Transformers MHA, Arc 2: Earthrise

by The Omni-Remnant

After a rather intense adventure and the U.A. Sports Festival approaching fast, Izuku and his friends have two important things to do; improve their Quirks in time for the festival… and hide a bunch of giant alien robots. That proves to be easier said than done, especially when enemies on Earth and from beyond the stars end up coming for them…

53. Hero Killer vs UA Students

A/N (IMPORTANT NOTICE, PLEASE READ): Hey there, everybody! Welcome back to Transformers MHA and… well, right off the bat, things are a bit complicated here. Now, as you might've noticed, this chapter is a LOT shorter than I had probably originally intended. In fact, you'll notice that, unlike what I said in the Preview from last time, the Autobots vs Nomu battle isn't present here at all. Well, this is due to some unforeseen factors. I thought I would have a lot more time this week to write a longer chapter, but unfortunately, that changed significantly. As a result, I had to cut the Nomu battle entirely and I'm going to be shifting it into the next chapter. Don't worry, this shouldn't affect the story's pacing TOO much, but it's still a pretty big change that I'll have to factor in. I apologize for not delivering, but know that if I HAD the time I had wanted, things would be a lot different.

But in regards to the chapter after this one, that's where my SECOND point comes in. In case you don't follow my Ben 10/RWBY story and haven't heard, I'm going to be taking a month away from Transformers MHA to focus on my annual October storyline for THAT story, meaning that this one will be put on pause until November. So I suppose, in reality, it's kind of a good thing that the Nomu fight was pushed back because then you'll all have something to look forward to once we return. So keep that in mind; October will be a Transformers MHA barren month going forwrd. But don't worry, come January, I plan on dedicating THAT month to this story entirely.

Now, with the preamble out of the way, let's get to what I DID managed to make due on; the fight with Stain. Watch out for those blades, people, because this is…

Chapter 53: Hero Killer vs UA Students

…..

Flopping herself down on the living room futon, Kyoka let out a sigh of relief, her muscles burning and aching after a long day of training. The sun was starting to go down outside, and things were relatively peaceful on the secluded island. 'I think I'm starting to get why Snake Eyes wanted their base to be out here, besides trying to avoid the public eye.' Kyoka's gaze set itself out to the open window, marveling at the gorgeous mixture of red, orange and purple that the sunset was making in the sky. 'This place is truly beautiful. Shame I'll only be here for four more days…' Hearing the door rattle open behind her, the punk rocker turned to see Kenzie coming in, now in matching black top and sweatpants.

"MMPH!" the martial artist groaned as she stretched her arm up, pulling back on it with her other hand. "Oh, man, talk about a full day." Kenzie sent a smile down to her junior, placing both hands on her hips. "I have to say, Kyoka, you've been doing pretty exceptional yourself." She sat down on the futon next to her, crossing her legs. "I honestly didn't think you'd get used to the training this quickly."

Wearing a sheepish smile of her own, Kyoka rubbed her neck and chuckled. "Ah, hehe… I wouldn't say I'm TOTALLY used to this kinda training yet. Jinx really doesn't hold back, I've learned. That Iron Hand technique is something else!"

Mackenzie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she doesn't prescribe to the idea of pulling your punches, even when you're a newbie." Her grin retuned as she bowed her head to Kyoka slightly. "Oh, and… thanks for being there when I talked to her the day before. Your support really helped."

"Aw, don't mention it." The conversation between the two had been a fairly emotional one, to be sure, and by the end, Kyoka could swear that both were on the verge of tears. But in the end, Jinx and Kenzie had come to an understanding, and all was right once again. "I'm just glad that everything worked out in the end." Kyoka winked.

"Yeah, so did I." Reaching for the remote, Mackenzie pointed to the TV across the room. "So, shall we see what's on the tube?" Answering with a nod, Kyoka watched as her friend began surfing through the channels, giving her thoughts on the programming while looking for what they'd watch.

…But then, something caught Kyoka's eye when the news channel passed by, telling Kenzie to stop. "Wait, wait, wait! Go back. Back to the news." Kenzie was confused, but complied… but what she saw next made her and Kyoka's jaws drop.

"We're reporting to you live from Hosu City, where something unbelievable is unfolding!" the news reporter shouted as her helicopter passed over the city. The camera aimed down to the buildings below, many of which were on fire, and zoomed in to get a better view… of the giant beasts that were on the attack. "Ferocious monsters of unknown origin are attacking the city! Many heroes are on the scene, but have found themselves completely overwhelmed by the creatures. Thankfully, pros such as Mirko and Endeavor have been reported on the scene…"

The woman's words only barely registered with the two girls as they stared at the screen with disbelief and uncertainty. They watched as the beasts rampaged onward, with a winged one plucking up one poor hero while a larger one engaged a horned hero. "What in the world ARE those things?" Kenzie managed to utter out. "A-Are they even men? Or are they actual monsters?"

"…Nomu."

Kenzie perked her head up and turned to Kyoka, whose demeanor had changed to a more serious countenance. "Wait… you know those things, Kyoka?"

"Kind of." the punk rocker replied. "Our class saw one of those things a while back… the League of Villains had one when they attacked the USJ."

Her eyes widening, Mackenzie pointed back to the screen. "So you think… these ones could be related to them, too?"

Without a second's hesitation, Kyoka nodded. "Without a doubt." There was another pause as they kept watching, seeing Mirko finally show herself to save that one hero from the flying Nomu, giving it one of her mighty kicks.

"Haha! Alright!" Mackenzie pumped her fist victoriously. "Love seeing Mirko in action! She's one of my faves."

"Haha, yeah, same here." Kyoka agreed, though her smile didn't last as she kept pondering the reason behind the attack. "But if the League is making another move… why attack Hosu?"

Hearing the door rattle open again, the two girls whirled around, seeing Jinx and Snake Eyes walk in. "The better question is; why NOT Hosu?" Jinx countered as the two walked over, their eyes focusing on the TV. "I was wondering if you girls had noticed the breaking news. The League of Villains seems to be getting bolder… and the fact that they targeted Hosu must not be a coincidence, being the Hero Killer's latest target."

