Welcome back to "Through the Rough", everyone! We're in the final stage of the World Heroes' Mission Arc, and I'm just about ready to conclude it. But first, we've got ourselves quite the chapter to get into! So without further delay, enjoy!
THROUGH THE ROUGH
Rebecca stared in disbelief at the sight of Rody holding onto Izuku. Even though he was told to stay away because of the dangers that lied ahead, he was here. The One For All inheritor was just as speechless.
"…Rody…?" he weakly uttered out, "Why…?" he asked.
"It's fine now, Deku," his friend assured in reply, giving him a soft smile, "Don't you worry…" he said. The Cat Leaper Quirk user took notice of his eyes, which looked shaky. There were tear stains underneath them.
"No…" Izuku uttered out, "You have to… run…" he pleaded desperately, while Rody opened up one of the pouches on his belt.
"I will…" he affirmed, "once I hand this over to the blue guy," he said, holding the disarming key in his left hand.
"The disarming key…" the One For All inheritor said, widening his eyes.
"Rody… what are you doing?!" Rebecca asked as her eyes shook, seeing him gently set Izuku down onto the broken floor.
"Why…?!" the One For All inheritor questioned again.
"Know that I'm sorry," Rody apologized, recalling his recent encounter with the group of Humarise members back in the forest outside of the base, "They said they'd stop the Otheon explosion if I helped them out," he told his colleagues.
"Rody… don't do this…" Izuku pleaded, still bleeding upon the broken floor, "If we work together, we can stop him and save everybody!" he pointed out as he tried to push himself up, "PLEASE!" he begged loudly before wincing with pain, falling back down.
"Izu…" Rebecca uttered out, trembling in frustration.
"How are you gonna stop anything when you're all messed up?" Rody asked of the One For All inheritor, "You and Rebecca?" he questioned on, "We're out of time," he noted, seeing that there was just four-and-a-half minutes left on the countdown, "The bombs are gonna explode," he pointed out, "It's game over," he remarked simply with a shrug.
"No…!" Izuku gasped out.
"At least… I'm going to protect my family," the brunette-haired young man said, "I can do that much," he added, starting to walk toward Flect as the One For All inheritor widened his eyes.
"STOP!" Rebecca screamed in demand, shooting up to her feet and aiming the Happy Blaster in her right hand at Rody's back, making him come to a stop, "Don't take another step!" she insisted, "I'll shoot!" she proclaimed. Yet her trembling grip and shaking eyes told another story. She didn't want to shoot. As Rody looked back at her solemnly, she gave way and collapsed to her knees, letting her tears drip onto the broken floor. Turning back to Flect, the aspiring pilot continued his approach.
"Look… I'm a worthless delinquent, you two…" he pointed out to them, "I can't take on the world, much less save it…" he noted, "I'm not a hero like either of you," he added seriously, "If I have to pick between society or my family surviving, the choice isn't that hard," he told them, "It was the same for my dad," he mentioned, narrowing his eyes onto Flect, "You forced his hand!" he shouted out.
"That's true," the Humarise leader admitted in response, recalling the time he and his followers had taken in the engineer into their ranks by force, "Your father, Eddy Soul, helped develop the Human Salvation Bombs," he recanted, "He knew that if he didn't, then your lives would be forfeit," he pointed out.
"…It was him…" Izuku realized, recalling the video message from the SD card that described Flect's dastardly plan and how it could be stopped. Rebecca did, too. She remembered how shocked Rody had seemed by the revelation. Though she didn't want to say anything at the time, she knew how hurt he probably was.
"My dad didn't help you…" he snarled towards the Humarise leader, "You threatened to murder our whole family!" he yelled, "He only worked for you because you made him!" he shouted angrily.
"Fortunately, he had the clarity to make the correct decision," Flect pointed out in response, "And it appears you're a wise man just like your father," he mentioned, "You're protecting your loved ones," he noted as Rody glared at him, "An honorable choice," he complimented, "I commend you," he added, "We're quite alike…" he affirmed.
