The good news is that I could finish Act One of Arcane last week, and it was as impressive as I hoped it would be. Finding out that the show is such a force that Riot will rewrite their entire lore about it and its version of their IP was even better. I like LoL, but mainly the cinematics so I don't have an issue with them trying to streamline things. I also finished the first chapter of another project, which should be posted by now. Still, it's gonna be taking the Friday slot for regular uploads.

Bad news…my entire schedule was thrown into the toilet. My area had a significant power outage last week that lasted for well over a full day, so I couldn't get any writing done. Because of that, I'm worked my ass off just to get this done on time, thoughI was able to do just that and as you can read, I was able to get this uploaded on time this week.

"Text" – Normal speech

'Text' – Thought

"Text" – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

"Text" - Attacks

"Text" – Radio/Communication lines

"Text" – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Chapter 28: Monsters and Men

"I think that's the last of 'em." Kirishima released his quirk, wiping sweat off his brow as he looked at his defeated opponent. Around him, many other villains had been knocked out, subdued, or just surrendered.

He knew that his quirk wasn't the flashiest, but it was great for defense, which sucked for these guys as so many of them couldn't even hurt him. But those that went up against Shoji, man, they really had some bad luck as he was probably the second manliest one there, having taken out more villains with nothing but his hands than the rest put together.

Ojiro and Rin weren't sloppy either, as both had taken out their fair share of them. Now they just had to get back to Todoroki and-

"And you guys done?" He turned to see Todoroki approaching. The villains he had been watching over were still frozen, but the ice was slowly melting as the heat of the zone did its job.

"Just about, though I must admit, I was expecting a greater threat than these folks could bring," Rin replied, letting his scales fade off his arms.

"Villains don't always need to be powerful; they're just criminals who use their quirks." Ojiro flexed his tail, wiping away the blood that had gotten on it, none of it his own. Still, he did have to admit that his opponents went down faster than he had thought, so he had to pull his punches to not seriously hurt them.

Shoji hardly cared about that; instead, his eye went towards Todoroki. "It doesn't matter. It saved us time. Todoroki, did you learn anything about their plans?" The others were surprised he asked that, as they had no clue what Todoroki had been doing while they fought off the rest of the horde.

For Todoroki's part, if he was surprised, he didn't show it and focused on the question. "Yeah, turns out these guys are just gutter punks the leader, Shigaraki, recruited over the last couple of weeks." Once he had threatened, the villains were more than willing to spill their guts.

Underneath his mask, Rin frowned. "Bold to assume that raw numbers would be enough to take on All Might." Numbers weren't the issue here; it was these villains' skill, teamwork, and power. If 5 first years could handle them as quickly as they did, All Might could do the same in his sleep. Even if he tripled, no quadrupled their number, the result would remain the same.

But surely these villains knew that so why did they follow along with such a reckless plan?

He wasn't alone in that curiosity; Todoroki had been the same, and that had been his follow-up. "That's the thing, they were never meant for that. They were meant to keep us and the other teachers occupied so that their trump card could handle All Might. Shigaraki called it a bioengineered creature named Nomu."

Kirishima stopped him there. "Hold on, bioengineered? We're talking about the large figure next to the one with the hands, correct? That was made, like, in a lab?" Was this like in the movies when the mad scientist made monsters? But that was crazy; those were movies; you couldn't just 'make' life like that.

Todoroki's expression remained the same, though there was a tick of his brow at being interrupted. "I would assume so, but Shigaraki didn't tell them much. He proved that it was powerful to them, and they went along with it." He did that by telling it to kill 5 of them, and according to the villain, it had done so before they had even realized it had moved from its spot.

One moment, it was still; the next, it was holding the head of its 5th victim, the rest having been torn to shreds and left to rot in some abandoned factory. They had just screamed out in shock when it squeezed, and the poor bastard's head popped. Another he had been questioning swore that they only agreed because they thought Shigaraki would have it kill them if they didn't. Todoroki wasn't sure if he bought that, but he would make a note of it to pass over to the cops when this was done.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Hardening once more, Kirishima slammed his firsts together. "If they plan for their little monster to fight All Might one on one, let's crash that party."

"My thoughts exactly; we just need to find the exit, " Todoroki said, looking around at the area. All the flames and smoke made visibility a challenge.

"Todoroki, can you make an ice path for me up to that building? I should be able to scout out ahead and find that." Shoji asked, his tentacle-like arms shifting into ears and eyes.

