Endeavor lunged toward the Hooded Nomu, channeling his fire into white-hot points on his fingertips before sending out sharp beams of pure heat from them.
"HELL SPIDER!"
"Oh, come on! How come he gets all the cool names!" Equinox complained as he and Jet Falcon flew out of the attack's range.
"It's not even a spider, Enji!" The #9 American Pro snapped at his colleague.
The Hooded Nomu activated jets in its shoulders before flying forward, ramming into Endeavor and dragging him through the building. Equinox and Jet Falcon quickly flew after him, seeing that he was releasing his flames at high temperatures to get the beast off of him.
"Damn, that thing is pretty tough!" Equinox cursed before snapping his fingers and increasing gravity on the Nomu, making it fall on its hands and knees and giving Endeavor some breathing room.
"You alright, Enji?" Jet Falcon asked as he flew over to the Flame Hero, Equinox also making his way over, cold air emitting from his palms.
"I read about your Quirk's drawback. Figured I'd keep you cool while you're cooking this creep."
"That's not necessary, boy." Endeavor gruffly said as he got up. "I've been in this game long enough that I've built up a resistance!"
"Hey, it doesn't hurt to have help. No man is a mountain." Ben pointed out before turning to see a surprising sight; Hood pushing himself up from the gravitational downforce placed on him. "Holy crap, that guy's tough!"
"Don't worry, Mr. E and Mr. F! We're here to help!"
Debris suddenly struck the monster; debris that was being controlled by Major Metal as he willed it forwards. Ivy Green, Baron Boil and Chillarina where quick to join in with their own elements as Jenner nodded as he turned into a Quetzalcoatlus that snagged up anyone falling. Thanks to Dennis being on his back and shifting his costume into whatever ndebris hit him, neither the dinosaur boy nor the passengers were hurt.
"Wait, what're you kids doing here?" Mandalay, who'd been directing civilians to evacuate, asked in shock.
"We see our teacher fighting a monster alongside the new number one and you expect us to stand by?" Ivy snapped. "Sides, this thing is calling a hell of collateral damage!"
"Don't...INTERFERE...!" Hood snarled as white lumps bulged out of his body before bursting out, revealing skinny, less strong-looking Nomu that fell onto buildings or the ground and attacked whatever they saw.
"A type of Bio-Fission Quirk?!" Endeavor gawked. "No, more like he was storing them in his body!"
"BRIT! CATCH!" Equinox shouted as he threw a miniature sun at Early-Bird, spiking her power top her peak. Getting a smirk, the blonde girl raced towards a pack of Nomu and incenerated them with a punch.
"I got these ones!" Natalie beamed as she flung CDs at the Nomu advancing on a family. The monsters fell to the ground in shock as the other Kirby students raced forward…..
"What the heck is going on?!"
Mandalay then turned to see Deku, Urvaity and two more teens race forward, Uravity holding a little girl in her arms.
"A monster like the one at the USJ and the ones at Hosu attacked Endevour, Hawks and Jet Falcon!" The Pro explained.
"A Nomu?!" Izuku and Bobby gasped.
"Daddy's fighting that thing?!" Riley gasped in worry, then saw Ochako looking at Bobby in concern.
"How did you know abo…" The gravity girl started before she remembered Bobby's past. "Oh right…."
"And even if that wasn't the case, EVERY hero school in the world knows about the USJ attack." John noted as he, his wife, daughters and granddaughter caught up.
"Luckily, it seems some Heroes were in the area already." Marion noted as she saw the Kirby students. "Wait….are those STUDENTS?!"
Bobby and Riley spied their classmates doing their best to fight back against the Nomu, just as two Pros, Ringer and Beak-blast, joined in to deflect more debris.
"We'll take any help we can get!" Ringer called out.
"Wait, uncle Bobby!" Cyan cried out, opening her backpack and pulling out a pristine, freshly washed and sparkling white cowboy hat.
A hat that Izuku, Bobby, Riley and the Walkers all recongzied.
"I-is that…?" Bobby tried to ask his neiece, who nodded.
"Daddy says mommy would want you to wear it." The four year old said, smiling warmly. "Although…maybe you'll give uit back to me when I start at hero school?"
Everyman, fighting back tears, accepted the hat, pulling his niece into a warm embrace. The little girl hugged him back and wiped his tears before she put the hat on his head. Somehow, it worked with the rest of his costume.
"I promise...I'll come back to you. All of you."
With that, Everman drew his trusty baseball bat and charged into the fray, joined by Deku, Uravity, and Cloudjumper, who drew her Axe.
