Chapter 14: Numquam Primum
With the metal suit villain out of the way and the Shigaraki in front of him not being who Gizon thought of, Gizon knew he was a good attack. But as soon as he heard Shigaraki give that command his eyes went wide. Despite running his footsteps had been quiet, training from his father always made sure Gizon's footsteps were quiet. Yet somehow Shigaraki still heard him and gave Gizon barely any time to see the large beaked creature move. It disappeared from Gizon's sight only to reappear right in front of Gizon. Gizon's senses went wide as Nomu's aura of uncontrolled chaos lifted the area around it.
Gizon slammed his feet into the ground in an attempt to stop himself but Nomu closed in. Nomu then threw a punch and Gizon's instincts barely saved his life and allowed him to jump over Nomu. Gizon quickly made a plan to attack Nomu from behind but before Gizon had a chance to land Nomu turned and swatted him away. Gizon barely had a chance to raise his arm to protect himself and when Nomu's massive purple fist rammed into Gizon's arm he knew he wouldn't be able to absorb all of the impact.
Thinking fast, Gizon absorbed as much as he could of the impact as possible. Then allowed the rest of the force to send him flying. As soon as Gizon hit the ground he rolled, but was a mistake as pain shot through his arm. As he came to a stop Gizon looked down a this arm and saw both of his arm had turned purple, with bone stick out of the skin.
"Hisahito." Eraserhead said, forcing himself over to his student. Gizon got to his knees and felt that his left arm was broken and his right was fractured, "Are you okay?"
Gizon spat out some blood in his mouth as he stood up, Blood poured to come out of the break and Gizon gritted his teeth as he felt his quirk pushing its upper limit to heal the injuries. Bones were forcible pulled back in, the skin knitted back again, blood vessel and muscle sew back in place and his skin finally turning back to it normal color. As the pain disappeared Gizon let out a pained breathe as he could feel his quirk was practically on empty. All that he gotten from the Nomu had gone into healing his arm. "Peachy. That 'Nomu' must have a strength-enhancing quirk. His hits felt like All Might's." Gizon looked at Nomu and noticed that his punch had been powerful enough to also kick up dust. Gizon knew he wouldn't be able to survive a punch like that unless his quirk was fully empty and about to absorb as much as possible, "That's what Kurogiri must have meant when he said they came to kill AllMight. That Nomu, that creature, whatever is it. It's their weapon designed to kill All Might, his quirk must be as powerful as All Might.."
"No, he doesn't. I cancelled his quirk at the last second, yet it did nothing." Eraserhead said though he didn't know why he was telling Gizon this information. He was only a first-year high schooler, what could he possibly do against someone whose strength was on the level of All Might? Maybe it was because Gizon had willingly stepped in to protect him, so maybe he deserved to know what he was up to again. No Eraserhead needed to focus and get his student out of the way.
"Eraserhead, someone managed to get past Kurogiri. I heard him tell Shigaraki, but I don't know who. But if I had to guess it would have been Iida. He's the fastest out of us and I didn't see him get teleported. Chances are he's running to get a signal to the main campus." Gizon said as he heard footsteps walking up to them. He got ready to defend but then he looked up and saw Momo and Jirou, "Girls, you need to get Eraserhead out of here and up to the entrance. I'll hold off the villains as long as I can. Backup should be arriving soon."
"No. Hisahito, you are a student and are not ready to face those villains. They're not your average street thug, you have no chance against them." Eraserhead said. He was a pro hero and a teacher, his priority was the safety of his students, and he should not be allowing one of them to throw themselves at villains.
Yet Eraserhead caught Gizon's eyes, there was no fear, no hesitation within them. He looked ready to fight, but not just to protect for the fun of it, no Gizon has some remorse in his eyes. As if he had to make up for something. "And you think you can do any better. Like you said, your quirk did nothing against Nomu's strength. Until All Might arrives I'm the only one that can hold him off. Yaoyorozu, when you get back to the upper platform, Thirteen is going to need your help. Now go." Gizon commanded. His voice was stern, so Momo and Jirou didn't argue.
Eraserhead wanted to protest, he was going against everything he stood for. but Momo and Jirou lifted him over their shoulder and began to drag him away. Gizon took a breath as he held his arms out in front of him. Then a small yell, Gizon drew his arms into his natural stance and clenched his jaw as he clenched his fists, a sore stiffness come from having them just forcefully set back in place. That pain had been enough to make a normal person black out, but Gizon had gotten used to it.
As the stiffness found its place in Gizon's mind, he smiled as he faced the villains. He had something to make up for. He had made the wrong choice too many times in his life, it had hurt people, caused death and made Gizon sick to his stomach. Now that he had a chance to turn his life around, he wasn't going to let a whiny boy with that man's name take that away from him.
"You think that since you're willing to let yourself get killed just to save your fellow students, you're a hero." Shigaraki said as he looked Gizon over. This student was standing before him without an injury to show his previous fights, the only mark on him was his missing shirt, and he was willing to continue fighting. And that pissed Shigaraki off.
Nothing was supposed to get in his way. All Might was supposed to be waiting for him. Kurogiri was supposed to get the NPCs out of the way and Shigaraki would send Nomu after All Might. Yet Player Two wasn't here and an NPC had made themselves Player Three. A Player that was somehow holding their own against the Anti-All Might.
"I've got a lot of past mistakes to make up for. If I can't start right now, then I might as well die." Gizon said. He knew he could hold back Nomu, but that would require his full attention. That left Shigaraki, Gizon hoped that name didn't mean anything to its current user, and Kurogigi to act as they pleased.
"I can make that happen. Nomu, kill this punk." Shigaraki commanded. Nomu yelled as he once again charged forward, ready to kill Gizon.
Maybe it was because of the extra energy Gizon was getting from absorb the impact from running or the adrenaline. Most likely a combination of both, but this time Gizon was able to follow Nomu's movement. They were still fast and Gizon still had a hard time following them, yet he was able to react.
Gizon was able to dodge the first three attacks but was blindsided by a backhand. As before Gizon absorbed as much of the attack as he could, but his quirk was less full this time, so the energy leftover was less. Gizon prepared himself as he went flying again. As he flew he managed to flip himself upright in the air. Once Gizon's feet hit the ground, he went his jaw mend itself back to together and put into back, causing Gizon to bite down in panic. He slide back a few extra feet as the skin over his jaw repeated.
As Gizon caught his breath, he raised a hand and felt his jaw. It seemed everything was back in place. Dropping his hand Gizon stared down Nomu and roared. A Gizon's roar echoed through the open space, his eyes turned yellow and a bright yellow biblical glow surrounded him. As the biblical glow flocculated around Gizon, the color turned into a golden hue. As Gizon brought his head down, he launched himself forwards.
Nomu screeched back as Gizon got close and it threw a punch. Gizon vaulted onto Nomu's first and using it as a platform, Gizon swung his feet ground and kicked Nomu in the side of the head. To make sure his attack did something, Gizon poured half of his quirk's energy into the kick. With that amount of energy, Gizon felt his leg begin to sprain, but then he became surprised when the Nomu didn't go flying. Nomu's head had barely even moved from where Gizon's foot was pressing against it.
Gizon withdrew his leg and then the glow around him turned a deeper golden. Gizon poured the rest of his quirk's energy into the attack and then some. But when Gizon's foot connected with Nomu's jaw, Gizon felt all the bones in his foot break. And yet still Nomu stayed in place.
