BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I WOULD NEVER WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITH SUPERHEROES. ALL IT TAKES IS ONE BAD DAY FOR SOME GUY TO GO FROM SAINT TO WALKING APOCALYPSE, AND I'M NOT HERE FOR IT.

It's time for the good guys to stop trimming the vines, and tackle the root of the problem. And now I have an urge to start gardening.

(Kizuna no Kiseki—MAN WITH A MISSION x milet, TV Version)

The music starts, and Deku stares up at the walls of UA, with the title above the school. All Might stands in front of him and draws back a fist; as he starts to punch, Deku turns around, and All Might turns into Hawks, who reaches for him, but Deku keeps walking. Everything around Deku turns black, and he finds himself standing in front of Stars And Stripes, who gives him a smile. The two of them walk over to the other top Heroes in their team, as well as Melissa.

The scene changes to the Rising Stars, climbing over debris; all of them are exhausted, but when they see a green flash of light, they run towards it, only for a shadow to loom over them. They turn, ready for a fight, but the international Heroes leap over them to drive the darkness back. Watching his friends from a distance, Deku sits down and holds a hand to his mouth. When he pulls his hand away, there is blood all over it, but he just lets the rain wash it away. He then rises to his feet and starts to run.

Everything goes dark, and then the light focuses on Shigaraki, surrounded by the League of Villains. He is sitting on a throne, his eyes and hair like the skin of a Celestialsapien; next to him, All For One reaches out, only for his hand to crumble to dust, while Lady Nagant creates her rifle and takes aim.

The scene changes again, showing the Rising Stars, Endeavor and the international Heroes fighting the Villains. Triumph and Endeavor shoot flames that are met by Dabi's; Uravity and Geosynch hurl debris at Slice, who cuts it apart; Cellophane pulls Ranger into the air and kicks at Re-Destro; Genesis and Panzer unleash a barrage of artillery fire onto Nine, who blocks it with his shields; Monkey King and Alien Queen nimbly dodge around Gigantomachia's attacks; Froppy is held up by Chimera, his claws around her throat, while Gentleman Jack fires a beam of heat from his mouth; and Maccabee hurls Virtus straight at Lady Nagant, while Toga pulls out a knife and leaps at the older Hero.

As buildings collapse, Lemillion joins Suneater, Spirala, Ground Zero and All Might and attacks All For One, but as the smoke clears, it shows only Shigaraki, Deku and Stars And Stripes. Stripes claps Deku on the shoulder and charges, while Deku looks down at the Omnitrix; behind him, two shadowy figures cross their arms and nod as he holds up the watch.

My Alien Academia

Chapter 60

Return to Form

23 Days Until the End

"I blame you for this," Maccabee said calmly.

Panzer gave him a look. "How the hell is this my fault?"

"We had a plan to deal with this. It was a good plan, and we went over it six times. You decided to throw away that very good plan, and now look where we are."

Panzer turned to Diamondhead for help, but there was no sympathy to be had. "Hey, I came up with the plan that you ignored, and I'm annoyed with you."

"Oh, fine, be that way." Panzer looked up at the giants looming over them. "How long can they keep this up?"

"Until they're unconscious," Diamondhead said. "I told you already."

"Ugh, fine." Panzer turned his arms into cannons, as a small army charged at them. "Let's get this over with."

The 'soldiers' attacking them weren't actually alive; they were tiny wooden models, all animated by one of the two Villains that had trapped them. Puppet Master's Quirk let him bring to life anything small enough to fit in his hand, and had articulated joints; his partner, Gameshow, could shrink living things, also small enough to fit in his hand. Together, the two of them had committed crimes across Europe, but shortly before the Battle of Jaku, they had been recruited by the PLF. Their organizational skills had earned them a higher position, eventually having authority over most of the PLF's movements in Europe.

Deku and the other international Heroes had found and dismantled each PLF base, but even with their logistics cut out from under them, there were still PLF officers that might have useful information on Shigaraki. So far, they hadn't been very lucky in that regard, but they were still hopeful that these last two had something they could use.

At least, until Deku, Panzer and Maccabee had gotten caught. Now, they were trapped in an arena the size of a kitchen table, surrounded by Puppet Master's miniature minions, while the two Villains laughed.

Diamondhead hurled a crystal javelin into the body of a puppet-soldier, but the wooden mannequin was unaffected; in fact, it pulled the diamond out of its chest and held it like a sword.

"You handed it a weapon!?" Panzer shouted, even as he blew several more puppets into splinters.

"Oh, shut up," Diamondhead growled, and turned his arms into blades; a moment later, four more puppets were sliced to pieces.

"Next time we go after guys like this," Maccabee said as he shattered another with a single punch, "I say we wait for the others."

"You read the intel on those two," Panzer replied. "They aren't that dangerous, just annoying. Sending everyone is overkill."

"Hey, I heard that!" Puppet Master shouted. "I could just pull out a gun and shoot you, you know!"

Diamondhead sighed, and then ripped the makeshift sword out of the puppet's hands and used it to split it in half. "I'll take care of this, just give me a second."

There was a flash of light, and then Way Big crashed through the glass roof of the tiny arena. Since he was under the effect of Gameshow's Quirk, he was only the size of an average man, but he still had more than enough strength to knock Gameshow out with a single punch. With him unconscious, the Heroes returned to their real sizes; Deku quickly turned into Four Arms to keep from accidentally destroying the entire building.

Puppet Master looked at the Heroes, and then his downed partner, and sighed. "Okay, I give up."

Maccabee brushed off the tiny puppets that were still clinging to him. "Smartest move you've made all day."

Puppet Master chuckled and held up his hands in surrender, but Four Arms grabbed him by the top of his head.

"Tell us everything you know about Shigaraki," he snarled. "If you hold anything back, I will crush your skull like a grape."

"Whoa, easy there, kid," Panzer said, and tried to pull Four Arms back; burly as the man was, he didn't even make the alien budge.

