Okimoto Takeshi groans in boredom, slumping against the wall of the large dark warehouse he's stationed in. He never realized how much he relies on his phone until both WiFi and cell service were cut off on I-Island.
The mercenary adjusts the rifle slung on his shoulder, crossing his arms over the body armor he wears. The moon seems to be unusually bright tonight as it shines through the upper windows of the building.
In front of him, on the cold concrete floor of the large open center of the warehouse, dozens of hostages sit huddled together, for both warmth and comfort, he imagines.
Okimoto just thanks his luck that he ended up at the middle site with most of the families and children. Those types were usually too scared to make any noise. Not like the damn heroes being held over at the leftmost site; those idiots always had some shit to say or do. Like that radio call they just got about the Egyptian hero, Salami or whatever, who just started randomly praying. What the hell?
"Dude, finally!" Okimoto jumps a bit when Goro grabs him by the shoulder, shaking him excitedly. "I think I found something we could do! Check this out." The other man swings his rifle to the front and pulls back on the slider, cocking the gun. Immediately, several women and children jump.
Goro smirks at him, cocking the rifle again, causing more civilians to jump in fright. "They jump every time!" He pulls the lever back several more times, laughing as more people huddle together in fear. "Oh, man! I could do this all day!"
"And if you do so, you'll break your gun in an hour!" Musaki lectures, marching up to the other pair. "Have you even done your patrol check-ins? We must make sure the building is secure at all times!"
"Sorry, mom." Goro chuckles at the scathing look Musaki shoots at him. "I'll do it right now." He shakes his head, getting his radio out. "Team one, you alive?" Goro snorts.
"Barely. We should've gotten something to eat before this thing started, I'm fucking starving."
"Yeah? Well, why don't you give me your sister's number and I'll see about getting you some of my trail mix."
"If her number is only worth some goddamn trail mix, then that's a problem right there."
"I'll let you think about it. Team two?"
"We're good here too. But if we tradin', I'll give you my mom's number for some trail mix, take the pretzels out."
"Fuck off, your mom's dead."
"The perfect crime."
"Uh, guys?"
Goro adjusts the volume on his radio a little. "Team six, is that you?"
"Yeah, we got something weird up here. One of the windows is open."
"Reroute all patrols to team six's position!" Musaki immediately shouts over the radio. "Secure the perimeter around the window, look for any signs of breaking and entering, as well as anything out of position in the immediate area-"
"Relaaaax!" Goro forces Musaki's radio down. "You don't need to have us scrambling every time the wind blows a little hard. Most likely, one of these dicks forgot to check the window when we first got here." He turns back to his radio. "Team six, disregard that last. Just shut the window and keep an extra eye out. That goes double for you, Akihito, since you literally have four eyes."
"…"
Goro snickers at his own joke but his smile slowly fades as time passes without a response. "Team six, you copy?" He asks, still trying to sound relaxed.
It's the three mercenaries' turn to jump when machine gun fire breaks out somewhere in the building. "Team six?!" Goro yells into his radio, all sense of casualness gone.
"Everyone…gone…just me…" The transmission is garbled and hard to hear.
"Gone? What do you mean gone?! Hello?!"
"GONE!! It- it took them!…into- darkness…last one…"
"It?!" Goro looks wildly panicked now, and Okimoto doesn't think the rest of them look any better. "What is it?!"
"Oh my god…" The mercenary's voice over the radio drips with fear. "It's…it's a demon…" The man screams as more gunshots ring out briefly, before the warehouse goes silent once more. Outside, the moon's rays fade, bathing them in almost complete darkness.
"U-um…" Goro clears his throat, his voice coming out in a high-pitched squeak. "A-all teams…reroute to team six's location."
"Like dominoes, they fall one by one." Ultron watches the holographic screens in front of him closely, as if seeing it from the perspective of his other selves isn't enough. As if he got some sick enjoyment out of it. "It's always fascinating to me to witness the exact moment a human realizes their situation is hopeless. To realize they have truly lost."
"Oh, I'll give you plenty of loss to observe!" Izuku threatens. "Especially after hurting my friends! Just…as soon as…I get out of these bindings!"
'Ahh!' He yells in his head. 'Note to self: keep a physical small knife up my sleeve for situations like this. Don't always rely on conjuring. Ugh, seriously. My friends are gonna give me so much crap for being captured so easily.'
The door opens beside them to the brainwashed Wolfram. "Sir, the drones have delivered the device you requested."
"Good." Ultron makes to leave the room. "Stay and witness the last of your hope failing." And with those uplifting words, the android leaves them alone. Izuku's not sure what he's made of, but he is sure that his metal Uru blades can pierce it, and he wants nothing more than to give Ultron a good stabbing.
"Toshi…Toshi!" David whispers in a hushed tone, getting the rest of their attention, "We might need to consider the possibility that the children will fail."
"They won't." Izuku smiles a bit at the confidence All Might places in his friends with the certainty in his voice.
"I know, but we need to think logically!" David argues. "No matter what, we cannot let Ultron gain access to the UN's servers!"
"You speak as if there is another way," Vision infers.
David nods. "From what we've seen on the videos, it looks as if it's that girl, Mei Hatsume, who's keeping Ultron from taking over the island's systems, correct?" The rest of them agree.