"One of Nomu's quirks is shock absorption. No matter how much force your attacks have, nothing will harm Nomu. Kill him." Shigaraki said. Gizon thought about how Nomu could have a quirk similar to himself, but Nomu hadn't used energy the same way Gizon's quirk was The force of the attack was simply disappearing, moreover, Eraserhead had explained that Nomu's strength didn't come from a quirk.
Gizon's mind went wild trying to put all the pieces together, but then Nomu grabbed both of Gizon's arms and pulled them apart. Gizon yelled as he was forced into a crude copy of Hercule's hold. Gizon poured the rest of his energy into his quirks, making itself double on its self before going back to muscle only to repeat the progress. Gizon's arms began to glow yellow then glow began golden as Gizon kept himself from being torn in half. As Gizon continued to overwork his quirks, he began to pull his arms in, overpowering Nomu. As Gizon continued to pull his arms in, he stared Nomu in its blank eyes. Gizon's arms almost had his sides as the biblical golden glow enveloped his entire body. Then Gizon felt warm blood starting to flow down his lips and fall off his chin. The strain from his quirk was becoming too much for his body to handle
Nomu screamed, then brought its foot up and kicked Gizon in the gut. Like before Gizon's abosrb all that he could, his eye glow yellow before turning normal and Gizon went flying back. However, this time instead of landing on the ground, Gizon crashed into the base of the stairs that led up to the entrance platform. As he crashed, a crater formed around his body. He groaned a bit and picked his head up, his body was screaming in pain as his quirks began to repair his body.
Gizon's vision came into focus and he immediately wished it hadn't. As he saw Nomu slowly walking up to him. Gizon had to overclock his quirk once to save himself and if he didn't get to his foot soon then he would be defenseless against the monster designed to kill All Might. Even then if he wanted to defeat Nomu he was going to need some help.
Once those that remained after Kurogiri 's teleported everyone else away, had handled the villain, sending him back to Shigaraki. Ochaco ran over and watched from the top of the stairs, as Gizon jumped in to protect Mr. Aizawa from the energy blast. She silently cheered as Gizon attacked the metal giant and injured him. Though she would never admit it, she silently cheered that Shigaraki had taken the metal villain out of the fight, leaving only the damaged suit behind.
But then Gizon had been caught by Nomu and beaten back. Ochaco knew she needed to help but she froze. She didn't have control and right now would be the worst time and place to injure herself. She would just get stuck in the middle of everything.
"Uraraka," Momo called out, drawing Ochaco's attention down the stairs. She saw Momo and Jirou carrying Mr Aizawa. He was broken and beaten and only conscious due to his seer stubborn will, "We need your quirk, Mr. Aizawa is heavy."
Ochaco immediately hurried down to them, watching Gizon fend off the Nomu as she ran. She reached the girls and their teacher and used her quirk on Mr Aizawa. She helped them carry their teacher up the stairs, but then Gizon was sent flying into the base of the stairs.
"Hisahito." The girls yelled. Gizon had just saved Momo and Jirou from a lifetime of embarrassment and Ochaco had known how right-hearted he was. He was starting to make himself to be the strongest member of 1-A, but if he was beaten back so badly. So much that his body was broken and he was struggling so much to just sit up. Ochaco gritted her teeth, she couldn't let him struggle on his own. She turned to Momo and Jirou and said, "You need to hurry up the stairs. Yaoyorozu, Thirteen is going to need your help with first aid. I'll get Hisahito and bring him up.
The two girls look at Gizon, then at the top of the stairs, "Just go." Ochaco said then didn't wait for another second. Cancelling her own gravity, Ochaco launched herself at Gizon. The moment she was above the crater she cancelled her quirk and landed next to Gizon, where he was forcing himself out of the stairs. He stood up on his own feet, but he was swaying back and forth. As Ochaco jumped down into the crate and slid down to Gizon, "Hisahito."
"Uraraka, I thought I told you to call me Gizon." Gizon mumbled, looking over at Ochaco. His eyes were glazed over, out of focus. Yet he was conscious enough to complain about being called Hisahito.
"Come. We need to get to the top of the stairs. Iida escaped and ran for backup." Ochaco said and used her quirk on Gizon, but then Gizon grabbed her wrist. He applied just enough pressure on her wrist to stop her from closing her fingers.
"No, I have to continue to fight Nomu. I'm the only one that can hold him back." Gizon said. His body was broken and beaten, and his healing was slowing down. He couldn't last much longer, but he wasn't going to give up.
"You'll die." Ochaco said, pulling Gizon out of the crater. Yet Gizon grabbed ahold of a piece of rubble and kept himself from being pulled up the stairs. Ochaco was surprised, even broken and beaten Gizon still had the strength to keep himself from being moved. They had only known each other for a week, but Ochaco didn't want to see one of her classmates die. Well maybe except for one, but Ochaco tried not to think about that.
"And if I don't, everyone else does too. A hero's job is to protect them. Giving their all to save the people around them. A hero would fight with their life, to allow others to smile." Gizon said, finally looking Ochaco in the eyes. He planted his feet on the ground, his body mostly healed and a small yellow glow pulsed over his body.
Gizon's words echoed through Ochaco's mind. They were the same words All Might had told her when she was deciding whether to accept One for All. She looked at Gizon in the eyes and saw the same strength and fight within his eyes, as she had seen in All Might. Gizon might not have One for All but to Ochaco, Gizon was acting the same as All Might.
"You're not the only one that can fight against Nomu," Ochaco said, cancelling her quirk on Gizon. If Gizon was determined to fight Nomu, then Ochaco would do her best to fight alongside him. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on Nomu. He was slowly walking to them, his villainous aura fighting against Ochaco and Gizon's heroic one.
"I've got one last good attack on me. I'll be going all out." Gizon said. His eyes flashed golden and his right hand started to glow. The biblical glow around Gizon's arms was no longer soft, but razor-cut and pointed "Would you do me the honors of doing the same."
Ochaco nodded. She really hadn't practiced using One for All. She had managed to localize the strength of the quirk to single parts of her body, thus minimizing the damage. But she couldn't control the percentage when she used, it was either 0 or 100. However, Gizon made it clear that if Nomu made it to the stairs, everyone was dead. People that Ochaco considered friends, so it seems 100 percent was needed.
"Good. Let's go." Gizon said. Ochaco powered up One for All in her legs and they rocketed towards Nomu. Time to see how they handled themselves and if they could protect their friends.
As they neared Nomu, it threw a punch. It would have connected, but suddenly the glow around Gizon grew, and then he seemed to teleport to the side and block the punch. As he blocked, the aura around his right arm exploded out into a ring, before turning golden and gathering around his arm but brither and sharper. Ochaco, however, saw that was causing him great pain, yet it had cleared the way for their attack. It gave Gizon and Ochaco a path to draw their fist back and rocket them forward.
Gizon had told himself that he was more than his past, beyond everything that had been given to him. By his father and that man. Yet those experiences, those powers were tied to him and he wasn't going to lose them any time soon. Gizon had only known 1-A for a week, and well that didn't make this fight personal for him. He was starting to become friends with them, and how poetic that the first people he had a chance to save as Gizon Hisahito would be them. Yet his base quirk wasn't enough. He might regret his past and everything, but he knew he had to use it to save his friends.
As Gizon fist hit Nomu in the jaw, Gizon consciously activated a second quirk. The biblical glow around his body turned entirely golden and looked as if it was cutting through the air, and in his mind Gizon yelled, "Force multiplier times 10!"