Unlike his German counterpart, Maccabee had strength to spare, and pried Four Arms' fingers off of Puppet Master, who fell to the floor with a pained whimper.

"Easy, soldier," Maccabee said, his voice understanding, but stern. "We'll interrogate him the right way." He paused. "You've only got a few minutes of charge left. Go take a break; we'll handle the rest."

After a moment, Four Arms nodded. "Okay."

By the time Stars And Stripes, Gentleman Jack, Ranger, Geosynch and Monkey King arrived, they found Maccabee tying up the defeated Villains, and Deku was sitting down on a chair in the corner.

Monkey King scoffed. "Oh, you guys had all the fun!"

"Y-yeah," Deku muttered through gritted teeth as he fought against the pain. "That's one w-way to p-put it."

Stripes took both Villains from Maccabee and hoisted them over her shoulders. "How bad?" she quietly asked the Israeli Hero.

"Stopped him from committing a murder, but we might not be so lucky next time," Maccabee whispered. "We're running out of time and leads, and Deku isn't taking it well."

Stripes nodded; all of them knew that their window was shrinking rapidly, but they had years of experience to shore up their nerves, while Deku didn't.

"Jack and I will stay here and interrogate these punks," she said. "Geosynch, get everyone else to the plane. Deku, after you're recharged, I want you to go Upgrade and get us out of here ASAP. I don't think the Madrid police want us in their airspace any longer than necessary."

"G-got it," Deku stuttered through his tremors, but said nothing else as he was lifted into the air. His pain was so great these days that he'd stopped complaining when Geosynch used her Quirk to carry him.

Stripes and Jack waited until everyone else was gone, and then the former knelt by Puppet Master and gently slapped him. "Hey. Wake up, dummy."

The Villain winced and held his hands to his head. "Ugh, that little shit! He can't do that to me! I'll sue!"

"Yeah, I don't think the terrorist is going to get much sympathy," Stripes said dryly. "Now, you're going to answer my questions."

Puppet Master glared up at her. "Or what?"

Behind Stripes, Jack sighed. "Oh, lad, you just had to ask her that."

…

"Okay, we've got good news, and we've got bad news," Stripes said as she and Jack returned to the plane, which Upgrade was already turning towards international airspace.

Panzer reached into the fridge and pulled out a few beers. "What's the good news?"

Jack shook his head when Panzer offered him a drink. "The good news is that we really have crushed all of the PLF outside of Japan, and those designs Melissa has distributed have kept Kurogiri from using those blasted portals of his. He can only use them when he has direct line of sight."

Panzer raised a bottle in a toast. "If that girl doesn't get the Nobel Prize for her spatial disruptors, I will be very disappointed."

Ranger accepted one of the beers. "And what's the bad news?"

Stripes sighed. "We are officially out of leads. If there was any useful information on Shigaraki outside of Japan, we would have found it by now."

"There are no other options," Geosynch said, and glanced at the plane's controls, where Upgrade had first merged with the machine. "Has Japan's government changed its position?"

"Not in the last week since someone asked," Melissa said through the radio. "Izuku patched me in, by the way. And thanks, Panzer, I'd love a Nobel Prize."

Despite her light tone, nobody was too happy; Japan had received plenty of pressure from the international community to allow outside law enforcement, military and Heroes to flood the country, but the Prime Minister had stubbornly convinced the majority of the government to refuse any foreign influence.

It hadn't taken much digging to find out that All Might had been the one to talk the Prime Minister around to that line of thought; the man was actually one of All Might's biggest fans. However, he had taken the advice to an extreme, and Japan's isolationism was getting on the rest of the world's nerves.

"Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way," Stripes sighed. "Clandestine operations it is. Can Nezu help us out?"

Melissa laughed over the radio. "I'm pretty sure he's been itching for a chance to help us directly."

Stripes nodded decisively. "Okay, we'll go back to I-Island for a couple of days, get what we need, and then head to Japan. Deku, any suggestions?"

There was a long pause, and then Upgrade's head popped out of the controls. "I remember some of the security measures UA had before I left. Between what Melissa sent over, and whatever Mei and Nezu-sensei have come up with, it's probably the safest place in Japan, and the best place to start our next mission."

Everyone accepted Deku's words, but none of them missed the flat way he said them. Over the last year, they knew he spoke like that when he was beyond stressed. They understood why; after all, they were talking about returning to his home, a place with the people he loved, but also millions of others who wanted him arrested on the word of someone he used to respect.

…

As soon as the plane landed on I-Island, Midoriya staggered out; he nearly collapsed, but Melissa had seen this coming, and had been waiting to catch him.

"I'm fine," he muttered, and forced himself to stand unaided. "I'll be in my room for a while."

"You're going to try again?" Melissa asked. "You were a mess last time."

"I almost got it working last time," Midoriya stubbornly argued, but then sighed. "But if you could send some food, I'd appreciate it."

"I'll also send more supplements." Melissa peered into his eyes and winced. "I looked at your charts; your dosage needs to be upped again."

Midoriya nodded, and tried to walk, but his unsteady feet betrayed him, and Stripes caught him before he fell again.

"Wheelchair," she said, her tone daring Midoriya to defy her.

"Fine," Midoriya bit out, and allowed Melissa to unfold a wheelchair for him.

"I'll take him to his room," Stripes said to Melissa. "You get the meds, Chang will get the food."

Monkey King nodded, even though he scowled at Stripes' use of his first name, since they were all still technically on the job. "Sure, Cathleen."

After Stripes took Midoriya away, Melissa turned to the other Heroes. "He's getting worse, isn't he?"

"You'll notice he didn't fight the wheelchair this time," Ranger said, and rubbed his eyes. "I can barely look at the kid now; his whole body is falling apart."

