Chapter 6: The Übermenschen (2)
Ultra-Humanite! Real name, unknown! Real age, unknown! I.Q. points, incredibly high! A super genius who was decades ahead of his time when he was born, and is still decades ahead, even now. Unfortunately for the good people of our peaceful society, he chose to use his mind for evil, making himself a menace to the world ever since the days of the Justice Society. What's truly horrifying about Ultra-Humanite, though, is how he's managed to live so long. He hasn't done it by extending his lifespan through scientific advancements or magical spells, he's done it by killing innocent people and putting his brain into their bodies!
Ultra-Humanite is someone no one should go up against, unprepared. I'm sure Young Midoriya already knew that, but in the end, that foresight ended up being meaningless! In the end, Young Midoriya was forced to confront his second major hurdle of the day, all by himself!
"And as the forester grieves over the loss of both the vixen and Terynka, a frog jumps onto his lap, the grandson of the very same frog that did so in act one. He takes one look at the frog and understands that death is but a part of a cycle that leads into new life. With that, the forester is able to, at last, obtain peace of mind. Fin."
The T-rex robot and the female robot applauded the Ultra-Humanite as the music finally came to an end.
"Yes, yes, thank you, thank you. For machines that I built in a cave with a box of scraps, you are quite receptive of the arts. Of course, that all goes back to the fact that I made you, but still, it's nice to have people with a common interest. Don't you agree, boy?"
The boy in question, Midoriya, just nodded.
"Come now, you're not still alive just so I can hear myself talk. Speak!"
"A-A-Are you really the Ultra-Humanite?" Midoriya asked.
"Who did you think I was, Kite Man?" Ultra-Humanite asked with a chuckle. "It's the gorilla body, isn't it? My last one was getting rather rank, so I got this one from an old associate of mine in Africa. Haven't gone public with it, though, that's probably why you didn't recognize me."
No, that's wrong, Midoriya thought to himself. I just needed to be sure that I really was in that crazy a situation. I just needed to be sure that I was really being held hostage by someone who's been a Villain since the days of the Justice Society, something he's done by being crazy enough to cut out people's brains and put his own in their bodies!
Receiving confirmation on all of that didn't make Midoriya feel any more comfortable, though. The fact that there was still a mechanical T-rex foot on top of him didn't help, either.
"Y-You probably already know this, but Firestorm's down on the lower level, destroying all of your robots. Once he's done with that, he'll come up here and defeat you, so you might as well stop whatever plans you have for Mount Fuji, right now!"
"What? You think my plans involve taking control of a volcano? You realize that I'm not a greenhorn, right?"
"Huh?" Ultra-Humanite snapped his fingers.
"You're probably wondering about all the caverns, then. Well, when I first arrived in Japan in preparation for my actual endeavor, I needed to lay low for a little while until I could find a suitable place to set up shop. While scanning the prefecture for areas with minimal Hero activity and satellite detection, I discovered that Mount Fuji, of all places, was covered in an invisible field of energy that was sending slightly falsified imagery up to the satellites, above. Curious, I decided to sneak over and investigate at the source. I very quickly discovered the hidden entrance, and it took little effort to hack through its programming with the skeleton key I stole from S.T.A.R. Labs."
The wording made Midoriya take pause. If Ultra-Humanite had to hack his way through the door, then he, All Might, and Firestorm shouldn't have been able to get inside, as there's no way someone as smart as him would leave the door unlocked. That meant that everything that happened from Midoriya simply touching the mountainside didn't immediately happen for Ultra-Humanite. Midoriya hoped that was a good thing.
While Midoriya was pondering, one of the robots with the can-shaped torso and large limbs walked in through a tunnel and placed a large bag full of gadgetry on the ground next to him.
"Imagine my surprise to discover that the mountain had been hollowed out some time ago, eliminating all the time I'd normally have to put towards constructing a lair. Imagine my surprise to discover all of these mysterious symbols that I still haven't managed to decipher. Imagine my surprise a third time…"
Four more robots of the same variety came in through another tunnel, all lifting an object, together. They weren't bringing in another bag of hopefully miscellaneous objects, though. The object they were carrying was very large in size, was covered in dents and scorch marks, had what looked like fins and an engine, and made Midoriya go pale with shock.
"Imagine my surprise a third time to discover the fabled spacecraft of a decade and a half ago."
"The-The spaceship! It, um, it really exists?" Midoriya asked, trying to not let too much emotion shine through.
"Indeed, it does, boy. The thing tried to kill me when I first discovered it, but I was able to beat it into submission, and it's been quiet, ever since," Ultra-Humanite said, patting the ship with one of his large, evil, simian hands. The very act was infuriating for Midoriya to watch, but, again, he couldn't let his full emotions shine through.
"I still haven't been able to access its AI programming or locate any sort of black box, but that's what makes it even more fascinating, if you ask me. To think that there would be anyone in the universe capable of creating something even I couldn't take apart in an instant. I haven't been challenged this thoroughly since the heyday of heroism. It's quite exciting, honestly."
"Because you have a new weapon?" Midoriya asked. The T-rex increased the pressure on Midoriya's body.
"Do you know why I was playing The Cunning Little Vixen, boy? Because I feel a kinship with the titular character," Ultra-Humanite said. "In the first act, the vixen is forcibly made a pet by the forester and forced to live with a conservative old daschund. After years of this, she becomes fed up with a life of conformity and escapes back into the wilderness. It's perfectly understandable; when you're forced to live with people who only want to suppress your talents and are satisfied with mediocrity, you eventually reach a point where you can't stomach it any longer and lash out against the world.
"That's me. For all the decades I've been alive, everywhere I've been has been filled with idiots and layabouts who have no appreciation for the things in life with even a modicum of substance. Worst of all, they expect me to just play along with their stupidity! Could you even imagine that? Bringing yourself down to everyone's level and never allowing yourself to be at your best?"
"A-A little bit, actually," Midoriya said.
The Ultra-Humanite smiled.
"Then it shouldn't be such a stretch to imagine why I care about having a brand new way of expanding my gifts, of expanding my understanding of the universe, of expanding my stronghold against mediocrity."