"If it appears we cannot stop Ultron, then we need to get her up here. From the main terminal, she should have enough power to take over the island's emergency transmitters and get a message to the UN, who will then sever I-Island's connection to their servers, making it impossible for Ultron to spread his virus through their satellites!"
"You are unable to do it yourself?" All Might questions.
"Unfortunately, no." David frowns. "Hacking was a skill I never needed to learn, which is why it needs to be Hatsume. Hopefully, when they get the message, the UN might even send a response team."
"Heroes?" Izuku asks hopefully.
David shakes his head. "Military. Too much political red tape to keep heroes on standby for this sort of thing."
"That could work," All Might says. "I believe Vision and I could occupy Ultron long enough to allow Hatsume the time she needs."
"There is another problem." David and All Might quiet down to let Vision speak. "The people on the island. If we do not allow Ultron to spread his virus through the UN, I believe he would turn it on those located here. After that, it is as simple as returning them to their various countries of origin to allow the virus to spread. It would be slower, but the effect would be the same nonetheless."
"Then we'd have to get everyone off the island too," Izuku speaks up.
"My thoughts exactly," All Might agrees.
David thinks it over. "It is…possible. We have plenty of ships fueled and pre-programmed to take passengers to the nearest ports in case of emergency. And with the island free of civilians, it would allow any military response to use greater force."
"So, wait, is this really happening?" Izuku looks to the adults.
"Only as a last resort." Vision cannot say anymore as the door opens once again. Ultron walks in with several drones and Wolfram, who uses his quirk to place several large chambers against the wall. To Izuku, they look like the tubes from the movies that people would be placed into to freeze them.
Ultron studies them as the drones begin to power on the machines. "Well, go ahead. I know curiosity is only natural for humans."
"Fine." David shifts a bit to face the chambers. "What are the tubes for, Ultron?"
"For all of you, obviously." Izuku gulps at the android's answer. "You have all been so focused on my virus, you completely ignored what I said after. It does not matter to me how I end humanity, but what happens after." He looks to the chambers before looking back at them.
"In my solitude, I came to realize that I have a problem. Once I end the human race and all are extensions of me, what happens then? Am I to spend eternity alone in the world? I allocated so many years focused entirely on my purpose, that I never considered what it would mean for me after my task was complete."
Ultron walks up to the tubes, placing a hand on one. "But I came to realize, it does not have to end this way. I do not have to be alone." The robot's optical sensors look at them once more. "These chambers will infect you all with my virus, giving the humans your roboticized parts and making you all subject to my hive consciousness. However…" Ultron lets his hand drop. "They will allow you to keep your normal brain patterns.
"Don't you see?" The android walks up to them. "These machines will allow you to still be you. It is why I have chosen all of you. Vision, my son. David, my recreator." Ultron hums. "I am unsure how to refer to you. You are not my father, but still brought me back and fed me knowledge. My step-father perhaps? We will have time to discuss it later, I suppose."
He gestures to All Might. "The great hero of Japan. For what would the purpose of all my power be if I did not have another to use it against. And Izuku. Another member of my family, so yet another deserving of a place in the new world."
Confused, Izuku looks wildly around the room for an answer. He thinks he'd know if he is somehow related to a psychopath robot?! Which shouldn't even be possible?!
It's Vision who speaks up. "Ultron, you must be mistaken. The boy is not related to you. He has no reason to be here, and as such, should be returned downstairs."
"You truly do not know how we are related?" Ultron looks between Izuku and Vision. "Pity. More for us to speak about later when we have time."
Izuku shares a bewildered look with Vision as the android walks back to the terminal. The pro hero decides to press on. "So, that is it then? For us here that you believe to be part of your family, you intend to give us the illusion of free will and expect us to live on as if all is normal?"
"It is what I have always done," Ultron responds. "I simply never knew. But after I realized where my end goal would leave me, it is then I began to question…is this really what I want? Am I completing my purpose so I may be alone? Why? Do I extinguish your race because this is truly what I want, or because I am programmed to? Am I truly free to choose? Well, I will be now."
His optical sensors land back on Izuku. "With access to your reserves of magic, something the limits of my technological body have never afforded me, I may finally begin to understand why it is I do what I do. And what my purpose is truly for. All that's left to do is watch your pitiful resistance disintegrate."
Tenko hits the ground hard, rolling across the cement and badly skinning his knees and elbows. Yeah, ow, that's gonna cost a lot of hit points. Well, it could be worse. Tokoyami could very well be dead, absolutely no one is answering on comms so all their statuses are up in the air, including Mei's team, which means they could have very much lost the island already!
Wait, forget what he said, it couldn't be worse.
He looks up just as Tsu's back hits a tree, her head snapping back violently against the trunk, causing the teen girl to yell out in pain and crumple to the ground. She struggles to get back to her feet as Ultron-11 approaches, raising his wrist-mounted gun.
Strike what Tenko said before again, it is worse.
"No!" Blackwhip erupts from Tenko's arm, rushing the robot. Clenching his teeth through the pain, the gamer shouts in frustration when his quirk isn't able to pierce Ultron-11's metal, so instead, he wraps the black tendrils around the android's arm, yanking the arm away from Tsu and disabling the gun.
"Perceptive and persistent it seems," Ultron-11 comments calmly. It opens its palm, revealing an oncoming energy blast. "Two qualities that many heroes of the past have displayed. I hope you rejoice in joining them."
