Doc was right, this cafe was a great spot. The cozy wooden interior reminded him of a cabin out in the woods, the smell of hickory and cinnamon in the air added to the warm feeling the whole place was giving him. And there was the food too, he cut off a piece of the apple pie he was served and speared it with his fork. Placing it inside his mouth he savored the rich buttery crust and the sweet apple filling inside, it was simply divine.
The espresso was amazing as well, the one he was served pairing well with the flavors of the apple pie. "You know, this place is really nice," Hank muttered as he glanced around at the decor, beautiful paintings, and hand-carved wooded statues dotted around the cafe.
It was so good he could almost ignore the terrified glances thrown his way by the other patrons, the Barrista looking down at the cashier; praying that the assassin sitting in the middle of the cafe didn't decide to kill them all for no reason. "I mean, most cafes always try to keep up with what's 'modern', always changing to keep up. But these places." Hank waved his hand around. "Just timeless." He muttered.
Spearing the last piece of his pie he placed it in his mouth, his long shark-like teeth glinting in the light for a moment before his lipless mouth closed. Savoring the flavor before grabbing his cup and coffee and holding it to his lips, sipping at his espresso even as the door to the cafe was shoved open and two people rushed over to him. Hank paused as he heard the telltale sound of a shotgun being pumped.
Glancing up he saw two police officers aiming their weapons at him, a gruff-looking man with blood-red hair aiming an old pump action shotgun at him. The other one was a terrified rookie shakily aiming his revolver at him, a pair of horns sticking out of the top of his hat.
"Get up Wimbleton! You're surrounded!" The stern one yelled out as he kept his shotgun aimed at the assassin, Hank looked at the two of them before tilting his head to look out the window, dozens of police officers and Nexus Core troops were stationed outside the cafe, aiming their weapons towards him, ready to aid their comrades at a moments notice. With that in mind, Hank looked back at the officer pointing a shotgun at him.
"Let me finish my drink." The Assassin replied evenly as he moved to raise the cup to his lips.
"Freeze!" The seasoned police officer yelled, causing Hank to glance at him again before scoffing; he took a sip of his espresso, the two officers glancing at each other as they waited for him to finish. Once he set the empty cup down he slowly stood up, towering over both officers as he sighed.
"Alright, let's get started."
Nervous eyes darted around the empty field in front of the barricade, his breathing muffled slightly by the balaclava around his head as his goggles tinted the world red slightly, SAT Officer Seiji checked his standard issue N91 rifle for any defects that might have suddenly affected the weapon.
After finding no spontaneous failures he sucked in a deep breath and kept his eyes looking for any potential threats. Glancing around him he saw the rest of his unit crouched behind the impromptu barricade surrounding the front of Mustafu's city hall. More troops from Nexus Core were waiting alongside them along with some members of the city's local Riots and Tactics unit.
While looking around he saw a helicopter fly overhead, an officer manning a machine gun on the aircraft.
"You seeing all this shit Captain?" A voice asked beside him, glancing to the side he saw his friend Aimi standing next to him, her gaze looking up as a Nexus Core VTOL joined the helicopter in the air as they surveyed the area.
"Yup, figures that today of all days some villain's going to attack City Hall." He said with a scoff. "Must be one arrogant bastard to think he can get through all this." He continued, watching as two Nexus Core engineers finished setting up an HMG emplacement.
"Yeah, seems like overkill for just one guy, doesn't even have a code name either. Just 'Hank'." Aimi shook her head, it sounded almost ridiculous. "Like, why is some random American guy attacking this place?"
"Hell if I know," Seiji replied with a shrug. "As far as I care he's just another jackass looking for his five minutes of fame, we'll stop him soon enough." As soon as he said that one of the Soldats walking by paused before turning to look at the two of them.
"What did you just say?" The Nexus core member asked, his tone radiating disbelief. As if he couldn't comprehend what he had just heard. Seiji and Aimi looked at each other in confusion before Seiji pointed at himself.
"Me?"
"Yes, you! Do you really think it'll be easy to stop Wimbleton?"
"Easy? Maybe not, if the briefing's right he should be tough. But, c'mon, we've got dozens of well-trained troops here; if he shows his face he'll be turned into paste regardless of what kind of quirk he has." Seiji shrugged, Aimi nodding in agreement as the Soldat just looked at the two of them like they were stupid.
"Do you have any idea at all who we're trying to stop?"
"He's some American villain traveling abroad, yeah. We know." Aimi said, slightly exasperated, causing the Soldat to shake his head.
"No, he's not just some random villain, he's-" The soldat was cut off as all of their radios crackled to life.