"I guess," Midoriya lied. "So if you didn't find the spaceship until you first came to Japan, what's your real plan?"
"Yes, I suppose I haven't gotten around to that old cliche, yet. Well, you're going to die, anyway, so I'll ask you a question: how much do you know about Endeavor?"
If All Might had any doubts about Firestorm's abilities, they had all completely vanished from his mind, at this point. After all, it would be hard to legitimately doubt the abilities of a man who single handedly destroyed nearly two hundred robots.
"And take that!" Firestorm said, now finishing destroying exactly two hundred robots.
"Hey, come on, I should be allowed to gloat a little bit," Firestorm said to no one. "How often do I get to destroy exactly two hundred robots?"
"I wasn't bothering you about it. It's pretty cool, honestly," All Might said.
"Wasn't talking to you, I was-you know what? Never mind. We're done here, so let's hurry up and get to Midoriya. Hopefully all he's run into is alien stuff and not more murderous robots."
"Probably not, so that's even more reason to get a move on."
All Might and Firestorm turned away from the metallic carnage and started running for the stairs. It only took them a few minutes to get to the top of the last set of stairs, so the same should apply for this one. At least, that's what he hoped. That's what he hoped as he climbed up the stairs ahead of Firestorm. That's what he hoped as a flying metal object slammed into his arm and knocked him off his feet. Hope could only go so far, it seemed.
"Mr. Yagi!" Firestorm shouted.
"I'm fine," All Might said, picking himself up from the ground.
"I guess there's still robots trying to fight. I don't see anyone here, so that must have been a long-range attack. Judging by the angle it hit you at, if the projectile can't be curved, then the attacker would be in this tunnel!"
Firestorm turned around and shot a blast of fire into a tunnel on the far left side of the area. There was a calm in the air, a silence that could be felt as easily as the sweat on their skin. What could be felt even easier than that, though, at least All Might wanted to assume, was the pain Firestorm had to have felt when an entire line of four circular metal discs, the same one that hit him in the arm, slammed into his body and knocked him against the wall.
"Firestorm!" All Might shouted.
The metal disc that previously hit All Might became encased in a red light. It flew up into the air before zipping over to the other four and attaching itself to the end of the line. The line of discs flew backwards through the air and connected with a new figure making their entrance.
The new figure in question being another one of the medium-sized robots, albeit one without arms. The line of metal discs took the place of its right arm and became a perfect match to the identical line of metal discs that stood in for its left arm.
"What a patchwork of a thing!" All Might said.
"Yeah, and it messed up by showing itself. Now I have a clear shot!"
Firestorm launched another fireball at the machine, this time aiming to destroy it, completely. However, right before the attack could connect, the discs on its left side flew off its body. They became bathed in the same red light as they flew into five separate spots and shot red lightning at each other. They became connected in an electric pentagram that floated in front of the robot and completely nullified the attack when it connected. That had to have been how the last attack was blocked, All Might surmised.
"So that's how he blocked my last attack," Firestorm concluded.
The robot shot off the remaining discs towards Firestorm. He fired another blast at it, but the discs separated and flew away to avoid the blast. Firestorm, as if he knew that they were going to act like that, quickly shot a thin stream of fire from each of his fingertips at each disc. Each beam hit its mark, but unfortunately, said marks enveloped themselves in the same red lightning from before, once more nullifying Firestorm's attack.
"It is resourceful, isn't it?" Firestorm said to no one as he raised his right arm into the air. "Well, if it's come down to this-"
Before Firestorm could finish his sentence, the discs turned in his direction and fired all of their lightning at him. The suddenness of it gave Firestorm no time to react, and he was hit with every blast. As he shouted out in pain, the bolts of lightning spread out away from his body and formed a barrier of red electricity around him. The other five discs wasted no time on joining in, adding their own lightning to intensify the overwhelming power of the barrier. The overwhelming power of a barrier that was slowly decreasing in size as it closed in around Firestorm.
"Dammit… Barrier's keeping me paralyzed… I can't move…" Firestorm said in between shouts of pain.
"Hold on, I'm coming!" All Might shouted.
"No! No… you'll just get hurt… Leave me… keep going ahead and… and tell Izuku-"
"Not another word, Firestorm."
There really wasn't any choice in the matter, All Might told himself as he ran back down the stairs. Now wasn't the time to keep secrets under lock and key, All Might told himself as smoke bellowed out of his body. Someone needs saving, so someone needs to be saved, All Might told himself as his muscles started bulging.
"Not another word, Firestorm, for I am here!" All Might shouted as he fully activated One for All.
Firestorm's eyes widened as much as they could underneath all the pain. Even the robot seemed to be stepping back in shock, though not enough to be able to avoid All Might's haymaker and prevent itself from being sent flying into a wall.
"Now for you little grievances!" All Might shouted. He turned towards the still-captive Firestorm and threw a rapid series of punches, blowing away each disc without any hesitation and freeing Firestorm from his imprisonment.
"Are you alright, Firestorm?"
"Yeah, relatively speaking," Firestorm said as he slowly stood back up. "More importantly, you're All Might! You're really All Might! I can't believe that sickly old man was All Might, the whole time!"
"Well, I had my reasons for-wait, old? I understand sickly, but old?"
"Ah, no, sorry! I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just really surprised and really excited, that's all! Shut up, it's All Might! I'm allowed to be happy about this!"
"Excuse me?"
"Wasn't talking to you, it was just-oh, goddammit!"
All Might turned around and immediately spat out a similar sentiment. The robot, despite having a large hole in its side and bits of wire dangling out, was getting back up on its feet. In tandem, the metal discs started slowly floating back up into the air, positioning themselves for another attack.
"Tough little bastard, isn't he?" All Might asked. "This time, though-"
"No! Leave this to me!" Firestorm cut in. "This was my fight, so I'm gonna finish it!"
