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…

54. Autobots and Heroes vs Nomu

A/N: How's it going everybody?! After a month-long hiatus, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all back to Transformers MHA! And this is it! The conclusion of the Hosu Arc and the Hero Killer storyline. Though of course, we'll have to deal with the fallout and aftermath of this event in the NEXT chapter, but for now, I think it's time we wrap this part up, don't you think? You guys have waited long enough, so let's get into it! This is…

Chapter 54: Hosu Climax: Autobots and Heroes vs Nomu

…..

Izuku Midoriya wanted to die. He wanted to just find a hole in the middle of nowhere, curl up into a ball, and perish. …Well, okay, that was probably a little extreme, but at the moment, his insides were twisting and churning as his anxiety practically went through the roof. It had happened again. AGAIN. For what had to be at least the fifth or sixth time—he couldn't keep track at this point—the secret had gotten out. And now Todoroki, Mirko, and even Native were staring at the 13-foot tall, bright yellow robot whom he supposedly called his best friend. …Okay, again, a bit harsh, but after witnessing Bumblebee just pummel Stain right into the pavement, there was no going back from something like that.

All he could do was facepalm and shake his head. "Bee… you have the worst possible timing I've ever seen."

"Zrkt—Uh… my bad?" Bumblebee shrugged guiltily.

"To say the least." Izuku deadpanned, glancing to Tenya as he slowly struggled to his feet. "But hey, at least it wasn't Strongarm who came in. Otherwise, you would've been chewed out immediately."

"I am aware, yes." Iida grunted, wincing at the reminder and the numbing pain in his arms. "I suppose I'll have to brace myself for that when the time comes." He peered past his shoulder, only to be met with the eyes of their comrades slowly trailing toward them. "B-But what do we do now? We can't go back on this."

Izuku sighed and shook his head. "No, we can't. You're right." A sigh escaped his lips before he turned to their classmate and his mentor. "G-Guys, there's something you should—"

"AAAH!" Before he could even get to an explanation, Native let out a scream as he suddenly jumped to his feet, able to move once again. "I-I'm free! F-Finally free!" His eyes grew wide with panic as he saw the robot again and he ran off as best he could, decidedly away from Bumblebee. "W-We need to get out of here! Th-That killer robots gonna—"

"LUNAR STRIKE!" Leaping in front of him, Mirko performed a picture-perfect thrust kick straight to the hero's head, knocking him out instantly and sending him careening into a pile of trashcans. The students and Bumblebee were left dumbstruck at the move, but Mirko simply went over and gave him an apologetic pat on the head. "Sorry, man. But someone like you probably shouldn't have seen that."

Shoto furrowed his brow. "Will… he be alright?"

"Should be, but he definitely won't have any memory of this when he wakes up." Collecting herself, the Rabbit Hero spun around on her heel, her sights locking onto her protégé. "Now, Deku…" In a single bound, Mirko was suddenly nose-to-nose with the boy, making him yelp. "You wanna tell us what the HELL is going on here?!"

Approaching the two as well, Shoto kept his own suspicious gaze directly on Tenya. "Iida, you seem to know what's going on here as well. Care to explain?"

Izuku rushed to his friend's defense, raising his arms at the questioning duo. "O-Okay, everyone, let's all just calm ourselves down for a second. I promise, there's a very good and reasonable explanation for ALL of this." Mirko pursed her lips and crossed her arms, waiting expectantly for an answer. Shifting his eyes to Shoto, Izuku saw the Half-Cold Half-Hot user raise a brow at him, eager to hear the follow up as well. Izuku swallowed and stammered out; "A-And to be perfectly honest with you…" He snapped his arms over, gesturing toward Bumblebee. "He's an alien."

A long, silent pause followed, with Mirko and Shoto's eyes widening at the answer. The two craned their heads between Bee and the others before Mirko jerked a thumb up to him. "An alien? This robot pal of yours who just beat the Hero Killer into the ground is… an alien?"

"Zrkt—Ya got me dead to rights." Bumblebee replied, taking Mirko by surprise with his southern drawl, only to then switch to a city accent. "An' lemme tell ya, toots—zrkt—you can—zrkt—HANDLE THE TRUTH!"

"Woah-ho! Does… does he talk like that?"

"Pretty much." Izuku confirmed, walking over and placing a hand on Bee's leg. "Bumblebee here had his voice box damaged a LONG time ago by an enemy bot, and we've taught him to string together sentences through his radio."

Shoto tilted his head. "His name's… Bumblebee?"

Izuku wore a sheepish smile at that. "Ah, hehe… yeah, we named him."

"Aw, that's actually kinda adorable!" Mirko cooed, only to realize something. "H-Hold on, does that Brian friend of yours also know that his car is an alien?"

The question made Izuku smirk up to Bumblebee, who gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah, about that…" *Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt* Izuku side-stepped away as Bumblebee transformed, leaving Mirko and Shoto in awe once again… but their jaws dropped even more when Brian himself flickered into existence behind the wheel of the car, the door opening by himself before he stepped out, becoming entirely solid in moments. "He kind of IS Brian. I-It's the name he goes by when he's fully incognito."

"You're a HOLOGRAM?!" Mirko thrust her hand out and poked Brian in the shoulder, only for him to recoil at the jab. "B-But, wait, you're solid…"

"He and others of his kind utilize hard light holo-matter avatars—or "holoforms" for short—to appear human while in their disguises." Tenya explained, limping over to the group. "It's quite the brilliant use of technology, really."

But Shoto was laser focused on one single word that Tenya used. "Others? …You're saying that there are more of him?"

Izuku, Bee and Tenya shared an awkward glance, the greenette replying; "Yeah… about a dozen or so, give or take a few smaller ones here and there." He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "A-And that's not even counting the Decepticons' number…"

"Decepticons?" Mirko repeated, lurching forward in confusion. "Okay, what the heck is even going on? I feel like we're missing a LOT of pieces to the puzzle here."

Raising his hands, Izuku stammered in an attempt to explain better. "Y-You're right, you're right, I'm sorry! I-I really should explain from the start…" He pointed up toward Bumblebee as he transformed back to robot mode. "So, firstly, I found Bee almost a year ago now and we had him repaired. Then, after that, more of his kind—Autobots—began gathering on Earth when they detected his signal come back online. Autobots and Decepticons all belong to an alien race called "Cybertronians" from the planet Cybertron, and they've been fighting one another in a civil war over ideologies and their planet's energy supply that's been going on for eons."

Mirko and Shoto listened intently at Izuku's account, the latter especially intrigued. "Alien robots fighting a war against one another for control over their planet. It sounds like something out of a science fiction novel…" But then, his eyebrows rose up in realization. "Wait, so is that were you and the others have been going after school every day? To help these Autobots fight in a war?"

