Izuku, Tsu and a now awake Shinso sat at the edge of the central plaza, watching their teachers fight off the villains that were crowding them. They had seen the mist man appear beside a man in all black, with bluish grey hair and hands all over him. The mist man had said something that caused the handed man to lose his temper, beginning to scratch his neck the same way the person that had obliterated the UA Barrier had.
"No way," Izuku whispered.
"What's wrong?" Tsu asked.
"That's the guy that caused the break-in at the front gate this morning," Izuku said, keeping his eyes on the man with the hands.
"Are you sure?" Shinso asked.
"A hundred percent," Izuku said.
That meant that the man had some sort of destruction Quirk. A power that could destroy with a single touch. While Izuku was thinking of a way to help, Shinso was confused about what had happened, and how he had survived getting dropped from about fifty metres in the air. He turned to face Tsu, and looked at her with a questioning look.
"Midoriya learned to fly," Tsu said, watching the battle in front of them intently.
"What?" Shinso asked, eyes widening at Izuku.
"I told you, Tsu, I wasn't flying. Flying means moving around in the air without needing to physically generate kinetic energy. I was Floating. It's totally different, probably something like pushing the energy from my Quirk out and creating a kind of pocket of energy under me, using it to keep me afloat in the air," Izuku explained, not taking his eyes away from the battle.
Shinso simply shook his head and moved on, wondering how in the world they were going to fight the villains when they could barely escape the Flood Zone. Izuku wanted to jump in and, with Aizawa, round up all of the villains with the use of his binding scarf, Blackwhip and Tsu's tongue, and then let Thirteen dispose of them through her Quirk, but that was too brutal, and would definitely land him in a court.
"Do you think we could do something like you did in the battle trial? When you took down Kirishima, you used his sturdiness against him, I mean. If I used Blackwhip and my Super Strength, swung them into you, and you kicked them into the ground, that would take out a lot of the heavy hitters here," Izuku said.
"Are you sure you can use your Super Strength? It hasn't been very reliable in the past," Tsu asked.
"That's true. I did tap into it in the battle trial, though, even if only for a moment," Izuku said, flexing his hand.
"What will I be doing?" Shinso asked.
"Um … I was kinda hoping that you'd stay here, or make your way back to the entrance and escape, since the mist guy isn't guarding it anymore," Izuku said, scratching the back of his head, nervously.
"Oh, that's shit and you know it! I'm not running away, Midoriya. Those are my teachers just as much as they are yours! I want to fight for them, too, so don't tell me to run away," Shinso said, pointing an accusatory finger at Izuku.
"Sorry," Izuku said, crouching down.
"What are you doing?" Shinso asked.
Izuku stayed low, searching within himself for the core of One for All. He tried to recall the same feeling he had when he had used his Super Strength during the battle trial against Bakugo. He had felt the heat that OFA flooded him with, not as a searing, burning sensation, but as a low hum of power, as a pulse of warmth under his skin, in his very veins. Izuku tried to recall that sensation as he took deep breaths, saying to himself that he could do it, that he would do it.
He stood up and flexed his arm, feeling the familiar warmth spreading throughout it. Izuku opened his eyes, and saw that his arm was glowing, the light green and white colors of his costume giving off a brilliant light. He saw that his fingers, left uncovered by his gloves, had red streaks running along them, glowing with power. Izuku had never seen this effect of his powers, but accepted it as he had accepted Blackwhip and Float.
Izuku moved the warmth in his arm to his legs, making sure to never lose his hold on the power. As he felt the heat shift into his legs, Izuku jumped up into the air, blowing the water under him back and making Shinso fall onto the ground. As he climbed into the air, Tsu leapt after him, and the two entered the battle.
Using Float, Izuku hovered in the air to see where he should drop in. He didn't have a very good idea of how to use Float, so he was swaying and lurching in the air, trying to keep his balance, retain his Super Strength and Float at the same time. With all of those things occupying his mind, Izuku lost his control of One for All and Float, and dropped to the ground with a harsh thud.
