Sorry for the update errors, don´t know why but it didn´t charge as well like usual. Not sure if it is because of the site or who knows what. Hope you're all liking the story. Feedback is appreciated as long as it is not trolling. Anybody that doesn't like the story is free to express themselves, just avoid the unnecessary violence.
4
When men grow, old dreams are forgotten. Because in the end, old dreams are old memories, and the human brain is incapable of remembering too far in the past with perfect accuracy. So the brain remembers the important, the essential, and what matters most. And what leaves the biggest impact.
Midoriya Izumi can't remember how her life was when she was a baby or a toddler, but she will never forget the day she was declared quirkless. She will never forget the callous words of the doctor, his remarks about how she should just give up, and her mother's tears and guilt over something only nature could control. And later, the scorn, mocking, and bullying that started when her diagnosis was made public.
The next six years of her life were a mixture of sadness, pain, and solitude. Only two things kept her sane: her mother's love and her dream.
Izumi didn't want to quit. She wanted to be a hero. She was going to be a hero. Not all heroes had flashy, strong quirks like All Might and Endeavor. Some fought basically quirkless and complemented their fighting with their quirks. Oh, it wasn't something very well known. It had taken her years of web searching, but thankfully, the internet was a universe of information.
Every time a new hero appeared, someone would take pictures, videos, and interviews; their quirks would be shown, and Izumi would analyze them. Of course, most of the heroes had strong, flashy quirks, perfect for a hero. But not all.
It was the Pussycats that proved her theory. Mandalay and Ragdoll. Both had great quirks, perfect for rescue missions. But next to useless in battle. And despite how they tried to play it, Izumi knew that their physical and fighting prowess had nothing to do with quirks but with training. Old pre quirk videos proved it. Videos of people with no type of superpower, of all ages and races, capable of acrobatic stunts, or able to defeat someone stronger by virtue of martial arts.
Of course, by the time Izumi had found that information and was preparing to convince her sweet mother why joining a martial arts school would be good for her, the incident happened, and she never saw her mom again. Or anybody that she knew.
In the last five years, Izumi has fought for two dreams—well, three, actually. Going home with her mom, being the best trainer possible towards her loyal team, and becoming a hero that could save others with a smile on their face. Just like All Might.
Because that had been her oldest memory. Not hugging her parents, not playing with her best friend. It was All Might's debut video. It was the video where an unknown hero saved hundreds of lives from a horrible accident, never losing the smile on his face. A smile that gave hope. A smile that told the victims to not give up, that a hero was there, that help was there.
That All Might was here to save you.
And now All Might was really here, in front of Izumi, ready to save her.
Izumi's brain failed to upload. She just stared at her role model, her favorite hero, the reason for her existence, and why the hell was the back of her head hurting and why was her face facing the floor?
"Lop, lop, Lopunny!" Ahh, Lopunny slapped her to knock her out of her internal reverence.
Izumi closed her eyes and breathed deeply. When she was sure she could keep her fangirl locked down (until the fight ended, then she would probably squeal like a five-year-old), she straightened out and looked, and for fucking Arceus and Mew's sake, how many pros had been gathered? How had they arrived so quickly?
Another slap came. This time, it was harder. It actually threw her head first to the ground.
"Thanks, Lucario; I think I got it."
Someone chuckled above her. Well, she was embarrassed forever. Best to get up and continue on.
"Are you alright, young lady?" All Might was talking to her. ALL MIGHT WAS TALKING TO HER. From the corner of her eye, she saw Infernape grinning and cracking his knuckles. She shook her head and focused.
Before she could try and speak a noise interrupted them. An enraged voice coming from the wrecked restaurant they had ran from.
"I WILL KILL YOU! ALL OF YOU! YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! I AM OVERHAUL! I AM THE END OF THIS SICK AND DISGUSTING SOCIETY!"
A bright light enveloped the restaurant. It shined so much that everyone was forced to close their eyes. When they finally opened them again, they were shocked at Overhaul´s new appearence.
What was once a family restaurant, without much of its front because of the current fighting, of course, now was a giant towering golem.
