MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I WENT TO A SUPERHERO-THEMED WEDDING ONCE. AFTER THE MUSICAL NUMBER, FIGHT SCENE, AND SHEER AMOUNT OF WEAPONRY SNUCK IN, I'M AMAZED WE ALL GOT OUT ALIVE.
You know, it's a good thing physical fitness is so important to be a hero in MHA, or the huge number of stairs our heroes have to climb would probably kill them. It would definitely kill me.
Also, I hope you've got 'You Say Run' ready to play!
My Alien Academia
Chapter 26
Stars, Part 2
"This—ow!" Ashido stumbled as they climbed yet another flight of stairs. "This isn't working, guys."
Midoriya looked back; he and the other boys had noticed that the girls had fallen back a good distance by now. "What's wrong?"
Uraraka grimaced and pulled off her shoes. "We're all wearing heels, Deku-kun; they're not exactly built for running."
Yaoyorozu took off her own shoes and looked at them mournfully. "And I bought these just for tonight…" she put them on the floor, next to the other girls' shoes. "We'll have to remember where we put these."
Of the girls, only Asui looked more relaxed. "Ribbit, now I can jump; Hanta and I can scout ahead, if that's okay."
"Don't go too far," Todoroki advised. "We don't want to get separated, especially since we have so much farther to go."
Melissa, bringing up the rear, panted and glared at the sign that read 'Level 25'. "After this is over… I'm telling Papa to install an elevator that runs independent of the security system."
Midoriya shared a guilty look with his friends; they were all in very good shape, and so was Melissa, but she clearly wasn't used to this kind of exertion.
"Do you want me to make you float?" Uraraka offered. "One of us could drag you, and you could get a little rest."
Melissa shook her head. "No, it's fine. Save your Quirk for when you need it."
It was when they finally reached the thirtieth floor that they encountered their first real obstacle—an automated emergency door began to slide shut, blocking their path to the next stairway. The Villains must have noticed them on the cameras, and were moving to contain them.
The students' training and instincts took over; Todoroki kept the door from closing completely by wedging it open with ice, and then Iida vaulted through the open space to knock down the next door with a Recipro-assisted kick. Smaller doors closed every so often, and Ashido and Midoriya took turns breaking through—the former would melt them down with her acid, and the latter shattered them as Four Arms.
"We're going to have to enter the main section of the tower soon," Melissa said when they took a few minutes to rest. "After the eightieth floor, I mean; they already know we're in the building, so the security systems are going to try to stop us no matter where we are."
Ashido wiped off a few small globs of acid from her hands. "Well… that kinda sucks."
"We'll have one advantage," Midoriya muttered, half to himself. "If we're not using the emergency stairs the whole time, we should have more room to maneuver, and hopefully avoid any major fighting."
Uraraka rubbed her sore feet. "More running. Yay." She and the other girls smiled in relief when Todoroki created a few chunks of ice for them. "Thanks, Shoto."
Todoroki shrugged and looked up at the next door. "We need to move. Hurry up."
Ashido rolled her eyes. "Okay, are you a gentleman, or a stoic jerk? Both are attractive, but pick one."
"Can you flirt later, please?" Sero asked as he helped Asui to her feet. "Time and place, Mina."
"There is always time for flirting," Ashido replied, but did go quiet as they finally risked going out into the open when they reached the eightieth floor.
The floor itself looked very out of place for such a technologically advanced structure. It reminded Midoriya of a public garden, or an enormous greenhouse, with plants from all over the world.
"This floor was built to test how certain Quirks affected plants," Melissa answered, in response to his unasked question. She then pointed to the other side of the room. "We'll have to take the service ladder to the gantry above us, and then take another emergency staircase. After that, it's all security stations and administration. I know the shortest route to the security control room."
"How much free time do you have for you to know all this stuff?" Sero asked.
Melissa made a noise that sounded like a cross between a cough and a laugh. "I have nothing to do on this island except study, work on Support Items, and explore. I have all the free time."
"Hey, what about that elevator?" Uraraka pointed to the huge pillar at the center of the room. "Couldn't that take us straight to the top?"
"No, we'd need special clearance for that elevator, and it's monitored." Melissa sighed. "There are a dozen failsafes built in to keep someone from hijacking it—including explosives as a last resort."
"So much for using Lodestar to lift us all up there," Midoriya muttered.
"Wait a second!" Yaoyorozu stared at the elevator. "I think… someone is coming down."
They were too far away from the service ladder; they wouldn't make it before whoever was in the elevator arrived. Instead, they darted for the nearest bushes and hid; their best bet to avoid a fight was to hope that any Villains just kept on walking.
Two men emerged from the elevator—they wore the same uniforms as the other Villains, but other than that, they were as different as night and day. One was short and broad, with an expression that suggested he had the intelligence of a particularly thick rock, while the other was tall, almost unhealthily skinny, and had a face that was distinctly rodent-like.
Midoriya prayed that they didn't know where he and his friends were, but his hand hovered over the Ultimatrix. Beside him, his friends were tense; none of them were sure whether they would fight or run. Aside from Melissa, all of them had fought Villains at some point, but those times had happened too fast for them to really think about what was going on. They'd been climbing stairs for almost an hour now, and that had given them all time to really think about what they were doing, and the consequences if they failed.
"Hey, we see you!" the skinny Villain shouted. "Get out here!"
"We've been made," Ben said, though only Midoriya could hear him. "You're going to have to move fast."
"You've got three seconds to come out, or we don't take any chances," the shorter Villain said; the students flinched when they heard the sound of a gun being cocked.
"Get ready to move," Todoroki murmured. "I'll block them."
Hands raised, they stepped out of the bushes; Midoriya swallowed nervously when he found himself staring down the barrel of the gun in the shorter Villain's hand. It was one thing to face danger as an alien that could shrug off a bullet, but it was another thing entirely when he was a vulnerable human. He was reminded of the USJ attack, when Shigaraki was inches away from destroying him, and he started to tremble.
"Aw, you kids thought you'd play hero, huh?" the skinny Villain mocked. "They really should have stayed put, huh, Daigo?"
