looks scratched." The spark had to have come from here. "Monoma, Midoriya, do you or any of your teammates recall anything that happened before the explosion? Maybe a stranger or some bizarre abnormality?"
"No," the boys shook their heads. "We were too busy fighting to pay attention to anything like that. The only person who wasn't wrapped up in our brawl was Walker, but he's quirkless." Someone with no powers simply wasn't capable of causing all this devastation. However—even though he knew this—Aizawa just couldn't sit still.
"Now that I think about it, Walker's the only one absent right now. Did he get stuck on the tower?" Even for an experienced hero, climbing down such a tall spire in these conditions would be an exceedingly difficult task. "Unless my memory's failing me, it should be just north of us," he surmised as he scratched the back of his neck. "Hey, All Might, we should probably go and find—" he stopped.
"Mr. Aizawa, what's up?" Todoroki asked as they all stared at the distraught homeroom teacher—whose face was as pale as a sheet.
"Where's the tower?" he muttered as his coworkers exchanged confused shrugs. Before they got the chance to ask him to elaborate, Aizawa sprinted forward, using his bindings as makeshift grappling hooks to maneuverer over the ruins. "The radio spire Walker was standing on earlier, it's gone!" He just knew something was off about all of this! "I've got to hurry! If that's what exploded, then there's a good chance that Walker's—" He stopped, skidding to a halt as the rest of the group caught up to him.
"What in the world?" Bakugo mumbled in shock as his eyes struggled to comprehend what he was seeing. For nearly three blocks around the tower sat a giant crater. The smoldering remains gave off the putrid stink of soot and sulfur, similar to that of gunpowder. However, there was an obvious abnormality to the destruction. It wasn't physical or some strange mutation in the rock—in fact, it was little more than a gut feeling. Hanging in the air was the crushing aura of death, a sense so absolute that it sent a chill down their collective spines.
"There's no way this was the result of a weapon or bomb," All Might commented as he knelt down to inspect some of the stray ash. He might've lost his ability to fight, but his instincts were still as sharp as ever. "See here, the divide between this hollow and the rest of the complex is too clean—a conventional explosive wouldn't be so tidy." This was a side effect of a sudden flash of extreme heat and pressure. "The reinforced sidewalk here has been burned into glass. Barring a nuke, nothing manmade should be able to do this."
"I hate to even consider it, but perhaps a villain snuck into the premises?" Aizawa theorized as he pursed his lips. "No... that wouldn't make any sense. If they were able to get this far, they would've targeted the main building or something with more intrinsic value to the administration. This is just a simple place for practicing combat—it's designed to be destroyed and rebuilt—there'd be no merit in sending an agent here." No matter how he looked at it, this had to have come from inside. However, before he could come up with any feasible suspects, something strange happened. "Damn," he thought as he rubbed his head. "Talk about terrible timing; a migraine's the last thing I need right now." At first, he brushed this ache off as nothing more than a minor stress-induced symptom, but he was quickly proven wrong when he turned his attention back to his students.
"Ow!" Iida yelped as he massaged his temples. "This isn't ideal, am I coming down with a cold?" he thought as the pain slowly increased to unbearable levels.
"Hey, Iida, watch yourself!" Aizawa piped in as he rushed to the boy's side—who was now hunched over in a delirious haze. One by one, they all came under the influence of this horrid affliction. "Shit!" he thought in panic as he stumbled into a nearby wall. "This is... a song?" When it felt like his brain was going to split in half, a strangely soothing melody filled his mind. The voice that accompanied it was beautiful, almost as if he were listening to a choir of angels. However, even though it was heavenly, the new wave of pain that came soon after certainly wasn't.
"Uraraka!" Midoriya screamed when his teammate collapsed. Like a line of dominoes, they all fell into unconsciousness. "Damn," he thought as he slapped himself—struggling to stay awake. "C'mon, guys, we've got to stay strong!" It went without saying that, if they all succumbed to the voice, they'd be defenseless.
"Someone got us good," Aizawa grunted as his legs gave out. "I've only got a few more moments left in me—if that—and Midoriya's not doing too hot, either." After what felt like the blink of an eye, he, and the rest of their little band, was lying motionless atop the debris-covered street. The most horrifying part, however, wasn't their sudden vulnerability—it was the pleasure. As they lay there, their perception slowly fading, they steadily began to enjoy the song which trundled along in their minds. It brought them all a relaxing sense of security, almost as if they were children lying in their parents' arms. "Hell... I'm so tired," he thought as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "Huh?" he continued in confusion as something absolutely peculiar entered his view. "Feet?" Out from one of the neighboring alleyways walked a familiar pair of legs. Since he couldn't move, he wasn't able to tell who this mysterious visitor was. All he could do was watch as they hesitantly approached his students' still bodies.