(Mrotrax: The Walker sisters get ready to fight, but Patricia holds them back, asking them to just watch)
"Just watch and see girls." The physic smirked. "We're in for a treat."
As she said this, Marion picked up her granddaughter.
"Cyan, cover your eyes."
"But grandma, I want to see Uncle Bobby kick ass, take names and chew bubble gum!" Cyan pouted.
…
…
…
"DANG NABBIT, AMBMER! WHAT MOVIES ARE YOU SHOWING OUR NIECE/GRANDBABY?!"
-MHPP-
Some of the Mini-Nomus that Hood spawned lunged at civilians, only for Hawks to rush in, slashing their heads off with two of the feathers from his wings, which were lengthened and sharpened into swords.
"Hawks!" One of the civilians said as he sent more of his feathers to pull them out of harm's way.
"Yep, it's me. Now let's get you guys somewhere nice and far away." The Winged Hero said.
"You've certainly got things handled here, kid." Jet Falcon chuckled as he saw how professional Hawks was handling things.
"I'm flattered you think that, but I can't exactly get a swelled head over it." Hawks chuckled. "Because in all honesty, I can't do much against brute strength."
"Then it's a good thing I'm here!"
The Nomu was kicked away by a boy in a poorly made costume. Another moved to smash him I not mulch, but the boy grabbed the arm and judo flipped the monster into its comrade before drawing his baseball bat.
"Go ahead, Hawks. I can take it from here." Everyman said.
"You sure, kid?" Hawks asked, grateful but not wanting to leave a kid to handle this.
"He's not alone!"
Deku suddenly smashed the Nomu away and stood at Everyman's side, the two boys spying more Nomu coming and racing to take them on.
Riley then spoke into an earpiece. "Good news guys, these things aren't people anymore!"
A sudden chill filled the air, with the American students all grinning evilly.
"Meaning WE don't have to hold back!" Sea Siren and Carjacker spoke together.
"Let's show them what Kirby High's students and alumni can do, everyone!" Machine Maiden smiled as she flew in, turning her arms into blasters that fired powerful laser beams.
MHPP
Meanwhile, Endeavor was still facing off against Hood with Equinox, Jet Falcon having gone to help Hawks with getting civilians to safety.
"Not...shoot-shooting anymore? H-Heat and fire-fire lines?" Hood asked.
"I'm just taking some time to recharge!" Endeavor said, smirking as he felt his temperature returning to a workable level. "Luckily, I have someone who can back up the drawbacks of my Quirk!"
"Thanks for the nod." Equinox smirked, his hands releasing a cooling breeze.
"MY POWER!" Hood suddenly roared, his hood flipping back to reveal the monstrous face underneath, exposed brain and all. "MY-MY NEW...STR-STRENGTH. LET-LET ME TRY IT ON Y-YOU!"
Hood launched his arms, turning them into whip-like blades to strike Endeavor and Equinox, who quickly dodged out of the way before unleashing powerful beams of fire, combining their powers to try and overwhelm him.
"Kid, you might want to stand back!" Endeavor warned Ben. "This is a Purgatory that can burn you away if you get too close!"
Equinox wisely teleported back a safe distance as Endeavor unleashed a massive beam of fire from his whole body, using the full might of his flames.
"PROMINENCE BURN!"
Hood was hit point-blank, the flames eating away at almost his whole body as Equinox shielded himself with a forcefield of water, the sheer heat Endeavor was putting out turning it into steam.
As the flames began dying down, Ben suddenly noticed something; Hood's head was thrown off to the side...and its body was regenerating at a rapid pace.
"LOOK OUT!"
Endeavor didn't know what happened. One minute, he was taking the moment to cool down from using his big finisher, the next, he was pushed out of the way as he saw Equinox take a blow that was meant for him, being stabbed straight through the gut by Hood's tendril arms.
"BEN/BENJI!" Jet Falcon and Machine Maiden screamed
"MR. E!" The Kirby students followed in concern, the Nomu now all but wiped out. They raced to their now falling teacher, Meanguire and Cloudjumper managing to catch him and place him down somewhere a little stable.
"And none of us with a healing quirk!" Ivy green said as she tried to stop the bleeding or at least limit her teacher's pain. Metal and Everyman tried to old the wound so that Baron Boild could close it up, but his flames weren't hot enough.
"Who else…is strong?" Hood called out, spying a gaggle of civilians watching and smirking as he flew towards them.
"DETROIT SMASH!"
Deku delivered a powerful blow to the monster…or at least, what was supposed to be powerful, as the Noimuy glared at and then tossed him aside. Uravity was quick to catch her boyfriend just as Hood was paused by a loud roar.