The villain had merged himself with the entire structure. A creature of 20 meters tall and wide enough to push against the other buildings. A giant golem with Overhaul´s shape was made from an amalgamation of all the different elements that made up the former restaurant. Metal, concrete, brick, wood, plastic, glass. And those were the easy ones to identify.
"What the hell's this? Some type of anime fight?" Endeavor grumbled. The man's flames covered his face and part of his shoulders. Despite their brightness, they didn't feel hot, but warm.
Izumi was used to heat; she had trained Infernape since he was a Chimchar. All those years together, fighting side by side, perfecting all his moves had given her an insight into the characteristics and qualities of fire. Just by their color, Izumi knew that Endeavor kept his distinct flames warm and that at any second he could turn the heat up.
"He already did this before," Wash informed the gathered heroes. "When I first arrived at the scene, a witness told me of how he took on some type of golem form and then exploded. He may be targeting to do the same type of damage, but on a larger scale."
The heroes frowned at that statement. Endeavor's flames grew in size and intensity; All Might's fist tightened, and Best Jeanist frowned. Izumi had been away for many years, so she didn't recognize most of the other heroes gathered. She could recognize the Dragon Heroine: Ryukyu, the Whale Hero: Gang Orca, the Lion Hero: Shishido, and even the veteran Equipped Hero: Yoroi Musha. But there were others there. Many. Heroes that came to Tokyo for the Billboard announcements, heroes that most likely followed the top ten to an unknown but dangerous situation. Heroes that could easily imagine the disaster that Overhaul was capable of unleashing.
Izumi frowned. Overhaul was a corned animal, the most dangerous type of creature, one who had nothing to lose. One who would either surrender or fight to the death. And the villain had chosen the latter.
Izumi closed her eyes and relaxed. She had to concentrate. She had to focus. She had to see beyond Overhaul's armor. Beyond his quirk. She had to see him.
She felt Lucario at her side. Her companion, too, was focused. He, too, was using his Aura to see beyond Overhaul's physical appearance.
Pokemon and trainer opened their eyes and saw it. Before, when Overhaul had created the first golem, his aura had been in the center, in the shape of his body. The armor had been just that—an armor. Only small tendrils had connected it to Overhaul's body.
Now it was different. Overhaul's aura, a dark, angry red filled with anger, rage, and hate, wasn't in the shape of a human body. It was intermingled with the materials that once made the restaurant. And that changed things.
"It's not like before," Izumi told them. The heroes stared at her. She focused and kept talking: "Before, it was just armor, a cover that he could destroy with no problem. Now, he is the armor. He fused himself with the entire building. It means he can't use himself as a bomb without killing himself. His body, his mind, his soul—all that makes him is completely fused with the restaurant."
"Then defeating him will be harder," said Ryukyu. "Without a real physical body, we can't know which quirks will hurt him and in which parts. And with that size and power, I fear that many will be hurt before we find out."
"Then we will defeat him before that happens," All Might proclaimed. The heroes stared at him. Some were in awe, others frowned, and the rest made sure to pay attention.
"Ryukyu, Mt. Lady, your quirks allow you two to match his size. Please do your best to hold him. Endeavor, I need your help." The number two hero stared at the number one. "With our quirks combined, we can defeat him with one move and save this entire city."
Endeavor's fist tightened. His face was unreadable. But he nodded.
Izumi stared at Overhaul. The villain hadn't yet made any movement. He was stalling, waiting. Waiting for the heroes to make a move. Why? Why not attack at that moment? Why not destroy everything? She doubted he could kill All Might, Endeavor, or any of the top ten gathered there. But the golden rookies and the ones in the hundreds that probably came because the top heroes came? She feared for them. The fact that All Might had only called for three heroes in total meant that he feared the same.
And then she realized it. The reason why Overhaul didn´t move. Because he still had an ace. His quirk. The most powerful aspect of his quirk.
"WAIT!" she yelled. "Young Lady, don't wo-" "Overhaul's quirk allows him to reshape anything he touches. Anything. He can kill with one touch. What is it to say that that aspect is gone just because his physical form changed? He has been there, waiting for you to attack. Why? It makes no sense. Any other villain would have already tried to destroy and kill as many as he could. I think he is waiting to kill all the heroes that use physical confrontation."
