It had taken a while for the police to push the villains back, but Tsukauchi knew it wouldn't last. Dozens of officers were dead, and most of the police station had been torn apart in the fight. Now whoever was left alive was watching the gaping hole in the wall, waiting for the villains to launch a second assault. Of course, that wouldn't matter if the villains just blew up another wall.
Nearby a few officers took to looting the dead villains of anything they could use. Deciding to do the same, Tsukauchi spotted a Type-89 rifle lying on the floor. He didn't know if the villains had booby-trapped it, so he carefully inspected the weapon. Finding it to be safe after a few minutes, Tsukauchi picked it up. It was worrying as he did so though, the detective's mind flashing back to what Ocelot had said.
"I could walk in with five thousand yen and walk out with a box of grenades," the HPSC rep stated, the memory clearer than ever. This was JSDF gear Tsukauchi now held, which all the villains outside were armed with. Tsukauchi quietly lambasted himself, the longer the thought taunted him. The detective was going to look into the JSDF bases but put it off, believing the MSF or the League took higher priority. Now this entire debacle was happening. Tiredly Tsukauchi brought a hand to his brow.
All of this could have been avoided, he realized coldly. With an angry sigh, Tsukauchi removed the hand from his face and began walking off. Dwelling on past mistakes wouldn't do anything except waste time. And considering everything going on, there was too little time already. Looking around the station, Tsukauchi searched for Musutafu's police chief. It took a bit of searching, but he eventually found the man huddled around a table, with several other officers.
"If we call back these units, then what's to stop the villains?" one officer asked, while the police chief pointed at a map.
"Heroes in the area have already told me they could handle it. If we don't call those units back, then we could lose this entire station," the police chief reasoned, earning a few disgruntled murmurs.
"Losing the station is better than losing our lives, sir," one officer countered, "We've already got villains sieging the place. Leaving might be the best option."
"It isn't an option. We need this place intact and in friendly hands," the chief replied, before looking up from the map. As soon as the chief did, he spotted Tsukauchi walking over to him.
"Detective Tsukauchi, tell me you've got good news," the chief commented, with Tsukauchi quickly answering.
"Villains have been pushed back thankfully, but I've also got other information," Tsukauchi began, before walking up to the map, "I believe the villains are going to target the New Star Energy Station."
The second he said this, Tsukauchi pointed at the power plant. It caused the other officers to again murmur, a few sounding very nervous. They had good reason to be, as New Star provided forty percent of Northern Musutafu's power. If the plant was taken out it would leave a large part of the city without power. But that was the best case. Worst case scenario and the villains decide to just blow it up, possibly taking the rest of Japan's electrical infrastructure with them.
The chief looked back at Tsukauchi thinking for a moment, before looking back at the map.
"And you believe this because?" the chief inquired, though his tone said he somewhat agreed. It was just always good to have evidence to back up one's suspicions.
"The villains match the description for the Skull and Bones Bandits, who broke into both the Musutafu Pediatric Hospital and this very station weeks before the attack," Tsukauchi replied, causing the chief to grumble, as he looked over the map again.
"Not to mention a dozen other apartment buildings across the city," a different officer muttered, causing the chief to grumble again.
"Apartments now being used by mortars," the chief commented, lightly tapping on the table, "Crap…"
"If you would let me sir, I can take a couple of officers with me to-" Tsukauchi began before the chief cut him off.
"No… Everyone's staying here," the chief ordered, surprising Tsukauchi for a moment.
"What? Sir, if we lose that plant half the city could be without power- no! The whole country could lose power!" Tsukauchi protested as the chief looked back at him.
"If we lose this station the city will be without power," the chief countered tiredly, "The station still has its emergency generator intact. But if we abandon it to defend New Star, then the villains will tear it apart. We can't guarantee a victory defending New Star, so if we lose there, we would have abandoned the station for nothing."
"So we're just going to sit here," Tsukauchi muttered, as he thought over the chief's words. He hated that they made sense. They barely had any police officers left, and even with heroes, they struggled to hold the line. Protecting New Star was practically impossible in their current condition.
"For now. I'm going to try and see if some heroes will go defend the area, but more than likely we'll have to wait for backup," the chief told him, while Tsukauchi reluctantly slumped into a nearby chair.
"If that's all," the chief trailed off, waiting for someone to speak up. No one did so he began rolling up the paper map. Once it was in hand he started walking back to his office, saying, "Dismissed then. All of you, keep an eye on the entrances, keep your radios on, and call in anything suspicious. I don't want the punks outside catching us off guard again."
It was odd, but Bison could have sworn the area was getting quieter. Where previously he could hear an ever-constant ping on his tank's armor, now it was less frequent. Going from at least once every minute, to once every ten. Didn't seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but it was noticeable enough for him. Of course as if to prove his original thought wrong, a pair of F-35s flew by dropping JDAMs.
The loud roar of the engine echoed around before Bison spotted a MANPAD-launched missile soar up after the jets. It didn't reach the aircraft, as both jets popped flares as they flew away. The JDAMs meanwhile landed right on a cluster of enemy infantry. Infantry Bison's tank was originally targeting. Now it had taken a while for aircraft to be put in the sky, as the enemy had a decent number of MANPADS hidden all over the place.
For helicopters, this wasn't that much of an issue. It still was a problem, but all a helicopter had to do was fly upwards. When one was shot down it didn't force the others to stay on the ground. For jets though, this was a problem. MANPADS shot down a decent number of aircraft before they could fully make it up, and ended up clogging the runway. It forced Command to contact Mother Base for air support, who began sending over jets at record speed. Still ended up taking a while to arrive, but regardless it was here now.
"Seems that solved that problem," Zebra commented, watching as the smoke from the JDAMs cleared, while Bison continued to watch the jets as they came back around.
"I can't help but be disappointed. Loaded up a canister shell for nothing," Rhino complained, causing Zebra to groan.
"This again?" Zebra muttered annoyed, earning what would have been an annoyed glare from Rhino.