Ocaho could feel that her punch wasn't doing any damage to Nomu. Was this all she had to offer while Gizon was willing to give it his all? He is sacrificing his life, and his career to save our classmates. So much that the pain he felt was making him bleed. Was she not willing to do the same?
She was the ninth user of One for All. All Might trusts her to become the next symbol of peace. That meant she had to work harder than anyone else. Take on responsibilities that no one else could fulfil. She was the next symbol of Peace. Ochaco poured her heart and soul into One For All as it overtook her body, "Go Beyond, Plus Ultra. One for All. Beyond my limits, beyond 100%."
As they attacked Gizon's entire body flashed golden, while Ochaco's hair floated up a bit and took on a pink hue. Nomu seemed to hold its place, but with everything against it, he began to move backwards. Then with a bit more effort together as heroes, Gizon and Ochaco sent Nomu flying back
Shigaraki watched as two dumb students rushed Nomu. One of them had been informed of Nomu's shock absorption and yet he continued to fight. The other student seemed to simply follow her classmate, following him into a fight that could only end with both of them getting killed.
They somehow managed to dodge Nomu's attack and got in close to land a hit. But Shigaraki smiled no matter how hard they hit Nomu's shock absorption was too strong and nothing would get through, But both their bodies flashed into bright colors and Nomu let out a shriek and then was launched right back at Shigaraki. He began to panic as the large body of Nomu came right at him.
"Nomu stop yourself." Shigaraki yelled. Luckily Kurogiri was quicker to action, wrapping himself and Shigaraki out of Nomu's path.
Nomu heard Shigaraki's command and dug his hands and legs into the ground. It dug trenches as it slowed down, kicking up the loose dirt. Gizon noticed that smoke was rising from Nomu's hands and feet, slowly burning the fresh off from the friction. Nomu stopped itself and the bones of its hands and feet were seen.
Gizon and Ochaco landed and as they rose golden and pink hue held in the air around them. Their hues flickered and then dispapeared and Ochaco's hair lost it highlights. Yet both still stood tall and Ochaco called out "Your Nomu is out of the fight and you have no hope of fighting both of us."
"How did you beat Nomu's shock absorption?" Shigaraki yelled, like a little kid. Like a little kid that wasn't getting a toy that he wanted.
"Absorption, not nullification, That's sometime I'm all too familiar dealing with, it had handle a lot but it can get overwhelmed if there to much to absorb at once. Now give up." Gizon said. He was breathing heavily but was managing to stay on his feet. the golden glow might have disappeared, but his eyes were still pointed and he was ready for more.
"Nomu, attack." Shigaraki yelled. He was here to kill All Might if a pair of high schoolers wanted to get in his way, he would get rid of them. Just two more deaths to shake the world with.
"He can't." Gizon said, but then he saw Nomu come running at him. His hands and feet were healed and he was barreling towards them.
"Shock Absorption isn't Nomu's only quirk." Shigaraki said, "He has hyper regeneration, and it's better than yours."
Gizon couldn't believe Nomu couldn't have more than one quirk. Then again he had more than one quirks, but then that meant. Gizon froze, that man was still alive, only he could created Nomu and he sent his disciple to attack USJ. If that man found out about Gizon, then. Gizon was pulled from his thoughts as Nomu was upon them. He didn't have time to think about what this all meant. He quickly grabbed Ochaco and put himself between her and Nomu's fists. He felt the punch, not even worrying about absorbing any of the impact.
Gizon managed to hold his ground, but then Nomu drew back its fist and ploughed it fist through Gizon's arms. The two UA students went flying, Gizon grabbed Ochaco and rotated himself in the air, so he hit the stairs first. The moment Gizon's back hit the stairs he felt his ribs finally break. But not worried about that, he looked at Ochaco and saw that her legs and left hand were purple. Whatever this application of Zero Gravity was, it was doing serious damage to her body.
Ochaco looked around in a daze as she used her good hand to pull herself up, "We have to continue to fight." She tried to pull herself out of the ground, but Gizon stopped her.
"No, we can't. We can't beat that thing." Gizon said as he struggled to heal his body., but it was slow as, he lost count how many time he had to heal his body. but his quirks were becoming strained. If Nomu had multiple quirks and the name Shigarkai was still around, that could only mean one thing. Shigaraki did have a connection to that man, which meant All Might wasn't as successful as he thought he was. The Symbol of Evil was still alive and kicking.
"But you were confident a few minutes ago," Ochaco said, confused by Gizon's sudden reverse of beliefs. With all the adrenalin running through her body, she hadn't realized how broken she or Gizon were.
"That was before I knew that All for One was involved," Gizon said. In his hysteria, he didn't think about whether Ochaco would recognize the name. And if she did how she would react to how he knew the name? Nor did he really care, even people who didn't know who he was, from the name alone felt something.
"It doesn't matter… Wait, how do you know about All for One." Ochaco began to panic. If Gizon knew about All for One, was there a chance he knew about One for All? How much did he know, were All Might and Ochaco in danger? Had One for all accidentally been revealed?
"That doesn't matter, but it sounds like you know that name too. If you knew half of what I knew, you would understand we can't do anything against that thing now." Gizon said. His mind was fuzzy, and he could barely see Ochaco. He felt his quirk urging him forwards, to protect himself and his classmates.
"But Nomu will kill everyone. Are we just going to sit around and let that happen?" Ochaco said.
Suddenly a loud ringing sound echoed through the USJ, followed by a second one, and then the sound of something large and metal hitting the floor. Then the atmosphere felt charged with an aura that once lifted it up with peace. Peace then was now being condensed into a feeling of fury.
Gizon didn't even need to look up to know who had arrived. One For All did not fail to explain perfectly the light that All Might gave to the world. Gizon was starting to understand how pissed the self-proclaimed demon lord off so much. A man who wanted nothing more than powerful to be the most feared, to lose against a feeling of such peace. Gizon had to laugh a bit, "Talk about perfect timing. Backup arrived just in time."
Chapter 15: With Heart and Extra Help
Toshinori hated fate. He knew he had lost track of time doing hero work in the morning, but he hadn't realized how badly he had done, but he was in the teacher's lounger. Wit ha sigh he deflate and everything felt fine but the he proceeded to spit out an alarming amount of blood from a normal person. Toshinori was just glad it wasn't as bad as it used to be whenever he went past his time limit. After wiping his lips, Toshinori sat down on the couch. And then before the thought of having a chance to relax could his mind, the door opened and Principal Nezu walked in.
Toshinori had heard horror stories from his coworker when he first joined the faculty. Horror stories about Principal Nezu's lectures, and how dull they were and it seemed as if Principal Nezu had a second quirk that didn't allow anyone present to fall asleep as long as he kept talking. From the stories from his co-worked Toshinori had been warned about the signs. First: the recipient of the lecture had done something wrong and they knew it. Check
Second: Principal Nezu would find them alone. In a location where they would not be disturbed for some time. Check. Double-check as Principal Nezu locked the door. Third: Principal Nezu wrould have a small on his face with a villainous glint in his eyes. All the while never once looking at the recipient until the lecture began. Check. Fourth: Principal Nezu would walk to his chair as he did not have a care in the world. Check.