Sea Siren was screaming as loud as she could at the monster, who spied her and the others and flew to them, getting blindsided by Everyman and Mr. Coat, who it grabbed and moved to kill with a rocket powered punch after kicking Cloudjumper and Princess Thread away…
Something then zoomed past as sliced off Hood's arms while also grabbing the kids to safety as a now enraged American heroine stood at the ready.
"Get away from our students!" Maiden Machine growled as she summoned all of her blades and began to hack and slash at Hood.
"All of you! Clear out with civilians!" Jet Falcon ordered his students and the two UA students…before he spied he was short two students.
Hood, having escaped Maiden Machine by firing its last Nomu at a lost child she flew to successfully save, prepared to rampage, only for his movements to be constricted. Glancing down, he saw he was being held by thread controlled by a rainbow covered girl as she rode the top of a car.
Princess Thread then willed another batch of thread to anchor her between the air and a building, sweating as she strained to hold this monster back.
"I survibed the Mad Bomber TWICE, you whatever you are! You're NOTHING compared to him! So, in the immortal words of Al Pacino…!" Donna struggled
"SAY 'ELLO' TO MY LITTLE FRIENDs!" Henry screamed as he unleashed a torrent of bullets, blasts and everything else in his arsenal. This got Hood's attention and he decided to wipe out these upstarts…only to be slammed away and far by an enraged Jet Falcon.
"Why…fight?"
"My students are watching this; you test tube failure. You think they'll listen to me if I lose so easily?!" Perry snapped as suddenly felt himself becoming faster; Hawks was giving him support with his feathers.
"Way to stick it to him, Jet Falcon!" The Winged Hero praised, sending a few extra feathers to hit Hood. "Shoot! My feathers don't pack enough punch!"
"Its fine!" Jet Falcon snapped, hurriedly turning to Donna and Henry. "I TOLD YOU TWO TO STAY WITH…!"
"DETENTION US LATER!" Donna said as Herny raced back to the civilians.
MHPP
Endeavor, seeing he had a moment, rushed to Equinox's side and his wounds to slow the blood loss.
"…Why?" The Pro managed to ask.
"It's what a Hero does...right?" Was all Equionox managed to say. Machine Maiden then came down and started doing some first aid while calling for ambulances.
Seeing her do this brought back memories for Endeavour…Rei trying to patch him up and cool him down…and then him with Touya…
"Get back in there!"
Endeavour saw Maiden machine returning to her beloved, looking like she'd taken some damage but still able to help.
"Perry and Hawks can't handle that thing forever, I can keep Benji secure…."
And then something happened that no one would've believed:
Endeavour hesitated due to guilt of his in-actions. This was supposed to be HIS time as the strongest; the one who could not fail or fall! The one who could rival All Might…and he couldn't even save this young man, who took a hit for him and had done nothing but support him.
"ENJI!" Perry snapped as he barely dodged attacks from Hood. "OUR KIDS ARE WATCHING! DEPENDING ON US! YEAH, YOU MADE PLEANTY OF MISTAKES, SO ADD THIS TO THE PILE! YOU CAN GROW AND LEARN FROM THIS, BUT FOR NOW? MAN THE HELL UP AND BECOME SOMEONE THEY LOOK UP TOO!
His kids.
Shoto.
Fuyumi.
Natsuo.
Rei.
His sidekicks.
Civilains.
For the first time in quite a while, Enji Todoroki saw the big picture. He was not All Might. He never WOULD be All Might. And that was okay. But he WAS The Number one hero now. That meant one thing: Something he had instilled in himself since childhood:
He. Was not. Allowed. To lose.
"Yes...he's right..." Endeavor realized as his flames built up before rocketing himself forward. "Equinox...I won't let your sacrifice be for nothing!"
With all the fury and flames he could muster, Endeavor shoved his fist straight into Hood's gaping mouth, breaking his teeth and then putting all of his heat through it, Hood's eyes glowing white as the flames ate away at his brain.
"PERRY!"
"Right!" Perry said, grabbing Endeavor from behind and rocketing straight into the air with him before flinging them as high as he could when they were high enough and away from causing collateral damage. "TAKE HIM DOWN!"
And with that, the #9 American hero's adrenaline finally wore off; all his injuries finally started beingf felt…why was he now in something soft?
Perry had just enough strength to see his daughters, their respective lovers and his students cushioning him as Jenner, still in that giant flying dinosaur form, caught and brought them down.
