14Earth 2018.2149:
It had been October 31st, 20XX.
A day like any other.
"So let me get this straight, you guys don't go trick or treating here?" Peter asked as he leaned against the wall, an open soda bottle in his hand as Izuku rummaged through the bag from the Don Quixote below.
"No, not really." Izuku said with a smile as he took out a Kit-Kat bar and opened it. "There are some schools that have the teacher hand out candy and some kids share it with their friends, but other than that it's just a day to dress up for fun."
"Ah, the old 'party excuse' holiday thing." His mentor nodded sagely as Izuku bit into his chocolate. "Reminds me of Saint Patrick's Day. You know, Steve used to tell me about how Nick Fury Sr. freakin' hated how people acted during that day. Said it made people act like a bunch of idiots who only wanted to get drunk and treat their heritage like a theme park." Peter grinned. "But if there's any holiday to have fun, dress up, and eat a lot of unhealthy crap, this is the one that deserves it!"
The two had decided to meet up that night while on patrol. Izuku hadn't had any trouble throughout the day, aside from helping a couple of drunk men get home and breaking up a party that was getting a bit too out of hand. Peter had gone through the same, and with a lack of anything better to do they decided to just meet up on a side of a building and eat some candy to celebrate.
"W-Well, I'm just glad that it's been peaceful for the past few days." Izuku's face darkened. "But we still haven't found Mysterio…"
The 'and a way to get you back home' remained unspoken between them.
Mysterio had been giving them the slip for months, even with his Enforcers in jail and the League of Villains going further underground. It was a maddening development because Izuku had been trying so hard to find his mentor's return ticket home. It was the only way he could repay the man who taught him so much…
"We'll get him." Peter playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Don't sweat it, kid! A guy like Quentin Beck doesn't like to stay underground for too long." He took another sip of his soda. "So, to move onto a better topic… what are you going to dress up as for your little date with that Uraraka girl?"
Izuku's cheeks felt like they were practically burning. "I-I'm not dating Uraraka! H-Honest!"
"Right… right…" The older man snapped his fingers. "It's Jirou!"
"Peter! Stop it!"
"Listen to a man who has more dating experience than you can imagine, Izuku. When you take your girl to see a scary movie tonight, go for something that is light-hearted like Shaun of the Dead or Phantom of the Paradise. Something that's scary but not too scary. Otherwise…"
Peter's voice trailed off and a sharp pain entered Izuku's head. He screamed as he clutched it, and he could see that Peter was doing the same. It felt like his skull was cracking open and brains were leaking out of his ears. "W-What is this?!"
"I don't know!" Peter hissed before looking up. "Oh my god…"
He blinked through the pain and looked up.
The sky had been obscured by clouds all day, but the weather reports didn't say there were any potential thunderstorms.
And yet, there was a flash in the sky.
An eerie light that seemed to be all the colors and yet none.
The clouds rippled as if they were water, and slowly something massive began to part through them.
A head far larger than anything had any right to be, dressed in a massive purple helm with twin horns jutting through the sides.
"Galactus?!" Peter cried out, but Izuku knew something was wrong.
What should've been pink human-like flesh was now grey and torn. Blood had dried long ago, creating massive blackish gouges in the cosmic god's skin.
His eyes were empty sockets, the eyelids torn off to reveal pools of black emptiness.
And that wide gaping maw…
Izuku could tell that in Galactus' final moments, he had been screaming.
Izuku cried out as his eyes shot open. He sat up and let out gasps of air, feeling the cool air hit his sweat-drenched body.
He had to move. He had to move and save as many people he could before they came in. Before it all started. The screams and smashing buildings. The groans and the maddened pleas for the infection to spread. Friends and loved ones turned into… into…!
"Izuku!"
He felt her get up and hug him, her thin yet hardened and scarred arms snaking around him and pulling him tightly into her naked chest. Her chin was on his shoulder and her face close to his.
"It's okay." Mina Midoriya-Ashido, his wife of four years, said soothingly. "We're okay. They're… they're gone now. We're all safe."
Memories began to slowly fill his head again. The counter-attack, the evacuation, the long pilgrimage… "I-I…" Izuku's lips quivered before he began to cry. Mina didn't let him go as he blubbered out, "I remembered that day, Mina. I… I could've saved more! I could've saved Mom, Peter, Uraraka, Jirou…. I-I wanted to be a Hero and I failed…!"
"Don't say that." He looked into his wife's eyes and her gaze was strong. "Don't ever say that. It's because of you that me and thousands of other people are alive. You and the others did all that you could." She looked down and said, "I miss them too."
They just stayed there, embracing for another couple of hours, as their heartbeats slowed and the tears stopped. Slowly, Izuku turned and hugged Mina before kissing her.
Her lips, full and warm, parted with his after a second before she smiled. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah…" He swung his legs and slowly stood up. "I need to get dressed. They're expecting me in the training hall."
Mina simply stretched and laid back down, propping her head on her hand. "Hey, don't hurry on my account. I love the view!"
Despite being twenty, Izuku let out a boyish yelp before rushing into the walk-in closet. Quickly and efficiently, he put on a simple white bodysuit with a green version of the planet Earth emblazoned on his chest. On each of his shoulders were the symbol of a spider, also green, which matched the green boots and combat belt he put on. Once he was done, he walked out of the closet and looked out the window.
Hala, the homeworld of the Kree and adoptive home for the remnants of humanity, was alive and bustling. Both the blue and pink-skinned Kree, and the few humans that were living in the capital, were rushing to work either on foot or riding the floating train cars that disappeared in a matter of seconds. Soldiers were patrolling, keeping an eye out for any lawbreakers and eyeing humans with suspicion. Flying cars flew past the Midoriya's windows without a care in the world.
It was still amazing how he was living on an actual alien planet.
He felt a buzzing on his right arm and lifted his gloved wrist to see a single square blue light flashing. He tapped it and just ahead of him the translucent head of Kacchan appeared. His unshaven face and the haunted look in his eyes already told Izuku that this wasn't going to be good news.
"Kacchan, what's…?"
"You and Pinky need to get your ass to the capital now." Kacchan's gaze grew even more serious. "We just got a distress signal… from Earth."
Return of the Marvelous Dead
This couldn't be happening.
"Join us!"
"It feels so good…!"
"Please, get away!"
"You'll understand soon."
"Mommy!"
"My arm! T-They tore off my arm!"
"The pain is merely a baptism."
"Save us, All Might!"
"Come and see."
"Izuku! Snap out of it!"
Izuku blinked as his mind centered in on himself. The city of Musutafu was in chaos. Dust was everywhere as buildings collapsed, obscuring the full picture of what was going on. But he could still see…
…And what he saw was horrible.
Heroes and Villains of the Marvel universe were here. Peter's allies and enemies. But they were… changed. He could see Nova swooping in to pick up a child, biting him on the neck as a doll-sized Wasp was crouched over a fallen man, gleefully eating through his eyeball. The Abomination was… he was tearing Death Arms in half! The blood and innards splattering everywhere as the Hero just continued to scream.
And more were flooding out of a tear in Galactus' arms. Each of them with grey skin and torn flesh, some of them missing a limb or two with blank eyes. All of them are newborn from their unholy and alien womb.
"T-This can't be…"
Peter's hand slapped him across the face, causing him to blink and look at his mentor. Peter was wearing his mask, but even he could see his mentor's wide and frightened eyes focusing on him.
"P-Peter?"
"Come on, kid!" Peter was now picking him up with one arm and running. "We have to move!"
"B-But the people…!"
"We can't save anyone if we're at ground zero and dead!" Peter jumped and began swinging. He let go of Izuku, and the teenager began following him. "We need to gain some distance and figure things out. Save anyone we can without us dying in the meanwhile!"
Izuku shook his head and glanced back. "Peter, what is this?! Why is Galactus here and your… your friends are… they're eating people!"
"I know." He looked up at the original Spider-Man and noted that his voice was far more serious than he had ever heard it before. "I don't know what happened, but it's nothing good. For now we need to regroup and try to figure things…"
"Been a long time, Spidey!" Izuku watched in amazement as Peter stealthily twisted in the air to avoid being hit by Alpha. The blond's hair was caked in dry core and his lips were practically torn off. "We've been looking for you, even after we were all blessed!"
"God, Andrew!" Peter didn't hesitate. He shot a web to the teenager's head and Izuku did the same with Alpha's chest. "Izuku, you need to pull!"
"But…!"
"Do it!"
He cried out and did what the elder man said. He heard a sickening tear and watched in horror as Alpha's head was torn by the neck and flung away. The headless body spewed gore in bursts as they all fell to the ground.
"You're resisting the inevitable, Peter!" To Izuku's horror, Alpha's head continued to speak. "The sooner you are converted, the easier it'll be! Come and see! Come and see!"
"H-How is it…?"
"Come on, we're not safe in the air." Peter motioned him to follow as they ducked into an alleyway. "We need to stay on the ground and hidden. We'll be able to do a lot more if we're not swarmed by every one of those… things that fly."
"Peter… I don't understand what is going on." He felt the tears come to his eyes. It was… it was just too much! One second everything was fine and the next… "This is something out of a horror movie! Zombies?! How…? They aren't supposed to exist! This isn't supposed to happen! It… it…!"
"Izuku, I need you to focus!" Peter put his hands on Izuku's shoulders. "I know it's crazy, but right now you need to accept that this is reality! We can't help anyone if you crack up, and right now people need you alive more than ever! Please, just think in the now and focus on that!"
He swallowed the saliva in his mouth. Right, right there were still people out there. People that were in such danger… people that would die if he didn't hold on! All Might wouldn't give up in the face of this insanity, so he can't either.
People needed help. People like…
"Mom!" Izuku looked at the phone application in his HUD and saw that he had an incoming call from Uraraka. Without a second thought, he answered it. "Uraraka…! Are you…?"
"D-Deku-kun…" Uraraka's hoarse voice said through the other end. "P-Please come. My apartment. I need… I need…!"
"Uraraka, please hold on! Tell me what's going on!"
Before his friend could answer, a big notification appeared in his HUD.
CONNECTION TERMINATED.
HERO: SPIDER-MAN.
REPORT TO THE HPSC HEADQUARTERS IMMEDIATELY.
He looked at Peter desperately. "T-They won't let me make calls! They're just telling me to go to the HPSC building, but Uraraka needs help! And… and my mom! She… I need to make sure she's alright!"
