Returning to work after his extended leave of absence kept Izuku wary of all the heroic deeds he could have done during such a time.
Years into his career did little to affect his passion as the nation's number one hero. Izuku was simply a hero who loved to do his job no matter the circumstance. The rush of battle, being the paragon of the hero world, protecting the innocent; his life was that of being the greatest hope that humanity had to offer against the advances of the forces of evil.
That very passion was what also led the man into his never ending conflict to bring the greatest evil the world currently knows.
The evil that was his father.
Exiting his dark emerald green import sports car, Midoriya parked his personal vehicle in his reserved spot at the hero agency he founded some five years ago. What was his personal passion project quickly became one of the highest demand hero agencies in the nation within its first quarter of inception.
"Ah, it's Emerald!"
"Emerald Paragon!"
Two employees who were entering the office at the same time as him took note of their boss, who also was their personal role model. It never failed to make Izuku blush a little at the prospect that he was the actual reason that many came to work for him in his personal agency.
Even after years of being praised as the country's new number one hero, Izuku still felt as though his life was just a dream he happened to stumble across all these years later.
Entering the building he technically owned still couldn't help visualize the inordinate amount of respect that he commanded over the multitude of employees who applied to his firm. Everyone still looked upon their idol with such admiration and respect that it almost made Midoriya a little uncomfortable with how much daily worship he received passively.
Thankfully, he has had several years of practice avoiding the traffic of his own daily work life.
Everything from subtle turns of one's head to outright unremarkable outfits helped disguise one's self from the ever hungry eye of the public. A simple sport's jacket outfit with jeans and a modest crew neck tee helped him slip past the paparazzi and into his office.
Just reaching his office always felt like a chore for the famous hero. Some days he would just elect to just float up to his office window and sneak into his own office for the sake of time.
Izuku's office was located on the top floor while facing a modest view of the city skyline. A view he couldn't help but commission for when he was given the opportunity to create the building itself. He wasn't so vain as to build it up to the size of Tokyo's Skytree, but it did have some height over the other buildings in the vicinity.
Today wasn't so bad for Izuku as he was through the double doors without being swarmed by paparazzi or adoring fans out to catch his attention. The receptionist even had the courtesy to pretend he wasn't there out of respect to his wishes of remaining undisturbed till he could get set up for his day. Izuku was rather grateful for being able to find such a quick witted and understanding girl in the current job market.
"Midoriya-san!"
One voice he recognized all too well caught the man as he was about halfway to the elevator. Turning around, he saw his personal assistant standing at their office doorway with a file in their hand.
A handsome man who was seemingly married to their desk job. His glasses were stylish, though he didn't get them on his own preference. His boss, aka Izuku, got him the frames as a gift and he immediately got them fitted for his prescribed lens the next day. Complimenting his tall frame was a face that was framed by a solid jaw line while his body remained on the lean side without coming off as skinny. Many of the women in the cubicles on his floor found themselves increasing their productivity in order to hand deliver their completed tasks in person. Something that he personally preferred strictly due to his quirk.
"Morning, Hekima. How was the morning rush?"
All Izuku got in response was a knowing smile before his assistant turned into his office as they left the glass door open for their boss. Out of courtesy, Midoriya promptly closed the door behind him as he entered Hekima's office.
Inside of the rather spacious office was a desk. A desk with drawers and a proper computer setup, but a simple desk nonetheless. It was made of clear glass that sat upon a customized metal frame sporting drawers on both the left and right.
Midoriya followed his assistant into the office and took a seat at one of the three chairs parked in front of it. Despite being the owner of the agency, Izuku still demonstrated respect for his worker's personal office space. Hekima situated himself at his desk before pressing down on a specific part of his desk, causing a display to light up where he had laid his finger.
"Yes, Hekima-san?"
"Bring in two cups of hot green tea with snacks."
He pressed the hang up call prompt on his desk before sliding the file across his desk to his boss. Catching the file was Izuku as he simply held his hand out where the file would fall over the edge of the desk. Thumbing through the pages revealed a compilation of data that Midoriya had filled out in his reports along with new information acquired by his agency.
"We've managed to crack down on two small-time dealers in the area that were dabbling in second hand substance and firearm black market trade."
