Chapter 17: Awakening
Central Plaza
Aizawa and Vlad leaped from their perch at the top of the massive stairwell, soaring through the air like twin comets of justice and with only the thought of ensuring their students safety on their minds. Aizawa unfurled his scarf, letting the long stands billow behind him.
"Who the hell are those two" he heard a woman question as they fell, the villain letting her hair flow around her head like swirling vipers. They didn't recognize them, that meant they were either stupid or their boss hadn't bothered to give them the proper Intel, both were to their advantage.
There were three villains waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs, the woman, a man with gun barrel fingers and a fat guy in a pig mask and a green, full body hazard suit. Each one was dripping with overconfidence that lasted until he activated his quirk; and their confidence folded like their bodies. In their confusion as to why their quirks hadn't worked he shot out his capture scarf and ensnared them, wrapping them all together before he slammed into them feet first and riding them as they skidded across the ground like a living surf board.
One of them, the pig man seemed to have weathered the damage the best, already beginning to struggle against his restraints. Aizawa was quick to fix that as he slammed the heel of his boot on the villain's snout, hearing a satisfying crunch as the big man's body went limp.
Vlad King had not been idle either as the big man unleashed a torrent of blood from his gauntlets that both cushioned his fall and splattered itself onto all nearby villains, trapping them all as the liquid immediately crystallized, the villain's trying to free themselves leaving themselves open to a quick series of blows that took them out of the fight.
"Everyone watch out that's eraser head. He can erase your quirk with a look!" a villain warned as the villains surrounded the pair.
"It seemed at least some of them had brains" he thought to himself.
"I bet you can't erase a heteromorphic quick like mine" a four armed villain mocked, jumping into the air and hoping to land a superman punch. Aizawa easily dodged the telegraphed attack, letting the stone covered fist sail past him as he plunged his knee into the villain stomach, the villain's momentum adding to the force as he sputtered and coughed.
"You're right" he said flatly, dodging an attack from behind and letting the second villain punch the first in the face before turning around with a spinning kick and catching both of them in the side of the head.
"So which one of you punks are next" he threatened harshly as the pair spun through the air and onto the ground unconscious. The villains were wary now, their confidence peeled away. Even more proof that these guys nothing but petty thugs, only good to fight if they know they could win. But as their confidence fell his had risen and had made a mistake; letting himself blink for only a second.
"Dammit" he cursed as he watched the black smoke villain dissipate the instant his eyes closed. He wanted to go after him, to re-establish line of sight and shut him down but the rest of the villains foiled that plan before it could begin.
"You know what's worse than a hero" he heard a slimy voice say as he turned to see what he thought was the leader of these thugs. "A hero that lives up to his hype"
The man was scraggly, with a mess of light blue hair. He was covered in grey hands the gripped at his arms, head and neck with one hands palm pressed against his face and leaving only a single bloodshot eye to stare at him. If his getup was an attempt at intimidation it wasn't working.
"After we're done with these guys we'll show you just what we're capable of" Vlad boasted, tightening his fists and Aizawa could see he had gotten under his skin, the villain growling under his breath as he scratched the skin around his neck raw.
"I wasn't talking to you" he hissed, pure murder in his eye before he snapped his fingers. "Let's break that ego of yours"
Before Aizawa could even realize what had happened Vlad King and the bird headed villain were gone, with only a hard gust of wind being left behind.
"Where is he, answer me" Aizawa ordered, straining his voice to keep it even and in response the villain's eye contorted into one of pure delight as Shota heard a familiar voice scream.
"Fighting the final boss" he practically giggled. "I had wanted to save him for All Might but I figured he was due for a warm up match."
The villains were getting their confidence back; beginning to close in step by step as Aizawa gripped his scarf tightly, preparing for the fight to come and worrying about the state of his fellow teacher. And as it would immediately become apparent, he had more than just him to worry about.
"But I wonder. You two came down here to protect your students. So tell me Eraser Head; how do you think their fairing against his friends?"
Storm Zone
"Where is it!" Yosetsu screamed; his voice barely able to rise over the deafening sound of rain battering everything around them as Tokoyami and his fellow students ran through the downpour.
When they had all been teleported here, they had done their best to deal with the villains that had been sent against them, using the rain and darkness of the streets to their advantage. He and Shihai had used the shadows to separate the villains into smaller groups and ambush them, using Kaibara's fighting skill and Yosetsu's quirk to defeat and weld them to the walls and floor of the faux cities many alleyways. But then it had happened; one of the villains had put up more of a fight than the rest, a large brute of a man with some sort of armor quirk and in the tight confines of the alley's, he had used it to full effect. Kaibara had been knocked clear of the alley and into the rainy streets with a single punch. They had managed to defeat him; even as the darkness had begun to affect Dark Shadow but it wasn't even a moment later did they hear his screams.
Tokoyami's heart pounded into his chest; his lungs ached and burned like acid as he was pelted with the rain and wind. He could barely see; his cloaking clinging to his body and sapping him of heat. He felt like a panicking field mouse, desperately squeaking and running as the wings of a great and terrible hawk shrouded him. His eyes darted to the rooftops, to the alley ways and any dark shadow large enough to hold IT.
Yosetsu had his arms wrapped around Kaibara, welding the bleeding boy to him as the blood flowed from the wound in his chest, his crimson life-force lost in the never ending rain.
"Let me out" came the baritone voice of dark shadow; the words vibrating in his skull and making his teeth ache. He could feel him shifting and squirming under his skin, the darkness and the fear had grown too much and he had become…rebellious.
