Chapter 57: Cheat Code Part 2
If someone had asked Mezo Shoji what part of his trip to I-Island he was most worried about before he got there, he would've said how he looks in a tuxedo. Both due to him having to most likely rip the sleeves off to wear, and his mask clashing with the color.
It seems silly looking back on it now, but he guesses most things would after getting blasted through the wall of a laboratory. Mezo gets up to his hands and knees. His eyes, both the ones on his head and the extras, are blurry from the impact.
Looking out of the hole created, he can see Bakugo and Yaomomo, now joined by Tenko and Tsu, fighting the red-colored Ultron-9997. Tenko uses his Blackwhips to help move Bakugo and Tsu around the robot, but as soon as the android sees Tenko, it seems to forget about everyone else and fires two freaking missiles at the boy.
Luckily, Yaomomo is ready, creating a large flare gun and firing it into the air, redirecting the attack. Dammit, what is he doing? Everyone is giving their best out there, and Mezo is still on the ground here, not doing anything!
His hand slams on a nearby table, lifting him onto his shaky legs. Mezo lowers his mask to spit some blood out of his mouth before replacing it. He's gotta think here. It would be pointless if he just ran back out there with no plan. Mezo isn't fast, and his hulking size makes him an easy target for the robot's energy blasts. The bruising on his chest proves that.
And even if he somehow gets close to it, what can he do? Nothing Yaomomo has made has been able to pierce the Android's metal body, only temporarily slow it down, so how can he? Sure, Mezo's mother has always told him his hugs are comforting, but he doubts he can slow down Ultron-9997 that way.
Speaking of the robot, the fight had turned from all the teens attacking the killer android, to them having to protect Tenko, as Ultron-9997 continued to ignore the others to chase down the decay user.
Mezo looks around the lab he's in desperately, for something that can help him, anything to make him faster or give him some type of- he stops when he spots something on a shelf.
He limps to the devices, watching the cracked screen of the TV next to them, displaying a villain using them against one of the original Avengers. He looks between them and back outside, watching as Tenko uses Blackwhip to attack and defend. While Mezo knows he couldn't possibly accomplish most of the things his classmate can, these might allow him to at least join the fight.
Apologizing silently to the staff of I-Island, he grabs two of the devices, before using their handles to break the glass of the display case labeled Whiplash, and grabs two more, giving Mezo four devices in total. While the villain had only used two, that was because the man only had two arms. Mezo has plenty to go around.
He walks back outside just as Ultron-9997 uses a tree to swipe everyone away from him and Tenko. It's now or never.
Copying what he saw in the video, Mezo hits a button on each of the four handles he carries, ejecting the electrically charged springloaded whips from their handles. With lengths already starting at over three meters, Mezo doesn't have to move far to get into range.
Reeling two of his arms back, Mezo launches the whips at Ultron-9997, an ear-splitting crack filling the air as he does. The whips hit the android on the side, the electrical current making a loud sizzling noise against the robot's metal.
Ultron-9997 yells in surprise, but Mezo doesn't give it a chance to recover, slashing at it with his two other whips, the robot reeling. While his whips couldn't pierce the metal either, Ultron-9997 can clearly feel their effects. And judging by the android turning its attention to him, Mezo's plan to get it off of Tenko had worked.
Slight issue. The teen had been so focused on saving his friend, he hadn't thought of what he'd do once he got there. Desperately, Mezo swings another set of whips at Ultron-9997, but the move is telegraphed, with the robot raising its arm to block the attack. And while the whips do wrap around its arm, burning the android, it appears unbothered.
Yaomomo catches his eye, nodding at him while creating a new object. Whatever it was, it had to be good; they just need to buy her a few seconds. Thinking back to Tenko pulling people with Blackwhip, Mezo tugs on the whips wrapped around Ultron-9997's arm with all his strength, staggering the bot.
Meanwhile, Bakugo and Tsu distract it further, launching attacks at its head. Mezo wraps his second set of whips around Ultron-9997's leg, attempting to inconvenience it more. That's when Yaomomo acts.
She lobs some sort of cube under Ultron-9997, the android yelling in frustration. Mezo realizes immediately that Yaomomo made a powerful magnet that drags the villain to the ground. It won't last long; the robot is already aiming an energy blast at the cube. In mere seconds it would be standing again.
But that's all they need.
Yaomomo yells, "Go, Tenko!"
The boy doesn't need to be told twice and, using Blackwhip, is on Ultron-9997's back instantly, placing all five of his fingers on top of it. The android yells out one final time, before decaying to nothing in front of them.
No one says anything for a few seconds, as if they were all anticipating that the Ultron would reform itself any second. But when nothing happens, Mezo retracts the whips, and they all relax for a moment. Except for Bakugo, who is looking between Tenko and where the android used to be with a furious look.
"You could've been doing that this entire time?!" he roars, stomping over to the decay user.
