4,515Hello again, fellow readers!
I've been gone for a pretty long time and that was due to a combination of work, writer's block, helping out one of my neighbors in town, and some personal stuff I had to get sorted out but now I'm groovy.
This is a pretty lengthy chapter at 13,000 words but to answer the question that you guys are asking yourselves, this isn't the finale. I was just so burned out and I wanted to get something out for you guys before the holidays to wrap up the year. Sorry in advance.
You guys may have noticed that there are fewer chapters, that's because I merged the shorter chapters so I could free up some space. It gave me a little bit of trouble so I'll remind myself to make backups in case I have to do it again.
Before we move on to the chapter itself, I have been keeping up with the recent chapters of MHA and I would like to kindly request that you all keep spoilers to yourselves. Not everyone is up to date on the manga.
My Hero Academia, DOOM, and Darksiders belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.
Chapter 17
Rooftop Rumble
I-ISLAND CENTRAL TOWER-3rd FLOOR
Still hiding in the employee breakroom, the students of U.A. stood as still as statues. They had spent the last 30 minutes or so listening to the sounds of chaos outside and then inside when they felt the tremors shake the tower. But soon it had stopped and all that was left was silence.
"I-i-i-i-is it over?" Uraraka shakily asked, having finally recovered from her emotional breakdown.
"I don't know..." Izuku answered uncertainly.
Shoto and Mirio remained quiet, the normally stoic 1st Year and professional 3rd Year wearing expressions of fright. They had been taught of the dangers of Heroism by their teachers and peers but they were completely unprepared for the level of carnage wrought out this day.
Kirishima clenched and unclenched his fists in frustration. This feeling of helplessness reminded him all too much of the day when he was too scared to help those high-school girls being accosted by a literal giant and it was only the timely arrival of Mina Ashido who saved them from harm. But even she was just as scared as he was back then. That act of cowardice was, in Kirishima's point of view, his lowest point in life and he did not want to experience that again. He was done sitting around.
"Alright, that's it! We can't just keep hiding here forever!" Kirishima heatedly exclaimed. "Sooner or later that psycho is gonna come up here and go after the hostages! We gotta save them!"
The others looked at Kirishima and then at each other. "We...we could try." Shoto nodded. "We could at least free the Heroes."
"And we could also rescue All Might too! If there's anyone who can stop that guy it's him!" Uraraka realized, starting to brighten up a little. As Kirishima and Shoto looked hopeful, Izuku was worried. While it was true that All Might could very well stop the Vigilante's rampage, Midoriya knew that his mentor had been in his powered-up state for a prolonged period. That put tremendous strain on both Yagi's body and his Quirk; not to mention that there was no way to tell if he had enough power to take on the Vigilante. He dreaded to think what would happen if that maniac got to his currently immobilized mentor first before they did.
Unbeknownst to Izuku, Mirio also knew of All Might's condition. His mentor, Sir Nighteye, had secretly revealed to him All Might's identity and condition in the hopes that Mirio would carry on the legacy of the Symbol of Peace one day. But that was rendered moot one day when Yagi informed Nighteye over the phone that he had already found a worthy heir for One for All. He didn't say who but Nighteye was more or less displeased. Mirio wasn't bothered at all but rather curious to meet the person who Yagi passed him for.
And yet, he isn't aware that the new heir was standing right next to him.
"Well, saving the hostages and the Heroes should be our top priority but we don't know if there's still any mercenaries patrolling the building." Mirio started. "I'll go do some reconnaissance of the upper floors to see if-"
"FUCKINMOTHERFUCK!"
Everyone nearly had a heart attack when Bakugou suddenly sprang up from the couch like a rocket while howling curses! Bakugou stumbled around until he finally propped himself up near the knocked-over fridge. The human firecracker was breathing heavily with his bandaged head sporting a small bloodstain. His hazy eyes were darting left and right while his lips curled, baring his canines. Everyone took several steps away from him, and none of the dared to make any sudden moves.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO ME?! START FUCKING TALKING, YOU EXTRAS!" Bakugou wrathfully spat at them, his left eye twitching.
Izuku was afraid to answer. Katsuki was in a bad place right now and all it took was the wrong answer to set him off; God forbid if he looked outside the window. "Uh..well...we...you see, Kacchan-" Izuku nervously began until Bakugou interrupted him.
"SPIT IT OUT, DAMN NERD!"
With Izuku reduced to a stuttering mess, Kirishima quickly filled Bakugou in. "You got a pretty nasty head injury after that explosion and you've been out for a while! We've been hiding in here ever since that Vigilante started fighting the Sabers. I...think he's already killed them all."
Izuku, Uraraka, Shoto and Mirio went pale. After all of the gunfire and screaming over the last two hours, there was no way any of the mercenaries survived. Shoto cautiously glanced behind him towards the window, afraid of what would happen if Bakugou saw the river of death outside. His classmate was already in a very fragile state of mind right now and the last thing they needed from him was a meltdown.
"SO YOU'VE ALL BEEN SITTING HERE DOING JACK SHIT?! FUCK THIS!" Bakugou angrily shouted as he stomped over to the door until Mirio got in his way.
"What are you doing?!"
"I'm going to save All Might! What's it look like, Weird Eyes?!"
"But we still don't know if that Vigilante is still out there! He could be on his way right now!" Uraraka tried to reason with Bakugou.
"THEN I'LL KILL HIM BEFORE THAT HAPPENS!" Katsuki raged at her.
"No, Kachhan! you can't fight him! He's too dangerous!" Izuku implored as he tried to restrain him.
"FUCK OFF, DEKU!" Bakugou snarled as he shoved him away. The whole group devolved into rampant yelling with Mirio and Shoto trying to stop Bakugou as he tried to push them aside, Izuku, Uraraka, and Kirishima tried to talk some sense into him. As the argument escalated, VEGA silently observed the group from the security camera in the corner of the room.
Earlier, VEGA had calculated that the LOV would escape long before the Doomslayer could reach them. While the AI did not doubt the Slayer's combative abilities, there was also the matter of the hostages. The Slayer could not fight the LOV and save the Heroes at the same time. If he went after the League, there was a very high possibility of the hostages and the Heroes being executed. If he went to the ballroom, the LOV would escape and launch the WMD. VEGA was able to activate the emergency security doors to seal the exits and block off their escape route but Volcano was easily melting through them with his magma Quirk. The Slayer was still traveling up the elevator shaft and since the building itself was 200 stories high, VEGA needed to buy him more time. These Heroes in training could be invaluable in preventing the League from escaping before the Slayer could arrive and terminate the Villains. He already calculated that they had a high probability of survival after accessing their performance records from the U.A High School servers.
"/This argument is detrimental to your current predicament./"
The scuffle grounded to a screeching halt as everyone jolted when they heard the synthesized voice seemingly speak from out of nowhere. As the rattled teens looked around the room for the source of the voice, the TV came to life by itself and played a jingle as a circular symbol appeared on the screen.
"/Hello./"
Everyone looked like a deer caught in the headlights as they stared at the TV which was now talking to them. "H-h-h-hi?" Uraraka innocently waved, unsure of how to reply. The others looked at each other in confusion. They had no clue what was going on anymore.
"/I do not have the luxury of explaining to you of who or what I am but know this: I am here to help you. The League of Villians will soon leave I-Island but not before activating a Weapon of Mass Destruction that will kill everyone on the island. You must stop them./"
"A WMD?!" Kirishima jumped back as the others did the same.
"Wait-the League of Villians are here?!" Izuku gasped.
"/They were working alongside the Steel Sabers to steal the Quirk Amplification Headset: a Support Item that enhances the wearer's Quirk. Future production of the device was halted by the HPSC who deemed it too dangerous and the only functional model was stored in the tower's main vault. They have already acquired the device./"
The TV immediately switched to camera footage of a group of Villans standing in a hallway before a bulkhead door with one of them blasting a stream of lava from his hand at the door.
