Thalia watched, mortified, as a tall, black, beaked... thing stepped out of the portal.
"What... what is that?" Thalia breathed.
"So you scumbags used the press as a cover and sneaked into campus." Aizawa accused the growing group of villains.
"Thor grant me strength... There's so many..." Thalia breathed.
"What? Real villains? No way." Kirishima claimed. "How could so many of 'em get into a U.A. facility this secure?"
"Yeah, Thirteen, why aren't the alarms going off?" Asked Momo, stepping forward, past Midoriya.
"Good question. I'm not sure." Thirteen answered, concerned and looking around. Thalia's chin jutted down, her eyes fearful but determined.
"Can your alarms detect portals?" Thalia said slowly, trying to calm herself down.
"That might be why, but they still should've been able to decipher their presence as unwelcome." Thirteen answered, turning around as Thalia stepped forward.
"Is the entire campus under attack?" Asked Todoroki, his eyes down, as if thinking. "Or is this their only target? Either way, if the alarm sensors aren't being triggered, then one of these villains must have a quirk that's masking their presence here. They carefully chose this isolated facility as an entry point when a class was being taught. They're fools for trespassing here, but they've thought this out."
"Whatever their plan," Thalia spoke up, sounding determined, "they must have a concrete objective in mind... but what is it?"
Aizawa walked closer to Thirteen's side.
"Thirteen, get them outta here. And alert the main campus... Actually, if they've got the ability to block our sensors, then they might be jamming our regular communications, too." He turned to Kaminari. "Kaminari, try using your quirk to contact the school." With a determined look, Kaminari put a hand up on the headphone on his ear.
"Yes, sir."
"What're you gonna do?" Midoriya asked, scared. "You can't fight them on your own! There's too many of 'em. Even if you can nullify their quirks, your fighting style's not suited for this. Your power works best in stealth and in one-on-one fights. That's not gonna help with a group."
"Very helpful, Midoriya." Thalia snapped, mostly out of stress, gritting her teeth. He yelped at her reaction. Why would he say that?
"You can't be a pro hero if you only have one trick. I'll leave it to you, Thirteen." Aizawa responded. And with that, he jumped down to confront the mob of villains below. Thalia had faith in him- he wouldn't be a teacher at U.A. if he wasn't strong. A nagging voice at the back of her head remained worried. He seemed to be completely fine fighting the villains, though. For now.
"Let's go!" Shouted Thirteen. Ochako tugged Thalia's hand- she hadn't realized she was frozen in place.
"Come on!" Ochako pleaded. Thalia slowly complied, however, Midoriya didn't.
"He's holding them off... I guess I shouldn't have underestimated him." He muttered.
"Midoriya, come on!" Thalia shouted with fear disguised as anger.
"This is no time for analyzing! We have to go!" Iida commanded. Midoriya realized he was being left behind, and nodded, running after them.
The class had almost made it to the door, when the portal appeared ahead of them, stopping the class in their tracks. It swirled like a storm- and turned into something like a towering cloud with two large golden eyes. Nine realms, Thalia thought fearfully, Fates be kind to me, please, please, please!
"There is no escape for you," It spoke, its voice deep and malevolent, every chord sending a chill down her spine. Thalia gasped, fear gripping her. She gritted her teeth, and let go of Ochako's hand, shifting into a horse-sized griffon, swallowing her discomfort. She ran to the front of the class, behind Thirteen, who she had faith in.
"Thalia!" Ochako shouted, panicked. Thalia stood in front of Mina and Sero, taking a protective stance, her enormous eagle head low and her wings spread.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. We are the League of Villains. I know it's impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves into this haven of justice to say hello. And besides, isn't this a fitting place for All Might, the symbol of peace, to take his last breath?" Thalia's eyes widened, horrified, raising her head a few inches. "I believe he was supposed to be here today and yet I see no sign of him. There must've been some sort of change in plans we could not have foreseen. Ah, well, in the end, I suppose it doesn't matter. I still have a role to play." It spread wing-like extensions of its dark purple body like wings as it said this.
Thalia watched Thirteen open a finger, ready to use her quirk, when Kirishima and Bakugo leapt at the villain, yelling in anger, fucking up her plan.
"Kirishima! Bakugo, no!" Thalia roared, dashing forward. Idiots! An unplanned attack is the furthest thing from smart! A huge explosion pushed her back, and she lowered her head to shield herself from the force.
She prowled forward, standing at Kirishima and Bakugo's shoulders.
"Did'ja think we were just gonna stand around and and let you tear this place to shreds?" Kirishima asked him, his voice devoid of healthy fear.
"You live up to your school's reputation." As the smoke cleared, Thalia noticed a metal piece within the fog- that must be his body! There was something to hit- he wasn't just a cloud!
"But you should be more careful, children. Otherwise, someone might get hurt." Thalia's beak clenched at that statement.
"You three, get out of the way, right now!" Thirteen shouted, her finger clasp undone. Thalia inhaled quickly, knowing that meant she was about to activate her quirk.
"I'll scatter you across this facility to meet my comrades- and your deaths!" The portal villain exclaimed maliciously, his body extending tendrils of his body outward as he spoke.
