CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE WRATH
Katsuki Bakugou stared at the television screen in shock. The news had been reporting live on the scene for the past hour. Allmight had been fighting a villain, not just any villain. That nerdy bastard Deku was throwing down with the number one hero and somehow holding his own. Something Bakugou couldn't accomplish, back when he failed to beat Allmight in the battle examine with his partner Kirishima. Even with that fancy gauntlet of his, he didn't think Deku would stand a chance against the greatest hero in the world.
'That bastard', he clenched his fists in anger. His anger grew until he froze when he saw Allmight shrink down to a skinny frail looking man. Bakugou watched as Deku stole some cameras and went on a rant, revealing the truth about the hero to the world.
"That's right people! This skinny matchstick man is actually the greatest hero in the world! This is your symbol of peace!"
What the hell was going on here? Why did Allmight look so weak? Why wasn't he winning against Deku? But more importantly, how did Deku know about this weakened form?
"Did you know that Allmight and I have something in common?"
"He and I are both quirkless!"
"This whole time he was borrowing a quirk that never belonged to him. However his body has grown too weak to fully use it. The villain he fought in Kamino ward should have retired him, but he still clings to his title and power like an old dying king clings to his throne"
"I ask you, all of you that are quirkless or have an impractical quirk. Is this your pillar of justice? Do you accept this fraud, this lie as your symbol of peace?"
'Is this my fault?' Katsuki remembered the fight between Allmight and that freak in the mask. Some of his classmates gave him an escape route, so he didn't get to witness the whole fight. All he knew was that something major went down and Allmight was pushed harder than ever. If what Deku said was true that the strongest hero was getting weaker, than it was probably his fault for getting captured by those villains. Katsuki didn't want to feel guilty, but no matter how he looked at it, if he was stronger they wouldn't have taken him so easily. That bastard Apotheosis who he now knew was actually Deku, made him look so pathetic.
None of this made any sense. Deku was strong and Katsuki was weak. How did everything end up so backwards? Before he could think more on this Bakugou's phone buzzed in his pocket. Looking at he spotted Kirishima's name with a message attached. After reading Katsuki felt a new determination. Maybe there was a way he could correct this.
THE CITY
"This just keeps getting worse", Aizawa lamented. Currently they were dodging a big long serpentine dragon made of concrete, bits of metal and shards of glass. Midoriya had crafted it out of pieces of the buildings around him and was controlling it like a puppet.
"Tell me about it", Toshinori ducked behind a turned over car. With his strength faded he couldn't even fight back and was forced on the defensive.
"We need to get him on the ground and fight him up close", Aizawa stated. Midoriya kept them at bay from a distance. If they were going to create an opening for Gran Torino to make a grab for the gauntlet, then they needed to get the boy into a better position.
"That's suicide", Toshinori already explained Midoriya's new power stone and the quirk it granted him as well as what he learned about the other stones.
"That super strength damages his body right?" Erasure Head reminded them. "In the time between the damaging and healing himself we might be able to beat him"
"Any ideas on how we can do that?" Midnight asked as she jumped behind the same car they were hiding behind after failing to take on Izuku.
"Come out come out wherever you are!" Midoriya called losing sight of his opponents. He hovered a bit higher in the air looking around at all the destruction to see if he could spot them. Noticing a head of blonde hair he smirked. "Got you!" With a shout he sent his dragon made from building debris crashing head first into their location.
"Look out!" Toshinori saw the attack coming and warned his fellow teachers just in the nick of time. Izuku hovered over to impact spot and blew the dust cloud away with a flick of his wrist.
"Running scared Allmight!" Izuku chuckled seeing that they escaped. "How very heroic!" He said sarcastically. "A hero must be willing to put his life on the line!" He taunted while throwing the man's own words back at him. "You're nothing without your power! NOTHING!" Seeing that wasn't enough to draw him out Izuku landed gently on the ground to look for them. Using the gauntlet he started lifting up cars and tossing them aside.