"They got Melissa Shield!" Mirio exclaimed as he pointed at the one Villain restraining the struggling girl. Izuku felt his blood run cold.
Shoto tensed when he recognized the magma spewing Villain. It was Volcano, the leader of the titular Volcano Thieves. Many years ago, back when he was a little kid, his father engaged in battle with this dangerous Villain. Endeavor was easily outmatched by Volcano due to his Quirk being far more powerful than Hellflame and his father would've died that day were it not for the timely arrival of All Might. But Volcano and his minions escaped, leaving Esuha City a magma-flooded disaster zone and Enji half dead. His father was livid at the news that he was defeated by a Villain, even more so when he had to be saved by All Might. He never got over that terrible day and as usual, he took his anger out on the family.
"/I am updating your cellphones with a map of the building. I will pinpoint an ideal route that will allow you to circumvent the League and prevent their departure./"
The phones belonging to each of the U.A. students (save for Kirishima who was only in his underwear)began to ring and they all pulled them out of their pockets. Their screens showed a comprehensive layout of the floors above them along with a moving red blip that had to be the LOV.
"/You must intercept them quickly and you'll have my assurance that the hostages in the ballroom will be unharmed. He will ensure their safety and eliminate the guards./"
"He?" Izuku repeated as he looked up from his phone. "Who are you talking about...!" Izuku felt dead consume his entire being when he instantly put the pieces together to who this mysterious contact was referring. The others were having the same reaction. They were supposed to leave the lives of the hostages and All Might in the hands of a madman?!
Bakugou wasn't having any of it. "Hey, screwbag! What makes you think we're gonna do what you say, huh?! Who the fuck are you?!"
The TV instantly shut itself off, leaving a black screen with Bakugou's fuming expression visible on the glass reflection. "Wha-HEY!" Bakugou snarled as he slammed his fist on the TV, cracking the screen. Before anyone could ask who just contacted them, Izuku bolted out the door and ran down the hallway. His mind was racing as he rushed through the building. He had no time to question if that contact was trying to help them or why they were affiliated with the Vigilante but the only thing that did matter was the LOV was going to set off a WMD and they had Melissa in their clutches. The rational part of him was telling him not to follow the orders of someone who was in cahoots with a mass murdering psychopath but the selfless side of him was encouraging him to save Melissa and stop the League of Villains.
He chose the selfless side.
"Deku!" Izuku heard Uraraka call out to him as she and the rest of the group caught up to him. "You're going after the League?"
"We have to! I won't let them destroy this island and everyone on it!" Izuku answered hastily as he pulled his phone out and followed the map on the screen. "This way!"
"But what about the hostages? We can't just leave them there with that Vigilante and our friends are still in there." Shoto pointed out. Izuku gulped worriedly. He was right, they couldn't just leave them undefended if that madman came up here.
"Leave it to me and Bakugou!" Kirishima volunteered as he held up his hand. "If we can free All Might and the other Heroes, they could help us fight the League and that Vigilante!"
"Who the hell said I was going with you, Shitty Hair?" Bakugou elbowed him in the shoulder. "I decide what I'm doing next-!"
"Oh shut up and let's go save them! It's this way!" Kirishima interrupted Bakugou before grabbing him by the scruff of his dress shirt and dragging him along.
"THE FUCK?! LET ME GO, SHITTY HAIR! I'LL KICK YOUR FUCKING ASS!" Bakugou furiously flailed his arms around, Kirishima's hardened grip preventing him from escaping. Everyone sweatdropped as they watched their friend drag the screaming hothead down towards the opposite hall.
"Are they going to be okay?" Mirio inquired, convinced that Katsuki was mentally unstable.
"They'll be just fine. They can handle the guards, believe me." Izuku assured him, knowing that those two were very skilled with their Quirks. He glanced down at his phone to check the map. "We'll take the next right and then head up towards the emergency stairwell."
They all followed the route and soon found themselves running up the stairway as fast as they could. They considered themselves lucky because they weren't on the lower floors or they would've never made it. Reaching the door at the top of the stairwell, Mirio used his Quirk to phase his face through the door and scan the area. It was a drab, concrete hallway with a maze of pipes running along the ceiling. Mirio gave the thumbs up to the others and they all cautiously walked through.
They made a left down the hall while keeping quiet to avoid detection until they came upon a door at the other end of the hall. As the teens moved up towards it, Izuku noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He glanced at the small window to his left and noticed several bright lights soaring up into the air from I-Island's airport. Izuku squinted at the lights as they drifted downwards from the sky. "Flares...?" He quietly wondered.
"Izuku? Are you coming?" Shoto called out to him, snapping Midoriya back to reality.
"Y-yeah." Izuku quickly replied as he followed his friends; he wasn't sure who was launching those flares but he hoped that it meant help was finally coming. They slowly opened the door and entered the room. It was a large storage room containing fuel drums, helicopter parts, and tool kits; most likely used for repairing and maintenance. At the far end of the room were rows of generators...and the League of Villains! Everyone ducked behind the fuel drums and peered out a little to get a better view. The group of Villains were in their line of sight and so was a struggling Melissa as her captor held her by the neck.
"We still have some men in the ballroom." Swordkill reminded Curator. "We're not even going to tell them that we're leaving?"
"What about them?" Curator answered in a detached, unpitying tone.
"They're just hired guns, Swordkill. Leave em." Wolfram callously waved his hand.
Izuku and the others were incensed at that dismissal. Looks like there was truly no honor among thieves. As the Villains were about to leave the room via the stairwell that led to the roof in the far corner of the room. The U.A. students quietly followed them while hiding behind the drums to conceal themselves. As they moved closer to ambush them, Uraraka tripped over a toolbox and the sound of clattering wrenches alerted the Villains! Specs spun around and spotted a group of teens yanking one of their own behind the fuel drums.
"SUPPRESSING FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Specs hollered at the top of his lungs as he let loose his SCAR assault rifle, sweeping the weapon from side to side while spraying bullets everywhere. Swordkill, Daigo, and Nobu opened fire on them as well, the latter still restraining Melissa. Uraraka and Izuku cried out and ducked to the floor as much as they could behind the drums with Shoto and Mirio. The bullets whizzed over their heads and riddled the generators, causing them to explode in a burst of fire and sparks. The whole floor was plunged into darkness when the surge of electricity destroyed the overhead lights. The rounds penetrated the drums, spilling highly flammable fuel all over the ground and prompting the teens to flee when they saw the fuel was dangerously inching towards the flaming generators.
Shoto created a wall of ice to shield his friends from the errant gunfire just as the fuel touched the fire; the flames raced up to the drums and detonated them in a large explosion that lit up the room. Shoto formed a dome of ice around everyone to protect themselves while the Villains (sans Curator and Volcano who already went up the stairs) were blown back from the blast along with Melissa.
"ARE YOU DIPSHITS TRYING TO BLOW US UP?!" Wolfram yelled at them while smacking them upside their heads as they tried to get themselves back up on their feet. He tightly grasped Melissa by the wrist and dragged her up the stairs with him. "Hold em off! We'll wait for you!"
Wolfram's underlings nodded and they guarded the stairwell as their leader dragged Melissa along with him. Izuku could make out Wolfram fleeing with Melissa firmly clenched in his grip from inside the ice dome. "They're getting away!"
"They won't. You three go after the League, I'll hold these four off." Mirio instructed.
"Are you sure you can take them on by yourself?" Uraraka asked out of concern.