A part of him wanted to accept, to let him be enveloped and to let dark shadow take the wheel. He smothered that thought; drowning it on the same water that surrounded them.
"Let me out, you pathetic weakling" he demanded, red eyes staring into his minds eye in restrained fury but his resolve stayed firm, he had given in to him before and he swore he would never let it happen again.
"We need to find some place to hide" yelled Shihai, the morbid boy's eyes wide with fear as the shadows that once offered him safety with open arms had now turned into waiting jaws.
"There" came the deep voice of dark shadow, his voice rattling in his head like an earthquake as the pressure of Dark Shadow focused itself onto a single point, a shadowy finger emerging out of his cloak and pointing further down the street.
Tokoyami's first instinct was to pull him back in, he was too dangerous now. But through water logged eyes he could just make out the size of a large office building, its form looming over the rest of the buildings like a monolith.
Without instruction Dark Shadow sealed itself back inside and while Tokoyami wanted to refuse his quirks suggestion but in truth he didn't have any better ideas. They couldn't stay out in the open for much longer or thing would find them!
"Over there follow me" he yelled, forcing himself to run even faster to act as a guide. His feet splashed into the puddles as they raced towards safe harbour, and as he did he had never felt so afraid.
His vision became clearer as the building grew closer; thick concrete walls had never looked so beautiful. Not stopping his momentum for an instant he slammed his shoulder into the wooden door, shattering the lock and letting him sail through and hit the ground hard.
He hissed behind his teeth and cradled his shoulder, a moment's dread falling over him as a shadow loomed behind him. That was until he saw who the shadow belong to as Shihai came rushing in, with Yosetsu and Kaibara coming close behind.
The Vantablack boy gasped for breath, hands on his knees as he fought for air. Yosetsu though quickly set Kaibara down against the wall, deactivating his quick that had conjoined them before turning to the now broken down door and welding it back into place.
As the door was sealed and Yosetsu backed away, fearing that the thing would burst through at any moment the four of the stood. The dull sound of rain pattering against the walls and windows a tense silence fell over them all, their ears straining to hear beyond the rain and to the creature that stalked them.
Their attempts to locate their predator however were interrupted by the pained groan of Kaibara. His skin was pale, a shaky hand lightly pressing against chest as he fought to keep his eyes open.
"Hold still, let me see" Yosetsu whispered quickly, darting to his side and slowly peeling away his hand to properly see the injury. Tokoyami winced at what he saw as Yosetsu grasped him by the collar and tore the tattered shirt open to reveal three parallel gouges in his chest, running from his left shoulder to his lowest right rib.
"I'm gonna see if I can weld his these wounds shut ok" he said, talking to the barely conscious boy and sounding unsure himself. Neither Tokoyami nor Shihai objected, those wounds were bad and without any help he didn't think he would last much longer.
Pressing hands to Kaibara's chest as gently as he could he began to use his quirk, the wounds closing as skin on either said was tugged and fused together, forming a gnarly trio of scars.
"I think that should be enough" he sighed, releasing a breath he had been holding as he wiped the rain and sweat from his brow.
"Well at least someone is taking control of the situation" said Dark shadow, the barb hooking itself in Tokoyami's mind and causing a not to subtle sneer to cross his face.
"Kaibara listen to me" he said, grasping the boy's face in both hands to look him in the eye. "What attacked you?"
In truth they hadn't really seen the villain that had attacked him, only getting to see him run back into the alley like hell itself was chasing him. The memory sending a fresh chill up his spine, the fear in his eyes had been…profound and primal.
Kaibara's eyes were wide; short, frantic breaths leaving his lips before he began to speak, his voice just below a whisper.
"The lights"
"What did you say?" he asked again, he and everyone else leaning in close to hear him.
"The lights…don't…look into the lights" he croaked before his body went limp and fell forward, Yosetsu just able to catch him before his face hit the floor.
Panic filled the room as they feared the worse but as Yosetsu pressed his fingers to the boy's neck he breathed another sigh.
"He's just unconscious" he told them, a small relief in this horrible event as the trio now wondered what they were going to do now.
"We can't stay here" Tokoyami said, it was only a matter of time before that thing found them.
"Can't stay here? You were the one who brought us here!" Shihai snapped, his voice straining not to yell.
The confrontation was cut short by a shrill scream that sounded like nails on chalkboard and the sound of something breaking. Everyone jumped, moving away from the door as they stared at it, the sound of the rain somehow getting even louder.
"We have to hide" Yosetsu advised, picking up the unconscious boy and hefting him over his shoulder with a grunt.
"We have to hide until the pro's show up" he repeated, sounding like he was trying his best to not freak out.
"Hide? The damn coward!" sneered Dark shadow and Tokoyami could feel the anger ripple under his skin.
But even still no one was about to argue and without anywhere else to go they went the one place they could…up.
The stairwell they could barely see; without the light from the windows it was only the light from their phones were they able to move at all. Their steps echoed in the empty halls, one vacant and hallow floor after the other with row upon row of desks.
"Hey, does anyone else hear that" questioned Tokoyami as the sound of something wet slapping against something echoed from further down the hall. The three crept quietly the sound growing louder as the sound of rain added to the noise. Turning a corner they came to the source of the sound, a soaked window curtain flapped in the wind, rain falling in from a smashed in window. But the thing that stilled Tokoyami's heart and made every hair on their bodies stand on end was that the shards of glass were on the inside.
Something had broken in.
"Lights off, everyone hide!" he urged and once more they were cloaked in darkness and the ruffling of moving bodies as they hid beneath and behind desks.