"It's okay," the figure said, though Aizawa's hearing was too fuzzy for him to make out the words. "You all can sleep—you've earned it." There wasn't much in this crazy world that he hadn't seen—it came with his position. He'd battled thousands of villains and trained with an uncountable number of heroes; but, even with all of that experience, what he was witnessing now completely blindsided him. While it was obvious that this visitor was responsible for their current condition, they didn't seem to be hostile. Otherwise, they would've killed one of them by now.
"What sort of quirk is this?" he pondered to himself as he quietly watched the suspect move towards him. At a glance, it appeared that they were administering basic first aid to his coworkers and students—sadly, he couldn't discern much more than that. "Strange... I can't figure out what this ability is." Usually, one could deduce the primitive functions of a power just by observing it; but this was a complete mystery.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Aizawa," the perp spoke again with an oddly pained tone. If his mind wasn't so frazzled, he might've recognized that voice. Now that the figure was so close, Aizawa could see a faint white aura floating about the stranger's feet. With every wisp that floated past, the voice in his head grew a little bit louder. Eventually, it overwhelmed his senses, and he, too, plummeted into a coma. Carefully, the visitor leaned over and moved the man's head to a more comfortable position. He knew how much the hero enjoyed his sleep, after all.
"Please, all of you, be safe," they thought as they vanished into the ruin's underbelly. "This will be over soon."
Metal Meister sighed as he leaned back into his chair. "That meeting sure lasted longer than I'd hoped," he thought as he rubbed his tired eyes. "What with the villains acting up, and now these earthquakes, I haven't even had the time to breathe." He saw Kamui Woods and Mount Lady running around a few hours ago; they must've had their hands full dealing with all this chaos.
"Oh, Metal Meister, there you are," the aforementioned hero greeted him as he walked into the conference building, his comrades hot on his heels.
"Hey, how's it going?" he responded as he absentmindedly waved his right hand through the air. "I just wrapped up a conversation with some of the bigwigs upstairs, they told me that we'll be starting the briefing soon."
"Good, the sooner the better," Kamui responded with a shrug. "A little bird told me that the bureaucrats invited those students at U.A. to join us. Is that correct?" he asked. Metal Meister frowned and shook his head.
"I've got no idea, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if that were the case." The Commission's leaders probably wanted those trainees to help strengthen their reserves. They were notoriously short on useful personnel, after all. "On the bright side, handling a natural disaster like this would be a good way for the kid to regain some of the public's trust." People loved relief workers, especially heroes. If he played his cards right, he could turn this conflict into something positive.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you with an expression like that," Mount Lady chimed in as she took a seat next to Kamui Woods. "You've always had these dark circles and angry wrinkles under your eyes in the papers. Somehow—even amidst all this madness—you seem... happier." Metal Meister scoffed; Mount Lady was still relatively new to the world of heroes, but she had a knack for spotting things like this.
"You're delusional," he snapped back in a half-joking tone as he cracked his knuckles and stood up.
"Is it time for the meeting already?" one of his compatriots asked.
"Nah," he muttered as he shook his head, "I'm just going out for some fresh air." He had been stuck in these offices for the entire morning, he'd suffocate if he stayed any longer. Without a care in the world, his fellow heroes stepped aside and allowed him to stroll out of the building. It was a relatively slow day in the city—all things considered—and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. "Hmph," he thought. "How peaceful." It was hard to believe that this town was a few hours away from a massive quake. "It'll be tough, but we'll weather this storm—we always do," the hero muttered to himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose. As a pleasant breeze wafted down the street, he took a step back and leaned against one of the entrance's many supporting columns.
"In other news, U.A. Highschool's prestige has hastily regained its lost face after garnering the endorsement of several foreign heroes," an anchor on one of the many buildings' giant monitors said as they flipped through a short stack of papers. "The institution is famous for its rigorous public safety program, with many trainees graduating with top marks in the professional hero industry. Recently, the academy has faced a slew of complaints due to a handful of accidents caused by the student body. In particular—" Metal Meister didn't even bother to listen to the rest of the broadcast.