"You and he are nothing alike!" Rebecca shouted, grabbing at her hurting shoulder as she winced. Both she and Izuku were struggling to get onto their feet, with the latter falling over in a heap again.
"I developed this plan because I love humanity and wish to save it," the Humarise leader stated.
"Rody, please…" Izuku pleaded as he crawled forward, "You can't do this!" he yelled out.
"Rody!" Rebecca exclaimed as she fell to her knees again, wincing all the while, "We can still stop him…" she promised with shaking eyes. Hearing their pleas, the aspiring pilot continued to walk up to Flect. There was less than three-and-a-half minutes left on the timer.
"Sorry, heroes…" he apologized as he stood in front of the Humarise leader, "But this is how it all ends…" he noted, recalling the misery of his life after his father left, "That's life. People get betrayed," he remarked on, "If it's any condolence… it happened to me, too," he pointed out, "Nothin' to cry about," he said.
"Rody…" Izuku and Rebecca uttered. But then, the two of them perked up as they both noticed something. Lurking in the brunette-haired young man's hood was Pino. As he was moving his arm up to hand the disarming key to Flect, she looked to the pair of young heroes and shook her head. Both of them lightly gasped.
'What about you? I mean, do you have a Quirk? I've been wondering…' Izuku remembered asking his friend, while Pino raised her right wing out from his hood.
'You won't laugh, will you?' he questioned back in response, all while the One For All inheritor and the Cat Leaper Quirk user took ready stances.
'I promise!' the One For All inheritor assured, just as Rody was about to hand Flect the disarming key.
'Really?' he had questioned again.
'No, we swear it!' Rebecca promised.
'Okay… it's kinda weird…' Rody admitted. In that instant just as the chip was an inch away from Flect's hand, the aspiring pilot took on a determined expression. He weaved it through his fingers and flicked it upward.
"Ah!" the Humarise leader gasped. At that moment, Pino squawked, swinging her wing down to signal to Izuku and Rebecca. Sparks of green bio-electricity erupted from the former as he shot forward, while the latter grasped her blasters tightly as she dashed in. Rody ran aside, allowing the two of them to attack, with the One For All inheritor striking at his foe's face with his right foot, while the Cat Leaper Quirk user swung her left leg at his torso.
"Pino!" the brunette-haired young man called out just before the reflecting mass of energy blew him away. His bird quickly flew out of his hood and snatched the disarming key in her beak. She flapped her wings, descending down to fly alongside her owner as they hurried toward the doors at the end of the room. "Nice job!" he complimented, "The plan's working, huh?" he noted, glancing back to his allies, who were still attacking Flect.
"Grrrrrrrggghhh…!" Izuku grunted, trying desperately to break through before he was struck back by the reflective energy his foe was gathering. Unfortunately, he was ultimately blown back into a barricaded bookshelf in an instant.
"DEKU!" Rody screamed upon noticing. Meanwhile, Rebecca was still holding her ground against Flect, even as cracks were appearing along her arms and legs. Gritting his teeth in frustration at her resistance, the Humarise leader disregarded waiting for her to get reflected and just struck her in the face with his right fist, sending her crashing into dust cloud where the One For All inheritor had gone. "REBECCA, NO!" Rody cried out. Flect whipped around toward him with a glare.
"You foolish boy!" he yelled as the prostheses at his eyes shined, activating the laser turrets as they fired towards the aspiring pilot. He flipped and ducked under the beams hurrying through the smoke as quickly as he could with a grimace on his face.
"Don't stop!" Izuku yelled, flicking his fingers to unleash pressurized blasts of air out to destroy the turrets on the right side of the room, while Rebecca fired on the left side with her Happy Blasters. One laser beam knocked Rody off of the stairs he was climbing to evade the beams, putting him in midair as he fell toward the floor. In that same moment, one of the Cat Leaper Quirk user's shots failed to take out the last of the turrets completely. It fired a beam that pierced straight through the aspiring pilot's torso, causing blood to fly out.
"AH!" Izuku and Rebecca gasped, watching as he fell onto the floor in a heap, flopping upon his stomach.