"My friends and I weren't called the Big Three at U.A. for nothing." Mirio cracked a smile with a twinkle in his eye. Izuku nodded and looked to his friends; Shoto summoned fire to form in his hands while Uraraka touched numerous objects and made them float. Izuku looked down his hand at the red, rectangular device he was wearing around his wrist. Melissa had outfitted him with the Full Gauntlet: an invention of her own design based on All Might's overwhelming strength. Izuku received this prototype Support Item from her earlier before the siege and if his hypothesis was correct, then it could theoretically allow him to use the full power of One for All without causing harm to his body.
He pressed the button on the wristband and a series of intersecting metallic bands wrapped around the length of his hand and arm up to the elbow. Izuku flexed his fingers before balling up his fist. Outside the dome, Wolfram's cronies cautiously inched towards them with their assault rifles at the ready. The frontal portion of the dome exploded outwards and they were pelted with chunks of ice flying toward them. They had no chance to recover when an assorted flurry of debris and tools flew right into their faces, Nobu was whacked in the nuts with a pipe wrench. Izuku rocketed towards Swordkill and scissor kicked him in the face while Shoto dove out into the open and fired a jet of flame at their weapons.
This action superheated their rifles and they were forced to drop them as the guns burned their hands. Daigo transformed into a hulking, purple-skinned brute and charged toward Shoto only for Uraraka to touch several empty fuel drums and guided them to collide into Daigo's feet. The Villain stumbled over them, allowing Shoto to hurl a fireball into his face while Uraraka manipulated the drums to fall on top of the other goons. Izuku bolted up the stairs as soon as he saw an opening, as did Shoto and Uraraka who closely followed behind.
"Little shits!" Specs snarled as he pressed a button on the side of his goggles. The right side transformed into a rifle barrel while the left side functioned as a scope. He had his crosshairs focused on the back of Shoto's head and was about to fire a bullet out of his eye-
"POWEEEEEEEEEEEER!" Mirio phased through the floor beneath Specs and uppercut him with enough force to knock off his goggles! As the others ran up the stairs, Nobu charged at Mirio and swung his large, webbed hands; ready to displace a chunk of the boy's body but his hand went through him like he was a ghost! Mirio punched Nobu across the face and followed up by grappling him into a leg lock to disorient him. Swordkill turned his hands into blades and ran towards him with his blades aimed at his face while Daigo let out a roar and swung his fist at him but Mirio sunk into the floor to dodge the blows. Swordkill's blade raked across Daigo's chest just as the purple monster clocked him square in the face. Specs picked himself back up and tore off his goggles while Swordkill and Daigo reeled from their unintentional blows.
Specs spotted Mirio emerging from the floor at the other end of the room and started firing bullets from his right eye just as Nobu got up and flung compressive gusts at the U.A student. Mirio phased through the columns and thin drywalls to avoid the barrage of bullets and displacement blasts that tore up the environment. This added more chaos to the situation as more fuel drums exploded and the emergency sprinklers came on as a result. Just as Mirio phased through the last column, Daigo leaped towards him with his fists raised in the air with the intent to crush him into dust. Mirio easily phased through the brute's fists and caught him in a headlock before slamming him to the ground with a surprising amount of strength. Mirio jumped back just as Swordkill came in from the right and thrust his sword arm at him.
Mirio took up a boxing stance as Swordkill glared him down, Nobu and Specs joining back up with him as Daigo got up with an angry grunt.
"You fuckin' nudist...you think we're just going to let some 1st-year U.A. brat make a fool out of us?!" Swordkill vented at the boy while his compatriots looked ready to fight despite the clear gap in Quirks.
"A nudist? Well, that's a common misconception. But I'm certainly anything but a 1st year!" Mirio exuded confidence as he prepared himself for another scuffle as the flames danced around him while water rained down from the ceiling.
I-ISLAND CENTRAL TOWER-ROOFTOP
Up on the roof, the rest of the Villains gathered at the helipad just as Dusty Ash and Gust Boy finished arming the VX missle. A light breeze swept across the roof, bringing the stinging scent of rot from the burning city.
"We're all set." Dusty said as she and Gust walked over to them "Missle launch will be in 3 minutes, more than enough time to get the hell out of here."
"Good. Just get me as far away from this fucking island as possible." Wolfram grumbled as he still restrained Melissa who struggled in vain to escape.
"Didn't you just say to your dogs that we were going to wait for them?" Curator snidely reminded him.
"Screw em'." Wolfram shot back. He was completely done with everything that had happened today and just wanted to throw himself at AFO's feet and beg for another chance.
"Wow, that desperate to run away from your tire fire of a mission, eh?" Gust Boy heckled, unaware of the veins popping up on Wolfram's head. "Can't wait to see how the boss'll chew you out this time!"
"SHUT YOUR FUCKING FUCKHOLE, YOU INBRED DAFFY DUCK!" Wolfram roared into Gust's face, causing him to jump back in surprise. "IF THAT ARMORED FREAK NEVER CAME HERE THEN WE COULD'VE BEEN ROLLING IN SUPPORT ITEMS AND THE STEEL SABERS WOULD'VE BEEN EATING OUT OF OUR FUCKING HANDS!"
Before Wolfram could rage any further, he felt a large hand place itself on his shoulder. Wolfram cautiously looked behind him to see Volcano looming over him like a giant.
"Look, Wolfy. I know my partner in crime can be a bit of a pain in the ass, no offense, but you let your overconfidence get the best of ya so this whole thing is on you whether or not you didn't know Sir Kills-A-Lot would throw a monkey wrench into the gears of your so-called master plan." Volcano's grip on Wolfram's shoulder tightened a little as his hand started to heat up. His tone of voice took on a dangerous tone. "Also keep in mind there's a limit to how many failures All for One can tolerate."
"Quite so. You can save your excuses for All for One once we return...so until then, follow your orders like a good little boy." Curator mocked with a bored expression before turning his attention to Melissa, who froze when their eyes locked. "As for you, All for One has taken note of your rather impressive talents concerning the creation of Support Items and your service for our cause will be invaluable."
"I'll never make anything for you!" Melissa yelled at him.
Curator chuckled. "Oh, worry not, my dear. You will."
"LET HER GO!" A loud voice called out, causing the Villains to turn towards the door where they came from. Izuku, Shoto, and Uraraka stood before them a distance away. The youths held an expression of determination and they were ready to throw down at any given moment. Izuku briefly glanced to his right and saw an apocalyptic view: smoke rising from the ravaged buildings and the streets running red with blood and dead bodies. He quickly focused back on the problem at hand, namely rescuing Melissa and stopping the LOV from destroying I-Island. The League, except for Wolfram, looked at the kids in amusement; impressed that someone was willing to fight several high-ranking Villains. Curator smiled behind his mask as he studied the boy with green hair.
'Izuku Midoriya. So this is the new bearer of One for All.' He mentally observed.
Volcano handed Dusty Ash the briefcase as he waltzed over towards the youths who backed away and took up stances. Placing his hands on his hips, the Villain took pleasure in their state of fear. "So what's it gonna be, kiddos? Are you going to die trying to be Heroes or are you going to do the right thing and just turn a blind eye?" He gloated.
Nobody answered him and kept their distance; still ready to defend themselves if necessary. Maguma turned his attention over to Shoto and raised an eyebrow."What about you, daddy's boy? Do I have to remind you of how I kicked your dad's ass up and down Esuha?"
Shoto's hands balled into fists as he stared up at Volcano, he didn't want to be reminded about his abusive father at all. "Where is the WMD?" He demanded through his gritting teeth.
"Well, wouldn't you like to..." Volcano stopped himself when he realized what Shoto just said. "Hold on, how the hell do know you about-?"