{"This is overlord, Wimbleton has been spotted, he is en route to location. Ready up."}
In an instant Seiji and Aimi kneeled down to their cover, a waist-high wall of metal the NC engineers placed down. Supposedly it could stop rifle rounds, supposedly. Tossing that out of his mind he aimed his rifle across the field. Keeping his eyes scanned for any targets as the chatter among the officers and NC troopers died in an instant. All of them were dead silent, keeping their weapons tried in any direction as they waited.
After a moment, Seiji saw something appear on the opposite end of the field. His eyes widened as he saw a massive man wearing a black trench coat with armor plates over his chest and left arm. His right arm was a maroon color and covered in sharp crab-like plates. Seiji almost paused as he saw the man's head, covered in darkness with only two malevolent glowing red circles that seemed to stare deep into his soul. As soon as he spotted him everyone else did, almost a hundred guns were pointed at the villain in an instant as the helicopter's spotlight shined on top of the man.
Seiji adjusted his grip on his rifle as, for what felt like an eternity… nothing happened. Despite all of their guns aimed directly at him, the man just… stood there.
"What the hell is he doing?" He heard one officer ask out loud.
"I… I don't know, he's just… standing there." Another replied as an uncomfortable silence fell upon them again. Seiji reached for his radio and turned it on.
"Overlord, this is Captain Seiji, we have eyes on a suspect that matches the target description… Is it him?" Not even a second later the radio crackled to life.
{"Yes, do not hesitate, shoot to kill."}
Seiji dropped his radio and opened his mouth to issue a command. "OPEN FIRE!" He shouted as he pressed down on the trigger of his rifle, his gun joining dozens of others as they all opened fire on the villains' location. The HMG emplacement drowned out the rest of the rifles as the helicopter turret operator opened fire alongside them. The NC VTOL spinning up its chain gun as its main weapon joined the unending volley of fire directed at the lone target.
Eventually, Seiji grabbed his radio and switched frequencies. "Cease fire! Cease fire!" He ordered, the radio transmitting so everyone heard it. It took a moment before the gunfire ceased, the cloud of dust the combined arms fire kicked up slowly settling as everyone reloaded their weapons.
Once each gun was cocked and loaded they all aimed in the direction they had been firing at a moment ago. The dust cloud disappeared as Seiji felt himself involuntarily gasp, the tension in the area jumping as the villain they fired at vanished. No trace of him, not even a body.
"What the? Where'd he go?!" One of the officers asked out loud as murmurs and whispers began to fill the air as the officers and even some of the Nexus Core began to look around in fear. Seiji grit his teeth before raising a fist.
"Hey! HEY! We're better than this damnit! Keep your eyes peeled and your weapons ready! We've got the advantage here, this Wimbleton freak has to come to us!" Seiji said as he then pointed at the open field. "We'll make it through this and t-"
Seiji stumbled, he felt himself hit the ground, as he looked around in confusion. The last thing he ever saw was his headless body standing there for a moment before it collapsed.
There was a moment of confusion before panic ensued, in that brief moment every officer and NC trooper saw none other than Hank J Wimbleton standing over the decapitated body of Captain Seiji. In the assassin's maroon red hand, he carried a massive black Odachi that was covered in the late captain's blood, an ominous red energy surrounding the blade. On the other was a Light Machine Gun that looked small compared to the villain's sheer bulk, holding it with ease as a belt of ammo danging from the machine guns side.
One of the Soldats aimed their rifles at the assassin and bellowed out a single word. "FIRE!"
In a moment most of the officers aimed their weapons at him as Hank pulled on the trigger of his machine gun, and a hail of leaden death soon followed. The massive armor-piercing rounds fired by the machine gun tore the officers and NC troopers apart. Most of them died in the opening barrage, very few being able to fire back as Hank gunned them down without remorse. Any bullets that managed to hit him were bounced back, a shimmering light appearing around Hanks for a brief second when any rounds struck him.
He was forced to jump backward as the 20mm chaingun on the NC VTOL opened fire on him, Hank used the Odachi to deflect the hail of bullets fired at him as the remaining ground troops reorganized. One of the NC engineers raised a remote.
"Retreat! Retreat into the building!" The Engineer yelled out as he ran into the City Hall, the surviving SAT officers and NC troopers following close behind as the engineer pressed a button on the remote. Once everyone was inside the engineer pressed another button, the main doors slamming shut as metal bars shot out from the ground and bared the door from opening ever again.
"Alright! Everyone find a defensible position, those bars won't hold for long and we need to hold out till reinforcements come!" The Engineer shouted to the surviving troopers and officers. All of them looked at him for a moment panicked eyes peering into his soul as none of them moved. "Did I stutter? MOVE!"
