Chapter Sixteen

Twitching, I forced myself to look over, and, in the distance, stood All Might . And he looked pissed. His features were cast in shadow, and his trademark grin was gone, his grit teeth a snarl of anger at what he saw.

Shigaraki, several dozen feet away, laughed, a harsh, pained sound. "So we get an extra continue after all. After all this waiting, the heroic piece of trash shows up."

I tried to get up, my muscles still spasming, only for Nomu's gaze to snap back to me. "J-just getting o-out of your way," I coughed, physically crawling away as I tried to get to Izuku, who was weakly trying to get up with two broken arms. The creature's gaze turned back to All Might who'd ripped off his tie and tossed away his jacket, staring hatefully down at the villains, the few still standing after Aizawa's rampage between us and him starting to rally after being shocked by the Hero's sudden arrival.

However, before they could attack, All Might mowed through them, moving so fast he was almost invisible, and I had a feeling it was only my fight, if you could call it that, with Nomu let me perceive him at all. He blasted his way through them, leaving them downed, but not dead, as he raced to Aizawa, carefully picking up the unconscious Pro.

I tried to get to my feet, to pick up my classmate, who stared up at me, wide eyed, but my muscles, still twitching, wouldn't cooperate. I could only get near him, trying not to fall on him and make his injuries worse.

All Might blurred again, ducking under Nomu's arm as it tried to clothesline the hero, and picked us up. He carried us to the edge of the promenade, carefully putting us down against a wall. "Can you move?" the Hero asked. "Aizawa doesn't have much time."

"Not enough to carry either of them, let alone both," I replied, finally able to speak clearly, wincing as I tried to stand, only to fall once more. "And unless Recovery Girl's back there, I don't know what to do, or even if I could do it." All Might nodded, understanding, but clearly not happy.

Come on, how do I help? I thought, trying to remember canon, but my mind was a mess, still trying to stay together after everything that just happened. I need actionable intel! "Whispy guy makes Warp gates anywhere he wants, Handy disintegrates with a touch from his hands, and big black is like evil you, but moreso. He's strong, fast, has some kind of damage reduction, and regeneration. I blew apart half his brain, and he got up three minutes later."

"His brain?" All Might asked, a bit of incredulity creeping into his determined tone. "When this is over we're going to have a talk about proportional force, young man!"

"He's ten feet tall, defeated Eraserhead, and was trying to kill me!" I objected. "And then he got better. Sounds like I didn't use enough force!"

All Might considered that, then nodded. "Well said. Can you do it again?"

I had to shake my head, "Sorry, I'm at my limit. Any more and it's my brain that's gonna fry, and I don't think I'll survive the fight if that happens."

The Symbol of Peace nodded, instructing, "Try to keep them safe. I'll handle the Villains!"

"Will do, Sir," I nodded, struggling to my feet, twitching but managing it, even if I had to lean against the wall to do so. I pulled out the utility knife from one of my pouches. It wasn't meant to be used in a fight, but it was all I had, my sword-baton sent god knows where when I'd been struck in the back by Nomu.

On the other side of the battlefield, Shigaraki was muttering to himself, only his last words audible: "I guess it's true after all. All Might really is getting weaker."

The Hero in question, as if in response, darted forward, slow enough that I could clearly see him, arms crossed as he yelled, "Carolina Smash!"

But Nomu, blurring in front of him, took the hit without issue, the shockwaves of the attack that didn't hit the creature slamming into the water-zone behind it, sending up geysers from the blow. Giving out an avian shriek, the creature focused its eyes on the hero below him, and reached down in a bear hug, All Might ducking back and away.

"Damage resistance? It had no effect at all!" the Hero thought out loud, darting forward to slam a cross right into Nomu's stomach, harder than Nomu had hit either of us, to no effect. "Then how 'bout this!" he yelled, slamming a fist first into one side of Nomu's metal beaked mouth, then the other.

The monster took it, screaming in All Might's face, though it almost had a mocking edge to it, reaching out for the Hero once more, who leapt back, musing, "Doesn't even matter where I punch you, does it?"

As fast as Nomu was, All Might was faster, pre-empting every grab, and all Nomu was doing was going for grabs, sinking punch after titanic punch into Nomu's stomach, to no effect. Shigaraki, sure of his victory, did the one thing that Villains were never supposed to do.

He explained his plan to his enemy.

"Nomu here has Shock Absorption, All Might," the Villain hissed. "The only way you're going to hurt him is if you slowly gouge out his flesh. Of course I don't think he'll sit back and let you do that! You've finally met your match!" Shigaraki laughed.