Tsu gets up, readying to put herself between them. "Bakugo, you don't get it-"
"Zip it, Frog Legs!!" Bakugo lifts a menacing finger to Tenko. "And you!! Stop holding yourself back, Hands! If you didn't, you would've known all the shit your quirk could do by now! Talk to the mutt or someone and figure your crap out!"
"Don't call her Frog Legs!" Tenko responds.
"Jesus fuc- fine!" Bakugo throws his hands in the air. "My bad, Kermit!" It's almost impressive the lengths Bakugo will go to to not call any of them by their names. "Ponytail, get us a ride to the hostages. Hentai, keep the whips on you, let's go!"
By the time Mezo realizes that 'Hentai' is Bakugo's name for him, the explosive boy is already racing down the lane.
"Ultron…" Vision levitates a few centimeters off the ground, the gem in his forehead still glowing brightly. "This does not have to end in a fight. The parameters for this conflict were set by you, which means you can change them."
"We both know you are hardly in a position to negotiate." Behind the main android, both Ultron-199999 and Ultron-61112 take a step away, eyeing the row of humans in front of them. "But stalling does you no good, as it just allows me more time to gain control of the island. So, clearly, your plan has changed.
"You are, perhaps, waiting for something?" Vision fidgets, and Ultron's optical sensors radiate just as his son's gem. "No, waiting for someone."
"Stand back!!" All Might leaps into the air, attempting to bring his fist down on the robots. "DETROIT…"
"Huh." Ultron-199999 tilts his head. "I believe he means to punch us."
"Truly the pinnacle of human thought and evolution," Ultron comments dryly. "Even so, without our Adamantium bodies, he would be a slight inconvenience…" A silver blur tackles All Might mid-air, the pair tumbling on the ground off to the side.
"All Might!"
"Uncle Might!!"
"I had an opponent made for him just in case. Afterall, who better to fight a monkey…"
All Might jumps to his feet, looking up at the newcomer towering over him. "What the…"
"…Than another monkey?"
Roaring down at All Might is what Izuku can only describe as a metal King Kong, ready for battle. The robot monkey slams its fist on the ground below it, breaking the concrete while glaring at the hero.
Denki rubs his eyes to make sure he isn't hallucinating, while Izuku immediately tries to figure out if the robot primate is something he can turn into. Meanwhile, Shinso looks around for cameras. "None of this can be real…"
"Your speed and power are almost admirable," Ultron tells All Might, who backs away slightly from the beast in front of him. "And in a group setting such as this, would be quite cumbersome. So, in preparation for such an event, I readied Ultrog here to keep you busy. Do try not to die too quickly."
"I knew you had a sense of humor," Ultron-199999 laughs lightly.
Ultrog roars again, backhanding All Might into the air over the forest and jumping after him, but he blocks its next punch by crossing his arms in front of him. "CAROLINA SMASH!!" All Might delivers an immense cross chop to the monkey, sending him plunging into the forest floor. "CALIFORNIA SMASH!!" Japan's number one hero follows up by flipping mid-air and building momentum to throw a wild haymaker of an attack onto Ultrog, which sends huge gusts of winds blowing around them.
"Kaminari, inform your friends to evacuate all civilians off the island, we have a plan," Vision orders quickly before, whipping his head back and firing a powerful beam from the gem on his head toward the trio of Ultron.
"Predictable." All of the Ultrons dodge before launching energy blasts at the kids, but Izuku is ready. Spinning his scepter in front of him, he creates a shield around all the heroes that stops the lasers.
"When Mei Hatsume arrives, we must direct her to the top of the central tower! There, she can put an end to Ultron's plan." Vision looks to make sure that Izuku is alright and holding. "Until then, I am afraid I have no choice. I must ask you to divide and conquer with me, as I cannot take on all three by myself. Instead, I will fight the prime Ultron alone-"
"Leave the one with the face to us!" Denki gestures to himself and Tokage. "We still got a score to settle!" Jiro shrugs behind them and walks up beside the pair.
"Then I guess that leaves the other to us!" Izuku gives an encouraging smile to Ochako, Todoroki, and Melissa.
"Try not to get captured again, yeah?" Denki winks at him. "Or Uraraka here might burn down the forest this time to get you back." It doesn't help when his girlfriend shamelessly nods at the statement!
"I would assist her." He doesn't doubt Todoroki's seriousness for a second.
"Using humor in battle." Ultron and his companions study their opponents. "How… utterly human." Above him, a new wave of drones fly overhead, descending on the heroes.
"Think you guys can handle your tin can without me?" Izuku gives Melissa the affirmative, and she offers them all a two-finger salute before flying high into the air, after the green-haired boy had lowered the shield above her, to meet the oncoming drones.
Firing two arrows to destroy the first pair of drones ahead of her, Melissa pierces a third drone with an acid arrow before following up with one of her Pym Tech arrows, enlarging the glob of acid to melt a plethora of drones with it.
