USJ (Day)
"L.I.A.H.!" Dominic shouted. Before the villain's hand made contact with Asui's face, a fist-shaped indentation appeared on his stomach and launched him backwards at incredible speeds.
"What just happened?" Midoriya asked. He couldn't even see what happened.
"L.I.A.H.." Dominic said, getting out of the artificial lake. "You could call it another part of my Quirk. It's hard to explain, but it basically uses the heat in living beings to throw them around." he lied. "Now if you excuse me, I have something I need to do."
'What the hell was that!?' Shigaraki asked himself, pulling himself off the ground. 'I couldn't see it, but it felt like I was punched in the gut. What kind of Quirk does that kid have!?" He felt a sort of primal fear as the blonde slowly walked towards him, sword in his hand. "Kurogiri, get rid of this guy!"
"As you wish." the portal villain said, wanting to keep his charge safe. He knew how dangerous the infamous Crimson Vigilante was. If Shigaraki tried attacking him directly, the man would surely be killed. "You may have had a fortunate life thus far, but that streak of luck will soon come to an end. Goodbye."
Just like that, a portal appeared underneath Dominic, pulling him in. "You know, against any other opponent, this tactic might have worked." he said as his lower body up to his waist was engulfed in shadow. "But you've made a grave mistake using it on me. Unlike most others in this world, I have nothing to lose by doing THIS!" Dominic's waist began to glow bright red before an explosion was triggered, covering everything around him in smoke. After a few seconds, a beam of red light shot out from the top of the smoke cloud, then crashed down in front of the portal villain.
"What!? How did he-!?" Kurogiri wondered aloud. He stopped abruptly when he saw what was in front of him. Dominic was on the ground with his legs missing, replaced with a puddle of magma.
Behind his mask, the blonde was breathing heavily. "I've explained this so many times, yet it seems nobody has gotten the hint yet." he explained as flames erupted from his waist. "So, I'll explain one final time, so it sinks in." The flames condensed into a physical form, transforming into new legs. His clothes and armor also reappeared. "My Quirk is Volcano. I have complete and total control over flames and minerals, including those inside my own body. If I need to, I can jettison parts of myself to escape from tough situations." With a grunt, he stood up with his cloak of fire flowing behind him. "And for defense, I can repair myself by creating new stone to replace my lost body parts. Even if you bisect me, or even rip out my heart or brain, so long as even the smallest spark of my soul remains, I will always come back."
Shigaraki remained silent for a few moments. "So, you claim to be invincible, then? Just as cocky as I expected from a hero student. Nomu, kill him!" On his command, the hulking beast ran at top speed towards the blonde, completely ignoring Aizawa.
"Yarararara! So, this is your secret weapon, eh?" Dominic asked with a smile. He raised his sword to the beast, swinging at the exact moment it threw a punch. To his surprise, Nomu actually managed to withstand the full brunt of Scarlet Showstopper, taking minimal damage.
Scarlet Showstopper was a weapon that, in the past, was able to cleave through glaciers as if they were paper. Granted, most of that was attributed to the immense heat the sword was always emitting. But the weight of the blade itself combined with Dominic's inherent strength was also a big contributor. For anything to withstand that, it would need to have a Quirk that enhanced physical defense.
Dominic knew it wasn't completely invulnerable. Nothing was. Memories of a golden dragon laying lifeless on the ground were a reminder of this. So, he knew that, logically, there was a way to beat Nomu. It may not have taken a lot of damage from his initial attack, but that didn't mean it took no damage. If he kept swinging, eventually he'd land the winning blow.
'So, no matter what, I can't stop my assault. I have to win.' he told himself as he ran towards his opponent. In the corner of his eye, he could see Aizawa's limp body. So, with all the strength he could muster, he raised his sword and slashed repeatedly. Nomu met the attack with a flurry of punches, matching Dominic's speed and almost surpassing his strength. Feeling overwhelmed, the boy used his secret weapon once again. "L.I.A.H.!" Nomu was surrounded in a blue light visible only to Dominic. As soon as he saw it, the boy leapt forward and put his hand on the monster's exposed brain, then caused an explosion that ripped it to shreds.