Melissa almost said that the same was true for all of them, but that wasn't really the case. True, she was exhausted from designing and building her inventions—not to mention running more and more Shield assets—and the Heroes were running themselves ragged chasing down every lead they could think of, but they could all sleep at night without the aid of painkillers. Midoriya, on the other hand, was getting worse by the day, and he spent as much time as he could as an alien, since that was the only way he could do anything without coughing up blood.

And my only problem is losing a few pounds from stress, Melissa thought bitterly. Izuku has to worry about dying if he goes for a jog.

Her friend's condition reminded her of how All Might used to be, and immediately soured her already foul mood. Every time she thought about that man, she imagined using one of her many projects to punch him in the face, if only because Midoriya was too focused with saving the world to think about that.

She yelped when Panzer abruptly poked her forehead. "You're thinking dark thoughts, fräulein. If Izuku sees you like that, he'll be worried, and that will only worsen his health."

Melissa glared at him. "That's not fair."

Panzer laughed. "But it's the only thing that will work on you. You're very protective of him."

"I have to be; everyone who would normally be helping him is stuck in Japan."

"You know we can help with that," Maccabee said kindly. "Besides, if things go the way I think, he'll see those friends of his very soon."

…

Several hours later, Melissa went to see Midoriya; she knocked on his door, and winced at the pained grunts she heard before it opened. Midoriya looked awful; he'd lost a lot of weight over the last year, and on a bad day, he couldn't even stand. His scars stood out even more against his pale skin, which was drenched in sweat.

"Any progress?" she asked, and handed him a bottle of water.

Midoriya downed the entire bottle in seconds. "No more than usual."

"That bad, huh?" Melissa pushed him back into his room and made him sit on his bed; it broke her heart to see how easy it was.

"Do we have any good news?" Midoriya asked, and lay on his back.

"Actually, yeah." Melissa gave him her best smile. "Nezu got in touch with Stripes. He said he's already made all the preparations for us. We can be ready to leave tomorrow evening."

Midoriya closed his eyes, but Melissa knew his mind was racing. "If I use Upgrade to increase our speed, I can get us there in—"

"Three hours." Melissa had already run the numbers. "Forty-five-minute bursts, so you don't push the Omnitrix too hard."

Midoriya relaxed. "Yeah, that works."

Melissa sat on the edge of his bed. "You excited about going home?"

"Maybe, if I didn't have to hunt down the most powerful person to ever exist on this Earth, and if half the country didn't want me arrested or dead." Midoriya cracked open one eye to stare at her. "Other than that, yeah, I'm very excited."

"Sorry I asked," Melissa muttered.

"No, I'm sorry." Midoriya tried to sit up, only to wince, and Melissa pushed him back down. "That wasn't fair to you."

"You're sick, so you get a pass." Melissa wagged a finger at him mock-sternly. "But if you talk like that to a lady again, I'm telling your mom."

Midoriya managed a grin. "I'm pretty sure most ladies aren't covered in grease and electrical burns every day. You're a grease-monkey."

"Okay, now I'm definitely telling your mom."

Midoriya laughed; it was weak, but it was genuine, and Melissa treasured it for its rarity these days. After he finally fell asleep, she got up to leave him be; as she went to her own room to get some rest, she couldn't help but worry that her friends in Japan might be in even worse shape than Midoriya.

…

21 Days Until the End

"Hanta, wake up."

Sero yawned, but didn't open his eyes. "It's our day off, Tsu; I don't wanna."

Asui sighed, and shook him again. "I got a text from Momo. She said there's something going on, and we're part of it."

"Can I have five more minutes?"

In response, he felt something long and slimy go into his ear; he yelped and threw himself out of bed. He glared at his girlfriend, still perched on the bed, whose tongue slipped back into her mouth.

"You know, I think that kind of thing is supposed to be sexy," he said.

To anyone else, Asui's expression was its usual blankness, but Sero knew she was smug. "I didn't hear you complaining last night… ribbit."

Sero's eye twitched, but he got to his feet. "Fine, you win. Costume, or school uniform?"

"Costume, Momo said it was Hero-related."

Like all the students in the Hero Course, regardless of year, Sero and Asui had started sharing a room for several reasons. First, nobody wanted to risk sleeping through an alarm these days, so having a roommate to wake them up was practical.

Someone, Sero didn't remember who anymore, had joked that Aizawa would have either been proud or annoyed by the rationality. Class 2-A had had a good cry and laugh about that afterwards.

Another reason was that nobody wanted to be alone with their thoughts these days, especially after Jaku. Hound Dog tried to counsel the students when he could, but he was also a full-time Hero, and his talents were needed in the field more than ever. Nezu had hired additional counselors, but they were still overworked.

While not every pair of roommates were couples, those who were rarely had time to really enjoy the time alone. Even those students with just Provisional Licenses had to be ready for action at any time, and all of them had the bruises to show for it. Nezu had promised the extra experience would help them have their own Agencies immediately after graduating—assuming they all lived long enough to reach that point.

"So, did Momo say who was getting called in for this one?" Sero asked as he got into the shower.

"Everyone in our class," Asui said, in between brushing her teeth. "She didn't say who the Pro in charge was."

"Twenty of us, plus any Pros they give us." Sero shook his head. "This really could be big."

It should have been only nineteen, but a few weeks after Midoriya had left, Nezu had brought Shinso Hitoshi in to fill his spot. No one in the class was particularly ready to replace their friend, but Shinso had made it clear that he wasn't there to replace Midoriya; he was just keeping his seat warm, so to speak. That had earned him points, and he'd proven himself in a dozen high-risk missions over the last few months.

After getting ready, Sero and Asui left their room; like almost everyone in their class, they had grown over the last year, and their costumes had been changed to account for that. Cellophane was taller, and had put on more muscle, though he was still on the slender side; his costume had thin, flexible armor on his chest and calves that didn't inhibit his movement. Froppy was now the shortest girl in class—something Jiro was still happy about—not helped by her posture. Since her hair was short, she could fit it under a green helmet that enclosed her entire head, except for her mouth; her gloves were also more formfitting, and her entire costume had been modified to allow her poison to seep through without having to roll up a sleeve.