While Volcano was preoccupied with Shoto, Izuku and Uraraka spotted a silver-colored cylinder on the far side of the roof out of the corner of their eyes and immediately assumed it was the WMD. In that instant, Izuku bolted towards the device with Uraraka flying alongside him; their respective Quirks gave them a significant speed boost. Shoto summoned a large wall of ice between him and Volcano but a geyser of lava melted straight through the barrier! Izuku and Uraraka saw the jet of magma heading toward them and the girl barely had enough time to grab Izuku and yank him out of the way as the stream missed them by inches. Volcano shattered the ice wall with his fist and slammed his boot into Shoto's abdomen when he tried to attack him. Todoroki could feel one of his ribs crack as he slammed into the far wall next to the exit.
"SHOTO!" Izuku called out just as a sudden burst of wind threw them off course while a cloud of ash blinded them. The wind guided them back towards Shoto and they were roughly slammed to the ground; Izuku and Uraraka were covered in ash as they coughed uncontrollably. Izuku painfully blinked away the ashes in his eyes and could make out the two Villains grinning at him. Volcano shot another blast of lava at Midoriya and Uraraka who avoided the downpour of lava to the left; backpedaling away from the pool of searing hot magma.
"Seriously? Is this the best U.A. has to offer? Man, they are really scrapin' the bottom of the barrel!" Volcano laughed victoriously.
"This has been an entertaining little show but we really must get going." Curator said as he turned around while Dusty Ash formed her ash platform. Maguma followed after them but not before giving Izuku and his friends a mocking wave.
"No! You're not getting away with this!" Midoriya stubbornly shouted as he ran towards them, only to stop when Wolfram fired his pistol at the boy's feet. The Villain then wrapped his arm around Melissa's neck and held her in front of him, using her as a shield while he pressed his gun to the side of her head!
"DON'T YOU FUCKING MOVE! I WILL PLUG THIS BITCH IF YOU TAKE ANOTHER STEP!" Wolfram threatened as he pushed the barrel of his weapon against the frightened girl.
"MELISSA!" Izuku exclaimed as Uraraka helped Shoto up. Izuku desperately wanted to save her but he knew that one wrong move would lead to her death. He didn't know what to do. But suddenly, a white blur shot upwards into the air from behind the helipad! Wolfram and the other Villains snapped their heads up towards the sky, giving Izuku just enough time to rocket himself towards Wolfram and deliver a right hook across his face. He then wrapped his arms around Melissa and jumped back towards his friends but a livid Wolfram leveled his gun at him. Luckily, he didn't get the chance to pull the trigger when the object slammed back down right on top of him! The impact almost cracked the helipad in two and created a cloud of dust that obscured everyone's vision.
Izuku and Melissa looked back towards the cloud of smoke, as did Shoto and Uraraka. A loud punching noise was heard and Wolfram was hurled through the cloud and right into Dusty Ash who dropped the briefcase containing the headset.
"I heard a lot of commotion going on up here and I just had to hop in on the action!" A boisterous voice came from within the smokescreen as a pair of white rabbit ears popped up from the cloud. Izuku's face lit up when he recognized that voice and the unmistakable ears. The dust cloud dissipated to reveal the Rabbit Heroine herself!
"You Villains who are up to no good, PREPARE TO BE SENT FLYING BY ME!"
I-ISLAND AIRPORT-40 MINUTES EARLIER
Miruko had to squint her eyes as the wind blew against her face. She was still whistling through the air after Mt. Lady threw her and she was having a very difficult time trying to straighten herself as she soared towards I-Island. She was able to make out an airport that was rapidly getting closer so Miruko pivoted her body around mid-flight so that her feet were facing in front of her. Just as she was about to hit the ground, she thrust her feet right on the concrete; the force of the impact created a small crater with her footprints in the center. Wrenching her feet out of the ground, Miruko shook the discomfort out of her legs as she stepped over the sizable spiderweb cracks she made.
"Nailed it!" She chirped. Her revelry was short-lived when she noticed the dead Sabers scattered across the tarmac, some decapitated or had rebars impaled through their faces. Miruko shook her head to dispel any thoughts she was having and focused back on the mission. Looking up to the air traffic control tower, Miruko leaped up to the roof of the airport and crouched down before making a massive jump up towards the tower. She landed on the balcony and climbed through the broken window; hoping to use the console to radio her comrades. Unfortunately, what she saw caused her ears to droop: the Sabers had already disabled the radios; everything was riddled with bullets and the consoles had been trashed.
Silently cursing to herself, Miruko started thinking of another way to contact the Heroes. But first, she had to investigate if there were any civilians in need of rescue. She took note of the door and windows of the airport being sealed off by bulkheads and decided that as much as she wanted to destroy them with a well-placed stomp, she did not want to accidentally hurt any hostages that were probably inside. Miruko jumped off the tower and upon landing on the ground, ran along the side of the building to search for an alternate entrance. She found an emergency exit with its door slightly ajar and went through the exit to a corridor. She walked down the hallways until she saw bloodstains decorating the walls.
She cautiously pressed onward, keeping her eyes open as she went past several inactive security drones. She noticed a supply closet with a large puddle of blood seeping from the bottom of the closed door. Swallowing, Miruko inched towards the door and opened it; backing away when a pile of dead Sabers collapsed on the floor in a pile! Miruko gagged in disgust. The bodies were covered in blood and were either missing their heads or had their skulls split open via some inhumane method. Miruko nearly tripped over a deactivated drone when she staggered backward but then noticed the cables that were connected to it were covered in blood. Looking back and forth between the drone and the bodies, she instantly connected the dots and was left confused. Why were the drones that were only programmed to subdue their targets...started killing them instead?
But Miruko decided to save the question for another time; she had to focus. She rushed past the dead bodies and continued through the airport until she found the entrance main terminal. Miruko could hear voices from behind the door as her sharp ears picked up the voices that didn't sound hostile, meaning that they had to be the hostages. She approached the entrance and the sliding door automatically opened to reveal a frightened woman pointing a submachine gun at the Heroine! Miruko immediately placed her hands up and stepped away from the woman.
"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH! Hold up a second! I'm a Hero! A Hero!" Miruko quickly exclaimed.
Komari's hyperventilated breathing started to slow down and she lowered her weapon as relief spread across her face. "Y-y-you're...oh God. Oh, thank God!" Her shoulders sagged as tears welled up in her eyes. She turned behind her to a group of people hiding behind a makeshift fort made out of luggage and airport chairs, some of them were armed with weapons that used to be carried by the Sabers. "Everyone! They're here! The Heroes are here!"
Cheers and shouts of joy were heard as the traumatized civilians embraced each other or clapped for their savior. Several of them left the barricade and crowded around Miruko, bombarding her with questions about if more Heroes were coming or if the JSDF was going to be called in.
"Okay, just take it easy, folks! It's only me but if I can find a way to contact the Heroes back on the mainland, I can give them the okay to send in help. We're gonna get this whole thing under control and you'll all be safe." Miruko explained to the crowd, calming them down. "In the meantime, you all need to stay here for your own safety."
The civilians nodded in agreement and went back towards the rest of the group while two teenagers walked up to her.
"Hey, you're the Rabbit Heroine, right?" Nejire guessed.
"The one and only!" Miruko beamed with her hands on her hips. "But this isn't the time for autographs if that's what you're asking."
"Oh, we were going to tell you that there's an emergency compartment on the 2nd floor near the vending machines. Maybe you could find some flares; those might help you signal the other Heroes." Tamaki corrected her.
"Well ain't that convenient! Thanks for the info!" Miruko gave him a thumbs up before noticing their clothing. "Those uniforms, are you kids from U.A.?"
"Yup!" Nejire confirmed in a chipper tone. "Our friend was at the central tower before the Sabers locked down the whole Island. We also think they might be holding the rest of the hostages and All Might there."