"You think the Hero Killer and the League are connected in some way, Jinx?" Kyoka wondered.

"It's a distinct possibility, though right now, it's only a theory." The kunoichi explained, with Snake Eyes giving a single nod. "We've been doing some investigating of the League ourselves since their first attack. After all, while our primary focus is stopping Cobra, that doesn't mean we don't help out where we can when it concerns other potential threats." She shifted her eyes down to Kyoka curiously. "I've been meaning to ask, did you any direct conflict with the main members of the League during their attack, Kyoka?"

"Well… sort of, I guess." Folding her arms over her chest, Kyoka thought back to that day, remembering how significant it was not just because of the League, but because of what it meant for the Autobots' presence on Earth. "I mean, Bumblebee was more engaged with Shigaraki and Kurogiri than anyone, and All Might dealt with that Nomu for the most part. I was pretty close to the action, that much I know."

Jinx hummed, taking in the information. "Hm, I see. Well, I—wait! On the screen, look!"

Everyone's attention went straight back to the TV… just in time to see a certain familiar semi-truck come SLAMMING straight into the larger Nomu, sending it careening across the street and into a building, burying it in rubble. Kyoka went slack-jawed at the sight. There was no doubt who that was. "…OPTIMUS?!" It wasn't long before several other Autobots pulled up alongside the Prime, which only left her even more baffled. "Red Alert, Strongarm AND Springer?!" She squinted her eyes, catching a glimpse of a tiny police car. "And Checkpoint's there, too?! What the hell is going on here?!"

"That's why I'd like to know." Jinx concurred, with Snake Eyes placing a hand to his chin. "Here we thought they were keen on remaining secret but… hold on." On screen, the kunoichi saw Springer's cockpit open, allowing his driver to disembark… revealing a heavily armored man in a silver and red suit. And Jinx recognized it based off the helmet alone. "Ah… I see."

Kyoka tilted her head. "W-Wait, who's that?"

"Haha, it's Trakker!" Kenzie cheered. "You know, the blonde guy that Fowler brought with him the other day?"

"Oh, yeah! The guy who I barely talked to." Kyoka recalled, her wording causing everyone around her to face-fault. "But what's he doing with them?"

"He's likely there to disguise the Autobots' assisting as a M.A.S.K. operation." Jinx explained, giving a light nod. "And it makes a lot of sense, actually. M.A.S.K. IS known for creating vehicles that shift from one thing to another, be it two vehicles in one or just a vehicle that is armed to the teeth." She glanced down to Kyoka in reassurance. "I'm certain that your Autobots must qualify for both, right?"

The purplette had to admit, it sounded like a pretty good plan all things considered. And if even OPTIMUS was taking part in the operation, he must've had quite a lot of confidence that the plan would work. "Hm, yeah, I get what you're saying…" Her sights trailed back to the TV, watching as things started to go down. "Well, let's just hope they're able to—WAIT JUST A GODDAMNED MINUTE!" Shooting up from her seat, Kyoka practically leapt at the TV, much to everyone's shock. Her eyes were almost glued to it, having seen certain color briefly appear. And, sure enough… there he was. Her best friend, dressed in his hero costume, standing side-by-side with Mirko talking with Optimus before both of them dashed off to parts unknown. Needless to say, Kyoka wasn't happy. "IIIZZUUUKKUUU!"

Kyoka's wrathful scream caught everybody off guard, and before Jinx could even ask her what was going on, she sprinted straight out of the room, leaving everyone baffled. But she couldn't waste any time, not in a situation like this. 'The top of the castle is the ONLY place high enough to get any SEMBLANCE of service on this godforsaken island.' she thought to herself as she clamored up the staircases, blowing past anybody who got in her way. 'I need to call him and try to find out what the FUCK he's thinking!'

Finally, she made it to the very top, flinging open the door and rushing toward the guard railings. Taking out her phone, Kyoka plugged a jack into it and held it up to the sky, searching for a signal. "C'mon, c'mon… HA! Two bars! YES!" Using her other jack, she scrolled down to Izuku's number and dialed, waiting apprehensively as it rang twice.

On the third ring, he picked up. "H-Hello—"

"IZUKU MIDORIYA, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!"

"AAAAH! K-Kyoka! I-I wasn't expecting a call from you!" Izuku spoke about as nonchalantly as he could, but just from his stammering, Kyoka knew it was all an act. "So, uh… h-how's your internship going?"

"Don't you "how's your internship going" ME!" Kyoka snapped back. "What in the world are you doing in a BURNING HOSU?!"

This is what threw Izuku off his game. "W-What?! How did you kno—I-I mean, I'm not entirely sure what you—"

Kyoka cut him off with a grimace. "Izuku, I saw you on TV, I know you're in the middle of that warzone." Her eyes narrowed, even though she knew he couldn't see her disappointed expression. "Also, wow, were you really just going to lie to me?"

There was a long pause, and when Izuku next spoke, his nervousness gave way to remorse. "I… I'm so sorry." As much as she wanted to keep her frustration up, Kyoka had to admit, her heart melted when she heard how genuine his apology was. "I should've never tried lying to you. Yes, I'm in Hosu… though not exactly by choice. My teachers and I were on our way to Shibuya when our train was derailed by a Nomu. Things just fell from there."

"…I see." Kyoka replied calmly, her features softening as she understood the situation now. "Well, I'm just glad that Prime and the others are there to help. But please, don't do anything rash while you're there, okay?"

"I'm, uh… afraid that might not be possible." Izuku said, with Kyoka furrowing her brow in confusion. "Kyoka, Iida's not with Manual. He's gone off on his own and no one knows where he is. Mirko and I are searching for him now, but…"

A chill went through Kyoka as she quickly connected the dots. "You… think he's gone off on his own to find the Hero Killer, don't you?"