"What? My arms are tired, and if I'm gonna be loading up these forty-pound shells we better at least use it," Rhino replied, the loader taking a minute to try and stretch his arms.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I got another group of infantry clustered nearby. Should be able to put a shell down range- and nevermind they're dead," Texas piped up before a JAGM slammed into the infantry he'd been watching. It earned another annoyed groan from Rhino, while Zebra just laughed. Bison again ignored the pair, switching from the tank's cameras to his drone's.
Flying it around for a minute, Bison couldn't help but find the area scarce of enemies. And those he could find were busy high-tailing it back to the campus's entrance as the MSF closed in on them. There didn't seem to be much left to do, Bison thought. Aircraft were picking off those fleeing, and most of them seemed to be infantry alone. The swarm of technical helicopters that had flown over campus before, was now being shot out of the sky by the CRAMs, Marine F/A-18s, AH-1Zs, Army F-35s, or AH-64s.
"Speaking of shells," Bison commented, deciding to pipe up, "Rhino, how many do we have left?"
"Well… just a couple of SABOTs, and that last canister shell we got loaded up," the loader replied, after checking the ammo compartment for a brief moment. Bison thought that over quietly while looking back at his drone. Didn't look like the enemy had many ground vehicles left. So not much use for SABOT rounds at the moment. Not unless Command ordered them into the city.
Bison didn't think that likely though, at least not at the moment. It was settled in Bison's mind, the captain looking away from his drone's feed.
"Texas, radio command. Tell them we're going in for resupply," Bison ordered, with the AI getting to work quickly.
"Got it," the AI replied, before asking, "Want me to bring the drones to?"
"Just the ones low on ammo or power. Keep the rest harassing the enemy," Bison replied, before noticing Zebra slouch back in his chair.
"Cool, a break then," the gunner stated, as Bison shook his head disapprovingly. Just as more jets flew by overhead, explosions followed soon after.
"We're going back out there in no time you know," Bison told him, with Zebra simply shrugging.
"Still a break," Zebra replied, calmly, while more explosions were soon heard. Flyboys were definitely giving it to them, Bison thought.
"Bossman, might wanna see this," Texas said, suddenly piping up. In confused Bison for a second, as Zebra sat up from his seat.
"We got trouble?" Bison asked, moving to pull up his drone's feed again.
"No, just… well best to see for yourself," Texas replied, sounding oddly excited. Bison couldn't tell why but looked down at his drone's camera. For whatever reason, MSF forces were pulling back. It made Bison worried for a moment, thinking the enemy had sprung something new on them, but he couldn't find anything. Instead, he spotted more jets flying by, but they weren't attacking anything.
High up into the sky, being but a spec on Bison's camera, was a C-130 plane.
"Texas, what's-?" Bison again tried to ask, only for the AI to cut him off. Texas's avatar lit up on the tank's screens, walking about with a smirk on his face.
"Nope, ain't spoilin' the surprise cap," Texas told him, the AI sounding even more excited now, "Just keep checkin' the cams."
Quietly Bison looked back at his drone's feed. Slowly he felt the tank lurch to a stop as the rest of the crew did the same. Looking at the C-130 Bison could have sworn he saw something falling out of the sky, while enemy MANPADS tried to shoot down the aircraft. Their attempts were futile, as something got ever closer to the ground. Back on the ground, Bison could see the last of the enemy's forces trying to flee through the campus gate.
That was until the falling object slammed into the ground. In seconds all Bison could see was a massive cloud of smoke and fire. Seconds later, the explosion's sound hit him and his crew, loudly ringing about.
"Holy shit!" Zebra reflexively called out while covering his ears. Bison did the same, but his eyes never left his drone's camera. Once the noise began to fade a daring thought entered Bison's mind, as he decided to open his tank's hatch. Carefully pulling himself up, the captain watched the cloud of smoke and fire. Zebra quietly joined him, opening up the tank's other hatch to watch the scene.
It was here Bison fully realized what happened.
"We dropped a MOAB on them," Bison muttered, somewhat in disbelief. That disbelief didn't last long though, as a slow chuckle began to reach the captain's lips. It evolved into full laughter as Zebra soon joined him.
"Take that you sons of bitches!" he yelled out, still laughing.
"This is what happens when you fuck with the MSF, ya crazy bastards!" Zebra added, laughing as well. Neither man could see it, but other MSF forces did the same, cheering at their small victory, taunting and laughing at the enemy outside the campus walls.
Midnight was tired, no, beyond exhausted. It had been almost three hours of non-stop fighting throughout the stadium, and everything ached. In that amount of time, she'd been shot four times, her whip had broken, her hand fans had been torn up, and practically all of her costume had been torn away. I'd say she was down to a one-piece, but that would be an inaccurate statement. It was more just bits of cloth clinging to Midnight's skin in convenient ways.
Now in those three hours, All Might and the MSF had done most of the work. A good chunk of the villains present were either dead or wounded enough to be out of action. However, that didn't mean it was all of them. As Midnight was currently hiding behind a concession stand's counter for cover, while a group of villains fired at her from across the room. Bulles bit into the wall she hid behind, while Midnight tiredly wrapped what was left of her costume around a bullet wound in her leg.
Once that was done, Midnight let out a tired sigh, as she carefully peeked out of cover for just a moment. Looking out, she couldn't help but grumble annoyed. The villains stood on the complete other side of the room. Meaning if she wanted to beat them, she'd have to run out of cover straight at them. It would have been easier with her whip, but that wouldn't have helped all that much in the grand scheme of things.
She thought about using her quirk but knew the knockout gas would take a while to drift toward her targets naturally. What Midnight would give for her hand fans back. Even with them though, the concessions area was open-air, meaning a decent amount of gas could just drift away. Still, it was at least something she could try, so quietly Midnight began to use her quirk. But just as the gas was beginning to concentrate, a loud explosion ripped through the stadium. Instinctively Midnight covered her ears, as the gunfire behind her stopped.
After a few seconds, the noise seemed to leave, but the villains hadn't started firing again.