The engineer shouted, knocking everyone out of their dazed states as they rushed over and hid behind counters, pillars, and anything that could maybe take a bullet or two. The Engineer sighed as he looked down at his rifle, before he could reload he felt something crash into the ground before an explosion was heard outside.
"What the hell was that?"
"Shit, that might have been one of the choppers."
"Calm down!" The engineer shouted as he reloaded his rifle and ducked behind the main desk in the lobby. "There's still the other one out there, we only need to hold out for a minute for-"
He was cut off as the building itself shook, "Shit." he muttered, the other aircraft they had probably down for the count now too. He took a deep breath before glancing around at his terrified comrades, he knew they were on the verge of panicking but they held firm. He tightened his grasp on his rifle and aimed at the door, waiting.
The tension in the air was palpable, so thick someone could cut it with a knife. The two reinforced doors burst open, shrapnel being flung all over the lobby as most of the officers and troopers ducked to take cover. Most of them, as the Engineer slumped forward before collapsing to the ground. A piece of the reinforced door striking out of his mask, blood slowly spilling from the wound.
Everyone's attention was placed back toward the door and the remaining officers and troopers aimed their weapons at the door. A cloud of dust obscured the entrance, but slowly a pair of glowing red eyes were seen amidst the dust and the law enforcement opened fire. The hail of lead zipped through the cloud of dust as they maintained fire, trying to keep the villain stuck behind cover.
"Reloading!" One of the officers yelled as she dumped the mag on her rifle and reached for another strapped to her vest, just as she grabbed it she felt a sharp pain across her chest before her back hit the floor. Looking at her still-standing lower body before everything went dark.
"SHIT! HE'S T-" The trooper was bisected as Hank rushed through the remaining resistance, nothing more than a blur as he cut down another dozen of their number even as they opened fire on him. The assassin dodged the bullets with ease as he continued to bisect the officers and troopers one by one.
One of the soldats pulled out a long-bladed machete and charged the assassin. "RUN!" He screamed as he aimed to skewer his blade through Wimbleton. A moment later both of his arms were cut off before his head and severed from the rest of his body.
Wimbleton stood there for a moment before glancing at the remaining four officers, all of them looking up at the assassin with terror in their eyes before three of them made their decisions. Throwing their weapons on the floor and running away, before they could even take two steps they were sliced in half at the waist, their bodies hitting the floor as the last remaining officer recoiled in fear. His back hit the wall as he looked at the assassin.
Hank loomed over the man, blood-red malevolent eyes glaring deep into his soul as the officer slowly raised his pistol and placed the barrel against the side of his head, tears streaming down his face before he pulled the trigger. His body collapsed to the floor, Hank staring at it dispassionately before moving on.
Walking at a relaxed pace down the hallway, relishing in the build-up before the kill. Then, he paused before sighing. Standing in place before something slammed through the roof of the building. Hank just stood there, not even flinching as he looked at some costumed doofus in a superhero landing pose.
Hank watched as the hero, a man in a bright red and white spandex costume stood up and pointed a finger at him, a scowl on the man's face as his domino mask concealed his identity. "Stop there villain! You may have gotten far Wimbleton," The hero growled out before clenching a fist. "But your days of super terrorism are over! For-"
Hank walked past him, ignoring the hero as he continued toward the mayor's office. The hero stood there for a moment, not doing anything until he slowly fell to the ground. Bisected down the middle.
A moment of walking he stood at the door leading to his target, opening the door he saw the mayor sitting at her desk, an older woman in her fifties. Once silky black hair turned grey as she glared at her soon-to-be killer.
"Well, about time Doc's hound came for me, gonna kill me now hound?" She asked him as she grabbed a cigarette from her carton, placed the filter in her mouth, and lit the cigarette with the tip of her finger, a small flame exiting it.
Hank said nothing as he took a step closer, a casual air around him as he slowly closed in on his target
The mayor looked at him for a moment before sighing. "Do the lives of the people you kill mean nothing to you?"
Hank paused midstep, "What does that have to do with me? If the people they followed led them to this, then the fault lies with them. Not me."
"So you're saying I forced you to kill those people?"
"They died trying to protect you, so yes." Hank replied, his tone even, almost robotic. Causing the mayor to scoff in disbelief.
"That how you like to see it?"
"Not how I see it, just the way it is," Hank said as he reached into his pocket for something, causing the mayor to reach under her desk and pull out a strange-looking gun and fired it at him. His right hand lashed out in a blur as he used his mutated arm to block the blow only to feel… nothing.
