Hello good people! Here we are with chapter 39! SO so so so so so soooooo sorry it took so long to get this out. This hiatus from the story was completely accidental, please understand this has been my main project for almost three years and I wanted to dabble into other ideas for stories. I have a very active imagination and this story is on my mind a fair bit of the time. I fully plan to finish this story and I already know how I want to finish it. I'm so thankful for all the support and love this story has gotten, we've officially passed every milestone on this site and it's all thanks to you all, thank you! 1k+ followers, 1k+ Favorites 1k+ Reviews and to my shock 1 million+ views. Seriously, since I last posted in December this story's been read over 40k times to reach the milestone. Kudos to everyone who reviewed or shot me a PM during this time, your words and suggestions didn't not go unanswered. I can't thank you all enough and I hope you all continue to love and support the story because shit's about to get REAL! This chapter is gonna set up interactions, plot points and story lines I've wanted to dive into for FOREVER! This chapters been almost done for months but I wanted to finish it in a compelling way that moved the story forward, and I really want to get to the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 39 New Beginning

ONE's room in the back

"What the hell was that, boy!" Endeavor exclaimed, wanting to jack up ONE.

"Just saying what was on my mind. Thankfully this wasn't a total waste of time."

Endeavors upper body was on fire at his response, "You just degraded the hero rankings to a meaningless popularity contest!"

"To be fair, it kinda is, Endeavor." Hawks spoke up, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his hot blooded flames.

"Shut up, Hawks!" Endeavor exclaimed, quickly shooting a glare at the Winged Hero. He turned back to ONE, "Do you have any idea what you've done!"

"Set a new standard. So that people who want to get into this life know what's truly important."

"Be a hero, the rankings don't matter. Sounds like a good message to me, Endeavor.' Mirko commented with a fiery smile, a glare from Endeavor didn't shake her at all.

His flames died down slightly, "You people are unbelievable."

"This is a new change in hero society, so let's start this off right." Hawks commented, again to Endeavor's annoyance. "Hey ONE, what exactly are you working on? You said on the stage you're going to investigate some things, so what's up?"

The number one hero smiled at his contemporary, "This is why I wanted you to come with me, this actually concerns your neck of the woods."

Hawks met his gaze, "So I take it you've heard those rumors too?"

ONE nodded, "The ones in Kyushu? Yeah, I've heard several rumors."

Endeavor looked between the two, feeling out of the loop, "What are you two talking about?"

ONE faced the Flame Hero, "You remember the Nomu, right?"

Endeavor's eyes narrowed at the mention of those grotesque creatures, "You mean those puppets that the League Of Villains send out?"

"Exactly. Rumors have been circulating that black creatures with multiple quirks have been sighted in several cities throughout Kyushu."

"I've been looking into it myself. Honestly this just feels like someone is spreading those rumors in order to cause civil unrest." Hawks stated, eyeing Endeavor and gripping his chin.

"My thoughts exactly, and that's what got me curious? The Nomu are mostly a secret from the public, so there's realistically only one set of people who could possibly spread those rumors." ONE said, sure of his suspicions.

"You mean the League." Hawks deduced.

"That's right. I've already arrested Kurogiri, he was their main means of transport so for the moment, they're essentially stuck. They can't move around as freely as they want so if it's true there are Nomu in Kyushu, there's a chance that's where they're hiding."

"You arrested Kurogiri? It's my first time hearing about that?" Hawks spoke upon registering this new information.

"Kurogiri is that warp villain, right?" Endeavor asked.

"Correct. Also, just so you know, they have a secret weapon in the form of Gigantomachia. He was All For one's bodyguard, he's a strong man with multiple quirks, he's the size of a mountain while being just as tough as one." ONE saw Hawks was visibly concerned at these words, "No need to be afraid, Hawks?"

Hawks smiled at him, but he could see concern in his expression, "Oh I'm not afraid, ONE. But for the record I'm gonna need you to handle that."

"He's on my radar, take some comfort in that." He shot a glance at Genos, both of them thinking of whether or not to tell them about Ujiko. He wasn't sure, as it could put a dent in their investigation, and the look in Genos' eyes said he felt the same.

Mirko smiled confidently as she put her hands to her hips, "So, this means we're heading to Kyushu, right?" Everyone turned to the Rabbit Hero, "If that's where the Nomu are being spotted, we should head over shouldn't we? We DID just walk off stage, you know."

ONE gave her a charming smile, "Hm, someone's in a hurry."

"This sounds like it could be a fun fight. C'mon, you guys don't know me by now." ONE and Hawks chuckled at each other upon hearing this, they both knew her, and this was funny and far from surprising.

Endeavor stepped up, "Before we move out, I want to know something." He looked right at Genos, "Who are you?" This caused all the heroes except ONE to stare down the cyborg, who just stood calmly before them, wearing his neutral expression. He hadn't made a sound since they gathered back here, and was by far the most unknown yet interesting person in the room.

The cyborg's eyes scanned the heroes looking at him, seemingly sizing them up. His mouth lifted slightly for a moment as if finding his words, "Hello.. My name is.. Genos. It is.. Nice to.. Meet you.. All." He said in a robotic monotone. ONE held back a chuckle as the other heroes were slightly thrown off by his words.

"Wait, are you a legit robot? I thought you were a cyborg or something." Hawks said in a mix of shock and intrigue.

"My thoughts exactly." Endeavor added. His teal eyes never left the Cyborg's, "So, just what are you, Genos? You've appeared on several occasions now, seemingly to help ONE."

His expression sharpedned, "I am.. A cyborg of.. Justice. Working.. With One.. Will gain me.. The strength.. To-"

"Okay, it's already gotten too stupid for me to take! Get serious, Genos!"

The Cyborg broke down laughing, "Alright alright alright, just wanted to have a little fun." He said in his normal voice. Mirko and Hawks seemed amused at his antics, "Nice to meet you all, I'm Genos. I'm a cyborg of justice, but you may know me as ONE's sidekick, Intech."

Hawks was visibly surprised by that last statement, "You're Intech? I always wondered what ONE's sidekick looked like."

Mirko approached him, a competitive look in her eyes as if sizing him up. "So you're the sidekick. I saw you fight during the alien attack, you've got some sweet moves and crazy firepower."

"I appreciate the compliment, Mirko."

"Genos is pretty powerful in his own right. I have full trust in his capabilities and I can assure you all that he'll be more reliable than I am while we're investigating."

Endeavor stared down the cyborg, he's seen his firepower on display during the broadcast of the alien attack. It was larger and more powerful than his own as well as Shoto's and he wasn't sure if that was his full power. A part of him wanted to test the cyborg, but he thought better of it, if he fought alongside ONE it meant he was far stronger than he looked. And if he was a cyborg, that meant he had modifications that pushed him to levels far beyond a normal person, let alone a fire quirk user. There was also the chance that his power came with few drawbacks, inwardly he couldn't help but think he was cheating somehow.

ONE walked ahead of the group towards the door, "Well, let's get going, we've got work to do."

"Been a while since our last team up, I'm looking forward to this." Hawks said as he followed.

The group of four left the room and entered the hallway, they could hear the sound of the event slowly spiraling into chaos. ONE's words and departure had caused quite the scene in such a short time, and the one's in charge were tring to leep the peace. ONE led the group towards the nearest exit, the last thing he wanted was to bump into any media member, but it was improbable. ONE?" A stern feminine voice called from behind them. Turning around they saw the head of the Public Safety Commission staring them down, specifically, ONE. Her arms were crossed and the look in her turquoise eyes was piercing.

Hawks kept a small smile, but didn't like that look in her eyes. She shot a quick glance at the Winged Hero, as if to say "You better reel him in". Hawks turned from her, his body language didn't go unnoticed by ONE and Genos, Stains's words about him being one of the commission's trained heroes still fresh in both their minds. ONE made a note to question Hawks about that when they had some privacy. "Hello, Miss…?"

"You can call me Madam President. I'm the head of the Public Safety Commission, and we need to talk." Her tone was serious, leaving no room for debate, this wasn't a request.

ONE shot a glance at Genos and gave a silent message with a nod. He met the turquoise eyes of the commission head, "Alright, but I am busy, so we'll have to make this quick."

She turned her head, gesturing to him to follow, "Come with me."

ONE followed the woman along with her subordinate. He wanted to make a joke about what happens when a woman says those words to him but he thought better of it. The other heroes watched him walk away, sure he would be okay but Hawks was a little concerned. ONE, Madam President and Mera walked in silence, making their way to a secure place that from what he could tell was free of the media. "Excuse me, Mr Mera?" The older man turned to him with a drowsy expression, "So, how has work been for you lately. I hope you're resting properly."

He let out an exhausted sigh, "I get what rest I can. I won't be getting much today because of you though." His tone and words were more honest than hostile.

ONE smiled back at him in spite of his words, "Sorry about that. But, at least I set a new precedent for this critical juncture."

"You definitely made this more entertaining than we expected." Mera said with a weak smile.

"What you said was definitely not the precedent we wanted to set!" The president sternly stated. Just then Mera opened a door and the hero followed her inside with the older man closing and locking the door behind them. This was the facility's conference room, it was spacious, no one should bother them here. There were three large tables in the room forming an incomplete rectangle with several chairs lining them. There was a board on the entrance wall that was perfect for a projector. The president appeared calm but ONE could sense her conflicting emotions, the strongest of which was irritation and annoyance with a splash of uncertanty. They stood between the tables with her and Mera on one side and ONE on the other, she couldn't see his eyes but he she was certain he was making eye contact with her.

"So, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

ONE smiled calmly, "I sense your irritation, Madam president. With all due respect, I said what I said and I meant it."

Her turquoise eyes pierced him, unflinching, "You're strong, ONE. Stronger than All Might, despite being quickless, as impossible as it seems. You're definetly worthy of being Japan's number one hero, we had to go the extra mile to be sure in that decision but we still feel it was the right choice."

"I'm honored you think so highly of me. But as I said on stage, I don't care whatsoever about the spot of number one hero, all I care about is BEING a hero. If you wanted me to give some spiel about there being a new symbol now that All Might's gone, I'm sorry. I have no interest or desire for such a title."