Hekima then hit a prompt on his desk that darkened the room before a projected hologram of the city began hovering in the center of the room. Not even Izuku could ignore the significance of this action as this meant critical information that was meant for only Izuku and his assistant could not leave the room under any circumstance.
One of the factors that made the blackout of Hekima's office a normal occurrence was how often he used this feature equipped to his workspace. Everybody in the office would often see their boss's windows blacked out as they would often take a break for a hot drink. A function of his office that he purposefully abused out of necessity for those who needed privacy in his office.
Their meetings were often just a weekly occurrence or would take place after extended leaves of absences, such as this case. Whenever the matter regarded specific cases of criminal activity or investigations, nobody but the relevant staff members were privy to the data. Being one of the top agencies in the country, this meant that the room was as secure as a bank vault with the multitude of sensors and security surveillance in place.
Izuku and Hekima were reviewing data collected on a bigger case that required some detective work on Midoriya's part. There were some breaks in the case, but things still couldn't add up to the bigger picture regarding all the movement they've been noticing around the city.
"How many do we have in custody?"
Scrolling through the pages of the report on screen, Hekima laid out all the arrest reports side by side for his boss.
"Thirty two, total. We have four lieutenants and two major players of this operation. We found the core of their operations and managed to shut down their major production facilities. That should be the case…"
A pregnant pause while leaving the sentence hanging was enough to tell Izuku something was still amiss.
"But?"
Taking a moment to adjust his glasses, the usually cool headed assistant started to look a bit unnerved. Now Izuku knew that this whole case could be more complicated than first anticipated.
"... but their production was too well stocked for them to have been a self-started operation. We suspected their start at about two years ago, yet the state of the equipment as well as the structure of their production was of concern. Here."
Brought up on the screen were the forensic reports on the facility producing the illegal goods. Data on the lab equipment, the workshops, even the state of the concrete floors and filtration system were all analyzed thoroughly by investigators on the government's and his agency's side. Their information revealed some concerning points of interest.
"... Do we have any idea where they could be?"
Only a solemn shake of his assistant's head confirmed his fears. What he could glean from the reports told him that these production lines produced several times the estimated volume that was first suspected.
The wear and tear wouldn't have been noticed if one wasn't looking for it. Those in charge of the facilities did an incredible job of hiding the majority of the evidence. Only by checking the most minute details and collecting all the information in order to compare them can one begin to see the writing on the walls. Buildup of chemicals on the sides of the ventilation, the level of wear and tear around screws and bolts on pieces of machinery, the amount of weathering on regularly traversed ground in storage areas, etc..
So much could be inferred with the right perspective. What Izuku saw along with the others involved with the case was that this wasn't an amateurish group that slowly built up their reputation. No, this was an operation that had a clear directive and competent people directing everything from the very beginning.
"Have we sent this information to the investigation team or the ESD yet?"
"It was the ESD who compiled the dossier this morning. I was about to send it to our people upstairs after I briefed it with you."
Having this new development meant that the entire investigation now was a case that needed more attention from him and his agency. They would have their work cut out for them as now all avenues of information needed to be utilized. Midoriya leaned back in his chair with his hand on his chin muttering to himself. Even Hekima knew that this meant that his boss knew the gravity of the situation.
"I can have an ETA from the investigation department in about a half hour. If you-"
Vree Vree Vree Vree Vree
An office wide alert with a red notification taking over the projection screen interrupted the meeting at hand. The shrill alarm pierced the air, signaling all staff to a high priority incident somewhere within the city.
Immediately, Hekima opened the alert notification to see what was causing such an urgent call to arms. News reports as well as radio chatter from law enforcement began streaming on screen. What took precedent was the live camera footage via helicopter flying over the destruction taking place.
"What we are seeing here at the scene is unprecedented! We are now getting information from our sources that there seems to be what can only be described as 'two raging giants' tearing up the downtown area!"
From the aerial view of the city, a large plume of black smoke could be seen before another explosion erupted about a block to the east of it. Midoriya shot up from his seat and bolted out of the room towards his office. Hekima got to work pulling up his operational software in order to assist his leader through the rescue of the current disaster.