"Coward" Dark shadow repeated as Tokoyami hid and from his position he could see Yosetsu push Kaibara under a desk before a place for his own. Shihai though had no need, simply letting himself fade into the darkness.
They remained motionless and again Tokoyami felt the sense of being prey, like the rabbit that had caught the attention of a fox, praying that it just stayed still enough that death would not come for it. And as they waited, a new sound came.
Snap Snap Crack
Snap Snap Crack
Quick yet even; again and again almost seeming to overcome the rain as a long emaciated hand crept itself from the top of the window. The sound of its claws scraping against the plaster of the wall as another hand came into view.
Tokoyami breath caught in his throat. The thing had been waiting for them; using the broken window to lay a trap and hoping they would get closer and investigate, and as the creature revealed its head he had to cover his mouth to keep from screaming as something out of his worst nightmares came over the window frame.
Its neck was long and twisting like a worm, stretching and shrinking as it peered into the darkened room. It had no jaw save for a pair of vertical sagging skin flaps where its mouth should have been and two dark pits where its eyes would have been.
In a flash it was inside and with it the 'snap snap crack' that he now knew were its limbs; multi-jointed like a spider as it crawled along the ceiling searching for them. Nearly every inch of it was skin and bone and he watched with sickening curiosity as its joints popped in and out of their sockets with every movement.
'Please heroes, get here soon' he thought to himself, fear scrawling up his back with a million tiny fingers. And that was before Kaibara began to stir, groaning lightly as the creatures head snapped in his direction.
Slow and ponderous; crack, crack snap went its limbs as it came closer to his hiding place.
Both he and Yosetsu looked to each other, each paralyzed by the horror less than twenty feet away from them.
"Let me out" growled, Dark shadow, wriggling under his skin as the fear and darkness began to chip at his will. "Let me out or your friend is going to die"
Suddenly the sound of broken glass pieced the air and the creature twisted about and Tokoyami then learned what Kaibara had meant by light.
Piercing white light burst from the creatures eyes, showing the opposite wall where a shattered lamp lay. Like a jumping spider it leapt to the lamp, flashing it light all around…until it found something.
A shadow at the corner of its light tried to shift away before its light caught up, pulling Shihai from the safety of his shadows. He expected him to run or for the creature to lunge and tear him apart.
Instead the fear in his eyes was replaced with a blankness that looked utterly foreign. He stood up half lidded eyes and began to walk towards the creature and to his further horror he realized the creature indeed had a mouth.
The flaps of skin stretched out wider and wider, showing off its opening throat before the skin flaps finally opened and revealed rows upon rows of teeth that flexed with dark anticipation.
The thing was going to eat him alive.
The realization ripping through him as Shihai drew closer, fully entranced by the light as he dragged his legs closer.
"Looks like he's dead" Dark Shadow chuckled in his mind and on instinct and spire he flung himself out of cover.
"HEY" he yelled and realized his suicidal bravery for what it was as the light darted from the Shihai to him, the Vantablack boy slumping to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Instantly he felt something pull at his conscious mind, like he was watching through his eyes as if it were a window rather seeing with them. He felt his body lurch forward, the creature redirecting its attention as it stretched its claws wide.
"YOU DAMN FOOL, I WILL NOT HAVE YOUR STUPIDITY BE MY DEATH!" roared Dark shadow but under the brightness of its light he could not defend either of them.
There, in the face of death brought upon by a creature born from hell itself did Tokoyami begin to feel something, a chill in his body, a void in his heart that at once was frightening and welcoming. Was it death, opening the door for him with a smile on its face? He did not know and didn't have the time to think. All he knew was that he wanted the light to stop, for the safety of darkness to return. His vision began to darken, the shadows growing deeper, voiding everything of its definition becoming nothing but darkness itself.
But it seemed that it was not all in his mind as the creatures light began to dim, like a flashlight slowly dying as the light retreated back into its head, as if afraid of the dark as he watched the void surround the creature. It screeched in confusion, talon slashing wildly as Tokoyami ducked out of the way; watching with wide eyes as the darkness devoured every inch of its body, leaving only a shifting void that thrashed around blindly.
Looking to Yosetsu he knew they needed to get out of there, whatever had happened he didn't know how long it would last and didn't want to be there to find out. But finally in this unnatural darkness the suffused the whole room was the wall of his will finally breached.
Dark arms erupted from his sides as pain ripped through his body.
"Finallyyyy" hissed Dark shadow as his quirk began to envelop him, becoming a twin of the horrid creature's situation.
As the hood of the raven began to fall over his face he looked to Yosetsu, the words crawling up his throat as he gave him the only warning he could.
"RUN!"
Mountains zone
A black hand erupted from the earth like a wicked tree; its fingers stretching out as it slammed it onto the ground. Jiro took a single step back eyes watching in silent horror as the ground began to heave as if it was breathing as a second hand and the rest of the villain revealed itself. Their body was massive, the size of a van and rippling with unnatural muscle underneath its stretched skin. It was on all fours like a gorilla, large sail like ears on the side of its head and a massive set of jaws that jutted out giving it a massive under bite. But what was most shocking was that it had no skull, its brain completely exposed.
Jiro stood still as a statue, fear ripping through her body like waves as the villain's ears twisted and turned before snapping its head in the direction of Kaminari; the dunce walking around and muttering to himself, his brain fried and leaving him completely defenseless. She heard the villain begin to growl like an animal, rivulets of slobber flowing between its fangs.