To his utter shock, Nomu was still able to grab his arms and tear them off. Screaming in anger, Dominic tried regenerating his arms before he was punched into the ground. All while Nomu's brain was putting itself back together.
"A useless attempt." Shigaraki said. "Nomu's Quirk is Regeneration. You could fry him in acid, and he'd still survive. Unlike you, however, he has no limits."
Running on sheer anger, Dominic pulled himself out of the ground. "Thanks for telling me that." he said with a manic grin. "Now when I crush him, it'll feel even better!" Four man-sized fireballs appeared around the blonde, orbiting him. "Execution Blast!" he shouted. The fireballs all launched themselves at Nomu, colliding with his giant body.
Unlike Atonement Blast, Execution Blast packed enough power to instantly boil a person's blood if they were hit with it. Despite that, it only stunned Nomu.
"Okay, this is getting on my nerves." Dominic griped. He was playing it off, but he didn't have a lot of energy left. And if he tried getting rid of Nomu for good, that would only land him in prison, even if it was in self-defense. "It may have tough skin, but it's still able to be cut. But with just one weapon, I don't see how..." As he said this, he noticed shards of broken glass on the floor. Having a realization, he turned his head to the gigantic dome surrounding the USJ. "Now there's an idea." he said with a grin.
During the battle, Midoriya, Asui, and Mineta were transporting Aizawa's body back to the entrance. As they got further away from the conflict, Midoriya could hear the subtle noise of something cracking. Then it got louder. And louder. Before long, it became a cacophony that everyone in the USJ was subject to. Looking up, the boy saw that the glass dome was glowing bright red as it cracked.
'I really hope Iida gets here with the teachers soon.' Dominic thought to himself as he willed the entire dome to shatter. He then expended his power, telekinetically launching all the shards at Nomu. Even the beast's regeneration did nothing to remove the shards from its body, especially the ones that pierced its brain or heart.
"No! No! No!" Shigaraki yelled. "Nomu, MOVE!" The man turned his gaze to Dominic, filled with resentment. "How did you stop Nomu!? He's supposed to be stronger than All Might!"
"I haven't stopped it yet." Dominic said as he raised his arm, preparing for one final attack. He punched the ground, causing white smoke to appear. The smoke stretched from him to Nomu, forming streaks of light that almost looked like snakes. They swirled together, forming a circle, and while Nomu was entranced, Dominic crushed him with it, causing him to vanish into thin air. When he looked at the faces of the villains, he relished in how surprised they looked. "What? You thought you were the only one who knew how to make Portals?"
Shigaraki didn't know why, but he felt as though he was closer to death now than he'd ever been before. This boy clad in armor, he was far more dangerous than he'd originally assumed. How the hell did he have Kurogiri's Quirk!?
"Yararara! If you still want to fight, be my guest!" Dominic said, hoping they'd flee. "It's been a while since I've had a good brawl!" Kurogiri had heard enough. He created a portal and sent both himself and Shigaraki through, letting Dominic collapse. "That was close. I don't know how much longer I could've held on." Releasing his power, another Portal opened in the air above him, dropping Nomu's limp body on the ground. As he suspected, it didn't move a single muscle.
A few moments later, All Might and the other teachers arrived. "Is everyone okay!?" the top hero asked. Looking at where Iida told him the villains were, he saw Dominic laying down before some sort of bird monster that was motionless.
"Don't worry about me." the boy said weakly. "Thirteen and Aizawa need medical assistance." After saying that, he passed out.
"So, this was Xiao-Long's doing?" All Might asked himself as he looked around the battlefield. There were signs of several explosions having been set off, with much of the ground having been burned black.
Just what kind of monster did Tsukauchi take in?
USJ (Day)
All of the students were looked over by medical professionals after the incident. After roughly a half-hour, Dominic woke up to see Tsukauchi in front of him.
"You doing okay, kid?" the detective asked.
"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Dominic answered as he removed his helmet. "So, I'm guessing you're not just here for me."