"What… what was that?" one of the villains asked, shocked, as Midnight slowly started to peek over cover. None of the villains was looking at her, instead looking back out at the stadium. There Midnight spotted a rising cloud of smoke and silently feared whatever had happened. Her only comfort was the fact the villains didn't know what it was either.
"I don't know," a different villain muttered, looking back at his allies.
"Was it the nonbelievers… it… it couldn't be!" one proclaimed, this villain a woman. Desperation was clear in her tone, the woman panickingly tapping her foot on the ground.
"Our comrades… they're leaving us," a different villain stated coldly, pointing up at the sky. There Midnight spotted the villain's helicopters all flying away, with some being shot down before they could escape.
"This… we… we've lost," the first villain said downtrodden. It provided Midnight some small amount of hope, as the hero stood up out of cover. She may not have had her whip, but she still knew how to fight. Quietly she began to move, getting ready to charge her unaware enemy. To her worry though, the villains looked at each other for a few seconds, before nodding grimly.
Before Midnight could question why all of them raised their weapons to their heads.
"It is his will," all the villains proclaimed, pulling the trigger soon after they uttered the words. Midnight stood there dumbstruck, as the villains dropped to the floor dead. She stood there, staring for a moment, somewhat horrified. They… why? Why did they do that, Midnight asked herself. They could have just surrendered, so why go through with it? It puzzled her to think about what motivated these villains.
Such desperate lengths they were willing to go to, she thought grimly. Looking away from the bodies, Midnight thought over her next move carefully. She could still hear gunfire across the stadium, but it was slowly getting quieter over time. Of course, Midnight got an answer for her next move, when she took a step forward. Wincing in pain, she could still feel the bullets inside her.
They dug deep into her skin, and though she'd stopped the bleeding, they needed to be healed fast. With that decided, Midnight took a painful step forward, toward the infirmary.
"This is Echo Two, Site S's south side's secure."
"Charlie Four, Site S's north side's clear."
"Sierra Seven, Site S's west entrance is ours."
"Oscar Nine, Site S's east entrance has been taken."
On and on the radio went, with units across campus calling in. Things were looking up so far. Most of the stadium had been secured, and MSF forces had reached the campus's gate the enemy had broken through. All that was left were some straggler forces littering the campus's small forests and the stadium. Though Miller wasn't all too worried about them. If reports were to be believed, then the enemy was taking their own lives at a drastic rate. Why it was happening, Miller didn't know. His main guess was to avoid capture, but that seemed off.
Regardless, most of the villains on campus were being swept up. Though it was at a cost, Miller thought coldly, taking a minute to look up from his Idroid to find Midoriya. Neither he nor Uraraka had moved from their spot outside the infirmary. Uraraka was quietly crying into her hands, while Midoriya just stared out at nothing. Miller had wanted to comfort them, but Snake had been radio silent. So he was in charge, and as much as it pained Miller, he didn't have time to try and console his nephew.
Nearby were some of class 1A, all huddled together with Midoriya and Uraraka. Not one teen had said a thing to the other, mostly because no one knew what to say. Slowly Miller shook his head, forcing him to look at the rest of the hall. Some of the faculty had started stopping by now that things seemed to cool down. Present Mic sat next to Aizawa, the mummy man trying his best to tend to Mic's wounds.
Of course, his heavily bandaged arms made that impossible, but there weren't any other doctors available to help. Midnight just now arrived, looking very worse for wear, the woman hobbling over to a nearby wall. Before ultimately collapsing as her legs gave out. Cementoss was busy patching up the holes in the roof, and Miller couldn't tell if the hero was injured. Sure there was a lot of chipped and shattered concrete all over Cementoss, but he seemed in good health.
Miller couldn't say the same for Vlad King though, or Ectoplasm for that matter. Both heroes were lying on a pair of gurneys unconscious. They were alive, but both had lost a lot of blood in the fight. Hound Dog meanwhile had his arm in a sling, sporting a rather nasty bullet wound, and Power Loader was in a similar situation. Though his chest was heavily bandaged instead of his arm. The only heroes that were remotely fine, was Snipe, who had borrowed an M7 from the MSF.
He still had a few wounds, mostly from bullets grazing him, but was relatively fine. There were, however, two heroes missing. All Might, who Miller rationalized was still cleaning up what stragglers remained, and Nezu. So far, Miller didn't know where the rodent was. He did, however, get an answer though, as a vent above him popped open. A couple of soldiers moved to aim their rifles at the vent, only for Nezu's head to pop out of it.
The rodent seemed displeased somehow as he dropped out of the vent, and dusted himself off.
"Something wrong?" Miller asked, his brow raised while Nezu walked toward him.
"I'd say so. Had an entire set of secret tunnels in the vents. Now these villains had to go and blow holes into the entire network," Nezu complained, continuing to dust off his suit, before sitting down next to Miller.
"How are things looking here?" Nezu asked, looking up at the commander.
"Better than they were before. Most of the campus has been secured, but we've got stragglers trying to hold out," Miller replied, bringing his Idroid down to Nezu's level. The rodent looked over the device for a second, nodding slowly.
"However," Miller continued, a worrying tone clear in his voice, "the infirmary's practically destroyed, and half our medical staff is dead."
Nezu grimaced at the words, before slowly looking around the room. Bodies of both the wounded and dead lined the hallway. With the occasional moan of pain, or cry of agony. Nezu could only sigh in response, bringing a paw to his brow. How did this even happen?
"Not a lot of people are going to make it," Miller said calmly, though there was anger in his tone. An anger Nezu agreed with. Though Miller saw the rodent look worried for a moment.
"What of Recovery Girl? Is she still alive?" Nezu asked, looking up at Miller warily. The commander nodded quickly, before pointing out down the hall. It was too far and crowded for Nezu to see the school nurse, but it was at least something.
"She is. She left to go heal up a student, Bakugo I think his name was," Miller told him, giving Nezu some relief. The rodent slumped back against his chair, bringing his other paw to his face. Both he and Miller sat in silence for a second, before Nezu noticed the news playing on a nearby radio. It sounded like a war movie, with the ever-constant gunfire and screaming. Miller couldn't help but despise the noise.