"You said it, Nobu," the shorter one, Daigo, said. He sneered, and was about to pull the trigger, when two things happened at once. First, a wall of ice rushed up to block his shot; it turned out to be unnecessary, because a long tentacle grabbed Daigo's arm and forced the gun up. Both Daigo and Nobu were blasted away from the students by a spiral wave of energy.
Uraraka's eyes went wide. "Nejire! Tamaki!"
"Hi, guys!" Nejire-chan called out as she flew over to them. "Looks like we got here just in time!"
"They're getting back up," Suneater said as he joined her, his voice unusually steady. "What's going on here?"
"We don't have time to explain the details," Yaoyorozu said quickly. "The short version is that Villains have taken over the security systems. We need to get Melissa there so that she can free all the hostages and the Heroes can handle the rest."
It spoke of the older students' experience and capability that they didn't hesitate. They turned to face Daigo and Nobu, who looked more than ready to fight.
"You guys go on ahead," Suneater ordered. "We'll take care of these guys, and then we'll catch up."
Midoriya knew that they had no time to discuss it. "Be careful!"
Rather than keep going for the service ladder, Todoroki created an erupting column of ice underneath their feet that lifted them to the gantry above. Melissa led the way to the next part of the tower, but Midoriya couldn't help looking back at the fight breaking out below. Both Daigo and Nobu had activated their Quirks; the latter's hands had become larger and webbed, while the former's entire body had become larger, bulging with muscle, and he'd turned purple. The last thing Midoriya saw before he turned a corner was the two Villains charging at his friends.
"Okay, now we have a new problem," Melissa said as the reached the next section.
"Oh, what now?" Ashido whined.
Melissa gestured to the door. "This one is locked from the other side, and if we try to just knock it down, it'll trigger automated defenses… like electrified floors and knockout gas."
Yaoyorozu frowned. "Why haven't they tried to use that on us before?"
"Hey, I'm not complaining," Sero half-joked.
"It's part of a layered security network," Melissa explained. "The most sensitive areas of the tower are above us, so the defenses are tightest. And they exist on a separate, isolated network, to keep a cyber-attack from taking over the whole thing."
"That makes sense," Yaoyorozu said.
Ashido leaned over to whisper to Uraraka. "It does?"
Uraraka shrugged. "Smart-people techno-babble."
"Ah."
"All we have to do is unlock the door from the other side," Melissa said. "There's a small service duct that leads around, but someone would have to go outside the tower itself."
Midoriya held up one hand. "Um… I could just walk through the door and unlock it."
Melissa blinked. "Or you could do that."
Midoriya cycled through his aliens until he found the one he needed. When the flash of light faded, everyone saw that he had turned into a blue insect-like creature that seemed to be wearing a blue cloak and hood.
"That one is new," Iida noted. "What do you call it?"
"Big Chill," the moth-man said. "Give me a minute, and I'll have that door open."
A moment later, Big Chill's body became transparent, and he simply walked through the door. There was a loud clunk, and then a squeak as the door opened.
"And you didn't get electrified, ribbit." Asui hesitated, and then hopped through the open doorway. "Anything else we need to worry about?"
"We got past those Villains," Melissa said, "so I think they're going to try harder to stop us."
…
Suneater grunted with effort as Daigo slammed his fist into the clamshell he'd manifested. The shell cracked from the impact, but it still held; Suneater wrapped the tentacles on his other hand around Daigo's torso and hurled him across the room. The big man skidded and rolled, then recovered and charged again.
The other half of the fight wasn't going anywhere either. Nejire-chan bombarded Nobu with spiral waves, but every time the energy was about to hit him, a chunk of it suddenly vanished and reappeared elsewhere, opening up a hole just big enough for Nobu to slide through. It seemed that his Quirk involved displacing whatever was in a certain space, including energy. Suneater didn't want to think about what could happen if he hit a living person with that Quirk.
Suneater was worried—not just about the fighting here, but for the younger students and Melissa, for Togata and All Might, and for all the people in danger. And he was worried about Nejire-chan; she was using a lot of energy in a very short amount of time, and if the fight didn't end quickly, she ran the very real risk of permanently damaging her health. He couldn't bear the thought of that happening.
"Pay attention!" Daigo roared, and only a last-second dodge prevented Suneater from getting his skull crushed. "You think we're just small-time crooks, so you won't take this seriously?" He grinned. "Maybe that pretty girl will be more of a challenge. Nobu!"
Nobu glanced at his partner and nodded; a moment later, he displaced a chunk of the floor over to Daigo, who hurled it with the speed of a baseball pitcher directly at Nejire-chan. She saw the attack coming and blasted the debris, but it was too late; a piece of concrete clipped the side of her head, and she tumbled out of the air.
"So much for that one," Daigo sneered, only to get sent flying back as a clamshell-hand smashed into his face.
"Get away from her!" Suneater shouted, and put himself between Nejire-chan and the Villains.
"Tamaki…" Nejire-chan tried to stand, but all she managed was to sit up. Her hand went to her head, and came away bloody.
"Stay there," Suneater said, his voice so full of resolve that even the Villains were taken aback. "I'll end this in a second."
Nobu glared at him. "You really are arrogant, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not." Suneater reached up and removed his visor. "I just know I can beat a couple of thugs like you."
"You can barely stop my punches!" Daigo roared as he charged again. "What makes you think you can beat us?"
Simple, Suneater thought, I just need to stop holding back. Remember what I've learned at UA—combining manifestations, choosing the right characteristics… and stop being afraid!
Daigo was slammed into the floor with incredible force by what seemed to be a larger tentacle at first. However, that tentacle, and the dozen others that replaced Suneater's arms, was covered in segments of red shell. His face was also covered by the same living armor, shaped to look like a mask that concealed all but his eyes.
"VAST HYBRID," he shouted, "CHIMERA KRAKEN!"