Midoriya shot past his employees as well as the heroes who were already suited up for action. He quickly ascended the staircase via the clearing in the middle with a single shot of black whip. Reaching his office, Izuku sprinted to his costume locker and opened it with his biometrics.
Aka, slamming his palm into the front of it.
It opened up with a hiss and presented the man with his Emerald Paragon hero costume. Everything was a green blur as he raced to change into his suit and head out to where the danger was.
Several Minutes Later, Musutafu Downtown Area
Another car went flying through a window front with office equipment being the main casualty of the destruction. Only the weight bearing wall inside of the building managed to stop the rolling ball of blazing aluminum and glass. Flaming metal eventually interacted with the leaking gas tank, causing an explosion that consumed the inside of the workplace.
Roaring in the success of their display of raw power was a massive hulking bipedal goliath that was bulging in a disgusting amount of bright red muscles. It stood over four meters tall with arms and legs that were the size of marble pillars. His chest was closer to being the entire front end of a muscle car versus resembling anything close to a human torso. The comically small head screaming bloody murder actually created a deafening roar with the expanded lung capacity coming from its freakishly large lung capacity.
ESD officers were already on the scene with their defensive line being formed in a matter of seconds before the armed officers started firing at the immediate threat. A hail of high caliber bullets pelted the creature in a thick spray of hot lead. While the large mass of muscle shielded its vulnerable head from the full auto fire, several heroes that were on the scene attempted to blindside the beast and catch it by surprise in the alleys next to it.
"Ready?"
There were five heroes in one alley with another four in the opposing one. Their plan of attack was set as they all primed their quirks in order to launch an assault at the roided up monster temporarily stunned. They needed to act fast as their window was starting to close.
"Three, two, o-"
One side of the street erupted into a cloud of debris and dust from out of nowhere. What the heroes neglected to notice in their heightened state of adrenaline was the not as large yet still powerful muscle bound individual silently climbing down the alleyway. Although not as large as its partner, the darker muscles this large specimen possessed were far denser and looked vascular enough to cover its entire body in webs of veins. It possessed a more honed in mind and stalked his prey with deadly precision before he snuck up on the unsuspecting heroes. He raised both arms and brought them down on top of three heroes, leaving the other two caught in the blast of rubble.
Hearing the sudden blast caused the muscle bound creature under the hail of gunfire to start wildly scanning his immediate area. That was when he spotted the alley to his right still filled with startled heroes unable to get a hold of their fellow comrades after the blast that interrupted their ambush.
Every fiber of his being began to charge with primal rage. More and more muscle bulged out from the already freakishly large frame of the goliath about to set out on a new warpath. It launched itself at the few heroes inside the narrow alley that was now their tomb with an insane look in its eyes. These poor saps could only watch as their lives flashed before their eyes while the monster of their demise leapt at them with both arms in the air, ready to crush them like insects.
"Detroit Smash!"
A familiar battlecry pierced the air as the spot where the muscular mutant had been midair erupted into a crater of dust and debris. Inside of the alley, the various costumed local heroes were shielding their eyes from the initial impact when they took several seconds to realize that they weren't dead. They all slowly opened their eyes to see what the hell had spared them from a violent death.
All the dust eventually cleared out. Center of the impact was a body several times its rightful volume. Perched above the body pounded into the earth was a familiar face that most of the country could point out in a line up. The hero of heroes had his fist buried into the back of the now face down hulk of a monster in the middle of a sizable crater.
"E-Emerald!"
"Holy Shit! It's him!"
Wrenching his fist from out of the man he knocked out felt like trying to pull his fist free from a spool of steel cables. Just bands of thick unnaturally tough muscles somehow entrapped his hand for a few moments. Only after getting his arm loose did Izuku look over to the stunned heroes to check up on them.
"Are you okay? Are any of you hurt?"
Although shaken up, they were still able to respond coherently.
"Yeah, but there's another- LOOK OUT!"
Midoriya had all of a second before his danger sense flared up like a christmas tree. Turning around in the nanosecond he had before the other muscle bound freak tried to wrap its oversized digits around the back of Izuku's neck.