"Give me a second." Todoroki placed a hand on the ground and created an intricate ramp up to the top of one of the taller buildings, one that was gentle enough for Shoji to climb without little issue. Nodding at him, he turned and ran up the ice path. They didn't have time to waste, not when they had no clue what the others were dealing with.

As Shoji started looking for a way out through the flames and smoke of the Conflagration Zone, others found themselves with the near opposite of the heat; Ashido, Awase, Iida, Mineta, and Shishida had been dropped quite literally into the waters of the Flood zone. Despite the environment being the worst place for someone like Ashido or Awase to find themselves in, their classmates had managed to come in clutch and help them out.

Mineta especially, so when he cupped a feel, Ashido rewarded him by not holding his head underwater until he finally was taken down below. Once on the boat, she was able to have a little more effect, but tossing acid at targets that could move as fast as the villains or just diving to avoid it felt like she was trying to win a carnival game. It was needlessly complicated and, sure as hell, rigged.

Mineta had managed to get a few villains with his balls. Some unlucky ones had touched it with one hand and tried to grab it with the other or even got stuck to one another, but they were wising up to that and now avoided them, calling them out when one was about to touch one of the floating traps.

Ashido was about to yell at the villains to come up onto the boat and fight them when she and the rest heard the burst of an engine as Iida came flying out of the water and landed on the deck with a thud. "I have returned," Iida announced, his engine exhausts still sticking out, steaming from use.

"How many did you handle this time?" Awase asked him, pissed that all he could do was stand by and watch as his quirk had no use against ranged foes in water. It wasn't like he could 'weld' the water together and trap them.

"Not enough," Iida replied, and while he kept his helmet on, they could hear the frown on his words. "I counted at least 11 of them I managed to defeat and ensure that they made it to shore, but there seemed to be just as many waiting." Even now, when he looked out at the villains, there seemed to be more than when they had started. He had been worried that they'd press their advantage, storm the ship if not sink it, but instead, they'd kept to the waters, that worry turning to irritation when he realized they didn't want to do that because they already had such a massive advantage.

Awase was just as angry as him, but not more so as he leaned against the wall and looked up at the dome. "You at least can do something. All I can do is wait for them to come to us and try and beat them over the head with a damn stick."

"Sucks to suck." Mineta joked as he tossed a few more balls at the villains, but only getting one who refused to react to the ball now attached to his shoulder, knowing trying to remove it was more trouble than it was worth.

"I won't hesitate to weld you to the wall," Awase told him as Shishida also made his return, he had some bloody cuts and what looked like a bite mark on his forearm, but he hardly seemed affected by it.

Looking at them, he remained in beast mode as he grunted out, "Focus, allowing our frustrations to fester and divide us only plays into their hands. It's not as if this is a good battleground for any of us. Mineta can't bounce about, Ashido can't get close to land good hits, and Iida and I are forced to dive about and fight in their element."

His body was proof of that, as he was thoroughly soaked. His newly acquired injuries painted a picture of how he might have been a bear in the water, but there were villains akin to orcas in there. One who had a shark's head had got a lucky bite in, and while he paid him back for it by knocking half his teeth out, that still meant he had a couple of them still in his forearm.

Iida nodded. "Indeed, the only saving grace I have here is that all this cool water helps keep my engines from overheating, though I can't use them continuously." His quirk, Engine, was the pride of the Iida family, allowing them to be some of the most dependable heroes for three generations now. However, each had similar weaknesses: they needed to consume a particular type of food for fuel and overheating.

His costume had been designed to have a similar cooling apparatus as his older brother's, but it wasn't perfect. However, with so much cool water flowing around his engine exhausts, he could use greater speeds for longer times while submerged, though as he still needed to breathe, he couldn't remain underwater for long.

Iida was about to dive back in when Shishida touched his shoulder. "Before we head out again, I have a thought about this attack." He started, looking out towards the villains through his shades. "Why did they carry it out?"

Iida seemed confused by the question. "What do you mean? They're villains out to commit evil."

"That tracks." Ashido agreed, along with Mineta.

But that didn't seem good enough for him. "Perhaps, but villains are not machines or pure evil creatures. They act for self-interest at the detriment of others. But what do they gain from this?" Villains rarely had grand plans or long-term goals; they were like criminals of the past and pursued shorter-term goals, wanting to get your purse for money, rob you to sell your property, prove a point, want revenge, etc.