Once again, Izuku's hand went to his neck, giving a nervous laugh. "Ah-ha, w-well, sometimes. B-But most of the time it's just for training. Th-They offered to help us prepare for the Sports Festival, actually…"

"Wait…" Shoto's lips parted, the realization hitting him even harder. "Those people who joined Class A in their booth… a-and Orion Pax… they were—"

"Yes, all Autobots." Tenya affirmed. "Taking to their holoforms to watch the Sports Festival in person."

"Orion Pax in particular is actually the leader of the Autobots." Izuku went on. "And his actual name is Optimus Prime."

Shoto's brow furrowed. "I see… so that means you DON'T have two dads then."

Izuku fell flat on his face, all while Mirko couldn't help but laugh at her pupil's expense. But Izuku didn't waste any time snapping back up, shouting; "Now where the hell would you ever get an idea like THAT?! I already told you I'm not All Might's secret love child, what more do you want?!"

"Hmph, I suppose it doesn't matter anymore in any case." Shoto resigned.

"It kinda matters to ME, Todoroki!"

Before anything could start, Tenya hobbled between the two of them. "Please, that's enough. No need for squabbles after we've already been through enough. …On that note." He stood up as straight as he could before bowing to both of his classmates. "Midoriya, Todoroki, I… I-I'm so sorry. I caused both of you so much pain tonight. I…" He started to tear up. "I-I was just so angry. After what happened to my brother, I was consumed by nothing but rage and the desire for revenge. I couldn't see anything else, and… a-and…" Tenya tightened his fists as he snapped his head back up. "I can only beg for your forgiveness. Midoriya, I should have been more honest with you. With EVERYONE. I know there's nothing I can do to take it back now, but—"

Izuku raised his hand, stopping Tenya mid-sentence. "Iida, please. I… I know you must've been suffering. But if anything, I should be the one apologizing to you for not making more of an effort to help."

Bee shifted awkwardly, his hand rubbing his neck. "Zrkt—I'm afraid—zrkt—we're all at fault on that one. Zrkt—Sorry there, chief."

"Midoriya… Bumblebee…" Choking back a sob, Tenya's head lowered back down again in shame. "I don't deserve friends like you… or the others… or even Strongarm."

"Don't say that." Izuku shook his head, with Bumblebee following suit. "We just… there were mistakes made on all ends here, Iida. But don't worry." He approached his armored friend, setting a hand on his shoulder. "We're going to make things right going forward."

Shoto nodded in agreement. "Midoriya's right. And pull yourself together, okay? You're the Class Rep, after all."

Iida lowered his head, wiping his tears on his sleeve. "R-Right."

"And… be prepared to get a stern talking to from Strongarm and Prime later." Izuku noted as well. "They're definitely gonna want to talk with you."

Letting out a nervous breath, Tenya gave an accepting nod. "Of course. …Thank you, Midoriya."

"You're welcome. But that being said…"

*WHAP*

"AAH!" Tenya recoiled at the sudden smack across the top his head, throwing him from a loop as he gaped at Izuku disbelievingly. "W-What was that for?! I thought—"

"Kyoka told me to do that." Izuku replied with a sly grin. "She said you could use a good smack."

Tenya initially pursed his lips in annoyance… but ultimately relented with his shoulders sagging. "Hah, I suppose I had that coming." He managed to smile back to him. "Tell her thank you… and that I'll try to have better judgment in the future."

Izuku placed his hands on his hips. "You can tell her that yourself when you see her again. I've got a feeling that everyone's gonna have some words with you once they find out about this. That said…" He trailed off as his sights zeroed in on the unconscious Hero Killer. "We should probably get HIM restrained and bring him in before he wakes up."

Mirko was quick to agree. "Yeah, kid's got a point. Everyone, help me find some rope and we'll get him out to the streets." But then, she whipped around and pointed up to Bee. "And as for you, Bumblebee, you need to get back to… wherever it is you came from before someone else sees you. We're in the middle of a crowded city and we don't need to risk any more people seeing you."

"Right, especially since Prime, Strongarm, Springer and Red Alert are already hear trying to deal with those Nomu." Izuku affirmed.

That made Tenya and Shoto do a double take. "W-Wait, they're here? H-How?"

"Apparently, a hero called "Spectrum" is leading them on a mission as a façade for Sector Seven's M.A.S.K. division. Believe me, not even I'm caught up to speed on this, but at the very least, they're maintaining their disguises so far." Izuku raised an eyebrow over to Bumblebee. "Which leads me to ask… how did you even know where to find us, Bee?"

"Zrkt—A little birdie—zrtk—got your text!" Bee answered with a wink. "Zrkt—Then she called US and said—zrtk—GET A MOVE ON!" He prodded a finger to Izuku's chest. "Zrkt—Also, she—zrkt—has some choice words—zrkt—for you, partner."

Izuku's eyes widened when he realized what that meant. Kyoka had received his location text, and she wasted no time in calling the Autobot base to get backup to him. …And this was right after he had told her that he'd be safe. "…Oh god, Kyoka's gonna kill me."

"More than likely." Tenya mused.

"Mmhm." Shoto nodded.

"Guys, come on! Try and support me here, huh?!" Izuku cried out in fear.

Shoto, returning to his search for rope, shrugged it off. "Midoriya, I am far from an expert on women and even I know not to get caught up in another couple's affairs. You can handle Jiro's wrath on your own."

Izuku blushed, countering with; "We're NOT a couple!"

From across the alley, Mirko raised a finger and shouted; "YET!", much to Izuku's chagrin.

Running his fingers through his hair, Izuku leaned against a wall, shaking his head. "Great, I'm dead…" He craned his head back to his yellow friend. "Could you at least tell her I'm safe? Maybe then I'll have some semblance of myself intact after she gets her hands on me."

"Zrtk—Copy that, good buddy—zrkt—I'm rollin' out!" Placing his finger up to his head, Bumblebee activated his commlink, contacting the base. "Zrkt—Ready for pickup." Not two seconds later, the GroundBridge opened up for him and he gave the group a salute before running through, leaving them to take care of the rest.

"…Wait." Tenya piped up. "If Red Alert is here, then… who's operating the GroundBridge?"

"Probably Hatsume." Izuku rationalized. "She's gotten pretty good at it recently."

That made Shoto's eyes widen a bit. "Wait, Hatsume? The girl from the Support Course that you teamed up with during the Sports Festival? She's in on this whole thing, too?"

Izuku chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ahaha… y-yeah… along with Kyoka, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Kirishima, Ashido, Kaminari, and a handful of students from Class 1-B." Shoto was staring a hole through Izuku by this point, the amount of disbelief in his eyes unavoidable. "Y-Yeah, I know, not the best at keeping this a secret from our peers… b-but you should also know that a lot of the Top 10 Pros know about this secret as well… including your father."

"…I see." Shoto tightened his lips for a moment, pondering over all of this. "Well then… maybe it's best if he doesn't know that I know about it."

"H-Huh?!" Izuku exclaimed.

"Todoroki, what're you saying?" Tenya inquired.

