"Bang!"
Deadpool breaks into a fit of laughter when everyone around him jumps at his yell. "I- I gotcha!" He huffs in between laughs. "You all- you all thought I was really firing-!" He bends over, waving his gun around haphazardly. "You should've seen the look on your faces-"
Bang!
A real gunshot rings out as Taskmaster shoots the Merc With a Mouth in the head. Several of the kids behind the Nomu scream, but Izuku is quick to comfort them. "No, it's okay! He'll be alright!"
"Mon ami, he was just shot in the head! He-" Aoyama covers his mouth. For once, his upset stomach isn't caused by his quirk.
"No, you don't understand! Uncle Wade gets shot in the head all the time!" Izuku defends, as if it makes any of them feel better. "Sometimes, he does it himself just to tell you he's bored!"
"Midoriya, getting shot in the head is not something one usually does all of the time!" Yaomomo somehow manages to come across both horrified and exasperated at the same time.
"Well, not all of the time! But you get used to it."
Iida, unable to chop his arms as he holds Tenko on his back, vibrates in place. "I know you meant that to be comforting, my friend, but I don't believe getting used to something like that would be healthy."
"And when did I say I was healthy?"
"…Also a true statement."
Tenko pokes his head out from behind Iida. "For the record, that wasn't nearly as bad as when that guy got his head blown off back on I-Island." Denki shrugs and nods.
Yaomomo facepalms. "I can not believe that us having a conversation comparing the separate incidents in which we've seen a man shot in the head is possible."
"…How about comparing the times we've had to help a bunch of robots from killing everyone?" Ochako tries, grinning a little while trying to make light of the situation.
Yaomomo lifts her head up, glaring at her. "You are spending too much time with Midoriya."
Izuku hugs Ochako from the side. "You're the best."
"I try."
While the kids debate their situation, Dabi walks up next to Taskmaster, raising an eyebrow at the red-suited man on the ground. "You sounded pretty freaked when that guy dropped in, but that was easy."
Taskmaster turns and, through his mask, stares at Dabi flatly. "No, it wasn't."
As if waiting for the perfect time, Deadpool groans, sitting up. "Fuck my asshole in the butt! That hurt!" Taskmaster gestures to the other mercenary with a 'see?' as Deadpool jumps to his feet. He holsters his gun and unsheathes his katanas. "Bea. Arthur. Wake up!" He shouts at his swords. "We got a skeleton to put back in the ground!"
Deadpool jumps, twisting sideways in the air and bringing both his swords down on Taskmaster, who blocks them. Neither disengage, trying to out-muscle the other with their blades. "You're gonna pay for what you did to Tiny Tim," Deadpool threatens.
Taskmaster can't ask what the hell he's talking about before Deadpool slides his swords off, attacking him in quick succession from overhead and the side. The master copier blocks both strikes and shoves Deadpool back. Instead of falling, the merc lands on his forearm, bending his body and grabbing his foot with his hand to end his tumble in a breakdancing move before springing back up. This time, Taskmaster swipes at Deadpool's side, but the infuriating man easily blocks it and counters by attempting to thrust his sword-
Deadpool giggles.
-into the other man's gut. Taskmaster knocks it away with the gun in his other hand and unloads the clip into Deadpool's chest. He is unfazed, saying, "shouldn't you be in Christmas town, getting confused over what snow is?" He kicks the gun from Taskmaster's hand and slices at his neck with both of his swords. Taskmaster ducks and side steps. Wade tries to cut him while he's down, but Taskmaster blocks behind his back, kicking Deadpool's foot out from under him.
Wade falls but transitions into a perfect windmill, spinning on his back, breakdancing again, and jumping back to his feet. "You know, you can't fix your face until you return the last piece of Aztec gold to the stone chest?"
"Enough!" Their swords clang a few more times in combat, before Taskmaster grabs Deadpool by the neck and throws him to the ground, head-first. But once again, Deadpool breakdances, head sliding across the ground before using a spin on his head to stand once again. "Your insolent and pitiful dance moves won't help you in this fight!"
"What do you want from me?! I had to learn in Australia! My moves are as outdated as that joke already is!" His patience having run out long ago, Taskmaster charges and stabs Deadpool in the stomach, plunging his sword into the hero(?). Deadpool moans dramatically in pain. "Oh my chimichanga, I haven't had something this deep inside me since the last herogasm party-"
"Shut up!" Taskmaster growls, pushing the sword deeper.
"Keep going… almost there!"
Taskmaster makes a sound of disgust and tries to back away, but Deadpool throws his hands around his opponent's neck. "Wait, don't go! There's no easy way for me to say this…" he caresses the side of Taskmaster's mask. "I'm pregnant, Clancy." He looks down at the sword in his stomach. His head whips back up, tears forming. "You monster!"
Taskmaster grabs Deadpool. "Remember!" The latter yells in a nasally voice. "The female version of a tea bag is called a clam slam!" Taskmaster throws him off his sword. "Until we meet again!"
"This is a waste of time! Someone else deal with this freak!"
Dabi tilts his head. "Can't you just copy his moves and win?"
"Easier said than done!" Taskmaster snaps back. "With his healing factor, it's just a waste of my time."
"Go then." Daken brushes past him. "Since you're clearly not up to it, go kill the kids and I'll keep him busy. Call me when you need help with that too."
"You?" Deadpool asks incredulously, looking Daken up and down. His wounds have all already healed. "When people said they wanted me and Wolvy to meet up in this chapter, I don't think this is what they had in mind."
Daken looks furious. "Even you of all people can't look at me without thinking of my old man?!"
"Oh blah, blah, blah! Save it!" Deadpool makes a motion of zipping his mouth shut. Something he would like to clarify is meant for Daken to do and not himself. "You really wanna get back at that hunk you call a dad? Be a better one yourself. Take my dad for example! I couldn't have asked for a better one! He used to make me cover my eyes during movie sex scenes growing up-"
"-That's not all that special-"
"-So, that I wouldn't see him masturbating."
Daken's claws extend. "I'm gonna rip you into so many tiny pieces that you won't ever be able to grow back."
"I hope that's all you're gonna do." Deadpool shivers. "And not use that glorified chloroform you call your pheromones on me." Daken growls. "Did you remember to introduce yourself to all of your neighbors when you came here?"
Daken roars in anger, diving at Deadpool claws forward. But the merc dodges by rolling onto his back. When Daken passes over him, Deadpool kicks up, launching Wolverine's son in the air. "Okay, okay! You don't like glorified chloroform! I can take a hint!"
He rolls to his feet, cupping his chin. "I have other names for your pheromones we can try! How do you feel about the Cosby Cocktail?" Daken lands with a hard splat! behind him. "C'mon Harvey, don't leave me hangin! Tell me what you think?"
"My name's not Harvey, dickwad." Daken gets to his hands and knees, shaking his head.
"Could've fooled me. But let's see. What do I call you?…" Deadpool taps his foot. "Weirdo? How about redditor with an added p? Diddy could be a good name. Oh! How about-"
"Do you ever shut up?"
Deadpool reaches into his belt and flicks a Uno reverse card at the mutant. Shaking with rage, Daken charges at Deadpool again. Only for a giant Nomu's hand to stop him. "You've got to be shitting me-"
Doug roars, picking Daken up by his leg. "Uncle Wade!" Deadpool looks over to where Izuku is waving him over. "Come over here!" Behind him, his friends were finishing the last of a few Sentinels that had tried attacking them. "I told Doug to separate them from you!"
With a cry of battle, Doug grabs Daken's arm and pulls the villain apart, ripping him in half to the sound of tearing flash and breaking bone.
Izuku winces a little. "Okay, not exactly what I meant by separating them-" Doug makes a whining sound. "But it works!" Doug chirps happily, throwing the two halves of Daken at Dabi and Magne, before leaping at Taskmaster, who sighs.