"Yeah, exactly. But like I said, I've got Mirko with me, so if we find them, SHE will deal with the Hero Killer, I'll get Iida out of there… whether he wants to or not."

Kyoka nodded in approval. "Good plan. …Also, wow, is Mirko one of your teachers?" She managed to crack a smile despite the grim situation. "Gotta say, that's kinda impressive."

Izuku managed to let out a little chuckle at that. "Hehe, yeah, it IS pretty cool. She can be tough sometimes, but she's fair. …Also, how IS your internship going? Is Snake Eyes on the up and up?"

"Oh, dude, he's TOTALLY on the up." the purplette reassured. "I can't wait to tell you all about it when we get back…" Her demeanor once again changed, taking on a more serious tone. "Just… make sure you get out of this alive. For me, okay?"

There was no second thought for Izuku as he responded. "For you, of course." A light blush came to Kyoka's cheeks, but then she heard shouting on the other end of the line, prompting Izuku to give her a quick goodbye. "I-I've gotta go, Mirko thinks she's found something. I'll talk to you later!"

"Right. Stay safe. …Oh, and smack Iida upside the head for me, would ya?"

"Hey, at this point, I'll have to do it TWICE for both of us." The two shared a laugh over that before Izuku gave his last farewell. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, see you soon." With that, Kyoka was forced to hang up, bringing her phone down and holding it close to her chest. Despite his promise, she couldn't help but feel anxious at the mere thought of him and the Hero Killer in the same place. "Izuku… please live." …Though what Kyoka failed to notice was Snake Eyes, Jinx and Quick Kick behind her, the latter two wearing knowing smiles.

'Oh… she down BAD.' Mackenzie thought to herself.

…..

"Then so be it. …Die."

The Hero Killer's words prompted both Tenya and his engines to roar, the young man bursting forward with a powerful kick aimed straight for Stain's head. "FOR TENSEI!" …But he missed. Stain had been much too fast, leaping up high to avoid the blow, much to Tenya's shock.

"Ingenium." Stain let the familiar name roll off his tongue. "So, you're brothers. I let him live so he could spread the good word. The word of ME." Swinging his leg forward to emphasize the last word, Stain drove his spike-toed boot straight into Tenya's right shoulder, drawing blood and sending him down with another powerful blow to the back. Now standing over him, Stain took his sword up and aimed for the other shoulder. "You're a weakling. Just like he was." With a sickening sound, the blade was drove straight into Tenya's left shoulder, making him scream bloody murder. "You aren't heroes. You have no right to be called that. Both of you are nothing but fakes."

Despite his predicament, Tenya wouldn't give up, trying to push against the foot that was keeping him down. "Shut up, VILLAIN!" he bellowed. "You damaged his spine and paralyzed him from the waist down! He's never gonna be able to work as a pro hero again." He thought back to when he was younger, seeing all of the heroic deeds his brother had done for the sake of helping others. "My brother was incredible! A caring person who saved many lives. Someone people looked up to! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HIM!" Tenya's shoulder buckled, blood pouring out from the wound even while the blade was still in it. "He is my hero! My older brother inspired my dream… that one day I could be a pro, too! I won't forgive you! I'll KILL YOU!"

Stain, for his part, wasn't impressed with the rhetoric, pointing a finger toward the injured Native. "Shouldn't you be more worried about that guy?" His words took Tenya off guard, his eyes darting over to the pro. "So busy with your grudge that you forgot about him. You plan on using your Quirk only for yourself. You're about as far away from being a hero as I can imagine." Taking his sword out from Tenya's shoulder, he brought the blade up to his mouth with a sinister grin. "And that's why you'll die tonight." He licked the blood off the blade, allowing his Quirk to do the rest.

Just like that, Tenya felt every part of his body stop. He wasn't numb, but he was still left totally paralyzed. "My body… won't move!" His eyes widened when he peered up, seeing Stain lift his sword directly above his head.

"Goodbye, child. May your death bring about a better world."

"No, please… not like this!" Tenya's rage wasn't quelled, even in the face of death. "Say what you want about me! You're still just a criminal who hurt my brother!"

But, just before Stain could make the finishing blow… something was caught in his peripheral vision. A green glow. He only just managed to turn his head before… "SMAAAAAASSHH!" A powerful kick sent Stain sprawling back, the killer spinning through the air before managing to land on his feet. Much to Tenya's shock, a familiar figure stood over him, his signature green lightning sparking all across his body.

"M… Midoriya? How?"

Glancing down at him over his shoulder, Izuku reassured his friend. "Don't worry, Iida. We're going to save you."

Stain's eyes widened at the boy's appearance. 'It's him. The one from Shigaraki's photo.' But then, Izuku's words finally processed in his mind. 'Wait, what does he mean by "we"?' *WHAM* "ACK!" Receiving his answer, something else slammed right into Stain's back, sending him into one of the alley walls with a hard THUD.

"Ha! Nice work, kid!" Mirko commended as she landed, the Hero Killer collecting himself across from her. With a wild grin, she gave Izuku a thumbs up. "I've got him handled here. You get your pal outta here and to a hospital, got it?"

"M-Mirko?" Tenya whispered. "W-Where did she come from?"

Izuku turned around and knelt in front of Tenya, inspecting his wounds. "Would you believe I'm interning under her? Anyway, we've gotta get you out of here. Can you walk?"

"…N-No. I can't move my body." Tenya answered, trembling as he attempted to move any muscle. "It must be his Quirk. Since he stabbed me, I've been paralyzed."

His eyes widening, Izuku snapped back toward Mirko and Stain, who by this point were going one on one in a no-holds-barred fight. The Rabbit Hero was successfully kicking all of the Hero Killer's knives away and right back at him, though he masterfully caught them without so much as receiving a scratch. "…That's the kind of Quirk people on TV said he might have." Izuku pondered to himself. "So cutting activates his power, huh?"