Fifth: the way to know how long the lecture was going to be was whether a tea pot and tea cups seemed to magically appear in front of Nezu. No tea usually meant only an hour to an hour and a half. If only one cup appears, two hours at the minimum. Two cups meant another hour on top of that, as Principal Nezu expected the recipient to answer any question he gave them and would not move on until he received an answer he liked.
Sixth and the most feared: the type of tea. The tea in general and the cups were a good indication of how long the lecture would be. If the recipient was to taste Imperial Black Leaf Tea, they would need to prepare themselves for half an hour of complete silence, while Principal Nezu quietly judged them, followed by a single question and once Principal Nezu received an answer he would wait another twenty minutes before he dove into a six-hour lecture that typically would have a quiz at the end.
Toshinori had heard the stories of a teacher who had received the Imperial Leaf Tea lectures and would quit the next day. The only one to receive that lecture and still be a teacher was Eraserhead, but look where that put him. So being the number 1 hero and this being his first month of teaching Toshinori thought he was safe. Yet as he tasted the tea he learned how wrong he was.
So after the thirty-minute wait, Principal Nezu asked, "As a teacher of UA and someone who holds their student's future in their hands, what is your top priority?"
"To teach them how to handle foreseen events, but prepare and give them the skills to handle unforeseen events." Toshinori froze as he realized he wouldn't know if he had the right answer and would only know after 20 minutes. And if he did have the wrong answer, that just added another 20 minutes of waiting.
Though surprisingly only after ten minutes of Principal Nezu judging the symbol of peace, he nodded his head and began his lecture. Toshinori's relief of having the right answer and one good enough to warrant a ten-minute wait was short-lived as he realized how the stories he heard did not do the actual thing justice.
An hour after Principal Nezu began his lecture, Toshinori was already wishing for something to happen. Anything, nuclear warfare, natural disaster, he was even starting to get to the point of wishing he hadn't killed One for All and he would attack. Then a quick rapping came from the door, and it sounded urgent enough that Principal Nezu stopped mid-thought and walked over to the door. He unlocked and opened it, only for a very distressed Ilda to be standing on the other side.
"The USJ. It's being attacked. Villain broke in, Mr Aizawa is holding them off, everyone's scattered. We need All Might." Ilda said in a breathless voice, showing how hard and fast he had run to get back to the campus.
Principal Nezu fought against his instinct to look behind him at the true form of the number 1 hero. He focused on Ilda and said, "Go back, help your friends. I'll send words to all available teachers, All Might will be in the forefront. If we're lucky he'll get there before you do."
Ilda nodded, his mind latching onto the orders given to him. He turned and began running down the hallway. When he turned the corner, Principal Nezu turned around and saw that Toshinori had already buffed up. "Don't think this has saved you from the rest of my lecture. Your fellow teacher can testify to how long I hold onto a thought."
All Might nodded and more than ready to get out of the sight of the white mouse, dashed out of the teacher's lounge. He left a dust trail, as he dashed through the hallways of UA. He rushed out of the front door and looked towards the USJ. Without a second thought, he took off, quickly catching up to Ilda, and then shooting ahead of his student. When he arrived at the USJ he found the cracked door Ilda had slipped out of. Unfortunately, it wasn't big enough for him to get through. He quickly threw a punch, and then with a second punch, the door fell in and hit the ground, resonating the sound through the building.
He walked in and saw the mess. Some of class 1-A, along with Mr Aizawa and Thirteen, were on the top platform. His fellow teachers were both broken and bleeding. The students appeared to be fine, but All Might understood that not all scars were visible.
He looked down and saw Gizon and Ochaco in a crater inside the stairs. Then he noticed a second crater lower down on the stairs. It was clear the two had been through a long fight and were not backing down from injuries. Yet now they were breathing heavily and struggling to stay awake, they need to stop before they permeantly damaged either their body or their quirks.
All Might looked around and saw signs of fights. He saw sections of the different areas destroyed, but the worst of the carnage was in the middle plaza. Unconscious thugs on the outer ring with several holes in the ground in the middle. All this and All Might had a sense of what had happened, and it was enough for him to drop his iconic smile into a grown as he yelled, "FEAR NOT STUDENTS, FOR I AM HERE."
"All Might." The students nearby cheered, all of them relieved to see the number 1 hero had come to rescue them. Though some were off-put by the scowl on his face, if the symbol of peace was getting this serious then the fight had already been decided.
All Might looked at them for a second to reassure them, then began to walk down the stairs to Gizon and Ochaco, "NOW WHO IS THE PUNK THAT DECIDED TO MESS WITH MY CLASS."
Shigaraki laughed and said, "Finally the final boss showed up. We can clear this level and move on," Shigaraki was no longer scratching his neck with his full attention and focus on the number 1 hero. On killing him, and reshaping the world and society.
All Might knelt next to Gizon and Ochaco, they looked horrible and it was clear they had made themselves the front-line defense to stop anyone else from getting hurt too much. Pain that they shouldn't have had to endure as All Might should have been here from the start. Ochaco had used her primary quirks to take the weight off her broken body, while Gizon looked like he was going to break his teeth with how hard he was clenching them, "HOW ARE YOU TWO?"
Ochaco didn't answer, so Gizon said, "We're still breathing."
"WAIT HERE WHILE I CLEAN UP THIS MESS." All Might then stood up and took a step, but then something happened, something that had never happened to him before. He was held back by a strong grip on his forearm. He looked down and saw Gizon holding him back, it wasn't Gizon's strength that was holding him back, but the pressure from the aura emitting from the blonde-haired student. If the situation wasn't serious, All Might would have been shocked by the motion.
"That Nomu down there has more than one quirk. Shigaraki called them shock absorption and hyper regeneration. But There's a limit to how much Nomu can absorb at once, so we managed to get through it once. I'm sure you'll do better." Gizon said, then released All Might. All Might had officially been tagged in and Gizon could rest. As he lay down the stairs he mumbled something that sounded like 'All for One.' and then passed out.
Gizon's words registered in All Might's mind, who quickly looked at Ochaco, "HE KNOWS?"
"Only about All for One. He hasn't brought that up" Ochaco said. Gizon had just passed out, but she didn't want to take the risk of naming One for All in front of him. He had proved his situational awareness was a level above everyone else's.
"YOU USED IT." All Might noticed the state of Ochaco's right arm and legs. Ochaco had only had One for All for a little over a month now, so she didn't have much control. To try to prevent the injuries she was now dealing with, All Might had put her on probation until she gained more control. That just showed how desperate the situation had gotten if she was willing to put up with her injuries
"Hisahito, He-he-he was willing to give his all in the fight against Nomu. Y-yet he was already tired from fighting the giant metal villain. You trust me to be the next symbol of peace, I couldn't let myself fall behind. H-He needed my help," Ochaco said, fighting back tears as she forced her thoughts into words.
"I UNDERSTAND. YOU'VE DONE WELL, REST AND I'LL HANDLE THE REST," All Might said, then walked down the stairs, "MY STUDENTS HAVE INFORMED ME OF WHAT OCCURRED IN MY ABSENCE. AND I MUST SAY, IN ALL MY YEARS OF BEING A PRO HERO, I HAVE NEVER MADE A FIGHT PERSONAL. BUT AFTER WHAT I'VE LEARNED, WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY STUDENTS, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT I'M ABOUT TO DO TO YOU AND YOUR NOMU. I'M GOING TO ENJOY IT". All Might reached the ground with the last words, cracking forming under his foot from the pressure.