His mentor nodded. "Alright. You know where your friend is?"
"Yeah. I went to her place with Jirou and Sero to hang out and…" Izuku looked up and screamed before firing two webs at a figure dropping from the roof overhead. "Peter, behind you!"
"Hi, Daddy! It's been so long!"
Izuku could tell who the young thing that used to be a woman was before she even came fully into view. That female figure dressed in a variation of Peter's costume and the torn leather jacket… the left side of her mask was torn to reveal dark red hair and a wide Glasgow grin of a torn cheek with decaying flesh.
The thing that was Mayday Parker easily avoided his webs. Peter jumped out of the way just to avoid her swipe. She landed in front of Peter and stood up, continuing to look at him specifically.
"M-May?"
"I've missed you. I missed you so much but never gave up hope." The undead daughter of Peter Parker let out a giggle. "Now we can be together. Mommy's waiting. Come…" She leapt at them, her arms outstretched. "Come and see!"
"Izuku, get out of here!" Peter turned around and shoved Izuku back before kicking the former Spider-Girl to the side. "It's me she wants! Go and save your friend!"
Izuku wanted to help. He couldn't stand by and let Peter be killed by his daughter!
But the idea of Uraraka and his mom being hurt by one of these things came into mind, and Izuku found it easier to turn around and run.
He ran as fast as his legs could take him, all the while witnessing horrors.
The members of Power Pack and Runaways in a pet store, eating the helpless animals in cages.
The Rabbit Hero, Miriko, crouches down like an animal as she tore out a young boy's throat and chewed.
Best Jeanist being overwhelmed by his own Sidekicks, calling them by name as they descended on him.
He saw a high school girl shoving her classmate back into the arms of Manual, who instantly bit her cheek off and chewed.
But through it all, Izuku ran.
He wanted to help. He desperately wanted to help.
But all he could think about was Uraraka and his Mom. If he just saved them, it would be alright. It would be fine and he would be able to think straight.
His head was buzzing constantly. It was like his Spider-Sense was on all the time, and he wasn't the only one in constant danger. There were just too many people that needed help. What could he do?! What could he do?!
He cried throughout his entire run to Uraraka's apartment. He jumped up and landed on the railing to her apartment's entrance, and without hesitating he leapt off and swung the door open.
"Uraraka?! It's me!"
A pit in his stomach began to form when he noticed that all the lights were out. He couldn't hear anyone, not even the neighbors. Slowly, he walked inside.
"U-Uraraka? Are you here?" He clenched his fists as his heart beat faster. "Y-You called and… please tell me you're okay."
"Deku-kun…"
He sucked in breath as he heard his friend's voice deeper in the darkness. Izuku's eyes could even barely see her outline as she got up from the living room area and was walking to him.
"Is it just you here? Where are your parents?" He took another step forward. "You sounded like you needed help. Were you out on patrol whe-?"
"I'm glad you came, Deku-kun. I was so scared… I wanted to share it with someone but when I got home…"
Izuku's eyes widened and his jaw dropped when his eyes fully adjusted to the little light in the room.
Ochako Uraraka's mouth and her entire front was caked in blood. A piece of her shoulder was completely gone and exposed her bone for all to see.
Just behind her was what was left of her mother and father. Pieces of cloth, flesh, and bone were everywhere. It looked like a pack of rabid dogs had chewed up some helpless rabbit in a feeding frenzy.
His hand covered his mouth as Uraraka stepped forward.
"I was just so hungry. We all are when we're converted. But now I feel better." The thing that was once his friend gave a small, sad smile. "I wanted my parents to see, but I couldn't control myself. They cannot see it now…" She looked at him and a beatiful blood-soaked smile spread across her face. "But you can!"
He wanted to throw up.
He wanted to wake up from this nightmare.
"It's so beautiful, Deku-kun. Unlike anything you could imagine." She drew up her arms, ready to embrace him in a loving hug. "We are all free and eternal. We are all part of something greater. You need to embrace it. I can bring you there and we can be together in a way only lovers can dream of."
She was only a foot away. But his legs wouldn't move. They were just rooted to the ground.
"Come and see."
Izuku heard footsteps and saw Uraraka's loving smile disappear into a hateful snarl.
A hand enveloped her face and in a second the flesh was gone in a small explosion. Flesh and bone were flung everywhere as Izuku was pulled back by the collar. He landed on his butt and watched as Uraraka's headless body flopped to the ground.
He looked up and muttered, "K-Kacchan?"
His childhood friend turned around and Izuku saw in awe his sharp and clear eyes. There was no hatred in those orbs, only cold determination.
"Get your head out of your ass, Deku." Kacchan reached out and dragged Izuku to his feet. "We've got zombies to kill."
"You look like shit, Bakugou."
Kacchan flipped Mina the bird before turning his full attention to Izuku. "Deku. I see you're still wearing the costume those alien assholes gave you."
Kacchan hadn't really changed since he was a teenager. He was still wearing his old Hero costume, but now with extra pouches on his belt and a Kree military-issued pistol. It was just his childhood friend's way of not compromising with their hosts. Izuku knew that Ronan was just waiting for an excuse to 'discipline' him, but since Kacchan hadn't broken any major laws the Supreme Intelligence declared that the explosion-slinging man would have to spend a month in 'the hole' and pay fees.
Said month being cut off from most sensory inputs did nothing to make him more agreeable to being a member of the Kree Empire.
"I have to. I'm a captain in a Kree and Human platoon, and the last thing any of us need is to cause problems." He sighed and shook his head. "Kacchan, can't you at least try? They gave us a home…"
"They gave us a piece of shit hovel and the bare minimum just because of our Quirks." Kacchan glanced at the Earth Refugee Embassy. "The only reason that they didn't tell us to keep on looking is because most of you were willing to get off in a cup."
Despite his age, Izuku's cheeks reddened while Mina glared at Kacchan. But he wasn't wrong.
The Earth Refugee Embassy, while far from derelict, wasn't exactly the best in the empire. All the technology in there was apparently years out of date, the roof leaked on the days when it rained, and the Kree youth seemed to view the embassy as if it were a dump. Most would've reported the little brats, but Mirio insisted that they didn't because the Kree treated litter as a serious crime.
Hell, they treated almost everything as if it were deserving of capital punishment.
But still, they gave the human race a home and a place in their capital planet. All they had to do was be willing to donate their DNA and help to create a Kree/Human hybrid that inherited their human doner's Quirk.
Izuku sometimes wondered how many of his 'children' were being made already. Mina had found out from a Kree friend that she had about forty being made as the first wave.
"Oh quit your whining, Bakugou." Mina pointed at the embassy. "Are we going to go in or what?" Kacchan rolled his eyes and turned on his heel before stomping away. When he was out of earshot, she looked at Izuku. "At least he stopped drinking."
"Yeah." He scratched his cheek. "I heard that he's attending AA meetings with some of the survivors."
"Thank God for small favors." She walked with him to follow Kacchan. "I didn't think he could be a bigger asshole, but he somehow found a way with Kree liquor."
"He just needed help. Help to stop using it as a crutch for…"
He didn't need to finish saying it. He and Mina both knew what Kacchan was trying to forget.
When they entered the building, they found both their former classmates and newer friends milling around the lobby. He and Sero shared an awkward but friendly hug while Mina did the same with Asui and Reiko Yanagi. As Izuku made some small talk with Kaminari and Koda, he watched as his wife made an awkward glance at Tetsutetsu before turning away to talk with Yosetsu Awase.
He already knew what it was about. Mina had told him of that night she shared with Tetsutetsu after Kirishima had died. She needed someone to comfort her in the face of horror, and he was so much like their dead friend that she…
He didn't blame her for that. They all did things they regretted in the wake of their friends and loved ones dying.
It had been a one time thing, she said. They both regretted it the next morning and didn't plan on continuing after. And Izuku had told her it was fine. It happened well before he and Mina were married so it wasn't as if she cheated on him.
"Besides, I know that I'm a replacement too…"
"Yo! Izuku!"
Izuku felt the air behind him shift and he turned to see the speedster Stanley Stewart grinning at him. The man had changed in the years. His suit was now a dark green with white stripes, and he also began growing a goatee.
He grinned at the dark-skinned man. "Hi, Stanley. How's it going?"
Stanley gave a rueful smile. "Well… it was going great until I got the call. You think they're serious?"
"I don't know." Izuku admitted. "It just seems so unbelievable. People had actually survived on Earth for this long?"
"Well, you can say one thing about the human race. They are stubborn as all hell." Stanley gave a solemn nod. "But I'm surprised they aren't pissed at us for…" His face grew troubled. "…you know."
Izuku had nightmares about that day. Watching from in the stratosphere as Nuke self-destructed to prevent herself from being turned and to buy them all extra time. He had imagined the screams as they had ascended in the escape ships. The screams of those vaporized by Nuke's blast or dying of radiation. The cries of those who were once human before being turned unwillingly into an undead horde, and the shouts of anger of the survivors who were wondering why their Heroes couldn't save them…
"Because they are waiting for us to come and save them."
The two looked up to see Mark Milton floating down, his green cape billowing behind him as he feet touched on the ground. The former teen rebel had grown into a man, spandex completely replacing the jeans and t-shirt he once wore and a solid green belt displaying the symbol of nuclear fallout at the center.
Mark glanced at Izuku and Stanley before continuing. "They want us to save them… and I don't plan on disappointing them again."
"The only way that we can destroy these creatures is by completely obliterating the brain!"
"Doctor, what you're suggesting is lunacy!"
"Hyuuga-san, at this point it is the most rational course of action! These things are multiplying too rapidly! Every time they bite one, they create another member of their horde! Those infected individuals then get up and infect one more! We have already been unable to contain this infection because our government was unable to deal with the infected without emotion!"
"Without emotion?! Good god, woman! Those things were once their family members! Their neighbors! Their friends! Are you suggesting that they forget all that and just kill them?!"
"THEY ARE ALREADY DEAD! DON'T YOU GET IT?!"
"Shut that fucking thing off!" Kacchan shouted at the JSDF soldier in front of him, who was holding up his cellphone and watching the news. "We don't need to hear that shit!"
"Kacchan, please don't…" But Izuku also wanted it to stop. Before all this, he'd never listen to such horrible news. Whenever there was some story about a bomb going off in some country thousands of miles away, he had always changed the channel. It wasn't something he wanted to hear.