The enormous tentacles moved in a blur; Daigo tried to rise to his feet, only to get them swept out from under him. He had just fallen on his back when a pair of tentacles slammed down on him over and over, beating him like a drum, until the middle sections of both tentacles abruptly vanished, and then reappeared a short distance away. Blood spewed from the stumps of his limbs and Suneater flinched from the pain, and then glared at Nobu; he sent four tentacles at the thinner Villain, but three of them were displaced into several pieces, scattered all over. The fourth tentacle managed to catch Nobu in the chest with enough force to drive the air from his lungs. With a little bit of effort, Suneater replaced his damaged tentacles with new ones, which he used to grab Daigo's limbs. He heaved the purple ogre over his head, and slammed him into the downed Nobu. There was a crash and a cloud of dust, and when it settled, the two Villains were done; their transformations had reverted, and they were clearly unconscious.
Suneater remained ready, just in case, for several seconds. Once he was sure that his opponents weren't getting back up, he let his manifestations fade; his arms were sore, and some of the damage Nobu had done had transferred over, but it wasn't too serious.
"Are you okay, Nejire?" he asked.
For a moment, he wondered if she was concussed, because she just stared up at him, as if trying to comprehend what she was seeing. Suneater hesitated, and then held out one hand, which she took.
"I'm okay, Tamaki," she finally said. "That was amazing!"
Suneater looked away, embarrassed. "It's nothing. Mirio would have done so much better."
Because he wasn't looking at her, he didn't realize she was leaning in for a kiss until her lips pressed against his cheek. Now it was his turn to stare, and she smiled.
"He didn't shine like you did just now."
Suneater felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes. Nejire-chan tugged at his arm, and even with blood covering half of her face, her smile was as bright as the sun.
"Come on! We should catch up with the others."
"R-right." As he followed after her, Suneater smiled.
She said I shined… if she really believes that, maybe it's true.
…
"We're near a lot of the administrative systems now," Melissa said as they ran. "Most of the rooms are filled with computers and sensitive equipment."
"Then we'll have to be careful not to damage anything," Iida said. "This is all critical for maintaining the island."
Ashido rolled her eyes. "I can feel you glaring at me, Tenya. I know, I know—be careful with the acid."
"Where's the next staircase, ribbit?" Asui asked, cutting off a potential argument.
"Just up ahead," Melissa said. "It's a generator room."
Ashido melted the door up ahead, but jumped back as soon as she saw what was on the other side. "Uh, guys? There's a bunch of robots waiting for us."
"Is there any other way through?" Iida asked Melissa. "It would be better if we could avoid a fight."
Melissa shook her head. "Every other route would take too long."
"Then we have to get through those robots," Sero said.
"I can clear a path," Midoriya offered. "Cannonbolt could just run over them."
"You should hurry up, ribbit," Asui said. "I think they're coming."
"R-right." Midoriya transformed into Cannonbolt, and walked over to the doorway. "Th-that's a lot of robots."
At first glance, the I-Island robots weren't that intimidating, but that was probably the point. They were vaguely conical, but with a blunt top, and rolled around on four stubby wheeled legs. During the few short breaks they'd taken, Melissa had told them all about what she knew of the robots' capabilities—they weren't designed to really hurt someone, but they were durable, and enough of them could immobilize almost anyone with strong cables they could launch. Their downside was that they weren't very fast, so all the students had to do was get past them, and make it to another floor.
Cannonbolt curled up and started rolling in place to build up speed, but the robots were nearly on him already, and if he didn't move soon, they'd get past the narrow walkway that funneled them into one place. At that moment, he had a crazy idea, and without time to think it through, he decided to go for it.
"Tenya, kick me!" he shouted.
Iida hesitated for half a second, but he trusted Midoriya, and he wouldn't have asked for such a crazy thing if he didn't think it would work. Everyone stepped aside as Iida's boosters flared, and he launched himself forward.
"RECIPRO BURST!"
His leg connected solidly with Cannonbolt, who began rolling forward just before impact. The result was that Cannonbolt rocketed through the robots so quickly that many of them were shattered into pieces. Cannonbolt himself was lodged in the far wall, and couldn't get free.
"Um, a little help?" he called.
Uraraka made him weightless, and then Sero and Asui pulled him free. After Uraraka returned the effects of gravity, Midoriya turned back to normal.
"That was so cool, you two!" Ashido said to Midoriya and Iida. "You should remember that move."
Despite the situation, Iida couldn't help but smile. "Indeed! Though, perhaps we should make sure you don't get stuck in a wall, Izuku."
"Y-yeah." Midoriya tried and failed not to look embarrassed, especially when the girls giggled for a moment; he shot Uraraka a betrayed look, but she barely tried to hide how funny she found him. "C-come on, we need to keep going!"
…
There were no more robot attacks until they reached the server room, and even though each individual robot wasn't too much of a threat, the sight of dozens pouring out to attack them was a little worrying.
"We need to push past them," Todoroki said, his left hand wreathed in flame.
"No, wait!" Melissa grabbed his shoulder. "Remember, we can't damage the servers, or the whole island will fall into chaos!"
"She's right," Yaoyorozu said. "Izuku, Mina, Shoto, take Melissa to the security center—the rest of us will make sure the Villains don't damage the servers as a last resort."
"Are you sure?" Midoriya asked; he trusted his friends, true, but he didn't like the idea of leaving them behind.
"Don't worry, Deku-kun," Uraraka said, not taking her eyes off the advancing robots. "We'll be fine."
Midoriya nodded one last time at his friends, and then he and the others followed Melissa through a side-corridor.
"All right, everyone," Iida said, boosters glowing, "let's go!"
"Ribbit!" Asui's tongue wrapped around a robot, and with a heave, she launched it into the air; as her tongue retracted, she jumped up and kicked another robot.
The first robot was kicked into a wall by Sero as he swung around with his tape, and the second was stabbed by a sword Yaoyorozu had made. Iida, boosters at full power, smashed through several more. Uraraka made one robot weightless, and then used it as an improvised club; when her 'weapon' became too damaged, she tossed it aside and grabbed another.
"Cover me!" Yaoyorozu barked, and Sero made a net of tape to block the robots' path as Yaoyorozu opened up her dress enough to create a cannon. "I have enough lipids to make a few soft-ammo shells."