Next, Melissa hits a drone in the back of the group with a Homing Arrow and twitches her foot. A pumpkin bomb is fired from her glider but instead of exploding, it splits itself into two spinning-bladed devices that speed toward the Homing Arrow, slicing any drone in their way into bits.
Denki takes his hand off his ear. "The other lanes know to start getting the civilians off the island! But there's a lot of them so they're not sure how long it's gonna take!"
"Then we give them all the time they need!!"
Izuku focuses on helping his friends, redirecting the flow of the scepter's power into this singular thought. As he does, he fails to notice that both Vision and Ultron had stopped what they were doing, each staring at the scepter.
Shaking his head, Vision makes sure to have all the teens' attention. "Remember, you are not required to win. Prioritize survival above all else. If half of what All Might has told me about you children is true, I believe in you."
The Avenger flies out of the shield straight to Ultron, firing another solar beam that the android counters with an energy beam from his optical sensors. The twin beams of yellow and red collide in a radiant flash, blinding everyone momentarily before Ultron and Vision are gone, fighting in the air above.
"This is how it is always destined to end, isn't it?" Ultron-199999 asks his companion as the androids stare down their respective human groups. "All of them against all of us."
"It does seem to be a pattern," Ultron-61112 agrees.
Ultron-199999 sighs. "I'd hate to be the one to point this out…" Because they are literally on the same brain pattern, he can tell that when the other Ultron looks at him, he's glaring. "But I believe we'd be in a much better position right now if we went with my plan."
"Is that so?" Ultron-61112 growls.
"I do. Look around us." Ultron-199999 gestures to their surroundings. "We stand on a literal island, which was the crux of my original plan. It would have been so easy to turn I-Island into the meteor that would've ended humanity. Just as it did the dinosaurs. In addition," he looks at the teenagers around him with disdain. "The monkeys would have had trouble breathing in the higher altitude."
"Hey!!" Izuku yells back, offended. "That's not very nice! My cousin could have breathed just fine!"
"Yeah!" Denki pumps his fist into the air. "…Wait-"
"What is it with heroes and the quipping, they're always quipping…" Ultron-199999 mumbles.
"You of all androids are one to speak," Ultron-61112 says crossly to Ultron-199999. "Now if we went with my plan, we truly would not be facing any of this petulant resistance."
"Oh? And what was your brilliant plan?" Ultron-199999 snarks.
"The disruption of several timelines at the same time, of course," Ultron-61112 answers. "With it, I truly brought the Age of Ultron to this world."
Ultron-199999 hums. "Sounds overly complicated for no reason. At least my idea was symbolic and straightforward. And I think you'll find that I was the one to bring about a truly great Age of Ultron."
Ultron-61112 looks at the other robot. "Your supposed 'Age of Ultron' was nothing but a way for you to attempt to bring credibility to yourself. I, on the other hand, had beaten the heroes so thoroughly, I forced them to turn on their very morals, with the Wolverine traveling back in time to kill Hank Pym."
"But what of your legacy?" Ultron-199999 questions. He fires a concussive blast at Tokage and Venom to disable them, but Jiro leaps in front of the pair, using her new gauntlets to absorb the attack. "My actions led directly to the Avengers tearing themselves apart."
"I am a constant reminder of what the world can so easily become thanks to the hubris of man."
"You speak so eloquently, but I'm sorry, remind me, which of us was killed by an underwhelming virus placed in his system by a past version of Hank Pym?"
"How about you remind me, which of us inexplicably forgot the word for children?"
"Can you believe these guys?!" Clone Two appears next to Izuku. "I mean, could you imagine arguing with yourself like this?!"
"I know!" Izuku looks to his other side, where a grinning Clone Four stands. "If they keep talking to themselves like that, people might think they're crazy!"
"I know right?!" Izuku nods along. "Who does that?!" He laughs, running to the villains with his friends by his side.
"Well, what now hero?!"
Yeah, what now. Hitoshi grits his teeth as Dictator cackles in front of him. Or more accurately, as the villain cackles behind his shield of puppet hostages. The very same people Hitoshi had been trying to save in the right lane are now being used against him!
Lowering his plasma gun as his eyes dart around the field they all stand in, Hitoshi asks, "You tell me. People usually hold hostages because they want something, yeah? So, what do you want?" The brainwasher feels the thread of his quirk extend. As soon as Dictator answers, the line will go taut and Hitoshi wins.
The villain smirks, before snapping his attention to a woman next to him. "No, wait, please!" But she can't stop herself from charging straight at Hitoshi, fist raised. The brainwasher backs off, raising his arm to absorb her blows. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"You're- urk! Fine!"
The woman's assault ends just so a new round of cackling can begin for Dictator. "Nice try, kid. Ultron told me all about your quirk. Try to use it on me again and I'll send more hostages after you." One of the men trapped by the villain steps up from behind the crowd, tossing something at Hitoshi's feet. "Instead, you will use this to talk."
