Author's Note: Welcome to the new arc! Enjoy the ride.
Energy tendrils.
Super-strength.
Hovering.
That brat was cheating!
Tomura felt like his throat was on fire. He needed to scratch, but he'd already broken the skin in his last episode. Master always said that he needed to control his itch, but it felt so good to scratch it! Fuck it, Tomura would deal with the pain. He needed relief! He scratched his neck, the scraping of his red nails on the burning skin bringing a calming feeling to the young Villain. It helped him think, without the nagging desire tugging on his consciousness.
Once he was free of his urge, Tomura tuned back into what was going on around him. The cheater was on the ground, with a bunch of the 'Heroes' around him. He was weak, even with his powers, then! HA! Nomu would show him what true power was. He stared as the brat's face was set in determination as he said some things to the people around him. What an idiot. Just like All Might, putting on a brave face even though they don't have any more power than anyone else to change things. It was a cycle, and he was going to be the one to end it. Master had that power, and he'd lend it to Tomura if he proved himself today.
Kurogiri appeared beside Tomura, his eyes narrow. Tomura wasn't great at reading Kurogiri's face, due to it being made up of some kind of cloud or mist, but his transport looked nervous. Tomura leveled a glare at Kurogiri, silently asking what he'd interrupted him for.
"Tomura Shigaraki, I have bad news. One of the students has escaped the facility. The group that evaded my Quirk were able to overwhelm me for a moment, and one of them used that moment to get away. There is also no sign of All Might. We may need to reconsider—" Kurogiri said, his tone calm as always.
"Oh, Kurogiri. You idiot. If you weren't my ride home, I'd turn you to dust right now," Tomura said, his fingers twitching from the burning rage in his gut.
He was going to disappoint Master, and it was all Kurogiri's fault! Tomura began to groan, getting louder with each passing moment. He felt the heat in his stomach, the boiling anger at Kurogiri's failure, grow as he scratched, drawing more blood and coating his fingernails in even more red. It stung, but it was grounding him, so Tomura kept going with a feverish intensity so that he didn't reach out and doom himself with just a touch.
"Tomura Shigaraki, please listen to me. You mustn't fret. If All Might does not come, we can try another day," Kurogiri suggested.
" 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!" Tomura cried.
He'd been told that these children and pencil pushing teachers were weaklings, nothing but insects under Tomura's boot. Master had told him that it would be easy, and the schedule they'd gotten the other day had confirmed All Might's presence here, today. But, that wasn't true. Eraserhead was here, so that was already a bust. Then, there was that multi-Quirked brat that didn't know when to quit. And then, as if that wasn't more than enough to make Tomura want to turn this whole fucking place to ash, All Might wasn't even there . Tomura had been lied to! He didn't doubt that Master had good information, so why had he not trusted Tomura with that? Did he want Tomura to fail? Was the schedule a fake? Did he get the wrong one?
Tomura wanted to explode, to turn this place to rubble, but paused. He looked at Kurogiri, his mind oddly clear. Tomura turned to look at the group that had assembled a few meters away. He stared at them through the gaps in his mask and grinned, wide and unabashed.
"If we can't kill All Might, we might as well kill a Pro Hero and a couple of brats, right?" Tomura asked, projecting his voice so that said extras could hear him.
Yes, this would do nicely. Tomura felt a laugh bubble out of his chest, and pointed at the huddled together group with a red finger. He paused for a moment, savoring in their looks of horror. Good; they'd seen enough of Nomu to know what was coming. He saw Eraserhead's hair fly up into the air and then decided that he'd had enough of waiting.
"Nomu!" Tomura called.
Nomu appeared in front of Eraserhead in a gust of wind and sent him flying with a single punch. Tomura almost thought that he heard one of the little brats call out to Nomu the split second before the punch landed, but wrote it off as a weird effect of the raging wind currents playing tricks on him. He felt a small bit of vindication knowing that even if these children were stronger than he'd been led to believe, Nomu could still crush them. He would.
Two of the little brats ran after Eraserhead, even though he was probably dead by now. That was a solid hit from Nomu, which meant that at the very least all his bones were powder. It would have been infinitely more satisfying to do it himself, but Tomura was content with this outcome. He could use his Quirk freely now, without that pesky teacher getting in the way.