Tenya, however, had more pressing questions. "How did you even find me? Or know where the Hero Killer might be?"

"I saw it on TV. They had some stats about the Hero Killer that went over how most of his victims were found where there weren't many people." He shifted his eyes down to Tenya as he went to pick him up. "So in order to find you, we needed to search away from the panic. Don't worry, the Autobots are here and they're dealing with the Nomu as we speak."

"The Autobots… a-and Nomu?" Tenya echoed, his expression hardening a bit. "So one of them WAS watching me. …Strongarm."

Izuku's brows furrowed back at his friend. "Yeah. And you'd better have a good excuse for why—wait." The greenette's eyebrows snapped up at the sight of Native, who was still bleeding out from the shoulder. "Oh no… another pro?"

"…Y-Yes." Iida replied shamefacedly, decidedly taking his eyes off of Native. "Stain was about to kill him before I showed up."

Tightening his lips, Izuku contemplated on what to do next. 'If it was just Iida, I could've picked him up and carried him away myself. But now—'

"URK!" Broken out of his thoughts by a sudden shout, Izuku whirled back around… and was left horrified by the sight of Mirko frozen in place, balanced on one leg right in the middle of a thrust kick. Somehow, she was capable of maintaining that balance. "Grrr… damn you! You actually got a HIT on me?!"

The Hero Killer smiled sadistically as he cleaned one of his smaller knives off, stepping closer with his sword at the ready. "Rumi Usagiyama, the rising star known as Mirko…" His grin disappeared and was replaced by a contemptuous scowl. "You are one of the worst examples of a fake hero I've ever seen. You live a life of pilgrimage while hunting down criminals wherever you go, but you treat it more as a sport than anything else."

Mirko snarled up at him, her red eyes glaring right into his. "Ya mean like how YOU do the same only you KILL pro heroes?! I do what I do to keep people like YOU from being a problem!"

"If that's so, then why do you continually reject the help of others?" Stain fired back, lifting his sword directly above the small of her back. "You view fighting criminals as a test of strength, and that any sort of help offered to you is seen as a sign of "weakness"." Despite her dire position, Mirko just kept her scowl, not letting up for a second. "If your so-called "strength" is all you care about in regards to being a hero, then you are not worthy to bear the name!"

"STOP!"

Before Stain could even think of stabbing Mirko through her spine, Izuku's shout brought everything to a halt. Everyone's attention was now solely on him, with Mirko's grimace becoming slightly panicked. "NO! Kid, don't do it!"

"Midoriya, please, don't get involved!" Tenya pleaded from the ground. "This doesn't have anything to do with you!"

This made Izuku do a doubletake. "…Iida. What're you saying?"

"Hmph… you showed up to save your friend's life. You even made a big entrance." Stain mused as he swiped his sword toward his soon-to-be victims. "But I have a duty to kill him and these would-be heroes. When your friend chose to fight me, it guaranteed that the weaker of us will be culled. So, what will you do?" The Hero Killer and Izuku locked eyes, the latter stunned to see the conviction behind them.

'This guy isn't playing around. Those are the eyes… of a fanatic.' Pulling his phone out from behind him, Izuku sent his location out to everyone in the 1-A group chat, hoping that at least ONE of them would understand the situation. …And silently praying that Kyoka wouldn't throttle him later.

"Listen to me!" Tenya continued. "Stand down. Run away. I told you this has nothing to do with you!"

But the Engine user's words went unheeded. If anything, Izuku just used his statement to counter itself. "If you really believe that, then why are you trying to become a hero in the first place?!" He heard a gasp from Iida, knowing that he had gotten through on SOME level. "There are plenty of things I want to say, but they'll have to wait. …All Might was right about one thing, thought." Raising his fists and taking a defensive stance, Izuku prepared for battle against the Hero Killer. "Meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero!"

Mirko blinked in surprise. "Woah… kid…"

For his part, something had suddenly been ignited within Stain, his lips tugging back in an eager, demented grin. This boy was invoking the name and advise of All Might himself. Perhaps there WAS hope for the future of heroism. All the same, he couldn't forget his current mission, and that involved taking this boy down. 'But I won't kill him.' Stain vowed to himself. 'HE gets to live' Raising his sword, Stain proclaimed; "GOOD!" as Izuku dashed right at him, intent on getting close. Stain quickly took note of this and quickly went for one of his side blades, but right as he swiped, Izuku rushed straight under his legs, avoiding the attack.

'Faster than I thought…' Stain whipped around and brought his sword down for a clean slash. 'But not fast enou—' He was proven wrong when his sword struck nothing but air, Izuku nowhere in sight. 'What? He disappeared? …No.' A flash of green above him alerted the Hero Killer to Izuku having leapt over his head, performing a somersault in the process.

Gritting his teeth and unfurling his body, Izuku extended a single leg as he came down on Stain. 'Here goes! A 10%... POLYHEX… SMAAAAASSSHHH!' Delivering a powerful axe kick straight onto the killer, Izuku tumbled and landed in a crouch behind him, Stain now sprawled across the ground. 'Hah… it worked? IT WORKED! Shoot Style actually wor—'

"URK!" A paralyzing feeling suddenly came over Izuku, leaving him motionless on his hands and knees. "M-My body! Did he cut me and I didn't even notice?" Sure enough, one look to his left and Izuku saw a very small cut in his hero costume, with blood trickling from the wound. 'One graze was all it took?' Izuku wondered as he saw Stain stand back up… and that one of his blades was dripping with his blood. The realization hit him fast and hard; '…It's the blood.'

"You're not powerful enough." Stain said bluntly, walking away from Izuku and back toward Tenya. "It's not that you predicted my movements. You just left my field of vision and maneuvered so that you'd be able to get a clean shot. A fair tactic, but I saw through your plan." The Hero Killer spared Izuku a glance over his shoulder. "There are countless false heroes around here who are all talk, but I think you're worthy of staying alive. You're different from these three."