"And that's my issue!" She said in a stern voice yet calm expression. "Do you have any idea of the pupose of the Symbol Of Peace? All we needed you to do was smile and tell everyone things would be okay."

"I do actually. I've spoken about it with both All Might and Sir Nighteye. I understand the point of the Symbol Of Peace, very well. And that's the problem, the symbol created more problems than it solved. What exactly is peace? Comfortability in your life, being happy, free of any problems. All Might wanted to create a world where people could smile and live happily in the midst of the darkness and chaos caused by All For One." Both of their eyes visibly shifted at the mention of the notorious king of the underworld. "I take it from your expressions you know what I'm talking about? You're the one's who surpassed the information about him, huh?"

"You know an awful lot about him?" Said Madam president, concerned with narrowed her eyes, "All Might… Changed everything, ONE. You don't know, I doubt you can even comprehend what Japan was like before All Might came onto the scene. People were afraid, no one was safe, those of us in government positions were less than figureheads in the midst of All For One's reign. There was no stopping him, he and his closest followers basically had absolute autonomy to do as they pleased. He had power, used it the way he wanted and it was everyone else problem."

"I understand that. Same thing I told All Might, "His reign was the kind of shame most countries would want to forget." I understand why the Symbol is so important, but it's not a fix, it's just a front."

"You're a very knowledged young man, ONE. But there's a point to this you don't seem to understand." She met his eyes, almost as if looking through him, "This superhuman society is dangerous by its very nature. This society functions from actions and sacrifices from those brave enough to face that darkness, and I'm not talking about heroes. We have a country to protect, ONE. Quirks grow stronger and more diverse with every generation, given enough time, individuals like All For One can pop up like spring flowers."

"So you train your own, to nip the buds before they can sprout?" Again, his words made them visibly shift. "I heard all about it from Stain. You train your own heroes that are more akin to soldiers/mercenaries. I know Hawks is one of them as well as Lady Nagant, Stain called it a bastardization of the word "Hero"."

"You're really going to take the word of fanatic serial killer?" Mera asked calmly, though concern was clear in his drowsy expression.

"That fanatic serial killer has done nothing but make solid arguments for the flaws in hero society. Plus he was a part of the Tartarus break, he has no reason to lie." His aura became serious, "While we're on the subject, I have a question. Why did you secretly have Lady Nagant thrown in Tartarus? A hero fanatic like me definitely noticed her sudden absence, the best long range fighter dissapearing."

Madam President fought the urge to turn from him, as it is the situation with that hero that got her her current position. All the years spent indoctrinating that girl proved to be a waste when she ultimately showed she wasn't qualified for the duties they had given her. She killed the former president and the consternation of everyone present offered no resistance as they quietly threw her in hole. Though initially they wanted to kill her, that would have led to a bigger problem in another recruit, so they just threw her in Tartarus and threw away the key. They thought they could leave her to rot, but the recruit that kept them from killing her was the same one who freed her, and is now planning god knows what. They were gonna come for her and the entire commission, her death was eminent and she knew it. All she wanted was to maintain peace, it wasn't a pretty job but someone had to do it.

ONE could see the uneasiness in her body language as well as sense her emotions, to his surprise fear was rising within her. "She was a criminal, who commited a crime so heinous it wasn't worth making public knowledge."

"I seem to recall the former president of the P.S.C being killed around the same time she dissapeared. It was pinned on villains but I know you people twist the media. So, would that be the crime?" ONE tone was serious, and as he expected both of them visibly shifted at his words. "I see, so that's what she did? And now that she's free you're worried about her coming for you, is that right?" Both of them were silent, he took this as a telling sign, "This… Program, or whatever you call it. Those you train to be a part of it do the dirty jobs traditional heroes can't. All to maintain the status quo you strive everyday to maintain. Did you ever think you need to change how you do things? Hawks' words not mine."

"We have a country to protect, ONE. Heroes are these pillars of peace, justice and order. Smiling figures to paint a picture of an ideal society, but this world doesn't function on such pleasantries. Hero society is like a coin, on one side there's the bright and pleasant aspects, the one the public cherishes and looks up to. But the flip side is very dark, so dark in fact that if any of it was known to the public our society would seem like a sham. Someone has to handle this darkness behind the scenes, who's gonna do it? All Might? You?! If anything those who seek to destroy this peace are a direct response to All Might's presence and power. Like moth's to a flame." Her eyes never flinched as she spoke to ONE.

"I understand as the organization responsible for heroes in Japan, you do what you have to to keep the country safe. It's an ugly aspect required to maintain peace, I understand. But it's one thing to manipulate the public to keep them from panicking, it's another to manipulate what I'm sure were idealistic kids before you got a hold of them."

"Weren't you idealistic before you put that suit on?" Madam President asked in a sternly calm tone. ONE inwardly sighed for a moment, she had him. The heroic ideal and the heroic reality are very different things. He's been able to stay true to the hero he's always wanted to be, but he's seen some of the worst aspects of being a hero. "ONE, you know far more than you should. I'm willing to ignore that because I trust you to keep that information to yourself, and act without this knowledge." The hero stayed calm, but nodded in affirmation.

"I'm good at keeping secrets. But there's one more thing I want to know… What can you tell me about Takae Tachibana?" Their eyes instinctively shifted at those words, "That's the affirmation I was looking for, what do you both know?"

Silence filled the room for a moment before Mara decided to speak, "She was one of..If not our strongest recruit. She was like a flash, saving people from a disaster like a human lighting bolt. We thought she would be a great addition to the commission's needs, and she was."

"That girl was living out of a tent when we found her, and this is how she repays us." Madam President openly thought.

"So, she was recruited by these people after she left the dojo?" ONE thought. The events of what happened on Tartarus and the information they just related got his detective skills cooking. "I take it Lady Nagant's imprisonment changed everything?" Both of them tried to remain stoic but it was clear he was right on the money. He casually brought two fingers to the temple of his cowl, activating the telepathic apparatus and began listening to their thoughts.

"He's prying extremely deep into the commission's matters, and doesn't show any signs of stopping." He heard from Madam President's mind.

"It's as we feared, he's too different from All Might in a bad way for us." Mera thought.

"What is your connection to Tachibana?" The president asked.

"We have history, that's all you need to know. What happened to her as a part of your program?"

"She was more… Emotional, than we thought. While we tried to reign her in, she was no different from Nagant."

There was a pause in her speaking before ONE spoke, "What do you suppose she's planning? The Tartarus break is just her most recent action. She aided the League Of Villains in attacking U.A, she was on All For One's payroll, helped Stain escape and trained him obviously, and supplied the paradisers with those battle suits."

Both Mera and the president were visibly shocked by those last words, "We didn't know that was her?"

"Well you do now. I was able to get the suits back, and the leader confessed that a woman matching Tachibana's description helped him get them. According to him she just told him to do as he liked with them."

"We honestly don't know what she's planning. As I'm sure you've noticed, that girl is a slippery one. We won't know where she is or what she's doing until she makes herself known. Nagant on the other hand, is sure to come for us. I doubt I have to explain to you why that would be bad for hero society."

"I'm a hero, I'll try to find her and stop whatever she's planning. I don't know how deep their animosity towards the commission goes, but I won't let them have their way. But, I feel as if this all could have been avoided. I sense there's an element to this you're not telling me, I doubt someone who had been indoctrinated would kill their highest superior just because they didn't like their job anymore." He theorized Nagant killed the P.S.C President because she wanted to leave and they wouldn't let her leave alive. "There is clearly a lot we still need to discuss, but for the moment we'll have to end this conversation, right now I need to join the others and get to Kyushu." ONE said, though his thoughts were on his old senpai, something happened that led her to working for the Public Safety Commission, she rebelled against what they wanted and has been a criminal in their eyes ever since.

ONE turned to leave the room, this conversation was over for now. As he put his hand on the door to exit the room, Madam President had to get in some final words. "We may not agree, but for the moment you don't seem like a mistake. We expect great things from you, Number One."

ONE gripped the door handle and turned back to her with a confident smile, "I'm just a hero, Madam President." He left the room, leaving the two to fully register their talk.

"That went about as well as I expected." Mera spoke through the silence.

"He's an idealistic fool." She crossed her arms and let out a sigh, "We may need to change our strategy with our new top hero. At least All Might could just do what he did and all we had to do was maintain his peace. He's going to make things much more complicated."

In the hallway

ONE had gotten a text from Genos, telling him to meet him and the others on the roof when he was done with his meeting. "We may have to hang out in Kyushu for a while." He thought as he looked up from his phone, just as he sensed a presence rounding the corner. It was a woman with pale blue skin, lilac hair, black eyes and green irises. She wore a red jacket with a black fur collar over a navy blue dress and brown ankle boots. A bright smile lit up on her face when she spotted him.

"Hello, ONE. Or should I just call you Number One?" She asked in a playful tone, that put him on edge. She used her right arm to lean against the wall as she looked at him.

He looked her in the eye while giving her a welcoming smile, "Just ONE is fine. Nice to meet you, miss..."

"Kizuki. Chitose Kizuki." She replied with a smile while raising her fingers at him as if angling a photo. "It took a lot to get back here, you made quite the statement on stage."

"I figured as the new number one hero, I should speak honestly in my first address to the public. I take it you're a member of the media?"

Her smile didn't fade as she took a few steps towards him. Her body language was seductive, she was clearly trying to use her charms to uncover his secrets. While she was an attractive woman, he has built a resistance to beautiful women. "You could say that. I'm a journalist with Shoowayasha Publishing, and I… Have been wanting to get an exclusive with you for a long time now, ONE. I'm probably one of your biggest fans."

ONE didn't tense up as she stood in front of him, "Well, I'm always happy to meet a fan. How can I help you, Miss Kizuki?" He asked with a welcoming smile.

The woman pressed a finger to his strong chest, "You see, I've never backed away from a story since I first stepped into this biz." Her smile became wider as she slowly slid her finger down his chest, "I see a very interesting story in you, ONE. And I want to strip you bare." Her green eyes seemed to pierce his lenses.