But from what he saw with the villains in front of him, nothing was being stolen or vandalized. He had no grievances with them, and how they acted didn't imply the others did. Was it to prove they could sneak into the U.A., fight with them, and get out? Maybe, but that seemed like it was…too shallow.

"Didn't Jirojack and Shoji say something about them killing All Might?" Ashido recalled that exchange and shivered when she remembered how callous that villain was in killing them.

"It's crazy. No one can kill him." Mineta declared as it was fact, which it was. As All Might had never lost a fight, even in his student days, he quickly cleared all 3 Sports festivals.

"Yes…and they should know that," Iida mused, frowning as he started to suspect something…dangerous was happening. "But they're still here helping with such dastardly plans; villains are cowardly by nature; they won't do something that they can't be reasonably sure they'll suffer for."

"Which means that they have a reason to think they can take on All Might, but what the hell could that be?" Awase asked, catching on to what they were saying, but none had an idea for that.

"Either way, we need to find a way out of this, but we're moving too slow at the current pace," Shishida replied as he plotted another line of attack. They couldn't distract the villains, but indeed, they had a limit on how many were present. They could escape through the gap if they could take out enough and push them toward Mineta's balls.

Ashido grumbled. "If we could get to dry land, we could fight them better!"

"Dry land…" Awase repeated, looking at their number, and what they could do, and then out towards the water but also to the shore that they could see. It wasn't far, but the issue was the villains that held the advantage and wouldn't want them to leave. "Shishida, how fast can you swim?"

Shishida looked at him. "In my beast form, I'm quite fast."

"I have a plan, but it's going to be one hell of a risk, so get together real quick." Awase gestured for them to get closer and started to explain his hair-brained scheme.

It took more effort than they thought, but they made it. Midoriya and the rest of his group managed to get to the central plaza without being seen, Hagakure's quirk being essential here as she could move without worrying about being seen. Hiding away from the fighting, they observed what was happening, and it's safe to say Vlad and Aizawa-sensei were handling things.

One didn't need to look at the many knocked-out villains lying about but at their teammate. Yaoyorozu had known that they were better; it was natural since they were teachers with years of experience out in the field, but there was a difference between knowing something and seeing it with one's own eyes. They wordlessly communicated with each other, covering for weaknesses and exploiting openings that the other made.

If Aizawa erased the quirks of a group, Vlad would charge in. If Vlad found himself up against numbers, Aizawa would be there to wrap up several and take them out. They watched one villain, with 4 arms, charge them, evading Aizawa's capture tape and grabbing it, pulling it and the man that used it closer. Still, Aizawa didn't fight it, turning just enough so that Vlad could appear and punch the man in the face, finishing the dazed villain with a kick to the chest that sent them flying.

"Shit, I didn't think anyone could be that good in battle…" Tetsutetsu uttered as a villain tried to create a barrier to keep Aizawa back. Still, a glance from his quirk and the barrier fell, right in time for Vlad, welding a mace made from his blood, to swing the weapon into the villain's gut, making them throw up their lunch before another hit to the face knocked them out cold.

"Experience, that is just experience at its finest," Midoriya replied, in awe, as Vlad and Aizawa moved onto the next group. Vlad softened the largest one up so that when Aizawa moved, the villain was too slow to respond to be wrapped up and swung like a wrecking ball through a small crowd, sending all flying with groans of pain as they smacked into the hard floor.

"(Kero) They're doing great, but the number of enemies doesn't seem to be decreasing." Asui pointed out that while the two had handled an even greater amount than they had, villains were crawling out of shadows, cracks, and other openings as if they were endless.

"She's right. Stay focused. We need to lend proper aid, but if we step in without a plan, we could end up being more of a hindrance." Yaoyorozu reminded them. The recommendation's student is looking through the horde of villains and no doubt plotting how she'll handle the bulk of them.

Midoriya would have replied affirmatively, but his eye was taken by the sight of two villains who didn't partake in the mad melee. The first was who he assumed was the leader. Even just looking at him was unnerving, as he was this close. He could tell that those hands were real, but he didn't know how, when, or why he had them.

But it was the second one that made him sick to his stomach, a feeling shared by his quirks as this close. It was like standing next to a landfill…No, that wasn't the right word. He would describe it as seeing a Western-style cemetery, but one that wasn't properly cared for. One where the bodies of the dead had long been exposed, allowing the smell of rot and the sense of disrespect and apathy to linger.

He had to take a breath, forgetting to breathe, as his gaze remained on it. Reaching for his sword, he slowly drew it as he called upon his power. This wasn't unnoticed by his teammates.