Shoto crossed his arms, ignoring the pain in the one that had been stabbed into. "Listen, if my father ever found out about me knowing about the Cybertronians, then he would practically NEVER leave me alone. And that's definitely something that I DON'T want." He furrowed his brow seriously. "That and I'd rather have a peaceful getaway where I don't have to deal with him, and wherever this base is must be fairly secluded, right?"

Izuku gave a shrug. "I-I mean, yeah, but we'll need to run everything by Optimus first."

The Half-Cold Half-Hot user nodded in agreement. "That's fine. In all honesty, I actually do want to talk with him again. He was very amicable in our first conversation."

"Hmhm, that's Optimus for ya." Izuku agreed.

"Oy!" Mirko called out, causing everyone to turn around and see the Hero Killer bounded up in a very long rope, his hands tied behind his back and all of his knives laid out on the ground. "I've stripped Stain here of his weapons and got him tied up. Let's get him out to the streets so that the cops can take him in." She approached the three boys, eyeing Shoto and Tenya specifically. "And then we're gonna get you boys to a freakin' hospital." She craned her head toward Izuku next. "Kid, think you can lug Native outta here?"

Without a second thought, Izuku went to do just that. "O-Of course, on it!" As he hefted Native onto his back, the One for All user couldn't help but think to himself; 'We were lucky to make it out of this alive. The fight was probably only ten minutes, but it felt like forever…' He gave a nod to the others and they proceeded out of the alley, with one last thought lingering in Izuku's mind. "I just hope Gran Torino and the Autobots are doing okay.'

…..

~15 Minutes Earlier~

The City of Hosu was in complete and utter chaos as monsters rampaged through the streets, sending civilians into a frenzy as they ran away for their lives. Of course, in their eyes, their initial reaction was to see them as villains, though even then, they could tell that something wasn't adding up. Between their twisted appearances and their mindless aggression, it was obvious that there were MUCH different than the villains they usually saw. One of these "villains", a grey-skinned one with four eyes on its exposed brain, had been sent crashing into a building, and was just now starting to reemerge.

A group of people went screaming and instantly ran away, with one man shouting; "A VILLAIN! RUN!" Before he could get far, though, one of the people, a woman next to him fell to the ground, her heels betraying her. He knelt down to help her up… but in doing so allowed the beast to close in. "W-Where are all the Pros?!"

The Nomu raised its hand, ready to bring it down for a strike as the man shielded with woman with his body… but the blow never came. Instead, a while and yellow blur made impact with the Nomu's body, sending it stumbling away with a pained roar. Rebounding and landing not too far away, Gran Torino said to himself; "I haven't fought this earnestly in years. Picked a fine time to patrol!" The Nomu roared and directed its attention to him, preparing to charge. "That's right, bring it on, ugly!"

With a mighty jump, the Nomu brought its fists down, but Torino leapt out of the way a split second later, flying over its head. 'It's fast. But not faster than me…' Unfortunately, the monster caught sight of the two civilians from before, and began crawling its way to them. Seeing this, Torino redirected himself in midair. 'It's attacking at random!' He extended a hand, shouting; "Stop it, you stupid beast!" The very next second, however…

*FWOOOOSH*

"Gah!" Torino backed off with a pump of his legs, staying away from the fire that suddenly engulfed the creature. The beast screeched in pain, but still remained perfectly still… and that's when a new voice entered the scene.

"I was searching for the elusive Hero Killer, but this thing will have to do." Gran Torino brought his eyes up and was astonished to see who was approaching. "Thanks, old timer. I'm afraid I don't know you, but I can handle this from here on out."

The civilians were left wide-eyed, both in awe and intimidation as the man came forward, his flames burning with such intensity that they could feel the heat even at their distance. "Woah, is that really…" the man uttered.

"W-What is he doing in Hosu?" the woman trembled.

As he stared down the beast before him, Endeavor wore a smug smile, silently reveling in the effect his presence had. "Isn't it obvious?" he replied. "I came because I'm a hero." The Nomu suddenly shrieked and its body flexed, freeing it from the flames it had been ingulfed in. Endeavor looked down curiously at it, his bravado forgotten as it twitched erratically. It was hurt, but it only had minor burns on it. "That was only a low-temperature warning shot. But still, it always KO's my opponent."

Gran Torino narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "…Something's not right. This guy is—GAH!"

"GYRRAAA!" A high-pitched roar bellowed from the Nomu's throat as a MASSIVE blast of fire was ejected straight out of its body, forcing everyone to fall back.

…Everyone except Endeavor, who only felt a little warm. "Hmph, so your Quirk's absorption and release, but you still took damage from my flame." With a swipe of his hand, Endeavor dispelled the flames with ease. "Not a very impressive power."

The Nomu then began to convulse, which left Gran Torino confused as he landed on the side of a building. "What's he doing? Watch it, Todoroki! I think this guy's got multiple Quirks!" No sooner had he said those words that the Nomu's body expanded and grew into a muscle-bound behemoth that leapt straight at Endeavor, intent on unleashing its strength on him.

"I see. So that's how it is…" Endeavor lifted his hand, ready to ignite another Hellflame.

'Those two bystanders got away, right?' Taking a brief glance around, Torino didn't see the man and woman around anywhere, which was all he needed for him to take action again. 'Good. Let's put this rabid dog down.'

Right as Endeavor was about to unleash his fire, though, the Nomu opened its mouth… and its tongue morphed and expanded into a multi-tendrilled mass of pink muscle that burst out and went to attack him. But before it could, Gran Torino came blasting straight through the mass, putting a giant hole through it with a single kick. Rebounding off another wall, the old man came back around and SLAMMED himself feet-first into the Nomu's back, planting it into the street directly in front of Endeavor.

"Didn't mean to damage the road!" Torino quipped. "I might be more outta practice than I thought."

For his part, Endeavor was admittedly impressed. "Huh, nice work. You're not bad, old timer." Putting his fire away, the red-haired man's ears perked up when he heard a rumble in the distance. The two raised their heads, seeing a faint orange glow just over the next line of buildings. "That must be where the rest of the heroes are gathered. It's been two or three minutes. They should've taken care of things by now."

Gran Torino hummed to himself, wondering what could be going on while also looking back to the downed Nomu. "We need to tie this guy up. The cops will take care of him from there, then we can help out."

Endeavor's lips tightened, moving forward ahead of the elder hero. "Leave him to my sidekicks. They'll make sure the cops take him." He peered down to Torino past his shoulder. "There's an address that I want you to investigate for me; an alleyway at 4-2-10 Ekou Street. There may be trouble there." His glare focused back toward the horizon, where the action was no doubt taking place, as he recalled his son's words to him before he inexplicably took off. "I am Endeavor. I can take care of the rest myself."

…..

"Come on! Keep things moving!" Manual encouraged, ushering his sidekicks from the burning building as they escorted several people out of it. He kept pouring water on all the while, though the fire itself just seemed to spread faster. "We need to get these people clear! The fire department are held up, so we gotta—" *CRACK* "HAH!" The Normal Hero gasped and whipped his head up to see the entryway of the building start to collapse in on itself… just as a certain blonde heroine wearing a green and white costume was almost out from under it. "ELAINE! Watch out!"

