Izuku exhaled through his teeth, the living image of someone pushed far beyond their breaking point. Few people had seen him like that, one of them already dead, but this stranger didn't seem to care all that much.
"Let. Go." Izuku's voice was low, his very aura murderous and his pupils just tiny dots lost in an ocean of green. It was one of the few times he looked just like Stain, although they weren't related by blood.
The stranger just smiled politely.
"No."
Izuku took the scalpel from the floor in one swift motion and stabbed down on the dark hand around his forearm, but the blade didn't meet its mark despite the force behind it. Instead, an equally large hand stopped him, thumb and index finger daintily holding Izuku's hand with no effort. There was no intent to do so, not that he could see, but his pinky cracked under the pressure regardless. A dark spot on the man's face grew and shifted over his eyes and Izuku felt a shiver of familiarity run up his spine even when he didn't recognize the man from anywhere.
Morse let out a strangled scream and Izuku turned to see her crumpled figure on the ground. They hadn't been that close to the explosion, but it'd been big enough to knock them all back a good few feet. She'd landed on her face, fresh blood staining the crumpled curtain around her face. Hara was cradling his arm as he attempted to stand, panic flashing in his eye, and Curious was smiling as Stain swung his katana at a newcomer, clearly attempting to reach Izuku, but was promptly sent flying backward as the person exploded.
Briefly, the image of blonde hair and cruel red eyes flooded his mind, but his brain managed to stay focused on what mattered.
"You've caused us enough unnecessary deaths as it is, Disciple," The man holding him spoke, his smile replaced by the stern frown of a parent that truly believes discipline can be drilled in by force. "So you'll stop this at once."
"Screw you, you fake," Izuku spat venomously.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," The man swiftly turned Izuku around, wrapping an arm around his neck and easily lifting him off the ground. Izuku's eyes met with wild red ones and his injured hand was twisted easily, making him drop his scalpel. The world seemed to stop moving as Izuku felt the air slowly getting crushed out of his lungs by a steadily growing arm and Stain just watched in rage, hair wild and pant leg scorched.
"Now, Hero Killer. Make a move and I kill him." This man's authority was very different from that of Stain's; His mentor was wild and loud, like fire and brimstone, while this man spoke with the steadiness of a rock in the ocean. Izuku could tell by the tone that this man was not only used to being respected but also had the confidence to think he deserved said diligence.
"You'd dare try and order me around?" Stain asked slowly, eyes wide in a crazed expression. Still, he didn't move.
"Would it not be entirely out of character to put your apprentice in danger?" Slowly, the enemy reinforcements started to surround them.
There was a long moment of silence. Stain's eyes stayed on the man's face but Izuku knew that he was looking at him in his peripheral. Morse was trembling, rocking back and forth and hitting the ground rhythmically in an attempt to stay calm. Hara's eye was wide with terror, his legs tensed as if he was considering making a run for it even when he was in no position to even try. Izuku exhaled painfully, his mind reeling in exhaustion as he tried to find a solution to a puzzle with mostly missing pieces.
What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to fight? He was weak. Stain had made that very clear, yes, but he was also stubborn, so he settled for trying to kick the man holding him to free himself. That earned him a disgustingly sweet look from Curious and a chuckle from his new captor.
"So? Are we in accord?" The man seemed to notice that his point wasn't getting across, so he applied more force into both of his arms. Just as his hands seemed to be able to change sizes, the arm around Izuku's neck grew in tandem with the pressure around his hand. His head was forced to the side and his jaw clenched when he realized that he couldn't even swallow, let alone breathe. He tried to keep his composure, but one of his knuckles was finally forced to bend backward and he let out a choked sound, blinking rapidly to try and keep his expression neutral.
Stain's eyes flicked towards his protégé's face, chest heaving as he exhaled through his teeth, and the stranger smiled again.
"Your death cannot graze this world soon enough," Stain hissed, lowering himself slightly.
"Oh?" The stranger hummed. Electricity filled the air, and Hara's eye flicked from one person to another in a terror only contained by what seemed to be planning. Morse fought against herself as she peeked out from under her covers, her eyes squinted so harshly that it didn't even seem like they were open. It wasn't the middle of the day, but it was still very bright, and a few blocks away there was the sound of destruction.
