"Good morning students, I am Kurogiri of the League of Villains, and this is the Nomu known as 'Humanite'", Shinso felt his mouth go dry, as the second being moved to stand beside the well-dressed Kurogiri, "and sadly for you, your first look upon it will be the last thing you ever see".
For a moment, nobody moved, and Shinso could feel his own body tensing up, filled with disbelief.
In fact, the entire classroom seemed to stand still, nobody daring to even breath, before Kurogiri slowly brought one of his hands up to point at them directly, "Now, Humanite, kill them".
The beast - Humanite, a small part of his mind supplied - opened its gorilla-like maw open and roared, raising its tree-trunk thick arms into the air and in response, everybody else started screaming.
"EVERYBODY OUT!"
Midoriya turned around, yelling at the rest of the class, and for a moment, Shinso was surprised. He'd never heard, let alone seen, the other boy be so serious before, but his incrementally increasing level of esteem for his green-haired classmate stopped almost as abruptly as it had started, when he turned back around, trying to face the monster down, acting like he thought he was some sort of Pro Hero.
Naturally, he realised, Midoriya just assumed that he was the one that was going to solve the problem.
He held back a scoff; he probably assumed that he was indestructible too.
Behind him, his classmates began to pile up at the door, trying to force their way out of the classroom, all of them fleeing in terror. Midoriya's butterfly friend had been one of the first to reach the door, wasting no time in getting out and pulling the fire alarm, which he could admit was a smart move, all while Midoriya stepped up to the Humanite creature, his hands outstretched in a placating gesture, as he began speaking in a soothing voice.
"You don't need to do this, you can-"
Then the Humanite slapped him.
In any other circumstance, the sight of Midoriya being backhanded like a bitch might have been hilarious to him, but even as annoying as he found Midoriya's attempt at posturing, Shinso knew that this was no joke.
The Humanite's hand was the size of a normal man's chest, big enough to cover Midoriya's head and part of his upper body, and with the amount of force that the Humanite used, enough to knock Midoriya clear off his feet and send him crashing into his friend with the ridiculous pompadour, sending both of them sprawling to the floor, he was clearly in possession of a Quirk that granted him enhanced strength.
Strength enough to break bones.
Strength enough to snap necks.
Strength enough to kill.
"Make sure to get the rest of them", Kurogiri told Humanite, before stepping back through his portal, the portal itself fading away, as the Humanite stepped forwards, towards the rest of the class, as they continued to rush out, and without thinking, Shinso stepped forwards.
The Humanite's gaze snapped towards him, and he felt his mouth go dry, even as a smirk found its way to his lips.
Midoriya's brute force approach might have failed, but his own approach was subtler, cleverer and more importantly:
Impossible to defend against.
"Well, big guy", he drawled, "looks like it's just you and me".
The Humanite growled, low and threatening, but that was all the confirmation that Shinso needed.
He had it.
The Humanite began stomping forwards, each step cracking the tile flooring, but Shinso knew that he had already won. He reached out, his mind searching for that thing, that piece, that connection between them that would give him control, and with Kurogiri having already fled the scene, Shinso knew that with Humanite under his command, the teachers for the Hero Course would have to give him a place in their number.
Finding the connection point, he reached for it, taking it in his mental touch and then…
The Humanite roared once again.
…nothing.
"That's not possible", he whispered.
He spoke, the Humanite responded and then his Quirk, Brainwashing, should have kicked in. Shinso should have been given complete control over him, only nothing had happened and now, the Humanite was before him.
As close as they were, Shinso could see the smoothness and lack of pores on the Humanite's sleek skin, he could see the blackness turn into a purplish blue, when his skin caught the light and worst of all, he could see the glistening on his fangs, as he opened his mouth, roaring one more time.
He tried to run, to join his classmates and flee, but his legs gave out before he could move. He fell to the ground, both of his hands landing to support his body, even as the Humanite raised both of his arms into the air, forming his hands into ridiculously large fists, before bringing them down with the force of a bus.
And as the end came, Shinso closed his eyes.
He heard the whistle of the movement; he felt the force impacting upon the ground; he could smell the faint odour that he now knew came with the Humanite; and he waited for the pain to come.
Only it never did.
He wondered, for a moment, if his death had come so quickly that his body hadn't had time to feel the pain, but he could still feel his own heart racing, still hear his own panicked breathing.
Somehow, he was still alive.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
Humanite was still there.
His hands were still in the air, only now, instead of bringing them down on Shinso's head with the force of a truck or a bus, they were blocked, being held in place.
Without thinking, his eyes traced the lines of the back of the body that had just saved his life.
A pair of plain brown school shoes, worn with the standard U.A. uniform: trousers, shirt and blazer, though there was a large tear down the back of the blazer, starting just below the left shoulder blade and running all the way down to the hem.
A pair of strong, solid arms were extended, a pair of hands spreading out from the wrists, where they were blocking the Humanite's blow, and Shinso followed the arms to the shoulder, across the shoulder blades, to where his eyes found a green mess of hair.
"That's enough", Midoriya said, as he held the Humanite in place.