"When will you get it through your head Allmight!? You are what's wrong with the world!" Walking over to a broken empty bus he activated the power stone and kicked it out of his way. "You set an impossible standard that no one can reach, not even you!" Healing his broken leg he continued. "You're not even real! Yet you look down on the weak and won't even give us a chance to be strong!" Lifting up more rubble with the reality stone Izuku frowned when he didn't spot his target anywhere. He considered demolishing the buildings around him again with a finger snap, but he would rather avoid another display of power on that scale.
"Allmight!" Izuku called. "Face me!" Glancing around he scowled in disappointment. Inside the bottom floor of a nearby building Allmight, Erasure Head and Midnight were currently hidden away.
"It's me he wants", Toshinori stood up and was about to head out there, but was stopped by Aizawa's scarf wrapping around his wrist.
"Are you just going to let him kill you?" The dark haired man asked pulling him back. "What good will that do?"
"I don't think he wants to kill me", the skinny blonde man looked away. "Midoriya wants to see me beaten and humiliated. Maybe when he finally gets what he wants he'll be satisfied and stop"
"And how will that look to the world? The great Allmight, the symbol of peace gives up", Aizawa glared at him. "Is that how you want to go out?" No. No it wasn't how Yagi would leave this world of heroes and villains.
"Then what do you suggest? He's too powerful to stop with force"
"We still have plan D." Aizawa brushed his hair to the side revealing a communicator attached to his ear. Pressing it he made contact with the fourth hero involved with this operation.
"ALLMIGHT!" Outside Izuku once again yelled for the hero to come face him. He was starting to wonder if he'd done enough. Izuku already exposed the number one hero for the fraud that he was. That was pretty much victory for him. He considered leaving for the junkyard where his soul stone should be just about finished. Before he could come to a decision the man in question appeared, standing in the middle of the street.
"You want me, here I am", Toshinori faced the young villain.
"It's about time", Izuku walked towards him. "So Allmight, ready to face your ultimate defeat?"
"It will be a hollow victory for you", the man gestured to his true body.
"It doesn't matter. I've won", Izuku smirked holding his arms out. "No matter how you look at it…it's my victory. So much planning and research, just to get to this point right here where I reveal to the world the truth about you", he chuckled as kept a close eye on the hero for any attempts at trickery. "Society will now lose all hope and faith not just in you, but all heroes"
"Was that your plan? To crush everybody's hopes just because I crushed yours?" Toshinori couldn't believe the boy was that petty? Then again, he met villains will far more childish motivations.
"Don't worry I'll give them their hope back to them when I create a new hero based society. I'm not a monster", he frowned seeing that Toshinori wasn't understanding the bigger picture.
"Just leave. You have one for all and those other stones, you got what you wanted, so just stop", the gaunt man tried to plead with the kid again.
"Not until I prove something!" He pointed his device at the man. "I have to know for sure"
"Know what?" the weakened hero asked.
"I need to know if quirks are really as great as everyone makes them out to be", Izuku's gaze turned sad for a brief moment. 'I need to know if I could have been a hero without one', he wanted to know if everyone was wrong about him. If he could beat the best, then they were wrong. He wouldn't be so useless after all.
"I'm sorry", Toshinori apologized again for what he said to the boy all those months ago.
"Oh will you stop saying that!" Izuku shouted while lifting the gauntlet high into the air in an attempt to bring a large amount power crashing down on the hero. However as soon as he raised it up Allmight made a quick hand sign behind his back. Aizawa who was watching closely recognized the signal and spoke into the communicator.
"Now!" As soon as the word left his mouth, Gran Torino dashed out of his hiding spot like a jet. Flying as fast as he could, coming up behind Midoriya with his hand ready to grab the gauntlet and yank it right off. Out of the corner of his eye Izuku could see the old man approaching in the reflection of his metallic device. Everything slowed down for him as his brain went into overdrive. He couldn't turn and retaliate, that would still leave him open, but there was one thing he could do. In an Instant Izuku activated the time stone and the entire area was encased in a yellow bubble and everything inside except the caster of it was frozen in time.
