Thank god there's only a few chapters left i am sick of filler!
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
The elevator the trio took arrived on the top floor, letting the group out into the hallways just before the vault proper. Melissa took charge and led Izuku and Tokoyami towards where her father was being held. The three of them ran through the hallway, almost making it to the vault's entrance until they heard the sound of metal being drawn. Izuku and Tokoyami immediately went on guard before they both spotted True Edge round a corner.
"So, you're the only ones to make it up here," True Edge tilted her head in curiosity, "Interesting."
Tokoyami deployed Dark Shadow. "The last of the villain's lackies, I take it."
True Edge hummed. "You could call me that. I am Wolfram's personal guard- I take care of the dirty work he cannot be bothered to do."
"The second in command then," Tokoyami reasoned.
"And the last 'lackey' that you'll see. You won't live to even see Wolfram," True Edge threatened.
"I doubt that." Izuku said, starting to channel One for All through his body. "Melissa- stay back. I promise this fight will be over quickly."
"Hm," True Edge hummed as she brought out what seemed to be a blue scrap of fabric. She cut her sword on it before pulling out a second sword and doing the same. She spun the twin blades in her hands, before jabbing one into the ground and unleashing a line of ice spikes at the trio.
Dark Shadow quickly grabbed Melissa, and Izuku and Tokoyami dodged the attack- the ice spikes spread across the ground, and blocked off the elevator.
"There goes our only way out..." Melissa said, as Dark Shadow set her down.
"How did she even do that? Is her Quirk Ice Manipulation?" Tokoyami asked.
"You're...half right," True Edge said, spinning the other blade again before swinging it at the air and letting an arc of pure fire launch from the sword.
Tokoyami's eyes widened. Izuku lifted up a chunk of the ground to shield them from the arc of flames- the ground was a subpar shield, but it kept them from being incinerated.
"Her blades are similar to Todoroki's own powers!?" Tokoyami yelled.
"No, no...it can't be." Izuku said, as the flames died down.
True Edge! Quirk: Swordmaker! By obtaining a scrap of material from a person, usually a scrap of clothing, True Edge can then cut that material with her sword and imbue it with a version of the owner's Quirk! The effects only last for a few hits, however, forcing her to reapply the Quirk!
"A strength type Quirk wouldn't exactly work for me," True Edge said, "so I had to go with the second best from the Villain Takedown Course."
"I get it," Izuku said, pushing the chunk aside. "It's like Monoma from Class 1-B, but she can channel the powers through her blades."
"A frightening power- especially since we don't have any armor." Tokoyami said.
"Maybe I don't...but I think you do." Izuku said. "How tough is Dark Shadow? Are you two connected? Do you feel the same pain he does?"
"We're not connected that way, no. Any pain he feels, I don't and vice versa. As for how tough he is, I haven't tested his limits there," Tokoyami admitted, "Always went more for quick hit and run moves."
Izuku frowned. "Use Dark Shadow as a shield. You're gonna have to be quick with it."
"I'll try. What are you going to do?" Tokoyami asked.
"I'm gonna try and break the blades." Izuku said, eyes lighting up.
True Edge simply spun both blades in her hands again, almost like it was a habit for her, and she got ready for the students to try something. She wouldn't be going down like the rest of her so-called "elite teammates."
Tokoyami and Izuku launched their attacks. Izuku punched the air in front of him to send a blast of air at True Edge, but she simply cut through it. Izuku was stunned.
"No way..." Izuku said.
Dark Shadow began to brawl with her at close quarters. True Edge blocked his attacks with her blade, before blasting him back with a burst of ice from the ice blade.
Tokoyami was taken aback by the sudden ice burst, but it didn't deter him. Instead, he simply sent Dark Shadow to try and flank her from one side, while Izuku went for the other. True Edge smirked and leaned back right as the two were about to collide with her. Izuku's eyes went wide as he was about to hit Dark Shadow, but thankfully the shadow creature's reaction time was incredible.
It wove under and around All Might's secret successor, avoiding the strike and slashing at True Edge herself. She righted herself and leapt back, jabbing one of the shadowy arms coming at her and, instead of impaling it, the touch of the blade tip simply froze that arm solid.
Dark Shadow looked to his arm and narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He simply smashed the prison with his other arm as the icy chunks fell and shattered on the floor. True Edge looked down at her ice blade and saw the frost layer that had once coated the blade fade away as if it was never there. Time's up, she'd have to reapply it. But her other sword was still burning bright. Plenty of fuel left in it.