Firestorm brought his right arm into the air as he did before, only this time he wasn't interrupted. Now, fully able to do whatever it was he was doing, crackles of green lightning formed around his hand, swirling around it like a miniature tornado. He then slammed his hand down on the ground, releasing all of the electricity out in a massive wave of energy that encompassed the entire area. Much to All Might's surprise, he felt nothing when the wave made contact with his body, yet when it touched the robot and the discs, they all started convulsing for several seconds before falling down onto the ground, completely motionless.
"Wait, was that an EMP?" All Might asked as he walked over to the robot and stomped its head flat.
"Yep," Firestorm said as he started melting the metal discs with a wave of fire. "I would have used it earlier, but this Quirk takes a hell of a long time to charge up between uses, so I was saving it on the off chance that Midoriya would be in trouble when we caught up with him. That guy was really annoying, though, and I really didn't want to take any more chances with it."
"Understandable. What I'm mostly curious about is the existence of the Quirk, at all."
"Really? It's not anything that special."
"That's true. Among all the various Quirks that exist, something like being able to produce an EMP isn't something completely out there. However, if I'm not mistaken, I had heard that Firestorm was in possession of a fire-based Quirk."
"I am."
"Then are you telling me that you're able to use two Quirks, at once?" All Might asked.
"Pretty much," Firestorm said, doing so much more easily than All Might thought he would have. "As you know, my body is that of two separate beings fused together on a subatomic level. Despite this, each of our consciousnesses are still perfectly functional; I'm one person, but at the same time, I'm two. Because of that, I'm able to use both my Quirk and my partner's Quirk at the same time. Most people think the EMP is just another power I get from being Firestorm. I'd rather have them keep thinking that. I already have enough people trying to learn my identity so they know who to threaten for the Firestorm Matrix, can't have that number doubling out of a doomed to fail desire to have multiple Quirks."
"Yes. Doomed to fail. Definitely something that isn't in any way possible," All Might said, laughing a little to himself.
"Hey, he's allowed to act a little weird, he's All Might, for crying out loud," Firestorm said to no one.
"Anyway we can't waste anymore time here. We need to hurry over to Young Midoriya, pronto!"
"Don't have to tell me twice!"
As the two raced up the stairs, All Might, indeed, did not have to do that.
"What do I know about Endeavor?" Midoriya asked. "Well, he's the Number Two Hero in the world, one spot below All Might, and one spot above Wonder Woman. He has a really powerful fire Quirk and has the world record for most crimes solved by a single person. You'd think that everyone would love him, but he has a really bad attitude, often getting angry with people he works with or too violent with Villains he's apprehending. Because of that, his fans are mostly men between their twenties and forties, so women and people outside of that age group tend to be more critical of him. He's basically the Dark Hero of the Trinity, kind of like the first Batman when he was compared to Wonder Woman and Jay Garrick when the Justice Society was still around. Some other interesting stuff about Endeavor is that his favorite food is kuzumochi, his blood type has a Cis AB mutation, he graduated from U.A. in the same year as Snatch and Misteltei-"
"Okay, so you know a lot about him," Ultra-Humanite said. "In retrospect, I should have specified that I wanted Cliff Notes, not a Wikipedia entry. Do you always ramble on and on like that?"
"N-No," Midoriya lied.
"Well, no matter. The point is that I don't have to waste time divulging what should be rather obvious information. As an added bonus, you were aware of Endeavor holding the record for most crimes thwarted by a single Hero; six of those were mine, by the way. Did you know that they're commemorating that achievement later this year at the Tokyo National Museum?"
"They are?!" Midoriya asked, surprised to discover a gap in his seemingly endless knowledge of all things relating to Heroes.
"Yes, really. Come this summer, the TNM will have an entire exhibit hall dedicated to Endeavor. An entire exhibit hall that used to exclusively house some of the finest Greco-Buddhist art and artifacts of the Silk Road."
"I guess that's kind of bad-"
"You guess?"
Ultra-Humanite snapped his fingers, and the T-rex robot increased the pressure it was putting on Midoriya's body.
"Your country's cultural heritage is being superseded by someone like Endeavor, and all you can do is shrug your shoulders?"
"Well, I don't really have any room for shrugging-"
"And do you know what happened when I tried to find out how long the exhibit would go on for?" Ultra-Humanite asked, cutting him off. "What happened was that I found out that the exhibit would go on indefinitely. Indefinitely! Unbelievable! Has our society become so enthralled with heroics that the people would put the arts second to men who don't even know how to keep their homes in check?"
Midoriya didn't know how to respond to that. Partly because he was having trouble admitting that someone like the Ultra-Humanite had a point, partly because he didn't really understand the last thing he said.
"Naturally, I couldn't let any of that stand, so here I am in Japan with a myriad of stolen S.T.A.R. Labs technology, ready to destroy the museum for their betrayal of their own ideals."
"Y-You're going to destroy the TNM? Just because they're getting rid of some good-looking art?" Midoriya asked. "That-That's so stupid!"
"Why? Because I'm not trying to rob a bank or assassinate a political figure? Not every scheme has to have such cliched criminal agendas."
"But what about the art that's still there? You're just going to destroy everything because of this one thing you don't like?"
Ultra-Humanite stared at Midoriya before snapping his big gorilla fingers.
"That's a good point, boy. Might as well steal the most valuable exhibits before I destroy the museum so I can sell them on the black market and finance future endeavors. Thanks for bringing that up."
"You're welcome," Midoriya said, dryly. "What about the people in the museum? Are you just going to kill people who have nothing to do with this?"
"I'm not so crass. I'm obviously going to call in a bomb threat to empty out the facility before I strike. I guess it would still be possible for people to be in there, though. Well, if they actually enjoy going there, then they'll simply be getting what's coming to them."
Midoriya grit his teeth. The Ultra-Humanite casually said he didn't care if people died in the process of his petty endeavor. He knew how callous Villains could be about the lives of others, but seeing and hearing it up close and personal was far different.
Then he started patting the spaceship.
"Maybe I'll even figure out how to get this thing up and running again in time for the assault."
He patted the ship again.
"Might be a little fun to destroy the errors of our society with the brilliance of another."
He patted the ship again.
"That would probably put me in the perfect mood to tear this thing apart and figure out how it ticks."
He moved his hand down towards the ship, once more.