"Grand Commander?" Curious asked. Izuku's mind immediately linked the stranger to an identity and he choked as he tried to exhale. Stain's eyes flashed as the teen's body reacted to the pressure on his windpipe, hollow coughs attempting to break through the blockade. It was a reaction Izuku couldn't control and his apologetic eyes seemed to wound Stain somehow, but Izuku couldn't see that past the darkness creeping in as his brain lost oxygen. He reached for his secondary weapon, but that was brutally shaken off along with the rest of his strength. His hand clawed at the arm pathetically, doing no damage.
"I understand wanting to protect your own, Hero Killer," Re-Destro started.
"Do not assume you comprehend me, you fake," Stain growled, but the man choking Izuku was undeterred and continued.
"But I cannot allow any more discourse occurring on my property. Curious?" The woman stood straighter, beaming as she was called.
"Yes?" Her happy tone didn't strike Izuku as one of blind fanaticism, but more as one of true admiration, and that… scared him, somehow. Or maybe he was just scared of being strangled to death, his head pounding and his skin flushed.
"Deal with them for a minute, will you? Geten is sure to be done soon."
Stain moved like a flash, his figure a blur to Izuku's watering eyes. Izuku was twisted out of the way, the hand crushing his letting go and striking forth in a wide, dramatic arch. Izuku could feel Re-Destro's body shift behind him, muscles tensing and expanding and he heard the sound of metal shattering before he was hoisted away, so far away from the ground and his mentor and friends.
"Stain!" Izuku gurgled, his voice an indistinguishable croak that wasn't heard past the wind and the explosions that soon set off far behind him. Just as Stain had carried him like luggage when they met that second time, the same way he'd been taken from roof to roof as if he weighed nothing, Izuku was carried like a ragdoll to some location his blurred sight wasn't able to comprehend as he started to lose consciousness. The feeling of vertigo invaded him and, when he was released and tossed aside like garbage, he promptly threw up bile. He coughed and sputtered and inhaled violently, vulnerable but left alone for the time it took him to get his senses back. It hurt to breathe but he took in air greedily.
"I'm sure Curious mentioned this, but I was opposed to you being kept alive for so long," Re-Destro said, his polite smile only reaching his eyes when he spoke of the other woman. "Hopefully she'll agree to keep her projects shorter after this."
Izuku's response was a shaky inhale and a glare. They seemed to be on the outskirts of town, with no big buildings near them except for the one they were standing on. The tallest building he could see, the one where he assumed he'd been kept, looked far too small for Izuku's liking and he knew immediately that he'd never be able to make it back on his own with this man behind him.
He needed Stain, just like he always did.
"I intended on asking you a few things, Midoriya. Though I assume you're probably tired of questions at this point, right?"
"...I thought you wanted me dead." Izuku shot back, weighing his options. Re-Destro looked back at him with a contemplative look, hands placed respectfully by his chest as if he was gonna make an offer. Curious had mentioned that this man had become interested in him just an hour prior, but the nature of that interest was still a mystery to him. Did he have a sick, morbid curiosity like the blue-skinned woman? Or was it something more serious? Would he be able to engage this man in the conversation for as long as he had managed with his other captor? How much time would he even need?
"I admit, I did. Your popularity was becoming a growing pain for us and I saw no purpose in postponing the inevitable."
"The inevitable?" Izuku swallowed the knot in his throat painfully, still feeling like he was getting strangled.
"You and your group have to be removed, Midoriya. One way or another."
Izuku let out a sarcastic laugh, spitting on the ground. Re-Destro looked displeased but he didn't verbally criticize it.
"You'd remove a righteous cause just because your numbers aren't rising as fast as you'd like? Or did you fear that an honest purpose would outshine your hollow one?"
Re-Destro's eyes darkened and Izuku became overtly aware of the fact that he was unarmed, famished, and wounded.
"Your fanatic pursues of justice might have a solid base, but do not compare the actions of a serial killer with the necessary liberation of an entire population."