"Hmph... I've never been a superstitious type, but perhaps some of your good karma is finally paying off, kid." There were obviously still voices of negativity floating around the public sector, but, slowly, Walker's mistake was being forgotten. "Time heals all wounds, I guess." With that, Metal Meister let out a long-held breath and grinned. "Things are finally starting to look up." It was a cliche way of seeing the situation, but it brought him a sense of comfort that had been all too absent over the last few weeks. However, as with most pleasant things in his profession, this feeling was hastily shattered.
The impact came as suddenly as a speeding bullet, he—nor any of the nearby bystanders—failed to notice that his legs had been swept out from under him for the first few moments of the blast. In fact, it all felt like a haze. The blur of his vision being speedily swept alongside the pavement made his head spin, so much so that he barely registered the feeling of shards of broken glass cutting into his flesh. Like a ragdoll, his body was thrown back through the Commission building's front door. His shredded buttocks left a streak of bright red blood across the tiled floor, along with bits and pieces of crushed debris and drywall.
"Catch him, Kamui!" Mount Lady called out as she dived for cover.
"You don't need to tell me!" the man responded as he used his quirk to create a makeshift wooden net—stopping Metal Meister's tumble through the lobby. "What the hell was that?!" he screeched as he gritted his teeth and clutched his forehead. "Damn... I must've hit my head in the blast."
"Is it a villain?! Are you all alright?!" one of the Commission's leaders yelped as he hurried down the conference room's stairs. In the blink of an eye, all the heroes present leaped to the nearby windows—which were now completely shattered—and peered out into the ruined city.
"Shit... this looks bad," Mount Lady hissed as she bit her lip.
"Keep your head in the game, Takeyama," Kamui told her as he yanked a shard of shrapnel out of one of his biceps. "For all we know, this could be the League's doing, stay sharp." Carefully, he peeked his head out into the courtyard, looking for any signs of a further assault. "Strange," he thought. "A villain would've followed up by now." They were all professional heroes, after all. Their shock at a surprise attack would only last so long.
"I think we're okay, guys," Metal Meister responded as he used a hand signal to lead them out into the parking lot. From his position, he was able to observe the vast majority of the building's perimeter, and—barring civilians, of course—there wasn't a soul outside. "Maybe a gas mane ruptured?" he theorized before shaking his head. "No... that's not possible. All the windows downtown appear to have been blown out as well. This was no accident."
"Do you have any idea where that explosion came from?" a nearby hero asked as he crouched next to him.
"Hmm... judging by the direction of the shockwave, the source has to be to the north," Metal Meister told the man as he stepped over a pile of broken glass and into the now-disheveled entranceway. "If we think about this rationally, the only possible target in that direction is—" he stopped as Kamui Woods and Mount Lady walked alongside him.
"U.A. High... shit!"
Instantly, the three of them scrambled to inform their fellows of the blast's apparent epicenter. They worked as diligently as a swarm of worker ants, and—before too long—they were all aboard a helicopter bound for the crumbling institution. "Look at how damaged the campus' security systems are. Whatever this was, it sure hit this place pretty hard," Kamui Woods muttered as Metal Meister surveyed the area with a pair of binoculars.
"I can see the students!" he called out as he placed a hand on the pilot's shoulder. "Go ahead and take us down there, in the training arena." It was hard to tell at this distance, but—judging by the extensive devastation—this was most likely ground zero.
"None of them are moving," Mount Lady added, her tone grim and somber. "Do you think a villain—"
"Don't jump to conclusions!" Metal Meister cut her off. Right now, they needed to conserve what little morale they had. After that exchange, the helicopter they were in continued its descent in relative silence. The second it reached a safe altitude, they leaped out of the cockpit and rushed to the students' limp bodies.
"These guys are still breathing!" Kamui Woods announced as he scooped a few members of 1-B off the ground. "Strange," the man thought as he inspected them for injuries. "These guys are mostly unharmed. What sort of explosive leaves no casualties?" As he was loading one onto a stretcher, Metal Meister hastened to All Might's side and shook the man awake.
"Get up, All Might! Something as minor as this shouldn't be enough to keep you down!" he yelled as the retired hero's eyelids fluttered open.
"Ugh... what happened?" he grimaced as he shakily got back on his feet. "Oh, right, the students!" His daze was quickly replaced by a sudden feeling of intense fear.
"They're okay," Metal Meister told him. "So just calm down for a second." Once All Might confirmed that Midoriya and the others were all safe and sound, he placed a hand on his chest and let out a sigh. "Phew," he thought to himself, "that was close. Too close."