Hank looked down at where the beam had struck him before looking at the mayor. "Was that supposed to kill me?"
"Yes, you don't know it yet but you're already dead. And it'll be a death someone as horrid as you deserves." She said as Hank just looked at her for a moment before his hand lashed out, her head hitting her desk as her body crumbled to the floor.
Dropping her corpse he shook his blade clean of blood. "So scary." He mocked, disdain in his voice before he turned around and began to walk away. Hank only took about three steps in total before pausing and groaning. "Oh what now?"
The wall opposite of him exploded and kicked up a wall of dust and debris. For a moment Hank just stood there, half expecting another costumed dork in another hero pose, just as he opened his mouth to lament how boring heroes were. His instincts screamed at him; Hank dodged to the side as a massive figure nearly crashed into him. Appearing from the dust cloud, and at the sight of who it was Hank almost smiled.
Standing where Hank had been just a moment ago was All Might, wearing plain civilian clothes and with one enormous fist outstretched. After a moment the number one stood tall and turned to look at the assassin, a deep frown on his face.
"Wimbleton." All Might spat the name out as if it were poison, and as far as the hero was concerned, it was.
Hank smiled, a wide manic grin hidden underneath his mask as his eyes began to glow underneath his goggles. "Finally, some entertainment." He muttered as Nexus energy sparked all around him before a massive beam made entirely out of darkness shot out of his right hand.
Not all men are created equal… this is a fact about the society and the world that we live in. I learned this lesson at four years old and had it beaten into me by someone I once called a friend.
The soft scent of cherry blossoms filled his nose as a torrent of advertisements bombarded his ears, walking along the tidal wave of people surrounding him as he slowly made his way to school.
{"I am DEATH ARMS! And THIS is my favorite restaurant in Mustafu!}
{"Come buy the latest in sneaker technology, The Ingeniumu Pro Air 5!"}
The loud shouts of synthesized voices reverberated across the city block, adding to the constant drone of conversations and background noise. Phone calls, cars honking their horns, someone coughing from behind him.
Izuku Midoriya paid little attention to what was happening, looking down at his phone screen. "Man, this set's so expensive." He muttered, looking down at the brand-new and limited edition set of All Might shaker cups, worth more than what most people make in a day of work.
"I'll just try and save up some money." He thought aloud as he put his phone away, shambling alongside the crowd. Izuku paused mid-step, something was disturbing the cacophony of sounds, and other people noticed it. Office workers and other students his age looked up alongside him just as two VTOL crafts flew overhead. Hanging underneath one of the VTOLs was a person in a blue costume, attached to the craft by a series of intricate oak wood branches.
His eyes widened at the sight before he took off, Izuku running after the VTOLS as fast as his thin legs could carry him. An excited glint in his eyes as he followed the two aircraft, the letters 'NC' emblazoned on the tails of the aircrafts.
Over a hundred years ago, the first quirk user was born in Qing Qing China. A baby emitted a bright golden light from their body, and soon after, more and more of these strange powers became known. Quirks as we know them now… and soon after, the first villains rose to prominence. Bringing chaos wherever they roamed… that's when they first showed up… The Nexus Core.
Through superior technology, tactics, and training; they stabilized most of the world. And when they were stretched thin, the first heroes arrived to lend a helping hand. Together Nexus Core and the Heroes pulled the world out of the darkness.
He felt his legs begin to burn from exhaustion, his chest feeling heavy but despite that he pushed himself to keep running, keeping the VTOLs in sight as he chased after them.
As he got closer he felt the ground tremble slightly, the feeling just increased his excitement as his smile grew. Rounding a corner he made it to a bridge where a massive shark man stood, roaring at the top of his lungs as a giant crowd watched him.
Izuku kept running until he made it to the crowd, he hesitated for a moment before diving in. Squeezing past people and occasionally muttering out a quick "Sorry" until he made it to the front of the crowd. Stars in his eyes and he looked at the hero battle in front of him.
"Woah! Who's fighting!?" He yelled out before glancing around as the villain slammed a fist down on the train tracks, causing the ground to shake as a tendril wrapped itself around the villain's shoulder before a figure flew towards him. Soaring across the air in his oak wood and blue costume.
Izuku gasped as he saw the young hero gleaming in the sunlight. "Thats! That's Kamui Woods! He's so cool!" Izuku said with stars in his eyes as he felt his heart roar at the sight of the rising star in the hero world.
"Ain't that the truth, I don't like most of 'em but he's an alright guy." A man said next to him, Izuku glanced to the right and saw a Nexus Core scout watching the battle, his expression unreadable from the man's mask and visor.