"Shit! What is this?" Kirishima shouted, covering his face. Thalia held her ground against the torrent of purple. The only way she could protect herself from the cascading violet was to put her head down and to close her eyes.
"I... I think he's teleporting us! Like... he said he would!" Thalia shouted back. Suddenly, she was on the ground by Kirishima and Bakugo. Over them stood several villains, and they were stuck in a concrete box. Thalia unsteadily got to her feet, looking around her fearfully, her tail twitching.
"Oh, did Kurogiri have to give us the meter-tall eagle-lion!?" Complained a villain with horns smaller than hers. Thalia growled, batting her tail. So the portal bitch was named Kurogiri?
"I'm a griffon, you insufferable troglodyte! Know your mythology! Have you never opened a book!?" Thalia growled, lowering her head.
"Guys, we need a plan!" Kirishima said uneasily, keeping his back to Thalia and Bakugo.
"Fuck a plan!" Bakugo screamed.
Dumbass! Thalia thought angrily with a growl.
"You're getting it after this, both of you absolute numbskulls!" Thalia snarled loudly as she spread her wings threateningly.
A villain with long blonde hair and spikes along the center of his head charged them- only to be stopped by Bakugo's explosion. Batting her tail again, Thalia let out a ground-shaking roar, launched herself at the villain directly in front of her- an orange-haired man with an oddly-shaped mouth.
She put as much of her weight as she could into her fall, knocking him to his back, knocking him out. She turned around with a murderous glare, and saw Bakugo and Kirishima's eyes on her. Bakugo's were one of surprise- close to shock- and Kirishima's were one of proud admiration. She sent them glares and swished her tail irritatingly. She turned her angry gaze on the horned villain, pouncing on him as well. He yelped, not expecting her leap, somehow.
She heard Kirishima and Bakugo yelling as they engaged the other villains. The horned villain below her wasn't knocked out, so she moved her head forward at the speed of a viper and clamped her jaws around his beefy shoulder. He screamed in her ear, struggling hopelessly against her weight, and dug her claws into his chest, resulting in his scream growing more painful. She tasted blood in her mouth- which told her he was most likely out of commission. She removed her jaws, spitting his blood on his chest, and his screams died down to heavy panting, and she watched the consciousness fade from his eyes. Stepping off him, she realized Bakugo and Kirishima had defeated the other villains, and were staring at her.
Knowing they were done with the villains, she could be angry with the two fools in front of her. She shifted back to her human form, which made the blood all over her all the more visible. It covered her hands, chest and mouth.
"That was intense." Kirishima commented, panting. Thalia approached the two, and punched them both with one right hook.
"Hey! What the-"
"You bitch!-"
"This is your fault!" Thalia snarled, wiping blood off of her face. A combination of her fearful appearance and shock from the punch and her voice silenced them. "Because of you two, we got in the way of Thirteen and got everyone spread out! Bakugo, who boasts about being smarter and better than everyone, then pulls some unintelligent shit like that!? And then you go and pull it again, when those villains could've murdered us!" The girl lectured them angrily. Kirishima looked abject, while Bakugo simply looked down, as if he were in shock. At the situation or at himself, Thalia didn't know. Or care.
"Look." Thalia began, pinching her nose. "I don't care what you guys do, I'm going to go straight for the warpy bastard, and I'm gonna take him down."
"I'm with you." Bakugo's immediate response sent Thalia into shock and Kirishima even deeper into it. Bakugo clenched his jaw tightly. "I fuckin' know we fucked up. There's no point in yellin' and screamin' and naggin' and punchin' each other. We can make up for it and take the warpy bastard down, the three of us, so let's quit draggin' and get the hell outta here." Bakugo said roughly. Thalia blinked. She really didn't expect to have the same idea as the ash-blonde in front of her.
"...Right. Smartest thing you've said all day, dynamite." Thalia muttered, turning around. "Now, then-"
"Hope you had fun chit-chatting. Too bad you let your guard down."
Thalia flinched when she heard a voice from right beside her. Her eyebrows rising, she tried to move out of the way in time, but she realized she was too late when the blur of motion she became aware of not even a second ago was less than a centimeter from her face. Thalia covered her face, closing her eyes, but heard an explosion next to her face. She yelped, jumping away, but when she opened her eyes, she saw Bakugo's back, holding his hand out, crouched, his hand on a burned chameleon-like head. Thalia blinked and stood up straight, her mind blank.
Did Bakugo just save me?
"Anyway," Bakugo growled calmly, tossing the chameleon-looking dude away like he was trash, "If all these villains are small fries like these guys were, then… Dragomir's right. Our classmates can handle 'em." Thalia was shocked once again. He called her by her name!? And... He has faith in our classmates. I guess he just needed to be smacked into sense, Thalia thought.
"That reaction time was insane!" Kirishima gushed. "Also... since when do you act so calm and rational? Usually you're all like...Die! Die! Die!"
"I'm always calm and rational, you red-haired loser!" Bakugo shouted angrily.
"Yeah! There you are." Kirishima said with a smile, unfazed. Thalia sighed, her headache returning.
She tried to ignore it as she walked to the window, looking at the center, where shit seemed to be going down. She spotted the dark purple cloud with ease- and some of the other students as well. She clenched her jaw, hoping Ochako and Momo and Tsuyu and Mina and Iida and Kaminari and… Thalia hoped everyone was okay. The thoughts dissolved as Bakugo and Kirishima joined her.