No time to shout his attack name. A quick duck and a twist of his spine allowed Emerald Paragon to not only dodge, but launch a counter kick through the extended bicep and tricep. The force of the kick was equivalent to his Oklahoma Smash. This version matched his shooter style of striking and was utilized as a form of counter. There was enough force behind the heel kick to cause the ambushing berserker to lose several teeth on the left side of its jaw. It went flying down the street opposite of the line of ESD officers who were holding fire out of consideration of Izuku's safety.
None of the heroes even saw what had just happened. Everything happened in less than a second in their eyes. Their jaws were still hanging open while Izuku turned back to them.
"Head on back behind ESD lines. I'll take it from here."
Suddenly, another flare up of his danger sense alerted him to a new danger. Turning back around, a massive hand had shot up from out of nowhere and was about to wrap itself around his skull.
A quick wordless Missouri Smash knocked the offending arm off trajectory with a quick chop of his hand. Although it kept it from grabbing Izuku, the massive beast still buried partway into the street wasn't quite done yet.
The ground began to crack and rumble from below. Midoriya knew better than to stick around and leapt off of the thing he was almost certain was out cold just a few moments ago. It ripped its legs and right arm free from the asphalt that had encased them with an impressive amount of strength still left in its body. Slamming each of its hands and feet against the ground until it finally managed to release itself, the hero that had knocked this thing down once watched as it got up even more pissed off than before. There was even a small amount of steam coming off of its oversized body as it seethed through its teeth.
Something was wrong. Izuku knew the limits of his strength and power and had hit this thing hard enough for it to be sent to the hospital. Its organs were sure to be in need of serious medical care after taking on such a powerful Detroit Smash. None of that seemed to have affected how this giant could move.
"GRAAAAA!"
A thunderous roar echoed for several city blocks as the mutated individual screamed loud enough for Izuku to start covering his ears. This didn't affect his eyes as the creature leapt at him with both arms extended towards Midoriya. He just elected to wind up a kick and try to send this thing flying up to give him some room to work with.
"Detroit Smash!"
Striking the thing in the chin should have sent it flying up into the air and tumbling into the ground after an extended flight. Even the way that the kick felt told the hero that he made full contact with his blow. The neighboring windows shattered when a brilliant green light exploded where Izuku full on soccer kicked this monster's head midair. Down the street, the ESD officers needed to take cover behind their defensive line as the shockwave began shoving at everything in range.
Eventually, the explosion died down. In the center of the clearing dust was a sight to truly behold. Not even Izuku could believe his eyes as the thing that had taken the full brunt of his attack had somehow not only taken the strike, but braced itself by grabbing the street below with its bare hands and kept itself from even taking an inch off of the ground. It looked to be knocked out as its eyes were rolled back and what used to look like its lower jaw was now mashed into its own head. His shock was amplified as the monstrous human being suddenly turned its eyes down and stared directly into Midoriya's green pupils. This thing then somehow reached up fast enough that not even danger sense could save Izuku from its deadly grip.
The entire world spun around him violently in just a single moment. Due to danger sense, every single nerve in his body told him to stop what was about to happen to him. He had all of a quarter second to calculate and act on the best course of action to prevent him from becoming a red stain on the ground.
Charging up One for All, Midoriya aimed directly for the wrist connected to the abnormally large human hand locking his ankle in its grasp. Feeling that initial crack filled Izuku with confidence. He knew what a broken joint sounded like and could even see the unalignment of the bones in the wrist. His mind couldn't even reel at the sight before he was sent into the asphalt with a powerful swing that caused a dust cloud to erupt from the impact.
"RAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
A blindingly fast arc of swings created enough of an emergency with the officers forced to hold fire in concern for the safety of Emerald Paragon being caught with a stray shot. The commanding officer pulled back from the action and touched the radio on the side of his headset in order to contact the main hub.
"We have a code blue! Where are we with the package?!"
"ETA is forty five seconds, company leader."
"Shit!"
Seeing the hero being thrashed against the road so violently caused the operation officer to curse involuntarily. In his mind, the death of a hero was inexcusable. Not out of some misguided attempt at a promotion, but for being the one to let someone die unnecessarily while being the one who could have done something. The standards of the ESD were insurmountable to maintain for good cause.
Because they delivered on their promises of being the best.