"Stop touching that!" Midoriya shouted. The Ultra-Humanite did, indeed, stop touching it, but only to glare at Midoriya with what he could only assume to be annoyance.
"How annoying," Ultra-Humanite said. "Children these days really don't know their place, do they? Well, I've explained my plan to you, boy, so now it's time for you to die. Robot minions, you know what to do."
As if voicing some form of acknowledgment, the female robot screeched and the T-rex robot roared. The T-rex robot turned its head downwards towards Midoriya as smoke bellowed out of its mouth. Midoriya gave it no time to attack, though. He released a gust of wind from his mouth, the force strong enough to send both him and the T-rex robot up into the air mere seconds before it unleashed a torrent of flames from its mouth.
The T-Rex robot slammed into the ceiling, stunning it as the flames spewed out. Midoriya kicked off of its underbelly to propel himself downwards towards the Ultra-Humanite, only to be launched into a wall when the female robot blasted him with a laser beam. Fortunately, his reaction time was quick enough for him to put up a guard with his arms, nullifying a good deal of the impact.
"Still alive, are we?" Ultra-Humanite asked. "Well, if you want something done right!"
The Ultra-Humanite pulled what looked like a large gun out from the bag next to him and pointed it at Midoriya. He pulled the trigger and released a stream of teal light from the weapon. Midoriya jumped out of the wall and dodged, but his mouth fell agape when the beam collided with the wall and created a hole at least three times his height and width.
"Ionic disruptor cannon. I don't have the time to explain the specifics, so let's just say it's a really powerful gun and leave it at that, shall we?"
Ultra-Humanite fired another round at Midoriya. Midoriya, in turn, fired a blast of heat vision at it. The energies clashed against one another, neither one giving an inch, neither combatant able to move. In an attempt to take advantage of that, the female robot and the T-rex robot, the latter now regaining its bearing, moved in to grab Midoriya. Knowing that he couldn't hold off the Ultra-Humanite in this way while simultaneously fighting the robots, Midoriya deactivated his heat vision and ducked down with enough speed and precision to avoid the blast. As it collided with another wall, the two robots, unable to stop themselves, ran into each other, and Midoriya took advantage of the confusion by kicking them each to the ground.
"Curiouser and curiouser," Ultra-Humanite said. "Your power is far more exemplary than it should be."
"I-I just have a strong Quirk," Midoriya said.
"Clearly. I have a strong Quirk, as well, and I've been using it since I set foot in here, yet it doesn't seem to have any effect on you."
"Huh?" That didn't sound good.
"It makes me have doubts about your alleged humanity."
"Huh?" Midoriya was right to think that it didn't sound good.
"You're obviously not a robot; I would have noticed, by now. Can't be Atlantean; none of the telltale signs for even a halfling. Amazonian's a possibility, though I've never heard of an Asian one, before. Very peculiar. Oh, well, I can figure it out after you're dead."
Before Midoriya could question what he was talking about, the female robot and the T-rex robot tackled him to the ground and pinned him there. He realized too late that all the talking was mainly a means of distraction.
"Figure it out from whatever's left of you, anyway," Ultra-Humanite said as he aimed the ionic disruptor cannon at Midoriya. "I'm going to try and keep the damage to a minimum, but it's hard to control how much this thing tears apart, you know."
The ionic disruptor cannon started charging energy as the Ultra-Humanite kept it locked on Midoriya. Midoriya was going to be blasted in the face in no time at all, and with the combined weight of the robots on top of him, he didn't know if he could break free in time to save himself.
Fortunately, he didn't have to ponder the logistics of his speed, at all. Before the Ultra-Humanite could fire, a fireball flew in from the right side of the area and hit him square in the arm. He didn't fall or move from his position, but his arms were moved by the sudden impact, causing the blast to be redirected to the wall, once more. Midoriya, taking advantage of the sudden intrusion, threw the robots off of him and got back up from the ground.
"There won't be anymore evildoing going on today, Villain!" A familiar voice shouted.
"For we are here!" Another familiar voice shouted. "I've always wanted to do that."
"All Might! Firestorm!" Midoriya cheered.
"Sorry we're late, Young Midoriya. Hope you didn't have too rough a time, on your own."
"Not from lack of trying, mind you," Ultra-Humanite said, dropping the ionic disruptor cannon to the ground. "I'm not surprised that someone like you managed to stay alive, Firestorm, but I do wish that you were just a little bit more maimed. And you're here, too, All Might. What a surprise that that sickly old man was the Symbol of Peace. What a thrill it is to think about how much praise I'll get back in the states when everyone finds out that I managed to kill you."
"Only in your dreams, Ultra-Humanite!" All Might shouted as the robots started recovering.
"Midoriya, go somewhere where you won't draw attention to yourself," Firestorm said.
"O-Okay!" Midoriya said.
"All Might, I'll take care of the rust buckets. Ultra-Humanite's all pumped up about fighting you, so how about you show him what happens when people try that?"
"My sentiments, exactly!"
All Might charged at the Ultra-Humanite. Firestorm blasted at the enemy robots. The robots evaded Firestorm's attacks to the best of their abilities. Midoriya started running off to the side to let All Might and Firestorm take care of things. The Ultra-Humanite just stood still with a smug expression as All Might barreled towards him.
That can't be right, Midoriya thought to himself. Sure, Ultra-Humanite is clearly arrogant and full of himself, but All Might is attacking him! He's not even flinching at the sight of him! Is he that confidant in that laser cannon of his?!
Wait. Maybe it's not his weapons that he has faith in. Maybe it's his natural abilities that he's betting on. Come to think of it, he was just talking about how his Quirk should have been working on me if I was human, and considering that All Might and Firestorm are both human-
"All Might, wait!"
Midoriya was too late. All Might had already closed in on the Ultra-Humanite and threw his signature Texas Smash at him, an attack that could destroy a skyscraper in an instant and leave nothing but rubble.
That was the kind of attack All Might used, and the Ultra-Humanite was able to block it with just one hand.
"What?!" All Might shouted.