"Huh, it does make sense," a flying hero said. Two huge red wings sprouted from his back. His eyes were hidden by goggles, but she could feel them staring at her. His posture seemed relaxed, but it was fake. He was ready to move at a moment's notice, like an Arbok ambushing its prey. Or, in this case, a Staraptor more likely.
"Use me as bait." Izumi proposed, "He wants me dead. He wants to kill me slowly, torture me, and destroy me. If he sees me, his self-control will explode." She was serious. She had to protect Eri; she had promised Eri that after today she would be free. That she would have a childhood; a life. If Izumi had to risk her own life, if she had to die for that to happen, then so be it.
"Lopu" "Cario" "Ape" her team tried to follow her.
"No, I can't let anything happen to you guys," she said, shaking her head. They stared stubbornly at her. Neither side willing to give in.
"I appreciate your warning, Young Lady, but don't worry. Nobody will die today." All Might smiled. It was his confident smile. The one he wore when a disaster struck. The one he wore when villains attacked. The one that said, Everything will be fine.
Wash's hand touched her shoulder. The pro smiled with his eyes at her, trying to calm her. She wanted to believe in them. She wanted to believe that everything would be fine, that the villain would be defeated, and that there would be a happy ending. She wanted that.
So she waited.
And she saw the heroes that she had admired since childhood save the day.
The Dragoon Heroine, Ryukyu transformed into her dragon form while Mt. Lady, a young heroine no older than mid-twenties, gave a cheery wave to the few spectators that were watching from the sidelines, and then her body grew until she matched Overhaul's new form. Both heroines struck at Overhaul. Overhaul streched his arms, aiming towards their heads, killer intent visible on the air.
But he missed.
Because they weren't alone. The flying hero sent a wave of feathers at Overhaul's eyes; the impact made the villain bellow in pain and clutch at his face. Using that advantage, Mt. Lady tackled him and jumped on top of him. She grabbed his arms and kept them in the air. That's when Ryukyu attacked. Her mouth opened, and then the yakuza lord screamed. Ryukyu bit both arms, causing great damage and pain to the villain.
That's when All Might and Endeavor struck. All Might pulled his right arm behind his body as much as he could. With her aura sight Izumi saw a golden light enveloping the Number One Hero. And in the center of his body, seven lights, each of different colors, pulsing. All Might's quirk started to work. The air on his arm shifted, as if some strange force was calling for it, forcing it to bend to his will. All Might was creating a force of nature, all in one arm.
"Mt. Lady, Ryukyu, NOW!" Endeavor yelled. Mt. Lady grabbed Overhaul's body and threw him to the sky. Ryukyu grabbed him by his torso and pulled him higher.
Then All Might moved.
With a mighty yell, he attacked.
"TEXAS SMAAAAAASHHHHH!" A shockwave was released from his arm up to the sky, directly at the villain. When Ryukyu heard All Might's scream, she dropped him and evaded the attack.
Endeavor also moved. His flames flashed, and the heat increased. At her side, Infernape stared in wonder. As a fire type, he was amazed that a human could produce such powerful flames—more powerful than his own—even from some of his rivals.
"PROMINENCE BURN! Endeavor's flames met All Might's shockwave, and a fiery explosion crashed into Overhaul.
The villains' screams were lost in the explosion. All that was left was an falling flaming wreckage in the sky, ready to crash against the city.
But the heroes weren´t idle at that.
In mere seconds, the flaming debris was destroyed and reduced to ashes or simply vanished. Every hero gathered in that point aimed their quirk at the threat . By using different types of elemental quirks, kinetik quirks, and even a blackhole, the threat was reduced.
"How?" She asked. "It's what makes us pros, young lady." Best Jeanist answered her, "If we couldn't form a plan with the very minimum information, then we couldn't save the lives we save. Our instincts, our experience—that's what makes us pros."
Izumi and her team looked at the heroes. In that moment, she remembered what the heroes were supposed to represent. Not glory or power. Something else. Something more important.
Hope. Heroes mean hope. And Midoriya Izumi smiled because she felt hope for herself, for Eri, and for her team.
And for their future.