Level eighty gave me an issue, a barrier that If I just busted, would probably alert the villains. I couldn't risk them killing anyone. Not with my mom in danger. But what choice did I have?
There was a door I hadn't seen in my rush up the stairs, but on high alert, it would probably let them know I'm here too. If that was the case, then it would be better to use it and not let them see my quirks full strength.
With no better options, I took the door, finding myself in a hall with gates that closed, leaving with the only choice being breaking through them, a set of metal doors looking as good as any other option I had as I ran towards them and kicked, a hole left where I'd hit it.
Inside was a filled to the brim with fauna of all kinds. It would have been beautiful to stop and look at, but I was in a hurry, spotting an elevator with numbers telling me it was coming up. But I wasn't afraid as I used float to hide above the elevator where they'd be unlikely to look, waiting for them to arrive.
As soon as the two men stepped out, I used black whip to bind them, but it didn't last long, a man with a long skinny neck using what looked like compressed air attacks, while the short, round man transformed into a hulking purple giant.
"I'm not going to play games with either of you. Either you stand down, or I'll beat you to near-death and use that elevator up." I warned, a puff of smoke leaving me in my bigger, more powerful form.
"That supposed to intimidate us!?" The purple giant asked, a soft sigh leaving me as I rushed at him, hitting him in the stomach so hard he stumbled back, the air knocked from his lungs, turning to the other one as he shot a wave of air out and canceling it out with a blast of air that overwhelmed his own and knocked him off his feet.
"I'm not using anywhere near my full power. Just pretend you're out cold or your graves will be." I joked grimly, laughing as the purple one ran at me, swinging wildly. It occurred to me that I'd never actually made it to a single one of my martial arts classes, but even I could hit with more accuracy than he was, before holding up my hand and catching his fist.
"I'm as strong if not stronger than All Might. That's not boasting either. He's told me that himself." I spoke softly, humming a little tune as I squeezed his fingers, hearing a crack before I threw him at his smaller friend as hard as I could.
After a few seconds, the purple man went flying off of his partner, limbs flailing until his unconscious body hit the wall, sliding down. I hoped he was just unconscious, at least, as I moved and connected my fist to the skinny man's jaw from the left, then hitting him with an uppercut that left him stumble, tiny cracking sounds coming from his mouth before he fell back crying out in pain.
"Stay down, or the next one shatters your jaw." I warned him, but he was stupid or brave and aimed a flurry of air attacks that didn't do much but have me cancel them out and stand above him furiously as I turned off all my quirks and straddled his chest, punching him until I could see specks of blood flying.
Taking a deep breath, I let myself be horrified for only a few seconds, getting up and walking over to the elevator. It didn't respond to anything I did, but it was a direct route upwards. At least if I couldn't take the easy way up, I could make one, floating up into the emergency exit and using black whip to keep me going straight and steady, flicks of air pushing me up.
It wasn't too long until I reached the top and used black whip to keep me steady as I floated in front of the closed doors, a sharp pain my head before I listened to instinct and got down, the doors exploding off their hinges and leaving a ringing in my ears.
Clamping down on my ears, I took a couple of deep breaths. Rest was for the wicked, and I was the hero here.
As I jumped up, a sea of glowing red sensors scanned me, little robots that reminded me of the ones from Galaxy Conflict.
"Robots? Seriously? This isn't even a good fight, just another hurdle in my way!" I called out, hoping whoever had taken the tower would hear me.
But if that's the case, there was a new neat trick I wanted to try, trying to use black whip inside my body pulling at the muscles and tendons within to further reinforce, hold them together, and strengthen them, which showed up as dark lines underneath my skin.
"Black whip- Overlay!" I yelled, powering up to my limit and going beyond what I normally could, rushing towards the robots and dodging nets, taser probes, and mechanical limbs as I hit them, destroying them one by one as I roared in anger.
I hated them. I hated the people who put my friends and family in danger. I hated these stupid fucking robots.
When all was said and done, I was surrounded by scrap and circuitry, and a man with pink hair made himself known.
"Stupid kids playing hero. You're the last one I need to round up." He told me, the weight of his sinking in. My friends were captured by these shit villains.