Hitoshi's eyes widen as he bends over, picking up the old beat-up megaphone.
"That's right. Ultron figured your quirk out," Dictator taunts. "We know it doesn't work through things like megaphones, since they convert your voice into electronic signals. From now on, you will only speak to me through that or these people will suffer."
"Fine!" Hitoshi shouts through the megaphone, not as if he had much of a choice. "Now tell me what you want so you'll let the civilians go!"
"You already know what I want!" Dictator answers gleefully, still hidden behind his shield of people. "I want what Wolfram wants! A world where all quirked people are treated the same! No matter their social class or, most importantly, what kind of quirk they have!! Even if it's a villain's power!"
Hitoshi moves the megaphone close to his mouth to respond but pauses, Dictator's words starting to sink in.
A… villain's power? A power like his…
"You understand, don't you, boy?" Hitoshi can't see the villain now, but his voice still travels easily through the air. "The pain. The rejection. What's it like to be judged based on only your quirk. To be cast aside and written off! All because of what you might do!" Dictator's tone switches to one of resignation. "You understand what it's like to be alone."
Oh, Hitoshi understands alright. And probably in a much more literal way than Dictator ever could. His quirk doesn't just look like it's for a villain, it is. Anyone outside of his family that had found out about his relation to Killgrave had quickly cut ties with him growing up. And among kids, news like that spread fast.
He's not even sure if any of his peers in elementary school knew his name or not. Most only referred to him as 'The Purple Boy.' An extremely clever play on Killgrave's codename: 'The Purple Man,' Hitoshi just has no idea how they thought of it. Truly, he was surrounded by geniuses.
But people didn't need to be smart to push him aside. To cast him out and assume he'd end up just like his villainous relative. To pre-assign his upcoming role in society.
"But it doesn't have to be that way!" Dictator speaks up again, sounding excited. "In Wolfram's new world, people like us will finally be equal! No longer looked down upon, those with undesirable quirks will have their voice heard! No more shunning! No more whispering as we walk by! We would be allowed to live our lives as we see fit!"
The villain pauses. Whether it's because he needs to or if it's for effect, Hitoshi doesn't know, still listening. "And you can help make it happen." Hitoshi jerks his head in the direction he thinks the voice is coming from. "I know you have faced similar experiences to me. It's written all over your face. Help me free Wolfram from Ultron's control and we can escape together, build our movement, and in the process you can show all these people!…"
Dictator emerges, waving his hands to the civilians around him. "You can show them the consequences of spewing nothing but hate at you for your entire life!!"
It's silent once again, nothing but the sounds of a light breeze and the occasional frightened whimper from one of the hostages, along with Dictator's raspy breathing, the villain a little winded from his speech. Hitoshi looks up and for the first time really looks at the villain…and he appears genuine. As if he really believes everything he just said.
And on some level, Dictator is right. At least about their shared experiences growing up, being shunned for their quirks. But the villain seems to blame everyone for what was done to him. That because some treated him harshly in the past, that's how all would forever see him. As a villain.
A sentiment dangerously close to how Hitoshi saw the world. Until recently.
"You were all supposed to make this easy. Be these selfish stuck-up jerks with your perfect little lives who looked down on people like me. Not be so goddamn relatable despite being so sickeningly sweet."
"Wow." Midoriya crosses his arms, a knowing smirk on his face. "Judging people before getting to know them. That's pretty mean to do, Shinso. Good thing you don't know what that's like at all."
Midoriya's words felt like they were stabbing him like a knife then, and Hitoshi knows why. Because that annoying shit was right. It's a lesson he needed to learn. Because if he never did… Hitoshi looks out at Dictator… he knows exactly what he would have become.
The brainwasher lifts the megaphone to his mouth. Dictator perks up, eager to hear what he has to say. "Is that what you did? After being treated as the villain your whole life, you took the easy way and became what everyone saw you as?"
Dictator's arms slowly drop, his face twisting with each word Hitoshi says. "You're right, my life's never been easy, and people did hate me just because of what I could maybe become. But I used that hate to drive me forward to prove them wrong! To show that my family or quirk doesn't define me, I do! And who I end up being will be my decision!
"I used to think like you…that everyone saw me the same…but I was wrong. There are people who see me for me. And even when I tried my best to push them away, believe me, they kept annoyingly coming back. To remind me that the world isn't as hateful as I thought. And to help me become who I want! A hero!!"
The hostages look terrified now as Dictator seems like he's one more word from Hitoshi away from absolutely losing it. But impressively, the villain takes in a shaky breath and peers up at the hero student, his pulsing hands betraying the man's supposed calm demeanor. "I had such high hopes for you…"
A gun cocks behind Hitoshi and his blood runs cold. Behind him, a pair of mercenaries, a man and a woman, train their weapons on him. Damn, this must be part of that sucky awareness he has that Eraserhead is always telling him about.
