Finals went well- build up your A's so if you bomb a final you still pass. So, this is a chapter I fear might cause some division- mainly because I'm acting on 'rule of cool'. Hopefully it's cool enough to excuse.
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
While the group was being swarmed by Nomu, they'd all failed to realize the villains were being whisked away from their grasp.
...all but a few of them.
Mercury and Tyrian had been left behind.
It was the same method that had taken Bakugou out of their reach, as well. Black sludge began flowing from their mouths and engulfing them. All Might raced in to try and at least grab a hold of Shigaraki before he too vanished, but this Quirk was too fast. All he managed to grab between his fingers were some remnants of the strange ooze.
"Damn it!" the Symbol of Peace cursed. He didn't have time to lament though, as four of the Nomu hybrids rushed him. Two of the Hybrids were crossed with Wildmutt, sporting orange colorations, no eyes, and fanged, lipless mouths like those from the Null Void. One was spliced with Ripjaws, sporting fish-like fins, scales, an angler fish lure, and the impressive maw the alien was named after. The final one was spliced with Wildvine, sporting seeds sprouting from its shoulders, a single blue eye in the middle of its exposed brain, and a venus flytrap-like collar. All four of the Nomu bit down hard on All Might in an attempt to dogpile him.
"Oklahoma..." All Might began, starting to spin his body around. Wind started gathering around him and soon, All Might had a small tornado around him.
"SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!" The symbol of peace roared as the four Nomu were thrown off the pro and through the building's walls and ceiling.
Mercury and the other pros dodged the flying Nomu. "Demolish the whole building, why don't you!?" Ben yelled- Brainstorm had a 'thing' for manners and brutes.
"That's just how it is." All Might said. "Ben- I trust you and the others can deal with this."
"Focus on the real target here!" Ben said. "We will take care of the others!"
"Understood! Kamui, take those two to the authorities!" All Might called out.
"At least I wasn't a total failure this time around," Kamui said, pulling Tyrian and Mercury out of the building with its roots.
"Endeavor, keep up the fight here! I'm heading over to the Nomu factory! That's where they took the boy!"
"He's GONE?! You let them move him right in front of you?!" Endeavor yelled, holding back the jaws of another Wildvine-Nomu.
"They had another transport Quirk we weren't aware of! Now, hold the line!" All Might leapt into the air and began making his way over to the factory. Endeavor growled, his flames starting to burn brighter and singe the flesh of the plant-alien Nomu.
"Damn it, ALL MIGHT!" the Number 2 Pro growled, incinerating the Nomu in pure rage.
Mercury struggled to break free from Kamui's roots. "Damn it..." Mercury huffed, while Tyrian chuckled to himself. "What's so funny!?"
"Nothing, nothing~ He hasn't noticed it yet." Tyrian grinned.
"Noticed what?" Mercury asked. Tyrian swung his tail around, and Mercury's eyes widened.
"Oh."
Kamui leapt down and raced to the nearest Special Assault car, its doors already open in anticipation of prisoners.
"Alright, you two. In you go!" Kamui yelled, throwing his arms forward in an attempt to throw the two criminals he had into the back of the truck.
Tyrian, instead, latched his tail around Kamui's arm, and slammed into his face. He pulled out his weapons, and held them close to his neck. "I wonder~ How many chops would it take to break through your armor~? Or is this your skin~!?"
"What?! How did you-?!"
"You've never dealt with a Faunus before, have you?" Mercury taunted.
"Wait...you're-?" Kamui gasped.
"Bit of a rarity as I'm often reminded. You're more likely to run into a bird Faunus than you are an insect," Tyrian shrugged, "But that works for me. No one ever sees the tail coming~"
Kamui tried to capture the two again, but Mercury reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. He ignited it, and dropped it on Kamui's body.
"Whoops." Mercury smirked.
"Ooh, not everyday you get a forest fire in the middle of a city," Tyrian grinned, almost drowned out by Kamui's screams as he tried to put himself out.
"...yet still not as messed up as what Cass pulled," Mercury said.
"Oh, certainly. But I can at least understand where all the rage is coming from. Ruby took out Cinder, Cass wants to inflict the same kind of damage. Better ways to do that, granted."
"You agree with her motive, not her actions," Mercury simplified.
"I might be a serial killer, a scorpion version of Jack the Ripper I like to think...but I have standards, Black. Shocking to you, I know."
"A little, yeah." Mercury came to a stop. "...hey, why'd he stop screaming?"
"Hm?" He swiveled his neck as far as he could. The drenched body of Kamui was now in Ben's arms. Tyrian recognized the form as Water Hazard.
"You good?" Ben asked.
"I... will be." Kamui hacked. Ben escorted him to the vehicle and placed him inside.
"Take a quick break," Ben told them before turning to the other bad guys. "I'll take care of them." Mercury smirked.
"Good to see you, Benny. Congrats on the kid, by the way. Whatcha name her? Something stupid-"
Ben was not in a joking mood right now. He quickly shifted from Water Hazard back into Brainstorm. He quickly began to analyze the area around him.
Potential useful tools in the area: cars, various weaponry, Rue, Enji Todoroki, Shinya Kamihara and Sorahiko Torino. Ben thought, as his eyes darted around. Enemy advantage: brutal tactics, unpredictability, and a home field advantage in terms of location. My advantage: strength in numbers, intelligence...and skill.
Ben's shell opened up, and his brain launched a beam of energy at the duo. The two villains leapt out of the way of the attack and returned fire. Mercury began kicking the air to fire off a barrage of shotgun blasts while Tyrian's blades revealed their SMG barrels and fired off a barrage in tandem. Ben blocked them with a neuroelectric dome that shielded his body.
Mercury Black; bittered by age, brutal in battle. He will try to break this. Ben thought, as Mercury tried to axe kick the shield in half. Counter with electrical blast.
A blast of electricity struck Mercury, stunning him for a moment and knocking him back. Tyrian took the change to race it, slashing at Ben with a new level of frenzy.
Tyrian Callows: Driven deeper into insanity, unpredictable and wild. Usual strategy of death by a thousand cuts or poison. He will try to distract me.