But he couldn't avoid it now.
It was happening all around him.
The JSDF soldier looked up, but the gas mask with dark lenses hid any expression from them. "Make me, brat."
"You son of a…!" Kacchan attempted to get up, but tensed when the sound of guns moving out of their holsters. He could only look around and see that the other JSDF soldiers were aiming their weapons at Kacchan. "You bastards! He's the one listening to that psychotic shit!"
"It's the news. The only news station we got, and we wanna be sure that something's being done!" One of the JSDF soldiers pointed at the seat. "So sit your ass down before we execute you for insubordination!"
"I don't answer to you, shit-!"
Izuku had enough and got up. In a swift motion, he grabbed Kacchan by the collar and dragged him down. The blond glared at him, but said nothing.
The Hero Public Safety Commission had informed them that Japan was effectively under martial law. The containment and elimination of the 'Infected' had become a JSDF operation, and the students had become conscripted into the self defense force right then and there. They and other Heroes were to take any and all orders from Japan's military and to assist their 'superiors' in every way possible.
Which meant that the soldier could follow through with his threat of execution.
Slowly, his childhood friend sat back while biting his lip. He bit so hard that it began to draw blood.
"She'll be okay." Izuku muttered to himself while twiddling his thumbs. "She'll be okay."
All Might had been there, and despite his good cheer even Izuku could tell it was forced. This entire situation had come out of nowhere and was spiraling out of control faster than anyone could have anticipated. He had only been able to get out of Uraraka's…
Izuku felt the tears well up in his eyes.
….former apartment thanks to Kacchan. If he hadn't come he would be dead. Or he would've frozen up there and never got to the HPSC building, where Mirio was able to get him on the patrol to his apartment complex.
Kacchan grunted, but did nothing else. Instead, he sat with his arms folded as the truck continued its route. The sound of carnage, explosions, and distant gunshots echoed through the thin metal walls while blood and dust obscured the bulletproof glass.
"In other news, it appears that the greatest Hero in the United States of America has fallen."
Izuku briefly glanced up and saw that the JSDF soldier to his left was looking at his phone. On it was the shaky video of a destroyed New York City, with the young Hero known as Hyperion stumbling away from the headless corpse of a costumed woman while holding her lead in his right hand. The zombie iced Number One of the USA was muttering something to Hyperion, which made his face twist in rage before he turned around. He dropped the head before kicking it right his boot, turning it into a red shower of gore.
"The infection had spread across the world rapidly thanks to several of the shrinking infected boarding departing planes and the infected speed-enhanced individual identified as Quicksilver running to the United States." The video changed to show Quicksilver slowing down just enough to take a bite out of the Amphibian's throat. "Luckily, before Quicksilver could continue his spread the Hero known as Blur was able to eliminate him." The video then showed a flying piece of rubble taking out a chunk of the former superhero's skull. "But while they have a larger military, the loss of Star and Stripe is a massive moral blow to the country." The scene then showed the still image of All Might smiling. "We can only pray that with All Might by our side, Japan will see a light beyond this darkness."
Before the report could finish, the vehicle lurched to a stop and all the soldiers got up. "Alright, ladies! Let's move it! We've got a building to mop up!" The captain screamed while Izuku and Kacchan got to their feet. He pointed at the two of them and shouted, "You two! I want you to start from the top floor! Make sure you kill anything that has blood on the mouth!"
"Yes, sir." Izuku muttered while Kacchan dusted himself off, the two of them got out of the truck and looked around.
This was the street he had grown up on, and in front of him was the building he had called home for years.
A place of warmth and comfort.
But now the street was strewn with rubble and bodies. Over the apartment's railing were more than a few bodies, dripping blood down the cream-colored walls. Soldiers were kicking down doors one by one. Some of them ushered crying civilians out, only stopping a few, some of them children, that were clutching a bloody wound before coldly shooting them in the head. Right in front of their crying relatives and neighbors. The sniper of their unit was laying on top of the convoy truck, shooting all the bodies that were draped over the railings in the head for good measure.
A Hero would stop them.
A superhero would be taking over this situation and reminding the soldiers about their humanity and morality.
"Come on, Deku." He felt Kacchan's hand on his shoulder. He turned to see his former bully's solemn expression, completely devoid of any ridicule or anger. "Let's go do the job and find your mom."
"Yeah." Izuku nodded and he crouched down. Then, releasing all his strength, he jumped up and landed on the roof in a crouch…
…and there he saw a ghastly sight.
The entire roof was covered in green vines that were lines with torn flesh and gore, each of them snaking back and retreating to a crouching figure that was tearing the meat off of a male torso as if it were a chicken.
"Flesh will become one once consumed. All flesh becomes one, fueling a rebirth that will bring about a new age. An age of the blessed and chosen. The promised children of the lord."
Despite her once pristine white robes being dyed with the gore of her victims, Izuku could recognize the girl that had once been Ibara Shiozaki.
Once, those dead eyes had been fill of life and devotion to her religion. She had wanted to be a Hero with all her heart.
Now, her prayers were the ramblings of the mad.
Of the living dead.
"We are the chosen ones, and we eat the flesh of the unconverted so that they become a part of the new cycle. We drink their blood as the wine for our communion." Shiozaki cracked open a rib bone and began sucking out the marrow. "Reborn as the blessed children. Oh, if only they could see now! Hunger is a mere trial all of us must overcome, but it shall be brief! It is promised in the New Testament of this new age!"
The vines… they must be returning from snaking over the top floors. They must have gone through the windows and doors, snatching all those who were hiding inside to become Shiozaki's meal.
Shiozaki let out a mad laugh as she looked up and saw Izuku. She continued to laugh and pointed at him, and he noticed that around her eyes were dried tears.
Did she know what was happening before the hunger had set in?
But then Izuku saw something.
A discarded corpse, the flesh completely torn apart and the innards partially eaten.
He recognized the pink cloth, as well as the strands of dark green hair.
It was the cloth of the woman who raised him, who hugged him when he was sad and loved him unconditionally.
"Come and see, Midoriya! Join me in this supper! Her flesh is bread and the blood is wine! "
Tears were swimming into his increasingly red vision. Kacchan was shouting something, but his Spider-Sense and the blood in his ears drowned him out. Izuku shouted something he never though he would utter.
"DIE!"
And he launched himself at Shiozaki and the next few minutes were hard to remember.
But the next thing he knew, he was hugging Kacchan and weeping while Shiozaki's remains were scattered everywhere.
"So how did we even get this message?" Mirio Togata asked Izuku as they walked down the hallway.
The successor of All Might had radical changes to his costume in the five years since the exodus from Earth. In order to honor his predecessor, he intentionally stylized his costume after All Might's Golden Age suit, albeit with a numerical one million on his chest and a completely green cape.
"Mark said it had been discovered by the Pluto base." Izuku motioned to Mark, who continued to stride forward with purpose. "It was a satellite containing a single message on a copper plate, playing in a constant loop."
"It kept saying 'Hello? Is anyone out there?'" The Superman said without turning back. "If that isn't a cry for help, I don't know what is."
"Yeah, but after all this time?" Mina glanced at Izuku nervously. "I mean, Emilia told us that it would take three years for the human race to be wiped out!"
Mirio let out a small chuckle. "Maybe she forgot to carry the one?"
"Don't tell Psycho Bitch that." Kacchan snorted, but nobody laughed at that. They were all aware of how the 'greatest human mind' took any insults to her intelligence.
And God help anyone that said she made a mistake.
"Well, there's a first time for everything." Mark stopped in front of a door that had two Kree soldiers posted at the sides. "Let us pass, private. We have a meeting with the head scientist."
"Sir." The guards glanced at Izuku and the others as if they were staring at pieces of shit, but they said nothing. "And these… citizens?"
"They're with me." He crossed his arms. "Got a problem with it?"
"No sir!" The two saluted and one tapped his glove. The doors slid open and they walked into the Homo-Superior Ascendance Lab.
It was a special lab that the Kree government created at Emilia Burbank's direction. It was perhaps the most modern part of the Earth Refugee Embassy, and with Emilia running things she made it into one of the most advanced labs in the home world. Machines hummed with life and electricity as beakers transferred strange-colored liquid. Honeycombed on the walls were embryos growing, each of them containing different features and skin tones.
But Izuku saw that all of the embryos on the far wall, the longest out of four sides, all looked the same.
As machines injected the cells with chemicals or took some out to hand to the human and Kree scientists, a single figure floated only an inch off the ground and was watching it all. She was dressed in a one-piece spandex suit that most would recognize as the costume of Doctor Spectrum.
But Nenet Ledger was dead. Had been for some time.
Emilia Burbank, the new welder of the prism, turned in the air and smiled at Hyperion. Izuku would be lying if he said that the years hadn't added to the cold and mysterious beauty the woman held. "Ah, Hyperion. It is good to see you visiting my lab." She motioned to the honeycombed wall containing the identical embryos. "Come to visit our children?"
He scowled at her and clenched his fists. The subject of how Emilia had gotten his 'genetic material' was a sore one for Mark, but Izuku could put two and two together. One night of passion and grief led to the usual, and Emilia who was ever pragmatic kept what she had gained. The only reason Mark hadn't completely wrecked the place was because the project helped to give humanity a home. "You know I haven't, Burbank."
Unperturbed by his coldness, Emilia waved in the air behind her. The air shimmered as the lights dimmed, and soon a gigantic green face with hair that seemed to be made out of tentacles appeared. Its cold yellow eyes scanned them all, and a legion of voices said one word.
"KNEEL."
Once upon a time, Izuku would've balked at the command. Who told people to kneel in a modern age?
And yet, now, they all did it. Only Kacchan showed some hesitance, at least until Mina tugged him by the ear to go down. After a second passed, the Supreme Intelligence said its next word.
"RISE." It glanced at Emilia as the humans stood up. "The Kree Empire has reviewed the message sent by the remnant of your species. And with the assistance of Chief Scientist Burbank, we can attest that it was not created by the infected individuals."
"For all their intelligence, especially with a hive mind that contains several minds only a step below my own…" The prism flashed before a construct of a satellite appeared. "They would have left minute traces of their infected selves. Necrotic tissue or secreted bodily fluids. However, only living tissue constructed this satellite."
"Then that means there are survivors on Earth!" Mirio shouted as he slammed his fist into his palm. "We have to go get them!"