Jiro didn't have time to think as she got back down on one knee and quickly plugged in her ear jacks into her boots. The villain just began its charge at the doofus as the air rippled with the pressure wave of her sonic attack.
The villain screeched in pain, tumbling to the ground as it used its large hands to cover its ears. Jiro allowed herself a small yet anxious smile but she knew she couldn't keep this up forever. She just needed to think of a way to get them all out of this. Slowly she moved, step by step and putting distance between her and her other classmates; both Momo and Kaminari were out of commission and if this guy had any tricks she didn't want them near.
And it seemed her judgement was proven right as its fan ears retreated back into its head like worms burrowing into the ground. Instantly the effects of her attack stopped as the villain looked in her direction, nostrils flaring wide before it let out a wrathful scream, mouth opening to show teeth as large as kitchen knives and more than capable of biting in her in half.
Jiro had barely enough time to dodge away, the collar and sleeve of her jacket violently torn from her as the beast's jaws snapped where she had been but a moment before. She tumbled across the ground, rocks jabbing at her as she rolled to a stop. The villain turned to face her, the remnants of her costume handing from its teeth. Her heart was pounding her chest as she used the only defense she had. The wave just as before and again the villain didn't even react, as if that noise was nothing more than a light breeze. She tried to dodge away again but she was too slow as the villain lunged forward with lightning speed and grasped her left leg in its massive hand. Jiro shrieked in pain as every bone from her shin to her toes was put into a vice, feeling as if it was only a hairs breath from shattering. Then the real pain began as it swung her over its head and slammed into the floor, the air in her lungs viciously knocked out of her. An agonizing croak escaped her lips with the last bits of air she had as her back lit up like a string of fire crackers. She barely had the time to realize what was happening before the villain lifted her again and slammed her, face down into the rock, her only luck only being that she had closed her mouth in time to not bite her tongue off. The villain continued beating her again and again and again and the only thing Jiro was able to do was curl up into the fetal position as the very air around them was filled with the dust her impacts created.
With a final roar the villain hurled Jiro through the air; the brief feeling of weightless ending as her body slammed into the cliff face, skidding across its surface until she landed in a heap. She was fading in and out, darkness creeping at the edges of her vision. She didn't know how she was even still alive as she felt something warm and wet begin to pool around her head. She was bleeding everywhere, tasting the acidic iron on her tongue, her vision dyed red as it seeped into her eyes.
But even if she could barely see, she could feel. It was coming closer, hard lumbering steps that shook the ground with each step. Tears began to well up in her eyes, she was about to die. She had just wanted to make people feel safe and she was going to die. Strained hiccuped sobs overcame her as she felt the shadow of death loom over her, she closed her eyes her final thoughts being of her parent's faces and wishing she could see them one last time.
The sound of a gunshot brought her eyes open as another went off, and then another and another as the sound of bullets hitting something, filled her ears. Looking up through the blood and the pain she saw Momo, still sitting where she had placed her but now with pistol in hand and a look of a determination so fervent it struck her soul.
"Get… uuuup" she groaned in heaving wheeze. As the villain… no the monster took offence to the interruption, a low growl slithering from its lips as it began to stalk towards her. Jiro was gripped with a new fear; it was one thing to die but another to watch another die to by her time. Jiro's body screamed in protest, every nerve and muscle straining like stiff rubber bands only a few moments from snapping.
She felt sticky blood and pieces of dirt cling to her face, the thick liquid stretching into strands that connected her face to the ground below. She looked down to where her boots were and felt her heart go still with what she saw.
Her right boot was in tatters; wires and leather barely holding its form around her foot while her left boot was gone entirely. What was she going to do? What was she going to do! The monster was getting closer even as Momo continued to fire, the bullets bouncing and sparking off its skin.
And in that moment of pure desperation, with the image of Momo about to become a wet stain she felt something well up inside her, a power hidden yet with her since the day she was born as she took in the deepest breath of her life.
"STOOAAAAAAA!" she screamed, louder and harder than she ever had before. The scream tearing through the air, slamming into the monsters back and sending it flying end over end and into a cliff wall. The scream did not end their though, she continued on and on, it turning into a storm of razors that stripped the skin and flesh from its bones. When she gasped for air, its skin was entirely gone; ivory bones and organs bear to the wind with crimson blood flowing down from its body like a water fall.
Jiro starred in shock at the still corpse of the villain, horrified by what she had done and confused as to how she was able to at all. It was only when she Kaminari waddled out of the canyon pass was her attention diverted.
"Hey guy's I did it, are you both" he said; holding his head in his hand and a groggy look on his face before he saw everything that had happened. "Holy shit!"
"Denki" she wheezed; her throat raw after her attack. Immediately Denki tried to rush over to her, fear in his eyes before she ordered him to see if Momo was okay.
"But Jiro you're…" he tried to say before she cut him off.
"I know…go" he insisted, her whole body feeling like jello as she dragged her feet underneath herself. Scrunching her eyes and letting out a pained hiss she heaved herself back onto her feet, having to put her hands out to keep her balance.
"Hey, I think somethings wrong with her" Denki yelled and Jiro felt chill run through her as she limped her way closer, giving the still unmoving body a second glance before she finally got to her side.
Momo was gaunt, all skin and bones and her skin had gone pale. Fear gripped her as she kneeled down, fighting through the pain as she pressed her ear to her chest. Her heart was beating but it was erratic and Jiro didn't need to be a doctor to realize something was horribly wrong.
"I think she's having a heart attack" she pressed, picking herself and the top half of Momo off the ground.