"What did y–"
"Allow me to ask you something, Midoriya." Re-Destro interrupted, his tone impossibly serious. Izuku opened his mouth to tell him off, but the words died when the man's hand stretched and grew and picked him up by the shirt violently. He was dangling over the edge of the roof in an instant and he hated the fact that he held onto the arm for dear life on pure instinct. The drop was at least 10 stories high; he wouldn't make it if he got thrown.
"You've said enough, Midoriya. I've seen all your interviews," The man said as he walked closer, the arm's length morphing so that Izuku was kept in place over the abyss. "I believe it is my time to say a few things."
"...Why would you want to talk?" Izuku asked tentatively.
"The same reason I made you my last offer in the first place," Re-Destro said, "You've piqued my interest."
Izuku swallowed. His feet swayed and his hands shook and he tightened his hold on the fabric of Re-Destro's jacket. It was stripped and soft to the touch, only dirtied where Izuku's hands gripped it desperately. It felt expensive and highly resistant and Izuku reasoned that it was probably tailored and made of something weird as it managed to adapt to the ginger's shapeshifting. An intrusive thought told him that his shirt was bound to rip eventually, the cloth cheap and worn, and then there would be nothing anchoring him to solid ground anymore. He felt himself bouncing off the ground below, broken and dead, but he did his very best to push all that away.
It'd be a cruel end, but not as bad as waking up back in the white room.
Dull green eyes examined the teen's expression, the dark spots on his face settling in the left temple.
"Do you happen to remember what line you quoted from Destro's work during your interviews?"
Izuku blinked, thousands of words and sentences flooding his mind. He childishly yearned for his book and his nightlight and a tiny whimper lodged in his throat, thankfully not making itself heard. It took him a moment to reconnect the events of the past days in order, to find the words and the pages he was looking for. Re-Destro showed no signs of being tired, but Izuku did fear that the man could grow bored and drop him, so he tried to be as quick as possible.
"The blade of will gets its edge from morality."
"From what part of the book?"
"...The very beginning. 'Articles of Necessary–"
"–Necessary Liberation'" Re-Destro smiled, saying that last part along with Izuku. He looked proud of the teen, though not in the way Stain would, and Izuku wanted to kick him in the nose.
"And just one word wrong. Not bad, Midoriya."
Re-Destro was met with icy silence but smiled regardless.
"I think, Midoriya, that you found something in that book that most of our members find; a calling."
Izuku's eyes narrowed.
"I already have one."
"Ah yes, the Hero Killer's creed. I will admit that your behest to hold your mentor's words in high regard is admirable. But you do not truly believe that your… 'movement' if you will, will change the status quo, do you?"
"It already is. I doubt I'd be here otherwise."
"What you and your group are bringing forth, is chaos. You are breaking things without taking the time to build anew."
"That's not–"
"Death for the sake of death will never bring anything but destruction." Re-Destro shook him and Izuku bit his tongue by accident. "Life is a precious, invaluable thing. Taking it and using it without reason is against everything we believe in here."
"Then why send so many people after us when you knew we were killing them?"
"They sacrificed themselves for the greater cause. They knew our revolution was important and they gave their lives up for it because they were noble men and women."
Izuku stared at the man holding him, quite literally, in the palm of his hand. He remembered the first time he'd been attacked by people from the MLA, the night he'd had to fight that porcupine mutant in the forest as they tried to record his interview, and he remembered Medusa from the day he'd been taken. They'd all used that word, sacrifice, when speaking to him and he recalled being completely lost as to what they could mean. But now something odd clicked in his mind, something that he found quite disgusting, and he almost lost the strength in his limbs. A few blocks down, the sky was painted a bright cerulean and an intense shiver went up Izuku's spine. His broken fingers cracked as his hand let go slightly and white-hot pain flashed in his eyes. For a moment, a long few seconds, his mind filled with a familiar static. Words and shadows and white walls crawled into his mind's eye like demons from hell and Izuku's head tilted to the side like a confused puppy; except, his eyes didn't show confusion. His face was oddly unreadable and his green eyes shone with days upon days of anger, helplessness, and fortitude. Re-Destro had the gall of giving him a pitying look.