"It does seem like the most obvious place." Miruko muttered to herself. She eyed the dead bodies of the Steel Sabers, some with combat knives embedded in them while one had been split straight down the middle with a broken fire axe lying near the corpse. "Did...'he come through here by any chance?"
Tamaki went rigid as he and Nejire looked at each other. "Yes...he did. We even had a run-in with him-"
"What?! Did he do anything to you?!" Miruko immediately demanded. She swore, if that psycho did anything to these kids...
"No, no! He didn't do anything to us at all!" Nejire assured Miruko, that she and her friend were startled by the sudden outburst. "I mean, the worst he did was glare at us threateningly."
"We wanted to stop him from going on another rampage but we decided to protect the civilians instead." Tamaki admitted.
"Smart thinking, kids." Mruko praised as she patted Tamaki on the shoulder. "You made the right call." Nejire smiled in response while Tamaki turned red, ready to curl himself up into a ball.
"Excuse me?" Komari nervously made herself known as she walked up to Miruko. "There's something you should know about that man. He saved my life."
Miruko blinked several times in disbelief. "Hold on, he saved you?"
"As incredulous as it sounds, yes. Some of my students tried to fight back but they were all rounded up." Komari explained as she motioned towards the group of schoolchildren huddled in a corner of the terminal. "They dragged us upstairs...they were going to kill me and the children but then he came and saved us. In a way, we owe him our lives, even if his methods were...excessive."
Miruko was at loss. An armored maniac with a chainsaw saved a bunch of kids and their teacher? The same nutcase who tore off Shigaraki's arm, blew up half a mall, pulverized her friends, and waged a one-man war against the infamous Steel Sabers? That was incredibly hard to believe but the woman seemed like she was telling the truth.
"Okay...at least he's not a complete lunatic." Miruko shrugged, unable to find the right words to say. "In any case, you and the kids are safe now."
Smiling warmly, Komari nodded and went back over to the schoolchildren to comfort them. Miruko then turned her attention to Nejire and Tamaki. "I have to get going but I need you two to keep these people safe until the other Heroes arrive, can you do that for me?"
"You can count on us!" Nejire cheerily saluted while Tamaki smiled a little in response. Giving them a thumbs up, Miruko easily jumped up to the 2nd-floor balcony and sprinted down the halls. She eventually came to a door near several vending machines and figured this had to be where the supply room was. It was locked but Miruko easily remedied that by kicking the door straight off of its hinges. Entering the room, Miruko sifted through the metal cases around the cramped room for flares until one box caught her eye.
"Bingo!" Miruko beamed as she finally found a rectangular plastic case with the word "FLARE" written in red on the side. When she opened the case she was surprised to see not a tiny little flaregun but rather a rotary grenade launcher that had been converted into an automatic flare launcher. Miruko hefted the weapon out of its case before picking up the silver-colored flare rounds and inspecting them. They were starburst flares with a high-yield illumination radius: perfect for grabbing just about anyone's attention.
Miruko started loading the canisters into the 15-round drum mag of the flare launcher before running out of the room and jumping through a broken skylight in the hallway. She went over to the edge of the airport roof and could just barely make out the port of Tokyo in the distance as she readied the flare launcher.
PORT OF TOKYO
Hawks anxiously drummed his fingers on his knee as he sat in one of the Pussycat's rescue boats. Everyone else was waiting for Miruko to contact them and give them the okay to retake I-Island; Mandalay kept herself seated near the radio just in case. Hawks looked back towards the island that still had columns of smoke rising from the buildings and his mouth formed a thin line.
"Something troubling you?" Eraser Head queried as he sat next to Hawks. "You're the most laid-back Pro Hero I know of so what got you so angsty?"
Hawks turned to Aizawa. "If you want me to be truthful, I guess I'm a little worried about Rumi."
"I'll admit, her lone wolf mentality can be a bit of a pain but she earned her place as the Number 5 Pro Hero. I honestly believe she can handle herself all right." Eraser Head assured him. "At least she won't have to put up with Endeavour when we arrive. The JSDF has him on standby until further notice, it might make our job easier enough."
Hawks nodded. However, he was secretly more concerned about Miruko reverting to her violent tendencies. But there was one other problem that had him on edge. "Do we even have any kind of strategy for that walking tank? I know we have numbers on our side but that guy smacked us around like we were toddlers the first time we fought him."
"Midnight and I have been talking it over. We've come up with a plan to-" Eraser Head started off but then stopped when he noticed several bright lights rising in the sky from I-Island. "Look!" He pointed towards the island; garnering everyone's attention.
"Those are flares!" Cementoss identified. "Do you guys think it's Miruko?"
"It has to be. That's our signal to retake the Island." Hawks said to the Heroes as he spread out his wings, ready to take flight.
"Lock and load, ladies and gentlemen!" Snipe crooned as he twirled his six-shooters. "Time to rock and roll!"
All at once, the Pro Heroes piled into the Pussycats rescue boats while the flying type Heroes took to the skies. Mandalay and Tiger revved up the boats and the vessels shot out towards the open sea like a jet while the aerial Heroes followed after them. Their destination: I-Island. Their mission? Rescue the hostages and All Might as well as apprehend the Vigilante.
But what none of them knew was they were not prepared for the horrors that awaited them...
I-ISLAND AIRPORT
Miruko fired one more flare into the air before examining the launcher. It was a pretty sweet piece of ordinance and one that she wished she could keep. It wasn't her first time holding a weapon...
Miruko's hands began to shake as she clutched the weapon. Her eyes dilated as a chill went up her spine. The scenery within her vision seemed to warp and distort until she found herself several years in the past: clutching a 10-gauge shotgun in her hands with a convicted murderer at her feet; screaming in pain as he clutched his blown-off kneecap. She could see her reflection in the puddle of blood though it did not show her current visage as a Hero but rather a disturbed teen wearing a tiger-themed luchador mask who was smiling insidiously.
Miruko shook her head and was brought back to the present. It was all a hallucination; a memory of dark times. Her lips curled up into a grimace and she smacked the side of her head repeatedly. "Come on, damn it! Get your head in the game!"
Exhaling, Miruko slung the flare launcher around her back with the weapon's leather sling and turned around to see the island's central tower. She broke into a running start and focused all of the power in her legs to launch herself off the roof when she neared the edge and soared through the sky in an arc. As she neared a building, she made another powerful jump just as she landed on the roof while keeping her focus on the tower. As she sailed through the air in another arc, a repulsive scent suddenly assaulted her nostrils, causing her to lose her concentration.
The whole island reeked of death, almost enough to overpower her. She took a brief glance down at the city...and immediately regretted it. Miruko was so transfixed at what she was witnessing that she lost her balance and began to spiral out of control through the air. She tried to pivot herself around so she could land but the ground was rapidly approaching. Miruko was able to turn herself around quick enough to land on one foot but the speed and momentum of her fall caused her to trip over and tumbled across the ground. Once she had stopped, Miruko lifted her head and recoiled in horror at the sight of a dead Saber with his head split open wide enough to reveal his pulped brain matter. She shot up and scrambled away from the body only to trip over another corpse and fall on top of something soft. She glanced behind her to see that she had fallen on top of a small mound of dead bodies, staining the back of her costume and hair with blood!
Miruko screamed as she jumped up and stumbled backward into the street. Instead of her feet touching asphalt, however, she felt herself stepping into something warm and sticky. She looked down and her feet and realized she had stepped into a lake of blood that went up to her ankles. Miruko could only stare in horror at the sea of crimson; there was so much that she could see her reflection in it. Her whole body trembling, Miruko turned to her right and terror consumed her very being. The horrible sight she previously witnessed during her leap was a million times worse up close.