"Ooooh! Yo-You're a part of the Nexus Core!" Izuku said, relishing that at this moment he was standing next to someone who worked closely with heroes.
The Scout looked at him for a moment, an amused smile behind his mask. "Jeez, you're a real super fan ain't ya?" The man said with a chuckle, Izuku blushing slightly as he nervously tapped his fingers together.
"Hahaha… I-I guess you could say that." He muttered in a shy tone of voice.
Before any of them could speak further. The villain roared before punching at one of the support beams, the metal tearing off as it soared towards the ground below.
Before it could connect and send up debris, a figure rushed in and caught it with ease. The Pro-Hero Death Arms held it up with a bit of concentration before glancing at the crowd and giving them a smirk and a wink.
"Woah! Death Arms is here too!?" Izuku whisper yelled as he jumped up and down in excitement, just then a stream of water appeared in front of him keeping the crowd a safe distance away from the action. His eyes widened as he glanced to the side and his mouth dropped as he saw the rescue hero backdrift creating the barrier. "And backdrift too? This is amazing! It's so cool to see heroes work together like this!" He whispered to himself.
As if things couldn't get any better, Kamui Woods used one of his wood tendrils to lift himself up one of the rafters and reared a fist back, yelling something out that got lost in the constant muttering of the crowd. But Izuku knew what was going to happen.
"He-He's going to use his signature move!" Izuku shouted as he pointed at the hero, watching as his arms expanded into dozens of oak wood tendrils that sped toward the villain. The Scout scoffed before chuckling and shouting at the hero.
"Make it look good for the cameras tree man!" He shouted out.
"Pre-Emptive binding… LACQUERED CHAIN PR-"
"CANYON CANNON!"
Just as the massive villain raised an arm to protect himself from Kamui Woods attack, a massive woman drop-kicked him from the side while he wasn't looking. Knocking him out and sending him flying off the bridge and hitting the road below, as well as sending debris flying towards the crowd.
Izuku stood there, his eyes focused on a piece of metal flying directly toward him as he remained rooted in place his entire life flashing before his eyes before something grabbed him and sent him tumbling towards the ground. His backpack flew off his back and tumbled open as he hit the ground hard.
As he was gasping for air, pain racking his back he opened his eyes and saw the Nexus Scout looking over him for injury before snapping his fingers in front of his face. "Hey? Hey! You ok kid?"
Izuku coughed before nodding. "Y-Yeah… th-thank you." He muttered as the Scout nodded back.
"No problem kid." The scout said before helping Izuku up to his feet, the boy glanced around and saw Backdrift forming a giant bubble of water that caught most of the flying debris as Kamui Woods managed to catch some strays, such as the metal pipe that was hurtling towards him earlier.
"Christ, the fucking nerve of that…" The Scout grumbled something else out in English before looking at Izuku's open backpack. He grabbed it and saw something that caught his attention, laying on the ground was a single drone, he didn't recognize its make or model, and as he picked it up and inspected it for a moment. It was broken, that much was obvious, something strange about how it was broken, however. It had burn marks all over it like it had been caught in an explosion.
"Hey kid, did you make this?" He asked Izuku, the boy stiffening as he blushed in embarrassment. Not looking the scout in the eye.
"Y-Yeah, it's… pretty stupid b-but I like making t-things like that." He muttered as the Scout continued to look at it. And while he was no engineer or techie, he was skilled enough to know how advanced this drone was. Especially for something made by a teenager.
"It's pretty solid work kid, keep it up and you can probably make it as an engineer in the Nexus Core." The Scout said before glancing at the kid, Izuku frowned slightly at the words before nodding.
"Yeah, I probably could." He agreed, but it sounded hollow. The Scout looked at him before chuckling and shaking his head.
"Ah, who am I kidding, right? If you keep making gadgets like this, then I'm sure you can make it as a hero." The Scout said as he held the drone out to the boy, Izuku looking at him in shock as if he had grown a second head before a wide smile grew on his face. He grabbed the drone and his backpack before smiling at the scout.
"Thank you." He said, complete sincerity in those words, struggling to keep tears from falling out of his eyes; for the first time in his life. He had been told the one thing he always wanted to hear.
That one person, that one voice telling me that 'I could do this' was all I needed. It saved me.
Izuku thought back to the simple words, thinking about them as he finished writing down some notes in his latest hero journal. The newest hero Mt. Lady had an impressive quirk in his mind, even if she was a a tad reckless. Muttering to himself about the pros and cons of the quirk while ignoring the constant talking around him.