One of the brats stayed, however. Tomura stared at him and wondered what the kid was doing. This guy was going to get himself killed. Nomu was dormant once again, the order to attack having been fulfilled, but Tomura could easily reactivate it or just kill the kid with his own hands. But, what he did next is what caught Tomura's attention and curiosity.
"Hey, Handy Man! Why don't you face me yourself instead of hiding behind your bird brained bastard?" the kid yelled, not even sparing a second glance at the dormant Nomu not ten meters away from him.
This kid had the audacity to speak to him like that?! Tomura felt himself stop breathing for a second in his rage. He caught himself and screamed at the kid.
"Why, you fu—" Tomura yelled.
Tomura felt himself go numb, except it wasn't the good kind of numb like when he'd just used his Quirk on something and that kind of calming tranquility surged through him. This was bad, like he was cut off from his own body and was stuck, frozen in place. Tomura tried to move, to ask Kurogiri if he was feeling it, too, but he couldn't. He couldn't even move his eyes, which felt strange. It was like his brain had been removed from his body and he was watching it stand there, useless, as an outside observer.
A limb of mist waved itself in front of his face, and Tomura tried to call out to Kurogirir, but he couldn't even move his mouth. It was strange, because it wasn't as if there was some force compelling his body to stay still; it was more like the signals just weren't connecting between his mind and body. It was bizarre, and Tomura wanted to scream but he couldn't.
"Don't bother trying to wake him up. Only I can do that," the purple haired brat said to Kurogiri. He grinned, the little shit, and continued. "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 wrath of the Hypnotic Hero," the kid said.
This sucked! He couldn't do or say anything and Kurogiri was useless. He let one of the assholes go! How was Tomura supposed to just let him do the work? He could do so much more if this brat stopped using whatever Quirk he had to keep him frozen. Tomura had been frozen while looking at the little fucker, so he was getting a good look at him. He was grinning, but Tomura saw weakness whenever the kid met his gaze. Ah, so he was just a walking. He was just pretending. Like the multi-Quirked brat. He was weak, and had threatened Master, so he needed to die !
The purple haired brat gasped, like he'd been hit by something. He saw that one of the brats, the girl one, was invisible, so maybe they had a traitor in their midst. Tomura would love to convert a Hero brat to his side if he got out of this. It would be such a good bargaining chip to use against the poisoned society they lived in! But, as the brat did gasp and clutch his head, Tomura felt a finger wiggle.
Oh, this was gonna be good.
Tomura pushed his fingers toward his palm, and was pleased to find that it worked, slightly. He was able to move his finger the smallest amount, which meant that the brat's control over him wasn't absolute. Trying to grin, Tomura kept trying, seeing that the brat kept clutching at his head but was slowly regaining his composure. As the kid did that, Tomura felt his own control slipping, and he was once again frozen as the purple haired little shit got a strengthened his hold. This Quirk was bullshit!
The three of them faced off with each other for a few moments, Shinso keeping Tomura frozen and Kurogiri trying to decide what to do. That moment of relative peace ended when a loud explosion sounded out around the plaza. The ground shook, and the sound made Tomura's ears ring, but he still couldn't do anything , so he was stuck looking at the purple brat who was shocked at something above him.
The multi-Quirked bastard came running toward the main group, holding a hand out toward whatever was above Tomura.
"Bakugo, stop! They're—" the green haired kid screamed, but Tomura couldn't hear the rest of what he said through the deafening roar that overwhelmed his hearing.
The heat burned his skin and made his hearing and sight momentarily white out. He saw nothing as his ears rang and his flesh was seared by the blast, sending Tomura off his feet and into the air. It was the first movement he'd performed since that purple bitch had put him under, and it felt good to move again. Tomura didn't bother trying to move again, since he knew he wouldn't be able to move. That theory was disproved when he landed on his elbow funny and instinctively moved it into a more comfortable position, which made him realize that he was free. It must have been the blast that did it, but what was the trigger for the purple guy's Quirk? Was it at will? If it was, then he was fucked.