He looked around, noticing that a villain had seen him fall. The villain, a large man with rocky skin and four arms, started walking toward him. Izuku knew he had to act fast, so tried once more to summon One for All's strength again. Surprisingly, it worked, as every time Izuku succeeded in manifesting his Super Strength, it got easier to recall that warmth. Izuku got into a basic stance that All Might had taught him and stared the villain down.
"Well, well, well. Look what I found!" the villain cheered, getting the attention of three of his buddies.
The three other villains crowded around the larger one, and started hollering and whooping like they had won the lottery. They looked at Izuku with such hunger that it almost made him turn around and run away. He remembered what Bakugo had said at the entrance, though, and steeled his nerves.
"You want me? Come at me!" Izuku said, taking a page out of Bakugo's book.
The larger villain held his friends back, and cracked his knuckles, obviously wanting Izuku all to himself. The rocky man flexed the muscles in all four of his arms as an intimidation move, but Izuku held his ground, glaring at him with the nastiest look he could muster. Izuku raised his fists for a fight, and smiled, though it was a wobbly, unconfident smile that the villain reveled in.
"Let's do this, little man!" the villain called out.
The villain would have charged, but was kicked in the face by Aizawa. Izuku watched as his teacher cancelled out the Quirks of the villains, and, one by one, took all of them out, ending with the one that Izuku had challenged. Aizawa rushed over, ripping his goggles off and looking his student in the eyes. He also looked around for other students, spotting Tsu helping Thirteen off in the distance, as well as Shinso peeking out from the lip leading to the Flood Zone.
"Midoriya, what the hell are you doing? Do you want to get yourself killed?" Aizawa asked.
"No, do you? Your fighting style is best when it's quick, unexpected and covered by shadow. This is the worst place for you to fight in. A well lit, open stadium," Izuku said, letting go of One for All.
As Shinso climbed out of the water and approached, Aizawa sighed deeply. He seemed to do some counting in his head, and then turned to Shinso.
"Shinso, what are you doing here?" the man asked.
"The same as you. Trying to be a hero," Shinso said.
"Oh my God. Look, you two are capable, I'll give you that. This is still live combat against people who want to kill you. I can't allow that. Find your classmates and leave!" Aizawa said.
"Are those kids I see?" a raspy voice asked.
The three snapped their attention to the pale man covered in hands standing next to the living mist. All three were immediately on guard, as they still didn't know quite what he could do. Aizawa stepped in front of the kids, but it was useless, as Izuku and Shinso took up battle positions.
"That's the guy that turned the UA Barrier to ash," Izuku whispered to Aizawa.
"You're sure?" Aizawa asked.
"I saw him there," Izuku confirmed.
"Alright. At least we have some idea of this guy's Quirk. If you have to fight, stay behind me. Only attack in defence. Never, and I mean never look for a fight. You won't win," Aizawa said, shifting his binding scarf.
"W-What is that?" Shinso asked, pointing to a figure standing off to the side of the man with the hands.
Izuku hadn't even noticed the hulking figure off to the side, but now, he couldn't look away. It was dark purple, with red scars littering its body, like it was actively falling apart. It had a human body, but a beak where its mouth should be, as well as sideways facing eyes and an exposed brain. It didn't look to be in pain because of that, in fact, it didn't look to be responding to anything around it, but it was eerily still, almost like it couldn't move.
"I don't know. It hasn't moved the entire time I've been down here," Aizawa said.
Suddenly, the pale man with the hands covering his limbs started to laugh. It was an eerie laugh, like it hurt, but he found pain funny, so kept laughing until his throat was going to give out, then kept laughing. It was a frantic cackle that Izuku knew would give him nightmares, but he stayed strong and tightened his fists.
"Do you think that if we kill some kids, then All Might will come?" the man asked.
The heroic trio all tensed at the information that they were there for All Might. It was a reasonable assumption, one Aizawa had made, but to have his suspicions affirmed like that was still disturbing. Izuku didn't want to believe they wanted All Might, and were so hellbent on getting to him that they'd murder children. He didn't want to, but unfortunately, here he was, in life threatening danger. He knew he'd have to face this kind of threat eventually, but didn't think it'd happen when he was still only fifteen years old.