"NO!" the One For All inheritor screamed as he shot out from the dust cloud, only to have to counter a punch from Flect with his left fist. The reflective energy that resulted blew him back. However, Rebecca caught him from behind, setting him onto his feet.
"Rody!" she cried out, rushing forward. Meanwhile, Izuku jumped up, trying to take another route to his injured friend. However, the Humarise leader came down from above onto him and slammed him against the ground.
"You impertinent child!" he bellowed out angrily, having the mirrors upon his Arachne aim down onto the freckled teen, pushing him down harder against the broken floor with their reflecting energy, as a shockwave erupted.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" the Cat Leaper Quirk user screamed as she leapt up, bringing both of her legs down onto Flect from behind. She still wasn't making contact with her foe's body, but found that her feet were much closer than before. The cracks were spreading along her legs, though she remained firm as she pressed down as hard as she could. Even so, her efforts seemed futile. There was only so much time left…
"Deku! Rebecca!" Rody called out, getting the attentions of his friends as they looked over to see him leaning against the doorway with blood spilling from his new wound, "Don't you dare die! You kick his ass!" he insisted of them.
"Tch…!" Flect scoffed, removing his hold on Izuku while also blasting Rebecca back off of him.
"I'll stop the bombs!" Rody promised, "And you…" he continued in spite of his pain, causing both of his friends to have a new fire build in their eyes, "You take him down, heroes!" he yelled, "Let's go!" he shouted while hurrying off into the pathway. In that very moment, Izuku leapt out into Flect's path, skidding to a stop and rearing his left fist back.
"ERRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he roared, slamming it against his foe's as the reflective mass of energy reappeared behind the latter. It twisted and struck the freckled teen back, though he managed to regain his footing the dust around him built up. Rebecca ran back over and fired a few shots onto the Humarise leader, who reflected the ammunition. She swiftly evaded them, leaping into the dust cloud. With a wave of his right arm, Izuku brushed the dust aside, clenching his fists tightly. "We're the end of the line!" he yelled out determinedly, "We don't care how strong you are either! You won't get past us!" he declared, taking on a ready stance.
This time, Flect was the one to launch himself forward toward his foes. He threw out his left fist, while the One For All inheritor countered with his right. Sparks between the space of their extremities, as the reflected energy blasted back onto Izuku, ripping his entire glove off in an instant.
"Izu!" Rebecca cried out, keeling over slightly. She saw drops of blood dripping down her arms, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to withstand much more if she kept fighting in her empowered state, much to her frustration. But to her surprise, the freckled teen was holding his own against Flect, thinking of his bleeding friend on the way to stop the bombs.
'What about you? I mean, do you have a Quirk? I've been wondering…' he remembered asking him.
FLASHBACK
Rody's cheeks were pink. He had never been asked about his Quirk, much less by someone so curious. Then again, he thought it wasn't really much to talk about. But knowing how sooner or later, Izuku and Blake would find out, it was probably better to tell the truth.
"You may think I'm joking, but…" he started to say, looking up at the flustered Pino atop his head, "it's Pino," he said as she covered her eyes with her wings, turning away in embarrassment, "You see… her actions show my true intentions," he told his new friends.
"Really?" Izuku said curiously, leaning to get a closer look at Pino.
"Hm," Connor chuckled out, "It's why he always tries to hide her when he's out telling a bold-faced lie," he told the pair of young heroes.
"Old man…" Rody muttered out.
"So when she always likes to be near me… that's you?" Rebecca inquired with an arched eyebrow. Rody grimaced as his cheeks were practically burning up. He exhaled an embarrassed sigh, while Pino remained turned away. The Cat Leaper Quirk user just giggled out of flattery.
"No matter how good I am at lying…" the aspiring pilot grumbled, "Pino always gives away how I truly feel…" he noted, "Honestly, it's not much of a Quirk…" he pointed out.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that…" Izuku replied to his surprise, "Not being able to lie?" he paraphrased, "I think that's pretty amazing," he admitted.