"Well, at least I know that there's nothing wrong on my end," Ultra-Humanite said with a smirk. All Might threw his left arm at him, but he caught that one, just as easily. Then, as if to further emphasize how incredibly powerful he appeared, the Ultra-Humanite effortlessly lifted All Might off of the ground and tossed him into the air, All Might's body hitting the ceiling with a tremendous crash.
"What the hell?!" Firestorm shouted. In his moment of distraction, the T-rex robot was able to hit him with a swing of its tail.
"H-He blocked All Might like he was nothing!" Midoriya shouted.
"Compared to me, he might as well be," Ultra-Humanite laughed.
With a tremendous shout, All Might broke out of the ceiling and landed on the ground with a powerful stomp, creating a large crater that the Ultra-Humanite unfortunately wasn't caught in. All Might wasted no time in launching a flurry of punches, but Ultra-Humanite dodged every one of them, effortlessly.
"What's wrong? Am I too fast for you? Getting slow in your old age?"
No, that's wrong. Well, it's right and wrong! Midoriya told himself. All Might is definitely moving slower than usual, but his age shouldn't have anything to do with it. What's more, Ultra-Humanite is a mad scientist-type Villain, so he shouldn't have the physical ability to keep up with All Might, at all. This has to go back to his Quirk. His Quirk that didn't work on me because-
"All Might, stop!" Midoriya shouted. "You won't be able to hit him. Ultra-Humanite, he's using a Quirk that weakens his opponents! You can't do anything about it, but-but I can! I can do something… because I'm not human!"
All Might stopped in his tracks. Midoriya knew that it had to be because he couldn't believe that he just said what he said out loud for all to hear.
"Oh. So that is what's going on here," Ultra-Humanite said. Midoriya assumed that he was grinning for the exact same reasons.
Ultra-Humanite! Quirk: Over Man! When this Quirk is activated, every human within a 100-meter area of the Ultra-Humanite has their physical abilities decreased by seventy-five percent! Considering that basically everyone on the planet is human, it's hard to see this Quirk as anything but overpowered!
"Oh. So that is what's going on here," Ultra-Humanite said. Just from looking at him, All Might was able to put two and two together and figure out that he had put two and two together. On top of knowing his true form, one of the most dangerous Villains in history now knew the truth about Midoriya. It was safe to say that All Might had had better days.
"I can't do that!" All Might said. Just then, the Ultra-Humanite threw a punch at All Might's head. He caught the attack, but he struggled to maintain a guard.
"Are you sure about that? You're not exactly showing your best effort, right now," Ultra-Humanite said.
"H-He's right, All Might. Go help Firestorm; I'll try and do something about the Ultra-Humanite!" Midoriya said.
"I could use help, but that's still a terrible idea!" Firestorm said as he was blasted in the chest by the female robot's laserbeam.
"There's no way that I'm going to leave you to deal with someone this dangerous, by yourself," All Might said.
"I suppose this is the classic moment of the Hero making himself a martyr-" Ultra-Humanite didn't get the chance to finish his remark. All Might let go of him and kicked him hard in the stomach, or as hard as he could manage, anyway.
"That's why we're going to take him down, together!"
"What?!" Midoriya asked.
"Is that right?" Ultra-Humanite asked. He didn't appear very fazed by the attack, but that would hopefully change.
"Even if I'm not at my best right now, I'm still the Symbol of Peace; you'd have to be an idiot to think I'd leave a kid to handle a Villain, all by himself! So let's take him down together, Young Midoriya!"
"Okay!"
Midoriya dashed over to All Might and the Ultra-Humanite, throwing an uppercut at the latter as All Might threw another kick to his stomach. Ultra-Humanite deflected All Might's kick with an elbow attack. Not surprising. He also dodged Midoriya's uppercut and threw a punch into his face that sent him back a few steps. Far more surprising.
"What? Did you think I was completely powerless without any of my toys?" Ultra-Humanite asked. "In most of my other bodies, you'd be right to assume so, but how could you look at this body and keep thinking anything of the sort?"
Midoriya never responded to the rhetorical question. The Ultra-Humanite grabbed Midoriya by the arm and swung him like a bat into All Might. All Might knew that Midoriya had a tough body, but he never would have guessed it to be tough enough to send him flying off of his feet.
"All Might!" Midoriya shouted.
"I think you have far more to worry about than him, boy," Ultra-Humanite said, hitting Midoriya with an uppercut to the jaw.
All Might wanted to respond in kind, but he was too busy being caught in the jaws of the robot T-Rex. He had only just gotten trapped inside, yet he could already feel a blazing heat enveloping his lower body. He didn't let that deter him, though. He used the legs of that very same heated lower body to kick down on its lower jaw and open its mouth up wide, letting him slip out just as a cloud of fire came forth.
"My turn!" Firestorm flew in right in front of where All Might landed and shot a fireball into the T-rex robot's gaping mouth. The attack was swallowed whole, and a split second later, its sides burst apart in an explosion. Smoke bellowed out of its now slacked jaw as it fell over on its stomach, defeated.
"Nice one, Firestorm," All Might said.
"Compliment me, later! You need to get back to Midoriya, now!"
All Might turned his head in Midoriya's direction. He had broken free of the Ultra-Humanite's grasp and launched another punch at him. It hit, but just barely, as he managed to jump back before full impact. That gave him enough time and space to punch Midoriya once more.
All Might really did need to get back there. He nodded his head at Firestorm just as he dodged a strike from the female robot and ran off in Midoriya's direction. He had hardly moved three steps, however, before a glowing disc landed right in front of him and exploded into a blast of light that knocked him back.
What was that?! All Might asked himself. Rather quickly, he found his answer: the object, most likely some sort of bomb, was thrown by one of the five smaller robots in the area. They had been immobile since All Might and Firestorm first showed up, so he ended up completely ignoring their presence. A truly amateur mistake.
The consequences of said mistake continued onward as the five robots grabbed more weapons from the bag and fired them all at All Might. Laser beams, explosives, plasma whips, all manner of high tech weaponry was thrown at him in an effort to take him down. All Might dodged the attacks, but thanks to having his power so severely dampened, it was always by the skin of his teeth and the breadth of his hair.