When she stumbled after making such a large object, Sero glanced back at her in worry, but immediately averted his gaze when he saw that Yaoyorozu hadn't completely closed up her dress. "Okay, s-sure."
"Hanta, move!" Asui tackled Sero out of the way, just before a robot's cables would have wrapped around him. Without another word, she twisted around and kicked that robot with enough strength to dent the metal and knock it over; Sero kept it from getting back up with a few strands of tape.
"Thanks," Sero panted; he was using so much of his tape that he was starting to get dehydrated, and he wasn't the only one suffering after tonight. Yaoyorozu was able to create half a dozen of shells filled with a putty-like substance and fired at the robots before the effort made her fall to her knees. Iida got in a few more Recipro-assisted kicks before his engines stalled out, and then he was barely able to do more than dent the robots. Asui, like Sero, wasn't made for this kind of fight, and after a few minutes, her legs were covered in bruises.
Uraraka was the first to get caught; she had quickly worn herself out using her Quirk over and over, and when she stumbled, a pair of robots tied her ankles together and pinned her arms to her sides. She fell to the ground heavily, and she saw stars; when her vision cleared, things had gone from bad to worse.
Iida was pinned by a dozen robots, and needed his legs tied together several times over when he continued to kick his captors. Yaoyorozu, barely able to move after using so many lipids, was dragged away by another robot. Asui was tied up from mouth to ankles; the robots had seen how dangerous her tongue could be, and weren't taking any chances. Poor Sero had each arm tied behind him, and forced face-first into the floor.
It was hard for Uraraka to tell for sure, but she guessed they'd fought an endless tide of robots—robots specifically meant to withstand combat with Quirk-users—for about five minutes.
I hope we bought them enough time.
…
"There it is!" Melissa pointed to a thinner tower connected to the main one by a bridge that sat over a series of wind turbines. "We just need to get in there, and we can fix this!"
"Oh, thank god," Ashido whined. "I am never complaining about Aizawa-sensei's drills again after this!"
Midoriya had to agree. The climb here had been awful, and it wasn't getting any better; it was even colder at the top of the tower, and the wind felt like it was cutting into his skin. He would be happy to relax somewhere warm when this was over.
"Look out!" Todoroki stopped and held out his arm to block their progress. "More robots."
Sure enough, robots were swarming across the bridge, and from a door ahead of them, in an effort to stop them.
"We don't have time to deal with them," Todoroki said, and tossed away his jacket. "Izuku, take Melissa to the security center and end all this. Mina and I will hold off the robots."
Midoriya looked from one friend to another. "Are you sure?"
Ashido smiled at him. "Don't worry, Midori; up here, Shoto and I can cut loose!"
"Okay, thanks." Midoriya turned into Jetray and presented his back to Melissa. "Climb on, and hold on tight."
"Thanks," Melissa said, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Good luck, you two!"
Jetray quickly carried them both to the other side of the bridge, but Ashido only focused on them for a moment.
"You ready for this, Shoto?"
Todoroki's left arm ignited, burning away his sleeve. "Let's go."
A stream of fire washed over the first rank of robots; they were heat-resistant, but only to a point, and when Todoroki focused, he exceeded their limit. Most of the first wave stuttered to a halt, their armor warped and glowing, while smoke coughed from overheated circuits.
Ashido skated forward on a stream of acid, nimbly dodging the cables the robots tried to catch her with. She spun gracefully, arms out and spraying a much stronger acid; again, the robots were built to resist damage, but only so far, and many of them were barely recognizable after only a few seconds.
Todoroki wished he could just push all the robots off the edge of the tower with his ice. Unfortunately, there was a chance that the falling machines would hit someone on the ground, and that limited his options with his ice.
"So, you having fun yet?" Ashido asked as she skated over to him.
"This is fun for you?"
"Well, I'm cold, my feet hurt, and I'm trying not to think about how high up we are," Ashido admitted, "but other than that, I'm having a blast!"
Todoroki impaled several robots with spikes of ice. "It's not that cold."
"Dude, you're heat- and cold-proof, you don't get to talk." Ashido hurled a glob of acid like a grenade, and then ducked back behind Todoroki. "This dress was not meant for cold and wind."
In that moment, Todoroki was glad that he was busy fighting robots, because he almost turned to look at her. Strong wind and dresses did not mix, and a few stray droplets of acid dripped onto her dress every so often, making tiny holes.
Ashido hissed and rubbed one arm. "Ouch. I'm using stronger acid, and it's starting to hurt."
Todoroki didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to get tired as well; he only needed a minute to even himself out with his Quirk, but the robots weren't about to give him that time. Eventually, because he couldn't use as much ice, he would start to overheat, and he knew from Endeavor how bad that would be.
I really wish we had some backup, he thought.
As if the universe heard him, a spiral of energy shot overhead and crashed into the robots, blasting them apart. A moment later, enormous tentacles grabbed more robots, and crushed them.
"You guys need some help?" Nejire-chan asked as she and Suneater landed next to them.
"Yes, please!" Ashido chirped.
Suneater tossed aside more robots before glancing at them. "Where's everyone else?"
"Most of them are keeping the server room safe," Todoroki reported. "Izuku took Melissa to the security center to end this."
"Cool!" Nejire-chan gathered more energy in her hands. "Then let's keep these things off their backs!"
Todoroki looked at Ashido and smirked. "Okay, now I'm starting to have fun."
…
Jetray landed just outside the door, and when Melissa got off, he turned into Diamondhead. "Okay, I'll go in and make sure it's safe, and then you follow me."
"Got it." Melissa did her best to keep up a brave face. "Good luck."
Diamondhead knew he'd made the right call as soon as he walked through the door—a man with metallic blades covering his arms lunged at him, swords scraping off Diamondhead's arm.
"You kids just don't know when to give up!"
"No, not really!" Diamondhead grabbed the man's wrists, and then slammed his forehead into his nose. It took two more headbutts before Diamondhead was sure he was unconscious, and then he let go.
"You can come in," he called out.