ONE stood firm, "A very odd choice of words. But, I'm not against doing an interview, that is if you come correct. I'm a pretty transparent guy."

"Hm, I can't tell. What exactly do you mean by "Come correct?""

"Just ask the right questions, nothing too personal, that's all."

She paused as she pondered his words, "Hmmm, 'That's problematic, but I'm sure I can do that."

"Well than, be sure to reach out, Miss Kizuki. As I'm sure you can imagine, I'll be busy for a while."

She looked him in the eyes, she was getting giddy at the prospect of getting a one on one interview with him. "Understandable… But I'd like to ask you a few things, off the record of course."

ONE's eyes shifted down the hall, the others were waiting for him and he wanted to get started on his investigation. But she was eager and passionate about interviewing him, plus he figured she went through a lot just to get back here. "Alright, what would you like to know?"

"It's still hard for me to fathom you're quirkless, you were born with no power at all. I'm sure that was hard for you growing up. You said you trained to get so strong because you wanted to be a hero, but was there any other reason you wanted to be strong?"

"Everything I did was for my dream. It had less to do with proving others wrong, and more to do with proving to myself I had merit and could achieve my dreams like everyone else."

"I see. Well you've definitely done that, taking the number one spot seems like a culmination of all your hard work."

"As I said on stage, I don't care at all about my rank, but I understand the responsibilities that come with it."

One more question? What pushes you to use your abilities? You're not restricted like the rest of us, you can use your strength and skills whenever and however you want. Why do you only use them for being a hero?"

"I'm just a hero, Miss Kizuki. That's what my strength is for, helping and saving every life I can reach. I'm sure most people in my position would be using this power to do and get whatever they wanted, but that's not me. I don't have any interest in showing others how powerful I am or what a "Man" I am. Though I'm the same person on the inside, outside of my hero life I'm just a normal nice guy. I go through life like everyone else, there's never really a need to use my abilities."

She smiled brightly, though the look in her eyes was clear he didn't say what she wanted to hear. "Thank you, ONE." She turned around while cocking her head back at him with a smile, "I'll be in touch. I'm looking forward to sitting down with you." She was about to leave when she turned back to him, "One more thing." She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a book, "I saw your interview with Fujioka. While I'm not the biggest fan of that fox I suppose she "Came correct", as you put it. You seem like you want to change the world, and for the moment I can say I'm on your side." She handed him the book, "Give this a read, "I'm sure it will be very enlightening." She said with a smile.

ONE took the book from her, it was red with black lines on the side of the cover, a black marking that resembled a mask. He looked at the title, "Meta Liberation War. By Chikara Yotsubashi, A.K.A Destro." ONE paused for a moment before looking up at Kizuki, "This is the villain biography I've heard about, pretty popular I hear." He smiled at the journalist, "Thank you Kizuki, I've been wanting to get my hands on a copy of this."

"You're very welcome. See you soon, ONE." She turned and walked down the hallway without saying another word, a smile clear on her face.

The hero took another look at the book, opening it and quickly reading the author's notes. This book is a dedication to the pursuit of freedom for the use of meta abilities. No discrimination just for being born as you were, with what power you have. It challenges the restriction of these abilities as they are a part of a person's character as well as being. It may be too late for me and my generation but as long as there are those who seek freedom in this changing society, the war will never end. The picture of Destro is one he's seen before, but he didn't give his place in history much thought. From just the author's notes alone this was going to be an interesting book, as concerning as it seemed so far. ONE closed the book and went to meet with the others, they had to get to Kyushu and investigate the Nomu rumors, if this is what he thinks it was, it was something he'd definitely need to address. After making his way to the top of the stairwell he opened the door to the roof, there he found the others waiting for him, minus Endeavor. "There he is. You sure took your sweet time, Number One." Mirko said as he made his way towards the group.

"Sorry, I bumped into someone else after I was done speaking with Madam President." He replied with a smile. "Where'd Endeavor go?"

"He said he'd be there tomorrow." Hawks answered. He spotted the book in his hands, "I take it that same someone gave you that book?"

"Yeah, actually." He replied before tossing it to Genos who easily caught it.

"Meta Liberation War?"

"That's a copy of that villain biography." Hawks stated.

"We thought this was concerning given its popularity. We were going to try and get a copy and here it is. Where'd you get this?" Genos asked while raising the book.

"She said her name was Chitose Kizuki, a journalist from Shoowaysha Publishing. She said she was a fan, asked me a couple questions off the record, said she'd be in touch for an interview and she gave me that."

The four all looked at the book with their own thoughtful expressions. Genos opened the book and flipped through the pages, using his quirk he'd read the full contents of the book in less than ten seconds." He closed it and tossed it back at ONE, "This is stupid. It's essentially just an anarchistic manifesto, pathetic senisism."

ONE looked at the cover, "You think so? I read the author's notes, this Destro guy seemed passionate if nothing else."

"The guy was a terrorist, in the worst way. That book basically goes on about why people should be able to freely use their quirks any and however way they want. Sure, he and his family had it rough but he wanted to change things to the extreme, completely disregarding the negative aspects that came with a world with his idea of "Freedom". The bastard killed himself before the world changed, all he had to do was wait a few more years. Read it when you get a chance ONE and you'll agree."

"I've read it, I'd say you're right on the money, Genos." Hawks agreed.

"His mom coined the term "Quirk", apparently. At the time, people with quirks were the minority, but he led people to indiscriminately attack those who didn't have powers. Indoctrinating them to use their abilities however they wanted, even if it meant killing."

ONE looked at the book, "I'll give this a read. I'm interested in the kind of world that inspired this book."

"Because you'd have had a prominent place in it?" Hawks asked with a sly smile.

"Not so much that. You could say I'm a nerd for quirks, a piece of that early history is detailed in this book. So at the bare minimum that has my curiosity." ONE lowered the book in his hand, "By the way, how long are we going to wait on this rooftop? We DO have to get to Kyushu after all."

Genos smirked, "We were waiting on you." He blasted into the air and headed towards Kyushu.

"He's definitely eager." Hawks said as he shot into the air too, heading for his hometown.

"When he's excited about an investigation." ONE said before turning to Mirko, "So, shall we go?"

"You're not going to fly there?" She asked with a raised brow.

He turned to her with a cool smile, "I'd rather race you, number four."

Ooh, you wanna play that game? Well, in that case." She smiled confidently before vanishing in a flash of speed, ONE did the same as he followed after her. It didn't take him long to catch up with her, the two raced all the way to Kyushu. Mirko's competitive nature kept it a contest all the way until they reached their destination, he could sense Genos and Hawks above them the whole time. They started their own race to Kyushu, with Genos beating the winged hero to Fukuoka. ONE touches down on a rooftop to regroup with the others, he crossed his arms and tapped his feet with a sly smile, "I'm waiting you guys." Mirko arrived on the roof and playfully went to kick him, salty at her loss. ONE blocked her kick before grabbing her leg, he pulled her forward and shifted closer to her, in one swift motion he was holding her up with his strong hands gripping her ass. He had a sly smile on his face as he held her up, though Mirko's ass would feel better if he wasn't wearing gloves. "Relax a little, It's not the first time you've lost to me."

Mirko had a fiery smile as she crossed her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his, "Shut up!"

Up above, Hawks and Genos were making their descent to the other two heroes. The winged Hero spotted them in the compromising position, "Well look at that. Hey Genos, are those two a thing?"

"Bang buddies." He answered honestly.

"Can't tell from the way Mirko's holding onto him." He watched the way ONE was gripping her ass, she had good looks but even he thought those thighs and those buns were her most attractive assets.

"Looks like they're here." ONE gently tossed Mirko away, allowing her to stand on her own feet. The other two touched down on the roof, "Happy you guys could make it."

Genos touched down first, "The man who moves too fast is a few steps too slow."

"Not all of us can be mechanical, Genos." Hawks joked with a smile.

"Excuses."

ONE raised a flat hand, "I agree, step up your game, Hawks!"

"Seriously, why is everyone trying to bust my balls today? That's all this guy's done the whole time we were heading over here."

"Genos is what I like to call a playful asshole. Even though he really doesn't look like it, he is. Don't let him turn you off, Hawks." ONE said. "Now, let's get this investigation going, we can fill Endeavor in when he get's here. In the meantime, where's a good place we can talk?"

Hawks' smiled while pointing past him, "Yeah, there's a great Hot-Pot place up the street from here. Hakitori's pretty solid too. Food's pretty great, guarantee it."

"Later, we'll go grab a bite after we're finished talking. Let's head to your agency.

"Fine. But you should know my agency doesn't have good food."

"Understandable, but we came here to work, Hawks." ONE jumped off the roof and to the streets below. All eyes landed on them when touched down, the billboard event still fresh in everyone's minds.

"It's ONE, Hawks and Mirko!" A young boy exclaimed at seeing them on the street.

"Hello~!" ONE said as he raised a flat hand in greeting. The moment these words left his lips he was swarmed by fans on the street.

"That was so cool what you said on stage!"

"How's it feel to be the first quirkless number one hero!"

"I really liked what you said, "Society needs to depend on itself now that All Might's gone" So cool!"

Hawks, Genos and Mirko hung back as the public swarmed ONE, "It's like we're not even here." Hawks casually commented.

"You get used to that." Genos stated.

"You're really inspiring, ONE. But you might wanna tred a little easier."

"Why's that?"

"You know what they say, "If you wanna make enemies, try and change something."

"Hm, that's not untrue by any means. But I've found authenticity is the best way to gain acceptance."

"My baby!" A woman called out as her dog was about to be hit by a car, before it could strike to pouch, in a flash ONE scooped it up out the road and handed it to the owner.

"Thank you so much, ONE."

"It was no trouble at all. Just make sure this one stays out of trouble, and the streets." He playfully pet the dog before he disappeared.

An elderly woman was struggling to carry a heavy suitcase up a flight of stairs. "Here miss, can I help you with that?" Before the woman could blink both she and the suitcase were at the top of the steps. She smiled at the hero who still embraced her, "Well, aren't you a strong young man."

"I've got a lot of training under my belt, Ma'am." He said before disappearing.

Hawks looked at the scene as several clones of ONE helped the people nearby with minor issues. "And I thought I was fast."