"This is a disaster," Nezu muttered tiredly, while Miller shook his head in agreement.
"Three hours in, and this isn't even all of them," Nezu added, annoyance clear in his tone, the stoat removing the paws from his face. The words had an unintended effect on the staff nearby.
"There's still Musutafu to deal with," Snipe realized tiredly, the hero taking off his hat to fan himself for a brief minute. Everyone had been so caught up with the villains in the stadium, that they'd forgotten about the rest of the city. And that realization had angered many of them.
"There… there are so many of them," Midnight muttered, the woman slowly grabbing her hair, "Why are there so many of them!?"
"I… I can't fight anymore," Hound Dog commented tiredly. Present Mic couldn't say anything, even if he wanted to. Three hours of yelling and he'd lost his voice completely. Instead, the man tiredly slumped over, while Aizawa tried to force him into staying up.
"Complaining about this won't solve anything. What we need now is a course of action," Aizawa said, angrily, both out of annoyance with Mic and of the current situation. It was illogical to keep complaining while sitting around doing nothing.
"We can rest when this is all over. Once Recovery Girl's done with Bakugo, she can heal us up, and we'll head into the city," Aizawa stated tiredly, before giving up his attempt to help Mic. He really wanted out of this cast, now more than ever.
"Works for me," Power Loader said, though he spotted Miller shaking his head disapprovingly.
"All you'll be doing is throwing away your lives," Miller stated, while some of the heroes turned to look at him. Though Miller couldn't see it, he was sure Aizawa was glaring at him from underneath his bandages.
"Better than sitting around doing nothing. There are people out there who need us," Aizawa retorted, with Miller nodding in agreement.
"I get that. But the enemy has the city on deadlock. Outside is going to be house to house fighting for every street," Miller replied, while Aizawa stood up from his chair.
"We've dealt with it before," Aizawa countered, memories of a dozen raids flashing through his mind. He had dealt with this before, charging into a building and clearing it room by room. All heroes experience it at least once.
"But never on this scale," Snipe muttered tiredly, "As much as it pains me to say this, sitting around's our best option."
"There are innocent people in danger, we can't just-" Aizawa tried to protest, only for Power Loader to cut in.
"We have to," Power Loader stated, the hero coughing for a second after he spoke, "I don't like it either, but it's basic math. They outnumber us by at least ten to one. And if the city is on deadlock, then they've got full city blocks built like fortresses."
"You'd be running into a machine gun nest at every corner. Or you'd be facing a mortar team on almost every rooftop," Miller added, "Right now, we'll have to hope the heroes outside can finish this."
He didn't believe it would happen though. If the heroes outside were anything like UA's staff, then they might mean well, but won't get far. Nezu didn't want to acknowledge that fact, but he knew it to be true. No one could linger on that thought for long though, as everyone felt a massive gust of air rush past them. Looking around, they found All Might setting down a pair of injured civilians.
The man was breathing heavily, clutching his wound tightly. Miller even saw bits of blood drip out of the hero's mouth and could have sworn steam was coming off him.
"How...how many villains are l-left?" All Might tiredly asked, turning to face Miller as the civilians were escorted away by some soldiers. His voice didn't hold its usual boisterousness, and All Might wobbled off balance slightly.
"...Not many," Miller hesitantly replied, "Mainly just stragglers still on campus, but we're dealing with them quickly."
"G-Good," All Might stated, before slowly walking in the other direction. He limped with almost every step, and before All Might could get any further, Nezu stepped in front of him.
"What are you doing?" Nezu asked worriedly, holding up his paws to stop All Might from moving. Though the action appeared more comical than anything, as All Might kept pressing forward.
"My job," All Might replied, gritting his teeth as more steam began to emulate from him. He groaned in pain for a second, before falling down on one knee.
"All Might, you're injured. Stop and rest for a minute," Nezu told him, watching as All Might tried to force himself back up.
"No," All Might replied, causing Aizawa to groan annoyed, and stand up. Walking over to All Might he glared down at the man for a second.
"This is illogical, look at yourself. You're falling apart here," Aizawa told him, with All Might simply shaking his head no, before coughing up more blood. At the same time, Miller heard murmuring. He wasn't sure from where, but quickly found the source. People had begun to notice All Might in the hall. With Class 1A being the closest to the scene. They looked on at All Might worriedly, but still not saying a word.
"I'm f-fine," All Might protested, managing to force himself to his feet.
"You are not fine. You're bleeding all over the floor for crying out loud," Miller said, hoping All Might would see reason. But then a new thought struck Miller, as he noticed more steam emerge from All Might. Mentally he counted down the hours that had passed, before mentally swearing.
"...You're out of time," Miller stated, begging that the realization would persuade All Might. Instead, All Might looked back at Miller confused. Questions rang through All Might's mind quickly. Why would he be reminding him of this? Why would he care? Just a few hours ago he was demanding to know the truth. They were on the verge of fighting were it not for Nezu stepping in. So… why? Why was Miller trying to make him stop?
It didn't matter, All Might sidestepped Nezu carefully, ignoring the pain he felt.
"I… am going back out there," All Might proclaimed, starting to speed up the more he walked.
"All Might you are-" Nezu tried to protest, only for All Might to loudly interrupt him.
"I am the symbol of peace! I don't care if I'm out of time! I'm not about to let any more innocent lives die in the crossfire out there!" All Might shouted, before finally rushing off down the hall. His words were met with a cheer from the civilians in the hall, none knowing the true implications of what was happening. Through all the cheering though, Miller could only groan.
"That damn buffoon," Aizawa muttered coldly shaking his head disapprovingly. Miller quietly agreed with the man, though he did it for a different reason. Hero society was teetering on the edge right now, and no one knew it.
Run, that was the only thought going through Volcano's mind. As he darted through alleyway after alleyway with his colleagues in tow, the thought yelled louder and louder.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Dusty Ash yelled, nearly tripping on her feet, "This is the last time I listen to one of your ideas!"