Tyrian went full offense, using everything at his disposal to try and break through the shield. He was laughing and frothing at the mouth.
"DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE BEING A COWARD NOW, JUST CUZ YOU GOT A KID!" Tyrian laughed. "I'D RATHER KILL THE PARENTS THAN THE KID!"
Good to know. Ben thought. I wonder how durable your head is nowadays...
Something suddenly pierced Tyrian's chest, and shot through his body and Ben's shield. Edgeshot quickly reformed himself next to Ben.
"I see you got my message." Ben said.
"Just in time it seems, as well," Edgeshot said. Tyrian blinked a few times, stunned by the sudden attack from the ninja hero.
Further incapacitate with neurokinetic strike. Ben dropped the shield, and unleashed a violent burst of energy from his brain. Tyrian screamed as his entire nervous system was 'set ablaze', while Mercury could only watch.
"Damn it..." Mercury coughed, and he looked down at his hand. He'd coughed up the black substance all the others were earlier. "That quirk must have a limit of portals it can make...fun..."
As Tyrian screamed, that same black sludge quickly gurgled out of his mouth. He and Mercury were quickly engulfed in the black liquid and they too were teleported away in short order.
Ben frowned. "Damn- I didn't predict for that." Ben said, as he changed into XLR8. "How's Endeavor doing?"
"He's managing. I like to imagine he's taking his anger out on those Nomu. They're...undercooked, for the lack of a better word." Edgeshot said.
"Good," Ben said. "Now...where's Ruby?"
Cass growled as she got up from where Ruby had thrown her. Whoever was trying to interfere with this, try to warp her away with the others...they could go to hell right now. Her eyes were aglow with Maiden power, literally burning away the black sludge that was trying to force her to end the fight.
"Not. Goddamn. YET," the Maiden growled, "I want this fight..."
"You still have it, huh?" Ruby frowned. "Thought all the powers vanished."
"I...kept a fragment." Cass said, swallowing the black bile trying to consume her. "It's nowhere as strong as it was back then, but...I've learned to manage." Cass formed a fireball in her hands, and chucked at Ruby. Ruby simply held up her cape, and absorbed the attack.
"I decided to keep my cape from my combat ready suit," Ruby smirked. "Helps absorb the annoying energy projectiles."
"How...well does it do with KINETIC!?" Cass launched an orb of concentrated kinetic energy, right at Ruby. The thing soared like a fastball, and smashed through Ruby's chest. Cass could see something red seeping through the wound, but to her shock, Ruby's wound quickly reformed.
"Cassidy." Ruby frowned. "Did you really join the League just to get even with me?"
"You say that like I'm being petty," Cass growled, "You...you and Tennyson KILLED HER. I couldn't do anything except watch as my sister died right in front me! Wouldn't you do the same if I killed Yang?!"
Ruby stared at her. She had no discernable emotion in her eyes.
"Do you think I liked doing that?" Ruby asked. "You saw what happened to her. Salem corrupted her and-"
"DON'T you even try to justify it!" Cass yelled, slamming her fist into a wall.
So, Ruby didn't. Cass was too far gone to accept any reason, no matter how truthful it was. In truth, when Ruby had killed Cinder, the Fall Maiden couldn't even be called human anymore. It was more like her Shadow Hand prosthetic had taken over, corrupted her into Salem's perfect servant. Everyone told Ruby for days after the fight that killing Cinder like that was a mercy.
But Cass did not care. Ruby couldn't blame her for not wanting to remember how horrible Cinder's body was.
"There's no point in trying to talk to you, Cass." Ruby said as she extended her scythe. "You've crossed a line. Family has nothing to do with this."
Cass was shaking with anger as she rushed at Ruby. Taking the blow from Ruby's swing, Cass remained unharmed. She replied with a powerful burst of kinetic energy, slamming her fist into Ruby's chest. The attack blew through her chest again, and Ruby reformed the wound.
"I've been practicing with my semblance." Ruby said, as she suddenly disassembled herself, and appeared behind Cass.
Cass spun around, hoping to sucker punch her nemesis with a powerful hit, but Ruby ducked under the strike and delivered a strong punch of her own to Cass' gut. The Maiden doubled over in surprise from that. Yang's hand-to-hand training never stopped after the war, so now Ruby was just as good as fist-fighting as she was with weapon combat. She then jolted up, slamming into Cass' chin with a headbutt, knocking the vengeful girl back.
Ruby sped towards Cass, and slammed her head into another wall. Over and over again- she was a little angry that Cass would even think to smash her stomach in. The goddamn stress she'd been under with this horrific person that wouldn't just stay a memory- slamming her face into the wall was her therapy.
Cass growled and finally managed to break free of Ruby's brutal assault. She landed a roundhouse kick to the Huntress' head and leapt back, making some distance between the two of them. The villain's eyes flared and she let out a blood-chilling yell, letting out all the Maiden power she could muster. Cass didn't go for her usual weapons after her powers were released, though. Instead, she summoned up two curved obsidian swords.
"Recognize them? Recognize Midnight?" Cass growled, "It's only fitting I use them..."
Ruby stared at them. Long ago, they would've filled her with fear. But today, they held no power over her. Ruby held onto her scythe, and her cape lit up. The energy absorbed from earlier started to flow into the weapon, and made the blade start to glow a brilliant red color. The blade expanded, large enough to easily cleave a large Grimm in half.
Ruby closed her eyes, and spun her weapon around. She pointed the weapon at Cass.
"Please just let the past go."
"I will. Once I bury you along with Tennyson and your BRAT!" Cass yelled before charging. Ruby didn't even race to meet her, simply getting into a combat ready stance. Cass leapt into the air and drove both blades down, but the red-hooded huntress dodged out of the way.
The mad Maiden spun around and tried to slice into Ruby. Once, twice, thrice, each attack was blocked by an expert move from Ruby. On the last one, Ruby forced the blades up, creating an opening for her. She struck, slicing right through Cass. The revenge-fueled Maiden blinked a few times, looking down at where the blade landed. She wasn't physically cut. She smirked.
"You...missed," Cass chuckled.
"No, I didn't," Ruby corrected, "I just didn't hit you on the outside."
"...outside?"