Carrying another woman on her back, Elaine was already hindered in her movement… and when she saw the structure above her start to crumble, her eyes widened. The woman on her back let out a scream right in her ear, taking her off guard… and then the doorway gave way. However, a split second later…

*Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt*

Elaine had flinched when the entryway began to fully collapse… but when she only felt a few little bits of debris hit her cheeks, she was left puzzled. Then, the sound of exerted grunting reached her ears, which prompted her to open her eyes again. What she saw next made her jaw drop. A six-and-a-half-foot tall gray and blue robot was stood there, holding up the frame as it stared at her with its red optics. "Gah… miss, I know my exo-suit must be a lot to take in, but please don't just stand there when you have a civilian with you." Anti-Blaze pleaded.

"O-Oh, right, sorry…" Elaine apologized as she went through the rest of the way, getting out of the building and allowing Anti-Blake to release his hold on the frame. Setting the woman on her back gently down on the street, Elaine looked up to Manual as she caught her breath. "Hah… that should be the last of them."

"Okay, now we can take care of the rest." Manual's gaze shifted over to Anti-Blaze, the Mini-Con walking over to the both of them. "But hah… who in the world ARE you people?"

Anti-Blaze gave him a salute. "We're M.A.S.K., sir. The Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. More specifically, I'm agent Anti-Blaze, and my transforming mech suit is prepared to handle any fire!"

Manual gave a short laugh, taking it all in. "Hah, well I've gotta say, thanks for your help, Anti-Blaze. That exo-suit of yours is mighty impressive!"

"Thanks, but we can discuss that later…" All of a sudden, Anti-Blaze's arms rotated around so that the gun barrels at the tops of his shoulders were facing downward, his elbows rearranging so that now THOSE were his "hands". Right now, we've gotta put out this fire, and I'm just the agent for the job." Stomping his foot, the hose attached to his leg unhooked and fell near Elaine's feet. "Miss, would you mind arming yourself with that? Could certainly use the help snuffing this fire out."

Her eyebrows shooting up, Elaine reached down and hastily grabbed the hose. "O-Oh, right, of course. I-I'll take the left side of the building."

"And I'll take the right." Manual concurred. "Horns!"

"On it!" Not far away, the horned hero from before came over and tore yet another fire hydrant off the curb, allowing water to gush straight up into the air for Manual to use. "It's done! Go for it!" Horns signaled.

Within seconds, Manual followed through, using his Quirk to redirect the water straight to the burning building. Taking aim himself, Anti-Blaze aimed his blasters at the front side of the structure, only instead of shooting lasers, he blasted twin streams of water out, dowsing the fire with his new human compatriots. 'Hah, if only working with heroes was this simple.' the Mini-Con mused in his head. 'Maybe one day we'll be able to WITHOUT the whole "secret" thing getting in the way.'

Back at the main battle, things had gotten chaotic to say the least. Roller and Checkpoint had entered their robot modes to take on the largest Nomu, the one with no face, while Scythe was still airborne in his helicopter mode chasing down the flying Nomu. But on both fronts, their luck wasn't exactly holding out. "GAH!" Roller was sent flying back by a single punch from the Nomu, followed by Checkpoint thereafter. The two landed crouching down, the Mini-Con leader looking to his Councilman. "Gotta say, not a fan of how powerful this thing is." he remarked.

"Yeah, same. But why don't we take this up a notch with some REAL firepower?" *Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-chkt* Checkpoint jumped over and changed into his blaster mode, Roller catching him and hefting his comrade over his shoulder like a bazooka.

"Gah, okay…" Aiming carefully, Roller allowed the Nomu to get closer at ramming speed, right up until it was at pointblank range. "Here goes!" *BLAAAM* A high-pitched screech escaped the Nomu's throat as the weapon fired directly into its abdomen, bringing it down to its knees in seconds. "Haha! Yes! Bullseye!"

"Not sure what a "bull" is, but we got 'em!" Checkpoint affirmed… only to be left utterly galled when haw saw that the Nomu's midsection regenerated within seconds, the beast slamming its foot down as it rose back to its full height. "…Oh scrap."

Roller's grip loosened on his friend, allowing Checkpoint to transform back to robot mode. "Are you kidding me?! How durable IS this thing?!" The beast roared in their faces and was about to lunge, when all of a sudden, Springer came screeching in at ramming speed sending the beast straight across the street once again.

Springer's canopy opened up and revealed Spectrum, who was pointing at his helmet. "You guys probably should've aimed for the head!" he advised.

"Fair point." Checkpoint shrugged. "Though good luck getting a clear shot at it."

Moving over to the two, Roller asked; "How's everything else going? Have all the civilians been evacuated?"

"More or less." Springer replied. "Red's bringing a lot of injured humans to the hospitals and Strongarm's giving him a police escort. But after that, she's gonna go around the city to try and find Tenya."

Roller sighed and shook his head. "Hah, I still can't fathom what would make him think it'd be a good idea to HUNT DOWN the Hero Killer. I mean, I get it, his brother was hurt and that's horrible, but common sense should—"

Springer cut him off right there. "Common sense goes out the window when it comes to a close comrade almost getting killed, little guy. Trust me, I've seen it happen to a lot of my fellow Wreckers… and sometimes, it's even gotten THEM killed." He saw Roller contemplate his words before nodding, showing that he understood. "But don't worry, we're NOT gonna let that happen to Tenya. For now, though…" He trailed off as the Nomu returned to its feet, letting out an angry howl. "We've gotta take these monsters down."

"I couldn't agree more, Springer." Optimus Prime spoke as he backed up toward them, his trailer beginning to move and shift into its Combat Deck mode. Once he unhitched the trailer, Prime himself rolled over to the others, pulling up next to his Mini-Con partner. "It's time that these creatures be dealt with… though if possible, try to only incapacitate them, so that the authorities may take them in for further testing."

"Uh, wait, really?" Springer questioned. "Prime, no offense, but these things are killing machines. Should we—"

"They were once human, Springer." Optimus interrupted, taking the Triple Changer aback. "I learned of this only today, but it is true. And if we can learn more about HOW these former humans were changed into monsters… we could perhaps eventually track down the one responsible."

For his part, Spectrum was left gobsmacked. "Wait, you're saying that these THINGS used to be people?!" He snapped his head around as the Nomu lowered its head, preparing to charge at them once again. "Good lord, who in the world would have the power to do THIS to a person?!"

Optimus hesitated to answer that. "A question for another time, Spectrum. For now, let us bring this Nomu down. Roller, you know what to do!"

With a salute, Roller wasted no time in getting over to the Combat Deck. "On it, Prime! Hey, Brute-for-Brains! Come over here!" Waving his arms as he jumped on the platform, Roller immediately got the No-Faced Nomu's attention, diverting its charge directly toward him in seconds. And, just as soon as it entered the platform's vicinity, the laser armature extended and aimed directly at it, shooting twin beams that hit it right in the shoulders.