"You should kill yourself and save me the trouble." I told him, taking slow step towards him. He wasn't afraid, swords covering his arms before he closed the distance, aiming a slice that didn't do much, since I broke his sword and held his bare arm, leaving his arm bruised and bleeding.
"Cool. You're down to half a quirk. Wanna make it zero, or do you want to try and slow your descent?" I asked him, dragging him over to a wall and knocking a whole in it.
"Yo-You can't! You're supposed to be a hero!" He cried, but it didn't matter. He was a villain. A monster in a human disguise.
"No. I'm Atlas. I'm holding the world in my hands. Sometimes, the world needs purging to make the weight of the world easier to bear."
He sliced with his other arm, but it didn't matter, just smashing his blade into pieces, leaving this arm shattered.
"Oof. That sucks. Maybe someone will save you."
Dragging him to the edge, watching the fear on his face as I floated over the city, his cries filling me with something I couldn't help but enjoy, before I threw him inside, his head knocking against the wall, leaving him unconscious as I turned off black whip.
Almost there. I was almost there, and then this nightmare could end. But first, this guy couldn't be the final boss. No way he was.
As I approached the control room, I could hear talking, I heard David Shields voice. Had they taken him hostage?
"I was able to unlock it. Go to block 1147." He spoke, footsteps moving away from where I was listening.
"Okay. I'm opening it." Another man replied.
The sounds of mechanical locks, and then the unknown man spoke again.
"You did it, Professor. Everything is here."
"Yes, I've finally gotten it back." David told him, not sounding afraid. He sounded excited. Happy almost.
"This device and research data are the only things I would never give to anyone. I'll never give it up. Everything's going according to plan, isn't it?"
Plan? What plan?
Taking my phone out, I started recording the two of them.
"It looks like the villains are doing well, too."
"Thank you. It was all because you arranged everything for me, Sam."
What the hell did that mean? Were David Shield and this Sam guy responsible for the villains being here? Did they put my mother in danger?
"David." I called, stepping out from my hiding spot and putting my still recording phone in my pocket. "It's over. Whatever you had planned, whatever you've done, it's over. Hand the case over and end the lockdown."
David looked shocked for a moment, but he didn't move to end the lockdown any quicker.
"Now, Izuku, please, just listen. All Mights quirk levels have dropped. He's not the hero he used to be. But with this device, I can fix him. He'll be as good as he used to be. No, he'll be even better!" He tried to argue, but I buffed up and moved closer.
"He's old. He's nearing his retirement. Of course, he can't keep that power going forever. He's human. But that's the thing about symbols, they shift, and its up to the next generation to handle them. But of course, you don't see that. You're blinded by nostalgia. Guess I'll just beat the brakes off you both." I told them, a door opening as a man with brown hair and a metal mask stepped through, holding a gun.
"Forget it. I know you're just a hired gun. Stand down, and maybe I'll let you keep your mobility." I told him, as he aimed the gun at Sam and David.
"The case, Sam." He ordered, the fat man doing as he was told, snatching the case from David and running it the villain.
"This was your plan all along, wasn't it Sam?" David asked, and I watched it play out.
"You tricked me too! You let them take our research and device! We could have had fortune and fame! I deserve to be rewarded. Otherwise, my entire career was pointless." Sam argued, as the mystery villain took the case.
"Your reward, as discussed." He told the fat man, shooting him in the chest twice.
"No! He did as you told him!" I yelled, charging at the man and pulling my fist back, a full power shot to his face that was blocked by a chunk of metal before I snached the case and threw it across the room.
"Stay where you are, David! I'll deal with you next!" I screamed, hitting the villain as quickly and hard as I could, metal hitting me, pulling at my limbs, but I broke free and kept hitting him, the two of us locked in a stalemate, trying to get the one good hit on the other, but he seemed to be getting bigger, his muscles just seemed to grow. But his quirk shouldn't be able to do that. What kind of metal manipulation could do that?
"Two quirks? So, have you been in contact with him?" I asked him, getting a hit directly to his ribs and throwing him up to the ceiling.
"David! Turn off the high alert! We need All Might!" I cried, jumping up and following the villain. I couldn't win alone, but I wouldn't back down when so many people needed me.