"You know me, Cass. I love tinkering with my weapon," Ruby quipped.
Cass suddenly felt it- Ruby's blade hadn't cut her body. It cut her organs.
"A few years ago, Ben and I had to put Aggregor away after he escaped. So, I developed this." Ruby explained. "It was pretty effective, better than our lame Plan C. Decided to keep it as a last resort. Phases through the flesh, and slices a specific area."
"W-what the hell did you-!?"
"I cut a few joints, hit your solar plexus..." Ruby listed off. "I think I hit your kidney, too."
"Y-you bitch!" Cass started coughing, dropping both replicas of Midnight and falling to her knees. Blood started to drip to the floor as she violently coughed.
"I'm ending this, Cass. I'm putting you away..." Ruby said, turning around walking over to make the arrest. Cass turned to face Ruby, as the black ooze poured from her mouth and eyes. Ruby was caught off guard.
"See you in hell, Ruby Rose." Cass frowned. "One day, you and everything you've worked for will collapse...and I will gladly watch it all fall down around you."
Cass disappeared into the ooze, and Ruby frowned.
"...damn, that was brutal."
Ruby turned around to see Ben wheeling over to her. "Don't worry. She's not too far from here. Brainstorm figured the range of the quirk was only a mile or two. Closest thing to that is the Nomu Factory." Ben explained. Ruby looked away.
"The Nomu Factory...she's back with Bakugou then," Ruby realized.
"Remember, Toshi's already on his way over there. We can still pull this off," Ben reassured.
"Then there's no time to waste!" Ruby said, as she and Ben raced over.
Cass. I really am sorry about everything with Cinder. I may have hated her guts, but even I thought her death was too cruel. Ruby thought. Salem loaded the bullet, and I was forced to pull the trigger. This was a pointless death. Not one made in self defense, or because it was needed. It was a mercy kill.
I don't like thinking about the past, as much as Ben does. I know I smile and I wave and I write about the good times, but...every time I think about the past, I just get really, really sad.
Ruby focused her attention ahead.
Maybe one day my words will reach you.
Back at what remained of the Nomu Factory, All For One walked amongst the ashes. He clapped his hands, clearly impressed by his work. But, sadly, none of the heroes had been killed. Just injured and scuffed up. No drops of blood. The clapping was dry and sarcastic, like it was laughing at a failure or a mistake.
"That's the Number 4 Hero for you." All For One laughed. "I was planning to blast them straight to hell, but you grabbed them by their clothes and threw them aside in the nick of time. Such quick decision making, such technique, such incredible reflexes!"
Best Jeanist struggled to move his head to face his opponent. His threads had to force his back to move. I had no idea that the mastermind was here...but so what!? A first class hero would never use that as an excuse for fail-
All for One raised his hand and pointed his finger at Best Jeanist. "Your quirk is impressive, but it's not an almighty shield or spear. Your quirk is a product of endless training and a wealth of experience. Sadly, I don't need it."
Best Jeanist was about to pull himself- he was going to launch into his most brutal of attacks, and strangle All for One with his own suit. If All for One was wearing that mask, maybe he couldn't breathe on his own-!
Best Jeanist rose-
"Bang."
All for One suddenly sent a powerful blast of air that smashed into Best Jeanist's lung. The pro's eyes shrank in fear, and he fell back down. When air enters the chest cavity around the lungs from a stab wound, that may cause the collapse of the lung.
But what about a pressurized ball of air?
I don't want to imagine that either.
"Your quirk...doesn't suit Tomura." All for One sighed. "Too much practice."
Portals opened up before him, spitting the league out before his feet. Spinner coughed and gagged, breathing heavily.
"Warn us before you do that next time, sir..." Mr. Compress sighed.
Cass and Tyrian's unconscious bodies slammed on the ground, getting everyone's attention. All for One paid little mind.
His eyes were locked onto Shigaraki.
"...you've failed again, Tomura." The villain sighed, sounding like a disappointed father. Shigaraki evaded eye contact, but All for One got closer. "But, don't lose your way just yet. There will be more chances to set things right. That's why I've brought along your little band."
"And the kid?"
"He doesn't serve any use now, especially since the calvary is here." All for One said. "But, no matter."
All for One extended his hand. "I want you to try again. That's what I'm here to help you do. Everything that's going on tonight is...all for you." His fingertips started to unravel, revealing black sinew underneath. "But, right now...you need to flee."
The fingertips extended, stabbing into Kurogiri's body. They turned red, and Kurogiri's Warp quirk was forcibly activated. "All Might is rapidly approaching, as we speak."
"Wait, what!? You brought us here so that you could just use Kurogiri's quirk?" Nyancy hissed. "Why can't you use your warp quirk?"
"Different applications. Mine is not complete, and I need to be able to use it with someone I'm...well acquainted with." All for One said.
"M-master. Will you-" Tomura said, before All for One held up his hand.
"I don't know. But, that should hardly matter." One for All said, looking up at the sky. "...now go."
Tomura hesitated, before Mercury picked up Cass and Tyrian. "Come on! You heard the guy! I don't wanna hang around when the big guy comes here!"
Mr. Compress and Sunny picked up Dabi and Toga as well. "Agreed, Tomura. Even my greatest magic tricks cannot stop a force like All Might!" Mr. Compress said.
"NO!" Tomura yelled. "Master! With that body, you'll-"
Tomura never finished his sentence. All Might dropped down from the sky, ready to smash All for One into the ground. The villain simply held up his hand, catching All Might's face and slammed his head into the ground.
"Go." All for One said. "Continue my war."
"I'm not ready-!" Tomura said, before All for One used one of his quirks to blast Tomura through the portal. The portal then closed, sending Shigaraki to parts unknown. All for One threw All Might aside- the hero quickly flipped himself back up, and glared at the villain.
"All for One..." He growled. "I'm not going to make the same mistake I made five years ago!"
"Here to kill me again, All Might?" All for One taunted. "It's about 5 KM from here to the bar, and it took you a whole 30 seconds to arrive after I sent the Nomu. You're losing your touch, Toshinori."
"And so are you." All Might huffed. "Nice face mask- who are you wearing, Doctor Doom? Should you even be up and about in your current state?"