"Come on, grab her legs" she practically screamed "we need to get her…" she tried to saw before the ground rumbled and a massive explosion rocked the USJ and the whole building was cloaked in darkness before the red of emergency lights bloomed, bathing the whole installation in a malevolent hue.
And from that red darkness did a second rumbling erupt and if Jiro had to bet she would have sworn she had seen a mountainous shadowy hand soar into the air.
Landslide Zone
Shiozaki dived out of the way, every nerve in her body screaming at the coming danger. Grabbing Mineta as she went she had not wasted a moment before a sonic scream ripped through the air, its destructive path slamming into where they had once stood, the ground shattering into pieces from the force and kicking up a cloud of dust.
They all looked up to see a black figure swoop past them at a frightening speed, gliding through the air, batting its wings as it's spiked tail swung at them, raining down a barrage of razor sharp needles nearly as long as her arm.
Todoroki was the first to recover, using his momentum to roll back onto his and erect a barrier of ice, the frozen water erupting from where he stood in the form of a half dome that protected the four from the rain of needles that cracked and sunk into but did not breach.
"Oh my god, what is that!" Mineta yelled as the shadow of the creature passed over them again and another piercing wail shattered their defence and sent them sprawling. It would seem that this villain would not give them a single moment to think. Again they did their best to recover and again the sound cracking ice found its way across the open terrain. But unlike before this ice was not trying to protect them as Shiozaki turned and saw some of the stronger villains breaking out of their icy cages, shattering the frosty restraints of their comrades and even using the needles like icepicks.
"This is bad" Shiozaki muttered as she watched the flying villain dart and fly over the glacier of ice that Todoroki had created. It would only be a matter of moments before the villains would regain their nerve and try attacking them again.
"Shiozaki, give me your hand" barked Monoma, turning her attention to the obnoxious blonde and it seemed he was not going to wait for a proper reply as he reached out and grabbed her.
Immediately his hair began to transform, going from the straw blonde to cords of vines like hers. While she loathed to be touched by such a vain man she was neither in the position or head-space to object.
Monoma used his new quirk to full effect spreading out and ensnaring some of the newly freed villain's. That was before a villain with some sort of blade quirk began to dice away at the vines. It seemed at least some of them did know how to fight.
She was quick to try and help, using her better familiarity with her quirk to sneak her vines along the ground and spreading them out, so that the villain could not destroy a great deal of them all at once.
The villain was forced to take his time, slicing at the vines in uneven strikes. And as the villain was distracted she heard a small roar, Mineta finally coming to the fight in earnest and throwing his balls, both at the villain and the ground around him. At first and to her shame, she thought him to be only panicking in his attack but she saw quickly that she had been wrong. One of the balls through the air and the villain, ignorant to his quirk attempted to slice the ball in half but only succeeded in trapping it on the edge.
With one of his blades rendered useless, Monoma was quick to wrap the villain, ensnaring him in a thorny cocoon as he thrashed impotently.
The victory though was cut short by another deafening screech as she looked over to see Todoroki flying through the air from the blast. He landed on his hands and knees, mouth hanging open, cold foggy air escaping his lips with every breath and his ears were bleeding, painting the ice that covered the right side of his body in a streak of red.
They couldn't keep this up and it was clear that his ice wasn't enough to deal with the flying villain.
"Todoroki use your fire on it" she told him, she had seen him thaw out an entire building during battle training. And she knew who his father was, with a last name like Todoroki none could mistake it.
But still he didn't seem to be taking her advice, sending a sneer of anger at her before he unleashed an even bigger spear of ice. And again the bat villain would dodge and evade, sailing over and around it with almost precognitive ease.
"Todoroki, use your fire!" she yelled more forcefully and again she was ignored. She could see frost building up on his arms and legs, his breath visible.
"What was wrong with him, could he not control his fire!?" she both thought and accused; she had seen him thaw an entire building why was he holding back!
"Use your damn fire" she roared, anger filling her as she looked at him like a petulant child.
"NO! I will never use…" he tried to scream back before the villain swung its tail again. Todoroki tried to block it but the frost had slowed him too much. Shiozaki tried to intercede, her remaining vines forming a shield.
But in the end though the ice was too slow and the vines to weak. The spines sailed over the forming ice wall and pieced the veil of vines like it was paper. She watched; almost in slow motion as they sailed towards her before she felt something push her out of the way.
She hit the ground hard and with a flare of pain she turned to see who had done it and her heart seized in her chest. Standing with a trio of needles embedded in his body was Mineta; two in his gut and one in his right shoulder. He looked at the needles in his body, lightly grasping them before giving her a look of shock as the purple of his suit began to darken.
Shiozaki rushed to his side and was just able to grab him before he fell, holding the boy in her arms.
"No, no, no, don't die, don't die don't die" she pleaded, her mind racing to try and find some way to fix him, to save him. All around them the fight continued; she could hear the sound of Monoma screaming to keep helping him but his words were distant and quiet when compared to the shaky breathes of Mineta.
"What's that quote? Greater love hath no man…" he tried to say a small trickle of blood flowing down the corner of his mouth.
"That a man lay down his life for his friends" she finished, tears beginning to streak down her face.
"A girl crying over me; who'd of thought?" he joked, a weak smile on his lips even as know gnawed at the corner of his eyes.
"Promise me" he said, suddenly grabbing her hand with his quickly diminishing strength "watch after Izuku, he's gonna need…all the help…he can get" he finished his voice getting fainter and grip beginning to loosen. He was dying right before her eyes.