"Yo, Midoriya, you good?" Tetsutetsu asked him.

"I need to take that thing down. Now." Midoriya didn't elaborate on that before he dashed out of cover, flames bursting from his body, focusing on his legs to increase speed as he rushed the villain. The burst of fire was hard to miss, but most villains that turned to see what they had to contend with now didn't see his flame. They just saw a ball of fire heading towards their boss and his pet.

Shigaraki saw the attack coming and dodged it, but the Nomu remained unresponsive. Seeing his chance, Midoriya directed more of his flames to his legs, sheathing his blade and allowing flames to build along its edge.

"Dammit, Nomu, dodge!" Shigaraki yelled at the creature.

"Flame Charge!" At that same moment, Midoriya unleashed his technique, and a greater burst of flames appeared around him, focused on his legs as he charged the villain, drawing his blade in a fiery quickdraw aimed at taking its head.

But the Nomu, with instructions heard, did as ordered and dodged the attack, keeping its head, but Midoriya's blade did dig deep into its chest from shoulder to shoulder as the slash continued, the flames in the blade badly burning the skin and muscle of the creature, but it didn't make a sound at what has been an excruciatingly painful experience. Not deterred, Midoriya shifted and spun around, bringing his blade for another attack, but the result was even less than before as the Nomu was fast; even with Midoriya having a speed boast, he couldn't land a blow like the first.

"Nomu! Fight back!" Shigaraki yelled as the creature opened and launched a blistering fast counter to Midoriya's last attack; instinctively, he blocked it with his blade. The force in that punch made that nearly pointless as he felt the blade vibrate in his hands, the shock traveling through his hands, up his arms, and into his shoulders.

He couldn't even stay in place as he was sent flying like a human bullet into the fountain, crashing through it and rolling a few times to the other side.

"Midoriya!" Tetsutetsu called out, giving himself away as he rushed into the fray. Yaoyorozu bit back a curse as she, too, joined Hagakure and Asui.

'What the hell?' Midoriya thought to himself, grateful more than ever that his body was enhanced when he accessed any of his quirk's power. Otherwise, he would have been a bloody stain. Slowly, he got up, the pain still lingering in his arms and back.

"What the heck? What are you doing here? Get out of here!" Vlad called out to them, but neither he nor Aizawa could get close to them as the villains formed, creating a human barrier between them.

Asui kicked one of them on her end, using her tongue to grab another and toss them towards a grinning Tetsutetsu who punched their lights out. "We can't, Vlad-sensei. They have someone blocking the entrance. He warped out to the snow region. Could have sent the others to the rest of the zones."

"So, Kurogiri did his job? Then why the hell isn't he back yet?" Shigaraki asked as if things had gone to plan; Kurogiri would be back here. Then again, those plans required that the level boss be in the dungeon, but this system was buggy.

His introspection was interrupted when he felt a wave of heat approaching his rear. Evading it, he saw it was a slash made from flames. Turning his gaze, he saw that the kid who got wrecked by Nomu was surprisingly still alive and on his feet. "Not so fast; that beast only moves when you tell it to, so if we take you out," Midoriya crouched, before launching himself towards Shigaraki, unleashing a blistering combo of slashes and thrusts.

Shigaraki wasn't a slouch and was evading them. Still, Midoriya didn't give him time to counter, as one move missed his head by a hair. Shigaraki's eyes narrowed beneath his hand mask. At the same time, Midoriya started to smile a little.

Shigaraki, seeing that, also smiled, though it was much more demented and crueler. "Smart move taking on the party boss? But who says my summons don't move on their own?" A shadow came over them both. The Nomu had already pulled its fist back, determined to drive him into the dirt. Still, Midoriya wouldn't be trounced.

"Fire Spin!" Turning, a sphere of flames formed around him, the Nomu's fist crashing into it, burning it. He was still slowed enough by the rushed defense that when it impacted Midoriya's raised forearm, his bones weren't shattered as he was sent back. Recovering mid-air, he pulled his legs up and twisted his body so that he landed on his feet.

Ignoring how sore his left forearm was, he gripped his blade in both hands and met Shigaraki's red eyes head-on. "I'm not falling for the same thing twice."

"Fast one, aren't you? With impressive Attack points…same that Nomu isn't the type of boss your build can match." Shigaraki hardly seemed concerned, and the reason became clear as while the others fought behind him, Midoriya saw that the wounds on the Nomu, those severe burns, slowly started to heal.