"Alright, time to move in!" Springer said… but then, the lasers stopped, leaving the group confused. "What the—"

"AH! Get offa' there!" Roller's sudden shout brought their attention back to him… and the Winged Nomu that was now sat on the armature. Its landing managed to throw the lasers off course, sending the blasts every which way and forcing Spectrum, Checkpoint, and several other heroes, to duck for cover.

Prime and Springer rolled away as fast as they could while Roller tried to get things under control… though thankfully, a certain airborne Mini-Con wasn't too far behind. "Hey now! Don't get yer wings in a tizzy there, freakazoid!" Transforming into robot mode, Scythe tackled the Nomu off the Combat Deck and slammed it into the ground, using his massive fists to pummel it into submission. "This! Ain't! Yer! Perch!"

"Hah, nice work, sir!" Checkpoint saluted… only for the No-Faced Nomu to come straight at him and the others again. "…Can we ever get a break here?" Just as he asked that, though… something astonishing happened. A human man, one who had to be as tall as All Might, came in and PUNCHED the Nomu away with a fiery hit, pushing it back as its heels dug through the pavement. Checkpoint had to look up at the redheaded man, he was so tall. "…Huh, ask and I shall receive—urk! Never mind…"

Unexpectedly, the man had grabbed Checkpoint by the throat, raising him up to eye level with a piercing glare directed into his optics. "WHO ARE YOU?! One of these "Decepticons" I've been hearing about?"

"Ugh, first off, back up, would you?" Checkpoint requested. "You smell like sulfur. Secondly, I'm no Con, human! …Well, technically, I am, but I'm a MINI-Con, there's a difference."

"So you're just smaller." The man deduced as a fire began to burn in the hand he held Checkpoint in, making the bot cry out in pain. "Then I'll have no issue eradicating you—"

"ENDEAVOR! Stand down!"

Snapping his head around, the voice that Endeavor heard call out to him was very familiar, but one that he hadn't heard in months. He had made it a point to try and avoid interacting with this particular group for a while, especially since he wasn't exactly a fan of them being on his planet. But lo and behold, Optimus Prime rolled up to him in his truck mode, parking himself before his holoform stepped out from the driver's side. "Prime?! What in the world are—"

"That's Orion Pax to you." Pax interrupted, the two glowering at one another. The two men were at nearly the exact same height, though Orion wasn't nearly as muscular as the hero. Still, that didn't make him back down for a second. "You're hurting one of my men. Let. Him. Go."

Endeavor snarled and released his grip on Checkpoint, with Spectrum and Roller rushing over to check up on him. "I don't like repeating myself OR being interrupted. So I'll ask again, and I'd better get an answer this time; what in the HELL are you doing here?! And out in the open no less?"

Orion's scowl deepened, unimpressed with Enji's decorum. "We are working undercover with M.A.S.K. in order to help with the current situation." He gestured down to the Mini-Cons, who were all staring at Endeavor fearfully. "And you nearly blew their cover as agents using high-tech exo-suits." he snapped.

All that did was make Endeavor sneer at him even more. "Who said we needed your help? This has nothing to do with you or your mission." The redheaded man promptly turned his back to the Prime, not even bothering to look at him. "You're only making things worse. Instead of butting your noses into hero business, why don't you get working on getting those Cons AND yourselves off our damned planet? Maybe THAT would be a better use of your time."

"…Is that so?" Orion stormed forward and grabbed Endeavor's shoulder, yanking the Number Two Hero back around to face him. "With all due respect, Endeavor, when it comes to situations like these where people are in danger, I see it fit to MAKE it my business."

"The same goes for me, as well." Spectrum piped up, pointing up at the much taller man. "And you, sir, are officially interfering in M.A.S.K. business. So give me one good reason why I shouldn't—"

Endeavor rounded about on Spectrum and roared; "Don't you think for a SECOND that you get to tell me what to do, Tin Man! This is Japan, so you're officially on MY turf! I don't care WHAT Sector Seven has to say about it, I'm not about to let American heroes make those of Japan seem inferior!"

Springer rolled himself over, trying to get their attention. "Uh, guys?"

But Endeavor went on, prodding Spectrum's chest. "Whether it's YOU, Star and Stripe, OR the Joes themselves!"

"Hey, guys!"

"All we want is to HELP, Endeavor." Spectrum insisted. "We're not trying to steal ANYONE'S thunder!"

"Oh, you're already doing it just by BEING here!"

"HEY!" Springer exclaimed, bringing everyone's sights onto him. "I hate to… well, actually, scratch that, I'm MORE than happy to interrupt this petty squabble, because we've still got Mr. Brains to deal with over there!"

Realizing what he was talking about, the group all spun around to see the No-Faced Nomu emerging from the rubble of the building Endeavor hit it into, its arm limp at its side with exposed tendons where it had been burned. However, much to Endeavor's surprise, the beast flexed the arm and it healed almost immediately. "Hmph, so you can regenerate. Well then…" Letting out a yell, Endeavor charged forward, meeting the Nomu halfway as they both grappled with one another.

Seeing the hero's hands going for its head, though, Orion knew exactly what was coming next. "Endeavor! NO!"

"Let's see you come back from this." The palms of Endeavor's hands ignited in a brilliant orange flame, which only grew hotter and hotter until the color changed to a bright blue. The blast engulfed the Nomu's head, the beast shrieking in pain… which was silenced within moments. By the time Endeavor stopped, the Nomu was left with no head as it fell to the ground, just a smoking stump where it used to be.

With a smug grin, Endeavor reveled in his victory. "Incinerated cells can't regenerate—GAH!" But his moment was cut short when, from out of nowhere, Scythe came flying in and collided with the hero, bringing Endeavor down while the Mini-Con himself SLAMMED into another structure.

"GRAH! Dammit! That thing threw me off!" Scythe extended his fingers into their gatling gun modes and took aim… only to see the Flying Nomu go swooping overhead with another hero in its talons.

"AAAAAGGH! SOMEBODY! Please help me!" the man cried, only to fall unconscious out of shock.

Scythe stomped the ground as everyone gathered up, including the recovered Endeavor. "Fer the love a—that thing's a damn menace!" He turned over to Springer. "Kid! Let's get after it!"

"Way ahead of you on that, sarge!" Springer affirmed. "Spectrum, climbe aboard!"

Trakker gave a thumbs up. "On it, let's go!"

*Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt*

Once Spectrum was in his cockpit, Springer shifted from his armored car to helicopter mode, the Triple Changer flying straight up, much to the astonishment of many heroes. It was then that Scythe himself also transformed into his weapon mode, attaching himself right underneath the nose section of Springer's alt mode to provide some extra firepower. "Woah! Would you look at that!" Elaine exclaimed.

"These M.A.S.K. people have some REALLY high-tech stuff on 'em…" Horns commented as well.