"HAHAHAHAHA" came sick twisted laughter as she found herself surrounded, she looked them, the horrid glee in their eyes as they held the unconscious Monoma by his vine hair and the half frozen Todoroki pinned beneath their feet.
"Oh don't cry girlie; you and your boyfriend are going out together" their leader said, their inhuman smiles growing wider as that beast continued to circle overhead, shadowing them in its wings.
In that moment, as the villains drew closer, their cackles echoing in her soul a righteous fury unlike anything she had ever felt ignited in her soul, his body began to glow with an emerald aura and as it did so too did the ground began to shake more and more as the sound of splitting stone echoed. The villains tried to finish her but before they could enact their sin massive roots sprung up from the earth.
The villain's cried in surprise as their bodies were ensnared in roots as thicker than her torso's, their bravado breaking like cheap glass as the Roots grow around each other, higher and higher into the air and forming as massive trunk. Where once there had been nothing, now there was a massive tree whose leaves pressed against the roof of the dome. The villain's kicked and cried, spewing cures her way but her focus wasn't on them anymore, nor was it on her new and sudden abilities as the she watched the flying villain with a gaze of an avenging angel.
Is if by mental command the dozen of branches lashed out like whips towards the villain and while it had been fast, it only took one to snare it as the bastard screeched in protest as it was dragged back to the tree.
There the villain was trapped, as roots wrapped around its wrists, ankles and neck. It screeches powerless to free it. There in that moment she felt something tug at her mind, an idea that spoke to her deepest reaches, though in her right mind she wold never admit.
"Kill them" the voice said, these people who relish in their sin are an affront to the lord, "Expel the wicked from among you" and send their evil screaming into the pits.
But as she felt Mineta, still in her arms
"It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord
It was not her place; it was up to the lord to decide and she would not send them to him. It was not her place.
So with a long, laboured breath she exhaled the breath she held and only then realized fully what she had done as her mouth hung open. Not only had she created that massive tree, the ground around her was covered in flowers and grass.
She would have stared longer hand Mineta not begin to cough, worry stabbing at her chest as she watched with shocked silence as his body began to glow with an emerald sheen, the needles sliding out of him and falling to the ground but without a hint of further blood. In fact she saw that he didn't have any wounds at all and as Mineta opened his eyes once more she couldn't help but see it as…
A miracle.
Fire Zone
The heat was suffocating; thick dark smoke billowing from innumerable fires that covered the faux city as they fought. Adrenaline flowed through Mina's veins just as sweat covered her body as she swung her arm in a wide arc, letting her acid flow out of her in a great swath, the corrosive liquid splashed against the brick wall the villains had been using as cover. The sizzling and bubbling of her attack sung with the crackling of fire as the wall melted like ice in the sun.
There were two villains visible now, and through the choking smoke she could of swore she had seen confusion at their sudden lack of protection before tape and horns struck them, hanging them from street lights and walls respectively. Mina however remained focused, watching for anything else that might come, but when none came she couldn't help but let a smile spread across her face and pump her fist into the air.
"Yahoo, that was great guy's" Mina cheered, feeling then adrenaline pump through her system as she turned to the rest of them. Besides her their was Sero and Pony, who along with Ojiro had been their front line, all of them working to deal with any villains that came after them.
And behind them came the one that needed the most protection out of all of them. The mushroom girl Kinoko came out of her hiding spot, her costume, now ruined and peppered with holes from burning embers.
Here in this place, without the humidity for her fungus to grow she was as good a quirkless; a strange contrast given how dangerous she had been during combat training. Lastly was Aoyama, who given himself the mission of being the girls "bodyguard" but she thought he just didn't want to fight.
She could be annoyed at him later; right now they needed to get out of there.
"Sero can you swing around and see if you can find a way out" she asked, turning to the boy who nodded under his mask. With a whip of his tape he pulled himself into the air and was lost amongst the smoke.
They were forced to wait, not wanting Sero to lose them if they started moving. That also put them in the unfortunate position of being a sitting duck. The wait was only a few minutes but it had felt far longer before Sero eventually came back.
"I saw an exit…a few blocks from here" he said, taking in deep breathes after the exertion.
Mina could have hugged him with that news and it wasn't long before all of them began to move out, following Sero's directions to best they could, working around burnt out cars and collapsed streets.
"There" Sero said, pointing a finger down the road, to what looked like a several sets of door that as she looked up were connected to the wall of the dome, they had made it!
That was… before one of the buildings collapsed; slamming its broken, burning body into the path in front of them, kicking up a cloud of dust and wind that pushed them back and forcing them to shield their eyes.
As the street was chocked with dust and embers, the ground began to shutter BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
And as the dust settled they were greeted to a walking mountain, Mina mouth hung and fear stabbed at her heart as she gazed at the villain, a memory rushing back to her when she had still been in middle school.
Though even in her shock, she could tell this was not the same villain as back then. The most obvious thing being that he was smaller, only twice her height rather than five and in place of clay coloured skin, this villains was nearly obsidian, glossy and nearly reflective. In place of a jaw it had a massive pair of pincers that ran with drool. The top of its skull was missing, leaving its brain completely exposed and its large unblinking eyes watched them.
In the moments that followed it almost seemed like time had stopped before villain's mandibles flared, raising up its massive arms and slammed them into the ground. Kicking up another cloud of dust as they all tried to ready themselves.
Pony and Sero tried to restrain the giant, launching their quirks forward… but it was like trying to stop a tidal wave with a sand castle. Pony's horns bounced clean off its skin, not even leaving a dent. Sero tried to wrap up the villain's arm, but instead of slowing them down he was pulled forward as it reeled its hand back, and slammed their open palm, sending him flying.