"You..." Izuku turned around to land furious green eyes on the old retired hero an inch away from touching his infinity gauntlet. "Sneaky old man", while time was still frozen for a few seconds he used a small portion of the power stone to chop the small man in the stomach. Time resumed as the bubble dispersed.
"GUH!" Gran Torino gasped in pain as the force of the blow caught up with him. Izuku flash warped behind and grabbed him by his cape. Holding him up in the air.
"You may be fast old man, but as long as I can stop time it doesn't matter how fast you are", Izuku chuckled.
"What just happened?" Aizawa and Midnight were confused. A flash of yellow and then Gran Torino was doubled over in pain when he was about to secure victory for them.
"It's just like before", Allmight remembered something similar happening during the event where Midoriya revealed himself along with his weapon.
"Since you're all a bit slow on the upkeep I'll explain it", brandishing the gauntlet he gestured to the yellow stone bellow his wrist. "The time stone lets me stop time in an isolated area. I was saving it for an emergency", mainly because of the cool down prevented him from using it again for a while. "So congratulations on forcing me to use it!" Using a small portion of the power stone he shucked Gran Torino at Allmight. "He may be fast, but as long as I can stop time, it doesn't matter how fast he is"
"Woah!" Toshinori caught his former mentor, but the collision caused him to slide back a bit.
"Let's see", Izuku levitated himself off the ground again. "First obviously was Allmight's attempt to beat me down and forcefully take my infinity gauntlet", he rubbed his chin as he went off on a tangent. "Next was to get Erasure Head to disable me and Midnight to knock render me unconscious", his mouth continued to mumble through the failed attempts to defeat. "I'll assume your last ditch effort was the old man and his speed. Now my question to you", Izuku pointed his gauntlet covered fist at them. "What else do you got?"
RAXUS JUNKYARD
"So these stones power his gauntlet?" Momo began holding the black purple glowing gem in her hand. "And he needs this last one to complete it, is that right?" Toga growled at them. "And he'll be coming here soon to get it?" Todoroki only unfroze her head so they could interrogate her. At first she refused to talk, but they were able to trick her into revealing a bit of vital information by using her infatuation with Izuku Midoriya against her. The psychotic girl ended up blurting out a few secrets that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone.
"He calls this one the soul stone apparently", Tenya remarked. "What does it do?"
"How should I know?" Toga bit her lip as she glared at him. That was true, Izu-kun didn't tell her what it did, just that it was extremely important.
"I think we're missing the important thing here guys", Kirishima started as he quietly put his phone away without them noticing. "We have this stone and Midoriya doesn't know we have it"
"He's right let's take it the authorities", Momo nodded. "Even if they can't figure out what it does they might be able to keep it out of his hands"
"Or…Here me out", Kirishima trailed off. "What if we used it against him?"
"Has he gone crazy?" Tsuyu bluntly asked.
"Use how?" Momo questioned him.
"You're not seriously considering this!" Tenya exclaimed.
"If this stone is the strongest, maybe its power can trump the others and defeat Midoriya when he arrives", Todoroki spoke up. "Is that what you're getting at?"
"I can't believe I'm hearing this", Tenya looked over to Ochako who was staring off into space in thought. "What about you Uraraka?"
"I think…", she turned to face them. "We should stay here and stop him", truthfully she still wanted the chance to speak to Izuku. Now that she had back up with her, if things went south they could defeat him together.
"From what I've seen this Izuku Midoriya has been one step ahead of the heroes, but now we're ahead of him", Momo said confidently while looking at the stone in her hand.
"We can catch him off guard", Todoroki also seemed on board with this plan.
"That's the spirit!" Kirishima smiled. "Who else is in?"
"I think this is a bad idea, but a worse idea would be ditching you to fight him by yourselves" Tsuyu reluctantly agreed to stay and help. As much as she didn't like it, the more numbers they had against Midoriya the better. The only one left to convince was the class rep Iida. They all turned to look at him expectantly, as if waiting for his side of the argument.