"Hey don't blame me! How was I supposed to know this was going to happen!" Gust Boy yelled back, ducking as bullets struck the wall next to him. Volcano grumbled loudly before darting around another corner.
"Both of you shut up!" he ordered annoyed, wondering where it all went wrong. It was supposed to be the easiest score they'd ever done. See Gust Boy had an idea, with the Sports Festival in full swing most of the country would be distracted. So he brought to Volcano, the idea of robbing the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. It didn't sound all that grand, but it had store after store full of valuables.
Jewelry stores filled to the brim with expensive necklaces, rings, and watches. Electronic stores stacked with TVs, computers, gaming consoles, and phones. Clothing stores with overly expensive Gucci branding! The list of valuables went on and on, just waiting to be plundered. And nothing was going to oppose them but a few unaware security guards. By the time heroes would arrive on the scene, they'd be long gone.
Now their getaway car was riddled with holes, and hundreds of skull guys went about executing people in the streets. It didn't matter if they were a hero, a villain, or just a civilian, everyone was being shot dead. So now he and his crew were trying everything to stay alive, though that didn't seem to be enough.
"Ash, smokescreen!" Volcano called out, the woman behind him nodding quickly.
Wordlessly Dusty Ash began to form a large cloud of ash behind them, obscuring their route. At the same time, Volcano held out his palms and started covering the floor behind him in lava. Blinded by the ash, the skulls didn't notice the lava until they ran right on top of it. There Volcano could hear the skulls' agonized screams before a new sound took hold. An odd faint whirring in the air.
"Volcano above us!" Gust Boy suddenly called out, before jumping out of the way. Looking up Volcano saw a small cluster of drones flying straight toward them. Diving out of the way, the drones slammed into the ground next to him. They exploded violently, sending out shrapnel everywhere. A few bits cut into Volcano, but it most had thankfully missed vital areas. Dusty Ash wasn't so lucky, as Volcano heard her yelling out in pain.
"Damn it, Gust what the hell were you doing!?" Volcano yelled out while running over and picky Ash up. She was horribly cut up, causing Volcano to grimace at the sight.
"Warning you!" Gust angrily replied, running off as Volcano quickly followed him.
"Yeah well use your quirk next time dumbass!" Volcano shouted, creating more lava behind him as he ran. Annoyingly, he heard the same whirring sound as before and spotted more drones up in the air. They didn't last long though, as Gust held up his hand, and sent a strong gust of wind toward the drones. Being violently blown off course, the drones crashed into a nearby wall, before exploding.
"Happy!?" Gust Boy rhetorically asked though Volcano grumbling answered "No" anyway. On and on they ran, continuing through alleyway after alleyway. And yet the villains behind them never seemed to let up. No matter how tired they got, or how many died they kept pressing forward.
"They… fuck… they don't end," Gust Boy tiredly muttered, as he darted into another alley.
"Just keep running… we'll… we'll escape them eventually," Volcano told him, though he could feel his legs failing him the more he went. This just didn't end. Sooner or later Volcano was sure they'd be caught and finally killed. There was no lull, no break. Turning down yet another alley though, Volcano spotted an odd sight. A dark purple vortex seemed to form right in front of them.
Tiredly both Volcano and Gust Boy got ready to defend themselves, the latter stepping in front since Volcano was still carrying Dusty Ash. However instead of the same group of skull-masked villains they'd run into for the past few hours, a man covered in hands stepped forward. Warily, Volcano looked the man over. He was rather lanky all things considered, and didn't seem like much of a threat.
But something did seem familiar about the guy.
"Who the hell are you? You with the skull villains?" Volcano demanded loudly demanded.
"I'm not, and who I am doesn't matter," the man replied, his voice raspy, "But, if you want to live, I suggest you follow me."
The man motioned to the vortex next to him with one hand, while the other carefully scratched his neck. Volcano wanted to scoff at the motion but didn't when he heard footsteps getting closer quickly.
"They went this way!" one of the skull villains called out, causing Volcano to flinch lightly.
"Quickly, do not let them escape!" another yelled, the sound of footsteps getting louder by the second. There was no other option in his mind. Volcano sure as hell didn't trust their new mysterious friend, but he wasn't actively trying to gun them down.
"Follow him," Volcano reluctantly ordered, with Gust Boy looking back at him incredulously.
"You can't be serious-" Gust Boy attempted to protest, only for Volcano to shove him forward.
"Just shut up and run!" Volcano told him, sprinting toward the vortex. The hand man stepped back into it, ending up somewhere. Gust Boy soon jumped in after him, with Volcano going through last. The moment everyone was through, the vortex closed. It took a few seconds for Volcano's eyes to adjust to everything, but looking around, he found they were in a bar. Breathing heavily, Volcano carefully set Dusty Ash down in a nearby booth, before slumping into a nearby chair.
Gust Boy meanwhile, sat on one of the bar stools and laid his head on the counter. To Volcano's surprise, the vortex they'd all walked through quickly shifted into a person. An odd smoke-like man in a nice dress shirt, with a vest and tie. The smoke guy's bright yellow eyes stared at him for a moment, before the man went behind the bar.
"So… uh, you are?" Volcano asked, looking the handman over carefully. His question caused the man to grumble for a second, muttering something under his breath about "two-timing hacks".
"Shigaraki Tomura," the hand man introduced, once his muttering had subsided. The name rang a few bells in Volcano's mind before he finally remembered who Shigaraki was.
"...Wait a minute, you're the guy who attacked UA. Well, before these guys did," Gust Boy said, realizing it at the same time Volcano did, "If you're Shigaraki, then you must be Kurogiri."
"I am," Kurogiri calmly said, as Volcano eyed him suspiciously. The League of Villains… great, Volcano thought sarcastically. Just had to get saved by these guys of all villains. Already Volcano knew something was off.
"Alright. You didn't save us out of the kindness of your own heart, did you?" Volcano inquired, turning to slowly glare at Shigaraki.