Meanwhile, a hero who was clutching onto consciousness saw his situation as critical. There was the very clear danger of going limp during this violent ordeal. He literally had no time to come up with a solution.
An explosion erupted out of nowhere during the thrashing of the mindless beast swinging one of the world's most regarded heroes. What confused the thing so hellbent on killing the Emerald Paragon was the sudden loss of weight in its arm as it swung it around. In its limited mental capacity, turning its eyes revealed the cause of the loss of resistance.
All that was left of their arm was a bloody stump gushing a few spurts of blood.
"Whew. Thought I was a goner there for a sec."
Wind swept down the mostly unpopulated roads and cleared the air enough for the several ton mass of muscles to see something even its neanderthal brain couldn't comprehend.
Wrapped up in a cocoon of black whip was the well revered hero that it was certain it smashed against the hard floor with all its might. Several more strands of the quirk were branching out all around said cocoon, keeping it anchored to the road.
What Izuku had done was anchor himself to the road right as he hit the ground while maneuvering another attack with his other leg. The combined force of being stuck to the street and the creature yanking its arm back and forth so mindlessly at full strength created the perfect scenario for Midoriya to take advantage of.
Using his shooter style of Minnesota Smash with the free leg created enough power to sever the already loosened appendage from the rest of the body. Although the severed hand was still wrapped around his leg, Izuku could have sworn he felt the world come to a stop after feeling the relief of not being thrashed around like a ragdoll in the fist of an infant.
Before Izuku could get out of the way, danger sense flared up again out of nowhere. Turning towards the source of the imminent threat gave Izuku enough time to realize that the other muscle bound freak that attacked five other heroes was lunging at him with its broken arm flopping in the wind. Before Izuku could even respond, something yanked him back and away from the danger of the area. An area that was now the deadliest area to stand within the entire city.
"We're clear! Open fire!"
What Midoriya saw was nothing less than a rain of hellfire obliterating the area that the two creatures had just occupied.
Arriving on the scene were two combat helicopters mounted with turrets operated by professional heavy gunners. They immediately took aim and fired down range after they got the all clear from the officer on the ground. Their accuracy and grouping created a steaming molten pit within several seconds of firing.
Hurricane xL-5 ammunition. A unique designation for new heavy artillery ammo that the ESD utilized for high priority targets in need of neutralization. These bullets were uniquely engineered to deliver a high yield of firepower when in contact with an aimed target. Not even a solid cube of carbon steel at the dimensions of three meters on the x,y, and z axis survived a live demonstration of one of these rounds.
Not even Izuku could have predicted how destructive the firepower of the ESD could have been before now. Witnessing such destructive force left him questioning what he needed to do in order to deliver that sort of punishment without destroying the city altogether.
More impressive to Midoriya overall were the buildings that were still intact next to the impact site.
The purpose of the ammo type was to introduce the least amount of collateral damage from a payload that could neutralize a target no matter their potential defenses. Insurmountable damage contained within a several meter area created the ideal condition of damage control when a threat got out of control.
Seeing the area affected by the gunfire was another story altogether. Even Izuku felt a change in the winds at the sight of the destruction that the ESD brought in the presence of a serious threat.
Insanity was the only thing that could describe the scene in front of him. Not from the destruction of modern weapon's technology, but from what survived it.
From within the molten pile of slag, a familiar presence wrenched itself free from the earth. That presence was none other than the thing that attempted to render Izuku into a millimeter thick pancake. A presence that should be dead.
Erupting from the pool of red hot debris was an arm that couldn't be more covered in severe burns if it stuck itself in an open bonfire. It clawed itself into the asphalt as it began to yank the rest of the destroyed corpse attached to it.
Crawling out of the molten pit was something that couldn't even be considered an intact human corpse. Bone scraped against the road with each time the charred remains of its right arm dragged the burnt torso it dragged behind it. A sight straight out of a horror movie about the deepest pits of hell.
Its head had half the bones in the skull exposed while the blackened flesh kept chipping off with every little movement. Not even the intact eye could see anything as it turned milky white from the heat exposure suffered. Midoriya just stood back up and watched from the safety of the ESD blockade line as the mindless creature still was out for blood. He couldn't believe nor understand how someone could become this thing that was so far removed from anything that could be described as mortal. Despite the roaring blaze behind it and the choppers hovering nearby, Izuku could just barely make out the thing starting to speak for the first time.