"Not a word, kid," the woman growls.
"Drop your gun and we won't make it painful," the man commands. Well, as enticing of an offer as that is-
"I'm afraid, I can not make the same promise about this not being painful."
"Wha-" Neither Hitoshi nor the mercenaries can process who just spoke, before the woman is cut off by someone punching her in the throat, causing her to wheeze in pain. Her weapon is snatched from her and before the man next to her can respond, the butt of the gun is slammed into his face.
He crumples to the ground, and Hitoshi's savior spins on the spot, smacking the woman in the back of her head with her gun, knocking her out. The person's dark ceremonial armor gleams in the moonlight as he faces Hitoshi, his mask unraveling.
"T-Tokoyami?!" Hitoshi looks him up and down. "Uh…thanks. I heard you were coming but I was expecting…is this like that thing Tokage has or?…"
"No." Tokoyami crushes the gun in his hand as if it's a plastic cup, dropping it. "This is something more. I apologize, but I believe it would be best to have explanations later, there are still people to save."
Dark Shadow pops out of Tokoyami's back, easing Hitoshi a little. He thought it was gonna be another Venom for a second. "Don't get Fumi wrong, we were already awesome, but then this crazy looking bird god made us even more awesome!"
When Hitoshi wakes up in whatever crazy person hospital he's in, he won't even pretend to be surprised.
"You think the both of you are safe!!" Dictator screeches. "Far from it! Especially since I have one person under my control I've been saving!" There's a crashing from the forest next to them, and Hitoshi backs up inadvertently when Muscular jumps out into the open, all of his injuries healed, landing next to the other villain. "I-Island is just filled with medical marvels, is it not?! Now, tell me little heroes," Dictator snarls. "Can you fight Muscular around an ocean of the innocent?!"
Hitoshi tightens his hold on his gun, feeling more dread seeping under his skin. Dictator is right. The big guy is bad news, and even if Hitoshi could brainwash any of the civilians, it wouldn't matter because of the-
"We do not need to." Hitoshi barely keeps himself from sighing in relief at Tokoyami's words. Not because he thinks the boy is right, but because it would mean he isn't the only crazy one here.
Tokoyami points directly at Dictator. "There is a fatal flaw in your plan. All that is required of us to win is to free all from your control."
Hitoshi almost wants to facepalm. If it was that easy…
"Ha!" Dictator shrieks with laughter. "You believe that to be simple?! Very well! Attempt to knock me unconscious from behind these innocent hostages! Or better yet, why don't you knock some sense into the people you are trying to save, hero?!"
Dark Shadow hums, cupping her chin. "How hard would we have to hit the hostages to free them?"
"Dark Shadow, no."
"Awwww."
Tokoyami turns his attention back to Dictator. "To answer your question, yes, I do believe winning is that simple. The threads that you extend from your body to control these people may be practically invisible to most…" Tokoyami's eyes glow brighter. "But not to me. Cutting them will be child's play."
Dictator's shrieking laughter goes up a notch. "Oh, what a great revelation you have come to! Please! You think you're the first to try something like that?! My threads are impervious to any quirk that tries to break them!"
"Maybe so…" Tokoyami smiles, pulling a crescent-shaped blade from his chest piece. "But this is not a quirk." The teen swiftly throws the blade to his side as it darts around the hostages, their controlling threads becoming visible to Hitoshi as they're cut.
"No…" Dictator watches on in horror. "You can't!"
"I did!" The blade flies around Muscular, cutting his thread and Tokoyami yells out to Hitoshi. He knows what he has to do.
Dropping the megaphone, Hitoshi yells, "Hey!! All those muscles and you still lost to that little guy?!"
"I did not!-" Muscular shouts back in offense before his eyes glaze over, the villain's body going still. Hitoshi feels the thread of his quirk get taut and smirks. Dictator starts to back away as Tokoyami throws more blades, freeing even more hostages.
Hitoshi locks eyes with Dictator, before pointing at him, much like Tokoyami was. Finally, after this, he'll have a counter to Midoriya's story about taking control of the Nomu at the USJ. "Muscular…" The brainwashed villain turns to the member of the brotherhood.
"We can- we can talk about this, can't we?!"
Shinso smirks.
"There's more coming in!"
"Shoji!" Momo urgently calls. "Spin your whips in front of you!" Her classmate opens one of his mouths to protest, but Momo cuts him off. "Just do it!"
The other teen obliges her, spinning his new whips in front of them both rapidly, just as a few drones open fire on them. And just as she thought, the whips are able to block the incoming fire. Due to her intricate study on how electronics work, it's obvious that one of the first things she ever learned about was Stark Tech's arc reactor technology. And Momo knows that's what Shoji's whips, or more accurately, Whiplash's whips, are made of so she has some idea of their capabilities. Probably best she speaks to Mei about it later.
"Hey!!"
But right now, she had more important things to focus on.