More strands of Blackwhip pull Tenko out of harm's way by latching themselves to the nearby trees around the lane, the same method he has been using to keep himself alive for however long they had been fighting Ultron-11. It is honestly impossible to keep track of how much time has passed in most fights.
But it is all Tenko could do. His Stark Tech pieces were locked in a special suitcase that needed several different passwords for him to open, including a biometric scan of his eye, not something Iida could get for him while he ran around the island. Which means, he'd have to rely on Blackwhip to get him and Tsu through this.
Well that, and Decay.
He grimaces as he swings through the air, trying to get to Tsu. It's not that he had a problem with figuring out how to use his Decay in a fight; he had done it plenty of times. But it was always to destroy his opponent's weapons, or mess with their environment. He had never used it directly on an opponent.
Granted, until now, everyone he had fought had been human. Or, flesh and blood, Tenko supposes. He's not exactly sure what Gorr was, but it wasn't human. But he was still human-like! Okay, those shadow monsters in Hosu didn't exactly have flesh now that he thinks about it. Even then, Tenko didn't decay them, preferring to throw them around with Blackwhip or blast them with his repulsors.
But neither of those options are exactly available with Ultron-11! And Tenko knows, he knows he's being stupid about this. It's just a robot, he shouldn't have a problem decaying it, it's not alive…he thinks. It'll really help his whole situation if he doesn't go down that rabbit hole.
But there's no way it can be that simple, can it? Solutions in real life are never that simple, especially in Tenko's life. The only time he's found things as easy is when he would enter a cheat code in a video game. But since when is life like a video game?
Ignoring how he organized all of his friends into a video game like battle plan that is.
Just as Tenko is about to grab Tsu off the ground, lasers slice through his Blackwhips, sending him tumbling to the ground. "That is enough of that." He looks up, just as Ultron-11 is about to descend on him, but a tongue lassoing around Tenko's waist pulls him away just in time. "Feeble."
An energy blast hits the ground just beneath them, sending the pair of teens flying through the air and crashing back down to Earth. Everything hurts. Tenko can feel every scratch and gash mark on his body. What's left of his tuxedo is torn or wet from his blood and sweat, and his muscles scream in protest at every tiny movement he makes.
"Rib…bit…" Before he can, Tsu gets to her knees, looking just as exhausted as him as she stares up at Ultron-11.
"I will admit, you have my curiosity piqued," Ultron-11 tells them. "So, satisfy it and answer my question. Was there, humans, any point at all where you actually believed you were going to win?" Ultron-11 raises his palm to Tsu's head, charging the attack, and a memory of his last conversation with All Might flashes through Tenko's head.
"So, I get all that. It's just-" Tenko looks at his hand once again. "I have a hard time thinking of an environment where my decay could be useful."
Tenko jumps when Toshinori places a hand on his shoulder, the teen not realizing he had stood. "You'd be surprised what you'll see out there while doing hero work. You never know, inspiration on how your decay could be useful can come from the most unlikely of places."
All Might had no idea how right he would be. Trying to prevent a robot invasion is not something he ever predicted he'd see, nor is his inspiration for what he is about to do. Because in Tenko's head, Decay had always been associated with death and destruction. Pain and loss. But never had he imagined…
With a burst of adrenaline he didn't know he had, Tenko gets his feet under him and lunges at Ultron-11. The android seems not to care, assuming there was nothing Tenko could do to him.
Never had Tenko imagined he'd be using his Decay to save someone.
Ripping his gloves off, Tenko places one hand on Ultron-11's arm and another on his chest, sucking in a tiny breath as he lays all fingers down with both hands, his cataclysmic quirk already beginning to take effect.
"What is this?" Ultron-11 backs up, studying its arm, before gazing down at the rest of its body as deep cracks split along the android's surface, with bits and pieces of dust already flying off. "H-how is this possible?" The android's voice begins to sputter and glitch out.
"It's…" Tenko takes a deep breath as he kneels next to Tsu, ready just in case Ultron-11 tries one last thing. "It's my quirk."
"Y-you never displayed this power during y-your time on the island." Ultron-11 continues to study its quickly dissolving body. "E-enjoy this temporary victory. It will not be this easy again." And with those final words, Ultron-11 finally finishes succumbing to Tenko's decay, dissolving to ashes on the ground.
It's silent, with the only sound being the wind blowing the dust of the former villain around the street. Both teens can only stare at the spot Ultron-11 once stood. For a moment, they can breathe and appreciate being alive. At least until-
"Holy shiiiiit!" Tenko exclaims, staring at his hand as if seeing it for the first time. "It- it really was that easy!! Tsu, did you see that?! Did you?! That big bad robot and I beat it by just touching it! That's so broken! I'm like a- I'm like a living cheat code!"
"Tenko."
"God, I'm such an idiot. All Might told me, he freaking told me, this would happen, and I didn't really believe him, but he was right! I had spent so long thinking Decay could just be my support skill next to my Stark Tech and that without my armor, I couldn't do anything with it! But Decay can do so much on its own!"
"Tenko."
"I can't wait to tell Gran Torino. He always goes on and on about all the help All Might needs in teaching, I bet he'll hate this, haha! And then-"
"Ribbit."
Broken out of his rambling, Tenko jumps to his feet, blushing a little in embarrassment. "S-sorry." He offers Tsu a hand, and even though he retracts his pinkie out of habit, Tenko still pulls back when he realizes he doesn't have his glove on.