Hearing the commentary, Endeavor found it frustrating that the other heroes were actually somehow buying the lie. 'I suppose people will believe anything these days…' He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, however, peering over his shoulder to the heroes. "Any hero whose Quirk isn't suited for this or helping put out the fires, go help on Ekou Street in District Four."

Hearing this, the heroes were left perplexed, Orion included. "Another villain?" he questioned.

"I don't know. But as much as it pains me to have to work with you, I suppose I have no other choice at the moment." Endeavor's attention went back to the fleeing Nomu. "Just go do it. Meanwhile, I'll help your people take that monster down."

Orion had to bite his nonexistent tongue in frustration, watching Endeavor follow after Springer and Spectrum. But still, he recognized that Endeavor wouldn't request such a thing without proper cause. 'The Number Two Hero must have SOME sense of honesty when it comes to his duties… even if for the wrong reasons.' He cleared his throat and spoke up to the others; "Heroes! You heard Endeavor. Load up into my cab and we'll head to District Four as soon as possible." Craning his head toward the Mini-Cons, Orion pointed at his partner. "Agent Roller, stay here and man the Combat Deck. It has a fire-resistant spray function that can be used to douse these flames even further."

Roller and Checkpoint saluted without question. "Roger that, Orion Pax, sir!"

"Excellent, I know you will do well." While the Mini-Cons did that, though, Optimus saw it fit to contact the other Autobots in the city. "Doctor, Cadet, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Pax." Red Alert replied. "Go ahead."

"There has been a slight change of plans. Endeavor is here, and he's just informed me of potential trouble on Ekou Street in District Four."

Strongarm piped up at that. "District Four… I'm close to there. Are there more Nomu?"

"Uncertain, but myself and several other heroes are on the way there now to find out." Orion climbed into the driver's seat of his alt mode and started his engine, rolling out toward District Four without a moment to spare. "I will meet you all there soon. Springer and Endeavor are currently pursuing the last remaining Nomu, so with any luck, they will bring it down soon." The Prime opened his comms further to contact headquarters. "Orion Pax to base, I need one of you to retrieve some information regarding the layout of Hosu City."

Bulkhead was the one who replied, though he seemed hesitant. "Uh, heya, Pax, Buck here. We're, uh… actually in the middle of tryin' to figure that out ourselves…" Orion paused just as he was about to get into the cab, allowing Bulkhead to continue. "We just got informed by Kyoka that Izuku texted out his coordinates via the Class 1-A group chat. We're assuming it's a distress signal and we're getting Bumblebee there ASAP."

A bad feeling entered Prime's processor hearing that. "…Out of curiosity, did these coordinates come with an address?"

"Yeah, 4-2-10 Ekou Street. Why?"

That sealed it. Optimus Prime now knew exactly what was on the top of his priority list. "Izuku… Tenya… the Hero Killer…" he muttered before switching back over to the local comm. "Doctor! Cadet! An addendum to that order; make it double-time! Izuku has found our target, I repeat; Izuku has found our target!" With his message relayed, Optimus brought his holoform in, seeing the other heroes strapped in and ready for transport. "Roll out!"

…..

Back across town, the green-haired boy in question finally made it out to the street with his classmates and mentor, the Hero Killer being dragged unceremoniously behind them. Of course, having to carry Native wasn't much of a bother for him, but he was glad to finally be able to put him down, waiting for medical personnel to arrive and take care of the rest. But just as he did… a certain crotchety voice could be heard from across the street. "Gah! What're you two doing here?!"

Izuku whipped his head up and gasped at the sight of his other mentor… who was already half-way across the street. "G-Gran Torino! I-I can expla—URK!"

"I thought I told you to stay on the bullet train!" Torino admonished with a kick to the face.

As the old man hopped to the ground, Shoto raised a brow at him. "Who's this?"

"Umph, Gran Torino, the other hero I'm interning with." Izuku sat up, rubbing his sore cheek as he looked to the old man curiously. "But I don't get it, how'd you find us?"

"I was told to come here by someone else." Torino answered, placing his hands on his hips. "I have no idea what's going on, but I'm glad that you're not dead, at least."

Izuku bowed his head profusely. "I'm sorry to make you worry!"

A short huff escaped Torino, resigning to the apology. 'Sheesh, this side of him reminds me of Toshinori…' But he didn't dwell on that for too long as he scrunched his nose in anger at the Rabbit Hero next. "And Usagiyama! I wouldn't be surprised if it was YOU who encouraged him to leave the train in the first place! What in the hell were you thinking?!"

"Ugh, listen, old man, first of all; you really shouldn't have expected me to STAY on that freakin' train." Mirko said defiantly with a single finger raised, only to bring up another. "And secondly, Deku here? He was instrumental in bringing this asshole down, along with his two buddies over here, as hurt as they may be. So if you wanna take the piss outta us, then fine, but before ya do…" Tugging the rope, Mirko made Stain fall onto his back. "Look at our haul first!"

Gran Torino had to do a double take when he saw who it was that they had tied up. For his part, he honestly couldn't believe it. "The… The Hero Killer?!" He whipped his head up to the four. "You took on the Hero Killer and WON?!"

"Well, "won" is definitely a way to put it." Shoto muttered. "The term "survived" would probably be a better one."

"Astonishing… huh?" Torino raised his head at the sound of approaching sirens coming from down the street, where two emergency response vehicles were closing in fast. One was a blue and white police Jeep, which was certainly a rare sight, and next to it was a Nissan Patrol EMS vehicle.

Both of them pulled up to the curb and the Jeep's door flung open first… followed by a tall woman who was frantically sprinting straight at the group. Her desperate eyes were locked firmly on Iida, her concern clearly etched on her features. "TENYA!"

"Stro—S-Stella!" Tenya exclaimed, taking a step back in surprise. "I-I can expla—AUGH!"

But he didn't get the chance to as the screaming boy was enveloped in a soul-crushing hug… with "Stella" unknowingly pressing him firmly into her chest as she went on a tirade. "Do you have any idea how WORRIED I was about you!? What in the name of PRIMUS were you thinking?!" She took him by the shoulders and pried him out of her bosom, all while everyone else watched with slacked jaws. "I mean, I have half a mind to court-martial you, and you aren't even an officer!" she snapped.

Now able to breath again, Tenya quickly tried to forget what just happened as he lowered his head to his Autobot partner. "I… hah, I know. What I did was incredibly foolish, and I never should have tried it in the first place."

"You've got that right." Stella concurred… only for her hardened expression to soften with sadness. "Oh… but I'm honestly not much better. I should've made more of an effort to help you. To comfort you in your time of need. To find the Hero Killer before YOU could." She bowed her head as well. "Maybe then, my partner wouldn't have ended up in this mess."

Tenya pursed his lips, lifting his head back up to her. "No, Stella, don't blame yourself. This… this whole mess was…"

"A disaster that we don't need to repeat again." Izuku piped up, wearing a soft smile. "Like I said before, there's enough blame to go around. But right now, let's just be glad that it's over, huh?" He stepped to the side, allowing Stella to see the captured and unconscious Hero Killer. "After all, Stain's not going to be a problem for anyone anymore."