Tomura stood back up and glared at the brats. He couldn't see much through the smoke, but he could see the vague shape of the two boys from before, but … there was someone new, and they seemed to be arguing about something. Had that blast been that person's Quirk? Oh, boy, this was good. He'd hoped Master was downplaying the strength of UA students in order to make for a cinematic battle like the games he played, but Tomura was beginning to see the true strength of UA, and he was finally getting excited. This was the strength he'd heard about. He knew Master had to be planning something. Maybe he wanted Tomura to be the underdog so that he'd have a better story to tell when he returned to Master's care? That must have been it! Tomura let out a deep, belly laugh at the thought of the praise he'd receive if he bested all of these brats.
"That was so cool! I knew you UA brats would be powerful, but that was something else!" Tomura shrieked.
The dust was finally clearing from the blast. He saw the blond one, standing the closest to him, and smiled at him with genuine excitement.
"Hey, Shigaraki!" the purple one yelled, but Tomura wasn't taking any chances with that one anymore.
Tomura kept his mouth shut this time. For all he knew, just acknowledgement of the brat's presence was what activated the Quirk. So, Tomura ignored him the best he could. He looked around for Kurogiri, but he was probably obscured by the smoke. He blended in with most darkness, so it was to be expected.
"Kurogiri, what do you think of …" Tomura began, still trying to search for his right hand man. The smoke fully cleared to show a red brat in a sash standing over Kurogiri's subdued body. Tomura felt the rage rise up in him again, and stared at the brat with wide eyes.
"Sorry, dude, but I think your warper's been put out of commission," the red one said, with that awfully smug grin on his face.
"HOW?!" Tomura screamed, his fingers twitching at his sides.
While he was looking at the red one, Tomura heard a whoosh of wind, like when Nomu and All Might moved but smaller. He felt the air pressure around him change, like Master had described All Might's nearly overwhelming power. Tomura turned to the other brats, but saw that one of them was gone. Before he could do anything about it, however, his hands were wrapped up in this weird globby black stuff. Oh, this is that same stuff the multi-Quirked kid was using to swing around and grapple with.
Fuck.
Tomura looked up to see the green brat not even paying attention to him. HA! He'd show this kid. He knew all of his fingers were touching the binding stuff he used, so he just needed to will it and it'd be dust. Except, that's not what happened. Instead, he felt a steel-toed boot shove itself into his chest. Tomura took off, soaring through the air from the kick and accidentally breaking free of the binding stuff. He landed on the ground, hard, and heard the kids celebrating. Oh, they hadn't one anything yet. Kurogiri appearing next to him was proof of that.
"Are you okay, Tomura Shigaraki?" Kurogiri asked.
"I'm fine, Kurogiri! Let's fucking kill those brats!" Tomura growled.
Both Tomura and Kurogiri got ready for the long haul. Tomura knew he was ready to die on this hill if it came to it. He was not going back to Master empty handed. If only he could show Master the multiple Quirks of the green one, maybe he could study him and figure out how to build up resistances for holding all those powers in a single body. That was the main issue with Nomu; it couldn't think for itself. It was a pet, but it could be so much more with a little bit of autonomy.
As everyone got ready to fight, a loud crashing sound rang out around the plaza. All the fighters froze, looking at each other to see what caused it, and none of them did. The green one was the first one to get it, as he looked up to some place above and behind Tomura.
"He's here!" the cheater said.
Tomura and Kurogiri turned to see that the front doors to the facility had been broken open by a large, intimidating figure. That build. That hair. That … frown? It was All Might, in the flesh. This was Tomura's chance! He'd get him this time! He'd make Master proud!"
"Yes, it would seem he is," Kurogiri said, a darkness in his voice that Tomura knew meant he was getting serious.
Tomura loved it when Kurogiri would finally let up on the 'polite bartender' act. He knew that the mist man was just as twisted as the rest of Master's projects. He laughed, for he knew that they were in the endgame of their plan now. They had their chance, and they were gonna take it. Tomura would win!