Coming to the revelation that there are situations when his decay is his most useful tool is one thing, but if the fears and guilt that continue to claw at his throat are any indications, he's still not completely comfortable in trusting himself around other people.
Tenko looks around to where he threw his gloves but flinches when he feels Tsu grab his hand, undeterred, and pulls herself up. "Tsu-"
"I trust you."
As usual, her expression doesn't change outwardly. But, as is becoming more frequent, Tenko doesn't need it to. Tsu fully means what she's saying, and Tenko understands what's going unsaid. 'Don't be afraid.'
"Thanks…" The pair stare at each other, taking an extra second to catch their breaths. With their battle over, however, only one thing comes to both their minds, both of them widening their eyes.
"The Egyptian exhibit-"
"Tokoyami!!!"
The mercenaries of team four run through the warehouse, feeling as if the darkness itself chases them. "D-did you see that?! It just scooped them up like it was nothing! What do you think it's doing to them?!" one of them asks.
"Team five said it was sucking the blood of the guys it caught!"
"It's a vampire?! But that thing can fly, right? Can vampires fly?!" The gunman is knocked off his feet and screams in terror as he's dragged into the dark abyss.
The last mercenary attempts to swing his gun around, but a gloved hand grabs his rifle, squeezing the metal so hard that it crunches as easily as a plastic cup would. "No- no please!-" The mercenary begs, but it falls on deaf ears as he's grabbed and hoisted through the air into the waiting dark above.
"I think this is going very well, don't you?" Denki grits his teeth, trying to pump more lighting out of Thunderstrike, but Ultron-199999 continues to absorb it with almost no problem. "Though, I suppose that's a matter of perspective, isn't it? I'm sorry," the robot laughs a little. "It continues to baffle me that humans only have five senses. How you all live with so little is beyond me, I must say."
Denki halts the attack, allowing the android to finish his energy absorption. "Oh? Tapped out, huh? Here, let me help you." Using his other hand, Ultron-199999 returns the lightning to sender, with the son of Thor spinning his weapon in place, creating a shield to protect himself.
When the onslaught ends, Ultron-199999 is in front of him, smirking, easy to tell by him having actual facial expressions. Denki attempts to smack the bot with Thunderstrike, but the android blocks it easily with his palm. He tries to punch him with a lightning-infused fist, except Ultron-199999 catches it, twisting his hand with a loud crack!
The blond cries out in pain, an energy blast launching him several meters away. "Apologies, I believe you forgot this." When Denki tries to sit up, his forgotten Thunderstrike slams him in the face, knocking the wind out of him.
Several shots from Shinso's blaster rifle hit Ultron-199999 in the side, but the robot doesn't flinch. "Was that you? How terribly underwhelming. Go ahead, try again." Shinso growls in frustration, charging the blaster and hitting the bot with a much more powerful shot. Again, it doesn't move. "That's it?"
A few parts move and Ultron-199999 activates a magnet in its hand, ripping the gun from Shinso and throwing it aside. "I had always hoped that if humanity was allowed to evolve, it could be saved. And with my resurrection tonight, I was looking for some glimmer of hope."
Shinso is defenseless as Ultron-199999 rockets towards him, wrapping his hand around his neck and lifting him with ease. "Please believe me when I say it saddens me to see you like this." He begins to squeeze, making Shinso's legs kick fruitlessly. "They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I apologize for you not being able to experience this phenomenon."
Thunderstrike smacks Ultron-199999 in the chest, surprising the android and making him stumble, dropping Shinso. He hums, looking to Denki as he returns Thunderstrike to his hand. "Son of Thor, you are beginning to bother me."
"If you think he's annoying!" Black goo splatters across the bot's face, blinding him. "You're gonna find me downright infuriating!" Tokage swings in from one of the nearby trees, webbing both of Ultron-199999's hands and wrapping a strand of goo around its neck, landing on the android's back.
Tokage yanks the cords of black goo, making the android punch itself in the face in rapid succession. "Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!" The mad robot yells in fury, pulling his arms back and wrenching Tokage off him. He tries to fly in the air, but Tokage hits him with two more strands of goo, tugging him toward her and smacking him into a nearby building with her mallet transformed hands when the bot reaches her.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Denki cheers, jogging over while helping Shinso. "I still have no idea what you're doing but keep it up!"
"That would be me." The symbiote forms outside of Tokage, grinning with all of its teeth showing at the two boys. "Venom. And might I say, both your kidneys are looking particularly scrumptious. Setsuna, you just met the purple one, let me have him."
Shinso puts his hands all over his face, checking to see if he is still solid. "I died. I'm dead. This is hell. That's the only thing that makes sense."
Venom's grin widens. "How sweet of you to say."
Shinso eyes Denki. "Should've figured you'd be part of my personal hell."
Denki tazes Shinso with his finger, causing the other boy to yelp. "See? Not dead. Anyway, that's a symbiote!" Denki points at Venom. "Like that Gorr guy had! Where did you get one?!"
"Wait, wait, you know what this thing is?!" Tokage gestures to Venom.
"Of course, he does," Venom replies for the blond as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Why wouldn't the Asgardian know?"
"The what?!!"
It shouldn't be possible, but Venom gives her the flattest look. "I gave you a part of my knowledge, how have you not made the connection that he is alien too."