"I'm not getting paid enough for this."
Away from the kids and villains, Thor spins his body around, creating two lightning filled tornadoes, one with All Might and the other with Ghost Rider, and launches them at All for One. The all-powerful villain raises his hands to counter, but Ghost Rider wraps him up with his chain, burning the sinner on contact and distracting him just long enough for the attacks to land.
The double twisters engulf All for One, and their high speed winds whirl him around in the air. All the while not only multiple bolts of lightning strike him, but several attacks from the Rider and All Might.
The tornado eventually subsides, and All for One is dumped on the ground, his suit torn and singed. Multiple cuts and gashes show across his skin. Their attacks are leaving more and more damage. All for One gets to one knee, but Ghost Rider is faster, wrapping his chain around the villain's neck, the skin underneath blistering almost immediately.
"Your life on borrowed time ends." The Rider yanks All for One around to look at him. "And so begins your penance." But when he looks down to stare at the man, All for One's face is gone, reverted back to what he looked like before his augmentations.
"Ohhhhh that is what you spoke of!" Thor says to All Might in realization. "That was the absence of his face that you described. Okay, I see now. I'm sorry for doubting you, my friend."
"Did you think me so naive that I wouldn't do my research on which heroes I was bound to face tonight?" All for One chuckles. "As powerful as your staring contest is, I am well aware of its limitations." He flexes his fingers, letting his new armor extend out from under his sleeve and cover his hands. "Like how your target needs eyes for it to function. Luckily for me, I do not."
He grabs the Rider's chain, his hands now protected from their burning, and yanks him off his feet, swinging him back at Thor and All Might.
"Shit. Shit. Shit!" Hirona, no matter how hard she tries, can't use her quirk. She's just too tired. Too hurt. Physically drained. She hums in protest as Nagant pulls her to her feet, supporting her.
"Shut it, you can complain when we get out of here-" The sniper grabs Hirona's head and forces them both down. Toga is sent flying just above them by a few Sentinels. She rolls to her feet, crying out like a feral cat and leaping back into the fray.
Compress is dangerous, but the Sentinels have already become adept at avoiding him by staying in the air. Kraven is still destroying more than enough, but he can't keep it up forever. Especially not with more and more Sentinels moving to overwhelm him. And while Twice had been effective in the beginning, the Sentinels had quickly learned to destroy his clones before they fully formed.
In short, they are losing. And aren't going to last much longer unless something changes.
Hirona curses herself again for not being able to use her quirk while hindering Nagant. She's their leader! Everyone around her has proved they trust her to get them out of here, but with how desperate they're becoming, she doesn't know-
"What's the plan?" Nagant leans them one way to aim her rifle up and fire, destroying several Sentinels.
Shaking her head, Hirona looks around, unsure of what they can- she catches sight of a group of teens finishing off the last of a group of Sentinels attacking them. An idea, a very dumb and demoralizing one at that, forms in her head. She doesn't like it. But what choice do they have?
Nagant stares ahead to see what she's staring at. "You aren't serious?"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures."
"I'm sorry," Tsu croaks, hugging Tenko tight. The rescue squad had just finished fighting off the latest wave of Sentinels. They are all covered in bruises, scrapes, and gashes. None more so than Kaminari. After figuring out how powerful he is, the robots had made it a point to target him.
Tsu herself has a particularly bad leg injury, but that hadn't stopped her from pulling Tenko into a bone crushing hug the moment they had a minute to themselves.
"Hero students," Yaomomo mumbles, slightly irritated. "Always ignoring how hurt they are." She goes around, checking everyone's injuries. After handing Aoyama some stomach medication, she kneels down and lifts Ochako's shirt up a little to inspect her latest wound. "Hmm. This doesn't appear too deep after taking a look at it."
"Told ya!"
"Doesn't change the fact that this could get infected," Yaomomo huffs, creating more medical supplies.
"Can I point out that you also have cuts and bruises you're ignoring-"
"No, you may not."
Just hearing Tsu's voice crack as she apologizes is enough for tears to form in Tenko's eyes, hugging his friend back tight. "We- we left you alone. Ribbit," she cries. "And in the end you were right there. Ribbit. I was right there. I could've saved you but I didn't-"
"No," Tenko tries to stress. "No, it was my fault. I made you guys leave and-"
"You're the victim here! You can't seriously be trying to take some of the blame?!"
"And you saved me so you should be praised! Not blamed! If anything, I-"
"Hey guys?" Ochako places a hand on both of their shoulders. "Take it from me, trying to take the blame is just a waste of time. Enjoy being together again." Izuku rubs the back of his head sheepishly, coming up from behind her and holding his girlfriend from the side.
Deciding to take her advice and to save their talk until after they were both safe, Tsu and Tenko embrace again for a minute, just enjoying the moment and holding one another. Izuku sniffles and Ochako bumps him, giggling. "You okay?"
"Am I the only one that wants a group hug right now?" The looks on the other's faces say he is not.
Tsu breaks the hug, backing away while still holding onto Tenko. "No, Ochako's right. We shouldn't go around blaming each other anyway. If it was anyone's fault, it was-"
"Mine." Immediately, all of the kids go on the defensive, putting their backs together as Tsu makes sure Tenko is behind her. Around some destroyed rubble and through the debris, they see who had just spoken emerge.
Hirona limps into view, held up by Lady Nagant, as the rest of the League who had chosen to stay with her come into view as well. "We should talk."
Izuku conjures his daggers. "I guess we'll save the group hug for later."
"I'm just saying, you seem like a busy person with a lot on your plate, and if you need someone to look after the kid while he's in school, I'm your guy." Peter grunts, throwing himself to the side to avoid a Sentinel stomping on him.
He switches the mode of his elemental gun and freezes the robot to the ground, before switching it again to create a large gust of wind that stacks multiple Sentinels on top of one another. He pounds his gun against the ground in Earth mode, and a solid spike of dirt stabs through the tall Sentinel stack, creating an impromptu robot shish kabob.
"Nice," Peter compliments himself.
Endeavor seems much less impressed, the pair taking off again down the road as the others follow behind. "You, a hero I have never heard of and who I even doubt holds the proper credentials, are seriously proposing to me, the number two hero, that I allow you to train my son in my place?"
"His ice. My guns. Feels like the kid learns a lot more when you're not around." Peter destroys a fire extinguisher to try and douse some nearby flames.
"As opposed to you?" The flames on Endeavor's body rise a little. "The man who just allowed Shoto to be attacked at your facility?"
Peter motions to the flames. "Hey, I'd watch what you say pal. Looks to me like you guys ain't doing so much better protecting Japan."
Endeavor grunts, moving forward again. "The boy would not respond to you anyway. He is in his rebellious phase. The only one with the strength to pull anything out of Shoto is me. And I'll start by teaching him to tame his unruly fire-"
"Done." Endeavor narrows his eyes at the other man. Peter places his hands on his hips. "On my first day with him by the way. Taught him how to focus it. Remind me, how many years had you been pulling on the kid just to get him to use his fire?"
The temperature between them increases dramatically, but before Endeavor can retort - or attack him, Peter can't tell - someone interrupts them. "Yooo!"
"Custody battle to be continued." Peter smirks, saluting Endeavor with two fingers.
Hawks lands above them, perching on a lightpost. "Updates from Nezu. Police are setting up an encirclement tactic on the Sentinels. The plan is to have them and supporting heroes squeeze the circle tighter and tighter, pushing all the robots back to All for One. From there, we all launch one last attack to take him, the League, and that mother of all robots in the sky all out at once."
Behind him, Kamui Woods and Groot leave to support a team of police, while Logan directs Colossus.
"That's gonna be easier said than done." Peter frowns. "Whatever light show is protecting that thing is tougher than it looks. The best weapons on my ship couldn't get past it."