All for One laughed. "I could ask you the same thing."
All Might looked around for Bakugou- the injured heroes surrounding him didn't fill him with much hope.
"Worry not about the boy. Right now, he's being treated at a nearby ambulance." All for One said. "Your mission to save him is over. But he's not in one piece, is he?"
All Might's muscles expanded. He couldn't take any more of his mockery. "This time...I'm smashing you into a prison cell! And then I'll find your little League and do the same to them!"
"Quite a to-do list." All for One said, holding up his arm. "For you and me both."
As soon as word got out about the fight in Kamino Ward, news reporters rushed to the scene. All TV shows were stopped so that the fight could be shown.
"We have arrived at this horrifying location! In the blink of an eye, half of Kamino Ward was gone." The newscaster on the screen said. "We're hearing that Bakugou Katsuki, the UA boy who was taken hostage, has been handed over to police and rushed to a hospital,"
The class took a deep breath of relief. Okay, the extraction was a success. Bakugou was going to be alright.
(haha)
But it was what was said next that worried them. "We've just gotten word that All Might has arrived on the scene, and is now exchanging blows with the villain responsible for the destruction."
"Man, I hope the other pros are okay. Hopefully All Might and Ben have a hold on the situation..." Alan hummed.
"It's hard to believe a single villain could obliterate several city blocks and then go toe-to-toe with the Symbol of Peace himself..." The newscaster continued. The news helicopter zoomed in on the scene, showing some of the other injured pro heroes...and All Might, trading blows with All for One.
Class 1-A started to mutter as they watched the footage. Ochako and Izuku stared at the screen with wide eyed horror.
They both had the same horrible realization.
All Might was fighting All for One.
The wind seemed to stop for a brief moment as All Might suddenly leapt forward, closing the gap between the two within mere moments.
"Muscle Augmentation, Air Cannon." All for One focused as his body seemed to move with enough speed to equally match Toshinori as his right arm flexed to strike back, the air circling around his fist as the two suddenly struck one another.
The ground seemed to crater from the strike, a mixture of energies nearly warping the space around the pair before All Might was thrown back from the strike.
All for One quickly followed up by raising that same arm, the fingertips starting to crack and adjust almost as if opening up to reveal nothing but holes before fire erupted out from within. Nail-like bullets being fired from within as he walked closer to All Might, seemingly with little care in the world.
"Fire Infusion, Machine Gun..." He spoke, almost like a list as his arm glowed a severe red.
The impact from the gunfire caused All Might to forcefully bulk up his arms to protect himself. Gritting his teeth he knew that he couldn't afford to be put on the defensive, especially not now.
Slamming a leg down, All Might suddenly launched himself through the air back toward All for One, this time using the wind to keep his trajectory sure whilst moving his arm at just the right angle to try and fire off his own attack back.
"Nebraska...!"
The wind picked up as All Might threw his arm with a sudden twist of his wrist, and with it came a sudden tornado that picked up the debris around it, almost as if to add a little more force to the blow.
"SMASH!"
All for One was quickly engulfed by the wind, and his body went out of sight. For a moment, it seemed as if he had been overcome...
But from inside the wind tunnel that had formed, All Might gritted his teeth as the wind began to slowly slow down, almost as if time or, in this case, the elements around them were stopping it.
"Zero Wind."
The blizzard's coldness swept over All Might, and the earth around him began to freeze solid. In an effort to keep the icy air out, he tightly closed his eyes.
Since we last fought, he's picked up a lot more powerful quirks. All Might grunted as the wind died down. All for One appeared out of nowhere and charged through the fog, slamming into All Might with a barrage of fists. Straight right, left, left, right, left, left, left, left, left, left, left, left, left! All Might fought valiantly to stop them, but ultimately failed- All for One unleashed a powerful, overgrown fist as his last attack, and was launched backward.
"You're getting old, Toshinori." All for One mocked. "You would've simply attacked me with your own rush attack a few years ago...don't tell me you're going soft."
All Might lunged forward and connected with a gut-busting strike. He was stunned as the impact instantly repelled him. All for One, who wasn't hurt, laughed.
"Was that supposed to accomplish something?"
Again, with clenched teeth, All Might took off with a sprint. Straight away, he struck the villain's mask with an uppercut that hurt like hell and sent him flying. "There it is! His weak spot!" All Might smirked. He sprang into the air and delivered a devastating Carolina Smash, slashing All for One's breathing tubes with a cross chop.
"I've not grown soft, All for One. I've gained a greater purpose, one that you couldn't hope to understand!" All Might quickly clenched his fists and quickly charged forward once more, his eyes ablaze with the justice that kept his heart burning for all this time.
A rapid series of strikes, his fists moving faster than the eye could follow as he was throwing out more and more hits on All for One's mask and torso.
But with each strike, All for One seemed to lean closer and closer to him, the strikes only barely hindering him as his skin seemed to feel much absorbent to the touch. Each strike leaving a small indent as more and more of All for One's body seemed to warp and distort as if they were being wrapped around the punches.
However, that was All Might's first mistake - the strikes only seemed to empower All for One as his skin started to steam up.
"Impact Recoil, Elastic Skin."
All for One smirked before suddenly roundhouse kicking All Might across the cheek, the strike alone producing enough force to launch him through the next several buildings over!
"You should know that I've grown too, All Might. I understand your pathetic little hero game more than ever now."
All Might grunted as he sat in the ruins of what used to be an office. I can't underestimate him anymore...I don't need to brute force him, I just need to outsmart him somehow...
All Might stood back up, and coughed. He went to wipe some blood from his mouth, but noticed something alarming. His hand was letting off steam- crap, was his time limit up already!? Impossible! He didn't feel any weaker, though. In fact, if he was lucky, he could probably fight for another hour or two...
All Might shook his hand, and the smoke dissipated. "...weird." All Might frowned, as he jumped out of the building- no, jumping wasn't a good way to put it. He nearly flew out of the building, launching himself high in the sky. "W-woah!"
The energy that was going around All Might was almost...different from what it had been before. All Might felt odd and stronger because of it.