Izuku narrowed his eyes. One of the blades ran out of power... Izuku suddenly put two and two together.
"Tokoyami! Snatch the cloth from her!" Izuku yelled.
Without even a word, Dark Shadow raced towards the blade-wielding second-in-command and engaged her in combat. Claws and swords clashed in a flurry of strikes. True Edge smirked a little to herself, thinking that this guy was leaning a bit too much in the stereotype of "birdbrained."
And that was her biggest mistake.
As True Edge pushed back the latest slash from the shadow creature, she reached for the cloth...and felt nothing. She panicked, patting herself down, only for Tokoyami to clear his throat. The shadowy student held the piece of fabric in his hands.
"When did you-?!" True Edge asked.
"While you were distracted," Tokoyami answered.
"Nice work," Izuku said, as Tokoyami handed him the cloth.
"Sleight of hand. I used...to do card tricks in middle school." Tokoyami said.
"That sounds cool." Izuku said.
"It wasn't."
"Fine..." True Edge huffed, "One down. But you act like I don't have options." The sword-user pulled out another piece of cloth and cut it on the normal sword. The crossguard of the blade morphed immediately after it was cut, curving back and seemingly forming into what could best be described as exhaust pipes.
Tokoyami's eyes widened. "That looks like Iida's quirk!"
True Edge sped forward, suddenly slashing at Tokoyami. Tokoyami's Dark Shadow deployed, grabbing the blade just in time. True Edge smirked, as she activated the sword's ability- it suddenly began to rev up, and Tokoyami suddenly felt like he was holding back a small car.
"I-Izuku!" Tokoyami called out.
Midoriya rushed in from the side and threw a punch at the sword-wielding villain. She countered with a flaming blade blocking the punch, and it surprisingly held for a while. It looks like the blades themselves were enhanced in strength, not just from the powers of the copied Quirks.
Tokoyami found a second wind, and unleashed Dark Shadow's strength- the shadow swatted True Edge away, into a wall. Tokoyami took some deep breaths and grit his teeth. "A regular Zangetsu..."
"A what?" Izuku asked.
"Nevermind," Tokoyami said, as True Edge quickly got back to her feet. This was gonna be more annoying than usual, it seemed.
"She really can't pierce Dark Shadow at all, can she?" Izuku said.
"Indeed. His body is denser than any shade of black," Tokoyami explained.
"Really leaning into the stereotype," True Edge said.
"...Midoriya. Do you trust me?" Tokoyami asked.
"Huh?" Izuku said, looking at Tokoyami.
"Trust me- this pact between us will be detrimental in how the battle will turn out from here." Tokoyami said, eyes filled with dark determination.
"Are...you saying...?" Izuku began.
"To leave this to me. Yes," Tokoyami said.
"Oh, you're even more stupid than I thought you were if you think I'm gonna let any of you leave," True Edge growled.
Tokoyami closed his eyes. "In the days of old, warriors with blades were adorned in armor. You, a modern day warrior, lack the armor necessary for a battle of such a sort. On the other hand...I have both sword and armor in play."
Izuku looked confused. Sword and armor?
"Are...you challenging me?" True Edge scoffed, "Really? Is that what this is?"
"Yes it is," Tokoyami nodded, "Midoriya, Melissa, go."
Izuku hesitated for a moment. Tokoyami's eyes were ready to battle- it looked like he couldn't be beaten. Izuku took a deep breath.
"...okay."
Tokoyami nodded and readied Dark Shadow. Izuku and Melissa, meanwhile, made a break for it, but True Edge was going to stay, well, true to her word. She jabbed her still aflame blade into the ground and sent out a wall of fire at the two fleeing students. The bird-like shadow creature raced out, grabbed the two, and helped move them over to the entrance of the vault, avoiding the flames entirely. After the flames stopped coming, Dark Shadow put them down before returning to his master.
"Now then," Tokoyami said.
Tokoyami placed his hands together, as if he was praying. With a deep breath, he began to mumble something.
"Ventus per noctem caelo ululat. Sudor mittens frigora tua spina." The student said. "Sanguinis nomen tuum scribis. Nunc nigris obsita. Tempus expergisci et nunc es novus homo..."
Dark Shadow began to 'slither' around Tokoyami. "Hoc mundo moriatur, Dark Shadow."