"This is crazy", Tenya glared at them before his eyes softened. "But I've done crazier things myself", like going after the hero killer alone. Now that everyone was on board they went outside and started coming up with plans and ideas to combat Midoriya when he arrived.
"Hey!" Himiko was left frozen from the neck down. The group ignored her and left the girl there till they decided what to do with her later.
BACK TO THE CITY
Swirling above the center of the wrecked street, a large cloud of glass shards and dust churned and twisted about. Izuku floated in the center of it all controlling the vortex by moving his arms around like a conductor leading a symphony.
"How are we supposed to get to him!?" Aizawa shouted as he dodged a tendril of broken glass that whipped out from cloud.
"I have an idea!" Toshinori called as he ducked. "Get him on the ground in an open spot, I'll handle the rest", he still had some of one for all left inside him. All had had to do was activate it at the right time and deal a decisive blow. Unfortunately Midoriya was smart enough to fight them from a distance. His skills and powers with the gauntlet were growing every minute. Here and ow was the only chance they had to stop him before it was too late.
"I'm going in!" Gran Torino charged the vortex of glass and dust. Izuku just smirked seeing him coming and launched waves of shards at the old hero. The man swiftly dodged each attack until he made it to the center where he attempted to kick the boy in the head.
"Nice try!" Izuku blocked his foot with his gauntlet and blasted Torino backwards, but was unprepared when Erasure Head's scarf and Midnight's whip both wrapped around his legs while he was distracted and started yanking him towards the ground.
"One, two, three…Pull!" They both began dragging him down with all their strength. The green haired teen was momentarily caught off guard by their tenacity and gasped as his back hit the ground, knocking the wind out of him.
"Alright that's it!" Izuku jumped back to his feet and was promptly kicked off them by Gran Torino. It seemed they were keeping the pressure on and not giving Midoriya a chance to retaliate. "Enough!" Using the reality stone he blew everything around him away forcing the heroes back. "I'm ending this now!" Pointing his gauntlet covered fist at the three heroes. Hold the phone, there were supposed to be four.
'Where's Allmight!?' Realization dawned when he felt a presence directly behind him. Izuku spun around to blast the hero with his device. As soon as he turned a large muscled hand gripped the gauntlet by the wrist. Allmight held tight having only this one chance while his strength briefly returned.
'I'm sorry Midoriya', cocking his other arm back he prepared to end this in one blow. "TEXAS! SMASH!" Izuku's eyes widened seeing the first coming right at him. The time stone wouldn't help him here, while someone was touching him they would be immune to the time freezing quirk. The punch connected sending Midoriya crashing through the street, kicking up chunks of rubble as his spinning body skipped across the ground. An explosion of dust and debris erupted where he landed, defeated and most likely broken. Silence permeated the air as everyone held their breath, expecting the young villain to get back up. When he didn't they all sighed in relief.
"That seemed a bit overkill", Aizawa stated. Villain or not Izuku Midoriya was still just a kid. Toshinori was breathing heavily as he shrunk back into his gaunt form.
"At least it's over", Gran Torino said as he went to find where the kid crash landed. He didn't find him but he saw the gauntlet sticking out of a pile of rubble. It must have got knocked off the boy's hand from the force of that blow. Walking towards it the old man reached over to retrieve the weapon, but paused when he noticed something. The fingers were slowly moving. The metal hand clenched its grip as the red stone glowed with an ominous light. The pile of rubble was then levitated into the air revealing Izuku who laid in a crater bleeding and bruised.
"Ugh!" Izuku grimaced as he tossed the debris that once covered him away. Blood dripped down his face as he stood on shaky legs.
"Impossible", Gran Torino was shocked that this kid could take a punch from Yagi and still remain conscious. Toshinori was also surprised as he watched Midoriya struggle to stand. His black sleeveless top was now torn and covered with holes.