"His Flash Clones are an impressive super move, surprisingly he doesn't use it often." Genos commented.

Mirko crossed her arms, "How long do you think he's going to bask in his adoring public?"

"Not much longer. He rarely engages with groups on the street like this, guess it's another one of those respnsibilites as number one." Genos replied.

"ONE, Can I get a selfie!" A teenage girl with dirty blonde hair excitedly asked.

"Smile bright." The hero got in her camera view and smiled as she took three pictures.

The girl looked at the snaps with excitement, ""Thanks a bunch!"

"ONE, can you please sign my Hero Almanac?" A young brown haired boy asked, practically shoving it in his face.

"Sure." He took the back pack, "Got a pen?"

"Right here!" He exclaimed as he handed him a pen.

"Nice, way to come prepared. So who am I making this out to?"

"Sora!"

"Nice, you're the first one I've ever met." He signed the book and handed it back to the kid, who happily examined the autograph.

"Hey ONE, you said on TV you had to investigate some things, is that why you're in Kyushu?" A middle aged man asked.

"That's right. I've heard a few rumors so I'm here to investigate, plus I get to work with my good friend Hawks!" He exclaimed with a smile before saluting to the winged hero who saluted back.

"It's nothing too serious is it?"

"Not really. I've handled situations like this before, there's no cause for concern."

"Because You Got This, right?" A pair of twin boys asked.

"That's right." He replied with a smile, giving them both a fist bump.

"I have to get to work, you all take care." He said before walking away and the group dispersed.

Hawks, Mirko and Genos caught up with him, "Y'know for someone who doesn't care about his hero rank, you sure don't mind being popular." Hawks playfully said.

"I'm a likable guy, Hawks. People gravitate to you when you're authentic and just be yourself."

"That's a true statement. Endeavor should be here sometime tomorrow afternoon, let's head to my place and compare notes." Hawks said as he led the way towards his agency. The heroes met up in Hawk's office, several of his sidekicks greeted them when they walked in. One thing he always found interesting was how successful heroes had living quarters in their agencies. Hawks was no different, there were over a dozen hotel style rooms in this building for him and his sidekicks. He knew personally that two floors at Endeavors were all rooms. Hawks rested against his desk, Genos stood while ONE and Mirko sat on the couch.

"So, there may be Nomu here in Kyushu, and we know that if we find Nomu, we'll find the League." Genos spoke to everyone in the room.

"Hawks, why don't you tell us what info you have?" ONE asked, turning to face him from the couch.

The winged hero stood calmly, "Not a lot of info to give, all I've got is what I've been hearing across the island."

"Black creatures with multiple quirk, you've said that before. It's the same thing we've been hearing. Not only that, most of those rumors have been coming from this city." Genos commented

"Hence why we came here." ONE added. "We don't have anything concrete, all we can really do is look around."

"We know the League is involved in this somehow. So many questions." Hawks said, crossing his arms.

"Who do you think could be spreading these Nomu rumors?" Mirko asked.

ONE paused for a moment, "If I had to guess, it's probably Dabi. Despite his appearance, he's the most mysterious member of the league. He'd be the only one who could realistically move around undetected. If he mentioned creatures like Nomu, people would probably listen. Not only that, he's the only member with no history. I've got accurate info on most of the league, Shigaraki included, Dabi's the only one I don't know."

Hawks eyes darted to ONE for a moment, the look in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by Genos. "Do you have any helpful intel about the league."

ONE stood up, "They're engineering a new type of Nomu called High Ends. Actually I beleive I've fought one a while back."

Hawks' eyes were serious upon hearing ONE's response, "High Ends, huh? How are these different from the usual Nomu?"

"Keep in mind I only have one example to base this theory on. Aside from being a darker shade of black compared to the others. These Nomu are capable of holding more quirks than the others. They're capable of speech and adapting during battle. Not only that, they seemed to retain the same personality and abilities they had before being modified. Remember, Nomu are essentially people who have been modified to hold multiple quirks. In the case with these, if the person was a fighter or violent person, those traits and skills remain in them. The one I fought was actually someone I knew in the past, his personality and karate skills were very much intact."

"And you're positive this was someone you knew?" Hawks asked, fully interested.

"Obviously he didn't look the same, but the hair was. Plus his stance and technique were undoubtebly the same as my own karate, and it used his quirk. All For One later confirmed it."

"Do you have any idea who could be making the Nomu? All For One's in jail and from what I've heard you basically killed him. I've suspected there's some mad scientist working with him to make those things, but I could never find anything concrete. What about you two?"

ONE and Genos shot a look at each other, "We're actually investigating that right now." Genos responded. "We've thought the same thing and it's been on our table for months. Right now we just need a chance to properly look into it."

"That says you may know who it is and you're just not positive."

"Oh we're positive, we just need concrete evidence." ONE replied. He didn't like lying to Hawks but there was something telling him he shouldn't divulge the full details of their investigation. Knowing he was a part of the P.S.C's program, he was hesitant to divulge such sensitive information. They could muddle things up if they knew Dr Ujiko was All For One's partner with the Nomu, taking a second thought he wondered if he also made Gigantomachia.

ONE crossed his arms," Let's end this conversation for now. I say we go patrol and see what we can find. We can touch notes again later."

The day comes and goes with the group leaving the agency. Patrolling together the group didn't find any leads on the the Nomu but were still able to stop a few crimes together. Though they didn't find anything ONE's senses were on full alert and he was unable to shake the feeling that something would happen before they left. After eating dinner together Hawks offered ONE and Genos rooms at his agency which they declined. ONE got out of costume and Genos becoming Takumi, they checked into the same hotel, getting a two bed suite. Taku opened a capsule that contained a duffle bag with a change of clothes for both of them, "I'm gonna take a shower and unwind. You gonna go see Miss Mirko?" He slyly asked as he took off his shirt."

"Nah, we had a lot of fun at dinner, plus I'm here to work, Taku. I'm gonna get to reading this book, plus I gotta give Momo a call."

"Alright then, I told you before it's a stupid book." Taku went into the bathroom while Izuku laid on his bed and cracked open the book. The first few pages really stood out, Destro really went into depth about how chaotic the world was when powers began manifesting. It gave him a sense of empathy that people could be so mean and the great divide that came with the rise of powers. The more he read, the more interesting this book became, a part of him wondered what he would have said if he lived in those times. How would he have carried himself? what would his view of quirks have been? Would he be the empathetic person he is now? It was clear the world he lives in wasn't always like this, and it was a dark yet interesting bit of history.

The next day

In a undisclosed location Dabi walked towards four creatures, all were Nomu. All were muscular with all having exposed brains. He could sense the power and malevolence coming off of them. "So these are the High Ends. I was told that you all would be the real deal."

"I can personally attest to their quality, Dabi." Ujiko spoke through the earpiece the villain wore in his left ear. While normally I'd only give you one to test out in the field, I figured four would be sufficient."

"What's your endgame in all this?"

"Doctor Genus and I have been hard at work cultivating the perfect specimen of quirk evolution. We want to test these out in a battle against ONE."

Dabi inwardly shuttered, "You want the new number one. That's pretty ballsy, Old Man. And a little stupid."

"Be that as it may, this will be an important experiment. Don't fail me, Dabi. Oh, and if any of them are to fall in the field, please do your best to collect them so it won't be a total loss."

Dabi turned to the Nomu who were all looking anxious for some action. The villain eyed the creatures, all looked far more impressive than the Nomu he's seen before. From what he was told, the Nomu were corpses of people that were modified to hold multiple quirks. Of the four, three of them had male bodies while one had a athletic feminine physique, claws, a lion like tail, an exposed brain and head of a lioness. The tallest of the males was brawny muscular, with a sharp pointy head with eyes that mirrored the others. Another male had more of a lean muscular build, its head was like a thick whip that ran down its back, it also had noticeably large forearms and fists. The last male had a muscular physique, and was the most excited of the bunch, its face wasn't visible, hidden under the hood that grew from its neck. He could feel the power coming off of each one of them, and he wasn't sure he could take a single one of them.

"It's a good thing you all are on his side. Come on, you all look like you're ready to go, High Ends." With these words all four creatures perked up and followed his command.

The party of four patrolled for a while while waiting for Endeavor to show up. Naturally this started a competition between ONE, Hawks and Mirko to see who could resolve the most incidents. ONE had only come to Kyushu a couple of times since becoming a hero, but even he was surprised that so much was constantly happening around here. He figured Hawks had a handle on almost everything on this island, but that didn't mean he could stop every crime by himself, even though his speed and quirk made it easy to handle a large workload. This was his turf, so naturally he had an advantage over ONE and MIrko, but the two heroes did beat him to the case a few times. But by the time Endeavor arrived the score was 5-3-2, Hawks' lead followed by ONE and then Mirko.

They all touched down at the train station and waited for Endeavor to come out, "Endeavor should be out in a bit. So, I take it this is my win today, huh?"

"Shut up, Hawks." Mirko quickly spat.

"Such a terrible winner, I thought you were better than that." ONE playfully replied. The winged hero merely threw up two peace signs and smiled brightly at the both of them. This had been an interesting couple of hours. Endeavor exited the airport and the four greeted him playfully with a mix of jokes and banter, much to his visual annoyance. After Endeavor dropped off his stuff at a hotel they made their way to the restaurant to talk and eat, they bumped into an Endeavor fanboy who marveled at the hero's new costume. Endeavor tried to approach the boy but the kid backed off, not liking the new Endeavor being so friendly, this got a chuckle out of ONE, Hawks and Mirko. This was a fun topic of discussion as they reached the restaurant.

As they made their way they spotted a man wearing a trench coat with a serious expression, he was eyeing the building in front of him as if he was trying to set it on fire with his mind. He grit his teeth and gripped the top of his coat, thoughts running through his mind as took the first step in becoming the new him. "This is it. I've worked for this company for three years, but today I'll bring it down. My whole life, I've always put others above myself, but that was the old me, I've put him in the ground. It's time I was reborn, this is it!" He quickly took off his trench coat, revealing he was completely naked underneath, with the exception of his shoes and socks. Even if no one was looking at him he felt immense embarrassment, this being the trigger for his quirk, "Shame", the more embarrassed he feels the stronger he gets.