"So the Number 1 hero has a dark side." Shigaraki gave a big smile, then lazily lifted a hand as if there was nothing that mattered if he did, then he pointed at All Might "Good. Nomu, kill him."
Nomu dashed forward and All Might matched its speed. They met in the middle, punching, and kicking, Nomu even bit All Might. Everyone could just watch in amazement as the two Titans clashed. Each blow shook the ground and sent harsh breezes through the USJ. It was impressive the amount of power two people could hold.
"MY STUDENTS INFORMED ME OF NOMU'S TWO QUIRKS. MORE IMPORTANTLY THEIR LIMITS." All Might punched Nomu's arm into the air and with no defense, he got around Nomu and wrapped his arm around the creature's midsection. Then with more effort than initially expected, All Might lifted Nomu into the air. All Might then let his weight fall backwards as he suplex Nomu into the ground. That had been the plan at least.
As Nomu's head neared the ground, a portal formed and the upper half of its body went through. All Might saw this and looked around to see where the Nomu would be crawling out from. But then he felt a pair of hands latched onto his side, especially over his left side from his weakness. All Might let out a small grunt as the pain started to flow throughout his body
The sight looks like one out of an old horror story, as blood began to bleed through All Might's shirt. It began to drip from All Might's back and fall to the ground. All Might let go of Nomu and gripped Nomu's hand. He tried to force Nomu's hand open, but it was like a vice grip. All Might continued to free himself but then Nomu began to lower back through the portal, dragging the symbol of peace along for the ride.
"I never said Nomu was going to be the one to kill you. He just has to hold you still in Kurogiri's portal." Shigaraki said, then gave out a dry laugh. Everything was going to plan, there was the small hiccup of the blonde student fighting against Mr Sutein but then against Shigaraki never really liked him. And that blond brat and the pink glow girl didn't do much to Nomu and it was still ready to fight against All Might. But in the end, the end was near and closing in fast.
"I don't like leaving things in my portals, but for you and all the parts you'll be leaving. I'm willing to make an exception," Kurogiri said. as the portal began to expand to allow All Might to easily push through.
As All Might got close to the portal, he struggled even harder against Nomu's grip. He had never thought he would go out like this and with all of his students, Eraserhead and Thirteen counting on him. All Might refused to give up but he was unable to free himself. Then when he was only an inch away All Might heard the sound of ice crack and suddenly Nomu's left hand began to form. Very cold. Cold enough that a shiver went down All Might's spine.
All Might followed the ice through the portal and over to where Shoto Todoroki was standing. The dual-haired student scoffed and said, "Sorry it took me a moment to get here. Your thugs weren't willing to give much information without some percussion."
"Kurogiri, help Nomu," Shigaraki said. Suddenly an explosion went off right next to his ear, then one threw Kurogiri to the ground. It seemed Todoroki was not the only student that had been underestimated.
"Impossible. My body was hidden," Kurogiri said as Bakugo landed next to him, gripping the metal neckpiece. Kurogiri tried to free himself but then he saw the feral grin on Bakugo's face, asking for a reason/
"In the beginning, I didn't think you had a body, but then why would you be wearing this piece of neck armour?" Bakugo said, lighting off a small explosion against the armor, "You move and you're dead."
Shigaraki's focus was drawn away from his two captured allies as Kirishima tried to attack. Shigarkai easily dodged his attack and reached forward to kill Kirishima, but the red hair jumped down, "All you annoying NPCS, getting in my way.
"THANK YOU FOR THE RESCUE," All Might said, as he gripped the frozen hand of Nomu and broke it. He rolled away from the Nomu and stood up, "NOW SURRENDER AND END THIS MADNESS."
Yet Shigaraki was no longer focused on All Might as he appeared to be looking out into space. Then his body began to shake as if he couldn't contain his anger, "We were so close! You lied Master, All Might hasn't gotten any weaker…" Shigaraki paused, then he gained a smile, "But that doesn't mean we've lost. Nomu, free Kurogiri and then attack all these worthless brats.
All Might was about to comment Nomu not being able to free itself without injury then he remembered it had hyperregeneration. The next moment All Might heard ice breaking and he turned towards Nomu. All Might saw something that made him sick to his nonexistent stomach. Nomu with all of its skin on its left side, missing its left arm, was running towards Bakugo. With every step Nomu took more and more of its body regenerated until it was fully healed and it drew its right fist to hit Bakugou. All the while All Might had begun to move, but with every step, it was obvious All Might would not arrive in enough time to push Bakugo out of the way and get himself out of the way too.
All Might was the first to arrive and he pushed Bakugo out of the way and took the hit himself. It could just be a height difference and a coincidence when Nomu hit All Might's side where his injury was. All Might realized the creature had been aiming for it. Did Nomu know about All Might's injury and the height aligned with Bakugo's head? Did Nomu know all Might would arrive and take the hit, had it been counting on that?
The only thing All Might knew for certain was that Nomu knew about his injury, the only question was how.
"You heroes are so predictable. Will always protect those weaker than you," Shigaraki said, staring All Might down as the symbol of Peace took a small step back as he held a hand up to his bleeding injury.
"YOUNG TODOROKI, YOUNG KIRISHIMA. GET BACK TO THE REST OF YOUR CLASS. LEAVE THE REST TO ME." All Might looked over and saw Bakugo landing on the ground far away from the fight. He wanted the students out of the way of the fight, but also All Might could feel his body straining. The attack on his wound was cutting his time down, but if it came to it All Might would do anything to protect his student. Even with the last two good punches he had left.
Kirishima began to protest, even activating his quirk over his arm, showing he was ready to fight. But then Todoroki grabbed his collar and began to drag him away. Kirishima hardened his legs in an attempt to ground himself but Todoroki continued to drag him away from the fight "All Might wants us out of the way or we'll be a distraction."
"Fine." Kirishima let Todoroki drag him away from the fight. Maybe if he was lucky he would be able to see the number 1 hero in action.
"SO HOW ABOUT FINISHING OUR FIGHT?" All Might said, shifting his feet to get ready. This was the most difficult fight he had had since killing All For One and All Might was going to stand his ground. As All Might shifted his weight back, the ground began to crack under the pressure and kicked up some dust, adding the dramatic flare of his words. All Might took a deep breath as he prepared himself for whatever happened next.
Shigaraki pointed at All Might and yelled, "Nomu! Kill Him!" Yet Shigaraki's words did not hold the same weight as threats from All Might's greatest enemy. All Might looked at Nomu and the moment the creature flinched, All Might dashed forwards.
Like before the two titans ran at each other. However, this time both were much slower and All Might noticed. The wounds given to Nomu previously by the student of Class 1-a were starting to affect it. It didn't have unlimited stamina, so repetitive use of its quirks was slowing it down and soon Nomu would find its limit. All Might knew what he had to do. All Might gritted his teeth and began to punch much harder and faster than his wound should have let him. All Might was called the symbol of peace, a title he had to hold up, now more than ever.
"MY STUDENT HAVE HEARD THESE WORDS BEFORE, TODAY SOME HAVE EVEN LEARNED WHAT THEY MEAN. BUT ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU THEIR TRUE MEANING. GO BEYOND, PLUS ULTRA!" All Might yelled as he deflected a punch, then putting his weight behind the next attack, he got in close and unleashed a massive uppercut Nomu. The initial contact did nothing, but with the follow-through, Nomu went flying into the air. Nomu hit the top of the USJ dome, then went through it, "A HERO'S JOB IS PROTECT THOSE AROUND THEM. TO FIGHT WITH ALL THEIR POWER, THEN PUSH PAST THEIR LIMITS."