=== === === === ===
Below him, the grass, concrete and asphalt that led to USJ passed by in a blur, as Toshinori leapt across all of it, in a single bound, his body straining, the effort to maintain his buffed up state more strenuous, now that only the embers of One For All remained in his system, but like an old friend, they answered his call one more time.
The decay of One For All's power within his system was a guarantee now. Recovery Girl had been kind enough to take a vital check of his system to confirm that fact for him; even if he didn't make use of his Quirk's power, the Quirk factors in his system would continue to slowly decrease, but every time he made use of the Quirk directly, the rate at which they drained would increase.
He was supposed to be refraining from making use of the embers, unless absolutely necessary, but his students were in danger, and he didn't need Nezu to tell him that this was necessary.
The glass and steel dome that marked the USJ continued to draw closer, and with the power of his Quirk, of his Master's Quirk and now, Mellissa's Quirk, empowering all of his senses, even at this distance, he could see the damage that must have been caused during Ida's escape.
He didn't bother slowing down to use it properly.
With a simple flex of his shoulder, he tore through the opening that was supposed to be the entrance, sending fragments of brick, stone and glass flying about the place, as his feet landed on the concrete floor, the solid structure giving way immediately, breaking beneath his heels, cracks spider-webbing out from under him, as the noise of the USJ finally reached his senses.
The sounds were faint. His senses were enhanced, but not truly superhuman, but even at that, he could make out the sounds of fighting emanating from every corner the USJ.
He could clearly spot Melissa, poorly hidden in overgrown shrubbery, before picking out the prone suit beside her that told him that the worst may have already happened to Thirteen. At this distance, he could even make out the damage done to Melissa's arm, and in an instant, knew that she had used One For All without being properly prepared for it.
Guilt gnawed at him, but by now, guilt was an old friend, and he had decades of practice in pushing it back.
He took a step forward, the power of One For All swarming his body, as his eyes locked onto the central plaza, where he could see Aizawa, face down in the concrete, blood pooling around his head, and it took everything he had not to snarl, as he reached up and ripped the tie away from his neck.
"Have no fear students", he spoke, not needing to yell, knowing that the power of his vocals would carry his voice across the entirety of the USJ, so that everyone would be able to hear him, "for I am here".
=== === === === ===
It (he?) hit him!
It wasn't that no one had ever hit him before, but ever since his powers had stabilised a few years ago, Izuku couldn't ever remember truly feeling it.
But Humanite had hit him!
And it had hurt!
Sort of.
He sat up, feeling a slight tenderness on his face, and wondering for a moment, if he had a bruise.
Had he ever had a bruise before?
If he had, he couldn't remember it.
"Ugh".
"Agoyamato", he gasped, immediately turning to find his friend on the floor, beside him, looking decidedly worse for wear. He'd taken a fall too, but while they both had superstrength, it seemed that Agoyamato wasn't as invulnerable as he was, and Izuku could already see red liquid staining the broken wood beneath him, which had once been a student's desk.
His friend let out a muffled groaned, either aware enough to know that he had to remain quiet, or simply unable to raise his voice, as he raised a hand to the back of his head, where it came away bloody.
"Hang on a sec, buddy, you're going to be fine", he murmured, aiming for a tone that was far more reassuring than he was feeling. He knew from his hospital experience that head wounds bled more than regular wounds, but still…
That was a lot of blood.
Another set of hands, smaller than his own, appeared in his line of sight, pressing a bunched-up school blazer against his skull. He blinked, in an attempt to clear his vision and found Togeike, no longer wearing her blazer, as she pressed it against the bleeding.
"You need to help him", she whispered.
He was about to retort, something along the lines of 'I already am', before she realised that she wasn't looking at Agoyamato, and instead, was staring past them both.
To Shinso.
He watched, oddly transfixed, as his classmate fell to the floor and the Humanite raised his hands into the air, and Izuku knew that unlike him, Shinso wouldn't survive a blow delivered with that amount of force.
He stepped in.
Throwing his hands out, as he leapt to his feet and crossed the room as quickly as he ever had, he felt the blow come down, as the palms of his hands met the Humanite's meaty fists.
He grunted with the force of it, feeling his knees buckle as the flooring tiles cracked beneath his feet, but thankfully, his instincts had been correct and his own strength held, as he moved to grab Humanite's wrists and hold him in place. He, (it? He really needed to clarify that), tried to pull away, but Izuku found that he was able to tug him back into place.
"That's enough", he told him, before risking a glance back at Shinso, "are you alright?"
"Fine", Shinso bit out after a moment's hesitation, and nodding Izuku turned back to the Humanite, whose fierce gaze was now assessing him.
"I don't suppose we can talk about this?"
Humanite pulled his lips back into a snarl and Izuku was starting to question whether or not he could talk, as he roared once again, directly into his face and treating him to the full force of his breath, which smelt of rotten meat and a complete lack of personal hygiene. His nose wrinkled, his face contorted, as he forced himself not to gag, and the Humanite used the distraction to pull his left hand free of Izuku's grip, drawing it back, before launching a punch at his head.