"Meta Human Liberation!" He yelled out with pride. The five heroes eyed the man for just a moment, Hawks was about to strike him with some feathers when ONE beat him to it. Before he knew what was happening he was violently slammed to the ground, not only that, he was covered by his coat again.

"What the hell is wrong with you? There are kids around here!" A stern voice said, giving him chills from its tone and making him look to face the source of it. His eyes widened when they fell on ONE, his resolve to complete his self appointed mission quickly shrank.

"I just thought-, I mean I was going to-, I just realized I-, ouw." He stammered before finally deadpanning in defeat and giving up.

ONE stood over the attempted flasher, "You mentioned Meta Human Liberation. I hope you're flashing in the streets because of your quirk and not just because you read a book."

He hesitantly looked at the hero, "I was going to destroy this company. My eyes were opened after reading that book. It was such an eye opener, I shouldn't be restricted from using my power. It should be a normal part of my daily life as it's a part of me."

"You don't see how that's a dangerous way of thinking?" He was visibly surprised by his calm response, "Using your quirk whenever and however you want is a very selfish and stupid way of thinking. You have a strong power, how cares? It's the person using the power, not the other way around, and there's more to life than just your quirk. Don't base your whole existence on what your quirk can do." These words stunned the man in place as he laid on the hot sidewalk, "I'm gonna overlook this just once, do not make me regret it." ONE said before getting up and walking away with the others, the flasher stood up, looked to the back of the hero clad in green, he hung his head and walked away to think.

"You may regret that, ONE." Endeavor commented as they went.

"Maybe, but I think I gave that guy something to think about."

They arrived at the resturant and sat down, they all ordered and got down to business. Hawks started the conversation, "We've already went over the finer details while we were waiting for you, Endeavor."

The flame hero merely kept his arms crossed, "Hm, I figured. You mentioned Nomu, what do you know?"

Genos spoke, "At this moment in time, all we really have is speculation. However we're of the same mind that someone, most likely a member of the league is spreading these rumors around. Also they're making a more powerful type of Nomu called High Ends."

Endeavor looked at ONE who appeared to be in thought, "What's on your mind, ONE?"

"I'm still thinking about that flasher from earlier, the way he yelled about Meta Human Liberation."

"What about it?"

"Well it's from that popular villain biography, it's very possible these things could be related. Churing up fear would be good for business in our current climate."

"That's true." Endeavor turned to Hawks, "So what's the plan?"

"The five of us are going to team up for this one case. Let's investigate these rumors and bring down the one's spreading. This will most likely uncover a trail that will lead us straight to the League."

"Those guys are a problem I should have taken care of back in Kamino, I blame myself for not handling Kurogiri myself."

"Oh yeah, the league escaped because Vlad King let Kurogiri get away." Hawks joked.

"Again, I blame myself. I should have held onto him that whole time. But anyway let's take care of this and put the public at ease."

Hawks smiled slyly, "That's excatly what I wanted to hear from you." ONE looked at the winged hero, "I liked what you said on stage. This IS the time for society to depend on itself, not one person. We've got four of the top heroes here, personally I knew what would happen if All Might ever went away." Everyone turned to him as he spoke, "But with this shift in hero society we have the chance to make a society independent of the Symbol Of Peace, and one much stronger for it." He turned to ONE, "ONE, I'm rooting for you to become a dependable leader, now that you're number one. Don't know if either of you got this from my chart speech, but basically I see myself as your producer." He said, looking at ONE and Endeavor.

"Moron!" Endeavor exclaimed.

"Wow, no pressure, Hawks." ONE said jokingly.

The waitress had brought them their orders, and Mirko was busy eating her yakitori, she had heard all she needed to so there wasn't much need for her to engage. Genos did the same when his sensors detected four objects heading toward their direction at high speed. There was a pause at the table as Genos, Mirko, ONE and Hawks looked towards the window.

"Well that's not good." Hawks commented as he looked in the distance.

Mirko smirked confidently, "Speak of the devil, it's about time. I've been ready for some action."

"They're fast." Genos spoke.

"Four of them, be ready." ONE warned.

"What?" Endeavor said, not seeing what was coming but picked up the body language of the others.

The waitress approached the table with their drinks, "Here's your drinks."

Hawks quickly stood up, "No, don't come any closer!"

ONE's eyes narrowed, "Phase ONE!" He called out before phasing through the window, he saw four black dots in the distance and the moment he came outside one of the Nomu was on him in mid-swing. Using his left hand he deflected the punch, faster than it could react, his right fist connected with the Nomu's stomach, sending it crashing into the one behind it. In a flash he was cornered on both sides by two Nomu, both had exposed brains, one had an athletic feminine physique with the head of a lioness. The other had a strong muscular body with large forearms and a head that was like a whip that ran down his back. They both came at him, unleashing a flurry of attacks of punches, swipes and kicks that ONE easily dodged.

"These were genuine fighters before they became Nomu. They're just as strong as the last one, don't know what or how many quirks they have, there are four of them, I need to stay on my toes." He thought as he cocked back his fists, "Waves Of Blaze!" He called out he disappeared in a flash of speed and hammered them with a barrage of fiery punches, the nomu tried to dodge but were brutally beaten by the hero's flaming fists.

Back inside the restaurant his allies quickly rose up from their table, "We have to help him!"
Endeavor exclaimed as Mirko quickly took off towards the exit. "Where did they even come from?" Mirko asked ash she bolted with Genos at her side.

"We'll figure that out later, right now we have to deal with this. It's the whole reason we came here."

"ONE, if you take all the action I'm gonna be pissed!" Mirko thought aloud with a fierce smile.

Back outside, ONE kicked off the air as the burning bodies of the Nomu fell from the sky, the flames of his assault appeared to be cooking them. "No way that did it, way too easy," He looked in the direction the creatures came from, "They came directly to us, meaning two things. Either someone sent them to us, or someone called them." He looked down and saw the flames dissipate from the Nomu and they all regenerated surprisingly quickly. Their flesh, bones and muscles regrew perfectly in mere seconds. "I may have stand corrected, these may be stronger than Soyama." His eyes shifted as he sensed the others approaching, "The others will be here in a moment. I could just take them all out myself." A smile spread across his lips, "But I'm not the only strong one here, am I. '' His thoughts were interupted when he sensed the eyes of all four regenerated Nomu on him.

They all had eyes of predators that found a new toy to play with, "He..Is strongest." The hooded one said in a rough, raspy voice.

"So… Much… Power." The pointed headed one said with a clenched hand.

The female Nomu got on all fours like a beast ready to attack, "I… Have… Found my…Prey!" The last one with the long head didn't say a word, merely standing straight and cocking its head with a sneering smile.

"So they're speaking for the first time. Could this be a test run or something?" He stared down the creatures, ready to go another round. "Since you can talk, do you wanna tell me who sent you four here?"

There was silence as the question passed over them, "ONE!" The voice of Endeavor called out before he met the other hero in the air. Genos and Mirko leaped to the building and stared down the Nomu.

The rabbit hero scanned her enemies, "So these are the High End Nomu's. They're strong, but way uglier than I thought they would be." When these words left her lips the female Nomu stared her down, Mirko could sense the malice coming off the creature as it showed its claws. "Hm, I said what I said, wanna fight about it."

Genos raised a hand, ready to incinerate them all with one blast, "Let them, I can eliminate all of them with one shot."

"This is turning out to be my lucky day, they came right to us." Endeavor said while staring the creatures down.

"Where's Hawks?" ONE asked, not sensing the winged hero joining them.

"Evacuating the area. This could get rough."

"Understood. Someone either called them or sent them to us, questions for later. For now, take me down."

Mirko didn't need to be told twice, kicking off the ground she dashed forward at the female Nomu. The creature put an arm to block but it couldn't stop the power of Mirko's kick that broke the bones underneath and slammed its forearm into its face. The pain was secondary as the force sent the Nomu rocketing off the building 100m away. "I call dibs on the lady kitty." Were all she said before she was gone to rumble with the highest grade of Nomu.

"So that's what we're doing? I have some questions and you're going to answer them." Genos commented before rocketing forward and decking the spiky headed Nomu in the gut. Genos raised up his fist and fired a blast that sent it into the air, The Nomu spun violently as it tried to correct itself, "This will be a great field test." He clenched his fist before rocketing after his target, determined to gather as much intel as he could before incinerating it to ash.

"Well Genos is fired up. Good, this means he'll be thorough."

"ONE, I'll take the one with the hood, that other one hasn't taken its eyes off you yet."

"Just be careful. I don't know how many quirks they have, but one thing they all share is impeccable regeneration. Also they can speak, from just that one scuffle they all concluded that I was strong and a threat, meaning they have the ability to analyze. Be careful, Endeavor. I'll send Hawks your way when he gets here."

Endeavor clenched a fist, "Thanks, but I doubt I'll need it." He blasted toward the beast with flashfire, it seemed excited as it charged at the airborne hero, welcoming another flaming punch. The two began a fight in the air with the Nomu's tone becoming more and more excited

ONE allowed himself to fall and faced the last standing Nomu, he could hear the sound of his party fighting all around him, and he wasn't at all concerned. However, there was something about this Nomu that bothered him, it was trembling, and has been smiling at him since he knocked it down. "What's with the smile, are you that excited to fight me?"

"It..Is strange." It said while raising a clenched fist. It lunged at him, cracking the roof beneath him. "My body won't stop shaking! Iwant to see your strength!" It rushed at him, ready to nail the hero with a flurry of punches, it was visibly shocked when his fist passed through the hero before he also did.

Turning around it was met with a punch to the gut, pain coursed through the monster when it was uppercut higher up. An elbow to the back sent it forward, it barely registered the fresh pain when the hero appeared before it, rocketing from the other direction. "Waves Of Blaze!" He called out before pummeling the Nomu with hundreds of blurring burning punches, they rushed across the sky as ONE's punches battered and burned the monster. A final punch blew a hole in the Nomu's stomach, its upper body contorted, its face was an expression of shock and pain. ONE went on alert as its face morphed into a malicious sneer, Its mouth opened revealing a distorted light followed by a mighty sonic yell that shattered glass and concrete while annoyingly ringing in ONE's ears.