"I am Japanese, but I'll fight for the world! It's my job as the future hero Atlas! I'll endure every hit, all the pain, and overcome anything you throw at me!" I yelled, shaking from anger, unable to control black whip as it fought against his metal, and I gained the upper hand.
"What!? Impossible!" He yelled, a loud screech and a pain in my head warning me as I jumped up and floating high above as a helicopter crashed into him in an explosion of metal and flame.
"Still alive in there dickhead!?" I called, just in time for the metal case to fly by, opening as he put the device inside on.
"Aw fuck." I managed to get out as I dodged giant pillars of metal, punching through them as fast as I can, but it wasn't enough to handle all by myself. I was going to die here. My story ended here.
Hit from the left, from below, the right, two pillars coming together and crushing me. It hurt so badly, but still, I hung on, trying to fight.
"Hands off of my boy!" I heard from far away, but how could that be if I could see the Symbol of Peace, rushing towards the villain?
There was a flame in my heart now, rekindled by All Might, and I stood shakily, wiping blood off the corner of my mouth. I endured.
"Deku!"
Izu-kun!"
"Midoriya!"
My friends. Of course, they came to help as soon as they could. They were true heroes after all.
"All Might and I are gonna need support! But it's okay now, because you are here!" I called to them, using black whip like I had before, enhancing my body and how much I could handle.
My feet moved, and I started running hard, next to All Might, and understanding past between the two of us.
"Double Detroit... Smash!" We called, bringing our fist back together as the villain made an enormous cube of metal.
"I'll bring down this entire tower!" He threatened, but it didn't matter, our fist connecting with the cube and giving it all we had, refusing to lose to someone so awful.
"With my friends cheering for us, their hope in us, I could feel that fire grow until it was consuming me now.
The cube cracked, and as the villain pushed, we pushed back, breaking it into small pieces and giving us a clear shot, the two of us jumping up and then coming down above him.
"Let's go..." I called, and All Might posed mid-air.
"Beyond! He yelled back as we got in range to hit him.
"Plus Ultra!" We called together, our fist drawn back in two full power punches, hitting him with everything we had.
As we fell back to the roof, I checked on All Might and made sure he was okay. Of course he was. Even weakened, he was still All Might.
"Is he... defeated?" I asked, taking two steps and coughing up blood. It hurt so badly. I wondered which bones I'd broken.
"You know, I heard it. When you came to my rescue." I told him, losing my buff form and falling to my knees.
"You called me "Your boy." I told him, turning my head and grinning up at him.
"Yes, well, you are, or you will be." He told me, offering me a hand up.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's true." I replied with a laugh that made me clench up in pain. My sides hurt, and I wanted to sleep forever, my wish partially granted as we made our way to my friends and David, who'd managed to get away injury free, all evidence of wrong-doing gone with my phone destroyed.
"Hey guys! Some party, huh?" I joked with a tired grin, exhaustion making my legs shake a little, but I forced myself to steady, a laugh the last thing I remember before the night became a blur of faces and places, and I got put in the hospital for broken ribs, lacerations all over my body, burns, and the slight hearing loss expected to make a return in a week or so.
"Hey, All Might? You ask her yet?" I asked the skinny twig of a man who sat next to my mother.
"Asked me what?" She questioned, looking at the two of us like we were insane. She hadn't gone anywhere for us to make plans.
"No, I haven't. There was this really crazy party, and it slipped my mind." He replied, and I gave him a nod.
"No party now. Just the three of us."
"No, you need rest, not excitement of any kind." He told me, but I pulled the covers over me a little more and sank into the bed.
"No excitement here, old man. Just do it."
He looked like he wanted to argue, but when would he be able to ask himself and not have All Might do it?
"Very well. But you should get some sleep after." He told me, getting out of his chair and on one knee.
"Inko, this is neither the time nor the place, but I ask you, take me as your husband." He told her, pulling out a ring box and opening it to a diamond ring that looked like it cost what our entire apartment building did.
"Oh, you silly man. Was there ever doubt I'd say no?" She asked him, laughing as she wiped tears from her eyes and and kissed his forehead, making him put the ring box away.
"Now get back in that chair. You're in no shape to be on one knee." She told him, alrrady back to worrying about him.
As they smiled and laughed softly, I fell asleep with them watching over me, feeling content with my lot in life.