Stretching on for what seemed to feel like miles was a literal sea of death and destruction. Thousands of dead Steel Sabers, either dismembered or disemboweled, stretched on for as long as the eye could see. Dozens of APCs burned like metal tinderboxes. Cracks and craters scarred the buildings around the area as the mercenary's weapons lay scattered and broken. Internal organs and limbs were splayed everywhere, some even bobbing along in the blood water. Fires littered the gore-soaked landscape while a larger pillar of flame rose from the destroyed industrial district.
Miruko felt like she was in a nightmare. She shakingly walked backward and back onto solid ground, leaving behind bloody footprints. The Rabbit Heroine continued to stare slack-jawed in horror at the hellish scene before her. It slowly began to dawn upon Miruko that the Vigilante was responsible for this slaughter. The gunshots and explosions she and her friends heard, as well as the tank that almost crushed them, were the result of a one-sided massacre of grisly proportions.
One man. One man did ALL of this.
Still breathing heavily, Miruko looked behind her to see that she had landed in front of the steps that led up to the main entrance of I-Island's tower. She took a deep breath and hurried up the stairs where she ran through the blown-open doors. The main lobby looked just the same as the outside: the floor and columns were ripped or blown apart while a large statue lay toppled over with the globe on the other side of the room. And of course, there were the bodies.
Miruko was just about to inspect them when she noticed something on the far wall. She walked over to it and stopped a few feet away from it. The fear came racing back to her but it was intermingled with confusion. Scrawled upon the wall in blood was what she could only describe as an occultic symbol: a distorted cross with a V shape at the bottom and four bizarre symbols located on each corner. Her eyes drifted downward at the message written in blood at the bottom.
RIP AND TEAR
"What the HELL!?" She whispered to herself. Miruko rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. It was official: this man was a psycho. The other Heroes and even the HPSC had to be warned of how dangerous and unhinged this guy was. But then again, why save those people at the airport? Nothing was adding up.
Stepping away from the scrawling like it was a bad omen, Miruko went back over to the bodies to identify them. Four of the bodies were too heavily butchered to tell who it was but she did recognize one of them: Nine. The dreaded leader of the Steel Sabers laid in a pool of his blood, his body mangled and broken with a large portion of the back of his head missing. The other bodies had to have been his lieutenants. If the massacre outside was of any indication, Nine and his goons had met the same fate as their soldiers. But that's when Miruko started to feel a different set of emotions other than the terrifying confusion she felt earlier: relief and contempt.
Relief that at long last the Steel Sabers would no longer threaten the world or hunt down any more Heroes. No more Heroes would be hunted down and killed for sport, no more ruined families, everyone could rest easy knowing that they were gone.
And contempt towards the Steel Sabers in general. Glancing back towards the entrance where the mass slaughter was still visible, she didn't feel any pity for them at all. After everything these Hero murdering bastards did, why would she? They deserved to suffer more. Staring down at Nine's corpse, Miruko spat a wad of saliva upon his body. "Good fucking riddance..."
Miruko suddenly heard a light rumbling from above. She looked up and focused her ears to find the source, managing to pinpoint it coming from the very top of the tower. She ran back outside and looked up towards the tower while her ears rotated themselves to pinpoint the exact location of the disturbance. She noticed an orange glow coming from atop the tower and the faint scent of sulfur in the air mixed with the carrion and offal from the bodies. Her hearing picked up the sound of a gunshot and she instantly sprang into action.
She jumped towards the tower and began bouncing off the outcroppings of the building, rapidly gaining speed and height as her jumps carried her farther and farther up the tower. Miruko neared the top of the tower and smashed her feet against the side of the building before launching herself upwards. The force of her jump sent her shooting into the sky where she saw a standoff occurring below her, recognizing some of them as the Volcano Thieves who mysteriously disappeared years ago. The assailants below her whipped their heads up towards her and Miruko witnessed a young boy with green hair launch himself towards the Villain holding a woman hostage and slug him across his ugly mug. As soon as the boy got the hostage away from him, Miruko aimed her foot at the Villain pointing a gun at him. Descending from the air, Miruko did a flying kick straight into the gunman's back and slammed him to the ground with enough force to crack the helipad. The kicked-up dust created a smokescreen and she took this opportunity to pick up the downed Villain by the scruff of his coat and knock him senseless with her gloved fist, the punch sent the dumbass crashing into one of his partners.
"I heard a lot of commotion going on up here and I just had to hop in on the action!" Miruko boasted proudly as the smoke cloud dissipated. "You Villians who are up to no good, PREPARE TO BE SENT FLYING BY ME!"
Izuku and Ochako were completely ecstatic while Shoto and Melissa exhaled in relief. Finally, Heroes had come to the rescue. But Izuku's look of joy faltered when he noticed the weapon slung across her back and some parts of her costume and feet were covered in blood.
The Villians glared at Miruko with annoyance. They weren't expecting Heroes to arrive so soon and certainly not the Number 5 Pro Hero herself. The best thing to do would be to leave immediately and let the VX Gas kill them-
"They have a WMD!" Izuku shouted to Miruko. "They're going to kill everyone on I-Island!"
(Led Zepplin-Communication Breakdown)
"WHAT?!" Miruko gaped in shock before she turned to the Villians; her expression switched to furious anger as she cracked her knuckles. "Oh, you assholes are in for it now!"
Volcano responded by blasting a stream of lava from his hands at her but the Hero dodged to the left and threw herself at the Villian just as Izuku ran towards Curator. Uraraka, Melissa, and Shoto took this chance to make a break for the rocket to disarm it.
Curator saw them heading towards the WMD and turned to Gust Boy and Dusty Ash. "Stop them!" He ordered as he enganged Izuku.
Miruko swung a kick at Volcano's face but the Villain blocked with his armored gauntlet. To his surprise, the force of the kick was strong enough to shatter it apart and she took advantage of his moment of surprise to spin into another kick that struck his side. Maguma could feel one of his ribs crack but threw an overhead fist upon Miruko who dodged it and did a sweeping kick that knocked him off of his feet; the Villian recovered fast enough to lob a lava ball at the Heroine.
Curator easily parried Izuku's flurry of blows and barely had enough time to avoid an errant globe of magma that the Hero dodged. Izuku was on the offense, making excellent use of the Full Gauntlet to keep his power up above 50%. However, he could only use maximum power in the hand that Full Gauntlet was wrapped around so he had to keep his One For All at 25% for his other limbs. He was rapidly throwing punches and kicks at Curator but he was easily sidestepping or blocking his attacks with ease.
"Truly, if you were indeed worthy of All Might's tutelage, wouldn't this fight be over already?" He taunted as he swiftly flipped Izuku over his shoulder before hitting him in the chest with an open palm strike. Izuku rolled across the helipad but managed to straighten himself up before he could fall over the edge. Izuku scowled as Curator calmly strode over towards him with his hands clasped behind his back. Izuku had to try and think of a different strategy and buy the others time so they could deactivate that bomb.
Speaking of which, on the other half of the roof, Uraraka and Shoto were engaged in a protracted brawl with Dusty Ash and Gust Boy while Melissa tried her hardest to disarm the rocket. Shoto sent waves of fire at Gust while the Villain countered the attacks by unleashing gusts of wind to blow away the flames, forcing Shoto to use his ice powers. The switch to the other half of his powers was already providing Shoto an advantage since Gust's wind blasts weren't strong enough to break the ice and were successful in freezing the Villain's hands and feet to the ground.