As he launched through the skies toward All for One, his eyes seemed to erupt with light. His fists started to glow with a powerful aura...but that aura would soon condense as he began to throw out a barrage of rapid strikes that caused the ground near All for One to quickly crack and splinter.
"Toshinori...What are you planning?" All for One grimaced as he started to focus his gaze, almost locking onto him with some form of targeting quirk. The power faded away, and All Might stood back up. No idea what that was, but no time to worry about it now.
All for One sighed. "You know, out of all the users I've fought so far...you are the weakest. And this is supposed to be your 'prime', isn't it?"
All Might felt a piercing headache, and had the instinct to look up. All Might saw beams of energy falling from the sky, blasting the ground. All Might narrowly avoided them, jumping out of the way of each of the blasts. All for One hummed.
How did he know to look up?
The two of them started to quickly move around one another, their strikes beginning to collide in mid air as both were starting to try and force the other further and further back.
Both All Might and All for One were starting to push one another to their brink - All for One simply started to laugh even more as steam erupted from his mask.
"This game of ours is going to get stale quickly, All Might. Tell me, how are you going to strike at me next? Perhaps a barrage? A twist of the wrist? A dropkick? How about one of your famous smashes?" All For One started to grin even more behind the mask before starting to throw his arm back.
"How about I show you all of MY strength?" His muscles seemed to almost creak and groan as more and more of the skin and tendons and bone behind it started to pile on. One of the most devastating quirks that All for One had in his arsenal, he was about to bust that out now?
All Might had to focus as his eyes started to narrow, his body was telling him to move - to do something!
The pinch of nerves, hair on the back of his neck standing on end...
The sweat dripped from his brow...
Move, Toshi...
MOVE!
...
Silence.
In a moment of pure instinct, All Might felt the sensation of skin against skin. All for One starred in surprise as the gigantic limb that he had constructed seemed to, if only for a moment, have been dodged at the most precise and pinpoint of angles...
Pure instinct...the sense of danger...
"What have you done..." All for One thought to himself as he felt the anger bubbling in his chest.
All Might shook his head. I'm not sure, but I'm definitely on board with this. With a tremendous burst of speed, All Might launched himself forward and spear kicked his opponent in the chest, before launching into a flurry of lashing blows with his limbs. Taking a step back, All Might set his stance, and then unleashed a lightning-fast, devastating punch to the center of his foe, launching them backwards through some buildings at max speed.
"BOSTON SMASH!"
All for One crashed through one, two, three, four, FIVE- SIX buildings before he came to a stop. The villain breathed heavily, with his mask finally cracked.
...Impossible.
The breath that erupted from All for One almost started to change the very air around him as his body began to glow with an intense energy.
From within the crater that had formed a series of lasers started to arc through the air, the beams making intense turns that were aiming right for All Might. He wanted to end this and he wanted to end this now before he ended up getting struck down. The beams that were firing off from his mouth were causing more destruction across the battlefield.
All Might quickly clenched his fists before feeling sparks erupt across his arms as he started to quickly close the distance.
It was only a second. All Might thought he'd had to run a small gauntlet of lasers to get back to destroying All for One, but one leap forward was all it took. His seemingly hyper charged body was working to his favor- especially when he drove his finger into One for All's face again.
"CONNECTICUT SMASH!"
The single finger cracked the mask again, and made a giant impact in the wall behind him.
All for One felt blood suddenly leave his mouth before starting to rise up from the crater that had been left. He wasn't going to go down without showing the world that the supposed symbol of peace was nothing more than a farce.
"Overclock, Regeneration." He breathed before his body started to alter its own brain patterns to focus on healing the injuries that had been sustained.
"You should know that regardless of how many times you strike me down I will simply come back stronger. That is the order of things!"
Overclock- a powerful quirk One for All had stolen a while ago. It was useful- allowed the user to accelerate to extreme speeds, to the point that to the user, it looks like nothing is moving. Right now, All Might was standing still.
So that meant All for One had some advantage. He had his Rivet Stab quirk shoot out of his back, and stab into Toshinori's body, like a spider catching his prey.
"There we go." All for One said.
All Might suddenly gasped out, gritting his teeth as he could feel the rivets stabbing into his body. The blood seeping from his body wasn't going to stop him as he started to focus on the muscles that could still move. Even with a spider catching their prey, they still had the advantage of distance and being closer.
He was about to throw everything he had...even if it meant he had to play a bit dirty.
All Might's original plan was to shoot out his blood and blind All for One's mask, and then either get a free hit or escape. All for One laughed, as he deactivated Overclock. "Look at this...I'm already better." All for One said. "Save for my mask, I don't even feel the brunt of your earlier attacks. Pathetic."
One for All extended his rivets and slammed All Might against a wall. His arm slowly began to coil his muscles, and he aimed his arm forward.
"I've always wondered what Air Cannon could do at point blank range..." All for One hummed. "I suppose you'll be the first to figure it out..." All for One's muscles continued to coil.
"Say hello to Nana for me, will you?"
And All Might YELLED.
As All Might yelled, visions of figures seemed to envelop his gaze as his mouth suddenly erupted with a black energy - All for One's face just barely being struck by the black whip that rushed out from his mouth.
"This energy..." All for One glanced at All Might's bloodied body and seemed to realize what was going on.
The two seemed to share the same conclusion as their bodies began to tense, the black tendrils beginning to circle around All Might's arms as the strength that had been regained by All for One seemingly did nothing to prevent the rivets being shattered by the sheer number of black whips tightening around them.
All Might landed on the ground, as the Blackwhip seeped into wounds and 'stitched' them up, allowing him to continue to fight without bleeding out to death. All Might coughed, as he looked back up at All for One.
Is One for All assisting me against him now, because they know I'm out matched? Or is the quirk simply responding to the overwhelming power of All for One? All Might wondered. All for One just simply began to clap.
"...so, it's taken you THIS long to intervene, brother!" He laughed. "Were the bodies piling up getting on your nerves? Did you not want to see more bloodshed? Or did you simply want to save someone?"
All for One deployed more of his rivets, and stopped clapping. "Fret not, dearly departed brother...I will make sure your efforts are moot."
All Might had no time to think.
He simply needed to do.