"G…. Ga… l… Fo… For… G-"
Before he could make out the entirety of what it was trying to say, a blast from a shotgun startled the hero so focused on the barely surviving monster. That shot was followed by a multitude of more as a squad of ESD approached the body with slug ammo loaded. They advanced with shield bearers to provide cover while the main battery kept firing at the body, blowing it to pieces chunk by chunk with heavy gunfire.
"Emerald Paragon? Are you injured? Medics!"
An officer approached the still stunned hero still trying to make sense of the final thing that the now dead hulking monster had tried to utter. All he gave the officer was a confirming wave of his hand indicating that he wasn't in any immediate danger. Still, he was given a thorough medical assessment at the emergency vehicle to confirm no lasting damage. His eyes peered over his shoulder as he was escorted away from the body that was now being secured by the officers for cleanup to contain and ship to a facility to investigate.
Something about what that thing said before it died deeply troubled Izuku. Like it picked at a distant memory he felt needed to be remembered. For some reason, his mind couldn't stop nagging him despite how little he had to go off of in terms of what it was he needed to remember.
For now, all he could do for now was to just be relieved that the threat was finally dealt with. Though he hadn't faced such a challenging foe in years. Not since…
Another thing he focused on to distract his wandering mind were the confusing memories of the fight. He knew he possessed superhuman abilities, but Midoriya felt some things fail to fall into place as he thought back to them.
He was certain that he had black whip up to protect him during the fight. What he couldn't recall exactly was when he made that decision. Perhaps it had been due to his years of being an active hero that gave him the edge in the fight. His doubts were just over the line of being ignorable whenever he remembered being pulled away from the fight. Izuku knew deep down that he hadn't had the foresight to pull away from the gunfire before his danger sense activated.
"Okay, sir. Follow my finger."
Sitting in front of the ESD medic, he just resigned to make the report first and put everything on paper before overthinking things. Little did he know, this encounter would ultimately be the first of several that would lead him down a path that would put him in the line of a new threat that had already started to enact their plans.
Plans that put the world itself as the prize they sought to gain.
?
"Hm, how disappointing."
The many monitors displayed were all different angles of the encounter between the rampaging monster and the ESD combined with the country's greatest hero. Only a single man sat in quiet contemplation at the sight of his new weapons being neutralized by the organizations he wished to topple. He wore a white robe that went all the way to his ankles with long sleeves going to the hem of his white leather gloves. Both legs were crossed at the knees while he propped his chin on his right fist while balancing the elbow on the leather arm rest of the swivel chair. Covering his head was a draped piece of fabric disguising his identity to anybody watching him. His lack of flair did little to hide how prideful his presence was.
"This is good, my lord. We now know that we are indeed more than prepared to begin our plan of action. Your gift to us will help reshape the world in your image, as destined."
Standing just out of the illuminated section of the floor from the monitors, a tall man almost three meters in height wearing a white dress shirt and gray slacks spoke to the one still observing events as they unfolded. They wore brown dress shoes with a long face matching their tall stature. His hair was a bit wild, though still looked trimmed despite its messy look.
"... Very well. You have my blessings to continue."
A silent bow before backing up while maintaining the bow showed the reverence this man held for this individual. Once out of range, the man descended the platform his mysterious master occupied and descended the stairs towards the exit.
He passed by a multitude of what looked to be white tents set up in this strangely enormous underground space that spanned so far that the darkness enveloped the edges of the massive chamber. Not even the ceiling was visible to the naked eye.
Within those tents, there were dozens of people all lying in cots with a sheet of thin cloth covering their faces. They all wore white robes similar to their leader without any footwear or gloves. More disturbing was how all the tents were set up. All of them had I.V tubes linked to their arms with speakers all playing the same audio track over and over again in all the tents.
The leader's voice preaching his doctrine for several hours over and over again nonstop. His words of preaching and prayer droned on endlessly while these people were all exposed to it without sleep or any form of distraction. What this was could only be described as a factory to pump out loyal followers through means of complete indoctrination.
An army ready to serve the delusions of one man's dreams to become god himself.