In the blink of an eye, the man was in front of Izuku, with his hand outstretched. Izuku froze, the expression of the man, barely seen behind the severed hand covering his face, sending chills down his spine and striking his heart with ice. The man's hand made contact with his face, but nothing happened. Even the man was confused for a moment before he looked over at Aizawa with a knowing smirk.
"Eraserhead. You're pretty cool," the man said, with a voice so raspy, so grating that it didn't even sound like a voice. It sounded like pain.
Izuku saw his chance and ran with it, flooding both his arms with the absolute most amount of One for All they could take before cocking his fist back for a stellar punch. Izuku remembered how All Might described one of his signature 'Smashes'. He'd described it as a rush of power that filled your heart and made you just want to scream 'SMASH' at the top of your lungs. Izuku followed his advice and, as the man looked back at him with a puzzled expression, took a sharp breath.
"SMASH!" Izuku screamed, throwing his fist forward with all his might.
"Nomu," the man said, barely audible under Izuku's cry.
Izuku knew that his punch connected, but it was with something more solid than the scrawny man he had been aiming for. He also felt that his arm and fist were unbroken, marking his first use of One for All that one; connected and two; didn't break him. Izuku celebrated in his head, but ceased his jubilation when the wind that had been kicked up by the wind pressure created by his punch died down, showing that the gigantic, hulking, bird headed creature had appeared in front of the man, presumably just before Izuku's punch had connected. That explained why his target had suddenly felt much more dense than it seemed.
"Midoriya!" Aizawa cried, reaching out to his student using his binding cloth.
Izuku saw the creature, apparently called Nomu, lift its hand and snarl at him. Remembering how he had used Blackwhip to create a shield during his battle trial, enacted an idea he had been experimenting with. Izuku put his hands in a nozzle shape, pointed up at the body of the creature. He fired all the Blackwhip he could through the opening of his fingers and it clumped together and expanded as it twirled around, flowing into a half-dome in front of Izuku, just enough to protect him from the punch if he focused enough. Izuku willed Blackwhip to keep its shape, and the dome tensed, solidifying into a shield.
Nomu brought his fist down on the shield, causing a powerful shockwave to blow everything inside a radius of ten metres back, including Izuku. He hadn't been hit, but the shield had basically shattered, the wave of power exuded by the Nomu sending him flying. Izuku, as he began to fall toward the ground, used Float to correct his path, and hover in the air next to Aizawa, who had tried to save him.
"Midoriya, what the hell?" Aizawa asked, staring at the floating boy.
"This is new. I'll explain it later, but right now, we have to take that Nomu thing down," Izuku said, slowly drifting to the ground as he spoke.
"Alright. Shinso may be able to Brainwash him. Where is he?" Aizawa said, searching for the purple haired boy through the plaza.
"I saw him get launched, but I didn't see where. I'll get a bird's eye view," Izuku said, crouching down.
"How will you-?" Aizawa tried to ask, but was cut off by Izuku leaping about thirty metres into the air.
Izuku flew into the air, and as he reached the peak of his jump, used Float to stall, letting him get a good look at the entire facility. He saw a few zones that had obvious signs of fighting, meaning that the other students had been warped to other places throughout the USJ as well, which meant that they were probably still alive if the power level of the villains was consistent. He scanned the plaza, trying to spot Shinso's head of wild purple hair. He finally spotted the boy fighting a villain who had a large dagger and a reptile's tail.
"Shinso's fighting a villain in the southeast section of the plaza," Izuku told Aizawa once he landed.
"Let's help him, then go after Nomu," Aizawa said, getting a nod from Izuku.
The two took off, Izuku multiple times faster than Aizawa due to One for All. Tripping over something he hadn't seen, Izuku tumbled across the ground, scuffing up his costume and scratching his face. He looked back to see what he had tripped on to find nothing but a pair of gloves and boots. His eyes widened, wondering if he had hurt Hagakure. He wouldn't be able to see if he had, so had to approach and get her to respond to him.
"Hagakure! Are you okay?" Izuku asked, kneeling next to her.
"Yeah, I'm good! Man, you're getting really good at controlling your powers!" Hagakure laughed, holding her head.
"Did I hurt you?" Izuku asked, helping Hagakure off the ground.
"No. My head's been hurting since I landed in the Landslide Zone," she revealed.