"Wait, wait." Hawks puts his hands up, stopping him. "I know which one belongs to the X-men, but that other ship, the one blasting the awesome tunes and all those fancy maneuvers, that was you?"
Peter coughs, straightening his jacket. "I don't mean to brag or anything… but yeah." It's like he can hear Gamora's sigh from here.
"Bro, that was awesome!" Hawks hops down. "I was flying by when you drifted, I mean drifted, a spaceship! I mean, who does that?! How did you do that?!"
"It's not too hard for uh, you know, an experienced pilot like me. Been doing tricks like that ever since I was a kid," Peter brags. "It really all starts in your upper body, you'll want to keep your shoulders loose- actually, it'd be easier if I just taught ya-"
"Wait!" Hawks stops him again. "Teach me? As in let me fly the ship?!"
"Yeah, I-" Several civilians scream for their help from the third floor of a nearby apartment. Peter reacts immediately, pulling out one of his guns and intending to create an ice ramp for them to slide down, but Hawks is faster, lowering the people to the ground safely with his feathers.
"Dude, that's awesome!" Hawks continues their conversation, all the while his feathers work around them. Peter tries to follow them with his eyes but fails. "Jeanist won't even let me drive his car, much less drift it! He's gonna be so annoyed when I find him and tell him!"
"Speaking of awesome man, your quirk!" Peter exclaims. "That's one of the coolest powers I've seen in the universe! You can control each feather individually and they let you fly?!"
"They can let other people fly too, lift things, make swords…"
"Forget about my ship, I'll trade it for your wings!"
"My- nah." Hawks waves him off. "Your ship lets you travel through space! That's way cooler!"
"Something that doesn't seem to surprise you," Endeavor interjects.
"These babies let me in on all kinds of dirty secrets." Hawks brushes one of his feathers under Endeavor's nose.
"Yeah, yeah space. The final frontier and all that," Peter drawls. "But your quirk also lets you wear that sick ass visor and jacket!"
"This jacket? Coming from the guy with the coolest jacket I've ever seen-"
"Gentlemen." Endeavor clears his throat loudly, getting the attention of the two yapping buffoons beneath him. "The encirclement plan?"
"Right!" Hawks shoots him a thumbs up as Peter places his headphones on. "Earmuffs?" Hawks asks.
"Headphones!"
"…That's such a better idea, I should switch…"
Peter chuckles, switching his music player on. "C'mon! Those stupid machines may have knocked us back! But they didn't knock us down!"
"That's wonderful, Nemuri!" Colossus compliments his girlfriend over her subduing rioting prisoners with her quirk through comms. Behind him, police and Swat set up barriers and defenses, as their fellow officers do the same around the city. Supervisors pass as many guns and ordinances as they can carry to every person. They were going to do everything they could to hold the line.
A Sentinel struggles as Colossus holds it by its neck. "But it's hardly a surprise from a woman of your caliber and skill." He laughs at her response. "Can't I 'butter you up' as you put it and mean my words at the same time? Okay… okay, yes I should go too. I love you as well, darling. We'll talk soon."
He sighs happily as he hangs up the call, before crushing the Sentinel's neck.
"Your woman sounds like quite the warrior," Drax points out, ripping the head off a Sentinel.
"That and so much more." Colossus uses his body to protect the officers behind him from being hit by laser fire.
"Glorious!" Drax chucks the Sentinel head through the body of another one. "There is nothing more satisfying than a partner who's fierce both on the battlefield and at home! Are you betrothed?"
"Are we- wait- you mean-" Colossus stumbles over his words.
"Do not fret, my friend! All good things happen in time!" Drax holds up a finger. "But if I may offer one small piece of advice. Besides not being there with her at the end, my only regret about my marriage to my dear Hovat is that it didn't happen sooner."
Colossus smiles brightly. "Thank you. I'll be sure to remember that."
"You better hide behind something if you don't wanna be burned to a crisp." Police officers yell in surprise, ducking behind cars and alleyways as a hero in a mostly red and white costume suddenly ignites himself. With a wave of his hand, a tsunami of fire splashes down on the street, scorching every Sentinel and whatever else happens to be around him.
"Keep up! I'm not waiting for you!" Sunfire barks at the police, moving ahead without them.
He sighs when he sees Magik leaning up against a wall in her usual yellow and black X-men gear. A giant sword is strapped to her back. "What part of 'we jump in together' did you not understand?"
"What part of 'I don't want to be a part of this team' do any of you not understand?" The heated hero responds coldly. The irony is lost on him. "We're in Japan now. My homeland. I can be my own hero here."
"So, does that explain your bad mood? Which I get by the way." She leans up and follows him as he marches past her. "I mean, it must've been so hard for you this past year. What with your brother, Piotr, helping Wolverine in Japan and your best friend Kitty spending an extended trip flying around the galaxy with the Guardians… oh wait!" She slaps her forehead. "That's me!"
"I seem to not remember caring."
"Well, you should," a voice echoes through their comms. "'Cause like it or not, Sunfire, you were raised in America. So, until you can pass Japan's citizenship and licensing tests, you can't be a hero here by yourself. Which means you're stuck with us and this team. And teammates care when one of them is going through some tough shit."
"Big talk from the safety of flying around in the jet, Negasonic," Sunfire replies, aggravated.
"It's not big talk. I'll happily call you an asshole to your face once you get back up here. Now shut up and help defend the city. And no burning any police officers!"
"I can't make that promise."
"…I told Logan we should've brought Yukio instead of you."
"Yes, go! You can get those injured to the hospital much faster than I ever could! I will assist them!" Gentle reassures Nightcrawler.
The mutant smiles at him. "Very well. I go where I am needed." He teleports away and Gentle creates a new batch of air membranes. Just in time as Gamora and Miruko land on a couple, launching themselves to destroy more Sentinels.
"Finally! Someone I don't leave in the dust! At least not right away!" Miruko antagonizes.
"Funny," Gamora smirks back at her. "I was about to say the same to you."
"Oh, it's on bitch!!"
Smack!
The League tenses, but Hirona holds her hand up, as she gets up from the ground and to her knees. "Stop! It's okay." She takes a second to catch her breath. "I had that coming." She rubs her tender cheek where Tsu had kicked her. "Deserve more than that anyway." Kraven helps her to her feet.
"Yes, you do. We have nothing to say to you." Tsu's tone is nastier than any of the kids had heard before, but none of them are rushing to stop her as she glares at Hirona. "And you'll have to go through us if you want him back."
"We're not here to take him back." Hirona moves away from Kraven, standing on her own. Albeit shakily. She waves Nagant off when she offers her support again. "We're here because we're in the same shitty situation as you."
"A situation you helped in orchestrating," Yaomomo retorts with hostility.
"I know," Hirona coughs. She looks over the battle torn city. "The city looks so much like the battle station… it's hard to tell the difference between when I lead an attack, and when All for One does, isn't it?"
"Yeah, because you're both the same," Tsu replies. She had never had trouble being blunt before and she wasn't going to now. Behind her though, Tenko just looks sad.
"Maybe," the leader of the former League of Villains agrees again. "But that's something I want to change. Starting now." She makes a motion with her head, and Kraven walks up to the front carrying something bulky. The teens tense, but the Russian lays the metal brace at Hirona's feet. All of the kids recognize it. It had been one of the first things many of them had seen during their first ever encounter with villains.
"Kurogiri," Hirona tells them, looking sadly down at her longtime companion. "Knocked out by the heroes when they raided our bar." She looks up. "Listen, I'm going to make this simple for you. We tried taking All for One out ourselves and failed. And now those Sentinel things are gunning for us, and we only want one thing. And after listening to your conversation, it sounds like you want the same thing."
The hero students glance at each other.