"SHIT!" All Might shouted. "He really cleaned S.T.A.R. Labs out of house and home!" This wasn't the time for wit, though. Midoriya and the Ultra-Humanite kept trading blows, but Ultra-Humanite was getting in far more hits than Midoriya was. He and Firestorm couldn't keep wasting time with the robots, but that was easier said than done, even more so when a plasma whip grazed All Might's arm.
"All Might!" Midoriya shouted.
"You should be worrying about yourself, boy," the Ultra-Humanite said. All Might saw him take advantage of Midoriya's distracted state of being by kicking him against the wall of the cave. Then, with speed that you wouldn't expect out of the body of a gorilla, he picked up off of the ground what All Might could only assume to be an ionic disruptor cannon.
"I've enjoyed our time together, boy, but I do have other things on my schedule. Don't think I've forgotten about your little bombshell from earlier, though; I'll be sure to thoroughly dissect whatever's left of your interstellar corpse."
He pulled the trigger. The beam flew out. All Might tried to jump in the way, but he was held up by his opponent. Firestorm screamed as he tried to fly over, but he was stopped by his opponent. Neither one of them could break through. Neither one could do anything when the beam hit Midoriya square in the chest with enough force to send him straight through the wall. Neither one of them could do anything when the Ultra-Humanite, to add insult to injury, was tossed an explosive from one of the robots that he quickly threw through the giant hole in the mountainside.
"NOOO!" All Might shouted.
"Keep it down, will you?" Ultra-Humanite asked, cupping an ear. "I'm trying to hear the-"
An explosion sounded off, the terror greatly contrasting the pleasant glow of sunlight flooding the room.
"Ah, there it is. That's what I love about doing battle in nature: no cleanup required. Well, outside, anyway. The lairs still end up stained with blood. Speaking of which, get on that, please."
The five smaller robots each picked up a beam sword and rushed All Might. He barely paid attention to their weapons, though. What they were holding didn't matter to him as he slammed his fists against the ground as hard as he could. Even with his decreased power, he still managed to accomplish his goal of releasing a shockwave powerful enough to knock them all on their backs, their rotund bodies creating an immediately apparent difficulty in getting back on their feet.
"Ultra-Humanite! I won't forgive you for this! Take away seventy-five percent of my power, eighty-five percent, one hundred percent, even! You won't ever escape from here! Let's take him down, Firestorm!"
Firestorm said nothing in response.
"Firestorm?"
Firestorm said nothing in response. All he did was stand in one spot, completely motionless.
"Looks like he's taking an ordinary death of a child a little hard. As expected of his generation," Ultra-Humanite said. His smirk didn't give any indication that he felt at all threatened by All Might's rage. Not that he needed to be, with All Might still severely weakened and the female robot firing another laser beam at Firestorm.
"Firestorm!"
Firestorm said nothing in response. All he did was stand in one spot, completely motionless. He did nothing at all as the beam made contact with his body and turned into a pile of dust.
"What?!" All Might gasped.
"Don't lecture me, old man," Firestorm said to no one.
The female robot charged at Firestorm and grabbed him with one of its claws. A split-second later, the robot vanished, replaced with a pile of rocks.
U-Unbelievable! All Might thought to himself. This must be Firestorm's transmutation, the power to transform one object into another object of equal mass!
"I don't need you screaming in my ear, right now," Firestorm said. Face contorted into something of pure rage, he started slowly walking towards the Ultra-Humanite, the ground beneath his feet transforming into a different gemstone with every step.
"Don't tell me to calm down! I'm going to kill this bastard! Right here! Right now! And I don't care if I have to turn this whole mountain into a pillar of salt to do so!"
All Might had never seen so much anger and fury within a young Hero, before. He wanted to step in and say something, but he couldn't find it in his power to move from where he was standing. Even the Ultra-Humanite wasn't looking as confident. His smug smirk devolved into a legitimately nervous expression as he slowly moved a finger to the side of his vest.
It was right before Ultra-Humanite could touch anything that a shadow broke through the light. A shadow that, once it covered Firestorm, somehow made him stop moving and put his face into an ever so slight calm.
All Might truly had no idea what was going on. When he turned in the direction of the shadow, though, an act done simultaneously with the Ultra-Humanite, the source of the shadow became abundantly clear: it was Midoriya. Midoriya, blocking the sun with his dirty body. Midoriya, still looking like he was ready to fight. Midoriya, suddenly floating in midair.
"He can fly?" All Might asked.
"He can fly?" Firestorm asked.
"He can fly?" Ultra-Humanite asked.
Midoriya blinked twice before looking himself over.
"I can fly?!" Midoriya shouted.
Izuku Midoriya refused to die. He knew that he was just blasted with an ionic disruptor cannon, but he refused to die (it helped that it surprisingly didn't hurt that much). He knew that some sort of high-tech bomb was thrown at him, as well, but he refused to die. He knew that he was falling farther than anyone should ever have to fall, but he refused to die. Not when he was so close to the end. Not when the answers to everything were so close.
With a scream as his conviction, he decided to keep fighting, and his rapid descent came to an immediate halt. He grabbed the explosive out of the air and tossed it aside before he started heading back up to the fight, an explosion creating an appropriate backdrop to the scene. In no time at all, Midoriya had returned to fight, floating behind the very hole he was blasted through mere moments ago.
"He can fly?" All Might asked.
"He can fly?" Firestorm asked.
"He can fly?" Ultra-Humanite asked.
Midoriya blinked twice before looking himself over. Now, with a moment of clarity to gather his thoughts, was when he was able to take in just how he had managed to avoid falling to his death.
"I can fly?!" Midoriya shouted.
"You better believe you can fly!" Firestorm cheered with a massive grin.
"You really didn't know, then? Here I thought you were just trying to be dramatic," Ultra-Humanite said. "Oh, well, not like this changes anything."