"And fuck up any zombie that gets in our way!" Kacchan agreed with a manic grin on his face. "It's time for some payback!"
But Izuku knew the Supreme Intelligence. "Will the Kree be devoting an entire invasion force to this?" He asked the organic intelligence. "I… I mean, will you devote the empire's full might to reclaiming our home?"
"By our calculations, there are less than five hundred surviving humans remaining on the planetoid designated as Earth." The Supreme Intelligence said coldly. "And those are under charitable circumstances."
"Who gives a shit?!" Kacchan screamed. "If we have a thousand of your soldiers, we could blow those fuckers to kingdom come!"
"To devote a full invasion force is risking Kree lives. Far too great a risk, despite the immense gain of an increased Quirk genepool." The intelligence, completely unperturbed by the explosive man, began to flicker out of existence. "But we shall devote two hundred soldiers to this effort, with Captains Mar-Vell and Noh-Varr leading them. Be grateful for this boon, humans."
"HEY! Hey, we ain't fuckin-!" But it was no use. The Supreme Intelligence's hologram was gone in the blink of an eye, and Kacchan could do nothing but grit his teeth in impotent rage. "I hate that pri-!"
Stanley was right behind him and covered his mouth. "Shut up, man!" He hissed. "Do you wanna get executed? Because I know Ronan is just waiting for an excuse!"
And Izuku could see it in the eyes of all the Kree soldiers. Each of them were staring at Kacchan with narrowed eyes, their hands inching closer to their sidearms. To insult the leader of the Kree Empire was a capital offense, one punishable with death.
With a snarl, he broke free from Stanley's grip. "I know, damn it!" He began rubbing his mouth with his hand, and Izuku knew that he was already sorely wishing for a drink.
And who could blame him?
From what they had seen, it was a miracle that they all weren't alcoholics.
Izuku closed his eyes as he remembered the sound of gunfire and exploding human bodies.
"And I'm going to be going back there…"
Back to the planet where they left so many behind.
"HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE GODDAMN LINE!"
"Come on! This way!" Izuku ushered the civilians into the military aircraft carrier, all of them weeping as several former U.A students assisted them with getting on. Distantly, he could hear the last Heroes of Japan and whatever JSDF soldiers bothered to stick around fighting the infected.
"Mommy! Where's my mommy?!"
"Why is this happening?!"
"I-I stabbed my husband and he just wouldn't die! Why?! Why won't they die?!"
"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU SAVE US?!"
Izuku closed his eyes at the spittle thrown in his face by the crazed man before Kirishima shoved him away. He looked desperately at Izuku. "Don't let it get to you, man. They're just scared."
"I know. It's just…" He shook his head and looked distantly to the border of the 'Safety Zone.'. There, the living corpses that were just ordinary people and Heroes were fighting the living.
Snipe was with two soldiers, helping to gun down any Hero that drew close. As he shot a zombie that used to be the Falcon in the head, an infected Wash leapt on top of one of the soldiers and tore open his stomach as if it were a paper bag. An armless Airjet and faceless Fourth Kind were leaping onto Ryukyu's head as a swarm of the infected began to cover her.
Endeavor stood in the front line, flinging fire javelins and flames at the infected, shouting what inspirational words he could muster.
But it was of little use. He wasn't All Might, and after All Might disappeared to battle against the various Hulks it was more than likely he was dead.
And with that, the hope that the Heroes could maintain any order in Japan died too.
"It's just hard, is all. And they aren't wrong."
"Bullshit!" Izuku was grabbed by the shoulder and turned around to see Jirou, covered in dried blood and missing one of her ear jacks. Her left ear was now a bandaged stump, completely torn off from a fight with her recently turned parents. "We've done all we can! Stop blaming yourself, because nobody could've prepared for this bullshit!"
He knew his friend was right. He wasn't at fault for this… this infection. But couldn't she understand? They could've done more! If only… if only he had been stronger and braver. Maybe then he could've saved…
They all flinched when they heard another explosion. A portion of asphalt next to the plane burst into the air, and they looked to the east wall to see a horrid sight.
There was Yaoyorozu, but not the one they knew. The formerly beautiful class representative of 1-A was standing beside a canon. Her left thigh had a huge chunk bitten out of it, dripping black blood onto the ground. Her once full body looked like it had shrunk to her bones, making her Hero costume look like it was about to slip off. Her breasts looked as if they were deflated, mercifully hidden by the remaining cloth of her costume. Her eyes were practically sunken, and her mouth matted with blood and flesh.
Momo Yaoyorozu now looked like a walking skeleton covered in baggy flesh.
"More…." Yaoyorozu turned to her left. "I need more flesh! More flesh for ammunition! Without the elders, we will not be able to take down that plane alone!"
A creature that was once Yui Kodai from Class 1-B ran to her holding a severed arm. And to Izuku's horrified amazement, he could see Setsuna Kodai on a slab to the right, all her body parts restrained by Mineta's balls. She wasn't infected, and screamed in pain and horror as Yui bit into the limb. Soon, the zombie with the Hero name Rule began to make the arm grow into the size of an adult man before handing it to Yaoyorozu, who began to eat it greedily. Giant black cannon balls began to slowly burst out from the open window of her back, which were then loaded into the cannon by Mineta himself.
"Jesus… they breached the eastern gate!" The pilot screamed in Izuku's earpiece. "Hold them off! I need another five minutes before we can get this bird off the ground!"
Todoroki ran forward and created a wall of ice, blocking the next canon ball that headed to the wing of the plane.
Soon, the infected began to steam out of the hole in the gate or crawl over it. They didn't even seem to mind as the barbed wire tore their flesh or took an eyeball.
They were only driven by hunger. Nothing else.
Izuku fired webbing while the other long-range Quirk users did the same. Todoroki was shooting flames out as Kaminari fired bolts of electricity. Kacchan began throwing grenades filled with his sweat at the undead which Todoroki promptly ignited. Even Jirou, Kirishima, and several of the other close-combat students began picking up firearms before attempting to assist them. Tetsutetsu, with a cold determination, shot an incoming infected Itsuka Kendo in the head. But soon, it was apparent that it wouldn't be enough to hold back the horde.
That's when the fighting turned ugly.
With his speed and agility, Izuku was able to punch off the heads of his attackers or shoot webs over their mouths to prevent them from biting him. Jirou managed to ram one of her jacks right through an infected civilian's skull while Sero covered entire bodies in tapes so that Ashido, using her acid, melted their exposed heads.
But it wasn't enough.
Ojiro was grabbed by the tail by the infected Iida, who raced off with their screaming classmate to eat. Tokoyami cried in pain and horror as the undead Sato ripped his arm off. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were armored and bashing heads in with their nearly unbreakable bodies, but it was useless.
They were going to die!
"We're prepared for takeoff! Move your asses!"
"Retreat!" He heard Endeavor distantly call out. "Retreat!"
"Fuck man, we would if we could!" Kaminari jammed a small box cutter into the throat of the thing that was Mineta.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance."
Bright flames began to envelop the area only a few feet ahead of Izuku, and he looked up to see a being completely covered in flames float high above.
It was the android born of the Living Brain, Pascal Kirby.
The 'Torch'.
"I believe you must retreat immediately!" Kirby cried out before flying forward, raining more death down with his flames. "This will only be a temporary measure."
"You heard the overgrown calculator!" Kacchan punted Mineta's head into the flames. "Move your asses!"
Izuku didn't need to be told twice and soon, he and the remaining U.A students fought off the zombies on their side of the flames before running to the plane. He was running beside Sero and Jirou, the trio of friends together again. If only Uraraka had been there, it could've been complete. Even so, he thought it meant things might turn out alright.
"Don't leave us!"
"Don't you understand?! It's for the best!"
"You see for yourself! It is not a curse, but a blessing!"
"Come and see! Come and see!"
The plane was beginning to lurch forward as Izuku got on with his two friends. The doors were even beginning to seal shut, soon to trap the young Heroes with the crying and shocked civilians.
Two hands then appeared, massive and bloody, and began to pry open the door.
"Do not cry, unconverted! Do not fret! For…"
Izuku's eyes widened. No, please God no…
Then he saw it.
All Might, the Number One Hero of Japan and the Symbol of Peace, tore the door off of its hinges and stood at the gaping wound of steel grinning. He was missing a leg and his stomach was gone, revealing his spine and hip bones through a bloody mess of hanging organs and torn tissue.
"FOR I AM HERE!"
Everyone screamed and Izuku felt tears run down his cheeks. This was it, wasn't it? This was the end.
This was what it was like when hope died.
"Heh." Izuku looked up and saw Endeavor walking forward with a grim expression on his face. "Didn't think you would be weak enough to become one of them."
All Might's grin became even wider. "You cannot fight against the inevitable, Endeavor! All you would need to understand…"
"Is to see, right?!" Endeavor then burst into a run and tackled All Light through the open door. "Then let's go, ALL MIGHT!" They disappeared on the runway, a flurry of motion and flames and showed that more zombies were trying to catch up to the plane.
And Izuku recognized one.
He shook his head as Peter, a lense cracked and the bottom half of his mask torn to reveal blood-stained teeth, grinned while crouching on the edge. "Perfect timing, eh?" Before Izuku could react, Peter fired a web and nabbed Izuku by the foot. He cried out and placed his hands firmly on the ground, halting his progress. "Come on, kid! Don't make this harder than it needs to be!"
Izuku didn't need Spider-Sense to know that Peter was crawling towards him.
"You just need to-!" His former mentor cried out in surprise as a piece of tape covered his face. "Gah!"
Sero ran forward and kicked Peter right in the chest, knocking the web-slinger onto the tarmac as Jirou helped Izuku to his feet. "Hey, are yo-?!"
A web was fired, and Izuku could do nothing but watch as Jirou was pulled away faster than he could grab her.
"No!" He shouted, and was shoved out of the way as Todoroki ran after Jirou and jumped off the plane, using his flames to incinerate Peter's arm. Izuku stepped forward, but his arms were grabbed by Kacchan and Kirishima. "Stop! Let me…!"
"We ain't losing another!" Kirishima shouted as Sero slammed his fist on a red button, causing the emergency doors to lower.
The last thing he saw as the plane ascended was Todoroki helping Jirou up, the living dead descending on them from all sides as All Might held up Endeavor's head in triumph.
"Yo! Earth to Deku!"
Izuku let out a yelp as he felt a hand slap against the back of his face. Rubbing the sore spot, he turned to see Kacchan scowling at him.