"I do not expect you to understand, Midoriya. You've been misguided and you've lived in a world so very different from mine. But you've shown a willingness to learn, to unchain yourself from the hollow philosophy that sinks you to the bottom. You can be free, Midoriya, and be part of something better. People lik–"
"Beware those who say their actions are for the sake of others while never seeing the suffering they cause," Izuku recited, knowing that he was getting more than one word wrong but remembering the message of the words with sharp precision. "They are tyrants."
Re-Destro's eyes widened a fraction, dull green meeting electrified emerald.
"You're right that I am willing to learn, and the book Curious gave me enlightened me far more than I would have expected. I read it about ten times, altogether. You know what follows that line, right.? Those who would take away the freedom of the innocent, these are the people who I fight,"
"I remember."
"You know where I read that? I read and memorized that down in a cell, with nothing but the screams of your prisoners to keep me company."
Re-Destro's eyes lowered, his grip on Izuku tightening. But there was no self-awareness in the shame that the man showed and Izuku's jaw tightened.
"You speak of sacrifice while sitting away from the grime and the blood in your fancy suit, in your ivory tower."
"You know nothing, Midoriya Izuku," Re-Destro's tone was filled with sadness, but the edge of the threat was felt by the teen.
"Oh, I know more than enough. I learned and took in so much that I even started to believe that maybe, maybe, your revival of this old fight was for something. Maybe you did have some moral base for what you did. But then I spoke those words you were so proud of, those words you say your glorious uprising revolves around, and your co-commander didn't even recognize them." Izuku spat the last part with enough venom to kill a thousand men. The mark on Re-Destro's face expanded and darkened.
"And when you found yourselves under attack, what happened? You left us down there, in the dark, to wait for you to start torturing an innocent girl to make use of her quirk as a defense system. Like a means to an end, a martyr you forced into being."
"Sacrifices must be made in the name of the grand revolution,"
"They don't care about you or your fellow men, they merely see you as pawns to be disposed of,"
"Do not twist my ancestor's pure words against me!" The dark mask fully enveloped the man's face, teeth bared and tears streaming down his cheeks. There was something about the open vulnerability that made Izuku feel twice as offended as before and his expression turned just as vicious, a mirror of emotion and loss of control.
"You seem to be doing that mighty well on your own, you fake!"
Izuku was held up higher, Re-Destro's other arm pulling back to give a full-powered swing. The darkness on Re-Destro's face moved on his skin like ink on water, the stains going down his neck and into every visible inch of skin. The arm getting ready to strike grew and elongated to the point where the suit's arm ripped into non-existence and Izuku knew he was done for. He suspected the blow would be equal to or worse than getting hit by a car and for his very last thought, Izuku's mind settled on the car accident he'd seen with Stain all those months ago. The fist came at him all at once, the speed almost enough to compete with the white and red blur that flew past Izuku and towards the incoming hit.
No, not past Izuku.
Through him.
A hand wrapped around Izuku's shoulder and a pristine white boot impacted the monstrous fist, and the sound was indeed that of a car colliding against something rock solid. Both momentums canceled each other out and Izuku half believed that the world had stopped spinning, everything going too still to be real. Re-Destro's eyes were wide behind his natural mask. The newcomer was broad and strong looking, with blonde hair and a dashing, confident smile to boot. He looked happy to be there and the expression left Izuku breathless. Well, not just that. The young blonde's cape was naturally lagging behind its owner and Izuku could now confirm that the fabric was flowing right through his chest as if he wasn't there at all. A phantom pain filled his chest, all mental, he knew, as the tension between the other two started to fracture.
It was a small crack at first, an inch of movement in the blonde's favor, before the kick's power obliterated that of the other hit at the speed of a blink. With the power of an explosion, Re-Destro was sent flying backward and off the roof, the floor beneath his feet smashing into dust from the sheer force of the impact. Izuku exhaled in awe as the stranger landed on the roof graciously with Izuku's shoulder still in his gloved grasp. When Izuku's legs threatened to give out, the other teen steadied him.
"Careful there, we don't need you falling on your own," The blonde smiled, navy blue eyes sparkling.
Izuku just kinda stared at him, feeling just the way he did when he was attacked by Eraser Head; Was this an enemy or an ally? The uniform was that of a hero despite the boy's apparent age, and it seemed obvious that no person working for the MLA would so openly attack their leader, but he didn't exactly know what that all meant in the end. Was the added threat of pros a hindrance to their escape, or was the new variable just what they needed as a distraction? But–
"You're a thinker, huh?" The other boy gave him a cheeky smile and Izuku realized he'd been murmuring. Fuck. "That's fine. Pretty in think, right?"