Pointing his sword straight down to Iida's head, Izuku and Mirko could only watch in utter horror. "No, PLEASE!" Izuku cried out.

"He's just a child!" Mirko roared. "STOP IT! Get away from him!" But then, just as Stain was about to plunge his blade down… a burning orange glow came billowing from further down the alley… and then shot out straight at the Hero Killer, forcing him to back off. Izuku, Mirko, Tenya and Native were left stunned, bringing their sights around to the source of the flames.

There, a lone figure stood, his right side covered in chilling ice… and the left in blazing fire. "Midoriya… you need to give more details in times like this." Holding up his phone, Shoto Todoroki revealed that he'd gotten Izuku's message, the Half-Cold Half-Hot user keeping his eyes directly on the Hero Killer. "I was almost too late to stop this guy."

Tenya was flabbergasted. Now TWO of his classmates had found him. "Y-You too, Todoroki?"

As was Mirko, but she was more impressed than anything. "Hah, nice entrance, kid! Way to make the save."

"How'd you get here?" Izuku followed up, only to notice the flames coming from his friend. "W-Wait, you're using your left side!"

Shoto echoed Izuku's inquiry back at him. "How'd I get here? Good question. Your message took me a while to figure out. Next time, try to send more than just your location." Izuku offered a guilty smile in response, but Shoto simply narrowed his eyes at Stain. "But you're not one to send cryptic messages without reason, are you?" Shifting his right foot forward, Shoto sent a wave of ice out toward across the alley, forcing the Hero Killer to leap away while the ice raised Izuku, Native and Mirko up so that they could slide down toward him.

…Unfortunately, this also caused Mirko to fall flat on her face, the cold, unforgiving ground leaving her nettled. "Grr, as if it couldn't get WORSE today—huh?" But as she landed, she felt her fingers start to twitch, which got her attention rather quick. 'Wait, how…'

"I figured you were in trouble and asking for help." Shoto went on, giving a nod to Izuku before rushing forward, sending his flames out at the Hero Killer. "It's gonna be okay. More pros will be here any minute!"

Stain avoided the fire blasts with ease, though, grumbling irritably. "Hmph, and so who are you? You have a familiar aura, but I can't quite place it." He glared without remorse at the young man. "No matter. You'll fall just like the rest."

"You're just what they said you were." Shoto retorted, unflinching. "But you won't be taking any more lives, Hero Killer."

"Todoroki, wait!" Izuku piped up, warning his friend. "You can't let that guy get your blood. I-I think he controls his enemies by swallowing it. That's how he got us!"

Shoto lifted his arms, preparing himself for battle. "So he ingests blood to keep people from moving. All I've gotta do is keep by distance and—" *snkt* While he wasn't paying attention, Stain threw a small knife straight at Shoto's head. Thankfully, the boy reacted quick enough to pull his head away, but his cheek was still grazed.

…But then, Stain once again jumped into the air, bringing one of his blades in for a precision strike. "You have good friends, Ingenium. Or you DID!" But just as he brought it down, Shoto created an ice wall to block it.

That wasn't the end of it, though, with Shoto noticing the distinct lack of a certain weapon on the killer. Snapping his head up, Shoto saw the long blade spinning in midair. "He must've thrown it at the same time as the knife—AGH!" Once again taking advantage of the distraction, Stain grabbed Shoto by the collar and went to lick the wound on his cheek… but Shoto's left side burst into flames before he could, forcing another retreat.

"…Just stop it." Tenya said as Shoto continuously kept Stain back with fire and ice combo attacks. "Why are you doing this? His fight is with ME!" He tried so desperately to move, only to do little more than just a slight tremble. "I inherited my brother's name. I'm the one who should stop him! THE HERO KILLER IS MINE!"

"Huh, so you're Ingenium now? Strange." Shoto responded, sending out another volley of ice spires. "The Ingenium I knew before never had that look on his face." For the first time that night, Tenya's dark scowl let up, hearing his classmate's words. "You've got a dark side. Guess my family isn't the only one."

Izuku was still trying to move, calling out to his friend. "Careful, Todoroki—huh?" Just then, he felt his fingers twitch, much to his surprise.

"Ah, good." And just like that, Izuku managed to turn his head, seeing Mirko mere inches away from him. "I was wonderin' if you'd get up, too. C'mon, let's nix this clown."

Back at the fight, Shoto's latest Ice Wall was broken through with multiple slashes from Stain's sword, the killer jumping through the air again. "Ya blocked your own field of vision against an opponent who's faster than you. Rookie mistake."

Shoto wasn't deterred, however, bringing up his left arm for another blazing inferno. "Come and get me, then!" However, he was stopped when Stain threw two folding knives, both of them stabbing into Shoto's forearm. "GAH!"

"You're good kid…" In the blink of an eye, Stain was now going straight after the downed Native, who was still helpless and immovable. "Unlike HIM!" But, just as he was about to reach the hero…

"LUNAR ROCKET!"

"POLYHEX SMAAAASSSHH!"

*WHAAM*

Taken aback, Shoto watched as both the Rabbit Hero and Deku burst forward in a double flying kick, smashing the Hero Killer into a wall and drag his face across it. "Midoriya! Mirko!"

"I'm not sure why, but we're able to move now!" Izuku explained.

"Don't question it, just keep kicking!" Mirko encouraged.

Shoto let that information sink in. "Hm, so he has a time limit."

"No…" Native piped up, garnering his attention. "Mirko and the kid should've been the last ones to be freed. I still can't move a muscle."

Meanwhile, Stain was kicking himself for not getting the job done sooner. 'They must be Type O.' He fell backwards out of the duo's flying kicks and fell to the ground, where the mentor and student followed after him.

That wouldn't remain the case for long as Shoto prepared another attack. "You two, back here, now!" Following the advice, Mirko and Izuku bounced back as another wave of ice blasted into Stain, forcing him away as well.

Now regrouped, Mirko wiped away the blood that was trickling down from her ear, asking; "Okay, so anyone wanna take a guess as to why we were the last ones frozen but the first to be freed?"