"To leave," Hirona finishes. "It looks like you're not in the best shape and neither are we. I'm not asking you to like us or hell, forgive us, but I think we can all agree we have a better chance of staying alive together until Kurogiri wakes up. Then he can teleport all of us out of here."
"Or the second we turn our backs, you grab Tenko again and teleport away. Ribbit." Tsu doesn't give their offer even a second of thought.
"Funny," Nagant chuckles. "I told the kid here something similar, except it ends with all of us in jail."
"Your reasoning is not adding up either." Yaomomo stands in defiance next to Tsu. "What makes you so sure that our group will give you an advantage against the Sentinels?"
Hirona looks around at her fellow villains and shrugs sheepishly. "Fine, if it'll help you, it's mostly because of him," she points to Denki, "and that." She points to where Doug the Nomu is terrorizing the League traitors.
"Ohhh you mean that Nomu I stole from you really easily and then turned against-"
"Yes!" Hirona seethes at Izuku, who snickers quietly. "It's also why we had the big guy here take the blond kid out early." She points a thumb to Kraven. "Everyone knows what his dad can do."
Denki crosses his arms. "Yeah, thanks for that by the way." He shoots Kraven a dirty look. "Took forever for some of those cuts you gave me to heal. Dick."
"Perhaps you should become more adept at minding your surroundings. Then next time, you would not be so easy to trap," Kraven snarls back. Denki growls, lifting Thunderstrike and crying out for a rematch, before Izuku blocks his path, pushing his cousin back.
Kraven yells that he will happily accept, but Twice pushes him back. "Hi clone buddy!" He waves happily to Izuku as they keep their respective meatheads in check. "If it helps, I'd really like not to die tonight, and I think it'd be super swell if you didn't either! I can take or leave the rest of you brats!"
Izuku snorts at the casual greeting. "Uh, hey Twice! And I'm a package deal with my friends. If I'm getting out of this then so are they!"
"In that case, I hope the rest of the brats survive too!"
"How nice of him to say…" Iida deadpans. Despite his reservations, the speedster looks at Izuku. The seriousness on his face conveys one question. 'Can we actually trust them?' Izuku knows immediately what he wants him to do. And one brief look at Ochako tells him the same thing. So, the trickster turns to Toga, asking the same thing.
'Can we trust her?'
Compress steps slightly around Toga to obscure her from view from the rest of the group. Once she's hidden, the vampiric teen gives him a tiny nod. Izuku nods back, turning to his friends. "I think we can trust them. At least, until we get out of here." Ochako and Iida echo his sentiments.
"Midoriya, you can't be serious?" Yaomomo asks in disbelief. "You too, Iida?"
"I trust them!" Toga throws her hand into the air. Compress does the same.
"You just want to be closer to Midoriya and the gravity chick!" Twice accuses.
"You said the same thing about Izuku two minutes ago!" Toga counters, sealing her argument by sticking her tongue out.
"Yes, but I was upfront about it!"
"Speaking of being upfront about what you want…" Toga goes a little red, looking at Izuku and Ochako with a fanged smile. "Maybe you can get their measurements while we're here so I can practice… wooing them," she purrs.
The couple that is the aim of her affections shiver, holding each other close. "S-she's just joking, right?" Ochako whispers.
Her boyfriend isn't as reassuring as she hoped. "I think… she's always liked to tease online, so I guess she's the same way in person?…"
Kraven huffs, shoving Twice off of him. "Keep that pestilent child away from me and I foresee no problems."
"Fine!" Denki shouts back. "Tokage would be pissed at me if I didn't let her have a whack at you before they threw you in a hole anyway!"
Tenko grabs Tsu's shoulder. "Maybe we should-"
"I just got you back," she croaks sadly, turning around to face him. "And I don't want to do anything that risks losing you again…"
As a few members of each group continue to squabble, a groan silences them. "Ow… did anyone get the license plate of the last Sentinel that hit me…" Deadpool climbs over the broken piece of wall, falling and landing with the grace of a manatee climbing a tree in between both groups. He groans, getting back to his feet and trying not to slip on all the oil and grease covering him. "Goddamn it." He starts wiping off as much of it as he can. "It's like I gave the Iron Giant a handjob-"
"Uncle Wade!" Izuku runs over with Iida, helping his surrogate uncle get the oil off him. "You made it!"
"Why did he climb over the wall instead of walking around it?" Nagant wonders out loud. No one has an answer for her.
"Izuku!" Deadpool greets, fluffing the boy's hair like he knows he likes. "I promised you I'd be here in the summer to get you your birthday present and I am! C'mere kid, it's been too long. Give me a hug. Maximum effort." The two slap hands before pulling one another in for a one-armed bro hug.
"Heya there, kids." Deadpool waves to Izuku's friends after. "Me llamo Piscina de la Muerte. Izuku's favorite uncle. Ask anyone."
"Well, maybe except my mom…"
A twelve-year-old Izuku shifts uncomfortably on the couch. His uniform is burned in several places, as are his arms, which he covers with his sleeves. "It's nothing Uncle Wade. Just a typical day at school. I don't need anything. Really."
Deadpool, sitting on the coffee table across from his surrogate nephew, takes a deep breath. "Be that as it may. May I suggest… the Benelli M4?"
"WADE!!"
"Yeah, I still don't understand why she doesn't like me." Deadpool looks behind him. "And who in the diet Thunderbolts do we have back here?"
"These are some of the villains who attacked us at the USJ and training camp and we were-" Deadpool shoots Mr. Compress in the head. "-thinking about working with them since they… betrayed their leader… and we all want to get out of here," Izuku finishes, unable to close his jaw.
Compress, unharmed because of the Ghost tech protecting him, which allowed the bullet to pass through him unharmed, stares at Deadpool, appalled. "You- you are a hero, are you not?! And you were going to kill me before the boy even finished talking?!"
"Hero for hire maybe! As my slogan goes, if you want free help, call Wolverine. But if you want quality help... you should probably still call Wolverine. But sorry! Nothing personal!" Deadpool apologizes, putting away his gun. "But I just heard you tried to hurt my little jet stealing buddy back there, and all the voices in my head just said SHOOT and I don't have to tell you that when the voices in your head all agree on one thing, you just gotta do it. I know Izuku knows what I'm talking about!"
The looks on all of his friends' faces beg him to not say anything, but Izuku can't help it. He nods apologetically. When Uncle Wade is right, he's right.
"C'mon! We can't be the only ones! Can I get a yeah?!" Deadpool shouts.
"Yeah!" Twice pumps his fist. "Me and my voices can't agree on anything! Yes we do! No we don't! Do too! Do not! Do too! Do not times infinity! Dammit!"
"Oh my goodness! Who do we have here?!" Deadpool places a hand across his chest, staring at Twice. The villain mirrors his pose after getting a good look at the hero- Deadpool clears his throat- a good look at the hero for hire- Deadpool clears his throat again- a good look at the handsome hero for hire.
The pair continue to stare at each other in surprise. So much so that it becomes uncomfortable for everyone else. Izuku leans over. "Uncle Wade?… why aren't either of you moving?"
"A lot of readers were looking forward to us meeting, so we're savoring the moment."
"Huh?"
"Doesn't matter!" Deadpool claps his hands. "What does matter, buddy, is copyright infringement!" He wags his finger at Twice. "Do you really think you can just steal my suit, repaint it, and I wouldn't notice?!"
"Your suit?!" Twice replies hotly. "I have no idea who you are! If anything, how do I know you didn't copy my suit and I should sue you!"
"Be careful buddy! I'm owned by Disney now. You say something and they might have this entire fic taken down! And we'd all be as screwed as Donald Duck's penis!"
"What-"
"Screwed!" When Twice looks even more confused, Deadpool makes a circular motion with his finger. "You know, screwed? Because duck penises are corkscrew shaped- I'm not explaining it to you!" He tilts his head to the readers. "Seriously, duck penises are weird. Look it up."