Instantly, Stella's mouth fell open in utter shock, her eyes darting between Stain, the boys, and Mirko. "W-Wha… you… you BEAT the Hero Killer?!"

"Again, a very strong way to put it." Shoto asserted, raising a brow to her knowingly. "That said, I think a certain yellow friend of yours can share the credit since he got the final hits in."

Stella did a double take at that, trying to play dumb. "Uh… I-I'm sorry young man, b-but I don't know what you're—"

"He saw Bumblebee come through the GroundBridge and transform, Strongarm." Izuku whispered into her ear. "He and Mirko both know."

The holoform's eyes widened at that, gawking incredulously at Shoto and the Rabbit Hero while the former gave her a cheeky wave. "…Scrap."

Torino couldn't help but scrunch his face in suspicion. "Er… what's goin' on here? Am I missin' something?"

"Apologies sir." From the Nissan Patrol, a man in a doctor's coat, blue jeans, a black undershirt and red sunglasses approached, nodding down to the elderly hero. "My associate, Cadet Armstrong, is a close friend of Tenya Iida. In fact…" He craned his head over toward Izuku. "Young Izuku here is also a good friend as well. No doubt you've met Brian, right?"

"Oh yeah, the blonde kid." Torino scratched his beard. "He with you?"

"Precisely." The doctor readjusted his glasses. "As for myself, my name is Dr. Randal, and we're with M.A.S.K., the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. We've been in Japan for a while now and we've been aiding these students in their training."

If anything, this took Torino even more off guard. "Wait, M.A.S.K.?! You're with Sector Seven, then!" He whirled around and glared at Izuku, making him flinch. "Boy! What in the world has Toshinori gotten you into?! What're you doin' goin' around bein' trained by military people?!"

There was a long pause after that, the greenette processing everything his mentor just said. "…You know, I-I probably should've figured you knew about Sector Seven if you knew about Snake Eyes." Izuku rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I-In that case… maybe there's no harm in telling you about—"

*HONK-HONK*

Whatever Izuku was about to say, it would have to wait. Coming down the street from the opposite direction, was a large red and blue semi-truck, its doors opening the very moment it parked on the road. Piling out of it came several heroes from the Manual Agency, with Elaine in the lead as she pointed to the group. "There they are! We've found them!" The blonde woman waved to the group as she and her peers came up to them. "You there! Is everybody alright?"

Another hero, one with what could only be described as a "sock head", spoke up as well. "Endeavor told us there was a request for help here, but… wait, what?"

"M-Mirko?!" A hero in a red mask exclaimed, seeing the Rabbit Hero before him. "And… children?"

Giving the group a smirk, Mirko lifted the rope she was holding. "Don't worry, people, everything's under control. The villain's been stopped and everybody's alive. That said, we do have some injured kids here." She set her sights back onto "Stella" and "Dr. Randal", giving them a wink. "Thankfully, the proper authorities have already arrived. Officer, mind cuffing this guy for me?"

It was only then that the heroes noticed who Mirko had tied up, and Elaine let out a gasp. "AH! Is that… the Hero Killer?!"

"No way!" The red masked hero shouted. "You're telling me that Mirko… and a bunch of kids took him down?!"

"Exactly." Mirko stated proudly, not noticing that a certain truck driver was making his way through the crowd as well. "And I've gotta give these boys credit; they fought DAMN hard to help me bring this guy down. Hey doc, make sure those two get to the hospital ASAP, would ya? They need it." However, Dr. Randal didn't respond, instead focusing on something else as he and Stella stood at attention. "…Uh, hello? Did ya hear me?"

"I did, but… well, look ahead of you." the doctor replied.

Mirko spun back around… and was met with the midsection of someone wearing a red flannel shirt. Her eyes widened and she craned her head up to see Orion Pax staring down at her, his expression stoic and unreadable. "Oh… hiya!"

Orion spared a brief glance over to Izuku, Tenya and Shoto, the former two somewhat nervous while the latter remained calm. Bringing his sights back down to Mirko, Orion sighed. "I am not entirely impressed that two of these children were injured in accomplishing this, Mirko. In fact, I do not hesitate in calling it rather reckless." As he peered down to the tied-up Stain, though, the man admitted; "However, despite all of that, the four of you DID manage to bring down the Hero Killer, so I will give you due credit on that." It was then that he focused squarely on Tenya, making the young man freeze up. "But Tenya… we need to have a serious conversation later."

Just by Prime's tone alone, Tenya could tell just how disappointed he was. 'You brought this upon yourself, Iida.' he scolded himself. 'You knew exactly what you were getting into.' Still, he bowed his head to Orion and muttered; "Yes… sir."

"Hm. But for now, let us get you to a hospital…" Orion's sights went down to the ensnared Hero Killer. "And get him into police custody. Cadet Armstrong?"

"Y-Yes, sir." Stella reached into her alt mode, producing a set of cuffs. "On it."

Just as she was about to slap the restraints on, however, the sound of heavy wings flapping in the air came from high above, which Gran Torino immediately noticed. "GET DOWN!"

"Ah! Oh no!" Elaine cried out, seeing the beast approach from the air. Even so, no one could react fast enough as the Flying Nomu swooped down, grabbed Izuku with its talons, and then shot back up into the air, taking the boy with it.

"NO!" Orion bellowed. "IZUKU!"

Everything had happened so fast that Izuku had only just processed it himself, and began struggling to try and free himself. "AUGH! Hey! Let go! Ach—PRIME!"

Mirko wasn't about to waste time, pumping her legs and leaping straight after the Nomu. "Hold on, kid! I'm comin'!" But then… *FWOOOSH* "AGH!" With just a few flaps of its wings, the Nomu managed to whip up a gust of wind that took Mirko off balance, sending her falling right out of the sky and flat on her back. "NO! You bastard! Get back here—ugh!" She was caught off guard when something splattered across her cheek, bringing her gloved hand up to wipe it off. "Is this… blood?"

"It must be trying to escape!" Elaine deduced, another blood splatter also finding a home on her cheek.

"It's injured." Randal further concluded. "Springer and Endeavor must've—"

"CLEAR THE WAY!" Right as the doctor spoke his name, Springer came flying from around the nearest block, following after the Nomu intently. With Scythe still attached to his underside, the Mini-Con aimed his weapons at the beast, ready to let loose again. "Lets see how you like flying with a buncha holes in your wings you—"

"Spectrum, cease fire!" Orion called out through his commlink, to both the M.A.S.K. leader and the Triple Changer. "The Nomu has Izuku, I repeat; the Nomu HAS Izuku!"

Stopping on a dime, Springer hovered in midair, allowing Spectrum to get a good look at the beast carrying the student off. "Gah, damn! That thing is smart!" the armored hero slammed his fist frustratingly. "It knows we won't risk hurting the kid!"

