Chapter 20: Family Crisis

He was falling after the shadow consumed him. Water was rushing towards him fast, and he was still too disoriented to use his quirk.

So down he fell, into the depths of the flood zone. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone.

"Oho, the chum has come!"

Izuku's eyes widen as he tires to focus his quirk. He had to do something; his family needed him! But he couldn't focus before, how could he underwater?

"Nothing personal, kid, a shark's gotta eat."

The shark villain opened his jaw wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth. Was this it?

Not quite, Tsuyu came in from the side and hit the villain in the head. Afterward, she used her long tongue to grab Izuku and swim quickly to safety.

The safety being a cruise ship in the center of the large pond. Tsuyu deposited Izuku onto the deck and climbed in soon after.

Izuku: "T-Thank you, Asui."

Tsuyu: "Call me Tsuyu. And boy, aren't we in a pickle."

Izuku: "Yeah… they really thought this through. Yesterday's break-in must have been a ploy to obtain information for this ambush. All to… kill us and later an enraged All Might. But they clearly don't want to fight both All Might and Tatsumaki, so they somehow found a way to block off telepathy and weaken our psychic quirks."

Tsuyu: "Weaken? So you can still use your quirk."

Izuku: "I… think so. It's just hard to focus."

"Come back here, you! I'll kill you!"

The ship was surrounded by several water-based villains.

Tsuyu: "Kero, this isn't good."

Izuku: "Asui… I… need you to buy me time."

Tsuyu: "Kero?"

Izuku: "I… can defeat them all. It will take time to focus the attack, though. Can you help me?"

Tsuyu was not a fighter; she had some experience due to wanting to be a hero but that's it. Even if she was, these were villains. Can she do it?

She looks over at the villains and then at the still-determined Izuku. Despite everything, he still fights. Against all odds, a true hero still fights.

That's a hero she would want to be.

Tsuyu: "Yes."

Izuku smiles and sits down in a meditative position. He closes his eyes and shuts the world out. He can only pray that Tsuyu has what it takes.

Kiri was being torn in different directions. Seeing her family being consumed by that mist nearly made her fall to her knees. But since she exists, it means her onii-chan is still alive at least.

But for how long?

She wants to go and help him and Fubuki. But she wants to help her teacher and destroy that strange device. However, there is only one Kiri, so she can't do it all.

In this state of indecision, Kiri fought on, but she wasn't as effective. What would take one blow to kill a quirk beast now took two to three.

Eventually, one flaming tiger got close and was about to unleash a torrent of lava into her face. She was too late to react and could only stare at the flaming open maw.

But to her surprise, no lava came out. Instead, its head was smashed into the ground by Aizawa.

Kiri: "Master Ninja."

Aizawa: "Focus. The best way to help them is winning here."

Kiri: "…Nh."

Aizawa: "Besides, look."

Kiri looks up and sees that same mist being flung into the distance by tape.

Kiri: "Smile did it."

Aizawa: "And if they're smart, they'll call for reinforcements after getting the kids out of here. So, go destroy that device while I handle the leader."

Kiri: "Nh."

Aizawa doesn't spare her a glance and tears through a few more goons before approaching the leader. A leader who only sighed at the approaching pro-hero.

? 1: "Not only do we have to deal with a pro hero who can shut off quirks, but also some crazy Valkyrie wannabe. If we were some common rabble, we wouldn't stand a chance."

The villain leader grabs the binding cloth sent by Aizawa and smiles.

? 1: "Good thing we're not common ramble."

As for Kiri, she has a goal now, and these quirk beasts won't get in her way. One by one, they are torn asunder by her skillful kicks and punches. Eventually, she finally reaches the annoying device. She gathers all of her strength in her right arm and unleashes her fury.

Kiri: "SMAAAAASH!"

A large cloud of smoke explodes into existence from her full-power attack. But… it doesn't feel like she destroyed anything. When the smoke cleared, a hulking black monstrosity was staring down at her with a twisted smile.

Apotheosis: "Hahaha! Was it something I said!?"

The strategist dodged another thrown tree stump. He wouldn't want to test his shield against something that heavy.

Apotheosis: "If it makes you feel better, sister, I did finish what Tatsumaki couldn't. I put that bastard in the ground where he belongs."

That earned him another tree stump he had to dodge.

Apotheosis: "I'm actually impressed you can still access so much power under my psychic disruptor. I'll have to improve it some more when we're done here."

Despite his words, Fubuki wasn't that upset. Yes, she was furious at the idea that her father might be alive and even had another kid. The same father who almost turned her sister into an overbearing psychopath and broke her mother's heart.

But Fubuki is not her sister. Her mind was not filled with thoughts of murder. If her sister heard what he said, she would see him as nothing less than the spawn of the devil.

It would take her, Izuku, Mom, or All Might to calm her down. She couldn't be a hero if she killed in cold blood like that.

So if that's the case, what does Fubuki want to do? Well, beat him to an inch of his life and throw him into the deepest, darkest jail cell she can find. See? She's not that mad.

Apotheosis: "I can feel your hateful glare from here, sister. Shouldn't you be glad little Izuku has a brother?"

Fubuki: "You have no right to say his name!"

Her eyes glow blue as she draws upon more power, pushing back the disruption signal through pure willpower. She shatters a tree stump into several sharp wooden spears and flings them at her opponent.