All Might brought down his right hand and let it hang by his side as he couldn't move a muscle. Then steam began to flow off his body, telling All Might he had most definitely gone past his limits. Luckily it was masked by the dust, but All Might knew if he tried to move, then his body would deflate and he would be defenceless. All he could do was bluff.
"Then let's see how you deal with this," Shigaraki said, a grin appearing behind his mask as if everything was going according to his plan. Yet All Might didn't understand, their biggest weapons were in the next city over and while he definitely wouldn't be able to do anything, All Might was imposing enough to make any sane villains want to run away.
Suddenly a purple portal opened a few feet away from All Might. He could only watch as Nomu came flying out of the portal. It yelled as it had its fist reared back, ready to throw a punch that would kill All Might. All Might froze, as there was nothing else he could do. If he moved, he would deflate and Nomu would most likely kill him. Even if Nomu missed, Toshinori's weakened state would be revealed and then he would be killed. Yet if he didn't move then the result would be the same, his death.
"He's not done yet." A bone-chilling but pained voice came from behind All Might. Gizon knew he need to do some, but his body coudln't ifhgt against gravity, but he needed to get to All Might. Gizon looked around and his eyes fell on Ochaco's good hand. Forcing his body to move. he grabbed ahold of Ochaco's hand and forced zero gravity to activate on him. And with some effort, Gizon pushed off the stairs and launched himself at All Might. The number hero was going to need all the help he could get and while Gizon had only attempted this a few times before, he knew he could pass along his quirks energy to other people, giving their similar strength and speed to him.
All Might felt this person run into his back, then grab ahold of his shoulder. All Might felt his body begin to deflate, then suddenly it was full of energy. All Might saw a golden glow coming from behind him as he felt the energy flow into his body. The energy was completely different from One for All, but it mixed with One for All blazing the embers All Might had left. A small smoldering fire was now a large bonfire and was threatening to burn down the forest.
"I don't care what happens to me, but one lost time All Might. With power behind it." The voice said it rang in All Might's ear, like ancient church bells. It held untold power, enough to shake the world and cause all to bow before it. More powerful than All Might thought possible even by his standards. All Might looked down at his fists, a golden biblical glow had enveloped his body. He felt the power escaping into the air as if even two mortal bodies were not able to contain it.
"AGREED." All Might drew back his fist and met Nomu head-on. His reach was longer, so Nomu got hit first. The power and strength were tenfold of the previous hit. It looked as if Nomu was gone before All Might's knuckles even made contact. One second it was reaching forward to grab All Might, and then the next it vanished. No dust trail, no screech from the creature. The only sign to Nomu's exit was a second hole appearing within the USJ roof.
"Impossible," Shigaraki yelled, scratching his neck. The red rash became worse, he even began to draw blood. All Might was weaker, but he had help, a power-up from a stupid player 3 that was never supposed to be able to play. Shigaraki was supposed to be the winner, he was supposed to beat the final boss.
All Might looked Shigaraki up and won but then heard a body hit the floor behind him. He looked back and saw Gizon kneeling on the floor. Gizon was kneeling with his head hanging down on his right knee, his two arms supporting himself from the ground. Gizon coughed up some blood then blood began to slowly leak out of his mouth. Gizon's body looked even worse, both of his arms were purple and his left leg was misshapen and over his chest was a black scar that looked if Gizon had been cursed by magic. All Might was afraid Gizon had received the same level of injury he had six years ago, that scar over Gizon's heart too similar to the one All Might had over his stomach.
Gizon then looked up at All Might, his eyes unfocused, he then chuckled a bit and then in a silly tone said, "Limits are bullshit."
"So Shigaraki, do you surrender?" All Might asked, flexing his entire body. Now that Gizon wasn't holding onto him, All Might felt just as weak. Luckily this time there was no way Nomu would be returning.
"This is unfair, all your dumb powerups and secondary phases. You cheated," Shigaraki yelled. All Might would have slapped the villain if he could move. He could feel his body struggling to keep its form, whatever Gizon had done or given him was the sole reason he was holding this form. Yet now that power was beginning to fade, as Gizon was swaying back and forth and seemed to be ready to fall unconscious.
The tension in the air was thickened and both sides looked ready to attack, but only one was. Suddenly Shigaraki sprinted forward, his hand up and ready to kill All Might. And he would have if not a gunshot that pierced the air. A bullet curved around and hit Shigaraki in the shoulder, taking him down to the ground. Two more shots went off and would have hit Shigaraki if not for Kurogiri stepping in and teleporting the two away.
With the clear and present danger gone, Gizon fell to the ground and began to chuckle. His chuckle broke into a full-on laugh as he looked at All Might and said, "So that's what One for All looks like up close." Gizon could feel it, his mind was shutting down a tactile to numb the pain he was supposed to be feeling. Pumping his body full of serotonin and making everything feel like a big joke, otherwise he would have never said that.
All Might quickly turned and looked at Gizon, how could a high school know that name? "How do you know that name?
Gizon just gave a big smile and laughed, "I'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours and I believe Uraraka. is involved. You two share something and it isn't family ties." Gizon laughed a bit, his eyes starting to glaze over as he looked at All Might. Then something weird happened. Gizon began to see a yellow glow appear around the symbol of peace. A glow, not all that different Gizon gained from pushing his quirks. He could also feel All Might's aura, it was peace and calm and when he looked over at Ochaco, he got a similar feeling while she had a little extra on the side.
"All Might," Occaho said, coming through the dust. She was floating and pulling herself along with her good arm. When she was next to Gizon, she cancelled her quirk and let hearse;f fall to the ground. Though she barely dropped an inch, the pain from hitting the ground made her mind instantly go white. It took all of her willpower to bring the world back into focus.
"Young Uraraka." All Might said, then deflated, "crap." Everyone in that USJ would see Toshinori's true form, a secret that very few knew about, barely any more than those who knew about One For All. The first-year staff of UA, the Principal and some trusted friends of Toshinori. But now all the students of Class 1-A were going to learn.
Suddenly a cement wall appeared, separating the three of them from the rest of the USJ. Toshinori recognized it as the work of Cementos. Said hero walked through a small opening, which closed after he stepped through. "All Might you are safe, I'm also a big fan." But then Cementos' eyes landed on Gizon and Ochaco, he hadn't noticed the two of them. If he had, he would have kept them separate from Toshinori.
Cementoss moved to do so but was stopped by Toshinori, -"Don't worry, I trust these two," He had a small smile on his face, as he looked at Ochaco. She was looking at Gizon with a concerned look, as he still had a massively stupid grin on his face. He looked like a horror villain as his teeth were stained with his blood and blood trails were going down his chin and neck. How he was still conscious was anyone's guess.
"Where the hell did this come from?" Powerloader yelled. Everyone looked over and saw he was picking apart the metal suit that Shigaraki hadn't fully decayed. Cementoss lowered the wall to allow the three to see what Powerloader was referring to.
"A villain was wearing it," Gizon said, in a chirpy voice, despite blood slowly flowing out of the side of his mouth He then laughed as if he thought of a really funny joke. He began to rock back and forth, causing Ochaco's concern for him to grow that much more.