"I've got three." Izuku offered, not taking his eyes off the Hero Killer for a moment. "First, his Quirk could be less effective the more people he uses it on. Second, the amount ingested could play into how long it works. Or third, there could be a difference depending on a person's blood type."

"…If it's the latter, then my blood type is B."

"I-I'm Type A." Iida uttered.

Mirko wore a surprised smile to her protégé. "Huh, you Type O, too, then kid?"

Izuku put on a sheepish grin and rubbed his neck. "Ah, hah, I-I guess I am."

Stain's grin came back, though it was more sarcastic than anything. "So you've figured it out. Bravo, very impressive."

The three standing combatants scowled back in his direction, with Izuku making another point. "Well, I guess it doesn't really help much knowing how is Quirk works."

"I thought we could hurry and carry these two out of here, but it's no good." Shoto concluded. "He's too fast. He can avoid ice and fire. If we make any attempt to leave, he'd just cut us off. Our best option is to hold until the others arrive." He sent a serious gaze over to Mirko in particular. "The only problem is, I'd have to leave myself unguarded, and we'd have to avoid close combat."

"Not a problem, kid." Mirko insisted. "You've already lost way too much blood. You stay back and give us supporting cover." She rested a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Listen, Deku, I might not be much of a team player, but I know how to take advantage of the numbers game. We'll keep him distracted while Icy Hot back there works his magic, got it?"

Deku wasted no time in bringing up Full Cowling. "Right, got it… time to get serious." Reaching into his utility belt, Izuku pulled out his red scarf and tied it around his neck in one swift movement, the garment flowing through the breeze before he brought up his respirator to cover his face. "…Let's go." And just like that, Izuku's helmet transformed and covered his entire head, its segmented eyes flashing to life and glowing red in the darkness of the alleyway.

Shoto, Tenya, Native and even Stain were left flabbergasted at what they saw, all while Mirko gave the boy a thumbs up. "Hell yeah, kid. NOW we're talkin'!"

"…Midoriya." Shoto uttered. "When did you… become a Kamen Rider?"

Deku's head fell forward, placing his hand to his helmet in exasperation. "I didn't, Todoroki, it's just an homage."

"But a very GOOD homage." Mirko supported with a pat to the shoulder. "That said… ya could've at least said "Henshin" before putting the helmet on." Suddenly, the heroine struck a pose, bringing a fist down at her side while holding her other hand out straight, crossing it over her chest at a diagonal angle. "Plus, ya should've done a super cool transformation pose, too. THAT lets your enemies know you mean business."

"COULD WE PLEASE STICK TO THE PROGRAM?!" Deku begged, now thoroughly embarrassed.

Despite himself, Stain smirked in amusement, but agree with the young man's words. "I suggest you listen to your Rider friend there." Watching Deku face-fault to the ground, Stain's demeanor went back to being serious. "Three against one… this fight won't be easy."

Focusing back on the topic at hand, Shoto carefully pulled the knives out of his arm, throwing them to the side. "Right, let's do this. We're taking a big risk, but…" Collecting themselves, the two boys and Rabbit Hero stood steadfast in front of Tenya and Native. "We'll protect them."

And just like that, Mirko and Deku shot off, bounding across the alley walls around the Hero Killer as Shoto let loose more waves of ice. Stain slashed his way through the frozen pillars, but was taken off guard at his back, where Mirko and Izuku came in for another double flying kick. This time, however, Stain caught them out the corner of his eye, and leapt out of the way so that he was now behind them. Before he could take out another knife and slice at the duo, however, another wall of ice cut him off, along with a burst of flame that forced him back again.

Mirko and Deku went back in for another strike, this time intent on crisscrossing over Stain with a pair of kicks from his sides. Unfortunately, Stain was able to avoid that as well… and as the two were flying past him, he took up his knifes and made small cuts in their legs. He also made sure to trip Deku up in the process, causing him to crash-land into some trashcans. Stain was about to make the finishing blow, but Mirko acted quickly and lunged at him with yet another kick.

"Get in the game, Deku!" Mirko said. "We've gotta—urk!" But just like that, she was frozen again, falling to the ground on her stomach. "GAH! DAMN IT!"

"Mirko—AGH!" Before Deku could even think of getting up, he too felt the paralyzing sting, leaving him slumped against the wall motionless. "No!"

Watching the fight from the ground, however, Iida couldn't have felt worse. All of this was happening… because of him. It made him reflect on everything, from Stain's words to him, Izuku's vow to save him, Todoroki's resolve… and even his own rage. He hated watching this. He couldn't stand it anymore. "You have to run… I can't… watch this!"

Clenching his teeth, Shoto knew what he had to do. "You want to make your brother proud?!" He raised his voice, taking Tenya aback. It was quite rare to hear the Fire and Ice user at such a volume. Sending out another blast of ice at Stain, Shoto protected Izuku and Mirko, effectively shielding them from the Hero Killer. "Then stand up and BE Ingenium!" Unfortunately, Stain wasted no time in cutting through the ice, his warped smile increasing as he closed in on Shoto, whose left side erupted into flames. "Become the hero he wanted you to be!"

As everything seemed to slow down, Tenya thought back to the words he said before. "I am Ingenium, and I WILL defeat you. That, I promise!" …But at the same time, he felt a sense of remorse come crashing down entirely upon him, silently crying to himself. '…Can I call myself a hero? My friends are protecting me. They're BLEEDING for me.' He managed to catch sight of the man he so loathed as Shoto fended him off. 'Stain, the Hero Killer. I took my brother's name so I could teach this villain a lesson. But I was so consumed by revenge that I forgot about what REALLY mattered. I was too focused on myself to help anyone else. You spoke the truth, Hero Killer. These two ARE different from me. I'm immature. I can't hold a candle to them.' Tenya wanted to clench his fist in frustration… and his fingers started to move. 'But still…'

"Has anyone ever told you that you rely on your Quirk too much?!" Stain shouted as he dashed through the fire and ice onslaught. "Makes you a careless fighter!" In a single second, Shoto found the Hero Killer directly in front of him, his blade mere inches from slicing directly through his left arm.