"Hey, man, how're you feeling?" Kamui Woods asked Aizawa—who'd just woken up. Instead of answering him, the teacher just scowled and patted the dirt off his pants.
"Just peachy," he groaned as he confusedly rummaged through his pockets. "Damn, I must've lost it in the blast," he surmised as he turned to Kamui and held out one of his hands. "You mind if I borrow your phone? I need to report to the principal and the other instructors."
"Go ahead and use mine," Metal Meister said as he handed him his smartphone. "It looks like most of the first years are here, I wonder if they were training?" he pondered as he raised a confused eyebrow. "Wait," he muttered, "where's Walker?" He couldn't find the kid in any of the nearby rubble. "All Might, do you know where—" he stopped. "Shit... I can't afford to be playing favorites in this situation." As a hero, he had a responsibility to protect the children in front of him. He couldn't go off and search for a single person when they weren't even certain of what was going on. "I'll have to leave him to the police." It was a horrible choice to make, but, sadly, that was the only correct answer. "Have some officers search the area for missing students, some of them might be buried under the debris," he informed one of the Commission's handlers via a transponder on his left ear.
"Roger," they replied.
"Did you guys come from the city?" All Might asked as he watched several more helicopters fly in.
"Yeah," Metal Meister said. "The whole town's gone crazy. Right now, the government has everything on lockdown, and they're calling for a general assembly of all nearby heroes—including rookies."
"It's that bad, huh?"
"The Governor thought the League dropped a nuke or something at first, so the military's getting involved as well," he continued with a slight nod. "Anyways, since most of you seem to be unharmed, you're all on the clock. The police will take care of organizing a response and rescue effort here on campus. In the meantime—once the medics look you guys over—you're all joining us on an express flight straight to the Commission's headquarters."
"I... I see," All Might mumbled as he squeezed one of his hands into a frustrated fist. He couldn't say that he was surprised to hear that order—it was simply the nature of their position. "This is what we taught them for," he thought as he stared worryingly at Midoriya's unconscious face. "I can only pray that they're ready." While he stood there, taking in this chaos, he barely noticed as a subtle tremor shook the area. It was so minor that none of them really recognized its presence, but it was clearly there. And, slowly but surely, it was growing.
Midoriya's jaw dropped to the floor as he watched an uncountable number of heroes file into the conference hall. The room, which was in a minor state of disrepair due to the disaster that struck just a few hours ago, was packed to the brim with Japan's best and brightest. "The top ten heroes are all here," he thought as Endeavor took a seat near the front of the pack.
"Are you going to go say hi to your old man, Todoroki?" Bakugo asked in a surprising display of empathy. They were all aware of how brutal Endeavor's last fight was. To be frank, the man was lucky he was still alive. However, even though he knew this, Todoroki stayed silent.
"That's not surprising, I guess." It was going to take some time to heal the fraught bridges which made up the Todoroki household.
"Look, Mirko and Hawks just showed up. This is really getting crazy," a low-ranked sidekick whispered as a few officials shuffled up to the main stage. One of them—the chief organizer for this gathering—cleared his throat and tapped the microphone.
"Can I have your attention, please?" he started in a rather dull and monotone manner. "I know some of your comrades haven't arrived yet, but we're pressed for time. Therefore, the briefing will begin now." With that, the man turned around and pressed a small button on the podium's side, turning on a massive projector that filled the center of the conference hall. After a few moments, an image of a familiar building—U.A. High—flickered onto the screen. "As you're all aware, approximately three hours ago, a massive detonation occurred at Japan's most famous institution's campus. Initial estimates place the blast as being approximately equivalent to four thousand tons of TNT, nearly a fourth of the bombs which were dropped on Hiroshima in the twentieth century."
"Forensics tests at what we believe to be ground zero revealed no signs of radioactive isotopes," a woman who was standing next to the announcer—most likely a scientist—added as she flipped to the next slide. "Tests for thermite and traditional explosive-based compounds also came up negative, a bizarre result which seems to suggest that an unnatural quirk is involved."
"Could the League be responsible?" a random hero from the back asked. However, the woman shook her head.
"Our intelligence doesn't suggest any movement from such an organization in the days leading up to the incident. The logistical skill necessary to sneak such a powerful weapon into Japan's borders is... well... I doubt I need to explain how difficult such a feat is." You'd have better luck convincing the world that Endeavor was a saint than accomplishing something that insane.