His hand snapped up, his smaller palm cradling the enormous, gorilla-sized fist, but the impact was enough to push him back a step.
"I'm serious, we don't have to-"
Slipping his right hand free, the Humanite punched at him again, only to meet the same result, as Izuku clung to his hands, trying to hold him in place.
"Violence doesn't have to be-"
"WILL YOU JUST PUNCH HIM BACK ALREADY!"
He couldn't tell who was yelling at him, but Izuku took their advice to heart.
He let the Humanite break his grip once again, releasing both hands, and he felt his body tense, before the Nomu launched himself forwards, lunging to grab and crush him. He ducked underneath outstretched arms, moving himself to the side, before copying the Humanite's own technique: making a fist; drawing it back to his shoulder; and swinging it at his head.
He'd never hit a person before.
His only real experience with physical violence was limited to a single push as a child, (which had ended just… awfully), and one ten-minute battle exam session against a group of robots… many of which he'd destroyed by accident, or by simply barging into them at superspeed and letting them crumple against his shoulder.
He hadn't known what to expect from punching an actual person.
The Humanite was a person, wasn't he?
He wasn't prepared to feel the muscle and flesh of his cheek, wrap around his knuckles, moulding itself to his fist. He felt himself hit something strong and stiff, before he realised that it was the Humanite's teeth that he was feeling. He felt the jawbone move with the force of his blow, hearing and feeling it crack, as he broke his jaw.
And then he felt it move.
Its head snapped to the side… then the body followed… then he felt him (it?) leave the floor altogether.
Izuku didn't know what it looked like to everyone else, but to him, watching the Humanite's body leave the floor seemed to happen in slow motion. Maybe it was the way his powers enhanced his body, including his senses, or maybe it was the adrenaline, (did his body even produce adrenaline?), but he saw it all, as the Humanite was thrown into the wall, which dented, cracked and then caved, before he realised that the Humanite was gone and the room for Class 1-C now had a new opening to the outside.
"Holy shit!"
"Did you see that?!"
"Class Rep just slayed that bastard".
"Hey", someone murmured, and Izuku blinked, turning to find Togeike slowly moving towards him, with Agoyamato leaning against her side, "are you okay?"
He swallowed, his mouth dry, before he managed to speak, his voice sounding more like a squeak than he would have liked, "I didn't mean to hit him that hard!"
=== === === === ===
"He's here-"
"We're saved-"
"All Might-"
All Might didn't wait for his students to finish what they were saying.
He just moved.
So long as the embers lingered, One For All would continue to be his to command, and right now, they answered his call.
Slipping his jacket from around his shoulders, he gently tossed it aside, up and into the air.
Across the USJ, villains fell to the floor in an instant. Pain exploded behind their eyes, or deep in their guts, while the students of Class 1-A fought back the urge to throw up.
In an instant, Ojiro, Shoji and Kirishima went from standing back-to-back, ready to face the next threat, to standing in the open space beside the entrance.
Jiro and Tokoyami appeared a moment later, a water bucket on the floor between them and the unconscious Asui, and Tokoyami was quick to dump it over her.
"Ribbit…", she murmured, as he tried to guide some of it into her mouth.
Koda, Yaoyorozu and the floating gloves that marked Hagakure were the next to show up, followed swiftly by Uraraka, Kaminari and Sero.
Then the boat exploded.
Water began to rain down on them all, as Aoyama, Todoroki and Mineta appeared, before Koda, Ashido and Bakugo joined them; the latter being carried by the former, who immediately turned his head to snap at the Pro Hero's back.
"I didn't need your damn help!"
Yet, even Bakugo's anger was notably subdued.
"Take Thirteen and go", All Might told them, not bothering to look back at them, as his jacket hit the floor and his eyes remained firmly locked onto the body of the villain that was wearing hands as fashion accessories, and the floating mass of mist that stood beside him, "get outside and find somewhere safe. The teachers are on their way… and I'll take things from here".
=== === === === ===
The fire alarm was still ringing.
Outside, somewhere on the other side of the building, near the staff car park, their schoolmates should have been assembling at the school's designated assembly points, but for Class 1-C, the immediate panic was already over and while some of them had managed to get away, those who hadn't yet fled, were slowly moving back into the classroom.
Dizzy, slightly confused, and being supported to stand upright by Togeike, Agoyamato, who had a hand firmly pressed to the open cut on the back of his head, still managed to chuckle at his friend's words, as he looked between his clenched fist and the enormous, Humanite-sized hole in the wall.
"You didn't…", he choked on a round of giggles, "mean… to hit him… that hard?"
"No!"
Izuku sounded so put out by that fact that Agoyamato couldn't help himself. Maybe it was the blood loss, maybe it was the ridiculousness of the situation, but his giggles became guffaws, and then his guffaws become full-bellied laughter, and before long, the others still in the room had joined in. Togeike had erupted into a giggling fit and though he didn't doubt that the asshole would deny it later, Agoyamato saw Shinso ducking his head to hide a smirk.