This action annoyed ONE more than it hurt, with imperceivable speed he grabbed the screeching Nomu by the mouth, his hand blocked the sound waves and with a clench of his hand crushed it's lower jaw completely. The destroyed flesh quickly began to regenerate and the Nomu didn't react with any pain. ONE raises his left leg and contorts his body, "Tempest Kick!" Following through with the attack he fires a razor sharp slash vacuum of wind at the Nomu that bisects it at the waist. The Monster's body fell to the ground with the upper half landing on a building and the lower half on the street below. ONE looked down at the seemingly lifeless Nomu, but he sensed that wasn't the case. He shot a glance in the direction of Genos fighting just to see a Nomu go flipping across the sky before Genos burst behind it and blasted it with a massive wave of fire.

"These High End Nomu are interesting, but they aren't as intimidating as I thought. Everyone seems to be handling themselves fine."

"Strong." Glancing beneath him after hearing the raspy voice, he looked at the remains of the Nomu and it was still looking at him like it was in control. Its upper half sprouted a pair of legs and its upper half sprouted a full upper half. Like a pair of twins the Nomu sprouted wings from their backs and rocketed toward the hero.

"That's an unusual cloning quirk." He thought as they both attempted to flank him, raising both his arms he blocked an attack from the Nomu and shifted into his next attack. "Thunder Clap And SMASH!" A mighty thunderclap hammered the Nomu like a super powerful stun grenade, their bodies stung and were stuck in place from the attack to their bodies and senses. A punch to the stomach obliterated one of the Nomu, leaving ONE's hand smoking, turning to the remaining Nomu a kick turned it's head around. Using this moment he grabbed the tendril that hung down its back, gripping it and delivering a punch to the back of the Nomu.

From the ground, people saw the heroes fighting and were amazed. While some were worried, seeing so many top heroes hold off monsters kept them at ease.

Mirko flipped over her opponent as it lunged at her, still on all fours it turned to deliver a diagonal swipe that she shifted to dodge. To her shock its claws had created a vacuum of air that cut into the building across from them. It appeared as if five slashes that mirrored a giant lion's claw had cut into the building. "Pretty sure I've seen that before." Mirko thought aloud with narrowed eyes. She remembered ONE's word about how Nomu are people modified to hold multiple quirks. That lion muzzle, that slashing damage from the claws, it reminded her of her delinquent days. She used to run with a girl who was just as battle hungry as she was, she had a lioness appearance with golden fur. She was strong, a good fighter and had a quirk that gave her claws the ability to unleash devastating slashes that could cut through steel.

Taking a closer look at the creature she noted it's appearance, and was sure it was her. "Nekomari." She thought aloud in realization. The beast gave no acknowledgment to that name, clearly it had no recollection of who it truly was. It merely got on all fours and stared her down, in a burst of speed it was on her again, dodging it's swipes with skillful agility she read the rhythm in its attacks. "Yeah, it's definitely you, Kitten. Fighting style hasn't changed a bit, and your spacing is still shit!" In a flash she got around the creature's guard and decked it with a heavy triple kick, sending it flying down the street. The beast bounces off the pavement trying to get it's bearing when there was a call of "Luna Cross!" With two kicks, Mirko sent a large horizontal and vertical blade of air at the Nomu.

The monster gets its bearings, digging its right claw into the pavement in an attempt to dodge the attack that closed in on it in an instant. Shifting its body yielded nothing as its arm and lower half were severed by the attack, its body hit the ground, letting out no signs it was in pain.

Mirko smirked at the success of her attack, she noted the monster began to regenerate itself. Not letting up she rushed after it, thoughts of her old friend passed through her mind for a moment before she resolved to end this. Jumping into the air she raised her right leg and brought it down on the creature's back, cracking the pavement and powning it into the ground. To her surprise this didn't slow down the regeneration, its arm quickly grew back and it swiped at the hero.

"That hurt." It flipped back to it's feet, crouched down like an eager predator, "Be…My Prey, strong Rabbit!" It let out a roar that almost made her ears bleed and caused her bones to rattle.

"A sound attack?" She thought as she grit her teeth and tried to stop the ringing in her ears. She narrowly managed to dodge a swipe from the charging Nomu, it followed up its atack with a sweep to her legs, bringing her off her feet. Using a hand to catch her fall, she contorted her body to kick away a claw. The Nomu recovered quickly but so did she, pushing off both arms she flipped and wrapped her right leg around th Nomu's neck, leaning back she flipped to give the creature the toss. The Nomu contorts its body to correct itself in mid-air, in that same motion two tentacles as black as its skin protruded from its neck. Mirko was caught off guard when the instant she turned she felt her right arm and left leg be grabbed.

"What the hell?!" She thought aloud, taking note of the tentacles attached to her, she was suddenly jerked and found herself being thrashed around like a ragdoll. Her body was slammed all over through the denting metal and cracking concrete of the buildings around her. With one a brutal slam the air was knocked from her lungs as she lay in a crater of asphalt. The ground trembled as people nearby ran for their lives. Mirko was winded but not knocked out, for a moment she got flashes to the Blue Villain, she had to get back up and get it together, ONE's speech at the ceremony entering her mind. She didn't look up to All Might like everyone else, she believed in her own strength to be a hero.

She didn't have the mental patience for politics but something ONE said lit a fire in her then and is still burning now, with All Might gone it's time for society to depend on itself. Her body ached a bit in the crater, but it was no different from a tough training session with Michiko.

"Humans, weak humans." The Nomu spoke properly as it stood above her crater. It opened its mouth to gather energy for another sonic roar to finish her. Her ears were still ringing from the last attack. She absolutely hated sound based attacks, with her ears being as sensitive as they are, an attack on her hearing is the only thing she'd consider a weakness. She locked eyes with her potential killer, a look of absolute confidence spread across her red eyes, along with a hint of sadness. A memory of her friend entering her mond, and a promise they once made when they were young.

"Hey Rumi, let's become the strongest in Japan."

"Alright, Might Tower is in Minato, right?"

"Not now you meathead bunny!" The woman looked at her hands, "These claws, they're meant for more than just simenting the fact I'm a mutant. You've got it easy, you've got that tan skin and those tomboy good looks going for you."

"Well your abs are nore defined than mine, plus your boobs are bigger and your ass is sweet."

"Standard gift and a curse." She said while flaunting her curves. "But seriously, beating up fools at fight clubs for the rest of my life is no way to live." The lion faced woman turned to the rabbit girl witha bright smile, "Let's put some positive strength into the world."

Mirko faced the Nomu, her red eyes serious as it unleashed a Sonic Roar, the creator deepened and the ground around it cracked, only the rabbit hero wasn't in it. Seeing this the Nomu raised it's head only to be slammed to the ground, her toes crushed its throat, the soles of her feet crushed its skull and its head was heavily damaged. Raising her heels she brought them down with a mighty thump that cracked the ground beneath her and splattered Nomu's upper body and especially brain, in an instant.

With a solemn expression she looked down at the lifeless body of the Nomu, "Not the strongest in Japan yet, but I'm on the track to learn from the strongest."

"This is the last time I'm going to ask, "Tell me who sent you here?!" His words were stern as he held the head of the creature in his right hand, its body had been incinerated. He had done this once but it was able to quickly regenerate, and he noticed as they fought that its cognitive abilities improved quickly, it also had a number of troublesome quirks. It could use the Physical Snatch quirk, but being a cyborg that didn't affect him at all. On top of that it could grow extra limbs and morph them into deadly weapons such as blades and chainsaws.

"What..Are you?" It asked through pained breaths.

"A cyborg of justice. Now tell me, who sent you Nomu here?"

Its body began to regenerate, but the heat coming from Genos' hand brought it to a complete halt. "You seem to be under a misconception that this is play-time, I'm not playing with you. Tell me what I want to know, or be eliminated."

Nomu's eyes glowed green and lasers blasted Genos directly in the eyes, the pain of this sudden attack forced him to drop the dismembered head. The feeling in his eyes was more annoying than painful, the Nomu opened its mouth and out sprouted several mid level Nomu. The beasts' jumped the cyborg who was more concerned with the stinging in his eyes, "Damn it, why do pain receptors have to be so damn important?" He vocally complained as the Nomu began to beat on him, but he paid them no mind. Currently he was wishing he didn't install pain receptors, but not feeling pain didn't mean you were strong.

Genos grit his teeth, grabbed a hold of the Nomu attacking him, slammed them together and gave them the toss. With one incineration blast he turned them both to ash in an instant. The Nomu he had been fighting took this moment to regenerate, its body fully restored in a matter of seconds. Genos was visibly angry by the creature's antics, "So I take it, this means you're not going to answer my questions?" The Nomu said nothing, its body had fully regenerated and took a battle stance. Genos outstretched a hand, "I grow bored of this, disappear." His hand glowed before the Nomu was incinerated in a massive wave of fire. "Stupid beast.'' Sensing a disturbance he turned to his left just in time to see a building smashed down the middle, and at the bottom of the rubble was the one of the Nomu standing above Endeavor. "Well that's not good."

A news chopper flew over the battlefield, local heroes headed over but there wasn't much they could do to help. The live broadcast of the events was airing across the country and many eyes were watching. They saw how Mirko and the cyborg had defeated two of the attacking monsters, Endeavor and Hawks were struggling and ONE was facing off with another one. A male reporter gave his thoughts as he looked at the scene, "We can confirm the two of the monsters are down, but Endeavor looks to be in bad shape. This attack is another in a string of unprecedented events, with three of the top ten heroes present, let's hope they can conquer this threat."

A female reporter was on the ground, she was in the midst of the public, reporting on the battle. The people were still fairly calm even after seeing Endeavor slammed through a building, the number two had been owned, but many eyes were lined toward the sky. "This situation is serious, Mito, but this reporter feels at ease. All Might may be gone, but we still have a symbol." Her eyes were trailed up along with everyone else, looks of relief and cheers of excitement ringing throughout.