He turns his attention back to Twice. "Anyway! I think I'd remember if your suit was by Deathstroke's when I stole- stole it. I was going to try and say borrowed, but I know no one would believe me."
"Aha! So you have a history of stealing suits!" Twice turns Deadpool's finger around to point at him. The merc gasps. "Admit you took my suit idea!"
"Uncle Wade-"
"No, no Izuku." Deadpool holds his other hand up. "He might have a point. I mean, look where the finger's pointing. The evidence is stacked against me," he says gravely.
Izuku takes his other hand and points another finger at Twice so they are both being pointed at. Deadpool and Twice let out a simultaneous "ohhhhhh."
"Maybe… it doesn't matter who copied who… as long as it works for both of us…" The two look each other up and down again. "I love your suit!" they exclaim, pointing excitedly at one another.
"Ooh! I gotta know! Why the mask?" Deadpool practically begs.
"If I don't have it, I'll split apart! Yeah, because you're just so whole with it on!"
"No, I get it! I hate taking mine off too," Deadpool reassured him. "This right here," he gestures to his face. "This is where the money shot is. You can't give that out for free. He's joking. He just hates how he looks."
Twice jumps when Deadpool speaks in a different voice, just like him. The Merc looks to the side. "Excuse me, we were having a perfectly nice conversation before you interrupted. So, butt out! I can't interrupt if I AM you, moron."
"Hey!" Twice cried out angrily. "Don't you take that tone with him!" He yells at the voice in Deadpool's head. "He's one of the few people I've ever talked to that makes sense! Maybe that's because you make no sense?"
"Now that's going too far!" Deadpool jumps in to defend his possible new friend as well. "The truth is most people are just as crazy as us! They just hide it because they'd rather 'blend into the crowd' or 'be normal.' But him? He embraces it and should be proud! You're right, he should be proud. At least one of you would be since you aren't proud of a single thing you've ever accomplished."
"Ha! This guy over here is so fried in the head, even if he was happy about something he did, he'd forget it within the hour."
"Pffft. The red-suited glorified imaginary friend over here wishes he could forget everything he's done! It's so haunted up here, it's where they'd set the next Conjuring movie if there were any truth to them!"
"Hey! The voices in our heads can't just talk directly to each other!"
"Actually, it's what mine do most of the time," Izuku chimes in.
"Yeah, listen to Izuku!"
"The kid knows what he's talking about!"
"Well, at least we can all agree on one thing…"
Denki holds his throbbing head. "I'm so confused about what's happening right now…"
Deadpool and Twice shake their heads. "The voices in your head never stop either?" The former asks. Twice shakes his head. "Then what's happening is that I think I found my new best friend!"
"I think I did too!" The pair high-five. "Hooray for all the voices that remind us of our crippling self-hatred!"
"Yay! Izuku, get in here!" Deadpool waves him over to celebrate hating themselves.
Izuku smiles, taking a step to join in, before Ochako grasps his arm and pulls him back to look at her. "If you're really as bad as you think, then explain why I like you so much."
Izuku opens his mouth, but his girlfriend has caught him at a crossroads. His need to self-deprecate can only be met by saying Ochako is wrong. But he trusts her fully. It's why he has shown her more of himself than anyone else. A decision he has never regretted. So, by that logic that meant… she's right?
All that comes out of his mouth is a defeated groan. Tenko and Denki whistle at how fast Izuku had deflated. As for Ochako, she smiles, satisfied, and kisses Izuku on the cheek.
The trickster goes a bit red with all the people around, glancing behind him and regretting that decision when he sees Deadpool and Twice leaning against each other, nodding at him. He just knows they're smirking under their masks.
"Wait!" Being so close, Deadpool takes the chance to look around Twice's costume, messing with his wristbands and pulling his tape measures out. "Where are your weapons?!"
"I don't have any-"
"Well lick my cancerous crack, we can't have that!" Before the villain can protest, Deadpool is stacking every gun he has on him onto his hands.
"Perhaps we shouldn't arm our enemies?" Yaomomo asks like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Enemies?" Deadpool looks around. "It's raining Sentinels! It doesn't get more Marvel-casting-RDJ-to-come-back-as-Doom than this!"
"Get more what?"
"Desperate! It doesn't get more desperate than this!" He sighs, letting his head hang. "That's probably going to be my most controversial joke of the chapter," he mumbles. "Moving on! Didn't you agree to set your differences aside yet?!"
"No, we-"
"Why not?!" Deadpool shouts in disbelief. "We're up to our balls in killer robots! Escaped prisoners, including some cameos, are around every corner! Everything is on fire for Wolverine's abs sake! Hell, you got people falling out of windows like they're Russians who criticized their own government!"
He holds up his hand to Kraven for a high-five, but the Hunter slaps it away.
Deadpool straightens. "If there's ever a time for that whole 'the enemy of enemy is my friend' bullshit, it's now!"
Maybe it's the fact that he's fighting for his life right now. Or maybe it's the fact that despite his shining grades in Japanese, Yuga Aoyama isn't the complete master of the language everyone thought he was. But if any of his classmates were to ask him his thoughts on what the final battle had become. His less than diverse japanese vocabulary is only spitting out one word.
Madhouse.
It appeared as though whoever was controlling the robots realized they made an agreement with the former League of Villains, so they called more Sentinels than ever to them. The battlefield is a mess of robots and escaped prisoners, who are using the chaos to run rampant. The sky is filled with news choppers trying to make sense of what's happening as the atmosphere above them quakes with the sounds of All for One's unseen battle with the heroes above the clouds.
All of them had become separated in groups of twos and threes amidst a sea of machinery. They were only doing what they could to survive, until Kurogiri awoke to take them all home.
Or really, take his friends home. For Yuga, this was always a one way trip. After sneaking past the police, which was easier than he thought, he only had one thought on his mind. To make up for what he had done.
The camp had been a good start, but if he can shine here one last time and help the heroes in any way to finally defeat All for One? Then it didn't matter if he went to jail or into the ground, he'd do it happily. And most importantly, it would be his choice. Something he hasn't had in a long time.
Everything is a blur. Hero and villain alike constantly moving as staying still most likely meant death. So, Yuga concentrates on what he can. Keeping up his twinkling quirk to blast every Sentinel he can see! No matter the tummy ache!
Yuga pops another one of Yaomomo's pills for his stomach into his mouth and keeps going. He had been fortunate to be left with Iida. Fitting that the two knights would end up together, given their hero costumes. But it is more than that. They made up for each other's weaknesses.
Iida slashed anything that came close and blocked lasers with his sword while Yuga took advantage of the long range of his quirk to decimate far away targets. And if anything got too close, Iida simply sped them away.
Get close they did. A "look out!" is all the warning they get before Midoriya's Nomu crashes next to them, but it's quickly back on its feet, leaping back into the air with Midoriya himself in its arms. It chucks its master at a group of Sentinels, who are blown away by the trickster's energy blast.
The force of the attack sends him hurtling back down to the ground, but Doug catches him before he can become a smear. "That was awesome!" Midoriya cheers, because of course he does. Doug nuzzles its head against his arm and Izuku giggles, scratching it under its chin. "Yes, you did great!" The Nomu makes a noise of excitement. "No, I agree! We should fight together more!"
Did Yuga mention Midoriya had created clones of Doug? They were chasing some of the convicts around the battle and scaring them, so a few were freely turning themselves in. Tearing his eyes from his alien friend, who is freezing some leaking oil from a Sentinel to create some new weapons, Yuga turns just in time to see Iida miss a laser and be struck on the side.