"There he is, right in the middle. I can take you both there on my back." Thalia told them.
"But Dragomir, Recovery Girl told you to take it easy with shapeshifting, plus, you're getting wor-"
"There are lives at stake, Kirishima! My little headache doesn't mean anything!" Thalia interrupted the red-haired boy with a snarl, slamming her hands on the concrete. Kirishima looked taken aback. As if on cue, another pang of piercing pain reverberated through her head, and she groaned in pain, clutching her head. She felt Kirishima's worried glance beside her sighing.
"I... I can handle my drawbacks. What we should be worried about is this warpy bastard. We need to strategize. Ideas?" Thalia said, her headache fading away.
"I saw a body before we were transported here." Bakugo began on her other side, his voice rather quiet. Thalia's eyes widened in remembrance.
"Right! The metal brace. He was hiding it with the mist. We should aim for that. We need to steer clear of his portals." She breathed.
"Yeah. If I'm right, he could potentially kill with them." Disturbing images flashed through Thalia's head, getting what Bakugo was saying.
"Oh, jeez." Thalia breathed.
"How do we do that? They seem to appear out of nowhere." Kirishima said calmly, his tone serious.
"They don't appear out of nowhere. There's a purple swirly where they appear. We just need to have fast reflexes." Thalia said grimly.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Didn't you say we needed to be quick?" Said Bakugo impatiently, stepping away from the window. "We can get help from All Might, and whoever else manages to make it to the middle. There's a low-ass chance that we're the only one thinkin' about taking down the big bad guy." Thalia took her hands off the concrete windowsill, turning around to the teen. She met his gaze, aqua blue meeting ruby red. There was a look in his eyes that Thalia had never seen before. He was focused, calm, and rational. Something about his gaze captivated her, and gave her assurance that he had her back. He won't fuck her over. Not again. She looked down, debating something in her head.
"It doesn't look like I have another option..." Thalia breathed, her voice cracking. Kirishima gave her an utterly confused look.
"...Hey, uh... What did you mean earlier when you said you could take us both on your back?" Said Kirishima. Bakugo gave her an odd look. "Are you gonna turn into a big griffon again, or maybe a horse?" Thalia bit her lip, an anvil weighing her chest down.
Why am I doing this?
Clutching her fists, taking deep breaths, she mentally prepared for another shift.
Why am I doing this?
Loki, Thor, stand beside me. All-Father, Valhalla may gain a new warrior today.
Thalia gripped her hand axe's hilt. Clenching her jaw, she quickened her breaths and began her shift.
Thalia shifted naturally and easily into a silvery lavender-scaled dragon. Her head fell just below the ceiling, a mid-length neck connecting it to her reptilian body. Batlike wings the length of the teen boys that stood beside her extended from her shoulder blades, folded against her flank. Her head was long and angled, her jawbone elongated into a sharp point that showed itself on each side of her face. Huge, blackened, magnificent, horns curled around her face. Down her spine were short spines. they were spaced a few inches and were a few centimeters tall. She was collapsed on four legs, sharp, blackened claws protruding from her talons. Her lightly-scaled underside heaved breaths. Not from physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion. A storm swirled in Thalia's sapphire blue eyes. A long tail came from her backside, growing thinner as it got longer, reaching five meters in length. It curled around her form. Her jaw was open slightly, a forked tongue hidden by long, sharp fangs.
The two boys stumbled back, amazed.
"Wow, Thalia. You look like Titan. Just with different horns, and, well, purple." Kirishima breathed, awestruck. Thalia looked down at him, still panting, a pained look in her beautiful eyes.
"He's my father. I got this form from him... It's the easiest thing for me to change into, since it's in my blood. It's been a while since I've been in this body… Now get on, we don't have much time to lose." Thalia spoke in a curt, feminine, guttural voice- just the voice you'd expect from a dragon.
Without another word, both still incredibly impressed, they climbed onto her back, getting comfortable on her scaly back. Bakugo nestled his legs behind her shoulder blades- which were now more on the side of her rather than on her back- and Kirishima sat right behind him, a spine away. Standing up with a groan she stretched her wings.
"Y'know, we could've waited until we were outside for you to shift. There's not much room for you to-woah!" Kirishima's words were cut off as Thalia crouched and used the blunt end of her skull and her horns to ram through the concrete- which was surprisingly easy- and she took to the sky, disregarding the screaming from both teens on her back. The pain faded to mere soreness as she felt the wind against her wings.
Her wings spread all the way, and she set her course on the pavilion.
"Woah, this... This is amazing!" Kirishima gushed, clutching onto Thalia's spines for dear life.
"You obviously aren't looking down, idiot!" Bakugo shouted to him, absolutely petrified. Thalia followed where she guessed his gaze led where- to her surprise- she saw All Might mid-battle with Kurogiri in the pavilion. What was about to happen to him was exactly what flashed through her head earlier- he was caught in the clutches of the overgrown crow villain she saw earlier, who was caught between two of Kurogiri's portals. She realized with a wince that the crow's hands were clamped onto his injury.
She also saw Midoriya jumping right into a portal, like an idiot.