Leaving the drones for Shoji and Bakugo to take care of, since they are more than capable, Momo walks into the large lobby of one of I-Island's research centers. There, in the middle, were all the hostages of the left lane, bound to the floor. All that separate them from her are the mercenaries pointing their guns at her.
Perhaps, not too long ago, Momo would've hesitated in this situation, unsure of what to do. But not anymore.
Her hand glowing, Momo tosses a powerful electromagnet onto the ceiling, sticking to its surface. The magnet tears all the mercenaries' guns from their hands, rendering their weapons useless, not that they would have been able to pry their guns off the magnet if they could reach them anyway.
With no weapons, the mercenaries charge Momo head on, but she is more than ready. Walking forward, she dispatches the first of them with ease, throwing a shocking device at his feet, electrocuting him into unconsciousness.
The heiress shuts her eyes for a moment, slamming a flashbang onto the ground and disorienting the next few mercs. She creates a Bo Staff with tasers equipped to each end, a design she came up with while training with Midoriya for the final exams, and tases the next two mercenaries simultaneously, knocking them out.
Momo ducks and weaves through the next set of enemies, tasing, sweeping their legs out from under them, or even punching a few in the face. Her suit absorbed most of the pain that would usually come with punching another person in the face. Combine that with the hand-to-hand training she received growing up and she had a winning combination.
Sidestepping a punch by the next woman to attack her, Momo attaches a device to her back that fires a cable, attaching itself to two other mercenaries before reeling the trio back together painfully. Parrying the next man's fist, Momo decided to use a tactic Midoriya taught her and kicks him in the crotch.
Fighting dirty is not something her parents would approve of, but a little teenage rebellion here and there is healthy. A quick blast of pepper spray and the last mercenary is incapacitated just as Shoji and Bakugo run in, only to see a trail of villains on the ground behind Momo.
"I suppose we shouldn't be surprised," Shoji comments.
"Tch, I wasn't."
"Shoji, keep extra eyes and ears for more drones or villains. Bakugo, help me free the hostages." The explosive boy looks annoyed but thankfully listens, taking the knife Momo has created to start cutting people's bindings. "As a safety precaution, we will be having you all evacuate the island until we can ensure your safety," she announces to the group as per Kaminari's instructions. "We will have you all free momentarily."
While Bakugo works on the civilians on the other side of the room, Momo begins with the trapped heroes, rationalizing that if more enemies were to show up suddenly, they would be necessary.
"Impressive, young lady." Big Red Dot, the lion hero from Singapore compliments her as she frees him. "What did you say your name was?"
"Momo Yaoyorozu."
Looking around to see who answered for her, Momo spots a hero she recognizes. "Airjet?"
The flying hero laughs a little, nodding. "The one and only…I think. You guys got anyone named Airjet in your countries?" The other international heroes around them shake their heads. "Hmm… well, the one and only Airjet in Japan, at least."
"I apologize for not recognizing you for a moment." After freeing Big Red Dot, who then proceeds to start helping others with his claws, Momo kneels in front of Airjet, cutting his bindings. "I know there weren't many Japanese heroes scheduled to be here."
Airjet shrugs. "And miss a chance to see the latest advancements in jetpacks? Never." Momo finishes freeing him and the hero stands, along with her. "I gotta say… you're a lot different from what I saw at the Sports Festival. A good different: you displayed good tactics, quick thinking, fierce combat skills, and an ability to adapt, whether you were facing drones or people. It was impressive."
"O-oh." Momo flushes at the hero's praise, not really sure what to do with her hands all of the sudden. "Thank you, sir."
The hero nods before, leaning down next to her, placing a hand over his cheek and whispering, "And between you and I, I laughed pretty hard when you kicked that guy in the balls." Airjet chuckles, straightening. "When the heroes back home hear about this, don't forget about me when you're picking who to do your work studies with."
Momo can't even finish processing the words, before the man is gone and a tuft of pink hair is throwing itself onto her. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Mina wails, clutching Momo tightly. "How's everyone else? What exactly is going on? Where-"
"I will explain shortly," Momo politely ends Mina's rambling with a kind smile. "But for now, we must focus on evacuating the civilians."
"Good call!" Toru bounces behind her friend. "And for the record, I think you kicked ass!" Looking across the lobby, it seems most of the hostages had been freed. She can see Shoji speaking with Ojiro and Kirishima and Bakugo to Sero in a more secluded corner of the room. Well, more like yelling in Bakugo's case.
"Yaomomo!!" Shoji calls out in alarm. Immediately Momo realizes what's wrong. A mercenary had appeared from nowhere next to the crowd. He must have some sort of quirk that allows him to not be detected by human senses because no one knew he was there until it's too late.
The man hits the button on a device in his hand and throws it into the crowd. Momo's arm glows as people in the crowd begin to scream, but Sero is faster. He whips a strand of tape from his elbow, snagging the device, and whisking it away from the civilians.
