As Bakugo underwent his awakening in the Dreamspace, and just before the Stain and others arrived above the Detention Center in LA, Iron Mentor was staring at the huge, old man in front of him.
Iwao already had a large stature, towering at 6'1'' with a muscular body.
The old man in front of him, though, was a foot taller than him and many times wider.
Even in a Quirk-based society, Iwao had rarely met people of this size.
But the size of the old man wasn't the question here. It was his presence and the absence of the Spatial Barrier that Iwao had come to destroy.
"You took your sweet time," Alexander Becking said, scratching his ear. "I even took a nap…"
Iwao's Spirituality hadn't risen as much as Dr. Blessed and young Kazuho after becoming a Beyonder, because the Marauder Pathway wasn't focused heavily on Spiritual stuff in the early Sequences.
However, because of his innate Spirituality already being higher than even ordinary Quirk users, he was still much sensitive to Spirituality-based phenomena — like sensing danger.
And the danger Iwao was sensing from the old man had already surpassed the one he had felt upon meeting Dr. Blessed for the first time — bordering on the time when he had lost his Quirk to… All For One.
Suddenly, Iwao noticed another thing. It wasn't as important as the danger. Nor was it as crucial as finding the true location of the Spatial Barrier. Even then, he couldn't help but notice it because of the sheer oddity of it.
When Iwao had walked inside the Hall, the old man's eyes were blue.
Now, slowly, the blue within them was fading, getting replaced by gray.
"… You don't act like a Villain," The Warden remarked. "… Name's Alex, by the way. I am sure you are looking for the Spatial Barrier, right? Well. You are looking at it. What will you do now?"
Iwao's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
Alex chuckled. "Don't you get it?!" he asked, lighting a cigar. "There is no Spatial Barrier… Sure, there are ways to disrupt teleportation with technology, but they are limited to a few feet at best. On the scale of this Center?! Tch-tch!"
Iwao was shocked.
Not only because of the sudden reveal, but also because of an uncanny realization.
The more Alex talked, the more Iwao felt that he wasn't as old as he was looking… Hell, the man sounded even younger than him, and he was less than 55 years old.
"You realized it?" Alex asked, puffing out smoke and raising his brows. "Not so bad, huh? Yes. My Quirk makes me age faster… in appearance."
Iwao was having quite an ominous feeling about all this.
Why was this person talking so much… telling him about his Quirk, which was obviously USA's state secret?!
Alex grinned. "Because…" he said, flicking his cigar. "… No one leaves this place under my watch…"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion coming from outside was so loud that it reached deep at the center of the Detention Center.
Iwao had just stabilized himself when his heart skipped a beat. At some point, in a fraction of a moment, the humongous guy had vanished.
Invisibility?! Iwao asked himself, gobsmacked. No…
The Swindler sensed a presence behind him, and he threw out knives without looking, trying to ignore Alex's sheer speed.
But as Iwao turned back to face the enemy, his eyes widened.
Even before the knives reached Alex, they fell as if…
"Cough!" Iwao coughed out blood as the mountain fell upon him, bending his knees. "You…"
Alex casually walked up to Iron Mentor, his gray eyes glowing bluer again. "I thought you guys were those subtle types, huh? No? Another group of Villains, then? Hmm… Interesting… No wonder She reached out to me… after so much time. Anyway, nice to meet you. Don't worry. We will have enough time to share a cigar later. For now… why don't you take a nap?"
Then, with one flick of Alex's finger, the mountain pressing upon Iwao's body doubled in size.
With a bloody grunt, Iwao's eyes rolled back in his head, losing consciousness.
…
Bakugo felt awakened… alive… better than ever.
The rush he was feeling inside his body was so pure that he couldn't help but smile, clenching his fingers and toes. Toes…
Bakugo's head snapped to his legs, his red pupils widening.
A wide, unsettling grin plastered itself on his face, making even Rikuya frown.
[Hurry…]
Both Bakugo and Rikuya heard the voice.
For the first time, Bakugo saw the blue mote of light pulsating over the guy's head.
Dream Walker's eyes shone blue. "… USA?!" he asked, shocked. "Can I even… Sigh!"
At first, Bakugo hadn't believed this Dream Walker.
But, after… awakening, he realized that Dream Walker must have gone through awakening recently as well.
Rikuya walked up to Bakugo, taking a deep breath. "Are you ready?"
"We are going to America?" Bakugo asked. "… You do know that I am UA's student, right?"
"I am UA's student, too," Rikuya said, shocking the living breath out of Bakugo. "Don't worry. With our… changed Quirks, and a nice touch of costume, no one will recognize us. Let's go…"
"Wait!" Bakugo said, not taking Rikuya's hand. "What will we do there?"
This time, and perhaps for the first time, Rikuya let out a wide smile. "Kick asses…"
Then, grabbing Bakugo's hand by the wrist, and focusing on the new coordinates, Rikuya… stepped into the blackness.
…
A wave of panic washed over the Heroes as one of them got instantly buried by the Nomu.
"… Fake…" Stain judged instantly, his eyes glowing red. "All of these are just fakes…"
Shigaraki scratched his neck, seeing the Nomu killing a Hero so easily. "… We are gonna have a blast, I guess… Nomu… Kill them all…"
Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Just as the Near High End Nomu was about to lunge, though, a mountain fell on it.
As the Nomu's legs bent under the pressure, a figure appeared on top of its head, wearing casual shorts, an open shirt, and slippers.
American Vengeance: Alexander Becking — Quirk: Gravity Crusher — was finally here…
… along with the two newly inducted Radiants of Singularity!
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