"How is that?" Rody inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"People get to know who you truly are," Rebecca answered, getting his attention, "And that way, they'll know you're a good person at heart who cares a lot about their friends and family," she mentioned on with a smile.
END FLASHBACK
Rody was thinking about what Rebecca said, walking down the steps leading to the control system as quickly as he could. His blood stained the wall as he weakly trudged on, carrying a weakened Pino in his left hand. He fell onto his bottom tiredly, losing his strength little by little. But he knew he had to carry on, standing back up through a wince.
Back in the grand hall, Izuku was blown back by another reflective blast, remaining on his feet as he slid to a stop. He and his girlfriend glared down their foe, who evidently had lost some of his composure after being tricked. They weren't going to let him win. And neither were any of the other heroes around the world.
Meanwhile, hurrying through the base as quickly as he could was Connor. He had been aware of Rody's plan from the beginning. Though he was warned not to follow, he couldn't help but worry. Not just for the brunette-haired boy, but also for the young heroes who were fighting to save the world from destruction…
X
Back in Japan atop one of the buildings, the search team was continuing to hone in on locations of the Trigger Bombs.
"Fat Gum's secured one of the devices!" one of Kuga's sidekicks called out, "Present Mic and Cementoss are already on another!" he affirmed on.
"So we currently know of two at least…" Mezo noted aloud.
"Wait, I think I found a new one!" Kyoka confirmed, getting their attentions as they turned to see her with her hands upon her headphones as she concentrated on her hearing, "Yeah, we have a total of three now!" she announced.
"Send some shrimps out there now!" Kugo ordered immediately through the communication line.
"Right, on it!" another of his sidekicks replied. Down in the city, several Humarise members were getting washed away by waves of water sent their way by Laguna.
"Damn it!" one of the cultists cursed, aiming his rifle.
"Hold your fire!" someone shouted out.
"What?!" he exclaimed, only to suddenly freeze up. The voice had originated from Hitoshi, who adjusted the plates of his modulator. He looked over to the Tears Lover Quirk user, sharing a nod with him. In the meantime, Eijiro was charging his way through the streets, knocking out Humarise members left and right.
'No way the bad guys are winning this…' he declared through his thoughts as he kept going, 'Right, Bakugo?!' he guessed inwardly, knowing that the Explosion Quirk user was likely doing his best in his own battle. Things had gone from bad to worse back at the entrance to Humarise's base. Katsuki was still struggling to hit Ena or Dio with his blasts, especially after they had drugged themselves to become stronger. As he fired off rapid shots, he found himself having to blast away from getting slashed by their bellow sword-like blades again, which cleaved the column he was nearby.
"AGH!" he yelled in pain, blasting around the mountainside and doing whatever he could to avoid the blades of his foes. They were continuing to close in on him. The former's blades finally struck, tearing off the rest of his hood and mask while cutting through his skin.
'Dammit, they're hammering my right side!' he realized, receiving more slashes to his stomach and midsection. He fired off blasts aimlessly to no avail, with Dio laughing as he was falling downward. That gave Ena an opening to slash at the Explosion Quirk user's leg. The twins both swung their blades ferociously at him, laughing crazily all the while. He blasted his way around most of their blades, going upward. But two blades each from his foes pierced into his body from the sides as he had his arms aimed toward the sky.
He fired off another explosion to propel himself downward. Sparks flew in between his bracers as he desperately tried to use the force of his blasts to pull his enemies downward. But he was losing strength with all the blood that he lost. His right eye was completely blood red. But a determined sneer came across his face.
"GRRRRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" he yelled out, pulling back on the blades of his foes with all his might. He slammed them against the mountainside in a flurry of dust, followed by landing upon the rubble from the entrance. The blades that had had pierced the Explosion Quirk user's body had come out except for one upon his back as he breathed heavily.