In a flurry of movements, All Might dashed from the entrance down into the plaza in front of the smaller brats. He took down Tomura's underlings on his way, too, if he wasn't already wasting his time. Tomura watched, trying to see the weakness that Master had described, and catching a glimpse of the form of the Symbol of Peace. There it was. He really was waning in power. Before, nobody could get any look at All Might if he didn't want it, but Tomura could see him moving. He was slower. He could lose .
"How dare you come to this school and endanger children, Villain?" All Might asked, coming to rest in front of the group of kids.
"Oh, it was never about the brats. This was all for you, All Might," Tomura said, getting a deeper scowl from the number one Hero. "It's all about you," he repeated, seeing how uneasy it made the brats behind All Might.
All Might seemed to whisper something to the kids, and Tomura huffed. He clearly wasn't listening, so he'd have to sic Nomu on him. All the brats started to flee at whatever words had been spoken except for one. The green one with multiple Quirks. Interesting. But, even that one fled after giving some more words to his teacher. Good, they knew they were beaten. That would make it even better to rub it in their faces afterward.
"What's your game, Villains?" All Might asked, his booming voice sending shivers down Tomura's spine.
"Oh, you know, tearing down the toxic system that presides over all of us. It's pure filth, and only we have the power to pave the way to a clean new world. A world where we're all free to use our Quirks how we please, without repercussions. Where government sponsored brawlers don't come knocking down our doors for doing what we need to for survival. We're the new world order, All Might, and you're in our way," Tomura said, feeling his itch subside as he ranted.
All Might chuckled, but it reminded Tomura more of Master than it did of a Hero. "You don't really believe in all that, do you?" he asked.
Tomura stared at All Might, seeing the knowing look on the Hero's face. The subtle tension in his muscles. The frown tugging at his lips. He'd figured Tomura out.
"Well, look who's smarter than they let on. How'd you know I'm full of shit?" Tomura asked.
"You can't fake passion. What you're saying doesn't have any emotion behind it. You're just talking, really. Now, what's next?" All Might explained.
"Oh, you're good. But, in the end, not good enough ," Tomura said.
The finger Tomura pointed at All Might wasn't red, weirdly. Maybe the blast he'd gotten from that blond kid had burnt it away? It didn't matter, because when he allied Nomu's name it was there to meet All Might in a fraction of a second. The winds that were generated by the harsh movements were almost enough to blow Tomura and Kurogiri away, but they stayed strong and managed to keep their positions. Tomura had to strain to see what was going on, Nomu and All Might were so fast, but eventually he was able to focus on what was happening.
All Might and Nomu were throwing punches at each other at what looked like the speed of sound. The ground beneath them cracked and broke as they hunkered down to withstand the hits being thrown, returned and thrown again. Tomura was hit in the face by a piece of debris getting tossed around by the winds, and cried out in frustration. He couldn't do anything like this! He may as well still be under that purple brat's control.
Tomura was almost getting bored with this. It was no fun! He was just standing around not doing anything. It was boring, and if he could get any closer to the action without being blown away, Tomura would. He needed action! Tomura's neck was getting itchy again, and it took all his willpower to not scratch it. He needed release!
A whistle made Nomu dash away from All Might, whose punch hit the air and caused a large cloud of dust to be kicked up as a result. Tomura had been looking forward to this part. He waited for most of the dust to clear, to the point where he and All Might could see each other, and then began his speech.
"Having some trouble, All Might? I'd expect it, since Nomu here was made for this. We hand picked him from an underground fighting ring for his body. He was a remarkable specimen before , and you obviously see what he is now. He's got Shock Absorption, so he's able to just soak up all your hits like you're a toddler," Tomura bragged.
"Shock Absorption, eh? If that's the case, then don't mind if I keep at it!" All Might said.
All Might leapt toward Nomu, and the two engaged in battle once more. Tomura was at a loss. Why was he still fighting? Didn't he understand that Nomu was an immovable object? Even if All Might was an unstoppable force, that had to mean something to him. With shaking hands, Tomura lashed out at him again.
"What are you doing, idiot? Nomu has Shock Absorption ! Your strength doesn't matter here!" Tomura screamed over the roaring winds.
"Oh, I heard you perfectly!" All Might haltingly called out. He had to stop occasionally to evade a hit.