The rivets were quickly thrown out in abundance as All Might started to throw out more black whips, swinging and bounding from each one he could. The energy of the fight was starting to intensify, and the symbol of peace wasn't about to let it die down any time soon.
Strike after strike, whip after whip!
He wasn't going to lose here. The flames encircling his spirit was starting to billow out as more and more punches started to thrust from his arms.
All for One couldn't believe it, his brother showing up now of all times? OF ALL the luck? He was going to make sure that he put All Might in the grave
All Might threw out another punch, this time accompanied by multiple Black Whips. "FOUR CORNERS-!" All Might's fist collided with some rivets, while his added tendrils snaked through the other legs. They locked onto All for One's chest, and lashed out. All For One tried to react with his impact recoiling, but the quirk was useless against Blackwhip- when the impact returned, it simply faded away.
"SMASH!"
All Might rushed forward, slamming his fist into All for One's chest. All Might swung around, and tossed the villain across the battlefield, back to where they started. All Might took off running after the body, which was slamming and skidding across the ground.
DAMN...YOU! All for One cursed.
As All for One slammed against the ground, All Might started to actively throw out more punches to try and rack up the damage. The more damage, the better. All for One knew that he had to try and keep the regeneration going for as long as he could - but he couldn't let All Might have the upper hand!
All Might started to grin as he jumped up, aiming his knee at All for One's spine as electricity sparked across it. The strike was enough to send the villain flying forward once more, slamming back into one of the large pieces of debris once again.
All for One's rivets stabbed into the ground, anchoring him back to the ground. His rivets were snaking underground for a sneak attack. Once you get close to me, I will SKEWER you, All Might! I'll use my Fire Infusion to make sure you BURN!
All Might rushed forward, and All for One saw the window of attack. "DIE!" All for One yelled, but once again, his attack was in vain. He'd seen this sudden burst of energy somewhere, and cursed the quirk as it smashed into his face again.
Damn that third user- All Might doesn't even know his quirk truly works, but he's unintentionally using it to empower his blows!
The strikes that were being thrown out from All Might only seemed to increase in speed, the One for All that was now spiraling through those fists only causing more and more damage to the villain sitting before him. Even if he was hit with the burns that would normally cause most to perish...
He would stand.
He would smile.
Because that is what a hero does.
All for One knew that he had to stop holding back his gambit. There was one combination he knew that he had to use - his Air Cannon was powerful, sure...but when mixed with the other quirks he had?
He needed to throw All Might off balance first.
All for One held open his palms and began to launch out more air bombs. "ZERO CANNON!" All for One yelled, as the environment became coated in ice and snow. All Might found his body slowing down, emitting more smoke.
With Zero Wind, I've significantly lowered the temperature down into 0 degrees Celsius. One for All thought, as he activated his Overclock and Super Regeneration quirk. All Might's body should be slowing down even further, and only I can see through this wintery storm with the Search and Infrared quirk...
All for One spread his arms, and eyes began to 'rip' out of his body. And I'll make sure to obscure these much better this time. Laser Eyes and Eyes in the Sky- a deadly combo. I'm not even sure the 4th's quirk could bypass this! The eyes began to spread around the area, looking for All Might.
As they started to perform their search, the winds howled and roared with the growing snow and ice. All Might knew that the environment had just become a lot more dangerous. The possibility of him getting caught was only going to be heightened if he tried to run toward where he THOUGHT All for One might be.
He had to think on his feet, or rather…off his feet.
In a moment, the wind howling seemed to be interrupted by the visage of someone in the snow. A familiar face but one who extended their arm out to All Might from above. A way to give him the edge he needed in a time of desperation, to make sure that the embers didn't die out…
All Might's eyes widened as he realized who the figure was. And she was pointing.
To the sky.
The helicopters recording the footage nearly had a heart attack when they saw something emerging from the frozen wonderland. All Might was jumping out of the smoke, right?
No.
All Might was flying.
All Might could feel the tears almost streaming from his face, he couldn't believe that she was here...helping him. In his time of need she still came back for him.
Float - A quirk that allowed the user to be one with the sky...the quirk of the previous user of One for All.
Nana Shimura.
All Might, no...Toshinori, found himself clenching a fist to his chest and beginning to look down within the snowy tundra, he knew that this had to have been fate.
"Folks, I don't know if you're seeing what I'm seeing, but, All Might is flying!" The camera operator screamed as All Might performed a U-turn and headed back towards the battleground. All for One yelled as he fired more shots from the Zero Cannon and his many laser eyes, but the Symbol of Peace remained unmoved by his attacks.
"I…AM…HERE!" All Might yelled, as he sped up.
As he sped up, the wind around him seemed to form a cone around him - he was moving much faster than any man should have been able to!
His fist made contact with All for One's torso and with the built momentum, All Might started to follow up with more and more strikes. His moves were like that of a true superhero of the golden era, moving at speeds beyond speed and starting to build up an intense amount of heat where he had been striking.
"Austin...Texas..."
With one final rising punch toward All for One's spine, the heat started to form a blazing star that almost erupted through the snow surrounding the pair.
"SMASH!"
The attack cratered the ground. The newscaster was stunned. The people watching at home were stunned. Izuku's jaw was on the ground, and literally everyone was freaking out over this attack.
...but that, sadly, was only Phase 1 of the fight.
"I told you, All Might." All for One spoke as he started to slowly but surely rise from the crater, his body arcing with electricity as his arm started to bulk up once more. "It will take a lot more than that to put me down for good!"
All for One's springlike limb launched All Might out of the crater, and more rivets shot out of his back. Instead of skewering All Might like a shish kabob, he instead began launching some sort of tar-like liquid that splattered all over All Might's body.
"Ferrofluid + Oil + Machine Gun...a deadly combo. Especially when ignited." All for One grinned, as he stood up. His mask had been destroyed, revealing…
A giant hole through his face.
"Did…did Ben and I do that?" All Might said, genuinely freaked out. He could see right through All for One's head.
"Indeed you did." All for One said. "I had to pay a pretty penny…thank goodness for that contingency plan."
"What is keeping you alive!?" All Might yelled.