His eyes were heavy and his vision was blurred at the edges, but as he did his best to look around the room for Asa, he realised that she was nowhere to be seen, and he could only hope that she'd gotten out quickly and managed to find some help.
Not that they'd needed it, apparently.
He grinned, as he turned back to find Midoriya tentatively approaching the hole he'd made in the wall, and grinned at the sight of his friend.
His friend, who grown up watching his mom helping help save lives everyday as a nurse, and still felt like he had to do more to help people; who had just saved twenty lives and who knows how many more; who was a bundle of nerves, right up until the moment that someone needed his help; and who, he knew, (even if he'd never actually said it), was actively denying himself the chance to become a Pro Hero.
His friend, who, today, hadn't needed a licence to be the hero they'd all needed.
"Are you alright?"
Agoyamato blinked, not having realised that Izuku had turned away from the window and was now eyeing him with concern, his eyes flickering up the top of his head, where one of his hands was resting.
"Feel like I should be asking you that", he told him with a smile, "you're the one who fought him".
"I didn't do anything, anyone else wouldn't have done".
The funny thing, Agoyamato knew, was that Izuku most definitely did believe that.
Personally, he was realising that he was fine with 'running away' as an option.
"Is everyone else alright?"
At their Class Rep's question, everyone seemed to murmur a variation of 'yeah' or 'fine', and Izuku moved to offer a hand to Shinso, who was still on the floor. He hesitated for a moment, and privately, Agoyamato expected him to scoff at his friend and ignore his offer, and quite frankly, given everything else that had happened today, he felt that might have actually been his breaking point for putting up with the guy's crap and he'd decide to knock some sense into him the good, old-fashioned way, but in the moment, Shinso relented, grasping Izuku's hand with one of his own and letting himself be pulled up to his feet.
"You good?"
Shinso blinked, his mouth opening and closing, but no sound came out as his ability to speak seemed to fail him, his head shakily rolled forward, as he cleared his throat, managing to create a scratching sound that he tried to pass off as normal speech, "Yeah".
"Good", Izuku said, offering him a smile which went unreturned, before he straightened back up, clapping his hands together, "okay, listen up!"
The action served to assure Izuku that he had the full attention of everyone present, as Agoyamato noted that his friend most likely hadn't realised that he already had everyone's attention - full and undivided.
He really didn't understand just how Izuku could be so smart and yet, so incredibly dense, at the same time.
"I need everyone to head to the assembly point. If anyone has their phone on them, call one-one-oh and let the police know what happened; if anyone secretly has a teacher's number and you can call them, I'll pretend not to notice".
That earned him a few strained chuckles, "Okay, let's g-OO!"
Midoriya was yanked backwards.
A hand, thick and wide, covered in purple-black skin clamped around his waist and Agoyamato watched, breathless, as his friend was pulled through the hole in the wall that he had created.
The Humanite was back.
He tried to move forward, Togeike helping to carry him forth, but it was for naught as Midoriya, still held up in the Humanite's paws, turned towards them.
"Go! Get everyone else out of here", he yelled, even as he clamped his own hand down, pinning himself and the Humanite together, "and get help!"
=== === === === ===
"After all this waiting, the heroic peace of trash shows up", Shigaraki murmured, as he looked down at Eraser Head, still passed out at his feet, the skin of his arm missing, and as his rage swelled, he slammed his hand down, right onto the Pro Hero's head.
Only to hit air.
Wind buffeted his face, and he looked down to find nothing, only to look back up and find Eraser Head on the other side of the plaza, cradled in All Might's arms.
"Dammit", he whispered, "he shouldn't be that fast", before shaking his head, "but he doesn't seem as fast as he used to be", he felt himself grin, "which means… sensei was right. He is getting weaker".
In the next moment, Eraser Head vanished, no doubt evacuated to wherever those damn kids had gotten themselves off to, and in that moment, Shigaraki knew what was coming next.
"CAROLINA-"
"Get him".
"-SMASH!"
The double blows to the collar bones should have incapacitated him, but his Nomu was already there to take the blow for him, the Shock Absorption Quirk dissipating the power behind the blows and leaving him nice and safe.
But All Might wasn't fazed.
He let loose with a series of body blows and haymakers, determined to pummel the beast into submission, but only for it to have no effect.
"It doesn't seem to matter where I punch you, does it?"
Shigaraki laughed, "That's because my Peacebreaker has Shock Absorption. The only way to defeat him would be to slowly gouge out his flesh, but I don't think he'll sit back and let you do that", he grinned viciously, "you've finally met your match".
It should have demoralised him, turned the Symbol of Peace's foolish courage into fear, but instead, the man laughed, a deep belly chuckle, as he turned a grin onto him that spoke of the purest of amusements, "Thank you, young villain".
"For what?"
He spat the words out, venom lacing each syllable, as All Might had the gall to wink at him.
"For telling me how to defeat him".
=== === === === ===
"Oof!"
Asa felt the air rush from her lungs, as she hit the ground, the impact on her tailbone jarring her entire body, and in place of a yell, her voice barely managed to let loose a whimper.