As the Villain was ranting, All Might was sinking blow after blow into Nomu, dodging his increasingly fast grabs with ease, and I just had to stare at a Master at work. "Thanks for telling me how to beat him!" the Symbol of Peace replied, going for a grab from behind, even as I started to shout, "Wait!"

However, instead of burying the monster in the concrete, as he was obviously about to do, and getting caught by Kurogiri's Warp Gate, All Might turned and hurled the beast at Shigaraki instead, who shrieked in fear and almost got out of the way, clipped by his own minion and sent flying as the creature was tossed into the mountain zone.

All Might looked at the twin Warp Gates, one in front of and one behind him, and snorted. "Good attempt, but not good enough. You aren't the first of your kind I've fought," the hero observed, flicking a hand towards one of the gates, and nodding as the vortex wavered, the mist that made it partially blowing away, both of them closing.

Another opened under him, but All Might easily leapt to the side, rushing the Warp-gater, whose eyes went wide, a rift forming in front of himself forming, only for the Hero to stop short and punch, the force of the strike blowing away both the gate, and Kurogiri himself, sending him flying away.

"Your minions have been removed, Villain. Give up now!" All Might instructed.

"No!" Shigaraki hissed. "No, no, no! You aren't supposed to be smart! That isn't fair!"

"The life of a criminal is rarely fair, but justice comes for them in the end!" he shot back, darting forward to strike the criminal, only to pull back, missing the villain's grasping hands, reaching around to strike him in his injured arm, sending Shigaraki flying, and crying out in pain.

All Might moved forward again, a dark vortex appearing in his path, the Hero easily stepping over it, only for Nomu to shoot out in an instant, hands grasping. All Might kicked the monster in the face, but it wasn't enough, and the Symbol of Peace was caught .

" You're not the only one that can plan, Hero!" Shigaraki hissed in pain and rage, standing back up. "Nice work Kurogiri, We've got him right where we want him!"

The muscular monster's fingers sunk into All Might's flesh, bright red blood staining his white shirt on his left side. The Hero tried to use his legs to kick off the ground, but the gate grew, All Might's feet passing through it, finding no purchase.

He struggled, but All Might couldn't pry Nomu loose, and I heard a muttered "His injury," from Midoriya, who, looking down, had managed to sit up, bruised and broken arms hanging limply at his sides.

"If this is your best you picked the wrong place to attack!" All Might stated, turning to look at Kurogiri, who'd reformed not even ten feet away from his target. "You should just give up now!"

Shigaraki just stared at the hero, good hand coming up to scratch at his neck, agitated, before declaring, " Kurogiri."

"Normally I wouldn't want blood and viscera flooding the insides of my warp gates," the sentient plume of darkness declared. "But I'll make an exception for a hero as great as you."

From the movement to my side, Izuku was struggling to his feet beside me, blood dripping from his mouth, and staining the front of his uniform. I looked at him, knowing he was going to die if he was about to try what he was about to attempt, but I might not.

"Stay here, protect Aizawa," I told him, concentrating, shifting my legs to lightning even as my rational mind screamed at me to stay where I was.

Kurogiri continued to monologue, starting to pull Nomu back through, dragging All Might into his portal, "Since you're too fast to see with the human eye, Nomu had to restrain you."

"But," Deku started to argue, however I took off running. All Might had dropped us off a good hundred feet away so it would be a few seconds, but with the biggest combatant taken care of, I might be able to handle this.

"And once he's pulled your body halfway through," the Warper continued. "I'll-"

A distant explosion of sound came from behind me, and a beam of bright white light shot in from the side, striking Kurogiri from behind, catching him in the neck, sending him falling to the side with a cry of pain. The portal through which Nomu had been reaching opened up, and a green and black shape hurtled through it, Asui of all people coming out of the darkness. She looked, wide-eyed, at the carnage around her with a frightened, "Ribbit!"

I can work with this , I thought, turning my arm to Lightning as well, the pain in my chest secondary now that I was doing something. "Grab its arm!" I yelled as I ran past her, jumping over both All Might and Nomu, throwing the long, amorphous limb around the creature's right arm and pulling with all my might.

She followed orders, tongue wrapping around Nomu's left limb, pulling as hard as she could, long legs straining, and, having recovered just a little, I sent a small shock, only a single percent of my maximum, through the creature's arm, causing it to twitch a little.