"NO!" Mirko growled. "Kid, MOVE!"

"TODOROKI!" Deku's eyes were wide with fear. It couldn't end like this…

…But unbeknownst to both of them, a certain blue-haired young man had stood up, and his engines were powering up to full blast. 'If I don't stand up now, I'll never be able to be as good as them! I'll never live up to my brother's name!' With that thought in his mind, Tenya Iida—the Engine Hero: Ingenium—blasted straight at the Hero Killer with a massive kick. "Recipro… BURST!"

*KRCHNK*

Just like that, Stain's sword was broken in half, leaving the killer with only a short, dull part of the blade left. It was quickly followed up with another powerful kick to Stain's gut, sending him flying down the alleyway. Deku was smiling from ear to ear under his helmet. "IIDA!"

"Hahaha! Nice one, kid!" Mirko cheered.

"You're free, too?" Todoroki mused. "Guess his Quirk isn't as great as I thought it was."

"…Todoroki, Mirdoriya." Tenya lowered his head shamefully. "This had nothing to do with you. I apologize."

While no one saw it on his face, the group could hear Izuku's disapproval just by his tone of voice. "Come on, not this again."

Despite his left arm starting to feel numb, though, Ingenium remained unwavering. "I'm okay. And I won't let any of you shed any more blood for me!"

"…It's no use trying to pretend you're a hero now." Stain uttered bitterly, his rage beginning to boil as blood dripped from his hand. "A person's true nature doesn't change just in a few minutes. You'll never be anything but a fraud who prioritizes his own desires." His glare at Tenya grew intense as his eyes became bloodshot. "You're the sickness that's infected society and ruined the name "hero". Someone must teach you a lesson."

Shoto wasn't impressed, sneering at the man's venom-laced words. "You're a fundamentalist lunatic. Iida, don't listen to this murderer's nonsense."

"…No." Tenya uttered. "He's completely correct. I have no right to call myself a hero… at all." His words left Shoto and Deku shaken, but even as blood continued to run down his arm, Tenya scowled right back at Stain. "Even so… there's no way I can back down. If I give up now, then the name "Ingenium" will die!"

The Hero Killer's eyes were practically glowing red with anger at this point. "PATHETIC!" He made a move forward, but Shoto wasted no time in getting in front of Ingenium, protecting him with a pointblank fire blast.

"IDIOTS!" Native cried out from his place on the pavement. "The Hero Killer is only after me and the kid in the white armor! Stop fighting back—just get out of here!"

"…Wow, guy, you really gotta get a grip." Mirko deadpanned, her eyes shifting up to see Stain perched on one of his own knives that he stuck in the wall. "Besides, I don't think he'd let us run even if we wanted to."

Shoto nodded in agreement, right when Stain leapt away. "She's right! Something's clearly changed in him just now. He seems rattled!" Sending out another surge of ice, Shoto intended on slowing the killer down, but with amazing acrobatic feats, Stain managed to dodge and slice through everything thrown at him.

Seeing this, Shoto thought over everything to try and formulate some sort of plan. 'His Quirk alone isn't especially powerful. The issue of blood type makes it unpredictable and it doesn't last long. Plus, he has to get in close if he wants to use it. It must be difficult for him to take on multiple opponents at once.' Switching sides again, Shoto let out even more firepower, but the murderer just darted further to his left to avoid the blast and get at Ingenium at the same time. But Shoto wouldn't let that happen. 'He's desperate. Trying to kill Iida and that other hero before the pros show up. Such tenacity…'

As Shoto once again blocked Stain off with fire, Ingenium tried to start his engines back up, intent on getting in the fight… but all he got was a mere sputter. 'Crap! My engines are shot. Did I break the radiator with that one kick?' Wracking his brain, it didn't take long for Tenya to come up with a plan. "Todoroki! Can you regulate your temperatures?"

"Not well with my left, but yes, I can!"

"You gotta freeze my leg for me." Ingenium explained, making Shoto do a doubletake. "But without plugging the exhausts!"

Unfortunately, this brief distraction allowed Stain to close in again, taking out another folding knife. "You're in the WAY!" He threw it as hard as he could at Shoto's face, only for Ingenium to jump in and take the hit to his right bicep.

"NO! Iida—huh?" All at once, Izuku regained movement in his body, almost falling over himself trying to get to his friends.

Mirko was up as well, wearing a wild grin. "Haha, YES! Not gonna let THAT happen again." Moving across the alley to her student, she helped him up to his feet. "You okay, kid? How's your leg?"

"F-Fine, I think." Peering down and lifting his leg up, Deku found that it was only a minor cut near his ankle. "He didn't get me too deep. I think focusing on two of us at the same time might've thrown him off."

"Awesome. So you know how we gotta finish this, right?"

Taking her words to heart, Izuku brought up Full Cowling, the antennae on his helmet glowing bright green with it. "Right, hit him fast, hit him hard, don't give him any time to recover."

"…I was gonna say with a good ol' fashioned Rider Kick, but eh, same thing."

Izuku lowered his head with a sigh. "Should've seen that coming. Let's go!"

Back at the fight, Stain's rage was boiling over, taking out a larger, more serrated blade and throwing it at the two students. "Why won't you just STAY DOWN?!" The blade stabbed itself straight into Ingenium's forearm, even piercing through the metal bracer with enough force to send the young man to the pavement.

"Iida—"

But Tenya cut Shoto off. "JUST DO IT! Hurry!"

Following his instructions, Shoto placed his hand on Tenya's left leg, freezing over his boot only so much so that the exhaust pipes were still exposed. "It's done!"