"Hold on tight!" Thalia warned Kirishima and Bakugo as she dove down, the two boys resuming their fearful screaming from earlier. Bakugo's raucous screaming caused a chuckle to rumble through Thalia's body. It seemed so... Out of character for him.
Once she was just meters away from the ground, she spread her wings, smoothing her descent.
She descended the rest of the way safely, right beside Midoriya's fight. Bakugo and Kirishima dismounted her with a hop. Bakugo left his hand on her flank for just a second longer than he had to- and then rushed into battle. Kirishima, however, stayed by her side, hardening his arms.
"D- Dragomir! Kacchan! Kirishima-kun!" Midoriya shouted, relief leaking into his stressed visage.
"Get the hell out of my way, Deku!" Bakugo cried, exploding the portal Midoriya was about to leap into. Thalia spread her wings and let out a roar that reverberated throughout the USJ, some fire escaping her throat. She lowered her head, folding her wings against her flank, and lowering herself into a battle position. We're gathered in the pavilion, Thalia wanted to convey with her roar, It's me, Dragomir, and I'm here. I'm okay. We can fight. We can do this.
Thor, guide my claws. I pray the Fates won't cut my string today.
"One of your poorly trained thugs told me you're here because you think you can kill All Might."
She watched half of the overgrown crow freeze- after a glance toward the direction of the ice, concluding it was from Todoroki- he'd joined the fight!
"I heard your roar, Dragomir. I felt it in my bones..." Todoroki looked up at her, his eyes wide. Thalia nodded to him, unable to take pride in the praise. All Might was able to break free from the villain's clutch and flipped toward Todoroki, clutching the bloodstain on his shirt.
"Thalia!" The dragon heard her best friend scream her name at the top of her little lungs. Thalia's eyes widened and her chest clutched at the sound of her best friend. Her head whipped around, and she saw Ochako safely away from the fight, standing with Sero, Shoji, and Sato. Relief filled her being. She was totally unharmed, but she looked consumed with shock. She knew exactly what this form meant to her.
"Ochako..." Thank the Fates she's safe. "Thanks for the opening, Todoroki." Thalia said quietly. A moment after that, she rushed forward, faster than something her size should be able to. In one swift motion, she bit Nomu's leg and flung him out of the portal, away from everyone. It landed hard, bouncing and rolling a small distance before stopping, trailing blood in its path. Thalia stood defensively in front of everyone, her tail swishing.
"Woah, watch out!" Kirishima's voice came from behind her. Thalia turned her head, and noticed Kirishima and Bakugo had to jump out of the way of her thrashing tail.
"Oops, I'm sorry. Habit." Thalia said sheepishly, moving her tail around her legs.
"That could've knocked us out..." Kirishima breathed what Bakugo was thinking, eyes wide.
All Might lifted his head toward Thalia.
"Young Thalia! It's been a long time since I've seen you take your father's form!" He shouted toward the dragon, his tone proud. Thalia kept her gaze trained on Kurogiri, angry.
"I had no choice," She responded in a guttural growl, her enraged blue eyes staring ahead. "This… Is the most powerful form I have right now." She sounded pained.
"He seems like he's in charge!" Kirishima shouted from beside her, pointing at the villain with blue hair, covered in hands. Thalia lowered her head to meet his gaze. "I'm goin' after him!"
From behind her, Kirishima leapt, flipped and came down on the hand-y villain- that just seemed to be observing- with a battle cry. However, he managed to dodge just in time, with seemingly no effort. Kirishima landed with his hardened fist on the ground.
"Damn!" Kirishima cursed, standing up. "That was gonna be cool!"
"Guess I found your body that time, ya smoky bastard!" Thalia heard Bakugo shout pridefully.
"The Symbol of Peace will not be defeated by delinquents like you." Thalia heard Todoroki mock.
"Kacchan. Everyone." Midoriya muttered, wiping his tears away to reveal a determined face. Thalia's gaze was locked onto the hand-y dude, however, her wings slightly spread. The seven of them Thalia saw in the courtyard, including herself, were all glaring at the lead man. He turned toward Bakugo, who was holding down Kurogiri's body.
"Kurogiri." He said in a condescending, scratchy voice, "How could you let this brat get the best of you? You've gotten us into a real jam here." Bakugo let out a triumphant 'heh'.
"You got careless, you dumb villain." said Bakugo, leaning down to Kurogiri's body. "It wasn't hard to figure you out. Only certain parts of you turn into that smoking warp gate. You used that mist to hide your actual body as a kind of distraction, thinking that made you safe! That's why we missed. But if you didn't have a body, you wouldn't be wearing this neck brace, would you? You're not immune to physical attacks if they're well-aimed." Kurogiri groaned, his mist shifting. Thalia lowered her head threateningly, raising her wings, but Bakugo's small explosions were enough to keep Kurogiri at bay.
"Don't move." He ordered threateningly. Kurogiri submitted, laying back down. Bakugo chuckled again. "You try anything funny, and I'll blow your ass up right now, you got it? They'll be cleanin' you up for weeks." He snarled, a killjoy grin on his face. He seemed to be enjoying this far too much, but… Why did Thalia have a funny feeling in her stomach?
"Oh, that doesn't sound very heroic!" Kirishima called cautiously, sweatdropping. Thalia stayed deadly still as the hand-y villain turned to the overgrown crow.