Neither of us were strong enough to break its grip, but we could weaken it, which is all that All Might needed to leverage himself out, pushing himself away as the creature tried to grab him again. "Fall back!" He ordered even as Shigaraki commanded, "Come here, Nomu" and the creature jumped through the portal. However, before it could close fully, another shape leapt through, this one white, with a splash of red.

Todoroki, landed, the portal quickly closing behind him, even as Jiro and Yuga ran into the promenade, the first looking around with a " Holy shit," the second staring with his usual smile, though it was obviously forced.

Shoto's eyes narrowed, and he stomped a foot, freezing the ground in a path towards Shigaraki and Nomu. The former stepped back while the latter took up a position in front, only to have his legs frozen solid.

Knowing that was a temporary move instead of the fight-ender the boy thought it was, I stepped over, grabbed his shoulder, and started to pull him back. He shot me a confused look, but moved with me as I retreated, Asui followed with a hop, and I looked around, trying to figure out a strategy. "I've got this," All Might declared before I could say anything, and I deferred to him, the other students with me as I retreated.

"You all escaped uninjured, and stopped my plan," Shigaraki mused, sounding completely unbothered, his earlier rage seemingly gone completely. "Kids these days really are amazing. They make the League of Villains look like amateurs. Can't have that. Nomu. Come."

The creature nodded, and tried to turn to step towards its master, only for its legs to crumble and for it to fall to the ground, everything below the waist gone. However, its flesh bulged and ran outwards, first reforming its hips, then its legs, muscles reaching out like writhing tentacles as its body was remade.

"The regeneration," All Might nodded, and, watching the creature get back to its feet in seconds, I realized how badly I must've messed it up to put it down for over a minute.

" Super Regeneration, actually," Shigaraki crowed. "Nomu has been modified to take you on even at one-hundred percent of your power. He's basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back."

The creature's skin regrew, leaving it seemingly untouched, save for the fact that it was naked, but smooth down there, like a doll. "How do we fight something like that, ribbit?" asked Asui, eyes wide.

"You don't. Take Aizawa to safety," All Might commanded, and the others nodded, moving to run.

"Ah, ah, ah, leaving so soon?" Shigaraki chided. "The new blood can run like the scared children they are, but Nomu? Kill the green haired boy that hurt me, and his blond friend."

The creature blurred into motion, and I tried to dodge, pushing Asui and Todoroki away, even as I tried to leap backwards, but a white blur caught us all, tossing us to the side even as it felt like an explosion detonated inches away from my head.

We all tumbled to the ground, staring as Nomu, still standing from where he'd struck at me, looking not at us, but at the explosion of dust to our side, two deep furrows dug out of the ground leading into it.

All Might stood there as the dust settled, arms raised in a block, breathing hard, blood running from the corner of his mouth. "These are kids, and you didn't hold back?" he demanded.

"They weren't, so why should I?" the Villain sneered. "Besides, these kids are no angels. The armored one tried to kill me, and the plain looking one broke my arm! What kind of hero does something like that?"

I looked at the broken form of Aizawa, and almost pointed out that Shigaraki had no moral leg to stand on, but the longer he monologued, the more electricity I could pull on. It wasn't enough, not yet, but it might be soon.

"You think you can get away with being as violent as you want if you say it's 'for the sake of others'. Well you know what All Might?" the Villain ranted. "That pisses me off! Why do people get to decide that some violent acts are heroic while others are villainous?"

I blinked. Was he making a 'cops and criminals both hurt people so they're equally bad' argument? That was. . . sophomoric to the extreme, like basic bitch, 'I'm twelve and I'm edgy' philosophy.

"Casting judgement as to what's good and what's evil," the disintegrator continued. "You think you're the symbol of peace? You're just another government sponsored instrument of violence! And violence always breeds more violence!"

"Um, no it doesn't," I said without meaning to. There was a pause and Shigaraki glared at me. "I'm sorry, you go back to telling us how context is meaningless. My bad."

The villain took a moment, as I'd apparently disrupted his flow, before looking back to All Might. "I'll make sure the world understands what you really were after you're dead!" However, without the head of steam he'd built up, the statement fell flat.

"Jiro, Aoyama, take Aizawa," I commanded, and they nodded, carefully picking up Eraserhead. "Izuku-"

"I can still fight!" the small teen declared, wincing as his arms hung limply at his sides. "I can-"

"I thank you for your assistance, and the defense of your teacher," All Might declared, stepping forward, past us. "But this is different." He pulled his arm to the side, fist clenched. "It's gonna be alright. Just watch a Pro at work!"