Uraraka was having a little more trouble with her opponent, Dusty Ash. The Villainess had switched from blasting Uraraka with ash to closing the distance and attacking with her ninjato-shaped club. Despite taking martial arts lessons from Gunhead, Uraraka couldn't keep up with her much faster enemy. Ash repeatedly battered her all over with her club, taking great sadistic pleasure in each cry of pain from the younger girl. She pelted Uraraka in the face with her ash, blinding her and striking the club across her face. Uraraka tumbled across the ground as Dusty Ash moved in while spinning her club with the intent of breaking her skull. Only for Shoto to blindside her with a fiery fist to her back. As Dust reeled from the burning sensation on her back, Uraraka touched her by the foot and sent her flying into the air with Shoto following up by sending a pillar of ice smashing into her midsection. Uraraka pressed her fingers together and Dusty throttled downwards towards Gust; their faces crashed together and she landed on top of him.
Shoto helped Uraraka up, momentarily wincing at her bruised face and bloodied nose. The two of them quickly headed over to Melissa who had managed to unscrew the main cover for the small rocket with her fingers and found the main wires.
"Did you find a way to shut it off?" Uraraka asked hopefully as she and Shoto crowded around her.
"I-I-I'm not sure which wires to remove." Melissa stammered, sweating out of stress. She was very hesitant to yank them out. "I could end up setting it off for all we know-"
"/Blue and Yellow./"
The trio jumped at the voice and Uraraka dug out her cell phone to see the symbol on her phone's screen; it was the mysterious contact again.
"/Remove the blue wire first, then the yellow wire. That will disable the device./"
Melissa wasn't sure why Ochako's phone spontaneously started speaking but there was no time to waste. She grabbed the blue wire and tore it out after a few tugs, then the same with the yellow wire. The clockwork mechanisms slowly grounded to a halt until it stopped completely, heralding its deactivation.
"It-it worked!" Melissa exclaimed in surprise as Uraraka shared her expression of joy. "IT'S DISARMED!" Her revelry was short-lived when Dusty freed Gust from his entrapment, forcing Uraraka and Shoto to engage them once again. Izuku and Miruko heard Melissa and the two were relieved but unfortunately, Volcano and Curator were within earshot as well.
Curator hissed to himself in frustration as Izuku took advantage of his distraction. Izuku charged the power of OFA into his legs and zipped behind Curator in midair as arcs of red and green energy danced around him. But Curator spun around and unleashed a loud, ear-piercing sonar wave from his mouthpiece. The reverberating blast sent Izuku tumbling upwards into the air while shouting in pain, covering his ears as the high pitching clicking noise almost ruptured his eardrums. Curator then extended his left hand and it enlarged to thrice his size while taking on a whale-like skin texture. He grabbed Izuku out of the air, his fingers wrapped tightly around Izuku and slowly crushing him.
"All of that power wasted on a petulant little child." Curator sighed in disappointment. "What did All Might see in you?" He then flung Izuku to the right and the boy smashed into the wall near the exit, hard enough to almost destroy it completely. Izuku coughed up blood as the rubble collapsed on top of him.
"KID!" Miruko called out as she saw the youth getting buried underneath the concrete. Gritting her teeth in rage, she dodged another lava glob from Volcano before jumping onto his face and using it like a springboard; knocking Maguma face first to the ground. Miruko charged towards Curator with murderous intent, her crimson eyes locking onto his visible bored eye. Her ears heard the sound of Curator sucking in the air and she darted to the left just in time to avoid the sonar wave he sent her way. Volcano got up and was just about to fire a stream of magma at Miruko when Izuku exploded out of the rubble!
"MANCHESTER SMASH!" Izuku axe kicked Volcano to the back of his skull, inflicting heavy damage upon the Villian who stumbled from the impact; Volcano saw stars in his vision as the back of his head blistered in pain. As Izuku began assailing the disoriented Villain, Miruko slammed her feet against Curator's oversized whale arm.
"You know, they say that you should always save the whales but for you, I'm willing to make an exception!" She ribbed as she backflipped off of his arm and dashed towards the right just as he swung his fist down upon her. Miruko sidestepped the blow but that's when Wolfram recovered from his earlier trouncing and charged at Miruko from behind, his muscles expanding and glowing bright orange. Because of her rabbit hearing, Miruko heard it coming a mile away and somersaulted backward to dodge the blow and then wrapped both of her legs around his neck. "LUNA CATAPULT!" Miruko spun herself around and flung Wolfram towards Curator with her legs. Wolfram yelled in panic as he flew towards his superior but was instantly swatted aside by Curator's massive fist. However, this was only a distraction as Miruko had already closed the distance! Curator tried to use his sonar wave but Miruko elbowed him in the throat before he could breathe in and then jumped up with her foot raised high while he was gagging for air.
"LUNA FALL!" Miruko swung her foot down upon Curator's collarbone and as soon as she landed, spin kicked him in the side of his helmet with enough force to leave a massive indentation. Meanwhile, Izuku continued to fight Volcano; using his speed and small frame to his advantage as he dodged the Villain's magma balls. But Volcano managed to get a lucky hit in and uppercut Izuku right in the chest, his superheated knuckles burning through the boy's shirt. Izuku hacked up a wad of blood before being sent failing across the ground, the hard concrete scraping his skin as his chest burned. Izuku struggled to get up as Volcano popped his knuckles threateningly.
"You're doing this for nothing, brat. Just give up, let us turn the rocket back on and you have my word...your deaths'll be quick." Volcano reasoned with callous impunity.
Gnashing his teeth together, Izuku stood back up as blood dribbled from the corners of his mouth. "If I gave up here and let you walk away with killing everyone here...I COULD NEVER CALL MYSELF A HERO!" Izuku balled his fist as energy surged around him, his determination driving him to keep fighting.
Maguma smiled behind his facemask as he held up his hands, two large globes of magma forming until they were the size of watermelons. "Heh. It's always funny listening to you moral crusaders spout your bullshit. Make's killin' you all the sweeter. KRAKATOA RAIL!"
Volcano thrust his hands out and a column of magma erupted forth in a spiral motion right towards Izuku! Channeling the full 100% might of OFA into his Full Gauntlet, Izuku reared his fist back as the energy crackling around him reached an apex.
"TEXAS SMAAAAAAAAAAAASSSHH!" Izuku threw a right punch so hard that it created a massive burst of wind that drilled straight through Volcano's attack, displacing the magma and cooling it into igneous rock! "WHA-!" Volcano never got the chance to finish as the gale force punch slammed into his midsection, the force of impact breaking several ribs and nearly collapsing both of his lungs. He was sent flying right into Curator and the two tumbled across the helipad right next to a beaten-up Wolfram.
Miruko was awestruck at Izuku's power and could only whistle in response. "Hot damn, kid! What kinda Quirk is that?"
Izuku blushed from being complimented by an attractive woman but snapped himself out of it when Uraraka, Shoto, and Melissa came running over. Melissa was carrying the compact WMD in her hands while the two students were covered in ash, bruises, and scrapes.
"The bomb's disabled but we need to get it as far away from them as possible." Shoto said urgently.
"You guys get downstairs and head to the airport. The Heroes will be on their way soon. Just...try not to look at the blood and carnage along the way." Miruko instructed, sounding hesitant at the last part. Everyone gulped and glanced at each other worriedly. Curator and Volcano, despite the significant damage wrought upon them, slowly staggered to their feet.
"What the hell did they do to you two?!" Wolfram demanded, soon regretting his poor choice of words. Volcano suddenly back fisted Wolfram away from him, breaking his teeth and sending him smacking into the ground.
"Useless little shit..." Volcano angrily grumbled under his breath as Wolfram coughed up his molars. His chest and lungs burned but was still able to stand on his own two feet. "How the fuck is that kid so strong?"
"He's the next inheritor of One for All." Curator quietly revealed to him. Volcano looked at Curator in surprise. That explained a lot.
As Izuku and the others stared down the recovering Villians, Miruko cracked her neck as she stepped forward. She then grinned with anticipation. "You all get outta here, I can handle Beavis and Butthead."