"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?!"
Asa forced herself to breathe, even as her lungs temporarily rebelled, as she looked up into the brightest pair of blue eyes that she'd ever seen.
"I didn't mean to run into you like that", Blue Eyes continued, absently rubbing the back of his bright blond head of hair, "but I'm looking for members of Class 1-B. They haven't shown up at the assembly point yet and we were starting to get a bit worried", his gorgeous eyes moved towards her shoulders, and she vaguely realised that he was looking at her uniform epaulettes, "you wouldn't happen to be one of them, would you?"
Still struggling for breath, she nodded, "Y- yes", she gasped, "v- vi- villain. Help!"
His bright blue eyes darkened with seriousness, darting back up towards her face, and she could feel herself flush red, as his demeanour changed, his eyes hardening, "There's a villain on campus? They attacked you?"
She nodded, not willing to trust her voice to speak for her, as Blue Eyes reached down, placing his hands on her waist and effortlessly lifting her to her feet.
She was suddenly very glad that neither Togeike nor Agoyamato were there to see her face.
"I need you to get outside and find someone from the faculty. Tell them they've been ordered to send in back-up", he told her, and she nodded rapidly in response, "my name's Mirio Togata, but if they ask who sent you, tell them the order came from Lemillion. Nejire-Chan, Suneater", he turned his head, and she followed his line of sight to find that there were two more students stood behind him, "let's go. We have work to do".
=== === === === ===
"Defeat him…", Shigaraki's voice trailed off, before he shook his head defiantly, "don't make me laugh!"
All Might couldn't help himself, he grinned, "You just said it yourself".
Drawing back, he threw himself into the fray and the Nomu named Peacebreaker met him head on: fist-to-fist, punch-to-punch.
Blow-for-blow.
His opening punch was as strong as any All Might had ever let loose on a single opponent, yet the creature didn't so much as flinch, and then he let loose with a series of body blows that would have left any professional fight looking at him in awe.
He landed shots to the body, "You said Shock Absorption", he pummelled the torso, "not Nullification", he attempted to cave in the jaw for good measure, "which means that there's a limit to what this guy can take, right", he grinned, "so let's see if we can find it".
All Might dug deep into the well of One For All, the power that had sustained his place as the World Symbol of Peace and Justice for over forty years and drove every speck of power it granted him, straight into the Nomu's body.
Peacebreaker fought back, landing blows of his own, but they were of no consequence to him. Pain was something he was accustomed to, and something he was used to ignoring. This foul creature had invaded his school, threatened his students, and tried to take the lives of his colleagues and, had he been just a few seconds later, they would already have been dead by the time they arrived.
Today, he was in no mood to take it easy against his enemies.
The creature screeched, renewing its assault, but then, he felt it take a step back.
It was giving up ground.
He grinned wider, gritting his teeth "So, you were made to fight me, were you, Peacebreaker? Hah! Well, if you can handle me using one hundred percent of my power, then I'll just have to go beyond that!"
One For All became a closed loop of power under his control, feeding through his system, building and building, as he pushed himself beyond the limits of the Quirk itself, until he was beyond the pain of the Nomu's assault, until every blow he landed did so with the power of a locomotive.
"A real hero", he told them, adopting the tone used in his lessons, one last lesson to the villains before he placed them behind bars where they could reflect and learn from their mistakes, "will always find a way for justice to be served", he grabbed Peacebreaker's arms, throwing him into the air, "and now it's time for your lesson".
Then he was above the Nomu, driving it back into the ground, "You may have heard these words before, but allow me to educate you on what they really mean… GO BEYOND!"
The ground shook beneath their feet, shockwaves emanating from his fists, as the walls of the USJ threatened to come tumbling down around them, as he met the Nomu once more, the creature vanishing, the glass ceiling above them shattering and the clouds parting, as his fist found the centre of his chest one last time.
"PLUS ULTRA!"
=== === === === ===
Oh, crap, was all Izuku could think, as he fell from the building.
Whether the Humanite was strong enough to simply leap up the side of the building, or if he had used his ape-like features to climb up the side of it, Izuku wasn't sure, but being punched through the wall was clearly not enough to stop him, (he took a moment to feel grateful that he hadn't killed or crippled him by hitting him as hard as he had), and he'd reappeared, grabbing him around the waist and raising him above his own head.
He wasn't sure if the Humanite was going to throw him, or slam him, but it hadn't mattered, he'd sent the others to find help and get to safety, and then, twisting his body, he'd clamped his hands down on one of the Humanite's arms and pulled with enough force to send them both falling out of the enormous hole in the wall.
It was in that moment, that other than getting his friends away from the villain that was attacking them, that Izuku realised that he didn't have a plan other than pulling the Humanite through the hole in the wall and hadn't given any thought to any other actions.
For example, he had no idea how he was going to land.
Thankfully, he hit the concrete with the Humanite's body sandwiched between his and the ground. The impact of the sudden stop was jarring, bucking him off of the creature, sending him rolling across the ground, scuffing and tearing his uniform more than it already was, but thankfully, he was unharmed.