Dark Shadow suddenly swallowed Tokoyami. True Edge was caught off guard by the display, but then Dark Shadow started to 'meld' around Tokoyami's body.
True Edge narrowed her eyes and swung her sword in front of her, sending out a wave of fire at the shadowy display. Instead of incinerating or even dispelling the darkness around the student as she expected, the flames just broke against the shadow-coated arm of the student, like waves breaking against the rocks at the bottom of a cliff. Tokoyami stood up now seemingly wearing Dark Shadow with his Quirk's head and body forming a helmet and cape while the arms transformed into massive clawed gauntlets.
"Black Abyss," Tokoyami said.
"Oh right...Super Moves," True Edge sighed. She fired out the last two uses of Todoroki's fire Quirk, both waves breaking against the dark armor. She quickly grabbed another piece of cloth and cut it on the edge of her now normal sword. The hilt's coloration turned jet black while the blade itself literally sparked with power as electricity coated the weapon.
"Kaminari's Quirk," Tokoyami said, getting ready. True Edge tilted her head in mocking confirmation before she made a mad dash towards the umbrakinetic combatant. Tokoyami rushed in to meet her and they began their duel. Speedy slashes with the power of a racing car and shocking electric power clashed with the sturdy darkness that made the student's armor.
Blades and claws clashed, each one fighting rather proficiently. When True Edge missed a slash, Tokoyami countered and exploited the opening, only for the villain to parry said strike. Whenever Tokoyami was parried, True Edge's free hand swung in from the side to try and carve the rave-headed student open, but he was able to dodge and strike back.
"Adorned in black, I am at my strongest. Like a full body cleansing, Dark Shadow and I are at our strongest here." Tokoyami said. "It's as if our hearts beat as one…"
"Shut up," True Edge growled, throwing another barrage of slashes at the shadow-user.
Tokoyami jumped backwards, and flung his claws forward. The range on this attack was far greater than any of her sword's could go. True Edge gasped, as she blocked the attack.
"Covert Black-Ops Arms!" Tokoyami yelled, as he began to throw out more of the same attacks.
True Edge matched him in speed, blocking each claw strike as it came at her. At first, all of them were successfully parried, but Tokoyami's speed seemed to increase over time. Soon, one claw strike made it through her defense. Then another. And another. And another. Her shield was cracking.
Tokoyami's eyes lit up. "Well met, warrior! But it seems we are going to come to a close."
True Edge grunted. "Y-yeah. I agree!" True Edge dropped her swords, and flipped backwards. She landed a good distance away from Tokoyami. "I didn't want to do it, but...I'll have to use my secret weapon."
"Secret weapon?" Tokoyami repeated.
"My quirk does not extend to swords." True Edge said, as she whipped out another piece of fabric. Tokoyami recognized that- it was his. She set the fabric on the ground, and activated her ability...
She snapped her fingers and suddenly her own shadow stretched out towards Tokoyami. Right before it reached him, a shadowy version of herself rose from the ground and struck Tokoyami with a dark duplicate of one of True Edge's swords. The raven-headed student dodged out of the way, taken off guard by the sudden use of his own power turned against him.
"A second Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami gasped, before throwing out another punch. To his shock, someone else caught it. Popping out of the ground was...a third dark shadow.
Then a fourth one grabbed his other arm. And a fifth took his legs. True Edge grabbed one of her swords, and walked over to Tokoyami.
"You see, bird brain- my quirk extends to any metal I touch. This entire room is my weapon, thanks to the abundance of metal in here. Works really well with my boss..." True Edge explained. "Hence why I'm his 'right hand'."
"Your boss..." the pieces clicked in his head and he just realized how much danger Izuku and Melissa were in now. If her Quirk complimented her leader's...
Then this whole tower is his weapon, Tokoyami realized.
"I have to admit- I find your willingness to fight me solo rather valiant, and your personality is...strangely charming in some odd way. But, I'm sorry." True Edge said, raising her blade. "In a moment, this blade will thrust through your heart. And all your efforts will be for not."
Tokoyami took a deep breath. "Is that so?"
"You sound confident for a man speaking his last words." True Edge scoffed.
"You truly don't understand how my ability works." Tokoyami said. "Dark Shadow is...influenced...by my emotions." Tokoyami sounded like he was in pain as he said those words.