"I'll go remove the rubble!" Ochako volunteered as she went over to the blocked exit with Melissa following behind. Izuku and Shoto were about to assist her but turned behind them to see Miruko about to tussle with the Villains. Looking at each other, Shoto silently nodded to his friend who returned the gesture. The pair walked up towards the Rabbit Heroine and stood by her side while taking their respective fighting stances.
"Huh?" A puzzled Miruko looked to the boys standing by her. "I thought I told you kids to-"
"We know." Shoto cut her off. "But it's our fight too and we thought we could even the odds a little."
"Look, I'm one of those loner-type Heroes so I don't exactly do team-ups." Miruko huffed in annoyance.
"We know. You're famous for your aversion to teams but we're not backing down or walking away." Izuku replied in a serious tone. "You can either kick us away or let us help you, your choice."
Miruko blinked at them, wide-eyed before breaking into a huge smile that brimmed with gusto. "You two got moxie...I like it! Let's just see if you can keep up with me!" She instantly sprinted towards the Villains with Shoto and Izuku easily matching her speed. Izuku channeled OFA, Shoto formed fire and ice in his hands while Miruko balled up her fists. "Hit them as hard you can! Knock em' senseless in one blow!"
"Right!"
Nearing the two oddly unmoving Villains, the trio jumped into the air with their signature moves at the ready. They let out their battle cries as they throttled towards the Villains with the intent to render them-
"SHARD STORM."
"NANO WALL."
Curator's left hand started to shift and crack until it resembled a mass of broken glass running up the length of his arm. It then exploded outwards, sending shards of razor-sharp glass at Miruko! The shards tore across her right leg and arm, slicing up her skin while one errant shard embedded itself on her side! The Heroine screamed in horrible pain as she fell to the ground on top of the scattered glass laying about, adding more to her suffering.
Around the same time, a wall of black and purple material shot up in front of Volcano, blocking Izuku and Shoto's attacks! They tried as hard as they could to free themselves but they found themselves sinking into the wall and restricting their movements. A tendril emerged from the wall and tightly coiled around his throat, throwing him into the air before lashing him down to the ground near Uraraka and Melissa!
Izuku tried to wrench his hands out until the murky substance started engulfing his hands, lifting it so that Izuku could see his Full Gauntlet being slowly disassembled bit by bit right before his very eyes! Volcano's hand shot out of the wall and gripped Izuku by the neck, and tightly squeezed. The wall deconstructed itself in a cubical pattern to reveal Volcano, his forehead and hands covered with the same material as the blockade.
"Nanomachines, son! They only activate in response to extreme physical trauma AND I'M GOING TO PAY YOU BACK IN FULL!" Volcano yelled as he headbutted Midoriya with his nanite-infused head before unleashing a devastating nano haymaker that hurled him across the helipad where the boy bounced along the ground. Curator blasted Miruko with another sonar wave at her, the force throwing her back towards the others.
His body wracked with searing pain, Izuku willed himself to stand up but nearly all of his strength had left him. His bones had sustained fractures, his nose was broken and he could taste blood in his mouth. Shoto wasn't faring any better, he could barely pick himself up while clutching his bleeding chest. Miruko was able to stand but the broken glass sticking out of her arm, leg, and one sizable piece sticking out of her side caused her no end of suffering.
"Mother...fuck!" Miruko grunted in pain as she yanked out each shard out of her arms and legs, spilling blood onto the ground. "How do they have different Quirks?!"
Izuku knew the answer all too well: All for One. One time during his private conversations with All Might, the Hero had relayed to Izuku that one of the Villains present during the U.S.J. Villain Invasion, known as "Nomu", apparently had multiple Quirks. This led to the possibility that All for One had the ability to steal Quirks and transfer them into other people, or rather those he deemed worthy if those two Villains were of any indication. Uraraka stopped moving the rubble blocking the exit with her Quirk and ran over to help Shoto but that's when a gust of ash swept in from the left and knocked her to the ground.
"END OF THE LINE, FUCKERS!" Dusty Ash snarled as she and Gust Boy stomped towards the helpless teens and Melissa. They had been beaten and frozen to the ground again earlier; to say that they were pissed would be an understatement. Melissa stepped away in fear while still holding the WMD.
Izuku looked back and forth between his friends and the Villains. They were all in a very bad situation: neither of them was in any position to fight, the exit was still blocked, the Villains were closing in and two of them had multiple Quirks. The odds were stacked against them. At this point, there was nothing to stop the Villains from reactivating the WMD. Izuku didn't know what to do, this was beginning to look like the end of his dreams.
Miruko fought through the horrific pain she was in as she stared down the approaching Villains in defiance. Blood continued to flow from her wounds and pooled at her feet, giving her a rather disturbing appearance unbefitting for a Hero. Miruko glanced behind her shoulder at the others and noticed how scared and badly wounded they were. Miruko mapped out a plan in her head: clear the exit and get them out of harm's way while she held off the Villains. Chances are she would most likely going to die but she couldn't think of the worst way to go out.
Grinning in an almost evil-looking manner, Miruko prepared herself for what would be her last stand and die with flying colors...
Only for the roof exit to suddenly explode outward, scattering rubble and startling everyone present. Miruko, Izuku, and the others looked behind them at the now uncovered exit and heard footsteps. Loud, heavy, plodding footsteps. At first, they couldn't see who it was due to the darkened rooftop but as soon as the figure stepped into view...they all reacted with terror.
Melissa backed away in fright. Shoto and Uraraka gasped. Izuku broke out into a cold sweat as his eyes widened in fear.
"Oh shit..." Miruko muttered as her veins turned icy cold.
"It's Him."
To be continued...
And so ends my longest chapter on this story! Great way to end 2021!
I was going for sort of a Suicide Squad-styled flashback for this chapter, showcasing how Izuku, Miruko, and the Slayer all meet up on the roof but I didn't have the energy to write in the Slayer's segment. That'll be in the next chapter. But this did give me the opportunity to give the other characters some time in the spotlight, it can't always be the Slayer!
I will say that I had a blast writing Miruko's reaction to the slaughter of the Sabers as well as adding in more snippets of her past. Should make for some very interesting possibilities for her and the Slayer. Did I do her character right?
On the subject of Darksiders, I would like to thank you all for being in support of it. It already proving to be a better alternative to Diablo.
Before I close this off, I just want to say thanks again for all of the support and reviews. As usual, it helped me out a lot during these troubling times. 2021 clearly wasn't the year where things would look up but that does not mean we should look to 2022 with dread. I still have a feeling that next year will be an improvement and things may finally start to get a little better. Don't give up hope!
But now I want to be real with you guys. I know you all love my story so far but I don't exactly consider myself to be a good writer. I just write whatever comes to mind though I still have the plot all planned out in my head. Despite that, I have a bad habit of repeating words or misspelling them (that's only due to the fact I'm using the notepad editor on this site, there's no autocorrect button). I'm not the best when it comes to fighting scenes, especially the anime-styled ones like in this chapter.
I'm not George R.R. Martin.
I'm not J.K. Rowling.
I'm not J.R.R. Tolkien.
I'm not Ernest Hemingway.
I'm not Hiromu Arakawa.
I'm not Kentaro Miura.
I'm not Eiichiro Oda.
I'm just an average joe who loves to write stories.
But then came you guys. Hearing all of your kind words and suggestion, even going so far as to call this the best MHA crossover, it's been a huge blessing to me. I truly do want to see this story through to the end and that's what I'm going to do. Thank you all again and here's to another action-packed year of Unchained Predator!
I'll be taking a break to enjoy the holidays and brainstorm how I'm finally going to finish this damn arc with a bang. Until then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Don't forget to review but please don't flame, stay healthy and stay safe.