"Hey, guys." Alien Queen waved them over for a quick breakfast. "Sleep well?"

Froppy didn't have her helmet on, so everyone could see her waggle her eyebrows. "You could say that."

Cellophane lunged at her, but she hopped away, while most of the other students laughed. It was no secret that those who were in a relationship were doing more than kissing, and after over a year of living under the same roof, it wasn't like any of them were prudes.

Alien Queen in particular had gone from teasing everyone to doing everything in her power to encourage the romance. With everything going on, she wanted her friends to have as much joy in their lives as they could get. Despite her attitude, her costume reflected a more serious side to her; she wore a solid-green sleeveless bodysuit, with white boots and a white belt that hung at an angle. Everything was acid-proof, which was especially good, since the belt was loaded with containers that held everything from spare communicators to first-aid equipment.

Triumph only rolled his eyes and returned his attention to his food. His hair had grown out over the last year, tied back in a ponytail that reached the base of his neck; it made an interesting swirl of red and white, which his girlfriend loved to play with any chance she got. His costume wasn't that much different on the outside, but he now wore a nanotech bodysuit underneath his outer costume that helped vent heat on his left side, and warmed up his right.

Alien Queen saw his reaction and reached over to smack him upside the head, only for Virtus to stop her. "You're no fun."

"I am simply balancing you out," Virtus replied. His costume was slimmer than it used to be, barely covering the iron-hard muscles he'd developed. Every inch of him was covered in that armor, with no bodysuit exposed, though it was carefully articulated to prevent any restriction of movement. He also had a backpack that could link up with his engines, which could direct his thrust and allow for brief flight.

Genesis smiled at the banter; she had grown taller and even more beautiful over the year, but there was no hiding the bags under her eyes from exhaustion. With the teachers often on missions, she had taken over almost all of the paperwork for the class, and had been determined to keep up with her studies at the same time. The only reason she hadn't collapsed by now was due to the efforts of Virtus; they were roommates, but nobody was sure if they were actually a couple, and both of them had become exceptionally good at avoiding any questions about it.

Her costume hadn't changed much, simply because it was already fine the way it was; she had gone with a red disc over her left ear for a few weeks that had doubled as a communicator and a cover after a Villain had mangled that ear during a battle, but Eri had reversed the damage later.

Even though she had been doing well for months, everyone felt a tiny bit of relief when Uravity laughed along with them. Every minute of her day not in the field, sleeping, or taking care of Eri was spent training, and it showed; she was easily one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the class, keeping up with the likes of Bakugo and Kirishima, and only regularly beaten by Ojiro. Her costume still had the same wings and helmet, but she wore new armor, modeled after Virtus', that covered her entire body. Most of the armor was black, save for thick pink stripes going up her arms, legs, helmet, and the center of her chest. Her boots were even sleeker, almost formfitting, though they added almost two inches to her height, thanks to the miniature thrusters Hatsume had added. Even without that, she had gone through quite a growth spurt, and Genesis was the only girl in their class that was taller than her.

At first, some people had worried that her prosthetic arm wouldn't fit her anymore, but Brainiac had clearly anticipated that when he'd built it, because it lengthened and expanded to match her flesh-and-blood arm perfectly. Some thought it was eerie, but Uraraka was just glad that she could still operate at her best.

Everyone else in the class had made alterations to their costumes, from Tsukuyomi's black carbon-fiber armor under his cloak, to Ground Zero's multibarreled grenade launcher gauntlets. After Jaku, Heroes of all levels had been gearing up for nothing less than war with the League of Villains.

However, no war had happened—not like the battles in Gunga and Jaku, at least. True, roaming gangs of Villains had popped up with alarming frequency, but the ferocity with which both Heroes and police cracked down on them kept any of the criminals from setting up a power base. Some of those fights weren't without cost, especially when the Heroes had to deal with Tartarus escapees; over two hundred police officers had died in those battles, as had thirty Heroes.

The worst part was that some of those former prisoners had broken the unwritten agreement between Heroes and Villains, and gone after family members. Fat Gum had nearly been arrested after he killed a Villain that had murdered his uncle, and Ryukyu had torn an entire gang of escapees apart after they had beaten a cousin of hers to death.

After those incidents, and dozens of others, the Hero community had pushed back against Japan's isolationist decrees, demanding that their families be evacuated if the government wanted them to keep doing their jobs. The government was still deadlocked over the decision, so Nezu had stepped up and turned UA into a shelter for anyone related to a Hero. The school was crowded, but it was safe, and that was all that mattered to the Heroes, who could now focus on saving the country from descending into anarchy.

However, something had to give, and in the end, it was Nezu who decided to roll the dice first.

…

"Thank you all for coming," Nezu said as the Heroes took their seats. "I understand that some of you were supposed to take the day off, heaven knows we all could use a break, but an opportunity has arisen that we may not get again."

Despite everything, the Heroes were intrigued; Nezu didn't say things like that if he didn't mean it.

"Our intelligence-gathering efforts have yielded results," Nezu went on. "We've been aware that League informants have been keeping tabs on police and Hero activities for some time, but we were waiting for the right opportunity to use those resources against them. That time has come; we've 'leaked' to those informants that a convoy will be departing from one secure location to another, carrying Doctor Garaki. He will be the perfect bait to lure the League into the open, where we will strike."

The Heroes in the room murmured amongst themselves; capturing Garaki was the only silver lining from the battle at Jaku. If he had remained with the League, Japan would have been overrun with Nomu soldiers, not to mention any other horrors Garaki would have come up with. His location was a secret, and anyone who worked in the same place that so much as mentioned it was severely punished.

"Nezu-sensei," Genesis said, "we aren't actually bringing Garaki into the open, are we?"