"Nomu." He called it. Nomu? An odd name. Thalia thought. Nomu let out an inhuman screech as it retracted from Kurogiri's portal. Thalia's hearing picked up Todoroki's gasp as its frozen arm and leg shattered. It tried to stand up, and stumbled. Its eyes moved, the exposed brain making a disgusting noise against its eye that sent shivers up Thalia's spine.
"How is that thing still moving?" Midoriya asked, amazed but mortified. "He's all messed up."
"Stay back, everybody!" All Might exclaimed, holding his hand out. Thalia's gaze quickly locked back onto Nomu when she heard a shattering noise. The ice had broken off. It was regenerating.
"What is this? I thought you said his quirk was Shock Absorption." All Might growled accusingly, standing up.
"I didn't say that was his only quirk." The hand-y villain said evilly. "He also has super-regeneration. Nomu has been modified to take you on even at one-hundred percent of your power. He's basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back." Thalia gasped, horror-struck. This thing has multiple quirks!? …What in the nine realms is that thing…? Did that used to be a person? Is All For One involved in this!? Nevertheless, she hardened her fighting position.
"First, we need to free our method of escape. Get 'em, Nomu." He commanded the overgrown crow. In response, it sped toward Bakugo.
"No!" Thalia shouted, dashing forward. She blocked Nomu with her flank and raised her arms to fight back, but the punch was so tremendous that she felt her ribs crack. With a pain-filled roar, she was thrown past Kirishima, landing roughly on her side.
"Dragomir!" Everyone chorused her name as she shakily rose, the pain in her side throbbing. Thor, grant me strength... Thankfully, her pain tolerance was higher than any normal fifteen year old's should be, but that didn't stop her from feeling so much agony that she felt nauseous. She rose her head after a moment of seeing stars and coughing blood and saw Nomu over Kurogiri. Looking desperately for Bakugo, she saw him, Todoroki, Midoriya and Kirishima were further away than she remembered, and there was a long, straight trail of cracked pavement in front of the quartet that led to a panting All Might before a broken wall. Her blood littered the pavement before her, drips of it falling from between her teeth.
"These are kids, and you didn't hold back?" All Might growled, disgusted. Ahead of him, Kurogiri and Nomu stood beside hand-y man, who stepped forward.
"I didn't have much choice. He was threatening my companion. Besides, these kids are no angels. The plain-looking one?" He was referring to Midoriya, Thalia realized with a pang. She jumped up and flapped her wings, ignoring the explosion of pain in her side, and landed protectively in front of the boys.
"You stupid doe. What were you thinking?" Whispered Bakugo angrily. Thalia lowered her head, her slanted green eyes staring right into his ruby red ones.
"I saved your ass, dynamite. Quit it. Now I'm not in your debt." She hissed back, coughing up some more blood, the enormous drops of blood spattering beside them. Midoriya paled at Thalia's state. Bakugo fumed as Thalia raised her head back up again.
"Wh- what did she just call Kacchan?" Midoriya shrieked, horrified.
"He tried to kill me with a maxed-out punch. What kind of "hero" does something like that? You think you can get away with being as violent as you want if you say it's for the sake of others. Well, you know what, All Might?" He spread his arms, going on some stupid-ass villain monologue. "That pisses me off. Why do people get to decide that some violent acts are heroic and others are villainous? Casting judgment as to what's "good" and what's "evil"." He spread his arms further. "You think you're the Symbol of Peace? Ha. You're just another government-sponsored instrument of violence. And violence always breeds more violence. I'll make sure the world understands that once you're dead." He lowered his arms, finished with his speech.
"You're nothing but a lunatic." All Might responded, pissed off. "Criminals like you; you always try and make your actions sound noble. But admit it; you're only doing this because you like it! Isn't that right?" He accused in response, voicing Thalia's thoughts. The villain seemed taken aback by his words.
"We've got them outnumbered." Said Todoroki.
"I'm beaten, but I can still fight. We can take them." Thalia gnarled.
"And Kacchan found out that mist guy's weakness." Midoriya pointed out optimistically.
"These dudes may act really tough, but we can take 'em down now with All Might's help." Kirishima hardened his arms with a grunt. "Let's do this."
"Don't attack." All Might said suddenly. He straightened and walked in front of the five. Thalia quirked a scaly eyebrow, raising her head. "Get out of here." All Might commanded. None of them moved.
"You would've been in trouble earlier if it weren't for me, remember?" Protested Todoroki, feeling disrespected. "You need our help."
"I thank you for your assistance, but this is different. It's gonna be alright. Just sit back and watch a pro at work." All Might responded.
"No, All Might. You need us. You're hurt. You're bleeding. We're your only backup, and you're trying to cast us away!?" Thalia thundered incredulously, lowering her head. The students beside her recoiled at her display of anger. All Might only responded with a thumbs-up, and turned around. Thalia growled, folding her wings halfway.
"Nomu. Kurogiri. Kill him. I'll deal with the children." Said hand-y. Thalia gritted her teeth as the towering creature stood to its full height, and hand-y ran at the five.