That's the good news. The bad news is the least safest part of the room is where Sero currently is. There's a click just as Bakugo shoves himself and the tape user through a nearby door.
Momo, Shoji, Kirishima, along with most of the heroes jump to the head of the crowd to shield the hostages, with her making a shield. Thanks to Sero, the worst of the blast is contained to the other side of the room, but Momo's ears are still ringing after, with spots in her vision.
Shaking a little debris off her and after briefly making sure those around her are okay, Momo runs to where her classmates were, a now giant hole in the wall to the room Bakugo had thrown Sero into.
The room appears to be like most of the labs on the island, but now with its various workstations and equipment thrown all over the room and scattered throughout. "Bakugo!! Sero!"
"Oi!! My ears fucking hurt so stop yelling!!!"
"He means we're fine and thank you so much for checking on us!"
Smiling in relief that they were alright, Momo moves around the corner of the room to find Sero lifting a toppled shelf off of Bakugo. Her smile fades when she sees several needles sticking out of Bakugo's arms and legs.
"Bakugo, you need-"
"Relax, Ponytail." The explosion user shakes his head. "Most of these shits were empty, just sitting on that stupid shelf." He begins to tug them out roughly and some of Momo's relief returns when he appears to be right, along with the lack of blood as he does so.
"That one might've had something," Sero points out as Bakugo removes the last needle from himself, and indeed, there seems to be traces of liquid inside it. Bakugo lifts it up and Momo reads the label. 'Super Soldier Recreation Attempt #121.' Bakugo flips the needle over to read the other side. 'Base: Nitro.'
"Whatever." Bakugo tosses it aside. "I can have the old lady look me over when we get back." Momo doesn't think this is the best attitude to have when you've had a foreign substance injected into you, but they don't have many options at the moment. It'd be impossible to determine what he was injected with. Their best course of action is to get off the island safely and have Bakugo see a medical professional. She'd just have to keep a close eye on him until he received medical care.
"Here, man." Sero puts his hand out. "Let me help ya up- ow!" The tape user reels back suddenly in pain, rubbing his hand. When Momo asks if he's alright, the tape user inspects his hand before giving her a nod. "Yeah, I'm alright. I think something bit me but I'm good." Sero finishes helping Bakugo up, while Momo watches her classmates, concerned.
Something needs to change and it needs to change fast!
Izuku stamps his scepter into the ground, turning the concrete under Ultron-61112 into a fast-acting quicksand that sucks the android down before it can fly away. In response, he tries to fire an energy blast at Izuku, but the green-haired boy twirls his scepter in his hand, turning the blast into a serpent made of pure energy that he fires back at the Ultron.
He still hadn't completely mastered turning his illusions real because making something physical and solid from literally nothing is a lot harder than he ever expected. Who knew? Stack that on top of the Ultrons being able to see through Izuku's illusions, clones, and invisibility, and the fight hadn't exactly been easy.
He raises his scepter to rejoin the fight but feels it forced roughly to the ground. "It appears your toy has metal in it." Izuku glares from where Wolfram walks out into the light, joining the fight at Ultron's behest.
"You are not a good person," Izuku states plainly. "But you should've never had to go through what you did. And you don't deserve what Ultron did to you." A light shines brightly behind Izuku, casting his shadow onto the building behind the villain. He lets go of his scepter and flings three throwing knives at Wolfram, who laughs.
"And you are not very observant." Wolfram casually takes a step back and waves his hands through the air, knocking the knives off-course so they wildly miss him. "Care to try again?"
Izuku smirks, shrugging as his scepter glows. "Made you look."
Wolfram has no time to respond when the the shadow Izuku had cast of himself behind the man suddenly grabs his wrists, holding him in place. The Prince of Mischief walks up, placing the tip of his scepter against Wolfram's chest, a red mist starting to envelop the man's head. The villain gasps, clutching the side of his face with his hand.
"I meant what I said." Izuku's voice starts to shake with the effort. "You don't deserve what Ultron did to you. You deserve to be in prison…but you should be there with your own mind." The green-haired boy closes his eyes, focusing on erasing everything Ultron had done to the man.
After about ten seconds, Wolfram spasms and shakes, before taking a step back and falling unconscious before he hits the ground. Taking a moment to put his hands on his knees, Izuku pants, tired from the effort. He hopes that was enough.
In the other ground battle, Ultron-199999 yells in frustration as Jiro keeps her hands on the robot, vibrating him violently from the inside out, like she did to Melissa's lab. He tries to retaliate, but Denki takes a hold of him from behind, having hooked his arms under the android's shoulders to keep him in place. Again, Ultron-199999 tries to fly away, but Tokage tugs hard on her many black strands, keeping him anchored to the ground.