"Wow," Melissa said, gingerly stepping around the unconscious Villain. "Just how many Quirks do you have?"
On the one hand, Diamondhead didn't want to call his aliens Quirks anymore; then again, this world had Quirks because of the same alien DNA in the Ultimatrix.
"Um, I have a lot," he said vaguely.
"It's a good thing you have that watch to help you use all those powers." Melissa frowned. "And it's a good thing you're here, Izuku; I don't think I would have made it far without a Quirk."
"Don't sell yourself short," Diamondhead said. "You might be Quirkless, but you're braver than anyone I've ever met. And you seem to know everything we need to save everyone, so I'm sure you'd figure out a way to get here, even if you'd been alone."
Melissa smiled. "Thanks. I think the only person who ever said something like that to me was Papa. Everyone else just looks down on me because I'm Quirkless, even if they don't say anything, because of my father."
So, she does know what it's like, Diamondhead thought. She and I are more alike than I thought.
"Well, let's go save him, so he can go back to telling you things like that."
"Smooth, buddy," Ben said. "Seriously, if you weren't dating Uraraka, I'd say you just intentionally earned serious points with this one."
Diamondhead was glad he couldn't blush, but he still made sure not to look at Melissa as they climbed the last flight of stairs. A pair of gunmen met them halfway and opened fire, but Diamondhead created a barrier in front of Melissa, and then charged forward. The bullets ricocheted harmlessly off of him, and when he got close enough, he beat both men into the ground.
"Okay, there's only the storage vault between us and the security center," Melissa said as she stepped over the downed criminals. "Papa will be in either of those places. If he's in the vault, we can save him, and then he can help us save everyone else."
"Sounds good to me." Diamondhead led the way into the vault—a massive circular room, lined with containers built into the walls—but what he and Melissa saw made them both freeze.
David Shield wasn't being held at gunpoint, nor was he restrained in any way. In fact, he seemed to be almost casual as he chatted with the Villain who had taken him prisoner.
"Papa!"
David turned, and his eyes went wide with horror as he saw his daughter. "Melissa!? What are you doing here?"
"I… we came to save you, Papa." Melissa looked between him and Wolfram, who seemed content to watch things unfold. "What's going on?"
"Professor Shield!" Sam pulled a metal briefcase out of a safe he'd just opened. "I have it! Now we can get out of here!"
Wolfram nodded. "Excellent." He glanced at the last of his men behind him. "Get the helicopter ready. I'll handle things here."
David took a moment to compose himself. "Thank you, Sam."
Diamondhead opened his mouth, and said something he prayed was wrong. "Professor, are you working with these Villains?"
"Izuku!" Melissa whirled and glared at him. "How could you say that? My father would never—"
"It's true," David said, looking Diamondhead in the eye. "I hired some actors to play the part of Villains, all so that I could get my hands on this." He gestured to the briefcase Sam held. "I couldn't let this opportunity slip by."
"What opportunity?" Diamondhead knew that the longer he kept David talking, the longer he had to figure out a way to end this safely. "What's in that case?"
"The greatest invention of my career," David said. "The QAD—Quirk Amplification Device. It pushes the Quirk of whoever uses it far beyond what they could ever do on their own. With something like that, anyone who wanted to be a Hero, but was rejected because their Quirk was too weak would be able to compete with the best." He scowled. "But the Board said it was too dangerous, especially if it fell into the wrong hands, so they sealed up the prototype and confiscated my research."
"But that makes sense," Diamondhead protested. "If a Villain got that kind of machine, they'd hurt countless people!"
"It's worth the risk!" David shouted, surprising both teenagers. "I had to get this back—not for myself, but for All Might!"
Melissa looked like she was only a step away from shutting down completely. "What does Uncle Might have to do with this?"
"All Might is the shining beacon for Heroes, and the entire world," David said. "If that light goes out, there will be chaos. Villains will come out in droves, and no one will feel safe. And that is happening; All Might is getting weaker, and soon, he won't be able to help anyone." He stepped towards Sam and the case. "But with the QAD boosting his powers, he'll be as strong as he used to be—maybe even stronger!"
Just as David reached for the case, Sam stepped back, and Wolfram moved between them; Diamondhead tensed when he saw the gun pointed at David's face.
"Sorry, Professor," Wolfram sneered, "but there's been a change of plans."
"Out of my way," David ordered. "That gun only holds blanks, so you don't scare me."
"Oh, is that what Sam told you?" Wolfram jerked his free thumb over his shoulder. "Why don't you explain things, Sam?"
"Sorry, Professor, but Wolfram and his men aren't actors." Sam clutched the case to his chest tightly. "I was onboard with your plan to steal the QAD because I thought we'd just sell it, but you wanted to give it away!? As soon as I heard that, I knew that this theft would have to be real."
David gaped at him. "Sam, why!?"
"Why!?I've spent my whole life working for you, and I'm not about to give up my chance at a true reward!" Sam held out the case. "This is what's going to set me up for life!"
"What he said." Wolfram turned and grinned wickedly at Sam. "Unfortunately, your life is going to be measured in seconds."
Melissa screamed when Wolfram fired; in a stroke of luck, Sam moved the case in the way of the bullet, which skipped off the corner and hit him in the shoulder, rather than the heart. Just as Wolfram fired again to finish the job, David jumped in the way and took the second bullet in his own shoulder.
Diamondhead was moving before the second shot had hit; he tried to punch Wolfram, but the Villain ducked and placed his hand on the floor. The area around his hand glowed for a moment, and then the floor around Diamondhead warped and flowed almost like water. He was knocked back against a slab of metal, and then rebar pinned his limbs back; while he was strong enough to break the metal coils, he had no leverage to utilize his strength.
"Papa!" Melissa tried to run to her father, only to get pistol-whipped across the face by Wolfram.
"Your daddy's coming with me," Wolfram said as he aimed the gun at her. "And I think he'll be more productive in my employ if he doesn't have you around to distract him."
"No!" Diamondhead was briefly covered in huge spikes that tore through the rebar, and then he fired a burst of crystal shards at the arm holding the gun. Somehow, he managed to destroy the gun, but Wolfram himself was unharmed.