Sitting down at his desk he glanced at the students around him all talking to each other, he sighed and looked back down at his hero notebook. Pausing as his homeroom teacher coughed into his hand, silencing the class as he stood up.
"Alright, so I'm supposed to hand out all these forms about what you all want to be when you grow up." The teacher said, a stoic look on his face and his voice almost robotic; he then rolled his eyes and grinned before tossing the forms into the air.
"Who am I kidding? You're all going into hero courses aren't you?" He continued his tone lighter now and filled with a small sense of joy. The classroom erupted into all the students shouting in joy as they raised their hands, all now loudly talking about what their costumes would look like and what their hero names would be.
Izuku flinched before timidly raising his hand slightly, shrinking in on himself so no one could see him.
"Yo teach! Don't lump me with all of these extras." A loud, brash voice called out; the sheer presence of his voice causing everyone to turn and look at one Katsuki Bakugo. His legs kicked up on his desk and a cocky smile wide on his face. "I'm not gonna be stuck at the bottom like these rejects." He continued, confidence wafting off of him like bad cologne.
"Hey! That's uncalled for Bakugo!" One student yelled out as the others joined in soon after, a cacophony of angry shouts as they all focused their ire on him.
"You should all shut up like the extras you are!" Katsuki shouted back with a grin before laughing to himself, savoring the anger being directed at him. The Teacher sighed before sitting back down at his desk.
"Yes, yes. Bakugo, if I remember correctly, you're aiming to attend U.A. right?" The teacher asked, causing everyone to go quiet as they looked at the blond bomber. Izuku cringing as he slumped further into his desk the other students muttering to themselves.
"U.A? That national school?"
"I heard only 0.2% of applicants get in, if that's the case then-"
Katsuki quickly refocused all the attention back on him. "And that's why all you guys are all just extras." The blond then jumped off his chair and stood on his desk, high above everyone else.
"I aced the mock test, and cause of my quirk I'm the only one strong enough to get into U.A. from this shitty school. I'll become so powerful that I'll surpass even All Might! My name will go down in history as the strongest hero to ever live!"
"Oh yeah, Midoriya, you want to go to U.A. too, right?" The teacher asked off-handedly. Silencing Bakugo as everyone in the class looked at the small green-haired boy before laughing like it was the funniest joke in the world.
"Deku? In U.A? Yeah right!"
"The world will end before a quirkless loser like him ever gets accepted into U.A."
"Yeah! You can't rely on your dumb toys to be a hero Deku!"
Izuku glanced around, his heart thumping in his chest before he stood up. "Th-They're not toys and U.A. g-got rid of their rules against qui-" Izuku stopped as Katsuki crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat and slammed his palm down on Izukus' desk, causing a small explosion that sent Izuku stumbling backward before tripping over himself and landing on his back.
"Shut up Deku!" Katsuki yelled out as he glared at Izuku. "You're below the rejects, you're below even animals! You're a quirkless loser not even worth the shit beneath my shoe! How can you even think about standing in the same ring as me?!" Backugo bellowed, his eyes blank from rage as dozens of small explosions formed in the palm of his hand
"N-No wait K-Kacchan! I-I'm not trying- Katsuki growled as he stomped towards Izuku.
"Stop calling me that Deku! I'm not your damn friend! I'd never be friends with a quirkless little-"
"Alright!" The teacher yelled as he stood up. "I think that's enough for everyone, Bakugo, return to your seat." He ordered, Katsuki glancing at him before huffing. He then looked at Izuku again.
"This isn't over Deku." He muttered before storming off to his seat, Izuku sat on the floor for a moment, fear still gripping him before he sat up and returned to his desk. His mouth was dry and his hands trembled as he sat there, not listening to anything else the teacher said.
There was a feeling of weightlessness as he soared through the air, his soul felt like it was disconnected from his body for a moment. The smile on his face was just as wide as it had been when the battle began.
There was a moment of pain as he slammed through an empty building and landed on the street behind it, but that was a part of the fun. Quickly standing up Hank looked upwards, seeing All Might standing atop the building he had just punched Hank through. The number one was covered in small cuts and bruises, a deeper cut above his left eye, and some first-degree burns on his forearms. But something else caught the assassin's eyes.
Hank tilted his head, something was off with his opponent. "What's the matter All Might? Getting tired?" The assassin asked, watching as steam wafted off of the number one hero; the hero just chuckling in response.
"A little, but you seem to be in worse shape Wimbleton. I know for a fact that you should have dodged my last punch." All Might remarked, causing Hank to think for a moment. As much as he hated to admit it, the number one was right. Something felt… off, inside of his body. Slowing him down, making him weaker, making his nexus less effective. It was almost as if…
"Oh… oh no," Hank muttered to himself before he felt a flash of burning pain across his right arm, glancing down at it he saw Nexus energy arching off of it for a moment, burning the carapace attached to it. He had to get out of here.