Down on the ground, Gran Torino and Mirko were in a similarly irritating spot. 'Shoot! If it takes him too high, neither of us will be able to reach it with our Quirks!' the old man clenched his fists. 'What do we do…'

Little did anybody there know, however… that a certain someone still had an extra knife up their sleeve. With the Nomu serving as a momentary distraction, Stain took those few seconds to suddenly shoot up from where he was sitting, extending his tongue out to lick the Nomu's blood off of Elaine's cheek. The very next second, the beast was paralyzed in midair, causing its wings to stop flapping and the wind gusts to cease. Everyone was blindsided by the Hero Killer as he shot forward through the crowd, pursuing the Nomu.

"The word "hero" has lost all meaning in this society!" he exclaimed as he leapt up, the rope falling off of him as he landed on the Nomu's back and reeled the knife back. "The world is overrun by fakes and criminals like you who chase petty dreams!" He emphasized his point by stabbing the Nomu in its exposed brain, right near where its eye had already been blown out. Riding its lifeless body to the street below, he kept his hand on Izuku's back, pinning him down. "You ALL must be purged…" Izuku stared up at him in silent shock, fear and confusion overtaking him. "Everything I do… is to create a stronger society."

The rest of the crowd were left in a similarly confused yet astonished state. "Did… did he just save that kid?" one hero asked.

"You idiot, he took him hostage!" another hero berated.

Elaine was particularly grossed out that the Hero Killer's tongue had licked her cheek, and all the more horrified after seeing what he just did. "He killed that monster without hesitation… what is he?"

Orion quickly came to a conclusion to that. "Someone who is very clearly mentally unstable. Heroes, M.A.S.K. agents, prepare for combat! We have another fight on our—"

"What are you people just standing around like fools for?!" Everyone's eyes were brought back toward the block behind them where Endeavor came running onto the scene, no doubt searching for the Nomu. "The villain must have flown this way, right?"

Despite himself, Orion couldn't help but sour at the red-haired man's belligerent attitude. "I'm afraid if you were intending to kill it, Endeavor, you are too late." He pointed over to Izuku and Stain. "Now we have a much more delicate situation on our hands."

Seeing the disheveled man holding Izuku down, it didn't take long for Endeavor to realize who that was. "Wait… don't tell me that's…" Within seconds, an eager and smug grin worked its way to Endeavor's lips, pulling back his hand to ready a fiery blast. "HERO KILLER!"

"STOP!" Orion hollered, ready to charge at the Number Two Pro if he had to.

"Wait, Todoroki!" Gran Torino joined in as well.

But then… everything seemed to slow down the very moment Stain glanced back, seeing the Flame Hero in his presence. "…Endeavor." he spoke venomously as his tattered mask slipped off his face. From his vantage point, Izuku was met with a very terrifying sight, which was shared with everyone else as Stain stood up and turned. The entire group froze, seeing the man's scarred, noseless visage with his blood red eyes seemingly almost popping out of his skull. His teeth were clenched in blood lusting rage, giving him the appearance of a human skull that still somehow had skin and hair on it. It was a petrifying image. "You FALSE HERO!" he screamed, his voice hoarse as he shambled forward, his glare piercing through them all. "I'll make this right! These streets… must run with the BLOOD of HYPOCRITES!"

It was as if a malevolent wave of emotion was permeating off of the Hero Killer and washing over everyone, paralyzing them with pure and utter fear. "HERO! I will reclaim that word!" Stain continued, stomping his foot to the pavement. "COME ON! Just try and stop me, you FAKES!" By this point, even Endeavor and Mirko were left chilled to the bone, and it only got worse as Stain's lips twisted into a depraved, rictus grin. "There's only one man I'll let kill me. He… is a TRUE hero!" Throwing his head back, Stain screamed into the sky above; "ALL MIGHT IS WORTHY!"

For what felt like an eternity, nobody moved a muscle, and if they did, they were trembling in utter terror. However, the tension was broken when something fell to the ground with a *tink*. Snapping out of their fear-induced trances, they all saw that the Hero Killer had dropped his knife… and now stood just as motionless as they all had before. His mouth was wide open and his eyes had rolled back into his head, slightly hunched as if he could fall over at any time.

Endeavor blinked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I think… he's out cold."

"B-But… how is that possible?" Mirko stammered, standing up cautiously.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Orion approached the motionless killer, ushering Dr. Randal to follow. "Doctor, I require your prognosis."

"Ahem, of course, Orion." Randal followed and placed a finger on his glasses, running a scan over Stain's body from his alt mode. After a few seconds, he was able to infer what had happened to him. "Well, he has several lacerations and broken bones, including many of his ribs. One of which has pierced his lung, causing him to swallow his own blood. He requires medical attention right away."

"Th-That's why he stopped like that." Izuku concluded. "He was stopped by his own Quirk… which means it's over." The One for All user brought his eyes over to Orion, the Prime staring into Stain's blank gaze. "But… why couldn't any of us do anything?"

Orion let out a short breath, pondering that himself. "Because, Izuku, this man's convictions are what kept him going." Reaching over, he placed a comforting hand on his pupil's shoulder. "We have been through much this evening, to be sure. But in the end… it was the Hero Killer himself who had the most fight left in him."

…..

A/N: Well, there you have it, people. Just as in the show, Stain makes his final stand against the heroes with a defiant speech that will no doubt have incredible ramifications for the future. After all, his actions are pretty much the catalyst of most of what happens in MHA going forward, so even with Bee's beatdown, nothing was gonna stop him from doing this. Guess that just goes to show how much he despises Shigaraki if he wants to take down his Nomus THAT badly.

Speaking of Nomu takedowns… well, shockingly, the Autobots didn't really GET any. Granted, they managed to hold them all off rather well, but in the end, you still got Gran Torino, Endeavor and Stain all taking out their respective Nomu. Now, you might think that's a bit of a downer, but remember; Prime didn't want them to be killed in the first place, just subdued so that they'd have something to go off of to try and locate All for One, so there's that to take into consideration. That and the Autobots' main priority was rescuing humans, which they succeeded in with Spectrum's help. So this was still a fairly successful mission.

…But yeah, now we've got TWO more people who're aware of the Autobot's secret on Earth. Sorry, Native, but you're not important enough to keep conscious for this. Thankfully, Mirko and Shoto seem to be taking it in stride, especially the latter. You can bet that he's gonna keep the fact that he knows the secret from his dad for a LONG time, that's for sure. That said, though, Tenya's still got a lot to answer for, which leads us into…

And now, The Preview! The next morning, with Tenya and Shoto now sharing a room in the hospital, those in the know reconfirm with one another to make sure that they're all on the same page… and with the arrival of All Might and Agent Fowler, the group sees fit to let Gran Torino in on the secret as well. But what REALLY takes them by surprise is the chief of police dropping by to pay them a visit… though the reason why may not be to their liking. …Or will it? Next time; Hosu Aftermath: Secrets Revealed. …Wait, KYOKA'S HERE, TOO?! Thanks for reading, everybody, and I'll catch you all next time! Stay safe out there, and remember…

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!