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Red Riot

Uraraka and Asui brushed themselves off, getting clear of the debris around them. They had responded to an emergency call while on patrol with Nejire, who had taken them under her wing and recommended a Work Study position with her at the Ryukyu the Dragoon Hero's agency. Two perpetrators with enlargement quirks were making a wreck of the city as they fought each other, but Nejire, Uraraka and Asui made quick work of them, and luckily there were no casualties.

"You guys did great!" Said Nejire happily. "Your teamwork is really incredible. Were you nervous at all?"

"A little," Uraraka admitted.

"I'm just glad I was able to keep calm," Said Asui.

"Don't sell yourself short," Said Ryukyu. "You're both great at this."

"I agree."

The four heroes turned to the sound of the voice behind them. A woman was approaching them. She wore a black one-piece jumpsuit with fishnet stockings covered by knee-high boots, a leather jacket covering her otherwise exposed shoulders, and vibrant blonde hair. Though her Japanese was excellent, she spoke with an American accent.

"Good to see you again, Ryukyu," Said the woman.

"Likewise," Said Ryukyu, bowing cordially. "Everyone, this is Black Canary, a Hero from the Justice League."

Uraraka and Asui did a double take. Nejire hovered around Canary, chatting excitedly about everything she heard about her. ("How does your canary cry work?" "Can you shatter glass with it?").

"You're the Hero Deku's working with," Said Uraraka, staring in awe.

"That's right," Said Canary. "Midoriya told me a lot about you two. Which is why I think you will be perfect to join our operation."

"Operation?" Said Asui.

Ryukyu nodded. "The Arrow and the Nighteye Agency have partnered up on a special assignment, and have asked several other agencies to join them. "

"What's the assignment?" Asked Uraraka.

"A joint investigation and siege of the designated villain group, Shei Hassaikai," Said Canary. "We have reason to believe that they are working with the League of Villains, and they could be our chance to lead us to them."

"The League is back?" Said Uraraka, alarmed.

"Possibly," said Canary. "We're monitoring the situation closely. For now, keep training. We'll be in touch shortly.

"You made me walk in circles underground for 30 minutes like an ant," Said Shigaraki. "I hope you're not wasting my time.

Shagaraki and Chisaki sat across from each other in a conference room, a small coffee table between them. Shigaraki had come alone, and he was surrounded by several of Chisaki's henchmen. Despite this, Shigaraki made no efforts to hide his displeasure as he sat across from his foe. The man had waltzed into his base and murdered one of his closest comrades and wounded another, all the while rudely asserting himself as his master's replacement. It was all he could do to restrain himself from disintegrating Chisaki on the spot. However, his Master had always warned him about hastily dispatching your foes. Even enemies have their uses, he had always said. Chisaki had called him here to talk, so Shigaraki would listen to what he had to say.

For now.

"It is necessary to keep away the prying eyes of the Law, and worse, Heroes," Said Chisaki. "We never know what our guest's intentions are. Even if you managed to kill both of us, it is unlikely you would find your way out of this base before you were found and destroyed." It was as if Chisaki had read Shigaraki's mind, but the latter stayed silent.

"Let's get down to business," Said the small gremlin sitting next to Chisaki. He was the small, beak-masked henchman who had accompanied his master with him to the League's hideout that night. He was fiddling with a large wad of thousand-yen bills as he watched Shigaraki. "You said you would join us if your conditions were met, and we're here to discuss those conditions."

"Don't flatter yourself," said Shigaraki, placing his foot on the coffee table in front of him. "The only reason you want us to join you is because you want the prestige of the League of Villains backing you up. We are looking to build up our strength of numbers. As I can see from my side, our needs coincide."

Chisaki glared at Shigaraki's foot on the table. "Put your foot down," he said. "You'll get the table dirty."

"'Put your foot down, please,'" Shigaraki corrected mockingly. "You really should learn to be more polite, considering you want my help."

"What are your conditions?" Said Chisaki.

"A joint partnership," said Shigaraki. "We won't put ourselves under you. We'll move however we want."