Powerloader had a look of dread on his face as he pulled out his phone and dialled a number, "I need a pair of cleaner robots to the USJ to move some salvage. Tell Midoriya and Hatsume to meet me in Classroom 6-G."
Powerloader looked back down at the mangled suit with a look of dread on his face. If a villain had access to build this kind of suit, there was no telling who he shared it with. Along that thought Powerloader was starting to have an idea of what the purpose truly meant.
Chapter 16: Messed with the Wrong Family
After the crazy week that was the beginning of high school, Izuku and Mei, more Izuku than Mei, were grateful that school had slowed down to its normal pace. This allowed UA to feel like an actual high school rather than one disaster after another. The day was normal and nothing out of the ordinary happened, this was a thought Izuku had throughout the day but never voiced it. Izuku would come to regret even having that thought.
History was the last period and Izuku and Mei were on a worksheet together. There was only half an hour left of school when a teacher's assistant walked into the. He headed over to the teacher at their desk and handed them a note. A hushed conversation happened between the teacher and the assistant, but Izuku heard mention of Classroom 6-G. The only UA staff members who knew Classroom 6-G was being used were Powerloader and Principal Nezu. Why would either of them be calling Izuku out of class? Whatever it was, couldn't it have waited until after school was done?
Eventually, the teacher nodded and then stood up. She locked eyes with Izuku and said, "Izuku Midoriya, Mei Hatsume, Powerloader has asked that you meet with him at ClassRoom 6-G." The Teacher looked to the TA to confirm the room number again. The TA nodded and the teacher turned back to Izuku, "He has something of importance to discuss with you.
"As in right now?" Izuku asked as he put his pencil in his notebook, in case he needed to close it, he could easily open it back to where he left off. And with Powerloader calling him and Mei out, he figured it had to be of the utmost importance to not wait until the end of school.
"Yes, the notes say Immediately." The TA said holding out a yellow slip note.
"You can stop by after whatever Powerloader needs you for and pick up tonight's homework." The Teacher said. Izuku and Mei quickly closed their notebooks and slipped their class material into their backpack. After slipping on their backpack, the duo hurried to the door and slipped out. Once in the hallway, Izuku took off, with everyone being in class he wouldn't have to worry about running into anyone. Meaning he could run fast, fast enough that Mei struggled to keep up with him.
Neither of them spoke until they reached the front door of the building. As Mei pushed her door out of the way, she turned to Izuku and asked, "Why do you think Powerloader would call us out of class?"
Izuku ran through his open door and answered with, "Obviously it's something important, most likely has to deal with Project Hero Suit. So the reason question is why didn't Powerloader wait until school was over? It's the last period and class gets over in 30 minutes."
Once outside in front of the main building, Izuku and Mei noticed the smoke coming up in the distance, but neither mentioned it. They just continued to run towards the support department. Once they reached the support department, Izuku quickly scanned his ID badge to gain them access. Once inside they ran down the empty hallways until they reached Classroom 6-G, Izuku scanned his hand on the door and with a hiss of air the doors swung open. They had been expecting to see Powerloader waiting for them, but they were greeted by an empty classroom.
"Jabisu, where's Powerloader?' Izuku asked, he walked over and put his backpack on one of the desks left in the room. The room looked exactly as the last time he had left it.
"I do not have his current location, but he and other teachers of the hero course were called out to an off-campus location for an emergency. He notified me that he would be arriving in a few minutes and had a great deal of information to share. However, he did not explain further." Jabisu said.
"Looks like we've got some time to kill," Izuku said, as he pulled out his math homework and began to work on it. Less than a minute later, he heard mumbles and grunts coming from Mei. He didn't even need to look up to know what she was trying to do, "Hatsume, you know Jabisu is one of the most advanced AI in the world. A learning one at that, every time you try to break one of his firewalls, he adapts. You're not getting into that holo table. And you know it's only coded to Powerloader and my fingerprint." Izuku finally looked up from his paper. Every time they spent any amount of time in 6-G, Mei tried to use the different machines. With every attempt, Izuku got some amusement out of it and he was going to make her stop any time soon.
"So why won't you save both of us the trouble and add me to the system?" Mei huffed and kicked the holo table, but walked away accepting defeat once again, but not for the last time. She was like a kid in a candy shop who had been told that they couldn't buy anything while there was a sale going on. She hated it.
"Because we both know that you could spend hours looking at it and never get your homework done. Because You can become so focused on something and the world disappears from around you. I've seen that before," Izuku said, going back to his homework, "and for that, Powerloader and I both agree that not adding you to the system would save a lot of people a lot of headaches in the future."
Headaches, explosions, accidents, potential lawsuits, expulsion and then several tubs of ice cream eaten through tries. So let Mei try all she wanted to gain access, but Izuku was not going to give it to her.
"What, you don't trust me." Mei sighed in defeat and pulled out her homework.
"I do trust you with many things. One is my life, but something like this no. I don't think you'll try to overthrow the world, but you struggle to get inventing out of your mind. This is making sure you aren't given any more temptations," Izuku said, not even realizing what he had just said.
Mei looked like she wanted to say something, but then she closed her mouth. She joined Izuku in working on their homework, but then the door hissed, catching both of their attention. The door opened and Power Loader walked in with some clean-up bots behind him. They were carrying what appeared to be a large pile of scrap metal.
"Good afternoon you two, glad you could make it." Powerloader said to his student then turned to the robots, "Just put it in the center."
The robots chirped and carried their load to the middle of the room and dropped it. They then turned and rolled out of the room. Leaving the three to look over the supposed pile of scrap, but even then different pieces looked familiar to Izuku.
Izuku stood up and walked over to the pile and crouched down, "What's all this?" He ran his hands over the pile, most of the metal was dented and broken into pieces. Yet to his eyes, it didn't look like complete junk, a mindset he had picked up from Mrs Hatsumi as she was always repurposing broken items around the workshop.
"This is a copycat." Powerloader said, and began looking for something in the pile, "The USJ was just attacked." - Izuku stood upright to fight, while Mei closed up on herself -"Don't worry, no one was severely injured. The teachers are in recovery right now, along with two students, who did more damage to themselves than the villains did. It was mainly low level thugs looking to cause some chaos. Class 1-A was able to handle themselves, the teachers handled the rest. However one of the villains was wearing this." - Powerloader found what he was looking for and pulled out a helmet - "Remind you of anything."
Powerloader tossed the helmet to Izuku. Izuku caught it. The metal was cold to the touch, and it had dirt and stretched all over it. It was the size of a large watermelon, easily fitting a person's head in with room to spare. Izuku slipped his head and his vision became obscured except for the two eye slides.
"It's a helmet. Its vision is horrible. I don't see how anyone could fight in this thing." Izuku said, his voice echoing around his ears. It was almost deafening how much his voice echoed, just add it to the list of what made the helmet so bad.
"That's because it's not powered on." Mei said. She walked around and grabbed a wire. She produced extra wiring and electrical tape out of nowhere and quickly connected the two wires and then the lengthened end to Izuku's arc reactor. Once all the wires were connected, Izuku's arc reactor pulsed green and then eye slits glowed and a heads-up display appeared around Izuku's head.
It showed: Power: 1000%. Weapons systems: Offline. Armor: Comprised. Along with a bunch of data. Izuku relayed what he saw while looking at the fuzzy display. It was glitching out in different parts, only allowing Izuku to catch glimpses of other information
"Remind you of anything?" Powerloader repeated his question. It was almost unnerving how similar it was. But Jabisu had been on lockdown, no was supposed to be able to gain access, but then there was the login with Hisashi's information the day of the break-in.