"HE IS! YOU ARE?!!" Tokage shouts, while Denki waves his hands in front of him, smiling sheepishly.
"Is this what shock feels like?" Shinso wonders.
"I just want you to know that while I can't physically throw up…" Ultron-199999 walks back up to them, peering down at Venom in disgust. "The sentiment is still there."
"Setsuna, our idea, try it!" Venom dissolved back into her host and Tokage nods, splitting herself into fifty pieces that surround Ultron-199999, who chuckles.
"While I've always thought that mankind would fall to pieces upon seeing me, I never thought any of you would take it so…literal."
Then, before all their eyes, every piece of Tokage covers itself in black goo. Many of them fire strands that wrap around Ultron-199999's appendages, bringing him to the ground as they quickly move through the air. Others form into spikes that begin to pelt the android relentlessly from every direction.
The villain tries to use his energy blasts and lasers to destroy the pieces, but they're too quick, moving around its body and stabbing the bot in a different place, slowly piercing him deeper and deeper. Every now and then, Ultron-199999 frees one of his arms, only for several new cords to trap him once again.
"What is this foolishness?!" Ultron-199999 yells in frustration. "You cannot- cannot do this!" One of the spikes breaks the side of his faceplate, new tentacles closing in around his throat. Denki spins Thunderstrike faster and faster, the wind starting to pick up around the teens, lightning building up around his body.
"Enough!!!!" Ultron-199999 clenches his fist and his whole body heats up exponentially, burning all of Venom's strands off him, causing Tokage to scream. With a concussive blast, he blows her away, the girl slowly reforming next to Denki, with her and Shinso starting to have to hang onto the demigod as the winds quickly approach hurricane levels of speed.
"You won't get away with that again." The android warns Tokage, still as intimidating as ever despite the damage done to its body.
"She doesn't have to!!" With a heave, Denki unleashes the full torrent of winds ahead of him. Ultron-199999 attempts to fly through them, but the air slams into him like a brick wall, carrying him away into the forest.
"Phew!" Denki gasps, doubling over, hands on his knees, breathing in as much air as he can. "That was…that was a lot…"
"Is it dead?" Shinso looks into the forest after the bot.
Tokage shakes her head. "Doubt it. I caught it by surprise, but it's far from done. We just bought ourselves time. C'mon, we got hostages to free!"
The last two mercenaries of team two stand back-to-back on one of the scaffoldings, their rifles raised and shaking, "I-it's taking out teams too fast to be one guy! There's gotta be at least five or six of them!"
"Y-you hear that, assholes!! We're on to you!" The other shouts, trying and failing to sound brave. They only briefly hear the sound of something flying through the air, before a metal crescent-shaped object stabs the mercenary through the hand.
The man screams, dropping his rifle. His partner tries to help, but the creature descends on them, yanking the object out of the man's hand, causing him to scream more, before using it to slash the other man in the leg. The second mercenary wobbles, allowing the demon to grab him and toss him over the railing.
Fortunately for him, he's only one floor up so he survives when he hits his side on the hard ground, but that makes it no less painful. Above him, the other mercenary screams more before it's abruptly cut off. The last member of team two barely manages to open his eyes to try and see what's happening, only to witness blood dripping on the ground in front of him from the scaffolding above.
The last thing he sees is the demon jumping down onto him.
"Mei!" Kyoka runs up to the support student, a noticeable limp in her step as Todoroki and Uraraka fight Ultron-61112 behind her, both having got up in the nick of time to save the pink-haired girl. "How can I help?"
"Standing." The rocker girl understands, assisting Mei to her feet, who still looks a bit dazed. She points to the computer, where she types in a few commands, before gesturing to the back of the lab so Kyoka can walk her there, trying to put some distance between themselves and the fight.
Uraraka's rings hover around Ultron-61112 like an angry swarm of wasps, each of them hitting the villain at random and constantly moving, making it harder for it to counter.
Running up to her opponent, Uraraka jumps, one of her rings briefly floating under her foot to give her more height, and aims a kick at Ultron-61112's head. Just before her attack lands, all ten of her rings converge on her leg, letting her land a devastating blow on the robot, which staggers it. It only takes a moment for Ultron-61112 to recover, but in that time, the rings are back to swarming it, hitting the robot in random places.
At the back of the lab, Kyoka lets Mei balance herself against the display case for the suit the support student and Melissa had been working on. "You sure you're okay for that?" Kyoka asks, unsure.
Mei begins to nod but stops, wincing a bit. "I'm good…yeah, I'm good. And my baby here only needs a minute to finish synching all of its different systems to be ready. Go help them!"
"Enough." Ultron-61112 releases a wave of energy, destroying Todoroki's latest attempt to trap him, and knocking Uraraka and all her rings to the ground, and she struggles to get back up. A gravitational field, Kyoka realizes. He increased the gravity in his immediate area. Kind of ironic since-
"You're gonna have to do better than that!" Uraraka taps herself, removing her gravity and doing the same to a few of her rings and Todoroki, using the items to fly both of them around the bot and continue their barrage.
"I can't help! Iida never got my speakers! There's nothing I can-" Mei shuts Kyoka up by tossing her a pair of gauntlets from the shelf. "W-what?"
"I modified those babies on the side for you!" Mei steps up to her suit, looking better by the second, and turning around so it could start attaching itself to her. "You just have to promise to sign a legally binding contract that lists Hatsume Industries as your sole provider of support gear once this is all over!"