"I think it's about time…" he began as he stretched his muscles to make the lone blade upon his back fall off, "THAT YOU TWO SHUT IT FOR GOOD!" he bellowed with a wicked smirk. He aimed his bracers forward and fired them out like missiles, aimed for the twin villains as they were embedded in craters, unable to move. They both released bellow sword-like blades from their mouths, slashing through the bracers. They were cut in half, with sweat flying out from them before they exploded in a bright flash of light, blinding Ena and Dio. It also embedded them further into the crater as they yelled in pain.
"ERRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Katsuki roared, releasing a torrent of explosions that formed a huge tornado of smoke and fire. In the meantime, the smoke cleared around Ena and Dio as they tried to writhe themselves free of the rock they were embedded into. They looked out to see the twister of smoke building before them, now grimacing in fright. Inside, the Explosion Quirk user's eyes burned with anger.
"No holding back…!" he growled out as he enveloped himself in fire, shifting the torrent of smoke to strike the rock wall where the twins were embedded, "YOU'RE NOT GETTING UP!" he declared as he blasted himself toward them, while their eyes were widened in fright, "HOWITZER…" he began bellowing, condensing the energy he was building up as it burned off what remained of the upper half of his costume, "IMMMPPPAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCTTTTTTTTTTTT!" he roared, unleashing a massive blast that essentially destroyed a good portion of the mountainside. The entire entrance of the base collapsed as a result, with the rubble blocking off what remained of it. As the smoke settled quickly thanks to the rain, the twin villains were unconscious upon the ground. The Explosion Quirk user landed down atop some rubble from afar, breathing heavily as he held his right thumb down. "Happy now…?" he muttered in question, "You idiots…" he grumbled, falling backwards onto the ground as he lost consciousness.
X
"Eraaaghhh!" Ryuko roared from France as she threw the lionized Humarise member over her shoulders, making him crash hard against the ground as he lost consciousness, transforming back to normal. The battle around the area was starting to turn in the heroes' favor, but there were still a few of the cultists roaming about, attacking their enemies. In the meantime, Ochaco held the Trigger Bomb in her hands, having lightened to the point where she could easily carry it. All of a sudden, a Humarise member swiped at her, causing her to reflexively let go of the bomb to block the attack. She quickly went around him and chopped at the back of his neck, making him fall unconscious.
"Ochaco, the bomb!" Tsuyu exclaimed, seeing that the device was floating towards a skyscraper in the near distance. Quickly, the Zero Gravity Quirk user ran forward, tapping herself with her fingertips to start floating.
'I can't give up here!' she exclaimed to herself, 'Not when so many people are counting on me and the other heroes!' she pointed out through her thoughts.
"The bomb's in the air!" one Humarise member yelled from afar.
"Quick, take that girl down!" another shouted in command. However, he and his colleagues were bombarded by the twisting waves of yellow energy shot from an airborne Nejire. What followed was Kleene rushing in and sweeping away others in her wind.
"Ochaco…!" she exclaimed upon seeing the Zero Gravity Quirk user float toward the Trigger Bomb. Back at Humarise's base, Leviathan was still dragging Shoto and Homura along the current of the river, keeping them submerged and caught up in the flow. Despite their multiple attempts to try and free themselves, his foes were no match for his powerful Quirk, especially with how it was used. The Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user could feel his eyelids start to droop.
'I'm… losing consciousness…' he realized. Meanwhile, the Soul Blade Quirk user trapped alongside him was also starting to feel faint. A memory of Valkyrie flashed through her head.
Steeling herself, she managed to make her red markings appear upon her arms, shining brightly before she managed to achieve her Overdrive form. Freeing her left hand, she formed an oriental longsword in it, swiping at Leviathan as he flinched. All the while, Shoto had seen her efforts. And then he noticed a light towards the end of the tunnel they were going down.
'Is that…?' he started to guess. Upon realization that there was an opening, he opened his right hand and started freezing up the flowing water around him and Homura before Leviathan could regain complete focus. 'One last chance…!' he told himself, encasing himself and his girlfriend in a cocoon of ice. They reached the end of the tunnel, which had led to waterfall that they splashed right out of. The Humarise member's appendages were also caught by the ice, which pulled him down slightly.