"Yeah, I'm typically called in for these kinds of cases." Tsukauchi explained. "What happened to the thing on the ground?"
"Nomu, some sort of living weapon that was supposed to kill All Might." Dominic explained. "It took even me a bit of time to beat."
Tsukauchi thought about that for a bit. Later, he did a headcount to make sure everyone was accounted for. "Looks like nobody got any major injuries. That doesn't usually happen in these kinds of situations."
"Well, Xiao-Long lost his legs." Midoriya pointed out, surprising the detective.
"Don't worry, it was only for a few seconds." Dominic said, waving it off. "And I've been through far worse than losing my legs."
"If you don't mind me asking, how good is your healing?" Midoriya asked, curious.
"Like I said back in the USJ, I am able to recreate any body part I may lose in battle." The blonde explained, stretching his legs. "This usually happens on instinct however, completely out of my control. You could think of it as mitosis."
"What does cell division have to do with this?" Kirishima asked.
"Think about it." Dominic said, raising a finger. "Just like how organic cells multiply to replace old tissue, my body will replace anything it can't use anymore. Even if I'm reduced to almost nothing, my body will come back, good as new."
"Geez, what kind of crazy life do you have, Xiao-Long!?" Mineta asked, his face pale.
'I've felled beasts far larger than myself pretty much every other week.' Dominic thought to himself, memories coming to the front of his mind. "Heh. I guess I'm just unlucky."
"Or you're full of it." Bakugo commented.
Dominic turned to his classmate, keeping a straight face. "Yarara. Whether or not you believe me is up to you." the boy said. Truthfully, it'd be better if his words weren't taken to heart. After all, who could believe that an ordinary high-schooler was powerful enough to strike down even a beast powerful enough to wipe out a whole planet with a single attack.
That fight still gave him nightmares.
"By the way, Tsukauchi." Dominic said, looking at the detective. "Don't bother interrogating Nomu."
"What? Why?" the man asked.
"My power gives me a special connection to everything heat-related." the blonde explained. "Because of this, I'm able to sense a person's body temperature if I'm close enough to them."
"And what does that have to do with anything?" Bakugo asked.
"Ordinarily, when an animal attacks, if out of hunger or self-defense, its blood rate goes up and its body temperature is raised." Dominic said. "This is true for humans too, regardless of what kind of Quirk you have. But Nomu was different. Even when he was fighting, punching so fast I couldn't track his movements, his body temperature remained stagnant. It was like fighting a robot."
"So, you're saying he was totally mindless?" Tsukauchi asked, trying to see if he was hearing the boy right.
"Yeah." Dominic said, still unnerved by the revelation. "Since he only moved when ordered by that hand guy, Shigaraki, someone might've used a Quirk on him that limited his cognitive function. Made it so he couldn't do anything unless a designated person gave him orders. I hope this helps narrow down who's responsible."
"Thank you, Xiao-Long." Tsukauchi said, keeping this information in mind.
USJ (Day)
"Good to see you, Tsukauchi." All Might said to his friend. The two of them were standing in front of Nomu as it lay motionless on the ground.
"Good to see you as well, Toshinori." Tsukauchi said with a smile. "I can tell you have something on your mind. What is it?"
"It's about Xiao-Long." All Might admitted. "How certain are you of his backstory being legitimate?"
"Well, I asked him pretty straightforward questions. Where he lived, how he came to Japan, etcetera." the detective explained. "Why do you ask?"
"He copied a villain's Quirk." All Might said, silencing his friend. "Midoriya, Asui, and Mineta said they witnessed young Xiao-Long create a portal of smoke after seeing one of the leading villains do the same thing. And looking back at the security tapes... His choice of words unnerved me." The man remained silent for a few moments. "If you don't mind, could you ask him about how his portal creation works?"
"Of course. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if this was another weird aspect of his Quirk." Tsukauchi said.
Portal Creation
An ability that both Kurogiri and Dominic share. The main difference is that Dominic was not born with this power, it was something he gained after training with a certain man. And while Kurogiri is able to travel through his own portals without issue, Dominic cannot without taking serious damage.