"Is that all?" Said Chisaki.

"There is one more thing," Said Shigaraki. "Tell me your plan."

"What?" Said Chisaki.

"That's a reasonable condition," Said Shigaraki. "I want to consider whether or not there's merit in lending you our name. For that matter. . ." Shigaraki reached his hand into his jacket. In a flash, the man in a white robe standing behind him placed a gun to his head.

"That's quite far enough," said the white-robed henchman.

"Who do you think you are?!" Said the gremlin sitting next to Chisaki.

"Who do you think you are?!" Shigaraki shot back. "You murdered one of my top allies while you only lost a small-time punk from your side. Not exactly an equal trade, was it? Not to mention the loss of Compress' arm. If you think that we're taking anything less than an equal partnership in this after that performance, you are sorely mistaken."

"Enough," Said Chisaki. "Kurono, Mimic, stand down." Immediately the two henchmen backed off. Chisaki gestured to Shigaraki to continue with what he was saying.

"Tell me the details of your plan," said Shigaraki, retrieving an object from his jacket. It was one of the small capsules that was shot at his comrades during the scuffle at the warehouse, the one that restricted his quirk. "And what it has to do with this."

Kirishma was taken aback by the scenery around him as he walked along the glitzy shopping district of downtown Esuha City. He was walking next to an extremely large, egg-shaped man in a yellow jump-suit, the Professional Hero Fatgum, as he munched on a tray of fried octopus.

"I'm starvin'" Said Fatgum as he ate. Kirishima knew that Fatgum had a stockpile-type quirk that required him to ingest large amounts of calories. This fat-absorption allowed him to take extreme amounts of punishment without sustaining any harm. This feature allowed him to store the kinetic energy from attacks into his fat cells, which he could then release at a time of his choosing. This made him a formidable opponent to any villain, which is why he was so popular in Esuha.

Following behind the two of them was Amajiki. When Kirishima had discovered that he was working with Fatgum, Kirishima cornered him at school and pestered him relentlessly until he agreed to introduce him to the Hero. In truth, Kirishima felt a little bad about it, considering how Amajiki had a weak constitution and his persistence had frightened his poor senpai terribly, but he couldn't let an opportunity like this pass him up.

"Punks around here have been gettin' into a lot of fights lately," Said Fatgum, letting out a large belch after polishing off the fried octopus. "In response the Hero Agencies have been looking for a lot of fighting-type interns, so you're a perfect fit for this, Red Riot."

"Thank you!" Said Kirishima enthusiastically. "I am very excited and thankful for the opportunity to work with you."

"Amajiki's pretty great too," Said Fatgum. "If only he'd toughen up a bit. I've been trying to get him out of his shell, but it's been slow going."

"It's been torture," mumbled Amajiki glumly. "I'm convinced he only scouted me to torment me."

"Hey, Fat!" Shouted one of the vendors to Fatgum. "Eat here!"

Fatgum waved at the vendor, promising to eat there tomorrow. In Esuha, having Fatgum appear at your restaurant was as good as an official endorsement, so most vendors offered him free food just for standing near them.

"What made you want to do work studies here, anyway?" Amajiki asked Kirishima.

"Well," Kirishima paused. "A lot has happened to our class recently, and it feels like the gap between me and my classmates is getting wider. I need to get stronger, or I'm going to get left behind."

Fatgum stopped abruptly at the sound of shouting behind them. "Speak of the devil!" He said. "Sounds like a fight!"

Several men began running down the street towards them away from the scene. The man who was chasing them was shouting that they were selling illegal products by his store. Fatgum stepped into the street to intercept them, causing them to ram into him. His fat cells began to envelop them, causing them to sink into his body, one of the effects of his quirk.

One of the criminals was able to wiggle out of his grasp using his own quirk, but was stopped by a mass of octopus tentacles protruding from Amajiki's fingers. He used them to pull the perpetrator towards him. His other hand morphed into a giant clam shell, which he used to bash the criminal senseless.