"Oh, no. You may have a concussion. Are you bleeding?" Izuku asked, not wanting to even try touching her head, afraid of missing and touching something else. He hadn't gotten around to talking to the Support Department about making a device for Hagakure that could render her visible, but he vowed that he was going to as soon as he had free time.
"No, I don't think so. I'll be fine," Hagakure said.
A loud scream from the man with the hands drew everyone's attention, and Izuku saw him scratching his neck feverishly. He used this chance to take off again, while the man was distracted, and sped toward Shinso, who was on the defensive from the reptilian stabber. Izuku, in the blink of an eye, rushed between the two and fired off Blackwhip at the reptile, catching his chest and yanking him into the fountain next to Shinso, knocking him out.
Izuku collapsed, falling to his knees and breathing heavily. Shinso rushed to his side, along with Hagakure and Aizawa, who were not far behind Izuku when he had fallen. They crowded around the boy, but he waved them off, claiming to be okay.
"You're not okay, Midoriya. What happened?" Aizawa asked, his stern tone demanding a reply.
"It's just … focussing on so many things … and switching between so many tasks is too much. Having to focus on battle strategies, as well as having to constantly be switching between Super Strength, Blackwhip and Float are overwhelming my mind and my body. I don't think I can keep switching between so many different things, or I'll break down," Izuku said, catching his breath.
"Okay, you need to take a break. You sound like you've been going full throttle for this whole time, not letting yourself slow down for even a second," Aizawa said.
"He has been," Shinso said, gravely.
"I can't stop. Not until everyone is safe," Izuku said, standing back up and stretching his legs.
"Okay, leave the planning and strategizing to me. Take Float out of the equation. There, you're only left with Super Strength and Blackwhip. Deal?" Aizawa said.
"I'll focus on Super Strength and Blackwhip for a while, at least until I feel up to the rest. Thank you guys for worrying about me," Izuku said, flaring up One for All in his arms.
Izuku immediately shut off his Quirk, his arms twitching wildly. He groaned, bringing his arms up and clenching his fists. Shinso looked at Aizawa nervously, and Aizawa gestured for Shinso and Hagakure to step back, his eyes flaring up red as he erased Izuku's Quirk. Aizawa put his hand on Izuku's shoulder and leaned down to whisper into his ear.
"It's okay, Midoriya. You can rest. You've been trying your best to protect your classmates, and that's commendable, but there's a point where it stops being noble and starts being foolish. You're getting close to that line. You're hurting yourself by using your powers in ways your body isn't ready for yet, and that's going to get you nowhere, especially if you keep doing it here. Here, that kind of thing will only get you one place; six feet underground," Aizawa said.
"Tomura Shigaraki, please listen to me. You mustn't fret. If All Might does not come, we can try another day," the mist man said, trying to soothe the other, panicking villain, apparently named Shigaraki.
"NO! No! You don't get it, Kurogiri! They'll increase their security if we just leave now! It's game over! It's back to the main menu! Oh, Master, you lied to me!" Shigaraki cried.
The heroes were listening, watching the two villains interact like a petulant child and a parent who had said 'no' for the first time. Shigaraki was about to scream again, but froze. He slowly turned around, locking eyes with each of the heroes before cackling to himself.
"If we can't kill All Might, we might as well kill a Pro Hero and a couple of brats, right?" Shigaraki said, chuckling darkly as he pointed toward the group.
Aizawa knew that Shigaraki would sic Nomu on them, so preemptively used his Quirk to erase the beast's own, hoping that it would lose it's All Might tier strength and speed. That hope would be lost, as Shigaraki called out the monster's name, and it immediately appeared at Aizawa's side, accompanied by a powerful gust of wind.
"Nomu!" Shinso shouted, trying to get the monster's attention.
Nomu ignored Shinso's shout, or couldn't hear it, because it brought its fist down on Aizawa with a sickening crunch. Aizawa flew back, tumbling across the concrete until Izuku reached out and, ignoring the painful numbness in his arms, shot out Blackwhip to catch him, keeping him from slamming into the wall of the Conflagration Zone.