MHPP
"This bio-engineered abomination obsessed with strength..." Endeavor growled to himself. "You're me...it's like looking at a mirror of myself and all the sins I've committed...to Rei...to my children...I can't change the past...BUT I CAN BURN A NEW PATH FOR THE FUTURE!"
With a mighty roar, Endeavor unleashed another Prominence Burn, engulfing Hood's entire body, head included. The Nomu didn't even do so much as scream as he was burnt down to the very last atom.
Maiden Machine quickly rocketed up with her jet boots, holding out her hands and firing an energy net that safely caught Endeavor to bring him down to earth. The Flame Hero pulled himself out of the net and, in exhaustion, stumbled to his feet...before raising his right fist into the air with his head hung low.
"Whoa...since when did Endeavor get so cool?" Brittany asked.
Hawks and Jet Falcon made their way over while Megumi ran over to check up on Ben, who was being supported by Bobby and Terrance.
"Heh, what are you trying to do, emulate All-Might now?" Perry asked.
"No, he used his left fist when he defeated that villain..." Enji coughed. "Guess this was a real sorry start for me."
"If I may disagree...this victory of yours today..." Hawks smiled. "...Was absolutely huge!"
Off to the side, Izuku and Ochacko looked a little disappointed in themselves for not being an involved as they felt they should've been, even expecting a lecture when Maiden Machine came over.
Instead, she hugged and thanked them both profusely.
"It may not seem like it, but Deku? Your Smash kept the Hood focused on us Pros and the Hero students. That ALONE is worth praise. And Uravity? You saved your teammate and helped with the debris. Never thank you underperformed."
"Equinox...the boy...is he okay?" Endeavor asked.
"He's fine. While it was a sloppy job at cauterizing his wounds, he'll pull through." Bobby said as an ambulance came over. "Reggie did a little better."
"Awwww, ain't that sweet~!" A girl's voice spoke up. "Endeavor actually giving a damn about someone other than himself for a change!"
The Kirby Students gasped as they recognized the girl walking up. Her Goth-Punk Attire, her skull mask that covered the lower half of her face, her raven black hair with violet highlights swept to one side and covering her right eye...it was Nightmare.
"…I take it you know her?" Ochacko managed.
"One of Puppetress' bitches..." Terrance growled. "Apprentice to the Ripper, the number one villain in England."
"And she's not alone, it seems." Dennis noted, recognizing the other person with her.
"Gotta say, none of this was how I planned it, but that's fine," Dabi said as he strolled up beside Nightmare. "Well, Endeavor...should I say NICE TO MEET YOU?"
"Dabi of the League of Villains!" Endeavor growled as he took a step forward, but fell to one knee due to exhaustion.
"And Nightmare, of Puppetress' little Guild of Evil." Perry said, narrowing his eyes.
"Just the Guild, old man." Nightmare groaned. "Though, considering our Quirks, I can't fault you for thinking that. Speaking of Quirks!"
Shapes suddenly formed in fromnt of the villainous duo; shapes with sharp eyes and evil looking smiles even as they began to take shape.
"My Quirk, Mind Monster, allows me to create monsters based on one's fears." Nightmare explained as the shapes turned into horrifying creatures:
A melting enraged Rei for Endeavor, a living tornado for Jet Falcon, and a demonic version of Mr. Takami for Hawks.
But one more stood out; this one wasn't deformed or monstrous, it looked like a crippled, malnourished and brusied man missing an eye. And yet, when the Kirby kids saw him, they were all shaking in their boots and sweating.
"…Is that the Bomber?" Ochacko whispered to izuku, who nodded.
"Now then, wild Things…GO NUTS!" Nightmare cackled as the monsters raced forward to the exhausted heroes….
"NOT TODAY!"
Two more figures descended from the sky; Mirko and Stars & Stripes themselves, who effortlessy crushed the monsters.
"Sorry we're late!" The Rabbit heroine beamed. "Traffic was murder!"
"Aw crud. Well, guess the party is over...NEMO!" Nightmare snapped as a large black spot hole appeared behind her and Dabi.
"Bye-bye for now, Mr. #1 Hero. I'm sure we'll get another chance to talk but until then..." Dabi then grinned wickedly. "JUST KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND DON'T GO DYING ON ME...ENJI TODOROKI!"
"He knows his real name?" Perry thought in shock.
"Oooh, so fierce...TOYA~." Nightmare swooned, loud enough for Endeavor to hear and that made the Flame Hero pause.\
Toya.
Hearing that name made japan's greatest hero pause. His mind flashed back to his oldest son, initially his pride and joy….until his constitution revealed he was unfit for heroics, despite the boy's dream of surpassing his father.