Thin beams of fire erupted from the ice cocoon, shattering it apart. Homura quickly readied another energy blade in her left hand, seeing their foe rear his arms back. He fired off all of his tendrils at once, aiming to strike his two foes down. With a swift wave of his right arm as an icy mist wafted off of it, the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user not only froze up the tendrils into a cage of ice, but also the waterfall.
"Nicely done, Shoto," the Soul Blade Quirk user complimented as she and her boyfriend landed upon the ice structure.
"I don't think he's done yet though…" he admitted with narrowed eyes. Homura unfortunately had to nod in agreement. They saw that their foe was encased in the ice amidst the attack, while mist wafted off from the structure itself. All of a sudden, the ice around his head shattered as he shot his tendrils toward his two enemies.
"Watch out!" Homura yelled, slashing at the tendrils with her swords, while Shoto slid along the ice structures he created with a fierce expression upon his face.
"I won't let you get in our way!" he declared to his foe, forming a fireball over the palm of his left hand, "Flashfreeze… Heatwave!" he yelled, firing it and another down towards Leviathan. The ice suddenly reshaped into a sphere around the fire as the Soul Blade Quirk user leapt away, followed by a powerful explosion. Its force blew the Halt-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user back slightly as he braced himself. As the smoke quickly cleared thanks to the rain, he grimaced upon hearing a loud growl. Emerging from the veil was a massive fiery entity in the shape of the Humarise member. It opened its mouth, engulfing its foe completely.
"SHOTO!" Homura screamed as she saw him get swallowed up by the flaming form of Leviathan. It then looked towards her. She clenched her teeth angrily. "You fiend…" she growled out, bringing her swords together to form an even larger blade, "LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE THIS!" she roared, heading toward him as she reared her conjured weapon back. Meanwhile, Shoto was within the flames, gritting his teeth in pain.
"GUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled from the burning sensation. He spotted Leviathan himself, as he was using his tendrils to control the fire's flow.
'You can manipulate flames, too?!' he inquired through his thoughts, seeing his foe start to come towards him. Immediately, he ignited the left side of his body in fire. 'Fine!' he yelled inwardly, concentrating the flames around his arm while making sure to keep his body cooled from his right side, 'This is the most powerful move I've got!' he declared.
"Warrior Maiden Single-Sword Attack…" Homura started to echo, wincing a little from the hot flames as she swung out her blade. Within the flames, Leviathan had engulfed himself in a cloak of fire as he headed towards Shoto, not realizing what was about to happen. "DRAGON FLASH!" the Soul Blade Quirk user exclaimed as her sword cleaved through the flaming entity ahead of it, causing it to dissipate. Before the Humarise member could even comprehend what had happened, he saw the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user closing in on him. The flames had concentrated into a white-hot point around his left fist as he reared it back.
"Flashfire Fist…" he began loudly, "JET KINDLINNNNNNGGGGG!" he bellowed, slamming his enflamed extremity into the gut of Leviathan, causing a violent explosion of fire to erupt, "ERRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he roared on as his foe struggled to withstand the attack. The massive torrent of heat from the blast caused the ice encasing the waterfall to shatter. A trail of smoke was all that remained from the attack, plummeting downwards.
'Guys…' Shoto uttered inwardly as he was losing consciousness, falling alongside Leviathan, 'make sure… you stop them…' he pleaded through his thoughts, about to descend into the ravine below. Fortunately, Homura swooped in and caught him, piercing a smaller blade into the rock of the ravine, looking back to see the defeated Humarise member fall into the fog below.
"Huh…" she exhaled in relief.
'Friends… please do not fail…' she insisted through her thoughts.
X
Trotting through the halls of Humarise's base amidst the slew of downed cultists was none other than Nox. Though dignified in appearance, her expression was anything but that. An angered scowl twisted upon her face as she kept on her path.
END
And that's it for this chapter! Next time, Izuku and Rebecca continue their battle against Flect as the clock ticks down! But maybe they'll be joined by someone else in the fray…
Thanks for reading, everyone!