Revving his engines, Tenya let them puff out more black smoke as he reached for the blade embedded in his arm… using his teeth to pull it out. 'Thank you, Todoroki. I will fight… with, or without my arms!' Standing up, Ingenium's engines burst to life and propelled him straight up, intent on a collision course with the Hero Killer. "RECIPRO… EXTEEEEENND!"

'One for All, Full Cowling…' Concentrating hard, Izuku attempted to muster up a little more power from his Quirk for this final blow. 'FIFTEEN PERCENT!' Pumping his legs, Izuku launched himself straight into the air, so much so that he actually went above Stain and Iida. Catching himself on the wall, Izuku pushed himself off and extended one leg down, bringing the other leg back for a flying kick as he shouted; "PRAXUS… SMAAAASSHHH!"

Shoto smiled, watching his friends careen toward the Hero Killer. "…Go guys."

With two powerful strikes from above and below, Deku and Ingenium's boots collided with Stain's face and midsection respectively, sending him spiraling as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Shoto was about to make a finishing move of his own, but Stain collected himself quickly, snapping his hand out and grabbing his falling sword to swipe it at Iida's head. …But the wild swing only to sliced off a bit of his blue hair.

"I… no. WE will defeat you, Stain!" Ingenium proclaimed, all while a shadow passed over them all. "Because you are a criminal… and we ARE heroes!"

Stain gasped and whipped his head around… just in time to see Mirko's silhouette backed against the moon, the Rabbit Hero spinning in midair before falling straight toward him with a kick of her own. "LUNAR… LANDING!" Her foot landed straight into Stain's stomach, causing him to cough up blood… and allowing Shoto's next burst of flame to finish the job.

The Half-Cold Half-Hot user created an ice slide for his friends to land safely on, all while bringing up an ice pillar for Stain to crash on. Mirko landed next to him in a defensive position, though Deku and Ingenium's landing was much less comfortable. All the same, Shoto urged them to stand up. "Keep fighting! We can't let him get away!"

"Uh, kid, don't think that's necessary." Mirko pointed out, relaxing immediately when she saw Stain's limp body sprawled over the jagged ice. "I think we got him."

"Yeah…" Izuku deactivated his helmet and stood up, keeping his eyes trained on Stain. But for Tenya, he remained on the ground, still comprehending what they had just achieved. "He's gotta be out after all that, right?"

"Hm, then let's restrain him." Shoto said, scanning across the area. "Try to find some rope and we'll—"

"You…" A collective gasp came from the four and their sights zeroed in on Stain, slowly reaching for another one of his blades before he lunged out at them, albeit weakly. "YOOOOUUU—"

*CHOOM*

Everything seemed to go into slow-motion with what happened next. Out of the darkness of the alley, a bright, bluish-green light suddenly erupted into a swirling vortex, taking everybody off guard. Out of all of them, though, Izuku and Tenya were the only ones who knew what this meant… but it still left them astonished to see it. How… how did they know where to find them? That was a question they would have to ask later as, from out of the GroundBridge, a certain yellow beetle came charging through, ramming himself right into the flying Hero Killer and taking them both across the alley. And then…

*WHRR-TSCZZ-TSCZZ-TSCZZ-CHKT*

Shoto and Mirko were left wide-eyed and slack-jawed at what happened. The yellow beetle that both of them had seen before… had transformed into a thirteen-foot-tall robot, who grabbed the stunned Stain by the midsection and drove him straight into a wall. …And then directly into the pavement. Several times. "Zrrkt—DON'T! MESS! WITH MY! FRIENDS!" By the end of his pummeling session, Bumblebee left the Hero Killer embedded in the ground, now thoroughly unconscious.

Backing away, Bumblebee exhaled from his vents, calming himself down… before pumping his fists into the air with a victorious fanfare from his radio. "Zrkt—Hooraaay, I did the thiiiing!" Right in the middle of his celebration, he turned around… only to realize that it wasn't just Izuku and Tenya there, cutting his celebration short. Mirko, Shoto, and even Native were completely speechless, not knowing what to do as they just stared at him.

And Izuku could only facepalm. Of course this had to happen. "Bee… you have the worst possible timing I've ever seen."

"Zrrkt—Uh…" Bumblebee put his hand to his neck. "…my bad?"

…..

A/N: Dammit, Bee, we were SO close to making it two days without having someone learn the secret by accident. Ah well, if anything, now Stain is well and truly down for the count… right? Can never be too sure with him.

But yeah, as you can see, this chapter was pretty much dedicated solely to the fight with Stain, as mentioned above. And well… not really many significant changes outside of the addition of Mirko. Granted, she DOES add some extra backup and the Hero Killer makes some interesting points on her, plus she gets in that last kick, but… yeah, pretty standard stuff here. But what's REALLY going to change here because of her presence… is who gets the credit for taking the Hero Killer in. Sorry, Endeavor, but the Rabbit Hero's gonna be getting some REAL credit for this one (since she actually DID participate in the battle).

And as we can see, both Izuku and Shoto are significantly improving as well. Shoto's got his left side well and truly burning and Izuku's Shoot Style is starting to come into its own… complete with MORE Cybertronian City-themed Smashes! I thought that'd be a neat way to tie everything back in given the lack of Transformer action in this chapter.

Also, at the start, we DID get a scene with Kyoka finding out that Izuku's in Hosu… and I can only imagine what her reaction's going to be when she finds out that he fought the Hero Killer and WON. Of course, given that she was one of the recipients of that location text, she likely told Snake Eyes about it, but we won't have to wait long to see what her thoughts on the matter are. On that note…

And now, the Preview! Following Bumblebee's sudden appearance and pummeling the Hero Killer into next week, Mirko does the sensible thing… she knocks Native out and asks what the hell is going on. Meanwhile, we FINALLY get to the Nomu battle, and Endeavor's arrival spurn's some rare irritation from Optimus Prime. Will these two be able to work together for the greater good? Next time: Hosu Climax: Autobots vs Nomu. Thanks for reading everybody, and I'll catch you all when November rolls around! Until then, stay safe out there, and as always…

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!