"We would never risk it," Nezu assured her. "We'll have plenty of decoy methods in place to make it look like Garaki is being moved. While it is unlikely that Shigaraki himself will conduct the rescue attempt, I believe that at least several of his top lieutenants will lead the attack. Your objective is to defeat as many of them as you can; doing so will hinder the League's operations across the country."

Uravity rubbed her right arm as she considered this; she had a score to settle with Slice, and part of her hoped that the woman who had taken her arm would show up.

I won't let that interfere with the mission, she thought fiercely. I refuse to let my own issues get in the way.

"One more thing," Nezu added. "We have reason to believe that other nations are preparing for a forced intervention; if Heroes from other countries arrive, I would like you all to cooperate, regardless of what the government says."

Nobody was really complaining; after a year of losing lives and chasing down bad leads, the only people who still cared about national pride were those who weren't on the front lines.

For some of the people in the room, the idea of Heroes from out of the country showing up made them wonder if one missing friend might come back as well.

…

Snipe was the overall field commander for the mission; Nezu's ability to track their progress was limited to street cameras—the constant cloud layer over Japan meant satellites were useless. Other than Class 2-A, there were a few Pro Heroes; Alien Queen recognized a few by sight, but only one by name. She hadn't seen Sky Dancer in months, and she barely looked better now than she did then; she had deep bags under her eyes, and she had lost that extra bit of energy. As she got closer to her former mentor, Alien Queen swore she could smell alcohol on the older woman's breath.

Sky Dancer wasn't the first Hero to fall apart after Jaku, and she wouldn't be the last. The only reason she hadn't been fired was because they needed every Hero they could scrounge up; more than a few retired Heroes had been pulled back into active service to help offset the numbers lost.

"Sky Dancer," Alien Queen greeted neutrally.

"Huh?" The older Hero blinked at her a few times. "Oh, Alien Queen, it's been a while. What's a first-year student doing on a mission like this?"

"I'm almost done with my second year," Alien Queen pointed out.

"Really? Sorry, I totally forgot. I've, uh, been really busy."

Alien Queen didn't buy that for a second, but now was not the time to be starting drama. "So, how's your wife?"

"We got divorced two months ago."

So much for not starting drama. Alien Queen opened her mouth to apologize, but Sky Dancer kept talking.

"She's Quirkless, and when we learned about where Quirks came from… she said I wasn't even human. She left me, and the paperwork went through a few months later."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

Sky Dancer sighed. "I mean, she wasn't exactly wrong. If we've got a Quirk, we're not totally human, are we?"

Alien Queen didn't have an answer for that, simply because she didn't care. She could look herself in the mirror and like what she saw; what her DNA said really didn't matter to her. None of that would help Sky Dancer, and they didn't have time for therapy anyway.

"All right, people, listen up!" Snipe got their attention with his thick Southern accent, and pointed to the armored cars in the garage. "We're gonna escort these here transports to the drop-off point. If we get attacked, and Nezu is positive we will, our job is to keep the Villains from gettin' away; any catch is a good catch, but we're hopin' that some of the top members of the League show up for us to nab. Don't worry if the cars get attacked, they're all remote-operated; oh, and our route takes us through an evacuated zone, so don't worry about collateral damage, either. Good luck, and stay safe."

By the time Alien Queen turned back to Sky Dancer, the older woman had moved to another side of the garage. Even from a distance, Alien Queen could see the apathy in her eyes; she was going through the motions, with none of the enthusiasm she'd had a year ago.

"You okay?" Triumph asked her quietly.

Alien Queen sighed. "No, but let's get this over with anyway."

…

The trip was quiet for the first hour; all anyone could see was damaged buildings and partially-flooded streets. The rain wasn't too bad today, with just a heavy drizzle. Nobody doubted that it would get worse soon enough; light rain never lasted for long, and lately, it was a rare day that it wasn't pouring.

Of everyone in Class 2-A, only Froppy was enjoying herself; the rest would have to deal with cold, wet clothes when they got back to UA. Chargebolt was particularly miserable, since using his Quirk in the rain ran the risk of shorting himself out, so he had to stay by Triumph; if it came to a fight, Triumph would create an 'umbrella' of ice, and then quickly dry him off with the fire-half of his Quirk.

Tentacole broke the tense silence when one of his duplicated eyes spotted something. "Incoming!"

If the Villains that attacked thought they would take the Heroes by surprise, they were mistaken. They had been expecting an attack the entire time, and they enacted their plan with clockwork precision. In seconds, the rain cut out as Triumph created a massive dome of ice; it was cold, but it wasn't nearly as wet.

The ice-umbrella trick wasn't just for Chargebolt; more than a few members of the class fought better in dry conditions, so Triumph would take any opportunity to create a much bigger dome of ice to fight under.

Virtus made the first move; with a quick burst from his engines, he was inside a Villain's reach, and drove his knee into his stomach. Virtus was already moving before his first target hit the ground and vomited. Ground Zero was a second behind him, rampaging through a dozen Villains with plenty of explosions.

"We're under attack!" Snipe reported into his radio. "I count forty—no, fifty-eight Villains! No sign of priority targets yet, but support is needed!"

"Understood," Nezu replied tersely. "Reinforcements are on their way."

"Tell 'em to double-time it! I don't want these chumps gettin' away!"

…

Uravity easily weaved out of the way of a Villain's attack; he wasn't anything special, though his Quirk, which let him launch his fists like rockets, was a little annoying. She could have taken him down herself without much issue—she could see a weakness in his stance that would let her knock him over with one good hit—but she served better as a distraction, and a lookout.

Besides, Froppy took him down before she seriously considered handling it. She waved at her friend, and then noticed something very large headed right towards her class.

"Scatter!" she shouted.