Or at least, none of his bones felt broken.
Not that he actually knew what a broken bone would feel like, to compare it to, but he wasn't feeling anything and- OH CRAP!
He threw himself sideways, rolling onto the grass, as the Humanite's meaty fist created a crater where his body had just been.
He rushed to scramble to his feet, as the Nomu rounded on him, leaping forwards with a roar, but now that he had a firm footing, Izuku found that he was ready.
And now that he aware of just how much punishment, the creature could take, he didn't need to feel bad.
He didn't know if he could ever get used to the feeling of punching someone in the face. He certainly wouldn't go as far as to call it a good feeling, but given what Humanite had tried to do to him and his friends, Izuku wasn't going to say that punching him square on his dumb, apelike nose didn't give an immense sense of satisfaction.
It took the hit to the face and went flying backwards. Blood that was black in colour spurted out, which led to him feeling even more disturbed by the sight of it, but Izuku was quite certain that he'd put more than enough force in that punch to hurt even some of the more durable people that he knew.
Which only made it all the more worrying when the creature stood back up.
Its face was a mess, crushed and mangled, and Izuku felt the slightest bit sick to his stomach, knowing that he was responsible for it.
'SNAP!'
And then, Izuku watched on, partially in horror and partially in fascination, as the bones of his face snapped back into position.
Apparently, the Nomu could heal, and quickly at that, which explained just how it had managed to get back to its feet so soon after Izuku had accidentally punched it through his classroom wall.
Only this time, as it got back to its feet, it looked angry.
Izuku swallowed, realising for the first time, that his hands were shaking.
Only, for some reason, he didn't think that he felt nervous.
Not that that little revelation was going to help him defeat the self-repairing Nomu creature. He'd punched it square on, a solid hit using his superstrength, with more than enough force to seriously maim, if not outright kill someone with the baseline human resilience.
And yet the Humanite was already back on his feet.
He needed to figure out a way to put the creature down, in such a way that didn't kill it, but also wouldn't let it get back up to hurt his friends.
He just needed a way to figure out what that actually was.
Did he just need to try and hit it harder? Or was there some other way that he could gain-
"POWER!"
=== === === === ===
"Asa!"
"Agoyamato", she gasped, her eyes immediately snapping to the wound on his head, "Toegike", her hands flew to her mouth, immediately worried at the sorry sight that the two of them made, "what happened? Are you both alright? I ran away", she gasped her eyes filling with tears, "I'm so sorry, I-"
"Stop it", Agoyamato murmured, his eyes struggling to focus on her face, "you got out and got Mido help".
"Help", she realised, "where is-"
"Back there", Togeike told her, cutting her off, "holding that…thing back", she swallowed, "we ran into the help though. Thank you, for finding them, but we promised Midoriya that we'd help everyone else get out of here".
"R- right", she nodded, turning to face their remaining classmates, who were coming down the corridor behind them, "come on everyone", she called out, finding her voice, "let's go!"
They barely made it a step, before one of Agoyamato's legs buckled, but before he could hit the ground, or Asa could rush over to him, another body stepped in the way.
Shinso grunted at the excess of weight on his shoulders, his own knees bending for a moment, before he managed to push up with the added weight, turning to face the three of them, though Agoyamato's face was now growing dangerously lax.
"Thanks", Togeike murmured.
"Don't mention it".
Asa tried for a smile, "Still-"
"No, seriously", he cut her off, "don't mention it".
=== === === === ===
"You… you… you cheated!"
All Might just grinned, his hands settling on his hips, as he looked at the villains standing before him. Whoever the villain hidden in the mist was, he was yet to move, clearly waiting for orders, while the one covered in hands, was busy scratching his neck anxiously, yet very mindful to keep one of his fingers away from the skin of his neck.
The steam emanating from his body told him that he was at his limit, as if he couldn't feel it, now that he had released his hold on One For All's overwhelming power.
Quite frankly, if he moved right now, he didn't trust himself not to drop his transformation entirely.
But having just defeated something designed to defeat him, perhaps he could bluff the young villain into a surrender?
"What's wrong? Not attacking me? Please", he smiled, "come and get me - if you dare".
The villain reeled back, visibly shaking, and he grit his teeth to make sure that he didn't do the same, "Well, are you scared?"
The villain started hyperventilating, his fingers twitching and flexing, as if trying to grab onto something, and he was now surer than ever that the villain had a contact-based Quirk, likely requiring all five digits, if the raised finger from earlier had been any indication.
"If… if… if Peacebreaker were here, he'd rush you right now, crush you right now, pound you into the ground and grind you into the dirt. It's not fair…"
"Crime never is".
"Argh-"
"Tomura Shigaraki, please calm yourself", the mist villain spoke for the first time, giving him a name he could use to help identify them later, "and look at him-"
He had a moment to think 'shit', before the mist villain continued, ignorant to his thoughts.
"-the Peacebreaker's attacks were successful, he is clearly weakened and alone, his reinforcements are absent and our underlings are starting to revive. If you and I attack now, we may find that we have not lost out chance to kill All Might".