"You were zoning out into space! We were out of the building by the time we noticed you didn't move." He motioned to the door. "Come on, Racoon Eyes is waiting for us."
"I-I blacked out for that long?" That wasn't a good sign. He thought he had gotten over the 'lost in memory' shit, but no. It just kept coming back just like the nightmares did. "Crap."
"Hey! Thanks for waking him up, Psycho Bitch!" Kacchan flipped Emilia the bird, and the flying woman seemed to not even register their presence. "Come on, lets get out of here before I fucking kill her."
Gripping his shoulder, Izuku's friend led them out and was walking with him down the hallway. "Fuck. Today is my third anniversary and now I gotta deal with this shit. Avyaan was supposed to make curry too. Super spicy just how I like it…"
"How do you deal with it?" The words came out of Izuku's mouth before he could stop them. He glanced nervously at Kacchan, who was staring at him. Shit, too late to back out now. "With… with the memories? We saw so much and… and…" He looked away. "I knew you dealt with it using… that stuff… but…"
"Fuck, Deku. Just go out and say it." Kacchan let go of his shoulder and continued to walk. "I was a drunk. I got shitfaced practically every night and acted like a fucking asshole. I started fights and stole from people, then began blubbering into my pillow when I wasn't puking my guts out in the toilet."
It always scared Izuku with how open Kacchan was about his short but horrible stint as a drunkard. The boy who was violently opposed to ever admitting to being weak or wrong was now out and proud about the horrible place he had been. He even took out his Alcoholics Anonymous chip at times and stared at it as if it were some sort of therapeutic idol.
"If there's one thing I learned from those meetings drinking shitty coffee and watching others pour their guts out, it's this: You can't just 'deal with it'." Kacchan stopped and put his hands in his pockets. "That shit's with you for life. You can't just put it in a box and forget about it. You have to learn to accept what happened and live with yourself, understand that you aren't alone and use that support to keep moving forward." He looked at Izuku and said solemnly, "I'm sorry about Kyouka and the others, Izuku. But they aren't coming back. You've got Ashido now, though. And you've got the rest of us who aren't dead. And if you want to stop being haunted by zombies every night, you're going to have to keep remembering that and the other people we are going to save."
Izuku looked down, ashamed. "But that's the problem, Kacchan. I… I can't just think about the people we're going to rescue. Because… because we were the ones who left them."
"Unless you've got some reality altering shit in your power set, I'm gonna call bullshit on that." Kacchan inclined his head to the exit. "Come on. You're gonna make your wife worried."
He sighed and followed the blonde. He knew, on an intellectual level, that Kacchan was right. There was nothing he could do about the dead. There was something he could do for the living. The sooner he accepted that the sooner he could move on with his life.
But it didn't change the feeling of helplessness he had in him.
A helplessness that was only eclipsed by the one he experienced during those horror-filled days.
"So… I guess we're all screwed then?" Stanley Stewart asked as he leaned against his chair.
Izuku glanced at the foreigners that comprised the room. When the Japanese refugee plane landed in the United States, the country had become worse off than it previously was. A lot of the major metropolitan areas were overrun and the infected were beginning to comb through the Midwest for survivors. While the remains of Izuku's friends and the civilians were transported to Canada, where the mountainous terrain and cold weather might give them a defensive advantage against the infected, Izuku had been ushered with a bag over his head to a different location.
One where individuals whose powers weren't born of Quirks were gathered for the government to study.
Just a week ago, Izuku probably would've been amazed with the presence of so many like him. Hell, when Mark had told him about where he came from Izuku instantly connected the dots to Superman's origin! But now… now they were just a bunch of teenagers and one man sitting in a room looking downcast.
"I think that's the long and short of it." Eric Beck responded while his right hand kept gripping his black sword. "Murakamo-No-Tsurugi says that she can help whip up a spell to summon the Dukes of Hell to eliminate the infected, but…"
"Yeah, I don't exactly wanna place my faith in anything that calls themselves the Dukes of Hell." Nenet Ledger crossed her arms. "Right now our biggest priority should be quarantining the uninflected."
"If I got farther in my training, I would have brought some of them to another dimension." A girl in a frilly green and yellow dress said glumly. Izuku had only met the French Hero Arcanna, real name, Arcanna Jones, recently. She claimed to be able to use magic, but from what he saw so far that only meant she could fire energy beams from her magical wand and bring objects to life. "But ze situation is moving too rapidly. I need time. And I doubt I could combat zen Dukes of Hell should you summon them to prevent Chaos from gaining a foothold."
"So what you're saying is that we can do nothing? That there's no hope?!" Mark slammed his hands on the table. "Fuck that! There's always hope! There's gotta be something we can do!"
He knew that Mark had been suffering his own losses. His friend Kingsley Rice had become infected and was now combing the oceans with other infected aquatic Heroes to find human survivors that were hiding on islands or boats. They even used the fish to help track them down, turning the ocean into a whirlpool of death. And that wasn't even getting into how his two mentors, Star And Stripe and Power Princess, were infected.
So how could he still believe that they could fight and win against this infection?
"We're not saying we should give up!" Izuku got up and pointed at Mark. "But we don't have many options! There's too many of them, and we don't even know what they are!"
Mark grit his teeth in frustration. He turned to Stanley and asked, "Can't you go out and see if you can find any more survivors?!"
Before the speedster could answer Nenet spoke up. "He can't! The last thing we need is for Stanley to become infected. You saw how quickly this thing spread with just the few minutes that Quicksilver and Speed Demon were out there! If Stanley, who is faster, got bit then the human race's extinction is a hundred percent guarantee!"
"He and Mirio have to stay safe. It's the only way we can have people to save." Nuke, who kept insisting that her identity was a 'state secret' even when the Chinese government was practically nonexistent, said coldly. "You weren't there in those few minutes that the Speed Demon and Blue Marvel were in Beijing, Hyperion. The carnage they inflicted was immense, and I had to fight long and hard to put the monsters down. In fact…" She turned her armored head to Stanley. "I have half a mind to kill you now and save us all the future trouble."
The tension in the air grew thick. Izuku gulped as Mark's eyes began to glow an alien purple. He could hear Eric's sword begin to madly giggle as the seconds stretched on.
However, it was diffused when the doors to the room opened and Emilia Burbank stepped inside. Her cold eyes scanned the room and her perpetually small smile remained in place. "Well, perhaps I had arrived at a bad time."
"No. It's fine." Hyperion's shoulders relaxed and the glow in his eyes flickered off. "Tell us what you found, Emilia."
Izuku saw a spark of something go through the teenage genius' eyes before it died down. She motioned them to follow. "Only what kind of creature we are truly dealing with."
Within minutes they were gathered in her lab. Emilia walked to a dark sheet of glass as she spoke, "Now, the simple minded keep calling the infected terms such as 'zombies' or 'the living dead'. Appropriate due to how these beings seem to operate on the usual pop-culture tropes such as eating flesh and having a preference for brains." She reached for a light switch. "However, it is not a correct term for what we are facing."
The lights turned on and it took all of Izuku's strength not to throw up.
There was Melissa Shield, goddaughter to All Might, stretched out across a lab table. However, that wasn't the appropriate term. Her limbs were separated from her body, which was split open on a raised table. Pins secured flaps of skin and muscle to reveal bloody bones and organs that were being placed by mechanical arms into beakers.
Only the stomach was placed in a separate jar filled with a solution of some kind.
"Look closely at the organs. What do you see?"
Even Mark looked queasy and turned his head away. Only Nenet spoke up. "The organs… all of them are shriveled up."
"Correct. That's because this being has no use for them save for the stomach to convert protein, preferably human protein, into energy." Emilia motioned to the naked and dissected chest and crotch. "The reproductive organs are the first to go, followed swiftly by most internal organs. What use are the lungs to a being that doesn't need to breathe our air? What use is a heart or intestines? No, these beings seem to excrete solely saliva. It is an efficient way to dispose of waste and to reproduce."
"Reproduce?" Izuku bit his lip. "H-How can you say that?! These things just want to eat people!"
Emilia shook her head. "No. When you look at the statistics, there are far more infected than there are deceased. Yes, there is an uptick in consumption of food when the infection takes hold but slowly it hits a plateau." One of the mechanical arms brought forward Melissa's head, and slowly one arm armed with a laser fired into it. "This suggests that the main purpose of this infection is the reproduction of an organism. One that first converts all the chemicals and nutrition in the host body before subsuming the host intelligence into the hive mind. Turning the body into a carrier that will then spread the host being's progeny."
Izuku thought back to Uraraka. How she described what it was like to be infected. How she needed to 'come and see'…
"For all intents and purposes, the host is effectively dead. The hive mind merely uses their memories and personality as a mask. A cloak of individuality to lure in more potential hosts." The mechanical arms stopped their dissection of the head and cracked it open. A third arm shot out, and the gathered Heroes heard a horrible screeching. It seemed to be reptilian and insect-like.
It was merely a preview of what was to come.
The mechanical drone began to draw back to reveal something no bigger than Izuku's hand. A creature that looked like a lizard but with hexagonal scales, each as smooth and hard as the shells of an insect. Eight crab-like legs flailed in the air as a scorpion-like stinger lashed out uselessly at its captor. The head was a thing of nightmares. Long and flat at the top, with egg-like red eyes glaring hatefully at them as a maw of sharp teeth opened and shut.
"The infected are nothing more than hosts for the egg in their skulls." Emilia said finally as she turned around, seemingly pleased with herself. "We are not facing the living dead. Merely parasites playacting."
"Jesus." Stanley muttered before he turned and threw up in a trash can.
"What does this tell us, though?!" Nuke pointed at Emilia. "We give you resources, and all you do is tear apart these monsters! We need solutions! We need a cure…!"
"There is no cure. As I stated, the hosts are already dead." Emilia scoffed at the angry Chinese girl. "I could, perhaps, create a poison for these aliens but that would take resources unavailable on Earth. I have run the calculations, and should the human race remain on this planet we will all be dead in a matter of years." She glanced at Nenet. "We need to leave this world. Perhaps, with the aid of the prism…"
Nenet shook her head. "The prism isn't talking. I don't think it has anything that would help all of us."
"Perhaps you simply aren't asking the right questions." The brown-haired woman shot back.