"Eh?" True Edge asked. Was it her, or was...Dark Shadow becoming more unruly?
Indeed, up till now Dark Shadow had been mostly still, following Tokoyami's movements in perfect sync. Now, he seemed restless, twitching in pure rage. True Edge took a step back cautiously, before the shadowy construct pulled free of his user's form and lashed out at all the shadowy copies around it. Dark Shadow's wicked claws tore through the duplicates with ease, leaving behind only small puffs of smoke where the copies once stood.
"Oh..." was all True Edge could say, before she got ready to fight what was essentially now an animal backed into a corner.
The ravenous Dark Shadow swarmed towards her, skittering like a bug. True Edge tried to slash it with a spare sword, but a giant raven head popped out of the mess and bit the sword in half. She flipped backwards, before slamming both hands on the ground. She had taken out a piece of Izuku's cloth-
And the room exploded.
The doors to the vault room were finally in sight. This whole race, that seemed to have gone on for god knows how long, was finally coming to an end, even if the fight itself was far from over. Melissa and Izuku took positions on either side of the door, hiding for a moment so that they could prepare. Those preparations were cut short when the doors to the vault room opened and Melissa's father was thrown out.
"...nice aim, doc," the annoyed voice of Wolfram called out.
"Ok, I admit, that's entirely my fault. Forgot the door was there," Abraham admitted.
Wait...Abraham?! Melissa mentally panicked upon hearing the voice.
Izuku held his breath, as he saw David's bloodied and bruised body. Whatever Wolfram had done to him, and whatever this Abraham did to him as well...he was going to return it, tenfold.
"Well, if you're done," Wolfram began as he walked over to the door. Once he passed it, he'd see them for sure, but there was no way in hell that Melissa would let these two keep hurting her dad.
Secret weapon time, looks like. Melissa thought to herself, looking down at the bracelets she wore.
Izuku shot her a look- whatever she was planning to do, this wasn't the way. He'd seen revenge take hold of someone before, and the results weren't pretty. Izuku's look made Melissa second guess her next actions.
Especially when Wolfram stopped.
"So. You made it to the top." He said.
The head villain turned to face them, ignoring David for now. It's not like he was going anywhere in his condition.
"If I'm not mistaken...you're Melissa Shield," Wolfram turned to the blonde, catching her off guard, "the good doctor's daughter. And your friend here's no doubt one of U.A's finest, a little hero to be, right?"
Izuku didn't answer, simply balling his hands into fists and getting ready to fight.
"That answers that. Look, I know you see me as 'the scum of the earth' but I still have some standards. I'm not in the habit of killing kids, it always seemed excessive. So, with that in mind, you get one chance. Lemme leave with what I came for and you can live to see tomorrow, keep the professor as well," Wolfram continued.
Izuku clenched his fist even harder. "We're past the point of making deals." Izuku said. "I'm not gonna walk away from this like nothing happened-!"
Wolfram sighed. "Shame. Oh, well." Wolfram snapped his fingers. "Killing you it is, then."
As soon as the villain snapped, the metal behind Izuku lurched forward, ripping itself free from the wall and wrapping around him. It pulled him against the wall before the same thing happened to Melissa.
"I'll at least make it quick," Wolfram added, as if it was some kind of worthy consolation.
"Wait...Melissa's out there?!" Abraham shouted.
"Yeah? What of it?" Wolfram asked.
Abraham looked angry for a second. "...let me handle her. I'm sure she'll go down easily."
"Sure." Wolfram sighed, as he walked over Izuku. Izuku struggled to get free of his metal shackles. "Forget it, kid. My quirk is reinforcing the metal constantly- it's impossible to escape it."
Izuku took a breath, focusing his power. He proved Wolfram's belief that his bindings were "impossible to escape" by using One for All's strength to just rip right through the metal like paper. The boss of the villains was surprised, but he wasn't stunned into inaction.
Izuku went in for a punch and barely missed, the metal-manipulating malcontent jumping back just in time. He thrust his hand forward, commanding the metal in the floor to launch at the U.A student as small pillars to try and pin him again. The pillars either missed or were broken entirely by the power of One for All. After dodging one of the pillars, Izuku quickly freed Melissa from her bindings as well, only to be blindsided by a strike from one of Abraham's starfish-like tendrils.
Abraham dragged Melissa away, while she was kicking and trying to get free. "Melissa!" Izuku yelled, but Wolfram blocked the way with a metal wall.