"Oh? What makes you say that?" Shigaraki asked in return, mock surprise in his tone. The question was pretty much rhetorical but Gust Boy answered it anyway.
"The fact you left all of your buddies to rot in prison," Gust Boy stated, watching as Shigaraki began scratching his neck again.
"A guy can change, can't he?" Shigaraki replied, slowly walking to the chair Volcano was sitting in, "But consider this little rescue mission an invitation."
As Shigraraki spoke, he pulled over another chair, before sitting across from Volcano.
"To join your little League I assume," Volcano commented, a hint of realization in his tone, "Not happening."
"I'd join if I were you. I mean, Kurogiri could always send all of you back to that alleyway. Wonder if all those NPCs are still there," Shigaraki coldly stated, while Volcano continued to glare at him. So, this was how he wanted to play it, Volcano thought. He didn't show it, but Volcano was worried by the prospect. He didn't have the energy to keep fighting. Of course that didn't mean he wouldn't try to, no way was he letting his crew be blackmailed into a bad deal.
But Kurogiri spoke up before Volcano could say anything, the misty man cleaning one of the bar's glasses at the same time.
"Are you sure blackmail is our best move, Tomura?" Kurogiri inquired, with Shigaraki rolling his eyes under his hand mask.
"I'm just saying we could," Shigaraki replied, while slouching back in his chair, "Besides, I've got something far more intriguing for all of you."
"That being?" Volcano asked disinterested.
"The opportunity of a lifetime. Tell me, what did the news say about our attack on the USJ?" Shigaraki asked, with Volcano thinking it over for a moment.
"That you snuck by UA's defenses, killed a kid, and were beaten by All Might when he arrived," Volcano answered, before snapping his fingers, "Oh, and that monster thing you had with you."
"Well, what if I could tell you we could make more of them? All just almost as strong, or just as strong, as All Might," Shigaraki told him. That… actually did sound intriguing the more Volcano thought about it. There was never any concrete information about the monster the LOV had, just that it was dangerous. To hear there were more, it was enticing.
"...Go on," Volcano replied hesitantly.
"See, we've got more of these monsters, or nomus as we call them, ready and waiting. However, while the nomus are dangerous, they're… noobs essentially. Barely capable of coherent thought, and only good at zerg rushing heroes. What we need is villains with skill, something you and your crew have. Help us, and they'll be at your disposal," Shigaraki stated. Volcano couldn't help but be curious now, if a little worried.
"Help you with what exactly? Killing All Might?" Volcano asked while Shigaraki kept scratching his neck.
"Not just All Might. We are killing hero society itself," Shigaraki replied, earning a "tch" from Gust Boy.
"Can't say I see the appeal of burning society down," Gust Boy commented, with Volcano quietly agreeing. Shigaraki laughed dryly though, not turning to face Gust Boy.
"I can. Imagine the country in flames—no heroes, no cops, not a single person who could stop you. Everything you could ever want would be yours for the taking. Just imagine all the loot and exp you could amass with society crumbling around you. Then once you have everything you want, and hero society is nothing but ash, you could leave with your riches," Shigaraki countered, before snapping his fingers toward Kurogiri.
A portal then appeared above Shigaraki's hand, with a glass falling out of it. Catching it in mid-air, Shigaraki took a small sip while Volcano thought it over. It seemed very enticing. They could go anywhere, and steal anything. Banks, jewelry stores, support companies, tech firms, car dealerships, and even National Treasures would all be ripe for the taking. Because who would stop them?
The heroes too busy trying to save a dying nation? It was very enticing as Volcano kept thinking about it.
"Now… we might have a deal," Volcano stated, earning a chuckle from Shigaraki.
"I thought so," Shigaraki replied, before taking another sip of his drink.
Kaminari didn't know what to think. The past few hours had been nothing but pure chaos. Every part of him ached, and he felt so damn tired. When he got to the infirmary with the others, he expected to be done with this madness. Then the ceiling was caved in, and villains began dropping in. He was forced to fight for his life as best he could, in a cramped hallway. In the end, he survived.
Thinking straight was difficult, but again, he was alive. The brutality of it all flashed through his mind. But those thoughts disappeared quickly when he looked at the rest of his class. Bakugo and Todoroki had been carted off for surgery, so they were unaccounted for. Sero, Ojiro, Koda, Shoji, Aoyama, and Tokoyami had been filled with shrapnel, though the doctors had assured everyone they'd be fine.
Something about the metal not hitting anywhere vital, before his classmates were bandaged up. That said, Tokoyami had also been given a concussion, though he seemed more coherent than Kirishima. Jiro had her ears bandaged up, as the constant sound of explosions had blown out her eardrums. The doctors had said she'd be fine, but that she'd have temporary hearing loss for the moment. Kirishima meanwhile had a concussion and currently sat next to Ashido spouting gibberish.
Ashido herself was mostly fine but sported a few wounds along her arms from bullets grazing her. On Ashido's other side was Hagakure, who was the least injured out of everyone. At least, Kaminari thought so. He didn't understand her invisibility fully. Was everything invisible, like her blood too? Would that mean the muscle underneath her skin was invisible too? If so, how would they know she was injured? It was a worrying thought, but Hagakure had said she felt fine.
Aside from her, Yaoyorozu, Asui, Mineta, and Iida had a couple of scratches, but they were easily bandaged. All that was left, was Akatani and Uraraka. Kaminari couldn't figure out why, but neither teen seemed fine. Akatani had a few injuries, and just… stared at nothing. He didn't move and barely reacted when anyone tried to talk to him. Uraraka meanwhile, was more responsive but wasn't fairing any better.
She cried quietly into her hands, muttering either "no" or "I didn't mean to" over and over again. Sometimes it was just wordless sobs, with Kaminari occasionally hearing the word "murderer". Did… someone die, Kaminari wondered. Everyone in their class was still there, so… maybe it was someone in their sister class. But that didn't seem right to him. Before he could ever delve into those thoughts, All Might had rushed into the hallway.