"Okay, both of you stop!" Mark got between the two of them and combed back his hair. "For now, we need to focus on finding more survivors. We can… we can think about how the hell we're going to be leaving the planet later." He pointed at Izuku and Nuke. "Can the two of you help search through Asia for survivors?"
"Y-Yeah." Izuku looked down. "I know that Pascal would be happy to help us find Mei in Japan. Maybe she and some support people can help us make a ship or something."
"I must also find members of the party who might've survived in their bunkers." Nuke nodded grimly. "Abandoning the people in their darkest hour is unforgivable."
"Alright, that's a start." As Mark began to direct the members of his 'team', Izuku noticed something.
Something that he would never forget through the years.
Emilia Burbank, staring at Nenet with eyes that seemed to view her as an ant.
One that needed to be stepped on for peace of mind.
"I hate coming here, you know."
"I don't think you're alone on that front, Mark." Mina told the caped Hero as she set alien flowers down in front of the single black reflective stone. The memorial garden in the back of the embassy was a popular destination for humans. Every year, people came to remember the loved ones they lost. Each of them placed their hands on the surface and read its inscription.
May all those we have lost find their eternal rest.
Izuku had to keep the tears inside. He remembered his mother, consumed by a classmate he had known and respected. The worst part of it was that he was glad she had been eaten rather than turned. It was better than the twisted thing she would've become otherwise.
"But it's the only place where I can see my parents… my friends…" Mina rubbed her eyes and he pulled her into his embrace. "…Kirishima…"
"…You know, I used to believe in God and Heaven and all that jazz." Mark looked up to the alien sky and frowned. "Got it ingrained into my head and was told that America was God's country. Some religious dogma mixed with nationalistic garbage to make me more inclined to protect it." He let a bitter chuckle escape from his lips. "Became an atheist real quick after I learned the truth."
"Mark… this isn't really helping." Izuku reminded the brunette, who nodded.
"I know. I know. I just…" He sighed. "But after all this insanity… after losing Kingsley and Nenet and everyone else… I hope Heaven exists. It'll be a lot better than the bullshit we deal with in the living world."
He didn't have anything to say to that. But he understood what Mark was saying. Izuku was never the most spiritual of people. He practiced Shintoism like most Japanese did, but it was more like going through the motions. It was just something he and Mom did and nothing more.
To think it took a tragedy like this to make him long for the spiritual world.
His mind wandered again to all those they lost. Uraraka, Mom, Jirou…
…Nenet…
"Damn it! Hold her down!" Eric shouted as he used his black blade to block the infected Himiko Toga's blade. He drew himself back as she stabbed forward with her right hand's stinger, narrowly avoiding death. Izuku shot a web onto her back and pulled, flinging the girl away only for her to twist in the air and land on the wall. She crawled up it, not unlike him and Peter, and turned her head to grin at him as pieces of flesh and muscle fell from her left side.
"I'm kinda busy here!" Mark shot back as he leapt in front of Nighthawk's throwing stars, protecting Emilia from the former vigilante's wrath. "Nuke! You need to hurry up over there!"
"We're trying the best that we ca-!" Nuke barely had enough time to dodge the gnashing mass of teeth and blades that appeared as hardened light.
"Nenet! Please, stop!" Izuku screamed even when he knew it was useless. Because floating in the center of the room was the being that once had been the Hero Doctor Spectrum.
They didn't know how Nighthawk and Toga had gotten inside. Emilia had assured them that she had designed the entire building with failsafes that would eliminate any infected being trying to sneak in, and failing that warn them ahead of time. Instead the two infected creatures had managed to sneak inside and gotten a drop on Nenet and moved on to try and infect the rest of them.
Luck only kicked in when Stanley caught them while returning from a coffee run, and he had told the rest of them while he ran to quarantine himself.
"You don't have to do this!" He pleaded with her. "Fight it! You know this isn't you!"
"It's useless, Midoriya!" Arcanna flew around Nenet, firing bolts of magic at her which the prism's light blocked. "She's no more! Ze thing is only using her skin!"
"Oh? Is that what you really think?!" Toga laughed as she fired her organic webbing at Izuku, encasing his arms in her filth. "It's so much more than that! None of us are dead, not really! We're merely something more! Something greater!"
"Oh, spare me your crazy bullshit, bug!" Retorted Mark to Izuku's right as twin beams of purple light shot out, cutting Toga's body in half. The bottom half fell to the ground, and Izuku didn't waste a second. He ran over and kicked her head off before she could reach for him with her stingers. The girl's head smashed against the wall and burst like a pumpkin.
"Thank you!" Izuku shouted as he turned to see Mark throwing what was left of Nighthawk's body at Eric, who promptly sliced it with his black sword. "Now it's only Nenet…"
What was once Nenet flung her head back and gave shrill laughter. "It is beautiful! So beautiful! Oh, the lights and voices! So many! So much peace in the sea of the new hive!" She turned her head to Emilia, who stared nonplussed at the infected scientist, and grinned. "Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou…!"
The girl's maddened gratitude was cut short when spikes of shifting colors burst out from portions of her body, showering the ground below in gore. She only lowered there for a second before the spikes slowly retracted. The punctured meat that was once a body slid off and landed on the floor with a wet thud, and Izuku watched as the prism hovered. It seemed to be disinfecting itself, growing brighter as smoke rose off its surface.
"What is it…?" Izuku's question was soon answered as the prism shot out at Emilia. She raised her right hand as if to stop it, only for the multi-colored jewel to sink into the flesh as if it were water.
Everything was bathed in light.
When the brightness died down and Izuku lowered his hand, he saw Emilia floating five inches from the ground. She was dressed from head to toe in a skintight costume that covered all save for her hair, which flowed freely behind her. The right side of her body was colored magenta while the left was yellow.
It was Nenet's costume.
"Hm. It seems as if the prism has chosen its next host wisely." Emilia raised her right hand and dragged it over her masked face. As it moved the mask slowly disappeared to reveal her cold smile to all. "Well, at least something good came out of this."
"H-How can you say that?!" Izuku screamed as he pointed to Nenet's corpse, tears rolling down his cheeks. "N-Nenet is dead! She's dead and… and…!"
He couldn't even finish it. It was just too much. There was so much fucked up about the situation that he couldn't even put it into words.
God, he was pathetic.
Mark tore off his cape and used it to cover Nenet's body without saying another word. The rest of the 'team', however, had plenty to say.
"How did this happen?" Nuke stomped over to Emilia and poked her in the chest. "You assured us of this base's security!"
"Obviously, one of my idiotic assistants failed in their duties." The girl genius didn't look the least bit sorry. "Rest assured, they will be punished in due time."
"She was thanking you." Arcanna narrowed her eyes on Emilia. "Why was that?"
"Who knows?" Izuku's hands clenched into fists as he watched the brunette shrug. "Such are the ravings of a parasite knowing it is close to death."
"You bi-!"
"ENOUGH!"
Mark's shout caused the room to shake, and everyone stopped what they were doing. Izuku could swear he saw Emilia shiver in delight as the alien boy stood up and turned his head.
"Now's not the time." He said calmly. "Can you build the ships or not?"
Emilia was silent for a second before responding. "Yes. The prism contains schematics of the vehicles it and others like it once powered. Within weeks we can build three ark ships."
"I can guess where this is going." Eric crossed his arms. "We're not going to be able to save them all, are we?"
Emilia's answer was instant and without compassion. "No, we are not."
Izuku looked down. He felt useless. More than useless. What had happened? Just a little over a few weeks ago, he had been rebuilding his confidence and about to achieve his dreams. He was going to become a Hero.
And now? Now he was just the silent third wheel in a horror movie.
One that he could not turn off.
He couldn't help it.
He began to cry harder than ever before.
"I wish I could go with you." Mirio continued to look at the Kree Battle Cruiser as the soldiers continued to board it. It stood there, massive and looming as its alien engines hummed with life.
"Well, look on the bright side of things." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. "At least you didn't get a bomb injected into you."
Emilia had been the one to create that little 'vaccine' for the rescue party. Each one of the soldiers and Heroes being sent to Earth was injected with a miniature bomb that would detonate as soon as they were bitten. Once the egg cells reached the brain and began to mature, they would excrete a chemical that would activate the bomb and make it explode. It would end the infected's life before the host consciou-sness could become a part of the hive.
It was a fairly efficient way to prevent any of the Kree or Heroes that knew the way back to Hala to die with that knowledge.
"Yeah, but I just wanted to make up for not doing anything back then." Mirio's face turned dour. "I… I was supposed to be the Symbol of Peace, you know? All Might and Sir Nighteye believed in me and gave me One For All. But I couldn't do a damn thing during the infection."
Izuku bit his lip and a pang of sadness went through his body. Here he was, complaining about not being able to save his friends, and here was Mirio who wasn't able to do anything. "You couldn't. You know what would've happened if you got bit."
Mirio shook his head. "Yeah, but it doesn't mean I have to like it." He put his hands in his pockets. "I could've done so much more. I could've saved Tamaki…"
"I think that too with the friends I lost." He muttered. After a second of silence passed between them, he flashed Mirio a small smile. "But… But the others here will be happy to see you. They need Lemillion to be a symbol of the future here… humanity needs you. Not just Japan."
For a moment, Mirio didn't say anything. Then, his smile reappeared and he gave a wide grin. "Yeah, that's right! Someone's gotta keep the smiles up around here!"
"Especially since the Kree aren't exactly fun guys!" Stanley appeared before them in a gust of wind. He thumbed behind him. "Last call for passengers, Izuku. They're waiting for you."
"Okay." He shook Stanley's hand before bowing to Mirio. "See you guys. And… and I hope to see you again."
"Come on, Izuku. You will see us again!" Mirio's grin grew bigger. His teeth practically shined in the sunlight. "Believe in that, and it will become a reality!"
Izuku didn't say anything in response. He only smiled and waved as he ran to the ship containing his wife, friends, and the Kree soldiers under the command of Noh-Varr.
As the ships took off, Izuku couldn't help but look at the city and wonder if he would ever return to them.
He was practically a ghost as Noh-Varr and Mark discussed their plans for when they reached Earth's orbit. Mina and Kacchan were there, so he wasn't alone. But it still felt like an out of body experience.
Days blended together, the mood of the ship growing erratic as humans anxiously awaited their return to an Earth they abandoned and the Kree resigning themselves to a suicide mission for an 'inferior' species. Fights broke out from time to time, and Izuku found himself breaking a few apart.