Izuku, stepped forward, staggered really, and objected, "But you're hurt, you're bleeding, and you're almost out of ti-" he cut himself off, eyes wide as he looked to Shoto and me. I shot him a raised eyebrow, feigning confusion, but All Might gave us a thumbs up, and turned to face the three Villains arrayed in front of us.

"Kurogiri, Nomu. Kill them all." Shigaraki ordered. "But leave the blond brat, He's mine. Let's clear this level and go home." He took off, running forward, heading straight for me.

I stood , arms turned to lightning, knife flickering in and out of its changed state, and got ready. However, All Might brought his foot back, and his presence seemed to intensify, smothering the area, and he blurred forward, faster than even I could see, as Nomu accelerated as well.

They met, right in front of the Villain, fists clashing against each other, even as the monster's flesh rippled with the impact while All Might stayed strong, whole, and unmoved.

The shockwave from it blew outwards in every direction, forcing me to root myself to the spot, even as Shoto and Izuku were blown backwards. Shigaraki, so close to the impact, was blown high into the air, yelling, "Weren't you listening! One of his powers is Shock Absorption!"

"YEAH, WHAT ABOUT IT?" All Might bellowed, punching forward, Nomu matching the Hero's punch with his own, once, twice, thrice, each one sending out another shockwave, before they both blurred into motion, a continuous stream of hits, even the deflected force of which was enough to create hurricane force winds.

Izuku rolled back until he hit the far wall, pushed against it, as Todoroki and I both crouched down, sharing a glance. His was of astonishment, eyes wide and mouth agape, while I grinned, able to see the best of the best work, and learn.

I watched the two titans trade blows, at first indistinct flashes of color, and then streaks, and then blurs as I started to follow the fighting.

"He said your Quirk was only Shock Absorption, not Nullification" All Might announced, not letting up his assault in the slightest. "That means there's a limit on what you can take, RIGHT?"

All Might sank over fifty blows in before Nomu got one in right in the Hero's weak spot, sending him back a step, but All Might rallied, blue eyes glowing brightly in dark sockets, leaning back forward as he started to move even faster. Each blow would be enough to kill me and there were dozens upon dozens being thrown about like they were nothing.

The shockwaves pouring off Nomu as he was struck, from the rare punch that didn't quite land, were enough to break apart the concrete behind him, sending trees flying like they were thrown by a giant.

"So, you were made to fight me, Big Guy?" All Might asked, the punches slowly becoming clearer to my sight, raining down harder and harder. Nomu, even with his defenses, was slowly pushed back even as legs the size of Izuku strained to keep him standing, pushed back by the powers of the blows alone as the Symbol of Peace advanced. "If you can really withstand me firing at one-hundred percent of my power, then I'll have to go beyond that and FORCE YOU TO SURRENDER!"

The punches, somehow, redoubled in speed and force again, blue streaks running through them that, only my enhanced ability to follow what was happening letting me see, were exactly the same as the red streaks that lined Midoriya's limbs when he used his power.

The onslaught of strikes, each one enough to destroy a building, rained down by seemingly the hundreds, more and more slipping past Nomu's defences and battering away at the monster's stomach, chest, and head, which started to get knocked back over and over again. I realized each blow was aimed, not wild like they looked, creating and hammering openings faster than I could follow, only able to understand after they'd happened.

Watching it, I felt like I was in the presence of a god.

Then, with an upwards twist, Nomu's arms were sent up before All Might struck with a blow stronger than the others, sending the creature flying back through the wooded section of the Promenade, plowing through trees. It got its feet back under itself and charged on all fours back at its target, like the beast it was.

All Might leapt after the creature, not content to wait, yelling "A REAL HERO," as he met it mid-air, slamming it with a fist as the two started to twist around each other in the air. trading punches, "WILL ALWAYS FIND A WAY FOR JUSTICE TO BE OBSERVED!"

Slammed into the ground, All Might took the blow before he forced the creature back up into the air, spinning around it before coming down with a kick that ground Nomu headfirst into the concrete as the creature was dragged across the floor, the terrain breaking and flying up into the air from the force of the impact behind them. Jumping off it, further smashing it into the ground, Nomu tumbled, upside down as All Might landed and charged it.

The monster reached out with a punch, but The Symbol of Peace caught it, tucking the arm under his own as he launched himself up in the air a third time, dragging it along with him, spinning, and throwing the beast straight down, the crater from the impact fifty feet across as the concrete cracked, flying upwards in every direction.

With a blow fired off behind him, All Might forced himself down in an instant, landing on all fours even as Nomu bounced, limbs splayed from the force of the impact. "And now for a lesson," the living legend intoned. "You may have heard these words before, but I'll teach you what they really mean."