To Kaminari and 1A's shock, All Might had collapsed. Steam was oddly emanating from the hero, and Kaminari spotted blood dripping from All Might's mouth. It couldn't have been possible. His eyes were deceiving him. None of this was happening, it was all a bad dream. But just as quickly arrived, the hero shouted "I am the symbol of peace! I don't care if I'm out of time! I'm not about to let any more innocent lives die in the crossfire out there!" and left.
Kaminari wanted to smile at it, seeing that All Might was still fighting. But he didn't know what to think.
"Do… do you guys think All Might's going to be ok?" Kaminari hesitantly asked, turning to look at the rest of the class. His classmates looked back at him warily. Uraraka slowly wiped away her tears, before shaking Akatani out of his stupor. They were trying to distract themselves from something, Kaminari quietly realized. Well, so long as it helped, Kaminari decided. Though, he didn't think it would help a lot.
"This is All Might we're talking about, he'll be fine," Ashido said, but Kaminari could hear the unease in his tone.
"Agreed, All Might just seemed a bit tired," Iida added, hoping to ease his classmates' worries, "Nothing has hurt him before, so I doubt anything will harm him now."
"He was bleeding all over the floor," Asui pointed out bluntly, "I… don't think I've ever seen him bleed."
That was a sobering thought. Quietly Kaminari tried to think back to every time he'd ever seen All Might. Every class, every interview, every villain fight, everything. He felt a headache coming the more he tried to think. In the end, he just had a question. Had he ever seen All Might bleed? Had anyone for that matter? Kaminari couldn't remember ever hearing a time when All Might had been injured.
He was an unstoppable wall of muscle, unable to be hurt at all. But he saw All Might bleed. His classmates saw All Might bleed.
"It'll all be fine, I'm sure of it," Yaoyorozu stated, trying to keep herself calm.
"How can we be sure?" Kaminari asked, and Yaoyorozu had no answer. It just boiled down to a simple line. Because he's All Might. Of course, he'd be fine, he's All Might. Yet no one believed that line, as it echoed through all their heads.
"A dark day today has become. To think a light as bright as All Might could be harmed. To think we'd ever have to question if he'd be triumphant," Tokoyami muttered, coughing lightly into his arm. The bird-headed teen paused for a moment before looking out at something. Seconds later he snapped back to reality, shuddering slightly.
"Disgruntled spirits will be plentiful," Tokoyami muttered, with Kaminari looking at him confused.
"Spirits?" Kaminari asked as Tokoyami turned to look at him.
"...Can't you feel it? Somethings… off about the air," Tokoyami replied before the teen unconsciously began to drool on himself. Kaminari just slowly shook his head, blaming Tokoyami's concussion for his words. Looking back at the rest of the class, the topic of All Might still had everyone worried. But then Yaoyorozu seemed to realize something.
"Wait a minute," Yaoyorozu began, "If All Might's out in the city, he might run into a news crew."
"We could see how he's doing," Ashido realized before the pink teen began to feel around for her phone. Only to realize it had been left in the waiting room with her stuff. The rest of the class had a similar predicament. But then Kaminari remembered something, Akatani wasn't in the waiting room. He likely still had his phone with him.
"Akatani," Kaminari said, trying to get the other teen's attention. Akatani didn't respond though, instead, he kept staring out at nothing.
"...Yo, Akatani?" Kaminari asked concerned. Again, he got no reply. His classmates began to worry as Akatani remained silent.
"Akatani?" Kaminari asked again worriedly. He was about ready to call for help, but time Akatani responded. He blinked for a few seconds, looking around the area before facing Kaminari.
"H-hmm? S-sorry?" Akatani asked, noticing the worried looks the class was giving him.
"You uh… you good?" Ashdio asked this time, with Akatani slowly nodding.
"...Yeah… perfectly fine…" Akatani replied calmly, but it seemed off somehow, "You need something?"
Kaminari almost wanted to press further, but he wasn't sure Akatani would give any of them a straight answer. A topic for later then, Kaminari decided.
"Was asking to see if you still had your phone. Thought we might be able to find All Might on the news," Kaminari replied, watching as Akatani began to dig through his pockets.
"Oh… well I don't have my phone with me. Do have my Idroid though," Akatani told him, before holding the odd rectangular device out. Turning it on, Akatani set the Idroid on the floor, where everyone could see it. Adjusting the size of the hologram, Akatani soon got to work bringing up the news. And the first channel they found, had All Might, keeled over in the street.
Jumping out over the campus wall, All Might ran as fast as possible. He couldn't stop, not now. Even as he felt his body fail him, All Might pressed on. He ignored the pain screaming at him from his old wound. He ignored the steam peeling off him. He ignored all of it, as All Might found a large horde of fleeing civilians. Behind them was an equally large group of villains, who showed no mercy.
They fired into the crowd with everything they had, as policemen desperately tried to hold them back. Pickup trucks with automatic grenade launchers fired into the air, with their grenades dropping back down and tearing apart dozens of people. For many, it didn't kill them instantly, so All Might could hear their anguished cries. It infuriated him the more it went on, as all he could hear was screaming.
"Mommy! Mommy please!" a small boy pleaded, shaking his mother's corpse. Seconds later a cop would run by scooping the child up while still running.
"Help us damn it! Somebody, please!?" A firefighter called out, as he tried to extinguish a mass of flames. His cry for help was answered with nothing, except a villain burning him alive with a flamethrower.
"This is Unit Three-nine, we need immediate backup! Send anyone!" A cop pleaded, before his head exploded, one of the villain's snipers shooting his head off.
"Forget the camera just run!" a reporter yelled, as the cameraman dropped his equipment. Both people sprinted as fast as they could, only for a pickup truck to run them over. A villain on the back of the vehicle manned a machine gun and began firing into the crowd.
"Cut them off! Let none escape our mercy!" a villain loudly ordered, as the others cheered around him. They cheered, All Might angrily thought, his fist clenching tightly. His blood boiled the more he saw before All Might's body acted without thinking. He charged the pickup truck he saw before, slamming into it. The vehicle folded into itself before All Might punched into the vehicle's hood and ripped out the engine block.