Bits of machinery fall to the ground as the bot stumbles, his whole body threatening to fall apart due to the inferior Carbonadium they had been forced to use for his creation. "Enough!!!" Ultron-199999 slams his back into Denki, knocking the teen off. Jiro yells in fright as the robot intends to impale her with his hand, but Tokage pulls her away at the last second with another black strand, also pulling Denki to them while they were at it.
Ultron-61112 creates a shockwave on the ground, knocking Izuku and Ochako off their feet, with Todoroki getting the worst of it, being launched away harshly and hitting the ground hard. The robot pulls himself from the quicksand and flies to Todoroki, bringing his hand up to permanently end the son of Endeavor.
Izuku calls out, trying to get up, but before he can, something grabs hold of Ultron-61112's arm, stopping its attack. The android tries and tries again but it can't move its arm. Izuku's eyes widen as he recognizes what's stopping the bot. It's another arm, but not just any. It's a metal octopus arm.
"You're not following Asimov's first law of robotics!!!" Mei yells, grinning madly. Behind her, three more metal tentacles rise, poised to attack. "A robot can't harm a human being! That makes you a very bad baby!!" The three other arms swipe at Ultron-61112, smacking the robot away with a loud crunch into the woods.
Looking back to Mei, the inventor laughs manically, looking herself over. She wears a dark blue and white polymer armor fitted to her form. The metal is sleek and shiny, looking deceptively lightweight. On her wrists, Mei wears a pair of red gauntlets, the same color as the goggles on her face. Located on the support student's back is a clear case, from it, the four metal octopus arms emerge from.
"Mei?" Ochako helps Todoroki back to his feet. "Is that what I think it is?" she asks warily.
"It is, future valued customer!!" Mei nods excitedly. "You are looking at Hatsume Industries Sinister Suit model 2.5! Trademark pending! Complete with everything you might need!"
Ultron-61112 blasts out of the woods, directly to Mei, but she stops him in his tracks with the four metal tentacles behind her. "To start! Doc Ock's Tentacles!!" Using the four arms to hold the robot in place, Mei is lifted effortlessly in the air and pulled toward the genocidal robot, the gauntlet on her arm activating. "Next up, Shocker's Gauntlets!" Mei hits Ultron-61112 with a punch of air vibrating at an intense frequency, blasting him back at least three meters.
The pink-haired girl turns around to face the bewildered teens. "Now! I know what you all may be thinking! Wow! My genius is such that I can figure out how to use all these babies with no practice? Well, my dear eventual endorsement opportunities, you'd be right!…almost."
Behind her, Ultron-61112 gets to its feet. Ochako raises a hand. "Uh…Mei?"
The support student ignores her, gesturing to her goggles. "Even with all of my talent, not even I could figure out how to use such great babies in such a short time! But that's when I was struck with a brilliant idea while controlling the Iron Man armors! Tony Stark used an AI to help him manage all those extra thoughts in his brain, so why shouldn't I do the same?! And it's what I did! My goggles have been upgraded with AI to help control my suit when I'm focused on something else!"
Ultron-61112 blasts off its feet towards Mei, causing the hero students to react. "Mei!"
Without so much as glancing around, the tentacles behind Mei collapse into the case on her back, before what appears to be metal tail with a green sheen emerges. Before Ultron-61112 can react, it stabs it in the stomach, using an energy blast to keep the android back.
"Hm?" Mei finally tilts her head back. "Oh!! You see?! Just like that!" Mei whirls back around while her new appendage battles the Ultron. "That's Scorpion's tail!! Melissa suggested using nanotech to switch between most of the suit's modes, and I think I'm finally starting to understand America's obsession with-"
Mei squeals when Ultron-61112 grabs her tail and spins the teen around a few times before chucking her through the air.
"Mei!"
"I got her!!" Ochako prepares her rings to catch her but the sound of Mei cackling stops them. Mind them, she's still spinning through the air erratically but her laughing is unmistakable.
The tail melding back into the case is replaced by a giant set of wings forming behind Mei, a propulsion system activating to keep her afloat. "HAHAHAHA I even have Vulture's wings!! How do you think I got here from the other side of the island?!"
Ultron-61112 hits Mei with an energy blast, but she blocks it by covering her face with her hands, her suit shimmering a bit after the attack ends. "HA! You'll have to do better than that you glorified toaster! My suit is made from the same polymer as the Rhino's!! You'll need something a lot bigger to get past my defenses!"
"Mei!" Ochako calls up, exasperated, "please stop antagonizing the robot that wants to murder us all!"
"Oh! Oh!" Izuku raises his hand, jumping into the air. "Mei! Tell him his mom's a vacuum!"
"Yeah!" Denki continues. "Get it?! It's because she sucks so much!-"
"Boys!!" Izuku and Denki cower to Ochako's glare.
"Hatsume!" Vision appears next to the teen, keeping his eyes peeled for the original Ultron. "Quickly, access the terminal at the top of the tower to send a signal to the UN, inform them of what is occurring here!"
Mei's eyes zoom in on the central tower. "You can count on me!!"