"Sounds like we've got our work cut out for us," Metal Meister lamented with a sigh. As the officials went over further details of the disaster, he leaned against a wall and rubbed his aching temples. "Think, man, there's got to be something I missed." Villains weren't the sort of people who kept their actions secret—they were, by nature, too prideful. "If that's the case, then the cause of all this chaos has to be simpler than that, but what?" There weren't many individuals with quirks capable of causing such widespread devastation, after all. "Perhaps I'm getting too far ahead of myself," he realized as his gaze wandered to All Might, who was standing beside him. "Oh, that reminds me, I never had the chance to ask them about what happened." He had his hands full dealing with the injured, so he neglected to interview the students for possible clues. "Well... better late than never, I guess," he muttered to himself as he lightly patted his neighbor's shoulder.
"Metal Meister?" All Might started, clearly confused. "Do you need something?"
"Yeah," the man continued as the briefing prattled on in the background. "I was wondering if you or any of your students recalled anything that happened before the explosion. I know your memory around then is pretty hazy, but there's got to be something worth sharing." He discovered them all knocked out in the middle of a dilapidated arena, that wasn't exactly normal. For a few seconds, All Might pursed his lips and thought.
"There's not much. I can recall us running into the arena and finding the students, but, after that, nothing." As he spoke, the retired hero stared up at the ceiling and scratched his neck. "Actually... if I strain myself... there was one thing that I found odd."
"And that was?"
"Music. I distinctly remember hearing a song before I fell unconscious. I can't say if the others experienced the same, though." To All Might, that statement must've come across as mostly inconsequential. There were numerous holes in his memory and a vague description like that wouldn't get anywhere as far as an investigation was concerned. However, for Metal Meister, this was a concept that he was all too familiar with.
"You're joking," he whispered, clearly shocked. "Do you remember if someone was singing? A woman, perhaps?" Metal Meister asked as he instinctively grabbed the man's wrist.
"Uh, yeah... I think... I can't recall the lyrics, but it was a very breathtaking piece. Could've sworn my guardian angel was whispering in my ear. Why?" Instead of answering him, Metal Meister simply frowned and placed a hand over his mouth.
"No," he thought as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead, "it couldn't be." If what he was saying was accurate, then this situation was eerily similar to what happened after that horrific fire in the slums. Come to think of it, when he passed out due to some abnormal melody, Walker was there. "Wait a minute." According to the students' statements, none of them had found the kid after the explosion, either. "How could—" he stopped as his gaze suddenly shifted to Mr. Aizawa, who was standing a few meters away. "Didn't he lose his... wait!" Metal Meister whispered as he feverishly reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Instantly, he dove into his contacts list and searched for the aforementioned teacher's number. "I knew it was weird that someone as paranoid as Eraser just up and lost his phone!" One of U.A.'s teachers would never do something so irresponsible! "Knowing this, the only possible explanation for its disappearance is—" he continued as a foreboding ring filled his ears, "someone took it!"
"..." the line clicked as Metal Meister raised the speaker up to his mouth.
"Ah," he started, as quiet as a mouse, as he struggled to come up with something to say. "Kid... are you there?" For a few seconds, a crushing silence filled the air. Even though he was standing in the middle of a crowded venue, for that moment, it felt as if he was the only person in the world.
"Yeah." Metal Meister bit his lip, Walker wasn't exactly shocked.
"He probably knew I'd be the first one to figure it out," Metal Meister surmised as he cleared his throat and stared coldly at the ground. "Let's not beat around the bush," he started. "We've known each other for far too long for that to work." Yet again, the line went silent. "So, I'll just go ahead and say it," he muttered with a worried scowl, "you've been lying to me, haven't you?" At the end of the day, there was only one missing piece in this giant puzzle. And—after hearing All Might's testimony—he knew exactly what it was. The answer was so simple, it made him want to slap himself. "You aren't... you aren't powerless, are you?"
"Yeah."
Author's Note
Yet again I wanted to take a minute to thank you all for continuing to read this story. Since I've been busy with life and my more professional writing, I haven't had much time to do my "writing for fun" hobby in this. So, I apologize for that! A five-month hiatus really stinks, and after the last chapter, I really don't want that to happen again! Thanks to you guys' input, I was able to improve a bit (I hope) which I think will really improve this little story going forward. Anyways, without further delay, I'm going to go ahead and end this off here! Again, thanks for all the support and reviews! Have a good day and I'll see you guys in the next chapter of A Tale of Two Endlings!
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Sinner's Dance