"Heads up, we're fightin' after all." Said Kirishima, gritting his jagged teeth. Thalia crouched down, getting ready to pounce, her ribs screaming for a doctor, when Nomu and All Might engaged each other, a huge burst of wind emanating from their conjoined fists. Thalia tried her best to block the wind from the four boys, preventing them from flying through the air like Handy did.
"Weren't you listening? One of his powers is shock absorption." Handy said as he landed on his feet, sliding back about a meter.
"Yeah? What about it?" All Might shot back, throwing another punch. Thalia's eyebrows raised as she realized. He's gonna exhaust the two exchanged punch after punch, speeding up to the point where their movements were blurry. The boys took shelter behind Thalia's strong, lowered wings. She bent her neck and lowered her head to their level, closing an eye to protect from the wind.
"He's just gonna fight that brain guy head on?" Midoriya said, worried.
"Woah, they're so fast!" Said Kirishima, looking under her wing. Thalia winced when she watched Nomu punch All Might right where his injury was. Surroundings were destroyed from the destructive gusts of wind.
All those punches. They're targeted. And they're all... more than a hundred percent of his power! Thalia's eyes widened as she realized that. Letting out a cry, he threw an extra hard punch, and Nomu was thrown through the air. All Might leapt after him. They took their fight to the air, flipping and crashing into the ground over and over, the pavement around where they landed joining them in the sky. All Might threw Nomu into the ground, destroying the ground around his landing. He landed next to him. Now that the wind had stopped, the four boys were more next to Thalia than behind her.
"Now for a lesson," All Might said. "You may have heard these words before, but I'll teach you what they really mean. Go beyond! Plus Ultra!" He shouted, and released a punch that may have been his most powerful yet, causing his target to fly up and crash through the ceiling of the USJ, affecting some clouds in the sky above it. Thalia, Bakugo, Midoriya and Todoroki stood in awe, shocked at the legendary battle they had just watched. She folded her wings, raising her head.
"That was like the finishing move in a video game!" Kirishima gushed, "He beat the shock absorption right out of him! I've never seen that kind of brute strength!"
"Imagine having power like that..." Bakugo said, his voice hoarse, "He must've been punching that monster so fast, it couldn't regenerate!"
"That's why the Symbol of Peace is the Symbol of Peace." Thalia breathed. The weight of everything and her pain suddenly crashed on her as the adrenaline disappeared, and she collapsed, laying down on her stomach.
"Dragomir!" The boys next to her chorused, worried. Thalia, however, looked up at the cloud of smoke that concealed All Might. Shit! He must be out of juice! Thalia thought worriedly.
"I really have gotten weaker..." All Might said in a gravelly voice, "Back in my heyday, five hits woulda been enough to knock that guy out. But today... it took more than three hundred mighty blows." He was for sure about to transform, there was steam coming from his body.
"You've been bested, villains." Handy was shaking with anger as All Might spoke. "Surrender. We all want to get this over with quickly."
"He cheated. He's just as strong as he's always been." Handy seethed. Thalia furrowed her brows, confused. Handy started itching his neck, drawing blood. It made Thalia's neck itch uncomfortably. He's sick in the head. No wonder he's living this life, here attacking students in the name of his obsession.
"What's wrong? Not attacking me?" All Might projected, causing hand-y to pause his grating movements. "Didn't you say you were going to 'clear this level' earlier? Well come and get me, if you dare." He taunted. Thalia's mouth hung open. Was he out of his mind? Her jaw shut when she realized there was barely a chance of either of them attacking anyways. He was trying to scare them off.
"Man, this is... Intense." Bakugo croaked, his vocal cords tired.
"No kidding." Thalia agreed, her voice just as hoarse as his- but from dehydration and exhaustion.
"As I expected. There's no reason for us to fight now. He'll handle this." Said Todoroki.
"Come on, Midoriya, Dragomir! We should regroup with the other guys. The last thing we wanna do is get taken hostage or get in his way." Kirishima told the two. Midoriya stayed, his gaze worriedly fixated on his mentor. Thalia wondered how she could ever assume he was working with All For One.
"If only Nomu were here... He'd rush you right now." Said Handy, itching his neck again. "Pound you into the ground without giving it a second thought." Before he could continue, Kurogiri interrupted.
"Tomura Shigaraki." Really? Did he really just reveal his whole name? Thalia thought "Please, do not fret. Look at him, he has definitely weakened. Nomu's attacks were successful. He's on his own." Shigaraki stopped itching his neck once more. "The children appear frozen in fear. The shapeshifter is wounded. And look. Our underlings are recovering. We likely still have a few minutes before their reinforcements arrive. If you and I work together, we can do this. We haven't missed our chance to kill All Might." Thalia clenched her jaw, frowning. I can still get up. Her body screamed otherwise. But she could ignore that. Shigaraki lowered his hands.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. This is it. We have no choice. We have to do it now." He hissed. Thalia lowered her head, struggling to get up, ready to run in and fight. "I mean, the big end-boss is right here." Bakugo and Kirishima suddenly turned around as the villains Aizawa knocked out started getting back up.
"I think All Might can hold his own against those two main guys. Let's make sure those dudes don't hurt anyone else." Kirishima said, hardening his arm. Todoroki turned to Thalia and Midoriya.
"Will you two be joining us?" He asked.
To Thalia's dismay, Shigaraki rushed forward.