Izuku and Mina made love in their cabin, knowing that it could possibly be their last time.
And when the loudspeakers declared that they were reaching Earth's orbit, Izuku looked at the screen by his cot to see the blue orb that had once been home.
The last time he saw it was when they had run away from the slaughterhouse it had become.
Izuku had never watched war movies.
Why would he?
They were about men and women who died years ago. Bodies thrown to the meat grinder for small victories, and while a dictator may be toppled or a global disaster may be averted it didn't feel like a victory. It didn't inspire hope. It was more like a tired sigh of relief that the world would see another day.
But like with horror movies, Izuku now found himself in a war movie.
"Midoriya! Pass me some more ammo!" Kirishima shouted from behind him as Izuku avoided being crushed by the falling body of Giant Man. Landing next to a UN soldier, Izuku took out a clip of ammunition and threw it at his classmate. There, his skin hardened and ready for combat, Kirishima screamed as he continued to fire at the infected swarming at him.
It was hell.
Tanks were being thrown as if they were mere toys as the last remains of the armies of the world and law enforcement aided the Heroes in defending their only chance of escape.
With the prism and the full aid of both governments and civilians, construction of the arcs had started immediately and in record time. And with the aid of the prism, Emilia was able to create a shield that would house the remnants of humanity's work.
Izuku and the others did all they could, there was limited space on the arks to begin with. Each one could only course a couple hundred million, meaning the amount of humans escaping the Earth was only barely over a billion.
It was hard enough having to pick and choose. Bakugou, Mina, and the others didn't have it any easier. Most have deferred to Nuke who seemed to have more of a stomach for this kind of thing. Izuku threw up more than once after turning civilians away and he saw Mina curl up into a ball and cry, having Kirishima comfort her as he sobbed too.
It was hell.
Then there were those who had no faith in them whatsoever, which was even worse. There was what could be best described as a cult in the remains of Deika City, who revered some Yakuza boss named Overhaul like some sort of god. Then there were the hard-right militia groups in the mountains all throughout the world, seeing the apocalypse as some sign to return to regressive government forms like Imperial Japan or the Confederacy.
Izuku could not help but shiver at the frequency of it when Eric snidely told him he saw that the Neo-Nazis were becoming community leaders in Europe.
The lack of faith even infected what remained of the army and Heroes. Some of them completely abandoned them. Yoroi Musha had gone off with a group of former policemen, abandoning their posts without prior warning. Some soldiers simply committed suicide or decided raiding the malls was more productive than guarding the remnants of humanity.
And the worst part?
A part of Izuku was glad in those cases, because it meant more civilians could be brought onto the arc.
But now it was the endgame. The infected had discovered their location. It only started with a few at first. A couple dozen infected superheroes and civilians who had flying Quirks, and then it moved onto the rest. All of them seemed to gather, knowing that this was their chance to have either the biggest meal of their lives or the one chance to finalize their reproduction.
When the armies outside began to number in the hundreds, Emilia stated that her shields would not be able to hold them off for long.
He had volunteered to be out here, as did everyone else.
Izuku felt the air heat up, and he looked up to see Pascal fly overhead as he shot down the flying infected. By his side was Mei, driving the War Machine armor they had peeled off of the deceased infected superhero. Nuke was standing on top of a pile of melding irradiated corpses, continuing to fire on those advancing to her. Mark was running around in his incredible speeds, his invulnerable skin and battle-torn clothes soaked in blood. Eric was chopping infected beings and maybe a few uninflected soldiers with his sword, screaming something about blood for someone named 'Arioch'.
It was utter insanity.
He had stayed closer to his former classmates, not wanting to be separated from them again.
Especially when there were so few of them left…
"Tamaki!" Nejire Hado, the once perpetually happy and bubbly upperclassman of U.A, was now openly sobbing as she looked at the nightmare in the distance. "Oh, god! What happened to him?!"
Izuku didn't want to even guess. In the distance was a massive blob of shifting flesh and insect-like legs. It wailed and let out screams in a multitude of voices as the necrotic tissue reached out and began to scoop up both infected and uninflected. It was hungry, never seeming to be satisfied. He couldn't even understand how Hado knew it was Tamaki.
"As if this day couldn't get any shittier!" Kacchan snarled while releasing the pit to one of his gauntlets. In an instant, a group of ten infected were enveloped in flames. A quick barrier thrown up by Cementoss prevented more from being lost from the horde. "Fuck! Someone take that fucker down!"
"On it!" Mina raised a small rifle that was connected by tubes to the back of her costume. As she pulled the trigger, liquid shot out and sailed over the barrier and splashed over Cementoss' head. It howled in pain as its skull began to crumble on itself, but the others paid it no mind. "They're coming!"
"Don't lose hope!" Izuku shouted as if it were a mantra. "We can do this! We just need a few more minutes to… to…!"
"HAHAHAHA!" He heard All Might laugh in the distance. "Why must you all flee?!" He swatted a soldier away as he lunged at Crust. "Is it not better to simply accept it?! We are merely acting as your saviors!" The Hero quickly raised his Quirk, Shield, but it didn't matter. All Might's hand enveloped the Hero's arm and crushed it, raising the nearly pulped limb to his mouth and biting down. "We are Heroes!"
"Last I checked, Heroes don't eat people!" Mark screamed as he tackled All Might. "Let's go, asshole!"
"Don't look at him, Midoriya!" Sero grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away. "That isn't All Might anymore!"
"I know! I… I know!" Yet Izuku had his doubts. He heard Emilia's explanation for the infection. He saw the alien born in their heads. And yet he couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't playacting.
That this was truly a now insane and indoctrinated All Might.
They heard the scream as it shook the air. His ears rang and he felt blood running down his cheeks. God, it was horrible!
Then he saw the figure in glowing yellow energy. He saw its blue cape and wavy golden hair.
He knew that it was the Sentry… and they were all dead.
Nuke, however, simply looked up and fired beams from her hands, flying up without any effort and intercepting the infected golden god. He let out a howl as they exchanged blows, his skin boiling from the radiation and pieces of Nuke's suit flying off.
He could see the steady increase in the Geiger meter in his suit, and knew it was only a matter of time before the radiation alone killed them all.
A new notification popped into his HUD and he saw the one message they had been waiting for.
It was time to leave.
"They're ready!" Izuku screamed as he turned on his heel. "Let's go!"
"About goddamn time!" Kacchan shot back as they all began to turn heel and run. Occasionally, they turned back and fired at the hord that was still following them. But the first priority was to merely reach the field. A small narrow door had opened, forcing those who entered to file in one at a time. And tentacles of light swiftly executed any infected being that wandered inside. He saw an infected Tsuyu's head be chopped off by one, her body falling limply to the ground as soldiers and Heroes shoved themselves inside.
But Izuku couldn't help but look back.
Mark was just behind them, continuing to fight All Might. Even if he overpowered the Number One of Japan, All Might had years of experience on him. He saw that Mark was trying to swat at All Might with a dislocated right arm and the former Hero continuing to blind him with either dirt, compressed air from his punches, or pieces of viscera.
He needed help!
And even though he knew it was foolish, even if he knew it was suicidal, Izuku stopped his retreat and turned around. He screamed as he began to activate his phasing powers, ignoring the nausea as he plowed through the infected.
Even when he was facing what was a essentially the Living Dead, he hated using this power. He couldn't get it out of his mind that these were once innocent people, and in some cases, people he knew and admired.
And there was the smell. God, it was horrible. Rotting meat didn't even begin to describe it. It had the notes of shit, piss, and bile intermingled with an acidic sour smell.
It was the smell of death.
And he knew that he was creating what was a wailing pillar of living flesh, heads and limbs sticking out and groaning in a mix of pain and ecstasy.
But he ignored it. He had to.
Within minutes, Izuku was through the horde and racing towards All Might. Mark was now on his belly as his former idol and inspiration towered over him, grinning.
"Do not fear, Mark Milton. You shall be with me and your companions in the core, reborn and a part of something greater!" He then noticed Izuku. "Ah! Midoriya! Peter is waiting fo-!"
He didn't wait to hear more. He leapt up, put both of his hands on the sides of All Might's face, and shouted, "SHUT UP!"
He channeled all his loss, all his feelings of rage and guilt, into the blast. He could practically hear something in his brain snap as the Venom Blast shot out.
Electricity danced all over All Might's face, his skid blackening and bulging in random areas. His eye almost bubbled before bursting over Izuku's face and he smelled the dead flesh burning from the heat.
And in a second, it was over. Izuku fell onto his back and next to Mark, panting in exhaustion as All Might's body fell back.
"Where the hell was that during all of this?" Mark gasped out as he got onto his knees.
"Dunno." He said honestly. Mark simply nodded at that.
A beam of green and golden light slammed a few feet away from them, causing the ground to shake. They saw Nuke stagger to her feet, clutching a bleeding arm which held the burnt skull of the Sentry.
"I-I am infected…" She got onto her knees and Izuku saw in mounting horror his Geiger counter was rising. "Go! Go now! I will… I refuse to become a monster! Before I turn I shall transform this area into glass!"
"Oh, fuck me!" Mark got Izuku to his feet and wrapped his arm around his waist. "Come on, we're getting out of here!"
"Running? Right when things get tough?!" A roar of laughter came from further away and Izuku narrowed his eyes. There was the infected Power Princess, her entire face practically missing save for the cheeks and mouth. "You should finish what you start, Milton!"
"You gotta be kiddin'…" Both Izuku and Mark muttered simultaneously, but they readied themselves for a fight. They would likely die, either by Power Princess' hands or Nuke's blast, but they refused to go down without a fight.
"Why don't you pick on a real man!?" To Izuku's horror, he watched as Kirishima ran past them. The grin on his face was wider than ever, half mad as he raced towards the advancing Power Princess.
The infected Hero merely laughed in delight. "Finally! A worthy opponent!"
"K-Kirishima!"
"Come on!" He looked back and Izuku saw that tears were rolling down his cheeks. "After watching you run back, I couldn't just keep running! I stood in place once, and there's no way in hell I'm going to let that happen again!" He turned his full attention back to his opponent, and Izuku watched in awe as his skin began to harden… but it grew sharper somehow. The stone-like ligaments that made up his skin appeared to grow in both density and sharpness as he ran to meet one of the original Heroes. "I'm going to be a Hero!"
"KIRISHIMA!"