"Hate. Spite. Alien tech." All for One said. "But never mind that…back to killing you."All for One needed to branch out more. More quirk combos- "Spearlike Bones + Giga Limbs + Springlike Limb + Shuttle Punch!" All for One yelled. His arm mutated once more, with muscles ripping and bones shooting out. All for One launched his giant fist at All Might. This should've been no easy feat for the newly overpowered All Might to dodge. But...
His body couldn't react in time. What!? What the heck is going on? All Might thought. Why can't-
Suddenly, it all clicked for him. Wait. This is the first time I'm even using all of these powers- and since they've been hyper charged by the stockpiling effect...am I feeling the strain!?
All Might watched in horror as the giant fist approached his face-
A sudden shot rang out, reaching both All for One's and All Might's ears. It wasn't just any shot. It was a heavy sniper shot that everyone knew. All for One was hit by a ball of compressed air instead of a bullet, which threw the mastermind off by a few centimeters. Instead of shredding All Might's face and stopping there, the bone spears only managed to scrape his cheek. Even if it was a miss, it was still able to draw blood, but it prevented the most of the harm.
Behind the Symbol of Peace, the giant fist of All for One slammed into the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. The League's patron wrenched his arm free of the stone and turned in the direction of the shot.
Pulling back on Crescent Rose's bolt lever, Ruby readied another Dust round, peering down at All for One from a sniper perch.
"Miss Rose," All for One realized, "If you're here, then that must mean-"
Before the Symbol of Evil could finish speaking, he was proven right. Pieces of trash suddenly rushed toward the bad guy and stuck to him as if he had activated a Quirk that worked like a magnet. The famously named "Demon Lord" looked at an alien that looked like a walking planet, and he smiled. The concrete rubble rapidly sealed off All for One in a makeshift tomb, and a small touch of pressure caused the jail to collapse. Ben held the prison a few feet off the ground just in case, but then the prison started to break apart from the inside. Light started to shine through the cracks before the debris tomb blew up. All for One fell to the ground, unfazed by the people trying to hold him back, and simply dusted off his suit.
"Tennyson," All for One said, "Today is just full of reunions, isn't it?"
"I'd say it's nice to see you again, but that'd be a lie," Ben said, before shuddering. "Jeez. I thought you were freaky before…"
"What's your villain name now? Bagel Boy?" Ruby smirked.
"Did All Might literally knock the ugly off you way back when?" Ben joked, as All for One chuckled.
"How kind of you to not lose your childish sense of humor, Tennyson. I find it the best way to tell someone they know they're out matched." All for One said. "And Mrs. Rose...congrats on the child. How is she?"
Ruby's eyes grew wide, and her brow furrowed. "We never specified a gender."
"Yes- that response will keep you up at night, won't it?" All for One laughed.
"Not really...especially because by night's end," Ruby loaded a fresh round into her weapon, "You'll be locked away in Tartarus."
"I invite you to try. Come then, heroes of yesteryear," All for One held his arms out wide, "Try and finish what you started!"
Ben faced Toshinori once more. "Get some rest, dude. You're doing a great job, but even heroes sometimes need a hand."
Ben and Ruby exchanged knowing nods and then charged headfirst into the fray. Ben started by turning into Blitzwolfer and splitting his jaw open to let out a devastating sonic howl. All for One recoiled in response to the assault, tearing more of his mask in the process. Again, he fired an Air Cannon shot, but Ben was able to evade it by changing into Surge. He turned around and quickly turned the air blast into a weapon by forming a huge "hurricane" body.
"Brilliant strategy. Let's see how YOU like it." Ben made a beeline towards All for One, engulfing him in the center of the ruckus. All for One was thrown around, but didn't react. Ben "spat" him out from above, letting Ruby charge in and cut him a couple dozen times. In a flash, All for One's palm transformed into a gleaming sword. Ruby dodged his slash by suddenly disappearing and reappearing behind her adversary.
"You missed!" At that moment, Ruby's scythe transformed into a painful chainsaw, and she screamed. The chainsaw was stabbed through All for One's chest and Ruby began carving. Ruby retreated when All for One fired his rivets out of his back.
"Rivet Stab + Machine Gun!" All for One yelled, as he began to fire at Ruby. Ruby dodged the salvo, and retreated to the ground. Ben morphed into Diamondhead, and responded by raising enormous crystals from the ground. The crystals flew at All for One at full speed.
All for One didn't even try to dodge out of the way. His skin simply shifted to have the hardness of steel and the crystal salvo shattered against the villain's increased defense. He turned his attention to Ben and held out one of his hands.
"Iron Skin + Giga Limbs," All for One began as his arm bulged in size, "+ Spearlike Bones," his knuckles erupted into several bone-spikes, "+ Springlike Limbs," He coiled his massive arm back, ready for the attack. "+ Shuttle Punch!"
He threw the punch and, with all the extra power and momentum from his build-up Quirks, he fired his own fist at Ben like a rocket. Ben brought up a wall of crystals in front of him to try and block the attack, but the projectile-fist punched through the bulwark and slammed into Ben. The hit sent him flying, leaving dents in his chest, but the spiked fist didn't embed itself into the diamond-like flesh of the Petrosapien form. The fist just bounced back and flew back to its owner.
Ben furrowed his crystalline brow, as Ruby joined his side. Ruby spun her weapon around, morphing it into its gun form. Ruby's cloak began to glow, before the glow traveled down her arm, and into her weapon. She aimed the gun at All for One, and fired. All for One prepared to blast it away with an Air Cannon, but the bullet was strangely glowing. It suddenly pierced his hand and shot out of his forearm. All for One quickly regenerated, as Ruby fired more. He quickly evaded them before deploying his Iron Skin again.
"Multiplier + Giga Limbs," the mastermind began, growing several replicas of his own arms, each one quickly swelling in size to make the next part even more effective, "+ Machine Gun." The fingertips on the replica arms popped off to reveal several gun barrels in their place.
With the sound of ammo clips being loaded, the League's patron took aim and fired off a barrage at the duo. Ben couldn't stop them since the bullets weren't made of metal, they were made of bone, and there were too many for Ruby to simply block with a scythe-spin. Ben quickly transformed into Cannonbolt and grabbed Ruby, pulling her into the bunker-like ball. The bullets bounced and panged off the yellow plates of the Arburian. One of the many of the arms popped its fingertips back and took aim for another Quirk.