Manic laughter from the incoming Villain made her skin crawl, but it wasn't until she spotted the exposed muscle fibers that Uravity recognized Muscular, and she briefly saw red. Midoriya had told her about the fight that had ended in Holo-Ben's death, and how Muscular was a part of that. The Rising Stars hadn't known the AI long, but they still considered him part of the team—and this was one of the men who had killed him.

Somehow, without actually saying anything, the Rising Stars moved as one to take on Muscular. Ground Zero started to go in the same direction, but he saw something in their eyes that made him rethink that.

"You guys take that fucker down!" he snapped, and turned to the rest of the class. "Come on, we've got the rest of these scrubs!"

Muscular rose to his full height and sneered at the Rising Stars. "Hey, I know you guys! You were in that class we attacked! I never got a chance to kill any of you before, and I can't wait to fix that."

"Try it, freak," Cellophane growled, and shot streams of tape around Muscular's leg. He tried to pull that leg out from under him, but Muscular was too heavy to budge.

Uravity tried to change that by firing her metal hand at Muscular, but the Villain leaned out of the way and grabbed the cable. He heaved, and slammed her into Cellophane, sending them both sprawling.

"Ow," Cellophane groaned, then rolled to his feet and helped up Uravity. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine," she said, and reeled her hand back in. "Let's just get this guy."

Muscular wasn't exactly a smart fighter, but he had good instincts. He blocked kicks from both Froppy and Virtus, leaned out of the way of the shells Genesis fired from a small cannon, and blocked both Triumph's ice and fire. What he didn't count on was getting his arm doused in acid, and he roared in pain as it ate away at his muscle fibers.

"Not so fun now, is it?" Alien Queen taunted.

Rather than answer, Muscular smashed the ground in front of him and hurled a chunk of debris at her. With an almost lazy wave of her arm, Alien Queen created a wall of acid that melted the rock before it hit her. Cellophane used the distraction to grab Muscular's leg with even more tape; this time, though, he handed the other end to Virtus. Much stronger than his friend, Virtus' engines revved, and with a burst of speed, Muscular was dragged off to the side.

A year ago, Cellophane's tape would have snapped under the strain, but after so much training between missions, what looked like tape was nearly as strong as steel cable. Virtus used that strength to wrap up Muscular; it would only last for a few seconds, but that was long enough for the students to get their second wind.

Genesis created a knife that fit perfectly in one hand, and a small bomb in the other; she attached the bomb to the knife's handle, spun the blade around, and hurled it into Muscular's shoulder with expert precision. It was a technique she had been practicing for months, meant for the occasional Nomu, or one of the League's heavy hitters. It wasn't the most humane weapon, but nobody had called her out on it, and there were many other Heroes who had been let off the leash in far worse ways this year.

Two seconds after the knife hit Muscular, the bomb exploded, tearing off a chunk of flesh. Muscular roared again, but there was just as much pain as there was anger in his voice. He staggered back and flailed wildly; a lucky swing caught Uravity as she swooped down to tag him, and she was sent hurtling through a broken window.

The other Rising Stars were now even angrier, but before they could go in for another round, something blew past them at incredible speeds. There was a flash of green light, and then Cannonbolt slammed into Muscular with enough force to make the entire street shake.

It took the students a moment to really register what they had just seen. Anger melted away into shock, disbelief, and then joy.

He was back.

Deku was back!

Muscular looked just as happy to see Deku, though for all the wrong reasons. He forced himself to his feet and laughed madly.

"Well, if it ain't Midoriya! I was hoping you'd show up—oof!"

Deku didn't speak; he just turned into Humungousaur and clocked Muscular across the jaw. Then, before the man hit the ground, there was another green flash, and Ultimate Humungousaur picked Muscular up by the face and slammed him into the street.

"Don't." Another slam. "Ever." Another. "Touch them."

By the time Ultimate Humungousaur was done, Muscular was a broken mess on the ground; his muscle fibers were shredded, and his bones were shattered. If it had been anyone else, they would be dead; as it was, Muscular would need to spend months in a hospital.

For a moment, everyone was still; the Rising Stars couldn't even hear fighting in the distance, focused as they were on their returned friend. Then Uravity groaned as she got to her feet; her helmet had broken in her crash, and her wings had snapped off, but when she saw Deku, she stopped caring.

"Izuku?" she called out, her voice barely audible.

There were two flashes of green light, and then Midoriya stood there, staring at them. He was thinner than they remembered, and paler, but it was still him.

"Um… hi."

Someone let out a sob, and everyone took a step towards Midoriya. He smiled at them… and then choked as blood spurted from his mouth. The other students were horrified, but before they could start to run, a red-and-blue blur rushed past them; for a second, they worried that All Might had arrived to attack Midoriya at his weakest, but to their shock, it was Stars And Stripes who caught him before he collapsed.

"Idiot!" the American Hero snapped. "You've been an alien for almost forty minutes, and you decided to go Ultimate? You get messed up by that on a full charge! What did you think would happen?"

"Sorry," Midoriya mumbled, and then went limp in her arms.

Stripes sighed, and placed her hand on his chest. "Izuku Midoriya will replenish all the blood he just lost."

It could have been everyone's imagination, but Midoriya looked just a little healthier. Stripes rolled her eyes, and then looked up at the students.

"You guys must be his friends. Probably not the reunion you were hoping for, right?"

"You can say that again," Cellophane said faintly.

"Sorry about this, but we should get moving." Stripes gestured to Deku with her chin. "Poor guy needs some rest, and about a thousand different meds to keep him going right now." She noticed the horrified looks on their faces, and sighed again. "I could have phrased that better, huh?"

"Yes, you could have," Genesis said in a strangled voice.

Stripes looked over her shoulder. "Well, at least the rest of the fight's over. Guys! We need to get a move on!"

Uravity had to sit down for a moment; whether it was the concussion, seeing her boyfriend again, or suddenly seeing seven of the greatest Heroes on the planet appear all at once, there was just too much going on.