"Come on!" Mark lifted Izuku off his feet and began to run. Izuku tried to push himself away as Kirishima grew smaller. But he was too weak. He could only watch helplessly as Power Princess and Red Riot exchanged blows.
He wished he could say it was a long fight.
He wished he could say Kirishima did more damage than anyone could've expected.
He wished he could say Kirishima won at the cost of his life.
But no.
In less than a minute, he watched as Kirishima's hardened appearance disappeared before Power Princess' fingers dug into his chest and tore it open.
Izuku cried as he and Mark leapt over the infected and dove into the field. It closed behind them, and both of them staggered into the ship as the bay doors closed.
He and Mark were placed on stretchers and fretted over by doctors, but Izuku didn't care about that.
He could only focus on the crying people that they passed by.
All the survivors that lost loved ones.
All his friends who wouldn't see their families again.
All the survivors they left behind on Earth, awaiting their fate of being food or one more part of the horde.
All the reminders of how he utterly failed as a Hero.
And as they lifted off the ground, leaving behind the planet that was once their home, Izuku staggered out of the medical wing to watch as a mushroom cloud formed and consumed part of the country known as Canada.
They survived… but at what cost?
"What the hell happened here?" Izuku muttered as he looked around in shock. "Did… Did they do this?"
Once the Kree cruiser had been in Earth's orbit, it had been decided to send a small scouting party to different parts of the globe. Izuku, Mina, Tetsutetsu, and Kacchan were assigned with a small company of Kree soldiers to scout Japan. They had insisted they go to Musutafu first.
They had realized something was very wrong during the flight to the ward.
Half of Japan looked like it was being rebuilt, but the buildings were solid steel that seemed to shift and blink with lights. It was as if they were giant computers humming with life, sparks of electricity dancing through cables between them, and despite looking like cold blocks they seemed to pulse and hum with activity.
The other half remained in ruin, which was what Izuku had expected. Maybe with some vegetation returning to the city, reclaiming what humanity had abandoned.
But the buildings… portions of them were covered in hard inky substance. It looked as if it were made of stone, but when Izuku touched it it came apart as if it were paper mache.
"They must've. What else could've done this?" Tetsutetsu kicked apart some of the material and, after seeing it stick to his boot, began to scrape it off with a piece of broken concrete. "Damn it…"
"What's this shit even made of?" Kacchan glanced at the Kree, who took a piece of the black substance and began examining it. "Any ideas?"
"It… appears to be some sort of fungi." The blue-skinned alien's face twisted in confusion. "I… I don't know how else to describe it. It has the structure of resin that some insects secrete, yet it has the makeup of fungi and necrotic tissue."
"That doesn't sound good…" Tetsutetsu armed his gun and his skin turned to steel.
"Do… do you hear anything?" Mina asked as she looked around, her eyes widening. "I… I can't hear a goddamn thing!"
That's when it hit Izuku.
There was nothing. No sound of birds or wildlife. No sounds of grateful survivors. Not even the moans of the dead.
Nothing.
The wind blew, and in the distance Izuku could see notes of yen being blown across the empty street.
But there was something here. The Spider-Sense that had mercifully been returned to its regular activity in Hala was now giving off a low hum of danger. Danger everywhere. It was all around them!
"What the fuck…?" Izuku then pointed to the ship. "We're getting out of here. Now!"
"Midoriya-chan…"
The croaking voice caused Izuku's blood to run cold. Slowly, he turned and saw something burst out from the resin.
It was a human female, dressed in faded green spandex torn and stained with brown marks that must've been blood. Bits of resin and dirt were tangled in her dark green hair.
But what was once a young and frog-like face was now twisted into something horrible. Two mandibles poked out of torn cheeks while red bulging eyes replaced blank human ones.
It was Asui.
"We've been waiting for you!"
"B-But… that's impossible!" Izuku pointed with a shaking finger. "Y-you're dead! I saw your head…!"
The thing that once liked to be called Tsuyu-chan opened its mouth and let out a screech as a pale tongue covered in green slime shot out. On instinct, Izuku jumped as Mina aimed her acid gun at Asui and fired. The acid melted her tongue before splashing onto the creature's mouth. It let out a howl before falling back, flailing on the ground in pain.
That's when they heard them.
The moans and howls of the infected. They came out of the buildings or burst out of the resin as if they were being born. Some looked as if they were freshly infected, only having pale skin and eyes, while others looked more insect-like.
But Izuku recognized a few. He saw Hawks, Cementoss, Mirko, Spider-Girl, Captain America…
How could they be here?! He had seen them get killed or killed them himself!
"Do not fight it!"
"We've waited so long!"
"Join us!"
"Come and see!"
"Fire! Fire now!" One of the soldiers shouted as they got into position. "For the empire!"
A hail of plasma shots ripped through the air, hitting the bodies of the infected and creating holes that sizzled and popped. But they just kept coming!
"Aim for the heads, you idiots!" Kacchan grabbed Izuku by the shoulder and motioned to ship. "Let's get out of here before we're over-!"
Izuku's Spider-Sense hit him at full force and he clutched his head. At that exact second, a massive green figure landed on top of the ship. It exploded in a plume of fire, and the force of the heat knocked them on their backs. He was the first to recover as a piece of shrapnel ripped through one of the Kree soldiers' heads, killing him instantly.
And he could only watch in horror as the Hulk began to step out of the wreckage.
"Become one with us…!" The beast roared as he stomped towards them.
Izuku felt his legs shake, but he maintained his ground. He got into position and heard both his friends and the remaining soldiers do the same. They were outmanned and outgunned.
"I'm not going down…" Izuku's hands clenched into fists. "Not without a fight!"
"Well, this is a fine fucking way to get back home." Kacchan gave a small chuckle and shook his head. "I always wanted to kick the Hulk's ass!"
Time seemed to slow as the Hulk's slow steps turned into stampede. The horde of infected began to close in on them at every corner.
They were going to die.
However, Izuku felt the air around him heat up. He remembered that feeling and shouted, "Everyone, get down!"
He let his body fall to the floor and everyone else did the same just before an inferno enveloped the area around them. Over the flames, he heard the howls of pain and gunfire. The familiar burst of mussels as they caused bodies to explode.
And in minutes, it was over.
"It is good to see you again, Midoriya." Izuku brought his head up and saw descending from the sky was a being wrapped in flames. Next to him was the War Machine armor, but the gun metal was now a solid white with neon red lights highlighting the edges.
"P-Pascal! Mei!" He cried out, tears coming out of his eyes as he saw two of the people they had left behind. "You're alive!"
"We had to adapt. No thanks to you guys leaving us!" But as Izuku's guilt began to return, a thinking auto tuned laugh came out of the armor. "But don't worry! It's all for the better! Because…"
Mei reached up and lifted the faceplate off of the helmet. It took Izuku all his strength not to heave.
Replacing the once admittedly beautiful face was a metal skull. Wires replaced muscle as a small grey tongue licked the steel teeth. Only Mei's eyes remained, and those seemed to study every inch of them as if they were some sort of test subject.
"…I got to become one with my babies! It was slow at first, but getting bitten and chopping off the bits that were infected was a great motivator!"
As Mei continued to laugh Pascal said, "Come with us to the A.I territory. We have much to discuss concerning the state of this world… and how the infected evolved."
"They have finally come."
Many of their former classmates would have recognized the voice of Momo Yaoyorozu. But never at this volume, which reverberated in the massive caverns of Akiyoshido.
The ceilings, walls, and ground were covered in the resin their kind produced, turning this planet more into a home suited for them. And from that resin came small egg growths that gestated the children.
Their children.
"It was destined to happen." The being once known as Kinoko Komori said, all the cheer in her voice now sapped and transformed into cold observation. "The unborn still remain on this planet, and they wish to rob them of rebirth."
"But we cannot let it happen." Jin Bubaigawara, once known as the villain Twice, stated as their massive body shifted. Another child was being reborn from within them, killed on the surface and their consciousness returned to the hive. "Nor can we miss this opportunity. For too long we have been trapped here by the machines. We must grow the hive."
The mass of flesh that comprised the lower half of their body, once known as Tamaki Amajiki groaned as it produced another egg.
The new Queen had been born in Momo Yaoyorozu's body, but it lacked the resources to continue its main function as the leader and progenitor of this new hive. The former Queen was long gone, killed in the other dimension by the being known as Franklin Richards.
But the rest of her hive had escaped. They set about creating a new hive, one that would multiply until a Queen was born.
And once it had, it used Momo Yaoyorozu's mind and that of the new hive to formulate a plan.
Using Tamaki Amajiki, they had consumed Kinoko Komori and Jin Bubaigawara and became one body. They stood now over thirty feet, the top of their body humanoid and female while the bottom half was the body of the Elders. Albeit with the main carapace being a writhing ball of flesh and the legs almost being akin to bone.
The front half of their face was Momo Yaoyorozu's, but to their left side was Kinoko Komori's and their right was Jin Bubaigawara.
They were now one. One beautiful body fit for the Queen of this new hive. One that would fulfill its primary obligation.
"Then it is settled." They stared at one of the eggs as it began to shake. "We shall convert and consume these unborn. Then we shall use their knowledge to build us an ark. We shall go to worlds beyond this one, spreading the hive to all corners of this universe."
Slowly, the egg began to crack. The mouths in the flesh of their body moaned in ecstasy and pain, celebrating the rebirth.
"We shall make them see."
The top half of a body burst out, and from the red yolk came the reborn Tsuyu Asui.
"They shall all see the glory of the Brood."
To Be Continued…?
Notes: Special thanks to [USER=453353]Saint Danielle[/USER] for his assistance in creating this world and helping to beta this chapter.
I loved writing this. The original Marvel Zombies, while admittedly good at being a black comedy, always seemed to fall short for me as an actual zombie tale. Especially with George A. Romero's Living Dead trilogy doing a lot to mix true terror with some social commentary. So I wanted to use this one-shot as an opportunity to take what I love about zombies and mix it with other stuff.
Namely, the original Alien movie.
Marvel Zombies: Resurrection introduced a new version of the zombie virus that was extraterrestrial in origin, one where the infection was a new version of the Brood. But it didn't really go into it and just made the infected zombies with nothing else.
So I took that idea, the original concept of super powered zombies, some inspiration from Return of the Living Dead, and even some stuff from The Quatermass Xperiment to create this version of the living dead
Hope you all liked it!
Be sure to leave reviews and be sure to add to the TV Tropes page!