Hagakure and Izuku ran toward Aizawa, but Shinso stayed put, torn between wanting to check up on his teacher and combating the villains. He chose to stay back and carry out his 'Plan B', as Brainwashing the Nomu was out of the question; it only responded to Shigaraki. Now, it was time to take Shigaraki out of the equation.
"Hey, Handy Man! Why don't you face me yourself instead of hiding behind your bird brained bastard?" Shinso shouted, standing tall and speaking clearly.
""Why, you fu-" Shigaraki started, before falling silent.
Shigaraki's face was blank, his eyes a washed out, greyish red, as opposed to their usual vibrant crimson. He had stopped his manic hand gestures, and he simply stood, emotionlessly staring into space. Kurogiri hesitantly approached Shigaraki, waving a misty hand in front of his leader's face.
"Don't bother trying to wake him up. Only I can do that. Now, you and your circus of gangbangers and killers are gonna piss off and not come back, otherwise he'll never wake up. Warp every single one of your lackeys out of our school, and tell whoever this 'Master' is to fear the Hypnotic Hero," Shinso yelled, trying not to show the villains how sick he felt just doing this.
Izuku and Hagakure approached Aizawa and kneeled over him, pulling his long hair away from his face to see how bad the hit had been. Hagakure pulled away and threw up as soon as Izuku had uncovered the wound. It was like someone had taken an ice-cream scoop and taken a chunk out of Aizawa's face, right under his left eye. The wound was jagged, probably because Nomu seemed to lack any higher thinking beyond 'do what Shigaraki says'. Izuku retrieved a small bottle of antiseptic from his utility belt and began to splash the liquid onto the wound. Aizawa didn't react beyond a faint murmur, which worried Izuku.
"Hagakure, hold this," Izuku said, handing her the antiseptic.
"Okay," Hagakure replied, her voice small.
"Are you okay? Talk to me," Izuku said, hurriedly opening the compartment in his belt for bandages and pins.
"This is all so much. I never expected this. I thought UA was safe, but we've had two break-ins in a day, on our fourth day of school," Hagakure said, her hands trembling.
"I get that. This sucks a lot. We shouldn't have to be doing any of this. We need to get it together, though, if we wanna get out of here alive," Izuku said, his voice muffled by having to hold the pins that he was going to use to hold the bandages in place in his mouth.
Izuku feverishly wrapped the bandage around Aizawa's face, going from the bottom left to the top right, circling around, then repeating that cycle a few times before holding the end of the dressing down just above Aizawa's eye. He pulled the pin from his mouth and pushed it through the top layer of the bandage, before sinking it through the bottom layers at a diagonal angle to get it to stay, as well as not stab Aizawa in the face. He didn't need that right now.
Suddenly, a large explosion tore through the silence that had permeated the area. Izuku looked around, spotted Shinso having a showdown with a Brainwashed Shigaraki and a confused Kurogiri, some swaying trees, but focused on Bakugo launching himself from the Ruins Zone using his Quirk. The blond flew toward the villains as soon as he saw them, and Izuku knew what was about to happen.
"Bakugo, stop! They're-!" Izuku tried to call out, leaving Aizawa in Hagakure's care to run toward the scene, but he was too late.
Bakugo launched himself over the villains and unleashed one of his biggest blasts yet. The explosion shook the ground, making the entire USJ shake, seemingly, and the flash was blinding, temporarily blocking out Izuku's vision. When he looked back, all Izuku saw was a large dust cloud, a panting Bakugo and a fuming Shinso.
"Bakugo, you dumbass!" Shinso said, marching toward the blond.
"Who're you calling dumbass, Sleepyhead?" Bakugo asked.
"You! I had their leader Brainwashed! They were about to leave, but your blast fucked that all up! Thanks a lot, Bakugo!" Shinso snarled.
For his part, Bakugo had the decency to look at least a bit inconvenienced by that. He looked back to the dust cloud, which was beginning to clear. Izuku joined the boys, and the three of them stood in wait for the cloud to fade away completely. The trio heard chuckling, a dark and evil sound that grated against their ears. Even Bakugo seemed disturbed by it, and all three backed away as they listened to the chuckle slowly gain volume and intensity, until it was an insane shriek, with the thing that made it no longer human in their eyes.