A hand rested on her shoulder; she looked up, and was shocked to see Melissa smiling down at her. "Yeah, it's been one of those days."

…

Despite the speed they'd moved, word spread even faster through UA that Midoriya had returned. A small crowd of people tried to force their way into the infirmary to see him, but whether they loved him or hated him, everyone thought twice about visiting after Geosynch carried them away with her Quirk.

The list of people who were allowed to visit was very small—at the top of that list were his parents, who were escorted in by several Heroes that were part of the school's security. They were for the Midoriya family's protection; more than a few people taking refuge at the school blamed Izuku for everything, and since he was gone, they had tried to take it out on his parents.

"How is he?" Inko demanded, not taking her eyes off her son. "He looks terrible."

Melissa rubbed her eyes, then put her glasses back on before answering. "Not great. He's only not in pain when he goes alien, and he can't stay that way forever. We give him sedatives at night to help him sleep through the pain."

Inko couldn't hold back her tears as she stroked Izuku's hair. "Oh, my poor baby…"

"I wish I could do something," Stripes admitted from the other side of the room. "I tried using my Quirk on him, but whatever is happening is overpowering New World Order. The best I can do is replenish his blood, but it only lasts a while before he coughs it up again."

"I have half the scientists on I-Island working on anything that might help him, but they've only managed to slow down the degradation," Melissa added.

Hisashi bowed to both of them. "Thank you for trying. That's more than a lot of people in this country are willing to do."

"I heard it was getting better." Stripes looked back at the door, and remembered the not insignificant crowd who wanted Izuku dead. "Well, kind of."

"There aren't any mobs, but I think that's partly because of the rain," Hisashi said, and then chuckled dryly. "Though Yaoyorozu-san's family has done much to help him on the legal side of things."

Melissa grinned. "It does help to be friends with someone who has more money than some countries."

"You're not one to talk, Miss I-own-an-island," Stripes said with a laugh.

"It's Miss I-own-most-of-an-island, thank you very much." Melissa paused when she felt her phone vibrate; she looked at her texts, and her good mood evaporated. "Stripes, we've got a situation outside."

Stripes frowned, which deepened when Melissa traced an outline of two very distinct tufts of hair. "Oh, great. I was hoping to deal with that later today. I'll grab the others; you go see your friends."

"No offense to them, but I haven't kissed my boyfriend in almost a year, so I'd like to see him first."

That brought the smile back to Stripes' face, and she laughed as she left the room.

…

Despite what she'd said, Melissa actually sought out the Rising Stars first. It wasn't hard to find them; they were right down the hall, waiting for Recovery Girl to let them visit Izuku. They had changed out of their costumes, but they still looked scuffed up and sweaty.

"How is he?" Yaoyorozu demanded.

"Sleeping, which is how he needs to stay for a few more hours." Melissa raised an eyebrow at them. "I'm fine, by the way; great to see you guys again."

The seven younger students immediately grabbed her in a group hug. "Sorry about that," Ashido apologized sincerely. "It's just, you know, the last time we saw Midori…"

Melissa sighed. "Yeah, he looks even worse, but he won't stop fighting."

"At least he's home, ribbit," Asui said. "We can stop trying to find clips of him on the internet."

Melissa made a face. "You haven't been watching those conspiracy videos, have you?"

"I kind of like the one about him being a government super-spy," Asui admitted unrepentantly.

"Okay, that one wasn't bad." Melissa scowled. "I'm still mad about the things All Might said. Do people still believe him?"

"Depending on the last time All Might makes a speech, about forty percent of the population," Iida said; his expression was calm, but his clenched fists were all anyone needed to know how mad he was.

Yaoyorozu grabbed him by the ear. "Enough of that; we have enough stress without bringing him up."

Iida sighed. "You are right, of course."

"As I always am," Yaoyorozu said with a smile that showed she was kidding. "Now, since we cannot do anything but wait until Izuku wakes up, how about we go to the dorm, and I'll make us all some tea?"

Melissa grinned. "Yes, please; even I can't get ahold of the kind of tea you get, Momo."

Most of the Rising Stars were pulling Melissa away, but Sero noticed that one of them wasn't moving. "Ochako, you coming?"

Uraraka shook her head. "I… I'm going to stay here. I know there's nothing we can do for Izuku right now, but I want to let him know I'm here."

"She's still a hopeless romantic," Ashido explained with a teasing grin. "She's been going over what she wanted to say to him at least once a day since you guys left."

"You're going into space when I get back," Uraraka growled, but didn't take her eyes off the door to the infirmary.

Sero laughed. "Come on, Melissa; I bet we can get you caught up on everything you missed before Mirio shows up. After that, I don't think we'll see you for a while."

Melissa grinned, though she couldn't hide her blush.

…

Nezu smiled as the various Heroes took a seat in his office. "It's so good to see you all again, and even better that it's in person."

"Always a pleasure, Nezu, even in these trying times." Jack picked up the tea Nezu had set out for them. "Ah, a wonderful blend."

"You and your weird tea fixation," Maccabee said with fond exasperation.

"When you get a chance, there is a student here you should meet, Jack." Nezu raised his own cup. "She might give you a run for your money when it comes to good tea."

"Oh, god, he's multiplying," Ranger joked.

Stripes fixed them with a look, and even Jack looked a little sheepish. "As much as I'd like to have a casual chat with you, Nezu, you sent us that alert, and I'm worried. Is All Might really going to come for Izuku?"

Nezu sighed. "Word will have reached him by now; I wanted to keep Midoriya-san's return a secret, but All Might has enough supporters among the refugees in UA that someone would have told him. I imagine that he is on his way right now to arrest him."

"Can he do that?" Monkey King asked. "Legally, I mean."

"Technically, the warrant for his arrest is still valid… if you tilt your head and squint a little, which is exactly how All Might will justify his actions." Nezu sipped his tea. "As far as All Might is concerned, Midoriya-san is a clear and present danger, and only his adherence to the principles of Heroism has prevented him from taking the law into his own hands. That is why I must ask what you all plan to do if, and when, this comes to a head."