"Consider this revenge for what you did to Nomu!" Shigaraki said adenoidally. Kurogiri grew and charged with Shigaraki. Before Thalia could rush forward, Midoriya was flying through the air.
"Midoriya!" Thalia shouted, raising her wings and charging after him, ignoring the stabbing pain in her side.
"Dragomir! What the hell are you doing!?" Bakugo shouted.
"Woah, Midoriya! Dragomir!" Kirishima yelled, panicked. Midoriya's legs flapped behind him, broken. Thalia knew how dumb this looked, but they didn't know the danger All Might was in.
"Don't you touch All Might! You stupid villain!" Midoriya yelled. However, Kurogiri made a portal faster than Thalia could blink and Shigaraki's hand was suddenly centimeters away from his face. If the hands on his body meant anything, his quirk had to do with his hands, and it wasn't good that his was about to make contact with Midoriya's nose.
"I won't fall for that again!" Kurogiri said raucously. Thalia leapt and clamped her front teeth on Midoriya's shirt, yanking him away from Shigaraki's hand. He also narrowly missed a bullet that pierced Shigaraki's hand.
Wait... a bullet?
"They're here." All Might managed, turning to the entrance. Following his line of sight, Thalia saw the pro hero, Snipe, standing at the top of the steps. He fired his handgun twice more, his bullets hitting unseen marks.
Thalia's lips extended into a smile when she recognized Principal Nezu and the armada of pro heroes behind him. The villains behind Thalia and Midoriya immediately started aiming their attacks at the entrance. Thalia heard Present Mic's sonic voice scream down the staircase, incapacitating the majority and making her aware of her pounding headache. To add on, Ectoplasm created dozens of clones that flew down the staircase and attacked the remaining villains.
"Aw, man. The pros are here." Hissed Shigaraki, backing into Kurogiri's purple plume. Thalia's gaze returned to the villains, Midoriya yelping as he was moved abruptly. "It's game over. For real. Let's go home and try this when we can-" His voice was interrupted when Snipe sent several bullets his way, four of them hitting their marks, the rest repelled by Kurogiri's wall of mist.
"Let's go-" Kurogiri was also interrupted when Thirteen used her Black Hole quirk on him. His misty embodiment faltered, being swept in her direction. Whatever was being said, Thalia couldn't hear over the loud winds around them and his quiet voice. Kurogiri managed to teleport the two of them away after some struggle, ported to some unseen base. The wind stopped once they were completely gone. Thalia kept Midoriya in her clutch, seeing as his legs were broken.
"I couldn't do it. I couldn't help you." Midoriya grunted, his tone sad and disappointed, sounding close to tears.
"That's absolutely not true." All Might told him. The smoke partially faded, revealing All Might, but he was half in his weak form. "You bought me a few vital seconds. If not for that, I'd be dead now. Young Midoriya. You've saved me once again." Midoriya gasped, speechless.
"Thank you, All Might." He said, his voice wavering as tears spilled out of his eyes. "I'm just... so glad you're okay!"
Suddenly realizing something, Midoriya yelped, flustered, wiping his tears.
"Aah! D- Dragomir! Close your eyes! Don't look!" Midoriya said frantically, trying to cover her eyes. Thalia snorted, shaking her head.
"Midoriya, ith's okay. I. Know." Thalia told over his shirt.
"Huh?" Midoriya said, looking up toward her, stopping his movement, though he was swinging slightly.
"I'm close with Young Thalia's family. They know everything. Don't worry, Midoriya. Thalia's okay to see me like this."
"Dragomir! Midoriya! Hey!" Kirishima shouted, his eyes concerned as he ran over to the three. Thalia raised her wing, which stopped him right before Cementoss raised a wall of concrete in front of him.
"For your safety, please stay back, young man. Join your classmates at the front gate. Leave the injured to us, we can take care of them." The oddly-shaped man told Kirishima in a deep voice. Kirishima complied easily, walking away.
"Hey!" He shouted to Bakugo and Todoroki, "He said for all of us to head to the front entrance!" Hearing this, Thalia gently seated Midoriya in front of her, letting him go and shapeshifting back to human form with a groan. She stumbled, and both Midoriya and Uncle Toshi instinctively moved toward her even though they were unable to actually catch her, but she caught herself.
"I'll let you talk to him. I'll see you later." Thalia said, walking slowly around the wall, wincing with every step.
"Will she be okay?" Asked Midoriya.
"Recovery Girl'll fix her right up. Don't you worry about a thing, Young Midoriya." All Might said soothingly and tiredly.
"Hey, guys!" Thalia shouted weakly at the three boys, who had begun their walk to the gate. They turned to her, and their faces fell at the sight of bloody, battered and bruised Thalia as she stumbled up to them.
"Woah, Dragomir, you don't look good." Kirishima said worriedly, his face much more tired and weighted than usual. He looked so different when he was lacking his usual cheer. Thalia kind of missed it.
"Don't be sad. I'm fine. It looks worse than it is." Thalia assured them, though it seemed to have no effect.
"Tch. Don't be stupid, stupid doe." Bakugo said quietly, stomping up to her. He turned his back on her and crouched, holding his hands out behind him. Thalia looked dumbly down at him, confused. After a beat of silence, Bakugo turned to her with an angry look. "Get on, idiot!"