"Sero!" Mina screamed as he flew back down the street, and before she knew it, it was her turn as it kicked a burning car straight at her. She tried to dodge but the car came to fast, clipping her as she tied to move and send her sliding across the ground and slamming back first into a wall.
The brick cracked as her body hit the wall, a breathless cry screeching from her lips as the air the air was knocked out of her lungs. Her head was swimming, the world spinning as she tried to look for the Villain, and then she saw Ojiro. She watched as Ojiro fought desperately against the villain, using his tail to like a baseball bat, hitting debris to smash against the villain. Just like before it did less than nothing.
And as he tried to jump away, he was swatted out of the air like a fly and caving in the roof of a car. As she looked on at Ojiro's body she didn't know if he was even still alive. The villain though only moved on to their next target as Kinoko and Aoyama watched the looming shadow of the giant fall over them.
"Aoyama get her out of here" Mina tried to scream, even as he ribs cried in protest. Kinoko was helpless in this environment, they needed to run and get help.
But instead of helping her, Aoyama only gave a moment's glance to the terrified girl before running off and leaving her behind. Mina mouth hung open, watching the flamboyant coward dart away, his cape following behind him. The giant didn't even seem to notice him running, its head focused squarely on Kinoko.
All alone and out of option, she screamed in terror, crouching down and covering her head with her arms as the giant prepared to strike.
She needed to get up, dear God she needed to get up. pulling herself up, her muscles protested, by she did not listen, there was no one else now.
'It really was just like back then'
The memory coming back again as the world began to slow, the fear in her classmates eyes, the mountainous villain, she had done this before she could do it again.
She watched in slow motion as the villain's face sailed forward, aiming to splatter the small girl into paste, and Mina moved faster than she ever thought she could and slammed into her, pushing her out of the way and letting her take the full force of the hit.
It felt like getting hit by a train as he body was smashed into a burning building. She sailed through the burning air before she collided into and through something as she slammed into the far wall of the building. Blood poured from her mouth as she slid to a stop, she could barely move, her vision hazy with the smoke and the heat that surrounded her. Her ribs were on fire, some of them had to be broken and before she could even think of getting up the whole building began to shift and she realized just what she had hit.
A support column.
She barely felt the impact as the building caved in on her.
Service Tunnel
Midoriya and Toru made their way down the metal steps, hearing their shoes clang and echo against the walls as they did. Anxiety rippled through his body; they needed to be quick, Tsu was fighting that thing and who knew what had happened to the rest of his class. As they finally reached the bottom he let his electricity flow through his arms illuminating the grey concrete as they reached the threshold of the light. The hallway was long and so thin that Izuku could touch both walls at the same time. Squinting his eyes he could just see that it had a slight bend to it, which would lead them back into the USJ.
Not wanting to waste any more time, the two set off. Passing the bend Izuku continued to let out his Radar pulse, feeling the electrical currents around them and following the secret ripple that grew stronger by the second.
Going further and further, the featureless hallway began to open up into other directions, like the branches of a tree and each lined with doors. If he didn't have his radar pulse he was certain he would get lost down here. And as they moved closer to the signal he couldn't help but think about the person that had saved them. Who could it have been, it obviously couldn't have been one of the villains and none of the others seemed to have any problem with killing kids. And that quirk seemed familiar, but from he couldn't remember.
And why had these villains' come here at all? What was their purpose? That man with the warp quirk had talked about how they expected All Might to be here and that they had been the ones responsible for the alarm yesterday. They had a plan but it seemed, more than flawed. They had separated them into smaller groups to pick us off, that was smart enough but they didn't seem to know about our quirks.
Certainly they had picked the right location for him to be dropped, the water more than enough to kill him on contact but they had also sent Tsuyu there and with her conduit powers she had handled herself well…before that thing showed up.
"He just needed to move" he told himself, driving his determination to the front of his mind and forcing himself forward as the two finally came to a bright red door labelled "security". He couldn't sense anyone on the other side but he wasn't going to take any chances. Taking a breath and feeling his power course through him he gave a one last look to Hagakure who nodded her head once before he swung the door open, the metal clanging as it hit the wall and the two moved in.
In front of them were dozens of computer screens; each one black save for single screen at a desk separate from the rest. The two attentions were of course drawn to it, for Toru it was because it was seemingly the only one on and for Izuku it was for what was on the desk.
There next to the computer was a small device, about as large as a walkie-talkie and was plugged into the computer.
"Wait" Toru said; putting herself between the device and him.
"What are you doing" he asked, frustration leaking into his voice, electricity primed to fry both the computer and the signal jammer.
"This doesn't make sense" she said, lifting her hands to try and calm him. "If they simply wanted to jam the signal they wouldn't need to plug it into this computer, the computer is using wires not radio waves like a cellphone" she continued and pointed the computer screen that showed lines of code that in truth Izuku knew nothing about.
"I can figure out what they're doing if you give me a minute" she continued and almost looked like she was about to cry.
"I know you're mad at me for not getting off you, so please... let me make it right" she pleaded and Izuku had to stop himself from immediately denying her. They needed to stop the villains but they also needed to know what they were doing here.
Gritting his teeth Izuku nodded his head, and Toru want to work in a flash, slamming her butt into the chair and typing away at the keyboard at a blinding speed, opening up new windows and lines of code that he was equally ignorant of.
Izuku watched through his radar vision as Toru's brow furrowed, her eyes glowing slightly wider as her continued to type away and her mouth began to silently for words before she began to speak.