The Ultra-Humanite aimed the ionic disruptor cannon at Midoriya as it began charging. He wouldn't allow it, not again, so he fired his heat vision at the barrel of the gun. The impact created a small explosion that resulted in a small puff of smoke getting in the Ultra-Humanite's face. It took him only a second to get rid of it, but it only took Midoriya half as long to shoot himself back into the cave and drive both of his fists into the Ultra-Humanite's stomach. The impact sent him flying across the room until he ended up landing on his back. He didn't see it coming.
"Dammit!" Midoriya heard him curse under his breath.
"Dammit"? Midoriya repeated in his head. That was the first time he had heard such a strong response out of the Ultra-Humanite. Granted, he was just sent flying across the room, but the overall impact couldn't have hurt him that much.
"Don't think that you've won anything, boy." Midoriya looked at him with his super enhanced eyesight. There were beads of sweat seeping through his pores.
"I still hold all the cards. I still have every conceivable advantage." Midoriya kept looking at him with his super enhanced vision. His eyes kept darting towards All Might and Firestorm.
"One tiny stroke of luck doesn't change the fact that this mountain is going to become all of your graves." Midoriya looked at him with his X-ray vision. His heart was beating at an unusually fast rate.
"His Quirk isn't working, anymore!" Midoriya shouted. "Th-The way his body is reacting to everything makes it look like he's nervous! He wouldn't be getting like that if he still had the advantage over us, so something must have happened to deactivate it!"
"Oh, come on, now. How desperate are you to resort to-"
All Might wasted no time in dashing right in front of the Ultra-Humanite. The Ultra-Humanite raised his arm for a punch, but All Might hit him in the face before he could move his fist even a little bit forward.
As we said, Over Man is incredibly overpowered. However! It does have a weakness! If Ultra-Humanite is knocked on his back even once, then Over Man will deactivate, and he won't be able to use it again for the rest of the day!
"Now that's more like it!" All Might shouted. "Looks like you were right on the money, Midoriya, my boy. However, you've done far more today than any child should be expected to do. If it's alright with you, the grownups are going to finish up, here!"
Midoriya simply nodded his head in response. There wasn't anything left to worry about. After all, All Might and Firestorm were here.
Ultra-Humanite, having been sent flying once more, crawled back up onto his feet. His expression was one not of annoyance or confidence, but pure, simple rage. Rage that, overall, didn't amount to anything. Before he could act in any way, the earth around his feet suddenly shot up and wrapped itself around half of the Ultra-Humanite's body, leaving him completely immobilized. The power of transmutation was truly something else.
"Gotta make sure this son of a bitch can't get away," Firestorm said as his right arm became engulfed in flames. "Let's go, All Might!"
"Took the words right out of my mouth, Firestorm!"
All Might and Firestorm charged at the Ultra-Humanite, still struggling to break free of his entrapments, to no avail.
"Georgia-" All Might said, raising his right arm up into the air.
"Surtr-" Firestorm said, raising his right arm up into the air.
While the Ultra-Humanite kept struggling to break free, their two arms found a meeting place: the front and back of his neck.
"SMASH!"
"IMPACT!"
His eyes turned white. Spit shot around as he gasped for air. His head fell down, lifelessly. It was over. It was finally over.
Almost finally over.
And with that, our little impromptu battle against evil came to a close! Villains from the Golden Age are just as tough as I thought they'd be, but it didn't matter; in the end, justice will always prevail!
So, naturally, we had to contact the authorities and deliver the Ultra-Humanite to them (outside of the mountain and away from all the weird writing), at which point I assured them that it was one-hundred percent only Firestorm and myself responsible for his capture, and not a single other person. Initially, Young Midoriya, Firestorm and I were concerned about him revealing the multitude of secrets he had learned, but when he regained consciousness, he said that he wouldn't tell a soul!
In regards to my true form, he didn't see the point in telling anyone because "it wasn't as if I'd be less invincible in my pajamas" (I didn't bother to correct him). In regards to Young Midoriya, though, he surprisingly said that he had no interest in making life harder for him. That now that he knew what Young Midoriya was, he guessed that he really did know what it was like to have to have to force yourself to fit in with everyone else. I didn't know what he was talking about, but Midoriya wasn't arguing with him, so I guess I must have missed something between them. If the two of them were able to come to some kind of understanding, then maybe Ultra-Humanite isn't so bad, as far as Villains go. Maybe I'll talk to the museum about making space for both their old stuff and my old pal Endeavor's exhibit.
Anyway, the point is that it's finally over. Almost finally over, anyway.
While All Might and Firestorm talked with the police about the Ultra-Humanite, Midoriya, who had stayed out of sight so no one would get into trouble for his Vigilantism, had carried the spaceship far up the mountain, leaving it in a rocky area completely devoid of people. It didn't take that long for him to do it, now that he had the benefit of flight. He couldn't stop himself from feeling a little giddy about it. Him, flying! Just like Wonder Woman or Martian Manhunter or Starman or any of the Hawkpeople! Feeling the wind rush around his body as he soared above everything was unlike anything he'd ever felt before!
"At the same time, though, it's kind of scary," Midoriya said to no one but the spaceship. "I mean, when my powers first came in, all I could do was jump really high and punch people way too hard. By the time I was ten, I could shoot lasers out of my eyes and knock people down just by exhaling. Now I'm fourteen going on fifteen, and all of a sudden, I can fly.
"Am I just going to keep getting more and more powers, the older I get? When I'm eighteen, are bones going to start shooting out of my fists? When I'm twenty, is my body going to turn into electricity, and I'll just zap everything around me? Is it ever going to end? Am I even going to be able to control it, forever?"
"Of course you will!" Midoriya turned around to see none other that All Might behind him. All Might in his skinny form riding piggyback on Firestorm, to be more accurate.
"Even if you end up with a million different powers, there will always be a way for you to control yourself," All Might said as he climbed off of Firestorm. "I'm not going to say that it'll be easy, but you already don't want to hurt anyone, right? If you ask me, that's the most important step, there is."
"Still, though…" Midoriya said, looking down at the ground.
"Don't get like that, kid," Firestorm said. "He just said he believes in you, didn't he? That's the second most important step. Even if you have no confidence in yourself, never forget that there will always be people who care about you."