"Yes", Shigaraki rasped, "you're right, Kurogiri… this is it… we have no choice", his hands fell from his neck, his fingers splayed wide open, "we have to do it now, I mean, this is our final level boss battle and all we have to do is win".
As if to prove them right, some of the lower ranked villains from earlier were starting to stir, with a smaller handful already pushing themselves back up and onto their feet.
Even if he ignored them and chose to focus on the more dangerous two right in front of him, all he'd be doing was giving them leave to hunt down his students.
And that certainly wasn't an option.
His fist was shaking, his body was exhausted, but he'd happily lay down his life, break his own body, before these bastards got to lay their hands on his students.
"Kurogiri, let's go-"
BANG!
He tensed on instinct, his body prepared for the shock of a bullet, only for Tomura Shigaraki to be the one who fell.
He froze, his mind taking a second to catch up, because if there were bullets flying about and villains in need of medical attention, then that meant…
"They're here".
"Attentions, assorted villains with the confines of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint", Nezu called out politely, as he led his faculty into the damaged building, minus Recovery Girl, who was outside with the students, already hard at work tending to the dangerously injured Aizawa and Kurose, while treating the students as well, "I will say this once and only once", his polite smile turned vicious, "get out of my school".
Then all hell broke loose.
In the best way.
With a yell, Present Mic nearly deafened a dozen villains, driving them to their knees, as Ectoplasm and his clones burst forth, unleashing a vicious physical assault on a dozen villains simultaneously.
Stood high on a makeshift vantage point near the entrance, Snipe and his pistols picked off distant villain after distant villain, his face protected behind his gas mask, while Midnight, her whip and her Somnambulist gas dealt with anyone who dared to try and close the gap with him.
All Might could see them all, but he didn't have too: Vlad King, Power Loader, Hound Dog, Cementoss, they were all there as well, and he had no doubt that they were making the villain's regret their life choices.
"The pros are here; I guess that means we failed. It's game over", Shigaraki spat, "so we'll have to try this level again later and-"
BANG!
Shigaraki screamed, as a bullet tore through his shoulder.
BANG! BANG!
More bullets found their way into Tomura Shigaraki's legs, causing him to collapse to the floor, needing his hands to hold him up, but before the heroes could press the advantage, Kurogiri was already there, wrapping him up within his mist, until only his eyes were visible.
Snipe continued to rain down covering fire, but Kurogiri seemed to absorb them all without issue, leaving Tomura Shigaraki free to stare at him with more hatred than anything he had seen before, and as the mist closed up, taking him away to safety, he spoke one last time, his voice filled with rage.
"I may have failed to kill you this time, All Might, but mark my words, I will be the one to kill you. Your days as the Symbol of Peace are already numbered, after all… if you're all standing here, then who's defending your precious school?"
=== === === === ===
"POWER!"
Izuku froze for a moment, the battle cry stalling him in his tracks, and the only saving grace was that the Humanite hesitated too.
And just as he did, an uppercut straight out of the floor rocked his jaw.
The newcomer materialised out of the floor, his speed propelled him into what would have been a knockout blow on any other type of opponent, and it was only as he landed, that he realised that his potential rescuer was almost completely naked, with the singular exception of a pair of bright yellow underwear.
Landing on the concrete, his hands moving to his hips, as he puffed out his chest in a pose designed to convey strength, Izuku already knew that the newcomer wouldn't know that the Humanite could regenerate, and was already moving to pull him back, as the Humanite recovered, swiping at his head.
"Look out!"
Izuku's desperate warning, however, seemed to be for nought, as the Humanite's arms, instead of crushing the new guy's body, passed straight through him, and as half-lunged as he was, Izuku decided to not waste the surprise that his superspeed was allowing him to take advantage off, delivering a follow-up punch of his own to the Humanite's chest, that sent him flying back, skidding across the ground.
"Nice hit", the newcomer grinned.
"His body can regenerate", he told him, not taking his eyes off the Humanite, who was already pushing himself back up to his feet, "he's also strong and fast. I don't know what to do to keep him down".
"Well", the blond turned to face him, one hand resting on his chin in a thinking pose, "there are a couple of things we can try, right guys?"
"R- right".
"You got it!"
Izuku span on the spot and found two more people approaching.
Thankfully, other than their jackets, which had been tossed on the ground behind them, they were still wearing their school uniforms.
The first was another guy, though whereas blond guy seemed completely unconcerned with his own state of near nudity, the newcomer was doing his best to shrink in on himself, as he kept his eyes on the ground. His hair was a dark shade of indigo, and while messy, still somewhat neater than Izuku's own. The only other distinguishing feature that stood out at a first glance were his ears, which were longer than normal with pointed tips that reminded Izuku of the drawings of elves he'd seen in some fantasy books.
The girl that accompanied him, couldn't have been more different.
For starters, she was flying.