Diamondhead put himself between Melissa and Wolfram, who already had David slung over his shoulder, and the briefcase in hand. "Melissa, get the security fixed! I'll save your father! I promise!"
Melissa hesitated for a moment, then nodded and hurried to the door. Wolfram tried to hit her with more metal, but there was a flash of light, and then Humungousaur was there, blocking the slab of metal with one enormous hand.
"I'm not going to let you touch her," Humungousaur growled, and grew to his maximum size. The two became locked in a brief stalemate; Wolfram's every move was smashed apart, but Humungousaur couldn't advance.
"Tch." Wolfram sneered, and then manipulated the floor into a massive wall. "Too bad, kid; you can have the island, but I'm still taking the professor and his toy."
Humungousaur tore through the wall after several punches, but by then, Wolfram was gone.
"Damn it!" Humungousaur shrank down to his normal size, and followed.
…
Melissa was thankful that Wolfram hadn't left any of his men behind to guard the security center; she was also thankful that she knew how the system worked. The only problem she had was trying to focus. This night had been nothing but a nightmare for her; her father, the person she loved and respected most, had been kidnapped, only to have staged the whole thing so that he could commit a crime, and had then been shot in front of her and actually kidnapped.
Still, she was able to deactivate the security systems, and then reset them; all across the island, the robots stopped herding people around, and the lockdown ended. She then watched through the security cameras as the Heroes were freed; when she saw All Might punch one of the gunmen into a wall, she felt a little of the tension leave her.
"Please hurry," she whispered, and pulled out her phone.
…
Lemillion had been ready to act the entire time, and when the bonds around he and the other Heroes abruptly shut off, he moved. Golden lightning crackled around him as he drove his fist into a gunman's face, and then shattered another's rifle before he had a chance to even blink. Nearby, All Might dashed from one criminal to the next, using their bodies as makeshift jackhammers to create craters in the walls and floor. The other Heroes were less than a second behind them, taking down the other gunmen quickly and professionally.
"Melissa must have fixed the security," Lemillion said as he dragged an unconscious man over to the growing pile of captured criminals.
"Yes, and now, we should hurry to see if anyone needs—" All Might paused when he heard his phone ring. "It's Melissa! Hold on, young Mirio."
Lemillion waited impatiently as All Might listened intently, but then his eyes went wide for a moment.
"Don't worry, Melissa! We're on it!" All Might hung up and turned to Lemillion. "We don't have much time to act; Dave is being taken to a helicopter on the roof, and only young Midoriya is able to pursue. We have to hurry!"
"All Might, send me on ahead," Lemillion said. "I can get there faster than anyone running up some stairs."
All Might hesitated, but then nodded. "Good point, young Mirio. Do you mind if I give you a boost? I'll catch up as soon as I can."
Lemillion grinned. "Not at all."
All Might grabbed the younger man's arm and started to spin, building up momentum. "OKLAHOMA SMASH!"
With a mighty heave, All Might threw Lemillion up and at an angle, in the direction of the tower's roof. Lemillion used Permeation to pass through each floor, but turned it off and on to build up speed, until he was getting dangerously close to breaking the sound barrier. He was going to be sore for a while after pushing his limits like this, but if it meant saving someone who needed help, it would be worth it.
Hang on, Izuku, I'm on my way!
…
"Oh, thank goodness." Iida grimaced as he stretched out his freed legs. "That was uncomfortable."
Yaoyorozu used a deactivated robot to weakly prop herself up. "This means that… the others… got Melissa to the security center!"
"Come on," Uraraka said, voice urgent, "we should catch up!"
Asui nodded, but then ribbited weakly and nearly collapsed; her legs were horribly bruised, and she would have fallen, if Sero hadn't caught her. She smiled at him, and he returned it. Yaoyorozu had also used up almost all her lipids and could barely stand, so Iida took it upon himself to carry her on his back; his boosters still needed time to recharge, but he was in better shape than most of them.
Uraraka winced; she felt horrible for not considering how hard they had pushed themselves tonight. She wasn't fully recovered from using her Quirk so much during the fight either; her stomach felt like it was trying to turn itself inside-out.
Sorry, Deku-kun, she thought, we might be a little late.
…
"Okay, that kinda sucked." Ashido sat down on a half-destroyed robot and rubbed her wrists. "I'm gonna be sore for a week."
Todoroki sat next to her. "Yeah, I could use a break."
"This trip was supposed to be our break," Ashido pouted, and put her head on his shoulder.
"We've got two more days."
"Good. I'm going to spend them doing absolutely nothing."
Sitting across from them, Nejire-chan yawned. "Yeah, I think I need a nap. It's been a long night."
Suneater didn't say anything, but he looked like was about to fall asleep. The peaceful moment lasted about two seconds, and then it was shattered by the sound of shearing metal, and an alien roar.
"I think that was Izuku," Todoroki said, and shot to his feet. "Come on!"
…
Humungousaur saw the helicopter taking off as he reached the roof; it was just starting to fly when he, now grown to thirty feet tall, grabbed the tail of the helicopter. The tail rotor nicked his shoulder, but his hide was thick enough to absorb the spinning blades with little pain. He reached for David, but the metal skin of the helicopter door morphed into thin blades and stabbed into his hand. They didn't do too much damage, but it surprised Humungousaur, especially when the blades pushed deeper under his skin, like worms crawling through soil.
"Better let go, kid," Wolfram taunted; one hand was touching the door, while the other held the case. One foot was planted squarely on David's back. "If you don't, I will shred your whole arm."
"Not gonna happen," Humungousaur shot back. "I won't stand by when someone needs help!"
"Oh, please!" Wolfram rolled his eyes. "The professor here doesn't even deserve help! He's tainted now, a man who let his own desires get ahead of everyone's safety! Even if you do rescue him, he'll spend years in prison for this little scheme, and he'll never work in this job again."
"He's…" David winced. "He's right. Just let go, it's not worth getting hurt over me."
"It's not—" Humungousaur flinched as the metal dug deeper through his flesh, but didn't let go. "It's not about you, it's about Melissa! She just wants her father back, and I promised that I'd do just that!"