"...Heh?"
"I… Ah, there goes my delivery!" And he laughed and Izuku felt beyond lost. But he didn't have much time to think about it.
A dark hand came over the edge of the roof, grip destroying the structure like it was made of cardboard. The young hero rolled his shoulders and raised his fists and Izuku readied for battle. In reality, he knew he stood no chance of fighting either person on his own, but he'd be damned if he didn't at least look ready to strike. Re-Destro pulled himself back up with a frown, pale eyes examining the new threat with a level of consideration and precaution that he had not shown Izuku.
Right in the pride, but he couldn't dwell on it.
"Sorry for the interruption, but I'm here to rescue this one." The blonde nodded toward him and Izuku's mind started working. Was this teen with Stain, or was this like Eraser Head? Stain would have surely mentioned an alliance, so he doubted the first one.
"And who might you be?"
"Lemillion's the name."
"And why is a young pro attempting to spare a killer, Lemillion? If you don't mind my asking."
"Well, it wouldn't be very hero-like if I let you kill him, would it?" Oh, this one was weird. But a nice weird. It'd been a while since a stranger had stuck up for him.
…Actually, had that ever happened before? A stranger siding with him even after his multiple fuckups?
Re-Destro smiled, his brow hiding his eyes.
"Very admirable, but unnecessary. I won't stand back,"
"Well," Lemillion shrugged, shoulders squared. "Guess that makes two of us."
There was a brief moment of silence. Lemillion seemed to be waiting for the other man to make the first move but without Re-Destro's eyes visible, it was hard to know what the other man was thinking.
"Don't worry, I'll stick by you like glue," Lemillion whispered to Izuku and the teen swallowed. He held his breath, waiting for someone to do something just to have all the air knocked from his lungs once the action started.
Re-Destro launched his right hand forward, palm the size of a truck and Izuku found himself getting picked up like a bride by Lemillion, who promptly threw him up to avoid the attack. The hero phased through Re-Destro's arm, twirled, and landed a harsh kick to the man's elbow that sent the whole arm flying to the side. Izuku got caught easily and was sent sliding along the floor next to avoid another swing coming from above, the concrete smashing into smithereens and revealing the floors below. Lemillion seemed to go down with the hit, but he popped back up a few feet away and easily landed a heavy punch to Re-Destro's face. The teen's strength was inhuman and, despite his steadily growing frame, the other man was sent back as if he were nothing. Lemillion smiled through it all.
"That's a wonderful Meta Ability you have. Trained to perfection," Re-Destro commented as he stumbled back, Lemillion landing by Izuku easily.
"I think I have quite the ways to go still, but thanks!" Lemillion grinned, eyes bright like stars.
"You do seem very dependant on your surroundings though,"
"Unless you can fly, I'd say the same of you."
Izuku felt so much like an extra in this situation, like it didn't even matter that he was there. To be fair, it probably only mattered in the sense that he needed to be protected, making the fight more difficult for the pro; not that he seemed to be struggling at all, mind you. Up until now, Stain had been adamant about the fact that Izuku didn't need a quirk to fight. His training had never focused on it and, to a certain point, Izuku hadn't needed one. He had speed and dexterity and he tended to predict others' movements just in time to save his own ass. Back at the League's headquarters, he'd held his own, he'd assisted Stain before that without messing up too badly, and had survived Hosu against all odds even when pitted against Kacchan. But right now, getting juggled around the hits of a titan, Izuku realized that powerful quirks put people in a league of their own. He had no place in this conflict, just like he'd had no chance against the sludge villain that had set this whole chaotic endeavor in motion.
He was helpless. And he felt as such.
Lemillion landed a vicious punch on his challenger's face, the cracking noise indicating that at least some bone had fractured, and Re-Destro's skin pulsated with tones as dark as his expression.
"I'll give it to you, Midoriya. What you lack in strength, you make up for with your ability to sway strong individuals to your side."