"+ Air Cannon," All for One said, firing off a burst of air that sent the curled up Cannonbolt flying. The Arburian slammed into ruins and debris, bouncing off some destroyed columns and walls before coming to a stop. Thankfully, due to the form's durability, neither of them were seriously hurt.
Ben popped out of ball form and growled. "You aren't the ONLY one who can mix powers, you know!" Ben morphed into Swampfire, who quickly gained his Omni Drive armor.
"Of course- the action figure add ons! I'm guessing your toy sales are skyrocketing, aren't they?" All for One laughed, as he started to float.
Ben said nothing as he activated the Omni Drive's new feature- his arms became larger, gaining sharp shield-like plates. Areas on his neck and arms started to glow green, and his head became 'sharper'. "Swampviolent!" Ben yelled, as All for One laughed.
"Am I supposed to take you serious as some sort of mismash of aliens?" All for One pondered.
Ben didn't say anything as he suddenly jumped at All for One. Even though Iron Skin went up, Swampviolent kept going. He headbutted the Symbol of Evil in the stomach, but the force of the blow was still enough to make All for One double over in pain and surprise. As All for One's formidable mask was further slashed away by the armored hybrid's strong double uppercut, the world saw more and more of the terrifying face beneath.
"Giga Limbs!" All for One growled, bringing both boosted arms down on Swampfire. The two armored shield-arms came up to meet them, tanking the hit with a loud THUNK! as the Symbol of Evil's attacks managed to leave a small dent in the defenses. It was now a contest of strength, All for One pushing down to break through and Ben pushing up to force him back. Before either of them could really make any progress, or exploit an opening, something ricocheted around the destroyed area before that bouncing projectile slammed into the "Demon Lord's" back. Ben took advantage of the sudden opening, since that hit took All for One by surprise. The sharpened shields slashed at All for One's suit and sent him flying into a nearby destroyed building.
"Ha! You talked about Toshinori losing his edge, but you didn't even notice me until my head was breaking your spine!" Gran Torino cheered.
"Torino?! When did-?!" Ben began.
"Really gonna question it? Or are you just gonna accept our help?"
"Our?" Ruby asked.
A fiery spear flew through the air, and stabbed into All for One's chest. The villain cursed, as more spears flew at him. He blasted them away, scattering them across the battlefield.
"Annoying insects..." All for One cursed, before something sharp pierced through his chest a multitude of times. All for One's vitals had been hit significantly, all by one man-
Edgeshot reformed himself near Ben and Ruby, and brushed himself off. "I apologize for being late. Thankfully, all the Nomus have been subdued."
Endeavor landed on the ground next to Ruby. "Your aliens are rather disgusting, Tennyson. I can see why you don't market all of them."
Ben sniffed the air. "Ugh. Smells like you dealt with a Spitter Nomu."
"Multiple." Endeavor grimaced.
"Yeah, not the best alien to deal with," Ruby quipped.
"So...not just the original three then. The retired master and the hero in All Might's shadow want to fight as well," All for One said, "So be it. Makes this more interesting."
Ben's arms began producing some flaming projectiles, which flew at All for One at blinding speeds. They flew around his body, cutting him up with ease. Endeavor quickly sent a burst of flames at him, allowing the wounds to cauterize before they could properly heal.
All for One was taken off guard by the efficiency of the two pyrokinetics. If only he could steal Tennyson's powers for his own, not just copy them in the form of Animo's research. Wouldn't that be an addition to his arsenal? But no sense dwelling on that. He had a fight to win.
All for One quickly activated Iron Skin to give him some kind of defense. He was still wounded, but now he could stop any more cuts piling on. Considering he was at a point where he was outnumbered, now might be a good time to bring out something...devastating.
"Apocalypse," All for One said as he opened his hand and slammed it against the ground. The concrete debris at the point of contact started to turn a sickly green color, which spread out like veins across the battlefield.
"What did he just say?" Gran Torino asked, hoping he misheard the Symbol of Evil.
The ground was starting to terraform, as it started to meld and morph itself in what could only be described as a nightmare. Creatures and arms started to rise from the ground, forcing buildings to morph into horrific weapons. They were green in color and were bearing teeth and eyes and other horrific things. They growled and hissed, making everyone flinch. The ground started to crack open, and shift the terrain drastically. Purple flames shot out of the ground, separating the group from one and other.
"W-what the hell is this!?" Ben yelled.
"Did he summon Hell itself?" Ruby asked, watching a massive arm punch its way out of the Earth.
"Just a personal favorite of mine." All for One said, starting to levitate in the air. "I'm sure Toshinori and Torino know all about...don't they?"
Toshinori, for the first time in a long time, what felt like forever really was paralyzed with fear. He recognized this scenario all too well. Gran Torino did as well, balling his fists tightly as the memories came flooding back.
"You...bastard," Gran Torino hissed, locking eyes with All for One. The villain smirked as he saw that recognition hit his old enemies like a hammer.
"This...this is..." All Might muttered. He'd never forget that day. All for One stood atop one of these mutated monstrosities in the middle of a city, accompanied by floating spears of rock. Facing off against him was the previous user of One for All before All Might, his very own mentor, Nana Shimura. This was the Quirk All for One used to kill her.
"Remember the feeling well enough, Toshinori? Good. You never found a body for your poor master, did you?" All for One mocked.
All Might's face became dark and angry. All for One smirked even more.
"With all of Tomura's efforts, it's almost a shame to drive the last nail in the coffin..." All for One said while putting his arms out wide. "Hey, All Might. For as much as you despise me, know that I feel the same way for you. Even after I killed your master, you still had the nerve to destroy all I had built. Which is why I want to watch your horrible, bloody death! Do you want to know why I chose Kamino of all places?! 2,670,000 people live in this city. While our battle has barely touched even more than 10% percent of the population, I can assure you- my Apocalypse quirk will spread and spread, causing more chaos! More heroes will show up, and they will fall all the same! Send anyone and everything! NO ONE LEAVES THIS CITY ALIVE TONIGHT!"