UA Class 1A dormitory

All of class A were sitting in the common room, their eyes glued to the TV showing the broadcast of what was happening in Kyushu. "It's those Nomu things again." Jiro commented.

"This is crazy, and on the day after the hero rankings." Ojiro said.

"Guys, Endeavor's alright isn't he?" Sato asked.

"Of course he is!..Right?" Minetta answered, looking at Todoroki who had a look of clear concern.

The heterochromatic teen was in his own thoughts as the camera showed his father battered, bloody and broken on the ground. The monster at the center of this devastation towering over him like a beast whose actions were for fun rather than hunger. "C'mon Old Man! Get up! I'm watching you!" He thought as he suppressed his rising emotions. A gentle hand touched his right shoulder, calming him. He turned to see it was Yaoyorozu whose expression lacked the slightest hint of worry. "Yaoyorozu?"

"It'll be fine, Todoroki."

"What makes you so sure?"

An honest smile spread across her lips, "Because my hero won't let this be his end."

His eyes widened in realization of her words, "Your hero?"

"Hm, guess she's not wrong. There's nothing to worry about." Ashido commented as she pointed. "Look at that, Todoroki."

He looked back towards the screen and the camera feed pandered to ONE who was fighting a Nomu with a long, thick tendril coming from its head. ONE was gripping its head and punching it like a ball on a string. The people there were so calm because they were also seeing this, any worries he had instantly faded. "How does he do that?"

"Turn a monster into a punching bag Yo-Yo?" Ashido jokingly replied.

"Make you feel completely at ease when seeing him in action."

"It's all a part of being a hero, Todoroki. Yaoyorozu answered.

Jiro fiddled with her earphone jacks, "Yeah, this will be over soon. I think I like this new symbol."

Bakugo, who was standing next to Kirishima grit his teeth and sucked his teeth. He didn't need to watch this to know that Deku would win. That bastard had become the new number one hero, and he was going to prove why.

Back in Kyushu

With a strong jerk on the tendril of thef lesh between his fingers, ONE foot sank into the stomach of the Nomu, blowing a hole in it's chest and making it spit up blood. Kicking off the air and soaring higher he began spinning until he became a miniature cyclone. He gave the Nomu the toss and like a bullet leaving a chain of shock waves it rocketed towards Endeavor before crashing into its unsuspecting fellow Nomu. They both were sent tearing through the freshly wrecked building. In the midst of his fight he noticed Hawks and Endeavor were struggling, especially Endeavor. He spotted both Genos and Mirko who had taken care of their Nomu and these two were the last to go. In a flash he appeared before the Flame Hero, "Endeavor, are you okay?" Inwardly he knew that was a stupid question seeing as he had a slash across his eye and was just slammed through a building.

"Doesn't it look like it?"

"Actually, it looks like you're a new toy for Christmas that broke the same day." He replied playfully.

Flames erupted from the hero, his anger and annoyance fuling them as he fought past the pain to force himself up. "Do me a favor, lose the sense of humor."

"Do us both a favor and buy one."

"Hm, well it's good ONE took care of that." Genos kept a stern expression as he watched the battle, "This should be over soon." He crossed his arms, thinking to himself as they still had no answers as to why Nomu showed up. It was a good thing they at least confirmed the rumors that they were here, but that only left more questions. He suspected the one who sent them here was hiding in the shadows and observing them, dialing his scanners to the highest level he would detect any familiar presences if they showed up. His eyes shifted to Mirko who was bolting towards ONE and Endeavor, the body of the Nomu she had been fighting remained on the ground and his scanners alerted him as he spotted the unmistakable form of Dabi.

Dabi stood casually over the headless corpse of the Nomu, he had the thought of sneak attacking Mirko but decided against it. "This was a wasted experiment. All the boasting the old fart did and they couldn't even put a scratch on Mirko. Guess that's a top pro for ya." He looked in the distance where a building once stood, "Better hurry this up, even if Hood is stronger than Endeavor, I doubt ONE will let him get killed. That pleasure is reserved for me."

"So that's how it is." A tinge of fear ran down Dabi's spine when he registered that voice, the next instant there was a loud crash with the ground beneath him cracking. Turning around he was met with a wave of heat that agitated his burnt skin, in a small crater behind him was the cyborg from before, eyes glowing and piercing him like a demon. "I suspected it was you, it's so good to see you again…Dabi." The patchwork faced villain had a noticeable smile, but the look in his eyes was full of fear.

Endeavor, I've got an idea. These things are strong, they're learning more and more by the minute, taking them out quickly is the best way to deal with them."

"Then why are you talking to me? Obliterate them with a punch or something!"

"I could do that, but it would defeat the point of my speech at the chart event."

Endeavor's retort caught in his throat as his eyes widened upon remembering what he said then, being how he was right next to him. "Let me be clear, I'm a hero. I want to save and help every person I can reach. As the number one hero, that's not going to change. It's what I've always done. And none of you better stand behind me or slack off just because I'm stronger. All of you should improve, work harder and get better. This is the time for society to depend on itself rather than just one person. If you call yourself a hero, then you already know what you have to do."The wreckage of the destroyed building shifted, and the Nomu burst from the rubble, the two yelled and dove at the two heroes.

"These things are stronger than average Nomu but they're still beastly in nature. What have you learned?"

"This freak is obsessed with strength. It's perceptive enough to notice the weakness in my quirk. It even ripped off its head to avoid my Prominence Burn."

"That figures. Stand tall, Endeavor, this is a great way to start off a new era." With that he disappeared, a kick sinking into the stomach of the Nomu he'd been fighting. It was rocket into the sky in the opposite direction, its body convulsing before exploding in a scene of blood and gore. He floated with Sky Walk taking a note of the smoke coming from his foot, this was a rare occurrence when he put too much power into his attacks. It was fine that they found Nomu but what he really wanted was the person who sent them here, it was either Ujiko or some member of the league but the Nomu wouldn't give an answer as to who. Turning back towards Endeavor he blasted off the ground with Flashfire, the creature dodged, this began a chase across the sky with Endeavor pushed past his limits to barely keep up.

"You can still fight. You can heal like me." The Nomu stated.

"I'm nothing like you. I've just caught my second wind, and the pain is the only thing keeping my body moving. " The High End wanted to go after the public, but Endeavor's pursuit kept its attention. Hawks had finished cutting down a weaker Nomu and saving a man, he released most of his remaining feathers and used them to speed up Endeavor. The burst in speed instantly paid off when the Nomu changed its strategy to attack and rush the hero only to be met by a flaming fist. A wave of flames was forced down its throat and burned its insides but the Nomu's regeneration was still able to keep up. His body was screaming at him to stop, the aching of his muscles, his heart pounding in his ears, the taste of blood in his mouth, vision blurred and barely able to take any oxygen in. But he couldn't give up, Hawks' feathers were almost toast but that didn't matter right now, gritting his teeth and steeling his resolve, his flames jetted them both into the sky. "We're going on a trip!"

"So that's what he's doing. I've only ever heard about this move, this I gotta see."

"Number one!"

Turning to the familia feminine voice he saw Mirko touch down next to him, "Hey Mirko, finish up?"

"Yeah I'm done, And I think I may know who that Nomu used to be."

"Well I want to know about that later. Where's Genos? I can't imagine he'd still be fighting."

"Last I saw him he turned the Nomu into ash, after that I lost track of him."

"I'm sure he'll be here in a bit.' He looked up at Endeavor at the Nomu as they rised higher into the sky, "I think Endeavor's finally taking the first step to being a true hero."

"I guess. Is that why you didn't help him?"

"I couldn't help him. It's a new era, Mirko, if society is to depend on itself as opposed to just one person, heroes need to step up and go beyond themselves. Go Plus Ultra, if you will."

"You're so cheesy sometimes." She commented with a chuckle.

"I look at it as another layer of my charm." The sky lit and the clouds parted as Endeavor unleashed a massive Prominence Burn, all eyes were fixed on the sky as this was the unmistakable power of the flame hero, the flames were so strong the heat could be felt from the ground, it was like a torch that symbolized the the changing of the times. All Might was gone, the Symbol Of Peace was gone, but that didn't mean there wasn't still hope. There were still heroes with the power and heart to carry and protect society. Like a falling meteor the Flame Hero fell back to earth, with a powerful crash that knocked over several cars a cloud of smoke formed. With a raised fist, and the burnt corpse of the Nomu behind him Endeavor stood tall on his feet. Full of wounds, exhaustion clear on his face and on the verge of passing out from overheating, his teal eyes indicated victory.

In the chopper above the news crew had footage of the whole scene, a cheer erupted throughout the city as they announced the end of the battle, "Endeavor is on his feet! He's still standing! That amazing fire power has turned that monster to a crisp. A sign of victory. No, A sign of a new beginning."

Back UA there was a celebration of victory in the dorm of Class 1A. Endeavor had beaten the Nomu, everyone saw it and the words of the reporter resonated with all who heard them. This was a new beginning, Shoto Todooki couldn't help but drop to his knees in a mix of relief and gratitude. He clasped his hands as if to thank whatever god aided his father in this battle. His classmates supported him with gentle hands and allowed him to process what he was feeling. This was the first time he's genuinely watched the hero Endeavor, he saw him overcome and just maybe this was the start of something different. He hasn't forgiven him for everything he's done, but he couldn't help but see him making an effort in his own way after talking to ONE.

Cheers for the heroes rang through Fukuoka, every media outlet was reporting on the battle, and any worries of uncertainties the public may have had prior to this had subsided. They all saw ONE, Mirko, Genos, Hawks and Endeavor battle powerful monsters and take them down, some more easily than others but it proved the strength and heart of heroes willing and able to protect the people. As the number one hero, ONE was expected to do most if not all the heavy lifting, but that wasn't necessary. Each of the heroes with him were able to step up to the best of their abilities and defeat this threat. Times are changing, the days of the Symbol Of Peace were gone, but that didn't have to be a bad thing. Heroes couldn't afford to sit still, they had to keep moving and getting better, and today showed that they not only can, but they will.