"How gallant," Wolfram laughed. "Too bad you're going to be down an arm, regardless of what you do."
Humungousaur gritted his teeth as the pain grew more intense. The helicopter started to slip from his grasp, and as it did, he let out a roar of defiance. That roar was answered a moment later by a shout of effort, as Lemillion phased through the roof and into the helicopter.
"Sorry I'm late!" he shouted, shoving Wolfram away and grabbing David. He then leapt from the helicopter and landed on the ground. "You're good, Midoriya! Take this guy down!"
With another roar, Humungousaur slammed the chopper down onto the helipad. The entire fuselage crumpled, and shards of metal went everywhere; Humungousaur covered both Lemillion and David with his own body to protect them from shrapnel, even if the former didn't need it.
"Wow," Lemillion said as he looked at the flaming wreckage of the helicopter. "Remind me not to get on your bad side, dude."
Humungousaur rubbed his bleeding arm and winced. "Sure, as long as there aren't any helicopters involved. Ouch."
"Speaking of 'ouch', we should get you to a doctor," Lemillion said to David. "All Might is on his way too, so this should get wrapped up—"
"Look out!" Humungousaur shoved them both out of the way, just as a massive column of metal crashed into him. The metal then wrapped around his body and hefted him into the air.
Crazed laughter rang out as Wolfram emerged from the wreckage. He'd removed his helmet, and replaced it with a fragile-looking machine. Even though he wasn't touching any metal with his hands, the metal helipad was bending to his will, and whole chunks of the tower were ripped out to orbit him in a growing cloud.
"This is amazing! I've never felt so powerful!" Wolfram grinned madly. "Forget selling this thing to the highest bidder; with this kind of power, no one can stop me!"
Humungousaur struggled, but his arms were pinned to his sides, and he couldn't reach the Ultimatrix dial. All he could do was watch as Wolfram lifted more metal into the air, sharpened them into blades, and sent them hurtling at Lemillion and David.
"HEAVEN-PIERCING ICE WALL!"
A huge wave of ice met the metal with a horrible screech, halting the blades in place. A moment later, Ashido fell from the sky and hit the metal binding Humungousaur with her strongest acid. The metal melted in seconds, and he fell to the roof.
"Midori, catch me!" Thankfully, Ashido landed in Humungousaur's outstretched hands. "Whoa! That was cool!"
Wolfram hastily raised a shield of debris to block a massive wave of energy. He glared up at Nejire-chan, who was so exhausted that she couldn't attack and fly at the same time; she was resting on Suneater's back, and she slumped forward as he landed behind Lemillion.
Humungousaur and Ashido joined them and braced themselves for whatever came next, but most of them weren't in any shape for a fight. Nejire-chan was almost unconscious, Todoroki had nearly frozen himself with his best move, Ashido's arms were covered in acid-burns, and Suneater was busy keeping them all from falling off the roof. Only Humungousaur and Lemillion could fight the empowered Villain.
"Hey, Freshman." Humungousaur glanced at Lemillion, who was glaring at Wolfram. "You ready to take this guy down?"
Humungousaur cracked his neck. "Absolutely."
"A couple of kids, huh?" Wolfram threw more debris at them. "This'll be a warmup for when a real Hero gets here!"
Lemillion phased through the metal, while Humungousaur batted it away. "We are Heroes!" the former shouted. "We save lives, and we stop people like you! That's what being a Hero is all about!"
"And it's not just us," Humungousaur added. "Everyone who fought with us, who risked their lives to save the people on this island—all of them are real heroes!"
"Yeah, you tell him, Deku-kun!" Uraraka cheered as she and the others, including Melissa, joined them.
"Papa!" Melissa knelt by her father and tried to stop the bleeding; Sero provided her with some tape to at least apply pressure.
"Melissa…" David looked away. "I'm so sorry. I just wanted—"
"Don't talk now," Melissa interrupted. "Just… you can tell me everything later."
Lemillion drove his fist into Wolfram's chest, but even with the strength of One For All, all he did was knock the man back a single step. He was so surprised that he didn't react in time to avoid a punch in return; the blow was so strong that it sent him crashing into a pile of debris, even with One For All enhancing his durability.
"That doesn't make sense," Humungousaur said as he narrowly avoided another moving column. "His Quirk involves metal!"
"That's one of my Quirks," Wolfram corrected, as his muscles bulged. "I got another when my employer mentioned that All Might would be here."
Lemillion froze; All Might had told him of a Villain who could bestow Quirks onto other people, but… "You work for All For One!?"
Wolfram shrugged. "Never met him before this job, but anyone who's anyone in the criminal underworld has heard about him. He's a legend, a boogeyman, and everyone kicks something up to him, whether they know it or not. He wanted to hurt All Might by ruining his closest friend, and the money was good. And with this little toy as a bonus, I'd say that it was worth the hassle."
Humungousaur didn't know what they were talking about, but he understood that there was someone pulling the strings. He could think about that later, though; right now, they had to stop Wolfram.
"First, though…" Wolfram rose up on a makeshift platform of metal, and formed huge cubes that orbited around him. "Let's clear the board of all these weaklings!"
"Izuku." Ben floated next to Humungousaur, more serious than ever. "This is a serious threat. If he does any more damage, he could topple the whole tower. I don't think you need a better reason to have this." He placed his hand on the Ultimatrix dial, twisted it, and then slapped it; four spikes emerged, and Ben nodded. "Hyper-Evolutionary Feature now active. Go get 'em, buddy."
Humungousaur started to change; he grew taller and more muscular, and his skin turned green. Dark-blue armored plates grew on his chest and especially his back, while his tail ended in a spiked mace, and silver barrel-like protrusions grew over his knuckles.
"What's this?" Wolfram called down from his growing platform. "Are you going 'Plus Ultra', like All Might always goes on about?"
"No," Ultimate Humungousaur said in an even deeper voice than before. "I'm going Plus Ultimate."