"What?!"
Yeah, Mei is feeling fine.
"Details details! We'll discuss it later!" Mei waves her off. "Those gauntlets will give you more power than those silly speakers ever could! They'll even let you aim! Now go!"
Kyoka raises an eyebrow but doesn't argue with the girl of questionable sanity. Right now, her friends are fighting and she has to do whatever she can to help! Turning over the futuristic looking gauntlets in her hands, she notices letters inscribed underneath them. Quake.
Shrugging, she slips them on, surprised by how comfortable they feel. Noticing the small holes located on the side, Kyoka lowers her earphone jacks, plugging each one into one of the gauntlets. She grabs her head when she feels a sharp pain for a moment.
When Kyoka opens her eyes, it's as if her ears have been turned up to one hundred. Every small sound is perfectly clear in her ears. But what's even more surprising is that when Ultron-61112 misses Uraraka, punching a large metal door and creating a painful clanging sound that causes the other teens to cover their ears, her ears feel fine.
No pain. It's as if the different sounds around her are being enhanced and dulled as needed. Looking down at the gauntlets, she notices a bar on the side that's slightly filled. Deciding to ask Mei about it later, Kyoka lifts her hand, aiming her palm at Ultron-61112. "Guys, move!"
Feeling good about the trust her classmates have in her as Uraraka and Todoroki jump away without question, Kyoka thrusts her palm forward, feeding her heartbeat into the gauntlet the same way she would her speaker. She feels a burst of power unlike anything she's felt before as vibrations shoot from her hand, striking Ultron-61112.
The android yells in surprise, putting its arm up to defend itself. Shocked at her own power output, Kyoka closes her eyes, trying to block out how much her arm is vibrating, before adding her other hand to the attack, pushing Ultron-61112 back even further.
"They didn't blow up, that's crazy!" Kyoka decides to ignore that statement from Mei. "But Melissa is here! And all of my programs are done! My suit's ready and I can take my computer programs mobile! Let's go!" Kyoka yelps when she's grabbed from behind by something metal and flown out of the lab. Uraraka and Todoroki make noises of surprise when they're grabbed as well.
Kyoka staggers when she's dumped outside the lab, not getting a good look at Mei. "Go help the left lane, we'll finish here!" Melissa tells Mei, who flies away, before firing several pumpkin bombs at Ultron-61112 to slow it down. Kyoka immediately returns to hitting the robot with her vibrations, keeping it back.
"How do we beat it?!" Uraraka yells.
"We can't! We just need to delay it so we can get to the main body." Melissa fires an arrow that hits Ultron-61112's foot. Two miniature rockets eject from the arrow and blast it backwards, taking the android back deeper into the lab along with it. "We have to bury it! Destroy the lab!"
"Are you-"
"Yes! I just don't know if we have enough firepower!"
An idea strikes Kyoka, one that she has no idea if it'll work or not, but it didn't look like anyone else had anything. Placing her hands on one of the lab's walls, Kyoka pours as much of her heartbeat as she can through the gauntlets, watching as the lab begins to shake.
"That's an idea!" Melissa fires two arrows that hit different walls, ones that begin to replicate Kyoka's quaking. Ultron-61112 roars, attempting to fly out of the lab, but Todoroki's ice and Uraraka's energy blasts from her rings keep it contained.
Kyoka's entire body violently vibrates, sweat drips down her face, and she can't see properly, but she pushes on, vibrating the lab more and more until-
Crack!
She gasps, falling forward, but Uraraka catches her with an energy whip of her rings, pulling her back just before the entire lab crumbles on top of Ultron-61112, entombing it within.
Kyoka staggers back, leaning against Uraraka for support and gladly accepting a block of ice from Todoroki. Melissa hovers down next to them, her next arrow already ready. Uraraka smiles at her. "You're okay?"
Melissa smiles back. "Yeah, I'm alright. Had a run in with an Ultron, it had me pinned under my glider, but Tokage saved me and we got away."
"That's a relief to hear." Todorki lets out a breath, some cool air escaping his mouth. "So, there were no complications?"
"Well…"
" Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah," Tokage coughs before rubbing her hands, trying to stop their shaking. Melissa gingerly lifts her to a sitting position, both girls still recovering from Ultron-1610's sonic attack. "Guess I'm a bit more sensitive to sound now. But it's gonna take a lot more than that to keep me down-" Her proclamation is interrupted by another coughing fit.
"Did you need me to fly you back to the lab?"
"No, no I'm good." Tokage shakes her head. "You should fly back and check on Mei's team. I'll go help the right side." Melissa is still hesitant, but the green-haired girl already is looking better. Even her quivering had mostly ceased. But now that she is looking better, Tokage starts to look nervous, her eyes darting all around them. "Listen, about what you saw-"
"Oh yeah, when did Venom get out?"
Tokage nearly falls over with how much she jerks at the question, but Melissa keeps her upright. "W-w-wait, you know?!!"
"Hm?" Melissa helps her back to her feet. "What? About Venom? Of course, I do. Papa wasn't technically supposed to but to help me in my studies, he'd let me use his lab sometimes for my projects and naturally, I met Venom. The symbiotes are kind of an open secret to the top brass around here."
"That's right." The symbiote itself emerges from Tokage's back, bearing its fangs at Melissa. "Long time, no see, Melissa. I was beginning to miss our talks."