He glanced back at All Might and grinned, spotting a news helicopter high in the air looking at the battle between the two. Hank then glanced below him, a manhole cover at his feet. His hand shot out and grabbed it before throwing the cover at All Might, the metal disc flying toward the hero faster than a speeding bullet.
All Might dodged to the side, his eyes trained on Hank before he heard the manhole cover slam into something. Spinning around he saw that the assassin's target was the helicopter, the disc slicing the aircraft's tail clean off and sending it hurtling towards the ground.
The hero grits his teeth before jumping toward the helicopter and landing on it, faster than the crew could react he grabbed all three of them. Before jumping off the out-of-control helicopter, with the pilot, the camera operator, and the reporter in his arms. Watching as it slammed into the empty street below, All Might safely landed on the street before letting the news crew go.
All three of them nearly collapsed from the near-death experience. "Are you all ok?" All Might asked then as the reporter looked at him.
"Y-Yeah, we're fine, thank you All Might," he replied, the pilot nodding.
"Yea! Don't worry about us, go kick that villain's ass." She said, giving the hero a thumbs up. All Might smiled before giving her a thumbs up back before jumping high into the air and landing where Hank had been a moment ago.
His smile turned into a slight frown as the assassin was nowhere to be seen, the only thing left was a hole leading into the sewers below. A bit of blood coating the ladder leading down.
Izuku sat at the desk of his last class for the day, the teacher didn't show up so there was a substitute teacher who was just letting them do whatever they wanted. While everyone else was talking or looking at their phones Izuku was tinkering with his drone, repairing it with a miniature tool kit he had stowed in his backpack.
After nearly an hour the class ended, not that he noticed, even as everyone packed up and left Izuku stayed a while longer as he finished the repair. With it done he reached into his backpack and pulled out a remote, pressing a button on it.
For a moment, nothing happened, Izuku was ready to give up until the drone beeped and lifted into the air. The boy watched it in shock before a wide smile formed on his face. The drone looking at him with its camera, Izuku wiped away some tears that threatened to spill out from his eyes as he gently patted the floating drone. The robot made a beeping sound as if it enjoyed being pat by its creator.
"Hey little buddy, it's b-" Before Izuku could finish a hand snatched the drone out of the air, the robot making rapid distressed beeping noises as it tried to fly out of the hand of whoever grabbed it.
"You fixed this thing already?" Katsuki asked as he inspected the drone with a bored look in his eyes.
"Ka-Kaachan, c-can you please give them b-"
"Shut up," Bakugo said; Izuku getting his mouth to seal shut even as the drone continued to beep in distress. Two of Bakugo's cronies walking into the class, cocky grins on their faces.
"Yo Bakugo, what's that?" One of them asked as the blonde showed them the drone, his eyes still locked on Izuku as his cronies chuckled.
"That old robot? Can't believe he still has that thing." One of them said with a grin.
"Oh, Midoriya." The other said, false pity in his voice before he started to chuckle.
Izuku hesitated as he saw all three of them looming over him before he stood up, his hands held up as he forced a smile on his face. "A-Alright, you've had your fun now-
"What's it for?" Katsuki asked while cutting Izuku off, the Midoriya looked at his former friend for a moment before glancing away. His hands dropped to his side as he clenched his fists.
"You already know," Izuku muttered before flinching as Katsuki slammed his hand on Midoriya's desk, a small explosion scorching the wood as Katsuki glared at him. "What is it for?" Bakugo repeated; Izuku could feel his hands shaking as he felt himself freeze up before nodding.
"I-It's a recon drone, I-I made it for w-when I become a hero I could use them to look for v-villans o-or people that need help after d-disasters," Izuku muttered as Katski hummed in thought. A moment later an explosion engulfed the drone and broke it, its beeps dying out as its struggles ceased.
Izuku clenched his fists but stood still, just letting it happen to avoid his former friends wrath. He thought that if, maybe just maybe, he stayed quiet and let Katsuki do what he wanted he'd eventually leave him alone. That mindset changed as soon as Katsuki threw the drone out the window.
"NO!" Izuku yelled as he tried to run to the window but was blocked by Bakugo, the taller boy keeping him from running away. Izuku stiffened as he froze where he stood, not daring to move.