Wolfram launched the cubes, but Ultimate Humungousaur simply raised his hands, which morphed into what looked like quad-barreled cannons. Each barrel fired a series of organic missiles that obliterated the cubes with massive explosions.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Ben cheered. "Show that guy what you can really do!"
"Lemillion," Ultimate Humungousaur growled, and the older boy got to his feet. "Let's go."
"You got it!" Lemillion's body crackled with golden lightning, and he vanished in a blur.
Wolfram barely brought up a sheet of metal in time to block Lemillion, but it didn't matter; his fist simply phased through the barrier and smashed into Wolfram's face. The Villain shook it off, but was nearly knocked off his platform by another barrage from Ultimate Humungousaur. The explosions were so powerful that the shockwaves nearly sent the others flying; the only reason Melissa didn't fall off the roof was because Sero and Asui grabbed her at the last minute with their respective Quirks.
Lemillion started popping in and out of the metal surrounding Wolfram; he would dart out, land a punch or kick, and then dart back in. Every time Wolfram tried to counterattack, his weapons would be destroyed by Ultimate Humungousaur, or his personal attack would simply go through Lemillion.
Ultimate Humungousaur marched up to the slowly growing defenses surrounding Wolfram, firing as he went. Some cables hung underneath, and they were close enough to grab; with his incredible strength, Ultimate Humungousaur started dragging the whole thing down like the worlds ugliest kite. When it was close enough, he smashed through the last bit of armor that Wolfram had summoned, and drew back one fist.
"Now!" Ultimate Humungousaur shouted.
"Take this!" Lemillion built up more and more speed, and then solidly connected his fist with Wolfram's jaw. "PHANTOM MENACE!"
Rather than call out a flashy move, Ultimate Humungousaur roared and punched Wolfram in the chest. The Villain spun wildly through the air from the different angles of the two punches and collapsed; blood trickled from his mouth, and from the lumpy way his chest looked, he probably had a few broken ribs. The QAD slipped from his head and broke into pieces. There was a moment of silence as everyone processed what had happened.
"They did it!" Uraraka shouted, and that set off cheers from everyone.
The celebration ended almost immediately when the massive platform Wolfram had been using began to tilt and break apart.
"We need to stop that stuff!" Lemillion ran forward and grabbed a cable, only for it to violently separate from the rest. "It's going to land on anyone below us!"
"Allow me to help with that!" All Might boomed as he rocketed up from a lower floor. "It seems I got here in time to help after all!"
"All Might, can you push the largest part away from the tower?" Ultimate Humungousaur asked; he had no time to feel relief at the man's arrival. "That way, I can destroy it without damaging anything else."
All Might took in Midoriya's new appearance with only a split-second of surprise, and then nodded. "Leave that to me, young Midoriya!"
"And I'll stop the smaller pieces from hitting us," Lemillion said as he dashed off.
"Here we go, young Midoriya!" All Might drew back his fist, and then punched. "DETROIT SMASH!"
The air-blast sent the makeshift asteroid flying up and away, and gave Ultimate Humungousaur a clear shot. With a roar, he fired as many missiles as he could in a wide spread; in seconds, the entire thing was destroyed in a massive explosion that briefly gave I-Island an early sunrise. As that happened, Lemillion punched and kicked chunks of debris away from the rest of the group; he winced when he knocked away a car-sized piece of solid metal, but that knocked him off-course. Only a desperate tackle at the last second saved Melissa from another piece of debris that would have taken her head off. The two rolled down the stairs and landed in a heap, with Melissa on top of him.
"Okay, ow," Lemillion said as he sat up; he looked Melissa in the eye and smiled. "Are you okay?"
Melissa nodded, and then hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she murmured. "You and Izuku saved my father."
Lemillion stood and helped her to her feet. "Hey, that's what Heroes do."
Melissa wiped away tears. "It doesn't mean I can't thank you."
Ultimate Humungousaur reverted to his unevolved state, and then turned back to human, just in time for Uraraka to grab him in a rib-cracking hug. She barely had time to kiss him before the rest of the Rising Stars crashed into them, and they fell into a messy pile of bruised limbs and laughter.
"We did it!" Sero wiped away tears of relief. "I can't believe we did all that! We saved… guys, we saved everyone!"
"That was awesome," Ashido said, and sprawled out over almost everyone. "Crazy and exhausting, but awesome!"
Asui brought a finger to her cheek. "Do you think we'll get extra credit for this?"
As the students laughed again, All Might knelt by his friend. "Dave… Melissa told me a little about what you did."
David looked down at his hands. "I know, Toshi; I just couldn't see a world without your light in it. But after tonight…"
He looked over at the students; at the Rising Stars as they chatted and embraced, at Nejire-chan and Suneater, who had practically passed out next to each other, and at Melissa and Lemillion, who didn't seem to realize that they were still hugging.
"After tonight," All Might finished, and looked out at the first rays of sunrise, "I think the world is going to have light to spare."
So, my grandfather came home from the hospital a few days ago… and then went right back in. Are you kidding me!?
Anyway, onto the chapter.
Okay, the climax of this arc is over, but there's more to come! We still need to wrap things up, including the consequences for David's actions. Also, our heroes need some time to actually enjoy their vacation.
And you can all stop asking me when Deku will go Ultimate! Hooray! However, he will only have ten Ultimates; they're already insanely powerful, I'm not going to give them all an Ultimate form. God, can you imagine Ultimate Atomix? No, thank you. And no, I'm not telling you which Ultimates will be here. They will be revealed in time.
As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. It is available on my website (link in my profile), and on Amazon as both an eBook and physical copy. Sales are good for me, and you get something to read!
If you want to support me in other ways, you can donate on P-atreon (link in my profile). It helps me get by as I look for steady employment.
Thanks to the following Patrons:
Serious Muffins: SpaceEmperorSpar, Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, ChaosSpartan575, John Collins, Red Bard, Aaron Meek, Shaolin Khalil, killroy225
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Ultra Muffins: Adam Costello, Matthew Bunting, RangersRoll
Next Chapter: The battle is over, but there's cleanup to go, and a vacation to enjoy!
Stay safe out there!
Plus Muffin!