Izuku paused as he looked at the HUD, then back at the pile of metal. The HUD scanned the metal and it briefly displayed something of great interest to Izuku. Izuku looked over the pile of scrap as a hologram that looked like a suit began to morph together on the right side of the HUD.
"Yeah, it's a lot like…" Izuku stopped, then pulled off the helmet. He walked over to the holo table disconnected the helmet and put it. Izuku then powered the holo-table on and after a few seconds he said, "Jabisu, pull up Project Hero Suit Mark I."
"One Moment," Jabisu said, and then the hologram of the suit appeared above the table. Izuku raised the helmet and held it next to the suit, "It looks a lot like that."
Mei looked between the helmet and the suit. She could see the similarities, however, the physical helmet was a crude copy, with bigger and sharper angles, than the fluid design of Hisashi Sutāku. Like an attempt to copy the suit from memory. She looked over at Powerloader, "What does this mean?"
"It means during the breakin, someone didn't just corrupt the files for Project Hero suit. They copied it then made their own suit. The question is how quickly will they be able to get to the more advanced suits. Sutaku never got a working prototype but clearly this villain did, so the question is how deep did the villains go looking through the files they copied." Powerloader said.
Izuku walked back to the suit, as a queasy feeling filled his stomach. Someone had stolen his father's design and created a functional suit before Izuku had perfected the repulsor boots. This almost made his knees buckle, he couldn't hold himself up. Yet there was something more important at hand. Something that this suit, how crude it was, had proven. Izuku had to see how close to the margin it had gotten.
"Let's see how far they got." Izuku said. He needed to see the suit in fullness, to see how far the villain had gotten in replicating his father's work. Izuku laid the helmet at the horizontal top of the pile. He then began to recreate the suit, from the mess in front of him.
As he had the blueprints memorized, the reconstruction was easy. He started the chest area and took a few minutes to get it assembled. He then moved out to the arms and had them laid out on the floor, they were so long they nearly doubled Izuku's wingspan. Then he finished with the legs, and when those were finished, the whole suit stood well over seven feet tall.
Some of the midsection armor was destroyed but the internal exoskeleton was still intact, giving mass to the empty hole. Once the suit was reconstructed, Izuku stepped back and wiped the sweat from his brow. It had everything, the armour, the exoskeleton, the repulsors, but beyond that, nothing. It was just a much bigger copy of Mark 1.
"Well whoever built this didn't get too far, they didn't even try with the flight capabilities. There's no repulsors on the boots." - Izuku lifted one of the feet to show the bottom -"Yet this person is skilled, they were able to build repulsors." -Izuku dropped the foot, then brushed his hands off on his pants as he moved up to one of the arms and opened it on the palm- "Even with proper blueprints this person would need a high level of engineering intelligence to know what he was even looking at. Let alone build them." Izuku noticed a small slit on the forearm, with a bit of force he pried it open, "Yet they aren't that smart, as they didn't change much. Empty missile silos, probably didn't even know what they were for, just built them because they were in the blueprints."
"What do you mean, they were able to build the suit, so shouldn't they have known what everything was for," Mei said as she looked at the empty siloes.
"Not exactly. Hatsume, when you first build stuff, your creations were crude and often broke." Izuku said.
"They still do," Powerloader mumbled under his breath.
"Yes," Mei said, confused about what Izuku's point was.
"Because your level of skill was low, but now you have experience. If you had half the experience you have today, and then took a look at my father's designs, do you think you would be able to build everything and understand what it was all for." Izuku said.
Mei paused for a bit as she thought over Izuku's question. "I think I would build everything, but to know what everything was for then no. I would build it because it was in the blueprints, I guess like building a model kit. You are able to put it together because you have a step by step guide."
"Exactly, a good engineer can build a blueprint, but still not fully understand why or how what they build works. My father's designs are just a little more advanced. So we're looking for someone with an above-average level in mechanical engineering. But even they ran into the same problem as my father." Izuku pried open the chest area, "Their power source, whatever it was, was not enough to power this suit for very long. And with the bigger exoskeleton, their times were probably even less than their initial calculations." -Izuku looked over the arm joints, "Actually no power was lost moving the bigger joints, I'll have to study this move to find out how they managed that. Was anyone hit by the suit."
"Eraserhead, but he'll live. Recovery Girl did ask for a bonus though," Powerloader said, Izuku explained that the increased strength made Powerloader fearful of what could have happened if the villain knew what they were doing when building and operating the suit. Eraserhead's broken ribs would have probably been the least of the school's worries.
Izuku nodded then continued, "Well they were about to make some improvements," -He then moved back to the hands and looked over the repulsors, they were a little better designed than the blueprints Izuku had received, but with all the improvement he had made, his version was better,- "But overall it was a rushed job or they would have made the same improvements I have made, with the couplings and the pulse delay. They had a short time to build this suit and assumed the fight wouldn't be that long, or they would have spent time making improvements."
"Overall the suits of this size would have lasted at max 10-15 minutes, less if they used the repulsors too much." Izuku wanted to smile because here it finally was. Proof that his father's design for Project Hero Suit could work in its fullness or frown since it was being proven by a villain. Proof that everything he had been building towards work, and could be used to make him a hero, or was it so stained now that people would only see the suit being used by a villain?
"Izuku, what are you thinking? You have that look." Mei asked, crouching next to Izuku. Izuku always said that Mei had this look on her face when she was absorbed into working on her project, and Mei said Izuku had the same look whenever he was in thought, thoughts were best not shared.
"I don't know. I don't know how to feel, because here." Izuku gestured to the whole suit, "Here is proof that what my father was working on, what I was working on to create, works. It works and is a viable option, something I can use to become a hero. But we only know that because a villain was the one that proved it. They stole from my father, turned his creation, his invention into this weapon of destruction. I guess I want justice. Justice for my father and his memory. When people see my suit I want them to look up and see peace, but not horror and destruction." Izuku said, tears forming in his eyes.
Powerloader had seen where that trail of thought had led. He was going to clip it with its bud, "Midoriya. Your father created a weapon. One he knew could be dangerous, that is why he entrusted it to you. What this villain created was an abomination, don't allow your mind to focus on fighting the villain. Focus on becoming a hero." Powerloader walked over crouched down and put a hand on his student's shoulders.
Izuku didn't speak for a few minutes, he just continued to look down at the suit, "Then it's a race, a race to see who creates the best suit. Me against this villain, whoever they are and it's a fight to see who is better. I have to build a suit and make it mine and I'm already ten steps behind." Izuku looked up at the helmet and walked up to it. He looked at it for a few seconds. Izuku felt some anger build up in his chest, but he kept it tempered until he yelled and punched the helmet. Izuku's fist carved the cover in, leaving it unwearable, "Whoever you are, I will make it to the finish line before you do. I'll spend every free moment I have here, working invention, building. Then when we fight, I'll win. I'll show you that you don't mess with the Sutāku family and their invention. I'll show we're superior. I'll use my father's design to become a hero, then I'm going to find you, wherever you are and then I'll bring justice to my father. I show to the world what kind of man my father was, the greatest inventor in the world."
Powerloader was uneasy about how Izuku worded his small speech, but the look in his eyes was the same All Might always wore. Izuku was going to bring justice, but not allow himself to get lost in it. Powerloader could only help Izuku would be able to keep that light.