Kirishima stared in amazement. Amajiki may be easily frightened, but was able to place his fear aside in serious situations to get the job done. His quirk, Manifest, which allowed him to assume various forms of animals he has recently eaten, was extremely powerful. Kirishima could see why he was listed as one of the Big Three.

Fatgum and Amajiki held the criminals until the police arrived after a short while. Kirishima noticed a flash of light from the audience. Looking towards the source, he could see a disheveled man in the crowd holding a firearm. Fatgum must have noticed it too and tried to step in between the two students, but he wasn't fast enough. The gun fired, it's payload striking Amajiki in the arm. Kirishima instinctively stepped in front of Amajiki and was struck in the head with a second shot. His quirk activated in time to deflect the shot, causing the perpetrator to panic and run.

Kirishima's chance had come. He ran after the gunman quickly while Fatgum checked on Amajiki. He followed the gunman down an alleyway, where they quickly reached a dead end. Desperate, the criminal activated his quirk, producing several blades from his arm, ripping his coat and lunging them towards Kirishima. The blades did not harm his hardened skin, and he was able to land a heavy punch to the man's face, knocking him to the ground.

"Don't resist," Said Kirishima. "Give up and I won't hurt you."

The man didn't move from the ground, but began heaving with heavy sobs. "It's not fair," said the man. "Your quirk is so strong and mine is so weak."

Kirishima didn't quite know how to respond. Instead, he walked towards the man and helped him up. "Don't cry, you're embarrassing yourself," He said.

"I wanted to get strong, so I hung out with strong guys," the man mumbled. "I want to be strong, but I haven't gotten stronger…"

"What are you talking about?" Said Kirishima. The man's attitude changed. He stopped crying, his eyes growing darker.

"Someone like you couldn't possibly know what I've been through. I will get stronger!" He said sharply. Quicker than Kirishima could react, he lifted a red syringe and injected its contents into his exposed neck. He began to shriek in pain, hitting the floor hard while his body began convulsing.

"What the hell is happening?" Shouted Kirishima. "What did you do?!"

Suddenly, the man's body began to grow at an alarming rate. His skin tore as his muscles grew faster than they could handle. Long blades began protruding from his appendages. His eyes began to glow a deadly red, and his voice grew deeper. When the transformation had stopped, he was over seven feet tall. His arms and legs were disproportionately shaped, with blades sticking out of them at odd angles. He no longer looked human.

Kirishima was out of his depth. His mind flashed back to the Nomu at the USJ. The civilians surrounding them screamed and began to run for cover. He had to protect them from this. . . thing. Fatgum and Amajiki were no were to be found, and he had to hold this creature off just long enough for them to get to him.

The creature roared fiercely, causing the windows to shatter around them. It charged at Kirishima, who instinctively planted his feet, guarding himself. The creature swatted him like a fly, sending him crashing into a building behind him. He felt blood trickling down his arm, and he noticed that the blades on the creature's arm had managed to cut through his hardening quirk. He lunged from the wreckage as the creature put its fist in the creator he used to occupy, missing him narrowly. Kirishima continued to dodge the creature's attacks, but he was beginning to lose steam. His mind flashed back to All Might's last stand at Kamino. He felt a sudden rush of courage come to his heart. All Might was faced against an enemy that was stronger than him. Even in his weakened state, he was able to hold his ground and bulldoze through a seemingly impossible situation. He had to do the same against this creature.

Mustering all the strength he could, he stretched his quirk to the peak of his ability, the special move he had been practicing for years: Red Riot Unbreakable. Every skin cell on his body became as hard as diamond. He could only hold this form for thirty to forty seconds, so he had to make this count. Instead of relying on a few tricks, he would bulldoze straight through to this enemy, just as All Might did.