Apotheosis: "Fine, I guess playtime is over."

The strategist made a fist with his right hand, and the power glove device on it glowed blue. With a wave of that hand, a wave of destructive blue light destroyed the spears. But it didn't stop there; it kept going.

Fubuki quickly created a shimmering shield to intercept the wave, but it was much more powerful than she thought. Or maybe she was weakened more than she thought.

Regardless, she was pushed back as the shield began to crack. Weighing the risks, she transferred some power from the shield into her telekinesis. Grabbing hold of the energy wave, she flung it to the side before it could break her shield.

However, that took a lot out of her. Her breath was ragged; and she was close to collapsing to one knee.

Apotheosis: "Impressive, I guess my device was working well after all. I was sure you were strong enough to deal with that without much effort. Oh well, I guess this is the end of the line for you."

He raised his right palm and fired a blue energy beam at his half-sister. Not wanting to overtax her shield, Fubuki used telekinesis to narrowly avoid the beam. But Apotheosis simply moved his hand to the right, causing the beam to follow the esper.

Fubuki kept gliding away, but the beam was getting closer. But before it could engulf her, it stopped.

Apotheosis: "Tch, so close."

Power cells ejected from the glove and fell to the ground. Apotheosis quickly got two new ones from within his jacket. Seeing the opportunity, Fubuki ripped the ground up and sent a wave of soil hurling at Apotheosis.

However, all of it was repelled harmlessly by a shimmering blue force field. All that attack did was make it ripple a bit.

Apotheosis: "Sorry sister, you're not the only one with a shield."

Fubuki: "H-How?"

Her first thought was to ask if he was an esper as well. But based on the power cells and his whole outfit, it was most likely simple technology.

Fubuki: 'Then what's his quirk?'

Apotheosis: "Break time is over. I can't waste any more time, or Tomura will throw a fit."

Fubuki narrows her eyes and comes up with a plan.

Fubuki: 'I can't beat him at range. I need to close in and rip that stuff off of him.'

But that's easier said than done.

Tsuyu doesn't know how Izuku does it, but despite the chaos, he is as still as a rock. The ship was split in half, and the water villains tried several times to come aboard.

It was only thanks to her powerful kicks and quick use of her tongue that they survived this long.

"Ugh! This is taking too long! Someone kill that kid already!"

"Or finish destroying the ship and sink them."

"I don't know; I like watching them struggle in vain."

"You're a very sick man."

Tsuyu ignores their banter and turns back to Izuku.

Tsuyu: "Hurry, Kero. I don't know how long this boat can last."

Her worst fears come alive when the ship shakes and the boat sinks a few more feet.

"Oh yeah, come into my mouth."

The shark villain opens his mouth again, this time filled with saliva.

Tsuyu: "Midoriya… "

Suddenly, a pillar of green light erupts out of Izuku's body. He opens his eyes slowly to his glowing green orbs.

Izuku: "Don't worry, Asui, I'm ready."

"Huh?!"

All of the villains are engulfed in a green glow and lifted high up into the air before-

Izuku: "Psi Crash."

Being roughly slammed into each other, knocking them all out cold. They fall back into the water like stones. It's actually raining bodies right now.

Izuku could only hope he wasn't too rough. After what Fubuki and Thirteen said, he doesn't want to kill them.

Izuku: 'If I'm not careful, this move could easily shatter bone… even their spines.'

He lightly shakes his head.

Izuku: 'No, I can't hold back. My family needs me.'

Izuku: "Asui, I still can't fly yet. Can you-"

Understanding, Tsuyu grabs Izuku's waist with her tongue and jumps away from the boat with her powerful legs.

Tsuyu: "You did good, Midoriya. Thank you."

Izuku: "You're welcome, Asui."

Tsuyu: "Call me Tsuyu."

Izuku: "… Okay, Tsuyu."

The fog fought down the emerging blush, surprised that he agreed that quickly. For some reason, she was sure he would always call her Asui.

When the duo finally got to shore, Izuku had enough time to decide the course of action.

Izuku: "Tsuyu, follow the waterside to the exit."

Tsuyu: "What about you?"

Izuku: "I refuse to leave while my family is in danger. I'm going to help Kiri and Fubuki."

Tsuyu: "But-"

Izuku: "Don't worry, Fubuki's lessons in mediation really paid off. I can use a bit of my quirk now; I'm not… useless. I will help."

Tsuyu looks at the still-glowing eyes of Izuku and draws strength from them. If he can help…

Tsuyu: "Then I'll help."

Izuku: "What!? No, you don't have-"

Tsuyu: "I want to; that's what a hero suppose to do, right?"

Izuku: "… Okay. We'll go to the central plaza and help Kiri first. With Aizawa there too, there shouldn't be much danger."

Tsuyu nodded and followed Izuku. But as they got closer to the shoreline near the central plaza, it became apparent just how over their heads they were.

Izuku: "K-K-Kiri…"

Tomura: "Ah, it's not as fun if they don't scream."

Aizawa was surrounded by several villains with a corroded elbow and on his last legs.

The leader of the villains sneered at the sight that is making Izuku's blood run cold.

The massive black creature was holding up a severely damaged and unconscious Kiri by the neck.

Tomura: "Huh? Aren't you our strategist's little brother? Perfect, you'll be another good test for our artificial human, Nomu."