"I'm fine, Bakugo. Don't kid me, you don't even have the energy to shout." Thalia stated.
"Do you think I'm weak and stupid? You're swaying from side to side like you're drunk, you stupid doe. You're about ten seconds from a ten hour nap. I can handle ninety pounds of weight. Get on, now." He commanded, sounding like he would be shouting if he had the energy to. The way he was acting… It was making Thalia feel certain ways she had not the energy to push down.
"...'M a hundred and five." Thalia relented, wrapping herself around Bakugo's back. Her muscles instantly sighed in relief with the removal of the burden of standing as he took it for her and extended his legs, lifting her up.
"You two argue like an old married couple." Kirishima chuckled as him and Todoroki climbed up the stairs.
"Shut up, idiot. We're not married." Bakugo growled. Thalia chuckled.
"Yeah. Not in a million years…" Was her last statement before her neck muscles failed and her vision went blurry.
"Dragomir? Dragomir!"
Thalia blinked open her eyes. Looks like Bakugo was right. She woke up to All Might- her Uncle Toshi, Midoriya, and an unfamiliar man talking to each other, and she groaned as she stretched, then winced when pain stabbed her side.
"Dragomir!" Midoriya exclaimed as Thalia crinkled into a ball, looking through her neckline at the bandages wrapped around her waist. Thalia rubbed her eye, wincing at the sudden loud noise. "...Sorry."
"Thalia, you naughty girl! I told you no shapeshifting!" Recovery Girl nagged, karate chopping her shoulder repeatedly.
"Ack! I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice!" Thalia protested. Recovery Girl harrumphed and returned to her seat. Everything came back like a tsunami.
"There's always a choice…" Recovery Girl shot back under her breath. Her words were correct for more than one thing.
I can't believe I gave in... Thalia held her head in her hands, but looked up when she heard her Uncle Toshi's voice.
"Thalia, I'm glad you're okay. This is Tsukauchi. Before you say anything, he's okay to see me like this." All Might assured her. Thalia only looked up at the unfamiliar man.
"I see. Thanks, Uncle Toshi." Thalia muttered quietly.
"'Uncle Toshi'!?" Midoriya exclaimed, surprised.
"Yeah, surprisingly, he's been around since I was a kid. He's like an uncle to me, so my siblings and I call him uncle." Thalia turned to Midoriya and chuckled.
"As I was saying, not counting these three, the only student injuries were scrapes. And both of the teachers are in stable condition right now. Relax." The three bed-bound heroes relaxed.
"That's good to hear." Said All Might.
"If you hadn't risked your life, the students would have never made it. You saved that entire class of kids today." Tsukauchi praised All Might.
"You're not seeing the whole picture here, Tsukauchi. Those students also risked their lives. They fought as hard as us." Thalia looked up, surprised and touched by Uncle Toshi's words.
"Thank you, All Might." Midoriya said, his tone genuine.
"Yeah, thank you." Thalia said, looking away.
"I don't think there's ever been a group of first-years that experienced a real fight like this so early in their training. They not only survived, they learned what it's like to be a pro." All Might turned to the two students next to him. "Those villains made a mistake attacking them. This class is strong. They're filled with courage and drive. Mark my words. They'll become great heroes." He smiled proudly, sending the two a thumbs-up.
When Midoriya, Uncle Toshi and Thalia were discharged that afternoon, Recovery Girl stopped her on her way out.
"Hey, I just thought you would want to know. A boy carried you in his arms to me and refused to leave your side until Young Midoriya was brought in." Thalia's eyebrows raised, turning around.
"Huh? Who? Kirishima?" Thalia asked, an eyebrow raised.
"A young man with spiky blonde hair. Not Kirishima, I think he has red hair, correct? He didn't say much at all, but I can tell he's rather affectionate of you. Although he did refer to you as a stupid doe." She deadpanned the last sentence. Thalia blushed madly, knowing she was talking about Bakugo.
"Oh, Bakugo? I-I doubt he is, w-we actually don't like each other that much. A-are you sure that was him?" Thalia stuttered, gripping the back of her neck.
"I'm old, not senile, young woman. I'm sure it was him, and I'm sure his feelings of dislike are not mutual." Recovery Girl snapped back, her voice getting softer as she went on. Thalia flinched at her response, and looked down.
"I-I'm sorry. Well, if it was really Bakugo, I have a lot to think about tonight." Thalia said solemnly, departing the office. Recovery Girl sighed.
"Ah, young love."
a/n: holy crap i just stayed up all night typing that. i have swim practice in three and a half hours. i got excited and typed the whole thing in one night. oops. i'm taking a mf cat nap after i post this.
just thought i would keep that a/n from years ago here. i haven't been to swim practice in a very long time. i miss it. maybe i'll get a membership to the YMCA and brush up on it. anyways, i changed this chapter up a lot, i hope y'all like it :)
reviews
M: Love this! Amazing chapter! Love Thalia's interactions with Bakugo! Glad she protected Midoriya! Happy to see her dragon form! Hope she feels better.
thank you M. your reviews continue to make me feel endeavored to keep writing, even years later. i hope you're seeing these edits.
edited 11•10•21
edited 11•20•24
word count: 8,209