The French boy can barely get his name out before a laser catches him in the shoulder. The pain is immense, and Yuga hits the ground. He rolls on his back to try and get his laser up to destroy the descending Sentinels, but a gunshot beats him to it, the curving bullet piercing the few robots in the head, destroying them.
"Get up." Yuga looks in surprise as Lady Nagant holds her hand out to him. "Don't look so shocked, the deal was to keep each other alive. Now get up. We stay here much longer, we all die."
She helps both boys to their feet. "T-thank you." Iida fixes his glasses. Yuga can tell he's still uncomfortable with their arrangement. "Where is Shigaraki? You were helping her because of her injury the last I saw?"
"Hirona," Nagant corrects. "Shigaraki belongs to that bastard." She motions her head to the sky where All for One is. "And I was hoping you could help me with that. We got separated in this mess. But with your speed-"
A new feeling comes over Yuga as a blue hue surrounds both him and Iida. A pink one covers Nagant. "Shit-!" Magne's quirk painfully slams them together and pins them to the ground. She walks over smirking.
"Take your pick."
Yuga doesn't have to wonder long who she's talking to. One of the escaped prisoners forms himself next to him, a disgusting sludge with eyes and a mouth, peering over them. "Such a nice choice of bodies," the Sludge Villain purrs down at them. "Which shall I choose?"
Being pinned doesn't stop Nagant, who fires her loaded rifle straight ahead into Iida's sword. The bullet ricochets off the blade and pierces Magne in the shoulder, before curving around and hitting the Sludge Villain in the eye. Blood spills everywhere.
He roars in pain, but Magne is focused enough to keep her quirk active and stomps Nagant back into the ground. "I think the choice is clear." She takes the opportunity to kick Nagant in the stomach. "Take this one."
"Gladly," the Sludge Villain growls, grabbing hold of Nagant's face to keep her steady as he- the gross villain lets out a squeal all of a sudden, as does Magne, both villains dropping to the ground suddenly, not moving.
They are released from Magne's quirk, but neither hero student gets off the ground as they look up at their savior. Iida in particular is enraged. Nagant rises to one knee, gun at the ready. "You?!"
Stain drops the bullet that contained both Magne and the Sludge Villain's blood. "Me."
Tenko coughs as dust blinds him. He wipes his eyes as it clears, and he suddenly wishes he couldn't see again. Back on the ground, All for One stands. Injured? Sure. His suit is half torn to reveal the armor underneath. But he still looks considerably better than his opponent. All Might.
His mentor is barely keeping his muscle form up, with only small trails of lightning covering him. Blood pours from way more than his mouth.
"The end of our painting nears," All for One cackles. "And you are exactly as I always wanted. Broken."
With a strength Tenko has no hope of figuring out how he pulls from, All Might clenches his fist, enlarging his arm. "That's what you never understood! You have only ever focused on how to break the body! But you shall never break the spirit!! Of me! Of any of us! And it's that spirit that keeps us moving! To keep fighting! To never give up! And it's that spirit that will defeat you!!"
"…Then I suppose I'll have to break that too." Tenko feels like it's getting harder to breathe. Like every word from All for One is weighing down the air around them. "Starting with that poor accident from years ago that took your master's family from this world."
"I made my peace with their deaths long ago! And not a single ounce of my being blames young Tenko!"
"That's wonderful!" All for One patronizes him. "I hope that extends to who else was at fault for that night." Tenko and All Might stand frozen. "Did you know that a few days before the incident, little Tomura had gotten himself lost? That rambunctious scoundrel," he chuckles. "Thankfully for his poor mother, a kind and well-dressed stranger found the boy and returned him safely to his family." All for One's face returns to normal so they can feel the full effect of his smug grin. "But not before giving him a present."
All Might shrinks down completely, the news chopper's above capturing every moment. "You…" The symbol of peace whispers. "You…" He looks up, eyes wide. "WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE YOU?!!"
Flashes of that night tear through Tenko's head, his fingertips buzzing as the weight of what was just said drops onto him. The air is heavier than ever. After all this time, the freak accident he had caused wasn't an accident at all. But a tragedy forced onto him. He- he-
"And I think it's time to finish the events of that night." Tenko sees it all happen like a cutscene. All for One raising two glowing palms, one aimed at All Might, and the other at a stunned Hirona, who had been watching from the other side of the crater.
All Might's "NO!" echoes across everyone, but All for One laser attack drills into his stomach. The number one hero yells in pain, spitting up more blood than ever as the beam shoves him back like a ragdoll into some rubble.
Hirona has no protection. Not even her quirk, though Tenko doubts it would help. All for One fires the large red laser at her. Tenko's mind races, still digesting everything.
He's fast but he'll never make it to her in time.
'His family's death wasn't completely his fault?'
Blackwhip wouldn't reach her in time either.
'All for One helped make it happen.'
He could attack All for One with Blackwhip, but not even a punch from All Might had made the villain move earlier.
'He was a victim too?'
When had he started moving? And why are his legs buzzing?
He has so many questions but no way to get any answers. All Tenko knows is that for the first time in his life, while he still feels like he should take most of the blame, it's not all of it. But that doesn't stop his ultimate goal. To save the last piece of his family he has left.
The buzzing in his legs becomes unbearable. It terrifies him. It feels like they could fall off at any moment. But at the same time, his heart is beating with more exhilaration than he's ever felt.
He's leveling up.
Just one more thing first. And that's addressing the sickly looking man with white hair and green eyes that had suddenly appeared floating in front of him. His brain might not know who he is. But his instinct does.
"Why wouldn't you let me use One for All?"
One answer. Just give him one.
The young man smiles. "It was never us that was stopping you, Ninth."
With an explosion of One for All from his legs, Tenko moves and in a blink of rushing wind, he and Hirona are gone, the laser long missing its target.
Iida draws his sword, getting his guard up and standing in front of Yuga and Nagant. "What the hell are you doing out of prison?!" Iida yells uncharacteristically. Whether his blade is shaking in fear or anger is anyone's guess.
For Stain's part, he doesn't move besides a slight narrowing of his eyes, the weapon not so far from his neck seemingly not bothering him. "Why are you, children, in a battle meant for so-called pro heroes?" Iida snarls, readjusting his grip. "I guess neither of us is where we're supposed to be."
"Then allow me to fix that!" Despite Iida's proclamation, he doesn't move.
Stain looks him up and down. "Do you intend to put me back in prison, or under it?"
"Back in prison!" Yuga isn't the only one surprised by the quick response. He was sure he was going to have to stop his friend from commiting murder in a second. "My sword is screaming at me otherwise in my head! But I am its master!" It feels like his declaration is both for them and himself. "And I will see you pay for your crimes the right way!"
It's frightening how quickly the serial killer changes from passively regarding them to looking downright ecstatic. "You've changed! Excellent! It will serve you well! But before you strike me down, answer yourself these questions! Who just saved your lives and who is the bigger threat right now?!"
Even Iida hesitates as he considers the questions.
"Guys!" Doug the Nomu skids to a landing near their group with Midoriya jumping out of his arms. "Did you see that crazy explosion! I think it was Tenko and that we should look for- Stain?" The trickster finally registers their old foe. "What are you doing here?" Doug growls.
The villain is unfazed, smirking at the boy. "Meddling."
Yuga doesn't understand it, but some sort of unspoken understanding passes between them. Midoriya rubs Doug's arm, placating the Nomu and letting him know it's okay. "Alright," he nods. "If any of us are going to do any real meddling tonight, it's gotta be to help All Might and Uncle Thor take All for One down!"
"Nice sentiment." Nagant doesn't take her gaze or the barrel of her gun off Stain. "But if those guys can only scratch the big guy, we'd just get in the way."
"And the Sentinels?" Yuga asks.