The other Heroes were quiet for a long moment as they considered that.

Ranger broke the silence first. "The kid only wants to do what's right. He practically killed himself trying everything he could to find a way to stop Shigaraki. Someone like that is no Villain, let me tell you."

"He's right," Geosynch said. "We have all gotten to know him this year. He is our friend, and we have made it clear to our governments that he does not deserve the scorn he has received."

"You haven't answered my question," Nezu commented. "What will you do if All Might forces this issue?"

All eyes turned to Stars And Stripes; if anyone would choose to stand with All Might, it would be his biggest American fan.

"Shigaraki is the real danger here," Stripes said evenly. "Him, All For One, and the rest of the League of Villains. We need every advantage we can get to beat them, and if I'm being honest, Izuku has a better shot than All Might. If beating the League means burning certain bridges, then I'll light the match."

Nezu smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, because I predict that he will be here in twenty minutes."

Jack sighed. "Enough time to finish this tea, then."

…

"He's back."

Chisaki sat up with as much dignity as he could, considering he didn't have arms. "Midoriya?"

Chrono bowed his head. "Yes. It was a rumor at first, but it's been confirmed through social media."

Rappa laughed. "It's about time he came back. I never had a chance to fight him last time, and I want to see if I can take him."

"He's not alone," Chrono warned. "He has seven of the strongest Heroes in the world with him. If they think we're working with the League, or if we even get in the way, they'll come down on us even harder than the local Heroes."

Even Rappa paused; he was strong, but he didn't give himself good odds of beating the likes of Stars And Stripes, Geosynch, or Gentleman Jack.

"It doesn't matter," Chisaki said tiredly. "Midoriya is the one who broke us. There's no coming back for the Eight Precepts. All we have left is revenge. The second we have a shot, we'll take it."

"You'll do no such thing," a new voice hissed from the shadows. "A true Hero can't be distracted by scum like you, especially when true evil exists."

Sakaki was the first to die, a knife buried in his skull. Before the other Yakuza could make a move, several blurs passed through the group, leaving them all with severed tendons and gashes that bled sluggishly. Some, like Rappa, tried to rise, but Stain ingested their blood with a quick lick across his sword, and they stayed down.

Only Chisaki—without his arms, and thus, powerless—was untouched. He stared blankly up at the two men who had just ruined his last chance at revenge. Feathers lazily orbited around Hawks, and Stain rested his bloody sword across one shoulder.

"What do you want to do with this one?" Stain asked. "He's not exactly a threat."

"He was able to maintain the loyalty of hardened criminals, even after losing his Quirk," Hawks said. "Besides, there's a kill-on-sight order for the Eight Precepts; they're too dangerous to let live."

"Quite a bloodthirsty thing to say, and that's coming from me."

Hawks shrugged nonchalantly, but there was a flicker of rage in his eyes when he looked at Chisaki. "This piece of garbage tortured an innocent child for years, all to destroy the very thing that gave him power. He killed her over and over, then brought her back to life so that he could… harvest her."

"It was to cleanse the world of its disease," Chisaki said, and tried to rise to his feet. "You understand, Stain; you want the same thing."

Stain glared at him. "I want the world purged of false Heroes. The last year has proved which ones are just here for money and fame; those who remain are determined to save the world. I'm here to clean up the scum that would get in their way."

Before Chisaki could speak again, his throat was cut, and he bled out in seconds. The rest of the Eight Precepts grieved for only a moment before joining him in death.

"So, Midoriya really is back?" Stain asked, casually stepping over the puddles of blood.

"Yeah, he is." Hawks sighed. "Let's see if I can apologize before he kills me."

…

All Might stepped out of his car and stood in front of UA's gates. Between him and his goal was someone who had been his friend just a year earlier.

"Get out of the way, Nighteye," All Might ordered. "You can't stop me from getting inside."

"I have no intention of stopping you," Sir Nighteye said. "I'm here to watch you try to do the wrong thing. Hopefully, it will be the last time, and then you'll see sense."

Unlike his former boss, Sir Nighteye carried an umbrella; All Might didn't fail to notice that it was a very specific shade of green. It told him all he needed to know about where his former Sidekick's loyalties still lay.

All Might loomed over Nighteye. "Where. Is. Midoriya?"

So, on the one hand, Deku and what I'm just realizing is basically the MHA version of the Avengers has arrived in Japan. On the other hand, poor Deku is barely holding it together, physically and emotionally. His friends and loved ones are older, wiser, stronger, and holding onto each other to stay sane, and while they are worried sick about him, things are looking up now that he's back.

You might be wondering why Hawks and Stain are working together. That'll be explained soon, but the idea of these two ruthless guys (who both have a thing for red) absolutely annihilating the Eight Precepts was a cool idea that I couldn't get out of my head.

And we now have a showdown incoming. That should be fun.

Sorry for taking so long to update. Work has been killing me, as has adjusting to life in my new apartment. I only get one day to myself, which makes writing a challenge, as you can imagine.

As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile), or on Amazon, in both eBook and physical formats. I'm trying to get the next book finished, but, you know… life is hard right now. It'll happen, I just don't know when right now.

You can also support me by donating via P-atreon (link in my profile). Considering I can barely pay my bills, even with a roommate (California rent is a nightmare), every little bit helps keep my stress down—and thus, improves my ability to write.

I'd like to take this moment to thank the following patrons, because they are just that awesome:

Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Aaron Meek, Matthias Matanovic, Red Bard, Lokthar, Hakuryuken, Anders Lyngbye, Kristen Tyler, Zachary Hall

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, Crazyman844, CherryGoesBoom, michaelb958

Ultra Muffins: RangersRoll

Next Chapter: More reunions, explanations, and more than one immovable object stands up to an unstoppable force.

Plus Muffin!