Class 1A celebrated the win with many words of praise for everyone involved, Bakugo turned to leave the dorm, not wanted to hear more praise for Deku. Stepping outside, he was heading to the gym, he needed more training. He needed to further refine his quirk and get stronger, that was the only chance he had at becoming number one. As it stood he wasn't even the strongest person at UA, and it ate at him he was the only one in his class without a provisional license. The more he thought about Deku being the new top hero the more pissed off he got, the more he thought about ONE the angrier he got. Deku was a quirkless loser, and insignificant extra, now he's standing at the top of the hero world. What pisses him off the most is that he never noticed Deku surpassed not just him, but All Might. It ate at him that after all the years they'd known each other and were in the same homeroom he never noticed.

"Damn nerd." He muttered darkly. "I swear I'll take you down. I'll surpass you, enjoy it while you can."

"No, you won't." A voice suddenly spoke out of nowhere.

Bakugo tensed up as he was sure he was alone, "Who said that?" His answer was given in the form of a sentient wind. The air in front of him circulated, forming the shape of a humanoid being. "What the hell are you?"

"Someone who understands. I know how you feel, Katsuki Bakugo. Your power is great, it should be unrivaled, yet a powerless nobody towers over you. It's not right, is it?"

"The hell do you know about me?"

"I know everything, Bakugo. I know that you've trained your explosion quirk to be versatile. I know it quickly grows stronger with sweating and pushing yourself makes it stronger. And I also know you'll never surpass him, because while your potential is high, his potential is limitless." Bakugo's eyes widened, gritting his teeth at that statement. "You will get stronger, sure; but you'll never be number one as long as he's around. You've known him, all your lives, and now he's something you can never be. Are you going to accept that?"

"Like hell I am! I'm gonna surpass that nerd and become the number one hero! He can enjoy it while it lasts, but I'll set the order right! It's only a matter of time!"

"Or so you think." Bakugo suddenly found himself in this cosmic void, all around him were mirrors showing him visions. They showed ONE saving and helping a lot of people, his power conquering many villains and the public praising him all over the world. All while he became extremely wealthy, were these visions of the future? What about him?

"What is this? Let me out of here! There's no way that fucking nerd could stand above me! I won't be behind forever!"

"Yes, you will." More visions appeared, only these were of him. It showed him getting stronger and beating villains, he carves out his own legacy but he never comes close to catching up to ONE. He stands next to him year after year while he receives praise as the number one hero. As he soaked in everything he was hearing, one thing was clear, though he'd get stronger, he'd never beat Deku. He would always be the strongest, he'd be the one they'd praised, he'd be the one the world would look to as the perfect example of a hero, while his name would barely reach outside Japan. It had already begun and there was nothing he could do about it. His eyes widened with him on the verge of hyperventilating, thoughts of their shared past, how weak and useless Deku was, and how he now castes a shadow that would forever make him HIS second.

Finding himself back in reality, Bakugo's head lowered with his bangs covering his eyes, he grit his teeth so hard he could crack them. His hands clenched as small explosions went off in his hands. "Damn it. It wasn't supposed to be like this!"

The figure extended a hand, "I agree. It's all his fault, your qualities make you a better hero than he could ever be. You should remind him of what he is. I can help you with that."

Bakugo had a suspicious look as he observed the gesture of friendship. "What the hell even are you? And what do you mean you can help?"

"I am known by many names, but you can call me God. We have mutual interests. And I see great things for you, Katsuki Bakugo. Take my hand."

His red eyes narrowed, he couldn't describe it, but there was an ominous aura coming off the figure. A part of him felt he should be afraid by this entity calling itself God, but his fear was overshadowed by fascination. He looked at the outstretched hand and could feel an enormous power that made his body tremble. God, whatever this thing truly was, it..Had power. Without even thinking Bakugo slapped the hand, the figure made of air disappeared and he stood alone in front of the dorm. He looked at his hand as a devilish smile spread across his lips, he felt every cell in his body surge with energy. No words could describe how strong he felt in this moment, for the first time he understood true, unadulterated power. As he felt his body acclimate to this energy only one thought was on his mind. Take back his place at the top, and beat Deku once and for all.

Endeavor tried to breath but the air quickly got caught, he couldn't stop himself from leaning forward and face planting. Before he could hit the ground, a strong arm stopped him and held him up. Turning to see it was ONE supporting, a cool smile on his face with Mirko at his side. "Good fight, Endeavor."

"Took you long enough, I beat mine first, Number Two." She playfully boasted. Endeavor was too exhausted to argue, he was on the verge of passing out as it was.

ONE looked around and the damage wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Though they were able to beat all the Nomu, many thoughts lingered in his head, most notably who sent them here? They needed to get Ujiko soon, they were working on a plan to do a job shadow at Jaku General Hospital but it was taking time to approve. These four High End Nomu's are just the first in this new series of Nomu, just how many more of these things did he have? Where were they developing, how was he giving them quirks now that All For One was gone? Sensing a familiar presence he turned as Genos leaped from a building and landed before them. To his surprise in one arm he held a beaten and broken Dabi, the villain's arms were both broken and his blood dripped from his mouth and he was covered with bruises and contusions.

"Hello, I see things have wrapped up here."

"Genos?" ONE said with a raised brow behind his cowl.

"ONE, I found the culprit we'd been looking for. As we suspected it was Dabi, he's the one who unleashed the Nomu here." He explained while raising the beaten villain who was barely conscious.

"Is that so?" ONE's aura became serious as he approached the cyborg.

Endeavor's eyes scanned the villain, "So that's Dabi. He's the one who killed Snatch, he was a good pro."

"I was hoping one of these League Of Villain guys would show up." Mirko added with a fiery smile.

Unleashing a focused wave of Power Aura it snapped the villain to full alertness, his eyes fell on the hero and fear and annoyance were prevalent in his gaze. "Hello, Dabi, let's have a little talk."

The look in his teal eyes looked familiar for a moment, the villain slowly opened his eyes and faced the hero, "ONE." He let out a weak chuckle, "Or should I say, Number One?"

"Just ONE is fine. Looks like our cyborg took great care of you."

"Great care." He managed to say sarcastically.

"Babysitting happenes to be a talent of mine." Genos joked.

"So Dabi, let's get down to business, why'd you send the Nomu here?"

There was silence with the villain, his eyes shifted to Endeavor who was hunched over on bended knee with Hakws supporting him. "Enji…Todoroki."

Looks and vocal expressions of confusion spread throughout the present heroes of the mentioning of Endeavor's legal name. ONE turned to the barely breathing flame hero, All For One's words entering his mind. "That look in your eyes, what's your beef with Endeavor?"

"I wanna know that too, Boy." Endeavor added, though his overheating was too much to get the intimidation out of those words.

"It's a good thing…You weren't killed by the High Ends. I gotta go. In the meantime…Try not to get killed! Do it ,Doc!" Suddenly a grey goo spurged from his mouth Endeavor and Mirko were openly surprised to see this, even more so to see neither ONE or Genos were trying to stop him.

Releasing a wave of Power Aura, even as the goo enveloped him and began to warp him away ONE's gaze pierced Dabi who trembled with noticeable fear. The fact that the hero wasn't trying to attack him or stop him was very concerning. "Sorry Doc it's not gonna happen." The words that left ONE's lips surprised most of the heroes present, especially the fleeing villain. Dabi's eyes never left his as the goo completely engulfed him before him and it disappeared.

Genos and ONE locked eyes in silent communication, both understanding where they had to go from here. "Why didn't you stop him?" Endeavor question on the verge of passing out.

"Don't worry Endeavor, we'll get him. It's all a part of the plan." ONE answered.

"Plan?" Hawks question. He was to meet up with Dabi later tonight after this but there's no chance of that now.

"I'll tell you later. Genos, do a sweep of the area and make sure that's all the Nomu."

"The body of the one I was fighting should be in that direction somewhere." Mirko added while pointing in the direction.

"Noted."Genos walked away to go do a scan of the area.

"All things considered, I'd call this a victory. Way to go Plus Ultra, Endeavor."

"I don't need your praise. What I do need..Is answers about Dabi."

Glancing at the ground he saw several spads of Dabi's blood on the asphalt, "Join the club." He collected a sample of Dabi's blood to run a test on it later. He had a suspicion that he was hopefully wrong about, but that venom in Dabi's tone when calling Endeavor by his name got him curious. "Genos and I will get on this later, but we were able to learn a bit so this trip wasn't a total waste."

"You mentioned a doctor before, what was that about?"

"Sorry Hawks, but I'll tell you later."

The wingless winged hero was visibly annoyed by his response, "We're in this together, ONE. If you have any helpful intel you should share it."

"Sorry Hawks, but I have my own way of doing things, just like you do. Yeah, we're gonna talk later about that." He glanced at Endeavor and Dabi's words came across as more.. "Personal" Than angry or hateful. That couldn't have been a coincidence, and he remembered Endeavor mentioning how one of his children died when they spoke when he was in the hospital. "We came here looking for Nomu and we found them, I'll see you all later." He walked past the heroes while whipping out his hero phone, Genos had put a tracker on the villain and at the moment he was at Jaku General hospital, confirming that Ujiko was aiding the league. There were so many things he'd need to take care of in the coming days, his first day as the number one hero was getting off to a fine start.

Chapter 39 is done and done. It took way longer than it should have and I hope you all are pleased with the result. I ended up adding stuff closer and rearranging certain events to help the chapter flow better and I think it shows. I was stuck for a long time in finishing this chapter and was just thinking about what would come next, particularly the stuff with Bakugo. This has been my plan for him for a while now and I always liked the idea of certain characters being doomed because of who they are, that is Bakugo and some things should stay permanent, (If you've read the manga you know). Many interactions and developments are in the works and they all come back to ONE. His goals as the number one hero are off to a descent start. Chapter 40 is going to be intense with a lot of emotions, discoveries and in-world consequences, come back then because it's all I've been thinking about for weeks. Leave a review as I like engaging with you all or shoot me a PM, The ONE True Hero is still very much ongoing and it's about to be lit! Next time, ONE and Bakugo have their final clash, the death knell comes down on UA, Dabi's blood leads to a shocking discovery and ONE and Genos find the Cosmic Cube. See you then.