Nagant shakes her head. "That thing," she points to Master Mold in the sky, "is constantly making more. We'd need to start by taking it out, but All for One is protecting it with- did you say your Uncle Thor?" Midoriya nods happily. Nagant just looks tired, and not because of the day they've had. "Yeah, well, his lightning is protecting it. Which means only he can get past it, but since All for One is keeping him busy, we can't do anything. So, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm gonna to start by finding Hirona and-"
A portal opens up next to her, dumping out Hirona and Tenko.
"Wow…" Midoriya says. "And I'm gonna start by finding the ability to fly!" He looks next to him eagerly but slumps when no portal appears. "Dangit. Ah well, Tenko!" He waves over his Nomu, who picks his friend up. Nagant helps Hirona, keeping her away from Stain. "Holy woah! Are your legs broken?!"
"That'd explain why they hurt so much… and why I can't get up."
"Kurogiri." Nagant's one word brings everyone's gaze to the portal user, standing silently off to the side. "Did the kid catch you up?" He slowly nods. "Then you know where we stand with All for One? Are you with us?"
His yellow eyes bore into Nagant, the nature of his body not giving anything away. Gradually, those yellow eyes travel down to Hirona, who is trying to get control of her breathing while appearing to not be terrified of what her longtime companion will say.
Finally, he speaks. "I was sworn to protect Hirona Shigaraki many years ago. And I will continue to do so. No matter what she chooses." Hirona makes a sound like she's going to sob but quickly stops herself, giving Kurogiri a grateful look.
"Speaking of good news…" Midoriya starts carefully, almost afraid to interrupt. "But if we can find anything then I have an idea because," he tilts his head at Nagant. "You weren't completely correct when you said Uncle Thor was the only one who could get through the portal… but we'd need to make sure All for One didn't stop them."
Yuga's blood freezes, but he pushes past it. This is it. The moment he was waiting for. A way to make up for what he had done, consequences damned. So, with shaking legs and barely any control over his bladder, Yuga raises his petrified hand. "I can do it." Midoriya gives him a curious look.
After this, All for One should have no reason to come after his family. After this, his debt to his classmates will be paid. Yuga wonders idly who will take his place. What an odd thing to think about when one is accepting his ultimate demise. 'Mama. Papa. Thank you for everything.'
Toshinori's foot stomps on the ground. All for One had tried to break his will but in doing so, he had made the number one hero's resolve stronger than ever. He knows what he saw. In this darkest hour, when he needed it most, he witnessed his successor reach inside himself, battling past years of doubt, and use One for All to save someone.
Damn kid, always making him proud.
Steam rises from his muscles. Blue and yellow lightning intensify around his body. But if there's anything being a teacher has taught him, it's that you can learn just as much from your students as they do from you. And if young Tenko can go beyond his limits to save someone, then he can do the same to save everyone!!
All Might muscles up, lightning exploding around him, his ferocious gaze never leaving All for One. The villain snickers. "One final attack? That's all you're good for, isn't it, Symbol of Peace?" He asks the last part mockingly. "That's all you have left."
"No." Ghost Rider stands proud next to him. "He has my chains and fire."
Thor lands next to him from the air, lightning and thunder dancing across the sky. "He has my hammer," he declares, handing All Might Mjölnir.
With a triumphant roar, Doug crashes next to the heroes. Thor raises an amused eyebrow, but Toshinori immediately realizes what's happening, spotting Midoriya some distance away, waving at him. "And my Nomu!!"
"Not to mention my feathers." Toshinori looks up from where Hawks salutes him as Nezu's encirclement plan comes to fruition, the rest of the heroes emerging from the city and converging on the villains. All for One's ever present smile begins to falter. He twitches his hand and every Sentinel in the area begins to fly to him, all of them acting as shields against the heroes.
"You got my awesome tunes!" Peter hovers next to Hawks thanks to his rocket boots. "So how about we finish this in style?" He flicks on his music player .
"My fire is not yours." Toshinori can't help himself, he even smiles as Endeavor marches up next to them. "But may it aid you, number one."
Other heroes shout out.
"You have my amazing strength!"
"I offer you my black holes!"
"You've got my claws, bub."
"My elasticity is yours to do with as you wish!"
"These legs are kicking ass whether you want them or not!"
As other heroes' voices melted together, signifying their unity, Ryukyu roared over them all from above, the dragon hero snapping her jaws in her draconic form as the Guardian's ship and the X-jet join her in the sky. The ground rumbles. Mt. Lady stands, using her quirk to grow as she and Gang Orca push past their injuries to face All for One again.
"This battle has united several realms tonight," Thor observes. He smiles at All Might. "Remember that when you make your attack."
Gran Torino lands on his shoulder. "No distractions. Trust us to keep everything off you, and you focus on taking that bastard down for good."
"Let's finish this!!" Hawks surges forward, cutting down the first Sentinel to approach him with a sword. The dam breaks and the heroes charge. Sunfire, Endeavor, and Ghost Rider clear the first wave of machines with a tsunami of flames. Hero Thirteen stays behind as her colleagues charge, her black hole quirk intercepting any Sentinel that tries to flank their group.
On the other side, Tenko's rescue group and the former League do the same. Iida holds Daken back from Nagant as she snipes Sentinels. Compress uses his suit to protect himself from Magne's quirk and manages to use his quirk on her magnet. Twice has a copy of Hirona block Dabi's flames while Momo brings down all of the Sentinels around them. And finally, Taskmaster ducks back, barely dodging Stain's boot before he swipes down on the mercenary's sword with his own.
All for One wrestles with Thor and Ghost Rider. The latter whips his chain into the air and Thor imbues it with lighting, allowing the Rider to constantly strike the villain with a lightning whip. "Gah!" All for One yells in pain, before a platoon of Sentinels descend on the Rider, distracting him. The supervillain turns all of his focus to Thor and side steps his lightning punch, flicking the hero away.
But Thor is ready. He creates a tornado in the path he's sent flying and uses its winds to spin him around and around until he's sent flying back at All for One faster than ever. He's excited to see if he can make the villain's face reappear if he punches hard enough.
The Norse God is met with disappointment when all that happens is that he pummels All for One to the ground. All Might's nemesis gets back up, face beaten and bruised, before a laser knocks him back down. He looks up in surprise to see the Sentinels that had been attacking Ghost Rider are now imbued with his flames, and decidedly not on the villain's side anymore.
Even though he physically can't, All for One can hear the smirk Ghost Rider's voice. "Look at what I just figured out how to do."
Midoriya laughs and points from where he's fighting back to back with Uraraka. "Ha! We're always taking their stuff from them!" Doug reappears by him just to give the kid a high-five before jumping back into the fight.
"Fresh meat!" An escaped prisoner being held up in the air by his elongated and bladed teeth snarls at the two teens. He fires a pair of his dangerous fangs at the kids, trying to impale them.
With an animalistic shout, Wolverine jumps in front of the blades, blocking them with his claws and twisting them to keep them trapped. "Wade!"
Not needing anymore of an invite, Deadpool jumps and runs up the teeth with his swords at his sides, straight to Moonfish's body. "I don't think anyone will miss you!" He leaps up and brings both swords down on the villain's head.
Gentle Hero, with a pink hue around him, turns Sentinels into spare parts as his air membranes help heroes like Miruko, Gamora, and Drax fight in the air. The X-jet, Guardian's ship, and Ryukyu make easy work of any Sentinels high in the sky with their air maneuverability.
Though Tenko can't stand, he still does what he can to help, firing Blackwhip where he lies to interfere with the Sentinels as much as possible. And if any of them even think about getting close to him, Gran Torino and Tsu make them pay.
The heroes are pushing closer and closer. Which lets a certain someone think the time is right for him. All for One hears the sound of something streaking toward the air toward Master Mold. A few Sentinels try to deter him, but Kurogiri portals them away.