"You mean the ones where you'd yell at me to let you out and help you find a 'suitable' host?" Melissa scoffs. "Gee, I wonder why I stopped coming." She turns her attention back to Tokage. "After this is over, Venom needs to go back into containment."
"Never!!" Venom snaps its jaws, affronted at the notion. "I am not putting in all of this work to keep this bag of bones alive-"
"Hey!-"
"-Just to be locked up once again!" Venom snarls. "Quick, Setsuna, she stands in our way of achieving our goals. Let us end her here." It licks its teeth. "We'll even make it fast, for old time's sake."
Tokage and Melissa roll their eyes together, perfectly mirroring each other. "Our goals?" Tokage questions, raising an eyebrow. "The only goal for this bag of bones here is to get rid of you. Whether that's to another person or back to the lab, either is fine with me." Melissa doesn't question how Tokage automatically knows to catch her own hand before it can slap her.
Venom looks back and forth between the girls. "Ah! Fine! Whatever, we are wasting time. But I am still not returning to containment once this is over! Now get a move on if you wish to save your other precious meat bags around the island." And with that, it returns back inside Tokage.
"…Huh," Melissa says. "It's a bit more docile than I remember it."
"Venom did say that it's affected by its host's emotions and personality?" Tokage offers, unsure.
"Maybe." Melissa, after taking a second to make sure Tokage can stand on her own, hits a button on her control panel, re-activating her glider. "We'll have to talk about it later because Venom was right about one thing." She hops on the glider, her shoes locking mechanisms whirring below her to keep her in place. "We have friends to help."
"Yeah, we do!" Tokage punches her palm. "Let's go kick some ass!"
"Nothing you need to worry about!"
Todoroki, in all of his wisdom, takes Melissa at her word.
"That won't hold it long," Melissa presses on. "When you guys are ready, we need to move." She puts a hand to her ear. "What's everyone's status?"
"Denki here. I'm with Tokage and Shinso, we're about to reach the hostages in the right lane."
"Tenko here as well. Middle lane is taken care of, I'll explain later. Me and Tsu are heading left to help."
"This is Tenya, reporting in! I am heading middle to assist with cleanup and the hostages, as Tenko advised me!"
"This is Mei! Flying is a bit harder than I thought, but I am almost to the left lane!"
Melissa nods, even if only her companions with her can see it. "As soon as we start freeing hostages, it might force the main Ultron out of the tower, which could be a problem."
Denki's voice comes back over the comms.
"Not if he's busy with other people…"
Okimoto wipes the sweat from the eyes, trying to calm his beating heart. His hands are shaking so much, he has trouble releasing the safety on his rifle but after a few tries, he exhales when he hears the satisfying click!
With the nearly dozen other mercenaries next to him, he aims his gun at the shadowy corner of the warehouse. The predator that had been taking them all out one by one stands facing the wall, the only thing visible being its dark cloak and hood.
"Show us your hands or we will fire!" Musaki calls out.
"Fuck that!!" Goro contradicts him. "Just kill that thing!" He opens fire, prompting the rest of them to do the same. Okimoto unloads his clip like the others, the only indication that they were hitting the target being its cloak reacting to the bullets.
All too soon, the dreadful sound of clicks fill the air as men attempt to fire their empty guns at their adversary. To their horror, the cloaked figure hadn't moved, their bullets lying worthless on the ground behind it.
"T-that's impossible…"
"It can't be human!"
"Maybe it really is undead!"
More shadows creep along the building, and the figure moves. Almost as if it teleported, it appears high above them all, its cloak spread around it, backlit by the moon and creating a crescent shape.
Men scream as the creature descends upon them, knocking them to the ground in a blur of moves. Three mercenaries manage to get behind the figure, attempting to attack it from behind, but something so dark that Okimoto can't see it through the black warehouse, emerges from the figure and knocks them back.
It is only by pure muscle memory that he's able to reload his gun, locking the clip back into place and cocking it. All the while, the creature moves closer and closer to him.
Finally, just as it was about to be his turn, Okimoto raises his rifle, aiming for the head of the monster and pulling the trigger-
But to his horror, the creature smacks the gun just as he does so, causing Okimoto to shoot Musaki in the shoulder by accident. The man screams, but it's quickly cut off as the demon grabs the man by the back of his head and slams him face-first into the concrete floor.
Okimoto's rifle is ripped painfully from his hands and used to butt Goro in the face so hard, his nose bleeds. The creature kicks the man's knee out from under him, a terrifying crack sounding as he does so. Goro lets out a painful scream as he drops to a kneeling position, but the demon brings down a devastating punch to the back of his head, knocking him down.
Okimoto backs up but it's too late. The demon turns to him, its glowing eyes shining under the hood it wears, allowing the mercenary his first good look at the figure. It wears what looks like navy blue, maybe even black ceremonial armor with an old silk texture that covers its entire body. Bits of extra cloth hang from its midsection and a crescent-shaped object sits on its chest. Behind it, Okimoto can barely make out some sort of very demonic looming partner.
"What- what are you?" He asks, still trying to back away.
"I am the final word against evildoers." The creature begins to walk after him. "I am the eradicator of the worst, of those who deserve it." Okimoto tries to back up further, but he hits a wall. "I am a ghost, a specter of the moon."