"I'm sure she'll be fine, kid." Wolfram said, closing off any escape points. "This place is a marvel, isn't it? So much tech...and so much metal."
Abraham, meanwhile, threw Melissa into one of the many sets of railing around the vault room. The poor girl slammed into it and fell to the ground, almost losing the air in her lungs.
"Oh, Melissa...you just had to do this, didn't you?" Abraham asked, "You just had to get involved. You just had to play the hero!" Abraham actually sounded upset about this turn of events. Even if he seemed to think David was a...less than worthy scientist, he's still never killed someone. He definitely had it in him, given his treatment of his former boss, but he'd never gone through with it. He didn't want to kill Melissa but...it started to seem unavoidable.
Melissa began to breath heavily, as Abraham's tendrils released her. She was quirkless. All he needed to do was play with her emotions a bit.
"Melissa. I always hated your father, but you were a nice bright spot in my facade. You were always so polite and inventive- I always wanted a child like that." Abraham sighed.
"And you're...just willing to kill me...then?" Melissa asked.
"No!" Abraham countered, "Your father is a short-sighted idealist, but you accepted your reality and you rolled with it. You're Quirkless, yes, but it's your mind that gives you a place in this society, same as me!"
"But you have a Quirk. And it looks pretty useful to me," Melissa countered.
"It's a mutant Quirk. People like to think this era of humanity's 'advanced,' but old habits like prejudice die hard, especially with all the weird mutations out there now! The existence of groups like the Red Fang and the Creature Rejection Clan are proof of that!"
Melissa took a deep breath. "My mind gives me a place in society." She repeated. "But what of my gadgets?"
Abraham blinked. "I...suppose your gadgets have some use in the world-"
"Abraham. Can I tell you...a secret?" Melissa asked.
"...yes?" Abraham said unsure. Where was this going?
Melissa held up her bracelets. "This was an experiment- I didn't have enough time to get changed today." Melissa said, pressing it. Abraham watched in surprise as Melissa's dress began to flutter away, and was replaced with...a rather unkempt looking Melissa. She had oily stains all over her body, and was wearing something similar to a mechanic's outfit. Her eyes were baggier, too.
"I was working...really hard on my project." Melissa said.
"A portable holographic matrix? Impressive, but I fail to see how this-" Abraham began.
"My project...is something special to me and my dad." Melissa said. "He doesn't know I built this, and...I wanted to see his reaction. I know the flight test worked out great, but I am curious if the weapon's system needs a touch up."
"Flight test? Wait, the weapons system?!" Abraham asked. She was armed?! What?! How?!
Melissa stood back up, and pressed her other gauntlet. "Initiate suit up, armor- Iron Might."
Both gauntlets began to glow, spreading over Melissa's body. It wasn't just a simple glow, though. Getting a more clear look at the light, the mastermind behind I-Island's troubles noticed that the lights were more akin to holographic schematics, each overlayed on Melissa's form. The last part of the schematic to form was a flat version of a helmet. From there, the schematics then turned physical with the help of nanotech. Full armor plates encased Melissa's arms and legs, forming into a bulkier suit of armor with a silver and blue color scheme. A chest piece followed suit, at the center of which was a stylized cybernetic M glowing with silver light. Just like with the schematics, the last piece to be made was the helmet, a large dome-like piece that slammed shut over Melissa's head, clicking shut.
"What on..." Abraham gasped.
"Like I said," Melissa said, now clad in a suit of power armor that...seemed to take inspiration from All Might of all people, "Iron Might."
Abraham smirked. "So, what. You got a fancy power suit on. Big whoop. Looks like a prototype."
"Your tough guy act is pretty lame." Melissa said. "This is Mark V."
Abraham's face dropped. "M-mark V?"
"Yep. Only reason it looks like a prototype is because I never got around to painting it right," Melissa said.
"...oh. W-well...then," Abraham paused for a moment, before lashing out with his tendrils in a panic.
Melissa grabbed one of the tendrils. "Iron Might's reflexes are far greater than any human's. It can react to an attack at point blank range." Melissa explained. "And since I have you in my grip..."
Melissa unleashed a powerful burst of energy from her hands, traveling up Abraham's body.
The starfish scientist was shocked so badly that he was thrown back by the sheer voltage and slammed into the wall of vaults behind him.
"I use this opportunity to display the suit's REAL power."