The villain temporarily increases the gravity of the air around him to pin Ghost Rider, Thor, and their Sentinels to the ground. The trap won't last long, but it should still be enough. He lifts his hand to bring whatever hero it is down but Aoyama blasts him first with his quirk. It barely tickles. All for One, despite his anger, takes the time to laugh at the stupid child.
"Good! As I had requested, you are here, Yuga Aoyama. To atone for your failure."
"l couldn't agree more!" Yuga hits him with a much stronger beam this time but again, All for One isn't affected. He simply snaps his fingers, and the French boy feels a swift but hard blow to the gut. He falls to his knees, closing his eyes and keeping his mouth shut. He wouldn't give the man the satisfaction of hearing him in pain.
But when Yuga opens his eyes, nothing can stop his yell of despair. His support item lay in pieces in front of him. "Not to worry, child." Yuga looks up, any hopes he had of redeeming even a small part of himself are quickly fading. All for One grins. "I am one who believes that no parent should ever have to bury their child." Power begins to build in his palm. "So, in accordance with that." He lifts his arm. "I shall leave your parents nothing of you to bury!"
Yuga is going to die. Soon, all of his doubts and worries will be gone. And he is at peace with that. But he's spent most of his life so afraid that just once. He wants to feel like his friends feel. He wants to fight like they do! Shine as brightly as them!
His quirk swirls inside him as Yuga lifts his hands. It would only be later while looking back that All for One realizes his mistake. The man he had stolen Yuga's powers from all those years ago wasn't some simple light shooting ability, but the power to draw on an ancient source of energy known as the-
Yuga shines brighter and brighter, becoming the brightest star anyone had seen. A Nova. Yuga thrusts his hands forward, firing a twin set of powerful energy beams at All for One, forcing him to cross his arms in front of him and block, the attack heating up and burning him, even through his armor.
But most importantly, it gave someone the time to do his job.
'I hope Izuku was right!'
Denki flies through the lightning barrier protecting Master Mold and like his cousin predicted, it doesn't harm him. In fact, not only is he not hurt, but Denki feels supercharged and stronger than ever.
For some reason, he can't help but think back to his conversation with Izuku at the hospital. And he knows what Izuku told him was right. Even though he's never gotten the last hit, he's contributed a lot to all the times they've been attacked.
Even so.
His doubt remains.
Denki needs this.
He groans, falling back. "Yeah, alright. So, you know how my dad is Thor?"
Denki barrel rolls away from the giant robot's hand and lands on its arm, running up it. More Sentinels try to cut him off-
"And you know how they have all those stories of Thor, the strongest Avenger?!"
-But Denki is faster than ever too. Blinking past the robots so fast if a regular person had actually blinked, they would've missed him. The Sentinels explode in his wake.
Feeling more power surging in him than he ever has before, the demigod channels as much of that as he can into Thunderstrike.
"Of how he saved entire planets on his own and vanquished some of the strongest beings in the galaxy!"
Master Mold tries to sweep him off again with his other hand, but Denki jumps over it, heading straight for the robot's head. He reels back and all of the lightning that had once been protecting Master Mold is funneled into his weapon. Thor's son looks up, blue eyes blazing in determination as he stares straight into the face of their mechanical nightmare.
"Well, that's just it! I haven't done anything!"
Until now.
Master Mold is helpless to stop Denki as he smacks Thunderstrike against the side of the machine's head. So much power is contained within him that lightning ripples out from impact, traveling the full length of Master Mold's body.
There's a creak. And then a sizzle. Followed by more creaking. And Denki realizes he had been watching everything in slow motion because just then, time speeds up and Master Mold's head is blown straight off its body, launched into the air like a home run baseball.
The rest of the robot's body begins to explode and fall, and Denki can't stop his cheer as Sentinels all over the city start to fail, shutting down wherever they are and falling.
Denki wipes his eyes with his sleeve. He can do it! He can save everyone! He knows Izuku already told him that hundreds of times but for the first time, Denki feels like he can say it himself.
And even though he also knows he shouldn't need anyone's approval for his heroic deeds, he really hopes his dad is watching.
Thor smiles as he looks up at his son in the sky, Sentinels falling around him. "I'm so proud of you, son." He inhales. "All Might!! Now!!"
With the Sentinels defeated, the heroes clear out as the Symbol of Peace leaps into the air, yellow and blue lightning trailing over every part of his body and Mjölnir raised high!
All for One moves as much of the plating of his armor as he can into a defensive position. "Believe what you will, All Might! But I promise you I can survive any hit you dare lay on me!" He floats up. "And do you honestly believe any prison can hold me!"
A portal opens up behind him and All for One looks at it curiously. "Interesting stratagem," he mocks Kurogiri off to the side. "Send me anywhere on this planet you please. Nowhere can prevent me from returning. Nothing can stop me from getting back to her."
"That… is where… you are wrong," Kurogiri strains himself, putting more concentration into his quirk than ever before. "For many years now… I believed my only purpose was to serve you. Just as I believed in the limits of my quirk…"
The dark purple mist around Kurogiri starts to flicker, becoming faster by the second. Ripples of blue energy flow through Kurogiri's body, changing his color in some spots and even starting to change the color of his portal. All for One's eyes widen. He knows what this is.
Inside Odin's vault, the power stone glows.
Back at a research lab housing a certain scepter, scientists run around the lab frantically. The red stone inside the scepter has started to glow. And it is getting stronger.
"Tell me what the readings say!" David Shield shouts over the chaos.
"This can't be right-!"
"Just tell me!"
The lab technician shakes his head. "I- I don't know sir! It's like the gem has a mind of its own! Like- like it's trying to reach out and communicate with something!"
David scoffs amidst the mayhem. "He was right."
Loki grins down as the Soul Stone in his own scepter glows brightly. "The stones yearn to be together again, I see."
"If I am able to break my vow to you, then I wonder…" Kurogiri's eyes shoot open. "What else am I capable of?!" His portal turns a bright blue just as All Might dives down at All for One.
"This attack contains not just mine, but the resolve of EVERY hero fighting tonight!! They have all put everything on the line tonight, and I shall do the same. No matter where we come from, our origin, or our quirks, this is for all of us!! And our shared goal of finally putting an end to this nightmare of a night!"
He rears Mjölnir back, feeling the last bits of power from One for All father together within him to help with this one final attack.
'Do your best, Toshinori!'
With his master's words echoing through his head, All Might pulls all of his power together. Everyone can feel the righteous fury pulsating from it. "UNITED…" All for One takes a defensive stance with no time to move. "HEROES…" Heroes and villains alike brace themselves. "SMAAAAAAAAAASH!!"
The hammer slams into All for One and an explosion of color erupts from it, sending shockwaves throughout the city that help blow away the last of the smog that had been covering Kamino. Everyone hangs on tightly to one another to not be blown away.
The shockwaves only seem to grow stronger as All for One tries to defy them until finally, his smile fully falls and the last of his defenses fail. He's blown back harshly through Kurogiri's portal into the great void of outer space.
As soon as he's gone, Kurogiri gasps, falling to one knee and reverting to his original color, the portal vanishing like the shockwaves. Slowly, everyone looks up and around, as if expecting the villain to suddenly reappear. But after a full few minutes of nothing happening, one by one, they begin to cheer, hero and police alike.
Tenko leans up from where Gran Torino had been covering him. "Is it- is it over?"
Torino takes a deep breath, smiling wide. "Yeah, kid." He wipes some of the dirt off Tenko's hair. "I think it's over."
Tenko feels Iida and Yaomomo place their hands on his shoulder as Uraraka and Aoyama give him a thumbs up.
"Then it's time for that group hug!"
He can't even fully register what Midoriya said before Tsu tackles him back to the ground, followed by Midoriya and Denki. The rest of the rescue squad join them on the ground, laughing in celebration. It's really done. Tenko is safe. They are all safe and the night is finished.