He could see soft, golden spirals of energy emanating from her feet, as she gently glided alongside her friend, only where he seemed to be shy and determined not to look at them, she was smiling widely, and had there not been a creature determined to kill them, just a few feet away, he had the distinct impression that she would've tried to give him a hug. She was pretty, with big, round eyes that were a bright shade of blue, and which matched her long, periwinkle blue, hair perfectly, and when she turned her smile on him, he could feel his face heating up involuntarily.
As if on cue, the blond boy beside him chuckled, "I'm Lemillion, that's Suneater and Nejire-Chan", he introduced them quickly, before giving the others his attention, "guys, we need to push this guy back, pin him down, and then Suneater", the other boy seemed to momentarily wilt, before straightening up as Lemillion continued to speak, "you need to knock him out".
That was all the time they had to strategize, because, with a roar, the Humanite had regained his footing and was back, once again trying to kill them all.
"Move!"
With a yell, Lemillion charged at the Nomu, as his friends separated; Izuku hung back, not wanting to get in their way, as it was immediately obvious that the three of them had worked together before.
Lemillion charged forward, fist drawn back, as Nejire-Chan followed behind them, golden spirals swirling around her hands and feet, seeming to build a charge as she brought her hands up in front of her.
"Nejire Wave!"
Just as Lemillion threw his punch, Nejire-Chan blasted energy from her hands at his back, and just as it should have bruned through his skin, Izuku watched, as transfixed as he had been earlier, as it passed straight through him, and Lemillion passed straight through the Humanite.
Landing behind the Humanite, Lemillion snagged his arms and pulled them both backwards, "Suneater, n- woah!"
The Humanite swung his hands forwards, instantly overpowering Lemillion's grip, but before it could throw him off completely, Izuku made his move.
In an instant, he was beside the other boy, grabbing one of the Humanite's arms, he yanked it back once again, locking both of his hands on one of his wrists, and saw that Lemillion did the same, the two of them holding him in place.
"NOW!"
"Nejire Wave!"
"Tentacle Takedown!"
A second blast of energy that Izuku couldn't see, but could certainly feel, struck the Humanite once again. Izuku tightened his grip on the creature's wrists, as Lemillion did the same, and then, from somewhere he couldn't see, a mass of octopus tentacles appeared.
They wrapped around the Humanite, strong and dexterous, and it was as they tightened up that Izuku realised that they were wrapped around the Humanite's neck.
The creature thrashed about, jarring and desperate to pull them off of him, but Izuku and Lemillion held firm, even as Nejire-Chan's assault ended.
Izuku didn't know how long they held firm for; it could have been second, minutes or hours, but he knew, even without asking, that Lemillion was as determined as he was to make sure that the Humanite wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else.
Thankfully, Lemillion's plan was working.
The more that the Humanite thrashed and jerked about, the weaker he seemed to become. It lasted far longer than any normal person would have, but the longer that Suneater held his grip, the quicker the creature seemed to weaken, and then, mercifully, it fell to its knees, its strength fading completely, as it finally collapsed into unconsciousness.
Izuku and Lemillion let go of its arms as it fell, and the blond moved to sit down on the floor, and seeing nothing better to do, Izuku moved to join him.
They sat there together, enjoying the calm and quiet of the moment, as Suneater and Nejire-Chan moved to stand beside them, and after a moment, Izuku's hearing could pick up the distant sound of sirens approaching.
"Oh, sure", he muttered, as the sirens grew loud enough for everyone else to be able to hear them, "now they show up".
There was a long pause, as Suneater and Nejire-Chan looked down at his seated form, but like a dam breaking, all it took was Lemillion to chuckle, before the others joined in, and then, just like that, the four of them were laughing, sat beside an unconscious Nomu, in front of a building that had a large hole in its side.
When the paramedics showed up, less than two minutes later, they took in the sight of them and promptly realised that they had no idea what to do.
=== === === === ===
Author's Note
Some of the text for this chapter is either adapted or taken verbatim from the English Dub of Season 1, Episode 12: "All Might".
He appeared at the end of the last chapter, but with this, you have all know met the first villain that the Izuku of Earth-2238 has encountered: Humanite.
He's a Nomu, inspired by the Superman villain, 'Ultra-Humanite', who's had several appearances over the years, the most well-known of which is an albino gorilla that appeared in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited TV series, as well as Young Justice and Stargirl, while his dinosaur incarnation, (yes, that's a thing), appeared in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The Ultra-Humanite was the first supervillain that Superman ever faced, and in some ways, served as a prototype for Lex Luthor, being a character that could outsmart Superman with his vast intellect.
Second up, we have the canonical Nomu that appears in the USJ, and here, to help distinguish between the two of them in writing, I've given him the codename: Peacebreaker. One part reference to the fact that he was created to defeat the Symbol of Peace, on part reference to the DC Comics character 'Peacemaker', usually a violent D-list vigilante, who has come to the forefront of DC Comics, since his appearances in the DCEU and DCU, where he is primarily portrayed by John Cena.
Izuku meets the Big Three for the first time, which is always significant, so I'll wonder what'll come of that.
Friendly reminder that if you find yourself in Japan, the number to dial for the police in case of an emergency is: 110.
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- MarvelMatt