Izuku narrowed his eyes, glancing at Lemillion with discomfort. The other man was smiling defiantly, fists raised and at the ready. Izuku felt… conflicted, but he tried not to show it.
"But I tire of watching you lure promising people to fight your battles," Re-Destro growled. He clasped his hands together as his fists grew and he raised them high above his head with a frown.
"This ends here," The man said, his next movement clear even before he finished preparing to smash the ground beneath them. Lemillion stepped back, ready to grab Izuku before Re-Destro even had the time to strike, but then–
"As disgusting as I find it, I agree," Stain's voice rang out to the right, and Izuku had to fight the urge to run towards the sound. The door to the roof was wide open, revealing his mentor and Curious, the woman bloodied and with a blade pressed against her throat. "This is over."
Something terrible flashed behind Re-Destro's eyes but it was quickly replaced with genuine worry and Izuku swallowed.
"Release her, Hero Killer," Re-Destro warned, but Stain looked thoroughly unimpressed. He pulled Curious' hair roughly to expose more of her jugular and she whimpered, shoulders shaking as she tried to free her hands from behind her back, where they were probably tied up. That alone got a visible reaction out of the man, but Stain only smiled cruelly.
"Hand over my student and I shall consider it."
"This is not up to negotiation," Re-Destro shouted, upset. Stain looked like a man ready to burn the world down and Izuku took a step forward. Lemillion grabbed his arm to hold him back and Stain's red gaze flicked towards them.
"G-Grand Commander, you can finish the mission without worry." Curious said vehemently, speaking even when Stain cut her neck slightly. "I know what this means to our cause. My sacrifice is a willing one."
"How very loyal," Stain mocked, "You train them well."
"Your deal means nothing, Hero Killer. We are all but a means to an end. You cannot end a revolution by killing the individual."
"Oh?" Stain hummed, raising a brow sarcastically. Curious only had eyes for Re-Destro, her honest admiration for her superior almost palpable. Re-Destro looked sure of himself, his smile wide. Stain's smile morphed into a disgusting grin, tongue passing over his top teeth languidly.
"Then I suppose there's no point to holding onto her." Stain licked the side of Curious' face from top to bottom, her eyes widening in pure shock before her head dropped as every muscle in her body lost strength. With the disregard for human life that only comes easily to men with horrifying backgrounds, the Hero Killer shoved his prey to the side with enough power to force her past the edge of the roof and Curious disappeared in a blur of blue, lilac, and white. Re-Destro's panicked expression was only visible for the fraction of a second that it took the man to understand what was happening and then he too was gone as he bolted after Curious.
Stain rushed towards Izuku, eyes narrowed as Lemillion pulled him back further. Izuku was just relieved to see his mentor and he smiled even as he struggled to free himself from the blonde's grasp.
"Stain! Thank God you're okay!"
Izuku's smile didn't falter as two knives were thrown his way, both projectiles seamlessly passing through Lemillion's face and flying off the roof. Stain's eyes flashed and Izuku was pulled back further, though very clearly not as any type of shield.
"Let him go," Stain warned, not a crumb of patience in his eyes.
"...No can do," Izuku attempted to elbow the blonde in the chin, but his arm just phased through in a way that made him shiver. There was nothing natural about the sight.
"You should have taken more precautions, Hero Killer," Re-Destro hissed as he climbed back over the ledge once more. Curious was cradled against his chest, arm and torso a more normal size to keep her comfortable, and he held her there as he sneered at Izuku and his mentor. "Or at the very least you should have had a backup plan."
Lemillion shoved Izuku behind him without letting go of his arm, his stance tense. Stain only narrowed his eyes, not giving Re-Destro the light of day.
"You rushed, came here alone in your desperation, and let go of your one bargaining chip. A man like you could never lead the future; I was right to want you gone–"
Re-Detro's eyes widened and Stain smiled, his eyes shadowed as he tilted his head down. The smile grew as Re-Destro took a step back, blood cascading down onto the ground and staining his clothes a deep crimson. Jutting out of his torso was the handle of a serrated knife, a light blue hand gripping the handle; there were no signs that the hands had ever been tied, to begin with. Curious grinned maniacally, the left side of her face melting away to reveal tufts of blonde hair.
"Who said he was alone?"