But there was something there; he had finally realized why this beast gave him such a feeling of dread and disgust. When he saw it, Izuku turned white as snow, and his stomach dropped.

"Just what in the Good name did you do?" He asked, disbelief mixing with horror as he was the only one there who could see it, a mercy for the others. Still, it meant he alone suffered the sight of a quirk that looked like it belonged to a boy no older than 13, chained to the beast as it silently put it back together, not a hint of life in its blank eyes. "That thing…it's quirk…it's not its own. It's a prisoner…"

He didn't realize he was speaking aloud or that Aizawa and Vlad heard him, and Shigaraki looked at him funny, wondering what he meant by that prisoner line. He had to give the brat props; he was a smart one, or maybe his quirk just made him more perceptive.

Clapping his hands, he replied to the horror-filled statement in glee. "You actually figured that out? Well, you must have great perception skills." He laughed as Midoriya took a step back, his face starting to sweat, something he mistook for the fear finally kicking in.

Patting the side of the creature, he continued. "That's right, little hero. Nomu here was designed with multiple quirks, one of which is super regeneration, so you can do nothing to get its health into the yellow."

"Where?" He stopped, as that was an odd response. Not the question but the tone. Shigaraki's eyes narrowed as he detected something profoundly angry in that one word.

"What?" Midoriya looked him in the eye, and while he had tears, those same red eyes were burning with a righteous fury that couldn't be dismissed or put out.

"Where did you get those quirks? How did you get them? They-they're suffering, and you can just stand there gloating?!" He yelled near the end; he had thought he had seen the worst of criminals and accepted that his line of work would ensure he would never be far from another experience.

He knew that but realized how blind he was to human depravity. It was one thing to kill someone but to take their quirk and bend, twist, and break it to such a point that it was enslaved to a mindless monster, the tool of the tool…it was an insult against all that was good and he would sooner die than let that go unanswered.

Shigataki found his righteous anger amusing. He laughed at him as he placed all five fingers on the Nomu's side, letting decay spread across the flesh and bone. Yet, the creature didn't respond the entire time. When it had spread enough to be lethal to any of them, he ceased and let its super regeneration handle the rest. Once more, the chained spirit came up and rapidly healed the damage.

Having proved his point, he tapped the beast again, who, through the entire ordeal, hadn't made a sound. "Suffering? They're abilities, you brat. Tools to be used when and however you want."

"Tools? No…you're wrong," Midoriya looked down, his face shadowed as his blonde's tip lowered before he let out a breath and raised it again. "So wrong that it's painful…but also sad that you can say it like it's a truth."

"The quirk you have from birth…it's a gift, one that seeks to help you, and when you pass, they continue to carry on your will and your emotions," Midoriya recalled each of their stories, the tragedies that resulted in them being cut off from their owners who could have-should have been alive and well right now.

Nomu was a beast but also a victim in all this. Kept alive by a quirk that so obviously needed rest. And as a caretaker, he would see it done.

Shifting his stance, he brought his blade back towards his side as if he was sheathing it, but it rested above the scabbard. Shigaraki didn't quite know what was happening, but he knew that it was going to be trouble, so he waved for his death. "Nomu, kill him, then move on to the others."

Midoriya was in his own world, aspects of the world within him manifesting for his eyes to see. He didn't hear the fighting, his teachers yelling for him, or his friends trying to get to him, slowed by villains between them. All there was in this reality was him and the Nomu who charged him. For a moment, he saw through its unholy form to the man beneath, to the man he once was.

'Please. Help me.' The man begged of him, their eyes gaining just a little light, a little life which so desperately wished for its suffering to end.

'I will, I shall give you rest,' Midoriya thought back. He wasn't sure if he had heard, but he saw a smile on the man's tried and pained face and knew that his thoughts had been heard as his blade started to shake and crack in his hands, the power of all those whom he relied on rallying.

He had only used this in training, having never found himself in a situation that necessitated such power, but he would gladly use it as he took a breath and spoke his quirk's proper name."

"Save and guide them, Seijū Genrin."

Yeah, that's that. Is it a tease to have the chapter end right where we'll see our first Shikai-like power? Yes, but this is taking too long to write, so I had to cut the rest and just upload this. Remember, I didn't want to do this, but I'm pressed for time as I'm editing this after my typical deadline. I'm plowing through writing at speeds that aren't sustainable just to keep on track, thanks to a power outage.

Hell, this was a first draft but I had no time to look it over and edit it before the real edit came to make it better.

The next chapter will be out on December 2nd.

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