He rushed the monster at full speed, which charged him likewise. At the last moment, he lunged out of the way of the monster's grasping hand and plowed his fist into its unprotected eyes. The monster lunged backwards, grabbing its face in pain. Kirishima seized his chance and attacked the monster's leg, which was disproportionately smaller and deformed compared to his other one. The monster fell to the floor in a great heap, and Kirishima, using every ounce of strength he had jumped towards the creature to finish it off, when it's giant hand grabbed him around the waist. Kirishima struggled as the creature began to squeeze him tightly. His unbreakable form wouldn't last much longer, and as soon as it failed he would be done for. He had to think quickly –

He heard something fly past his head, landing with a small "thud" on the creature. It turned away from Kirishima to investigate the noise when they both discovered an arrow sticking from its arm. A small device on the arrow shaft began to beep at a rapid pace before exploding in the monster's face. Kirishima saw the owner of the arrow, a tall man in a green hood standing behind him, his next round drawn and ready to fire.

"I'll distract him!" Said the man. "Stick him with this!" He threw a small syringe at Kirishima, who caught it effortlessly. As the man continued to fire arrows at the creature, Kirishima seized his chance and stabbed the syringe into the creature's hand that was still holding him. The creature dropped him and began to swoon. Immediately, he began to shrink, the knives protruding from his body were starting to retract. Soon, the man reverted back to his old self. He collapsed in a heap of blood and debris and fell into unconsciousness.

Kirishima stood and brushed himself off. The man in the hood approached him. "Are you all right?" He said.

"Yeah, thanks to you," Said Kirishima. "I gave it everything I had and barely held my own."

"You did better than you think," Said the Man, giving him an appraising look. "What's your name, kid?"

"Red Riot, sir," Said Kirishima, bowing.

"Green Arrow," Said the Man, bowing as well.

Kirishima stared in shock. "You - you're with the Justice League!"

"That's right," Said the Arrow. He then snapped his fingers. "You must be Midoriya's friend. He wasn't exaggerating when he said you were strong."

"He said that?" Said Kirishima.

"And then some," Replied the Arrow. He walked past Kirishima and over towards the unconscious criminal. He knelt down next to him and picked up the small red canister he injected himself with, inspecting it.

"What is that stuff?" Said Kirishima.

"Something very dangerous," Said the Arrow, placing the canister in his utility belt. "It wasn't supposed to have made it this far out of Gotham," he added, more to himself. He stroked his beard in thought before glancing at Kirishima.

"I'll need you to keep silent about this, kid," He said. "It's better people not know this stuff is out there."

"Y-yes, sir," Said Kirishima.

"Red Riot!" A voice came from behind them. Fatgum was running quickly towards the two heroes. "Are you okay, kid? Don't go runnin' off like that!"

"I'm sorry, sir," said Kirishima.

"He's better than okay," said the Man in the Hood. "This kid single-handedly took down this criminal. I've rarely seen such courage and fortitude."

"You don't say?" Said Fatgum. Suddenly his face lit up. "Hey, you're from the League! I've heard you guys just started setting up shop, but I thought you were in Musustafu. What are you doin' here?"

"Actually, I was coming here to meet with your agency," Said the Arrow. "The League is teaming up with several other agencies for a project, and we'd like to bring you in on it."

"A chance to work with the Justice League?" said Fatgum. "Whatever it is, I'm in!"

"Amajiki!" Said Kirishima as his senpai approached them. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine," said Amajik, covering his face with his hood. "But I cannot use my quirk."

"What?!" Said Kirishima, alarmed.

"Whatever that criminal shot me with is preventing me from using my quirk," Said Amajiki.

"Don't worry, it's not permanent," said the Arrow. "It'll wear off in a few hours."

"How do you know that?!" Said Fatgum.

"Because that's one of the things I came to discuss with you," Said the Arrow. "Let's get these kids to a hospital and head back to your agency. We have a lot to talk about."

Author's notes:

Hey everyone, I know it's been a few months, I apologize for the long hiatus. Things have been absolutely nuts, but I finished my masters degree and am working on a second one, but I hope to be more active here with Powerless and my other Story. My update schedule is still a little sporadic, but I'll let you know if I have to take another break.

Thank you for your comments and continued support!