"Most top-notch heroes have an origin story, all starting from their school days. I want the shine of being called 'the only student to make it to U.A.' from this mediocre junior high. I mean, I am a perfectionist after all." Katsuki finished with a small grin as he closed his eyes, Izuku looking away, not saying a single word. Katsuki's grin widened, malicious intent flowing off of it like water as he placed a single hand on Izuku's shoulder.
Midoriya's eyes widened as he began to shake in terror, smoke coming out of where Katsuki's hand was. "So do me a favor nerd, don't apply to U.A." Katsuki then opened his eyes, a wild look of pure hate focused on the smaller boy. "Or I'll kill you." Katsuki then patted Izukus shoulder before spinning on his heel and walking away.
Izuku just stood there saying nothing as he shook in place, keeping his head down as Bakugo and his followers walked away. One of them scoffed as they looked at Izuku. "Could at least stand up for yourself, it's sad watching you."
"Like watching Bakugo beat him down is any better, don't waste your pity on him it's pathetic. Dude still can't face reality.
Bakugo paused as he heard the words, a grin forming on his face as he looked back at Izuku. "Oh, by the way Deku, I've figured out how you can become a hero! It's pretty quick to; hope you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof!" Katsuki said before laughing to himself, his followers hesitating before forcing themselves to laugh alongside him.
Izuku felt his body tense as something sparked inside of him, he clenched his fists and spun around, glaring at Bakugo a newfound resolve deep in his heart. It went away immediately as Katsuki met his flare, a dozen explosions flashing across his right arm. "What?" Bakugo asked as he looked directly at Izuku, the green-haired boy saying nothing as he shook in place, terrified beyond belief.
Katsuki scoffed before turning around. "That's what I thought." He said before walking out of the classroom, his two suck-ups following him out. Leaving Izuku behind in the classroom.
He didn't know how long he stood there, just quaking in fear long after Katsuki had left. Eventually, he swallowed the lump in his throat and grabbed his backpack before leaving his classroom. No one was in the halls as he stumbled through them before making it out of the building.
Muttering to himself he walked around the school campus, looking for something. His eyes unfocused and hazy as he clutched the straps of his backpack with such force that his knuckles were turning white. He continued to walk until he saw it, a small frown on his face as he did. The drone he had built floating in one of the Koi Fish ponds. He reached out and grabbed it, looking at the water-logged machine. "I should have never brought you to school." He muttered before shoving it into his pants pocket and walking away.
His feet scraped against the ground, his breathing ragged as the sounds of the sewers filled his ears like a drum. He glanced behind him, confident he had given All Might the slip he continued walking forward.
Hank groaned in pain and leaned against the wall for support, he glanced down at his right arm again and saw that the last bit of the red carapace had fallen off. A large mass of pinkish pulsating tumors in its place. He grit his teeth and kept moving forward, of course, they would have something like that.
It was so damn unfair, he just hoped it was some prototype and that was the only one. But he knew that was wishful thinking. He just had to get back to HQ and into a new pod, or maybe…
Hank paused as he glanced behind him again, All Might was getting closer. He growled, "Damnit, bastards like a damn bloodhound." He muttered before picking up the pace, pausing as he saw a manhole cover above him. He glanced behind him again before looking up at the manhole.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures." He muttered with a sigh before climbing up the ladder to the cover and pushing it open.
Izuku continued his walk home, looking down as he shambled onward. He felt exhausted beyond measure like he had spent the last few hours doing back-breaking labor. Sighing he just kept walking, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Maybe I should just join Nexus Core." He muttered to himself, thinking out loud, his mind flashing back to things people had told him. All of them deriding him or not believing in him.
"He can't face reality."
"It'll be best to give up."
"I'm so sorry Izuku."
He paused, just standing there for a moment, in the middle of a tunnel leading back home as he thought to himself before closing his eyes and sucking in a deep breath before opening his eyes again, a resolute look at his face as he walked forward. Standing tall in the face of adversity, after all, it's what All Might would do.
Just as he raised a fist to the sky and opened his mouth to bellow out All Might's signature laugh, he paused as a shadow loomed over him. Looking back Izuku saw a man twice his size shrouded in all black, two bright glowing red lights looking down at him.
"Hi there."
AN: Hey fellas, you may be wondering why this is here, after all, I'm already working on another MC/BNHA crossover, right? Well to answer that question, I am unsatisfied with that fanfic, it was the second one I've written and after a while, it felt more like an obligation than something I actually liked writing. And I feel like I've improved drastically as a writer compared to when I first made Improb Fates. So, I'm going to take some ideas from Improb Fates and use them for this fic, but only the barebone ideas. This fic and NM are going to go in two vastly different directions and the plot is going to be different as well. Welp, till next time fellas. You guys stay safe ya hear?