This thing…it isn't just a jammer" she said as one by one the screens on the far wall began to light up. "It's hooked up into the USJ's security cameras and… is sending out a signal?" she finished, sounding confused as her typing stopped and looked at the screens with wide eyes.
Toru gasped as she looked Jiro being rag dolled by a muscular villain and Izuku could see Mineta, his best friend…skewered.
Izuku felt his heart fall into his stomach as he watched him.
"No" he breathed and it was only by a great deal of will that he was able to pull his eyes away. He needed to get rid of that signal, now more than ever as he lifted his arm and was ready to send to bold of electricity to fry the damn thing.
BANG!
Izuku was sending flying through the air; his back lighting up in pain as if it had been doused in acid as he hit the wall of monitors and fell with a cascade of sparks and glass. Izuku groaned in pain, his jaw tensing as his ears rung as the noise bounced off the walls. He looked back to where he had been standing, sending out a radar pulse and again saw nothing. Toru was looking all around her in fear and confusion, what had…
BANG!
Again his body ripped with pain as he was shot again, this time right into his gut as he coughed and gagged. But this time he had seen it, the flash and the falling empty shell. Toru saw it to and tried her best to stop the villain, throwing herself to where she thought he was.
Why could he see her but not the villain?
That thought was ripped from his conscious mind as he watched something hit Toru across the face, sending her crashing into a desk and another BANG, illuminating the dark room and sending Izuku into a rage. He had been helpless in the blast that had killed thousands; he had helpless to help his best friend who for all he knew was gone.
He would not be helpless here! He would not let anyone else for him!
With a roar he threw an arm forward and unleashed a shockwave, hitting everything in front of him and sending them into the wall. There in the midst of splintered wood and dust he could finally see it, the outline of a large man, the dust clinging to them.
Lightning crackled across his arm as he loosed a blast that hit the villain straight in the chest, arcs dancing across his convulsing body. He hit him again and again until the villain flew clean off his feet, hit the wall a second time and fell still,
As the last bolt of lightning left his fingers and before the electrical buzz that came from the villains body ceased he moved to where he saw Toru land. Limping, the pain in his back and gut stabbing at him, he powered through, letting out a radar pulse and finding her.
"Toru are you okay!" he pleaded desperately, looking over her body to look for damage; he couldn't see any obvious damage. Had the villain missed his shot? Before he could think any further Toru jerked forward, coughing and gagging as she tried to regain her breath.
Izuku patted her back lightly, wanting to make sure she was okay as her breath began to even out. A small relief, given all that was happening, now all they needed to do was…
His thoughts were cut off by raspy labored breathes. Turning his head both saw the villain rise back up to his feet and whatever quirk he had disabled and allowed them to see what exactly they were dealing with.
The villain wore a strange suit that almost reminded him old deep sea diving gear and wore a gas mask with bright blue lens that zoomed and expanded like a camera. On his back were two massive air tanks that connected to the mask.
And worse of all, he still had his shotgun and was pointing it at them. Izuku grit his teeth in anger, cursed himself for such a stupid mistake. Electricity began to flow into his arms, and a further raising of the shotgun told him what would happen if he tried.
Slowly, the villain got up, limping slightly as he moved from the wall to the exit. It was only when he flung the door open and his attention divided, did Izuku try to stop him.
"An enemy is always at their most vulnerable when they think they've won" he remembered, the words of one of All Might's interviews giving him the idea. As the villain stepped a foot into the hallway Izuku made his move; shooting out another bolt of electricity and would have had him, had his injuries not come to bite him. His wounds flaring as he raised him arm, tweaking his aim slightly to the left and sending the bolt straight into the wall beside him as the villain slammed the door behind him.
Izuku roared as he raced after him, hobbling himself to the door and find the villain had barred it. Clenching his fist he punched at the door, the metal bucking under the assault and on the third strike, the door finally gave way, the top hinge of the door flying loose and the sound of something snapping coming with it. Immediately he saw the villain's shotgun, its pieces sliding and banging against the stone and Izuku realizing that it had been what the villain had used.
"That was good" he thought; without his weapon the villain wouldn't be able to shoot back.
But as he looked further down the hallway he saw something that brought his mind to a screeching halt. In front of the retreating villain was another person who with a raise of his hand caught the villain a bubble, the same bubble that had been used on him.
It was then that he realized who this person was as they move toward the villain, his costume now visible under the fluorescent lights and marking him clearly as the pro hero Wash. Izuku wanted to cry tears of joy, the pros had come, everything was going to okay now. All they needed to do now was…
And for the third and final time, his train of thought was derailed as the villain didn't even attempt to escape, standing like a statue as the hero moved past him, the bubble deforming easily to let him through and putting him between them and the villain.
"What are you doing, we need to" Izuku tried to say before Wash pulled back a part of his costume to reveal his face. Black veins trailed under his skin and black ooze flowed out of his eyes and mouth as the hero pulled open the door of his washing machine costume, revealing it was packed with explosives.
"IZUKUUUUUU!" the corrupted hero bellowed as he lit the explosives and charged them like a madman, screaming at the top of his lungs. Izuku had just enough time to collect himself before grabbing the half broken door and lamming it shut, and grabbing onto Toru before a massive explosion rocked the USJ and everything went black.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
and here we have chapter 17 and what a chapter it was. sorry about the long wait everyone, but school stuff mixed with this being my longest chapter so i hope you forgive me and i hoped you all enjoyed it. We will be finishing up the USJ arc Next chapter