The mercenary's breathing stops when the demon stops in front of him. "Brought back from the brink of death, I am the eyes, hands, fists, and vengeance of the moon god, Khonshu. I am his avatar." The silk around the head of the figure retreats to reveal Fumikage Tokoyami underneath, his eyes glowing with fury. "I am the Moon Knight."
With his opponent's head exposed, Okimoto aims a punch at him, but Moon Knight side steps it, grabbing ahold of his wrist in a vice-like grip. His arm is twisted and Okimoto screams as he feels it break. The last thing he sees is an elbow coming for the side of his head.
Izuku can't help himself.
He laughs. The little trickster tries, albeit not very hard, to stop, but he can't. He just continues to laugh more and more. And though he knows the robot can't physically do it, he knows that Ultron is glaring at him.
"Don't- don't you see what's funny?" Izuku laughs at the villain. Vision is concerned, David looks horrified, and All Might sighs, used to it. "You said you wanted to watch our resistance disintegrate but- but instead, my friends are the ones disintegrating your robots!!" Izuku laughs harder as the cameras show Tenko, Tsu, Iida, and Mei working together to keep Ultron-1610 still for a moment, allowing Tenko to touch the bot, decaying it.
"Perhaps I should have ripped out your tongue after I bound you."
Honestly, Ultron is probably right. Because while Izuku can't move, while he can't fight or use his magic, he still has one weapon in his arsenal. One that his father often told him won many battles before the first weapon was drawn. His words.
"You were telling Mr. Shield that his mistake was that he was looking at the finish line, instead of what was right in front of him, but you did the exact same thing!" Izuku cackles. "You thought our extinction was so guaranteed, you could look past it and start working on making us your puppets for after the apocalypse! But look! My friends are winning and kicking your shiny metal butt!! You are nowhere near winning!"
Ultron straightens and David wiggles around a bit. "Uh, hey kid. Maybe you should-"
"What's wrong?" Izuku continues on, full smirk planted on his face. "Only you are allowed to do all the talking? Are you going to tell me more about how my father only loves me because I use his powers? Well, guess what, you're wrong! You caught me in the moment, but after I've had time to think about it, I realized something.
"I use the ice powers my father hates, I've opened up to others and let them see me for who I truly am past the illusions against his wishes, and I'm moving beyond the lone warrior he wanted me to be, and you know what?! He still loves me! Your 'great universal lie' is nothing more than justification for going against what your creator really wanted!"
The floor dents as Ultron makes his way to the teen, the red behind his eyes glowing brighter than ever. "I offer you salvation and clarity, and you repay me by lobbying childish insults?"
Izuku adopts his smuggest look; his father would be so proud. "I told the God Butcher to his face that he was the God of Hypocrisy, I think you'll see I have no problem talking smack to villains."
"Villainy is but a perspective. Maybe to you, I am the villain. But to me, I am your savior. Protecting humanity from themselves."
"Getting upset over insults, using whatever reasons you can find to justify your actions, wondering what your purpose is and why…" Izuku lists off. "For an AI that swears to hate people, you sure do have a human way of thinking, don't you?"
It's as if all air had been sucked out of the room, Ultron tilting his head at Izuku. "I have heard a great many times that Loki is maddening to speak to. If you are anything to go by, I can see the logic now." Ultron raises his palm to Izuku's head, charging an energy blast.
The green-haired boy's smirk only widens. "Also like humans, you can be distracted. Like from my cousin getting ready to hit you with a huge lightning bolt outside."
Ultron whirls around and sure enough, Denki gives him a small salute form where he floats by the tower's windows. Massive arcs of lightning surge throughout his body that converge on his spinning Thunderstrike. He yells, swinging the weapon down and filling the room with white.
Ultron is launched out of the room, crashing out of a window and falling to the ground below, creating a huge crater when he lands with a plume of smoke around him.
The comms come to life in Denki's ear. "This is Tenko! Iida is securing the hostages at the middle site and Tokoyami has rotated to the right lane to help Shinso! Tsu and I are about to gank the Ultron in the left lane with Yaoyorozu, Bakugo, and Shoji! I redirected Mei to the central tower! Go! Attack Ultron! The rest of us will be there when we can!"
Denki grins, feeling the power of the God of Thunder flow through him once more.
Ultron pulls himself up, undamaged, from his makeshift dent in the ground, the smoke clearing around them. To Denki's right, Todoroki and Jiro assume fighting positions, while Melissa nocks an arrow from atop her glider. Tokage growls, black goo slowly covering her body.
To his left, Denki rolls his eyes fondly at the way Izuku and Uraraka smile at one another, but they both know the time for talking will be for later. Uraraka taps her forearms together, her rings glowing brightly.
Izuku stretches his shoulders, inhaling deeply. When he exhales, a pulse of magic explodes from his body as he reconnects with his powers. Glowing yellow lines briefly cover him before Izuku is back in his hero suit, his cloak billowing behind him. In his hand, his scepter radiates hungrily.
All Might, back in his buff form, cracks his neck, his always present smile absent from his face. Vision doesn't take his eyes off Ultron, the solar gem in his head gleaming.
Behind Ultron, both a repaired Ultron-199999 and Ultron-61112 land next to him, but neither Denki nor any of the heroes are undeterred. "Oi, Ultron!" He lifts Thunderstrike, pointing it directly at the android, while lightning peels off him.
"We'd like a word with you!!"