The driver and vehicle's machine gunner looked at All Might wide-eyed, but not afraid. The fleeing crowd gasped as a few turned to see what had happened.
"It's ok everyone," All Might proclaimed, before hurling the engine block at another truck, "I am here!"
The cry elicited cheers from the fleeing crowd, as All Might got to work. Wasting no time he blitzed over to the first villain he saw, a large brute wielding a handheld DHsK. Before the villain could even fire All Might punched him in the chest. The villain was sent back flying, before landing on the ground knocked out. The strength of the punch had the unintended effect of knocking out other villains nearby, but All Might wasn't complaining.
Not when he felt bullets strike his skin, feeling like bugs stinging him every which way.
"Kill the false idol!" a villain shouted, as others ran in to attack All Might. Nothing had hurt him yet, but the villains never let up. He kicked one in the chest, shattering the man's ribs, and a different villain took his place. He ran up, grabbed the new villain, and slammed them into the ground. And another took their place. More always replaced them, as All Might breathed deeply. It didn't end when he ripped a pickup truck in half and knocked out its occupants. It didn't end when he threw a Detroit Smash and knocked out a dozen men.
All Might keeled over slightly, his breath ragged. It was then he noticed something. The crowd behind him wasn't running anymore. They stood by watching, confident that he could save them. No, that he would save them. With gritted teeth, All Might tried to force himself back up, as he noticed a different news team recording the scene. What were they doing!? Get out of here! Go!
"All of you, run! It isn't…" All Might loudly ordered, before cringing in pain, "It isn't safe here."
More steam than ever began to emulate from All Might's body, the hero desperately trying to force himself up. The villains by this point, had stopped attacking him. They watched All Might confused as to what had happened. But then one of them shouted something that shocked All Might.
"The heretic's words were true! The false idol is weakened!" a villain yelled, joy clear in his voice. The other villains took a second to register the fact before cheering took hold of them all. They knew, somehow they knew! How did they know, All Might questioned, forcing himself to his feet. This proved to be a mistake, as All Might felt nothing but agonizing pain soon after. He could feel his grip on his muscle form weaken.
No, not now! He couldn't give up! Fight you, big oaf!
"Damn it, run," All Might shouted toward the crowd again. They looked back at him confused, a few slowly becoming worried. Just listen to him, he pleaded. Quickly though, he found the villains now ignoring him. They set their sights on the civilians again and aimed their weapons. Wide eyed All Might rushed toward the civilians right as the villains fired. As fast as he could All Might turned around, yelling "Texas Smash!", and threw a punch forward.
He put every bit of strength he had left behind it and watched a wall of air push back every bullet the villains fired. It sent some villains flying and even flipped over their vehicles. Bricks from nearby buildings were ripped out and flung into the air, and almost every window on the street was shattered. And yet, this was one of his weaker smashes, All Might realized. Breathing deeply, All Might fell onto his knees,
Looking down the street, he begged for it to be over. There couldn't be more villains, not after that. But as his muscle form gave away, revealing his skeletal form, more villains popped out of the alleyways.
"A-All Might?" a civilian asked shocked, as All Might tried to stand back up.
"Run… please… run" All Might pleaded, but by then it was too late. New vehicles had driven up behind the crowd, cutting their escape off. The villains in front meanwhile ran up and grabbed All Might harshly.
"Hey let him go-" a civilian tried to protest, only for a villain to shoot him. It sent screams through the crowd. A different pair of villains meanwhile, ran over to the news crew filming the entire thing. They shot both the reporter and the cameraman and grabbed their equipment for themselves. One of the villains shocked the camera with their quirk, doing something to force the broadcast to stay on the air.
The pair then dragged the camera over and began recording All Might.
"People of the world, look at us now," a villain said addressing the camera. All Might tried to resist, but a villain slammed the but of his rifle into his face. Coughing up blood, All Might felt the villain grab his hair, and yank him up to face the camera.
"Your idol is no legend! No protector! He is a fraud! A human!" the villain shouted, before shoving All Might's head away.
"He is a dying husk of a man! A man who promised you peace!" the villain continued, before snapping his fingers. Looking up All Might found the villains readying their weapons once again.
"Yet he has given us nothing but lies, and all we find, is suffering. No, only in death, do we find peace," the villain proclaimed, unholstering a pistol and placing it on All Might's head. All Might coughed up blood when he felt the cold metal touch his temple. He wanted to resist, to save the people near him. But, he couldn't. This… this was it, All Might realized. He was going to die here. One for All would die with him, as he always thought it would.
Taking a deep breath, All Might closed his eyes. All Might didn't know what the other side was like. So long as Nana was there though, he'd be fine. Quietly he waited for the inevitable. Soon it came, as a gunshot rang out across the street. A shell casing hit the floor, the metal dinging across a silent street. A body dropped and hit the floor. People screamed, cried, yelled, and more gunfire followed after. Blood dripped down the street, pooling down into the sewer.
There was, however, one problem. The body wasn't All Might's. The hero sat there for a second, expecting to feel something. Some kind of pain, or shock. A loss of feeling, or sudden cold. Instead, nothing changed. Instead, he heard the screams of the crowd around him and never-ending gunfire.
Opening his eyes, All Might found the villains around him dead, as the rest shot up a nearby store.
"Kill the nonbeliever-" a villain tried to shout before a bullet ripped through his head.
"It… it's him! It can't be!?" a different villain shouted, before ducking behind a truck for cover. Confusion took hold of All Might, as he saw the villains become genuinely terrified.
"No! How is he alive!?" another villain yelled, fear in his voice before a grenade was tossed out the store's window. The villain went wide-eyed and tried to run, but the grenade tore him apart in seconds.
"Our comrades were supposed to kill him! How is he here!?" a different villain shouted terrified, as another grabbed him and slapped him.
"It doesn't matter, we won't let him stop us! Kill the heretic!" the villain shouted back, before shooting into the store. All Might could only wonder who they were trying to kill so desperately. That was, until Snake jumped out of the store's window while shooting villains in the air.