"That was so cool! I knew UA brats would be powerful, but that was something else!" Shigaraki reveled in his pain, stepping from the mostly faded dust cloud.
Izuku gave Shinso a look, which the other boy immediately understood. Shinso stepped forward and, in his most confident and clear voice, called Shigaraki out.
"Hey, Shigaraki!" Shinso yelled.
Shigaraki narrowed his eyes at Shinso, scowling and not responding to the boy. Izuku realized that this man wasn't just crazy, but he had some brains behind his madness. He had figured out that the reason he had been Brainwashed was because he had replied to Shinso, and then shut his mouth. Izuku didn't have to like Shigaraki, but he had to admit the man was more than he seemed.
"Kurogiri, what do you think of …" Shigaraki began, looking for Kurogiri in the smoke.
"Sorry, dude, but I think your warper's been put out of commission!" Kirishima said, stepping on Kurogiri's neck brace, pinning him down.
"HOW?!" Shigaraki screamed, and Izuku saw his chance.
He knew that Shigaraki had the power to somehow destroy things that he touched, and that it required all five fingers, because of the way that he had touched Izuku's face when Aizawa had erased his Quirk. All five fingers had made contact before Shigaraki had known something was wrong, so it required all of them to work. That was what he was going to take advantage of.
Izuku dashed toward Shigaraki, using a quick burst of One for All in his legs to close the distance in an instant. He immediately used his momentum to jump up into the air above Shigaraki and used Float to stick himself in place, slowing to a stop to hover above the villain. Before Bakugo would freak out, revealing his plan, because Izuku knew he would, Izuku used Blackwhip to grab Shigaraki's hands, wrapping his whips around his closed fists, making sure he couldn't open them to disintegrate anything.
He looked over to Bakugo who, despite still wanting to yell at Izuku over his new power, understood the message; take Shigaraki out. Bakugo started running toward Shigaraki, his hands held behind him as he started to enact the move he had performed during Aizawa's Quirk tests on the first day, something he had called 'Burst Speed: Turbo'. He used smaller, concentrated blasts to propel him along the ground, mimicking a burst of superhuman speed, and sped up to Shigaraki, before ramming his boot into the villain's chest, sending him flying so violently that it broke Blackwhip.
Izuku Floated down to the ground, and Bakugo looked at him like he had grown two heads. Izuku raised an eyebrow at the blond, and looked over to Kirishima, who was still keeping Kurogiri down with his foot pressed against the villain's neck.
"Good job, Bakugo! Nice floating, Midoriya!" Kirishima called.
"Thanks," Izuku said, smiling brightly.
Kirishima's foot slammed into the ground, Kurogiri having disappeared from under him. The mist man rematerialized next to Shigaraki's downed body, and opened a portal next to him. The heroes faced down the villain, ready to fight if the mist man lashed out. Izuku and Bakugo got into combat stances, but were distracted, along with Kurogiri and the others, when the front doors for the USJ exploded open, and the silhouette of All Might himself was seen walking through them.
"He's here!" Izuku cheered.
"Yes, it would seem he is," Kurogiri said, a dark tone to his voice.
Izuku almost forgot the whole reason the villains had invaded the USJ; to kill the Symbol of Peace. He heard the shrill groaning of Shigaraki, and snapped his attention back to the villains, watching as they marveled at All Might's form, scowling more harshly than he had at the end of Izuku's battle trial. Bakugo knew that look, and knew that All Might wasn't going to mess around with these villains if they'd upset him this much.
All Might's famous laugh was completely absent, the only noise being Shigaraki's raw cackling filling the silence. The few remaining villains that remained in the central plaza were instantly obliterated by All Might, going down in a single punch as he dashed to his students' side.
"How dare you come to this school and endanger children, villain?" All Might asked, standing in front of the kids defensively.
"Oh, it was never about the brats. This was all for you, All Might. It's all about you," Shigaraki said, his voice turning to a growl at the end.
It was clear that even the mere presence of All Might struck a chord with Shigaraki, and the man had a grind to gear with the hero. Izuku didn't know what All Might had done or hadn't done to or for Shigaraki in the past, but it had to have been horrible for the villain to react in this way. He stepped back, not wanting to get blown away by the ensuing combat.