All Might's fist cocked back, steam shooting from between his clenched fingers. "Go Beyond," he declared, slamming his fist into the monster's stomach, with so much force the blow shined with an inner light, "PLUS ULTRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The shockwave created an earthquake, and it was all I could do to hunker down and endure it, even at a distance, as Nomu, the creature I could never hope of defeating, streaked off like one of my own Railgun shots, blasting right through the dome with a secondary explosion, and disappearing off into the distance.

I stood, staring, even as the dust cloud raised by that final attack started to dissipate. "I really have gotten weaker," All Might observed, injured, hair a mess, his clothing bloodstained and torn. "Back in my hayday five hits would've been enough to knock that guy out," he stated, standing up straight. "But today it took more than three-hundred Might Blows."

Why are you announcing that to the Villains? I thought, feeling my inner reserves, trying to judge if I could do what I needed to. The hero started to steam, hidden by the dust clouds still coming up from around his feet, but you could see it if you knew what to look for.

"You've been bested, Villains," All Might declared, and I realized his previous declaration was to show that, while weakened, he was still more than deadly enough to win. Shigaraki knew All Might was weaker, so the Hero was agreeing, but telling him it didn't matter. "Surrender. We all want to get this over with quickly." All Might, however, was bluffing, and I knew he was out of gas. "What, are you scared?"

However, I wasn't going to stand and stare. With everything changed, there was no guarantee that the others would just arrive in time, and Deku's life would be saved when he attacked. But it didn't need to be him. Against Nomu, I could do nothing. But against Shigaraki and Kurogiri? This was more my speed. I could hear Kurogiri trying to hype his boss up, but it wouldn't be enough.

The villain started to claw at his neck in agitation, but as he opened his mouth I barked out the command, already charging up. I'd be cutting it close, but I should have just enough, "Todoroki. Glacier them!"

There was a half second before he understood what I meant and nodded, waving a hand as ice streaked towards the pair, blue-white spikes set to freeze, or maybe even impale. The ice obscured them, but I'd started to get a handle on their combat style, so I wasn't watching the attack, I was watching Todoroki.

Sure enough, a dark portal opened behind him, a pale hand reaching blindly out for the back of the teen's head, fingers twitching.

With a kick, I sent Shoto falling, who looked towards me, confused, until he saw the hand, eyes wide. The hand, however, still reached forward, it's owner not able to see us. That suited me just fine, along with the fact that I'd made sure that my utility knife was magnetic.

Ducking down, so I'd have a clear line, I brought up the devil's horns, pointed them right at Shigaraki's wrist, dropped my thin utility knife between my extended fingers, and fired.

It wasn't as accurate as my practice with a coin, but at six inches away, I didn't have to be.

The limb wasn't so much cut off as it just ceased to be, a howl of agony coming off to our left as I staggered, feeling myself teetering right on the edge of frying my brain, before it decided I was okay.

"Holy Crap!" sputtered All Might, as he was obscured in an explosion of steam.

"Oh no!" cried Izuku, still lying against the wall, and Todoroki, who was staring at me with close to the same expression he'd been looking at All Might with, glanced over to him. I, however, was still looking at All Might, who, as the steam started to clear, looked gaunt, halfway between his muscle and skeletal form.

Moving without thinking, I stepped over to Shoto, blocking his view of All Might with my body and commanding, "They might be somewhere else, we need to move. Grab Izuku and get him to safety. I'll be right behind you."

The thermokinetic stared up at me, before shaking himself, taking my hand, and rushing over to the green haired boy, who started talking to the son of Endeavor, keeping his attention. The two started to leave and I moved back to All Might.

"Um, you okay?" I asked, trying to figure how to phrase the question. "Did Nomu. . . do something?"

All Might coughed, blood dripping down his mouth. "No, not him. , , Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't, but I'd like an explanation," I quickly promised him. "You gonna be okay if I leave? There's still Villains-"

"I'll be fine. Go join the others. We'll talk later," he informed me, which sounded ominous as fuck, but I just nodded, jogging away as All Might stepped back into the dust cloud his final attack had made, which still wasn't settling.

Moving after the boys, I saw quite a few still unconscious female villains, and if I might've tossed the Stamp at a few of them, they were points well earned.

Despite the pain in my chest, which didn't feel quite so bad, or the fact that I was now assuredly going to get pulled into the drama-storm that was All Might's life, I couldn't help but laugh, even if it hurt.

I'd survived, no one had died, and, best of all, I'd see Mina again.