"Gah!" Izuku gasped in pain as he took stock of all his injuries that single punch did to him. Even with his epidermal barrier cranked up with the power stone at the last second, he still took some serious damage. A broken leg, arm, fractured pelvis, three broken ribs and a concussion. Using the time stone he began healing himself. "That really hurt Allmight", his injuries were quickly fixed, but the patches of dirt and dried blood remained. "But unfortunately for you it wasn't enough" all the stones on his gauntlet began glowing as he held his fingers together. The heroes froze in their movements knowing that he was preparing for another one of those devastating finger snaps. "Do you know why you failed today Allmight? Because deep down you still won't take me seriously." Toshinori was about to argue but Izuku cut him off. "Had you put your all into that punch then I wouldn't have been able to get back up."
"Do you have any idea how insulting that is to me?" Izuku glared at him. In an instant he flash warped passed Gran Torino and appeared before a startled Allmight. With his right hand he reached and punched him hard, but without the strength of the power stone, right in his weak spot. Toshinori doubled over vomiting up more of his blood. "I think I've seen enough." Not only that, but according to his estimate Himiko should have contacted him by now. Something must have happened with her, or she probably forgot. Either way Izuku needed to get to the junkyard. "I hope to see some of you in the new world. Farewell!" A portal opened behind him that he stepped back into leaving the heroes.
"Did we just lose?" Aizawa asked as Toshinori collapsed to his knees in a coughing fit behind them.
"In more ways than one", Gran Torino said sadly.
"I think it's much worse than we imagine" Toshinori finally spoke after he stopped coughing. He thought back to what Midoriya said and he realized that the boy was right. Some part of him must have subconsciously held back when he punched. It was the kid's eyes. They were wide and scared for a moment. It reminded Toshinori of when he first met Izuku. When he nervously asked him if he could be a hero without a quirk. That memory appeared and he withheld some of his power in that brief instant.
'I really am sorry', he allowed a single tear to drop for the old Midoriya that he was starting to think was long gone.
I decided to split this chapter in half. It was just so long and people kept asking me to update. The upside is that I have most of the next chapter written already. The reason for the delay is that I've started taking classes again, hence the reason I wanted to get this arc finished before January. My free time to write is almost nonexistence so from here on out updates are going to be even slower than they already were. Sorry, but I really want to be the first person in my family to get a Bachelor's Degree.
Big fight with the students in the next chapter. I hope you're excited.
Before anybody asks. Yes I did read the new manga chapters. However I'm not changing my story at this point. So I'm keeping One for All what everyone original believed it was as power stacked enhanced strength.
Yes there is going to be a mind stone. Second arc. Wait till then please.
Some of you are still on me about the stones. I keep reminding you all that these are not the marvel infinity stones. Izuku in my story created these through dissecting and analyzing the DNA of quirk users. They don't work the same way they do in the movie or comics. Also I changed the colors because I felt like it.
INFINITY GAUNTLET POWERS
Space Stone-Blue: Creating Warp gates/portals. Flash warping only in short distances (Think flash step from Bleach, but leaves a blue glow). Locking things into a point in space. Epidermal shield, protects the wielder's body from most harm and can be focused on specific areas of the body at the cost of decreasing it from other areas.
Reality Stone-Red: manipulation of matter (moving it, reshaping it, changing its state, breaking it down, etc.) you could almost liken it to alchemy from FMA. Some gravity manipulation. Energy manipulation. Body levitation.
Time Stone-Yellow: Stopping time in a zone or area for a maximum of ten seconds. Anyone touching him or the gauntlet is unaffected. There is a cool down to this power that depends on how many seconds time was stopped in the bubble. Restoration, an ability that can revert all physical damage on the body back to its non-damaged state. It can also work on non-organic objects as well. Restoration cannot regenerate missing body parts, nor can it heal fatigue.
Power Stone-Green: One for All. Gives the user super strength, equal and potentially greater than Allmight. This stone can be used to amplify the others when combined.
Soul Stone-Purple: ?
Thanks for reading.