A father who had pushed him aside when Shoto was born, told him to give up on his dream and ignored all the red flags; attacking his newborn brother, his distrust of his mother and sister…and how he kept training until that horrid day….
"No…" Enji didn't want to believe it, made it made so much sense! No body was ever found, the blue flames matched Toya's…
"No. No! NOOO!"
Too late, they were gone.
MHPP
Meanwhile at UA, the other students had been watching everything unfold and are amazed at both the Pros and their Western counterparts.
"Well, I'm going to say it; we need to hit the gym, people!" Kirishima annocuned.
"yeah, can't let the Kirby guys and gals stealing the spotlight!...Urgh, I think I just channeled Monoma…" Sero mused.
"Well, after that display, how could you not?" Mina beamed. "Also, Midori and Ocha snuck out for a date and didn't tell us?!"
The girls all squealed, as did Sato. Shoto smirked, glad for his friend.
Off to the side, Katsuki was stewing in jealousy. First he lost to these Gaijins, then ghe got called out by one and then his time at UA was threatened, and now they, Deku and Round face got to halt a major attack without him?!
Why?
It made no sense for the extra…
Wait.
On the TB, he spied Terrance happily signing an autograph and the others posing with the grateful civlians….
"Um…is Bakugo okay?" denki asked. "Cause it looks like he's never seen the aftermath of a hero battle."
"….That would explain some of his actions, honestly." Ida noted with Fumikage nodding in agreement.
"…How do you miss that?" Tooru asked. "yeah, they stopped the monster, but people are now happy and feel safe."
For some reason, Katsuki finally began to understand that heroes were not just rich uber badasses. No, they cared for the extras and no-names he had so ignored.
"You know? for one of the best students in their year," Jiro noted. "You've completely missed the point of being a hero."
"…C-Can I join you?"
This shocked the rest of Class 1-A, staring at the Pomeranian like he had grown a second head.
"…Um, beg pardon?" Mineta asked.
"For training, dammit! Can I join you extra…I mean….guys."
Again, no one knew how to react at first. However, Eijirou beamed in joy as he walked over and slung an arm around Bakugo
"Sure, Baku-Bro! We'd love to have ya!"
"Holy cow, it really is a new era..." Denki noted. "Or at least a sign of the apocalypse."
"I'm sure we're all very excited to have Bakugou finally take a chance with the rest of us." Momo smiled as she stood up. "I'll meet you all at training shortly, need to grab my water bottle."
With that, Momo excused herself, but Shoto couldn't help but notice a slightly uncharacteristic bounce to her step...It was cute, but unlike the Momo he knew….
MHPP
Once in her room, Momo made a call..
"Yeah, I found out where Eri's room is and left a tracker. And! We'll be able to spurlge! Yup, Okay, gimme a minute."
Smiling impishly, Momo then made her way to a drawer, pulling out several wads of yen that she placed into her bag as she began to melt away…revealing her to actually be Toga.
"I'd say it's a shame I can'ty stay here and catch up with Izuku and Ochacko…but the hotel is just as nice…"
THUMP!
THUMP!
"Oh right, forgot about you."
Toga reached under the bed in Momo's room and pulled out a moving duffel bag, which she unzipped and tossed its contents onto the bed.
Said contents was the real Momo, bound and gagged, with bandages on her arms from where Toga had taken some of her blood.
"Comfy?" Himiko asked, smirking as the rich girl glared and muffled a demand as the villainess' phone rang.
"Thanks for your blood! I'm sure it'll make something even better than what Overhaul made." The murder's smile then turned sad as a portal opened. "And I'll try to limit how hurt Eri gets."
Horrified,Momo screamed under her gag and began to struggle furiously and desperately. But Himiko was long gone.
MHPP
A black spot hole portal appeared in a nearby room and Spot yelped as he fell through it, landing in an awkward position.
"Why is always my face?" He whined.
"Now remember; bring us the girl or don't bother returning." Onikage snarled from the other side before the portal closed.
"Sheesh, some people..." Spot grumbled as he got up and dusted himself off. "Alright, time to put my training to good use!"
Knightmare Lord A/N:
Luckily, I have many of the manga volumes to work off of for this fight scene, so I hope I managed to take a load off Mrotrax's heavy workstuff! Also, it seems Canon is about to be violently thrown out the window!
Mrotrax A/N:
Indeed, canon has flown out the window! The League and Guild have much bigger plans, both immediate and eventual, and now we enter the main meat of the story; more torches being passed, a nation held hostage and legacies both good and evil uniting and disbanding.
Hope this wets your appetite!
HAPPY 2024!