Nomu kept coming at him, but All Might kept dodging and hitting back. He'd switched up his tactics, Tomura noticed, after the explanation on one of Nomu's Quirks had been given. He'd started dodging far more with the knowledge that hitting it alone wouldn't do anything. Why did All Might have to be so good?
"You said that this 'Nomu' fellow has Shock Absorption, but you said nothing about Shock Nullification . That means there's a limit to what this guy can take!" All Might elaborated on his earlier point.
Tomura screamed in abject terror. All Might wasn't about to do this. He couldn't! Master would be so disappointed! Tomura looked around for anything he could do, anyone he could use his Quirk on to alleviate the burning in his chest and the urge to scratch. He needed to release something ! He looked around, but paused when he spotted the group of kids that had run away earlier, sans the green one and Eraserhead. This … wasn't nothing.
"Tomura Shigaraki!" Kurogiri called from his position, struggling against the winds.
"What?" Tomura snapped, but felt a cold numbness come over him once again.
Oh, that purple kid was so dead. How did he even do that? Tomura had thought his Quirk was freezing people, not mimicking voices! Maybe that was what the weird face mask was for. Fuck! He heard a cheer, but was able to resist far more this time for whatever reason. He started twitching, about all he could move under the spell of the purple brat, but it was enough to catch sight of the hypnotist in the corner of his vision. He was terrified, according to his eyes, and Tomura cracked a lopsided smile as only half of his mouth would move.
"Don't you have him?" one of them, probably the red one based on the voice, asked.
"I do, but it's weird; my control over him is weaker than before for some reason," the purple one replied.
Tomura heard a loud crack, and saw a shadow pass over him. It was either Nomu or All Might, and he wasn't willing to bet on which. It was a moment before the blast of wind from the hit caught up to him, and knocked Tomura off his feet, breaking the purple one's control. Tomura leapt back up and cackled, because he knew that he could fight it now. This was the upside to this battle, the terror he was able to instill in these kids as their Quirks weren't able to save them.
He looked over and saw that it had been both All Might and Nomu who'd been knocked back, but Nomu had been the one to pass over him. Tomura ordered his pet to keep up his attacks, and refocused on the brats.
He began to stalk over to them when Tomura spotted something in the air. It was smaller than Nomu or All Might, but it looked like it was only marginally slower. It was covered in … green lightning. That fucking multi-Quirked cheater! He was coming in hot, and Tomura could hear a whizzing that was getting louder the closer the kid got. The cheater was flying down to meet Tomura at an angle, and was headed right to him, so they'd clash before he hit the ground. He'd turn him to dust before he even got a hit in!
As the boy flew closer, a few cries rang out.
"Young Midoriya, no!" All Might yelled.
"DEKU, WHAT THE FUCK?!" the blond one screamed.
When the cheater got close, it seemed like time slowed. Tomura saw him moving closer in excruciating detail. He felt the blood pumping in his ears and the itch of his Quirk wanting to be used, but he waited. Tomura waited for the fucking cheater to get closer so that he couldn't dodge. He brought his arms up to defend from whatever the boy would unleash, acting like he was afraid of the little shit.
As soon as the boy got near enough to attack, Tomura attacked. He took his right hand and jammed it into the cheater's face, keeping his left up for defense. Tomura felt the endorphins flood as the weight on his heart was alleviated. He felt the kid's skin break apart and disintegrate under his touch, but Tomura wasn't able to enjoy his attack for long.
The kid's hit connected with Tomura's arm, shattering what felt like every bone in the limb and wreaking havoc on his shoulder and upper back. That was way more powerful than anything the kid had shown off so far, even on par with Nomu if Tomura was being generous. Unluckily for Tomura, however, that wasn't where it ended. The hit was so powerful that the shockwave continued past his arm and the force traveled through his head, which his arm had been guarding. The force felt like it blew Tomura's skull to pieces, and he could have sworn that he felt something fly out the back of his head, but it may have just been the imagination of his dying brain. This was it. His destiny. Master told him to do this for a reason, and if he was going to be retrieved later for Nomufication, so be it.
Tomura just hoped he served Master better in his next form.