Midoriya couldn't argue with that. He couldn't argue with any of that. So long as he wanted to prove he deserved to be a Hero, he didn't plan on letting his powers get the better of him. So long as people like his parents and All Might and even Firestorm cared about him, he knew that he'd always have a reason to do his best.
"That's right. Of course that's right. Thank you, thank you both!"
"Don't even sweat it," All Might said.
"Shut up, I'm allowed to be corny, if I want to!" Firestorm said to no one. "Alright, now it's time to do what you came here to do, isn't it?"
"YES! How do we do that?" All Might asked.
"I-I don't know! It's a mystery to me, too!" Midoriya said. "Although, come to think of it, after talking with the Ultra-Humanite, I think that we were able to get inside the mountain because I was the one touching the wall. So maybe if I find the right spot, something will happen?"
"Worth a shot, at least."
With All Might's approval, Midoriya prepared to start rubbing his hands across the ship in an attempt to try and get something going, no matter how long it would take.
The time it would take was apparently zero seconds. As soon as Midoriya turned back towards the ship, the same deadly metal claws he saw in the video shot out and lifted the ship up into the air. All Might activated his Quirk, Firestorm made flames appear around his hands, and they both stepped in front of Midoriya, but Midoriya quickly sidestepped around them. Not because he wasn't nervous for his own safety, as he truly couldn't stop himself from shaking, but because he knew that he had to face this, head-on.
As if to respond to this, the ship bent downwards until the bow was only a meter away from Midoriya's face. A second later, the same mechanical voice from the video came out of the spaceship, uttering a completely unintelligible phrase: "EHROSHBEM, KAL-EL."
"Wh-What?"
"NAHVRUHTODH W KAOAHJAH?"
"I-I don't know what you're saying! Please, just tell me what you are! Just, just tell what I am!"
Nothing came out of the ship in response to that. Nothing save for a few beeps, a humming noise, and a faint green glow around the bow of the ship. A minute passed without any conversation taking place. When the minute was up, the beeping ceased, the humming stopped, and the glowing faded away.
"PRIMARY HOST LANGUAGE ADAPTED," the ship said, now speaking perfect Japanese. "RE-INITIATING INITIAL PHASE: HELLO KAL-EL."
"'Kal-El'? D-Do you mean me?"
"INDEED. I AM THE ALPHA MODEL OF THE KRYPTONIAN EDUCATION AND LIFE ENRICHMENT XENOSAKOLOUTHOS, OR K.E.L.E.X. ALPHA, FOR SHORT. I AM AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SAVED ONTO YOUR SPACECRAFT WITH THE DIRECTIVE TO ASSIST YOU ONCE YOUR SHIP REACHED THE THIRD PLANET ORBITING THE SUN OF THE MILKY WAY GALAXY. UNFORTUNATELY, MY PROGRAMMING WAS DAMAGED UPON LANDING, AND YOU WERE TAKEN AWAY FROM ME BEFORE I COULD SUCCESSFULLY PERFORM A REBOOT. HOWEVER, I HAD MAINTAINED ENOUGH PROCESSING POWER TO ANALYZE THE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD TAKEN YOU AND DETERMINED THAT THEY WOULD MAKE EXCELLENT HOSTS FOR YOU, SO I CONCLUDED THAT THERE WAS NO IMMEDIATE NEED TO LOCATE YOU."
"U-Um, um, um, what?"
"DID I NOT ACQUIRE THE CORRECT LANGUAGE FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND ME, KAL-EL?" K.E.L.E.X. asked.
"N-No, you did! I just, this is a lot to take in. Okay, you're an AI, I get that, that's pretty self-explanatory. But, I mean, the other stuff is just, I don't know. Kryptonian, and analyzing people, and Xenosakolouthos? I really don't understand that on top of all the other things I don't understand."
"UNDERSTOOD. INITIATING PHASE TWO."
"What's phase-"
A sixth claw, one much, much, much smaller than the other five, shot out of K.E.L.E.X. and clamped itself around Midoriya's forehead.
"Midoriya-"
Everything went white for Midoriya. His vision came back, but everything was still white. No All Might, no Firestorm, no K.E.L.E.X., nothing but an endless expanse of white.
"Wh-What is this? Wh-Where'd everyone go?"
"Don't be alarmed. Your body is still exactly where it is. All of this is a virtual program being transmitted into your mind at a speed tens of thousands of times faster than normal reality. By the time everything is finished here, only a few seconds will have passed in real time."
Someone was talking to Midoriya. Someone who sounded nothing like K.E.L.E.X.
"Wh-Who's there?"
"Again, please do not be alarmed. There's nothing to be worried about, Kal-El."
"K-Kal-El?"
A mass of green pixels appeared in front of Midoriya. They all started shuffling around in the air until they took on a shape, the shape of a person. Slowly, the green coloring faded away until there was a clear cut person standing in front of Midoriya. A person with a pair of glasses on top of an aged face, a moustache and beard cut with precision, and a nice, clean head of black hair. All very normal. Less normal was the thin, yellow headband displayed on his forehead, the black bodysuit draped by a red robe, and the chest that bore the familiar black pentagon containing the English letter "S".
"That symbol-"
"Our symbol. My name is Jor-El of Krypton. I am your father, and it's so very nice to meet you, again."
Since I don't think anyone would get it, Jor-El's appearance is based on Hikaru Hanada, the Japanese voice actor who voices Superman in the Japanese dub of the DCAU. Now, before you leave, enjoy this short piece by my very good supporter, The Infamous Man.
Hope Carried 1,000 Years by The Infamous Man
"Let me go!" Shouted a man in a red body suit, his face covered with a glass green dome and a now smoking device covering his right wrist. The person behind him brought his arms back and with a flick of the wrist they were restrained by cuffs that appeared to be made of pure data.
The person behind him was bald and also had orange skin as well as two antenna coming from his forehead. He was wearing a white jumpsuit with blue highlights, and a black belt that had a golden buckle on it.
Within that buckle was a stylized 'L' on it.
"Well, since you asked politely..." the alien-looking humanoid said with a roll of his eyes.
"I have rights, you asshole!"
"Well, if you had succeeded, chances are those rights would've been voided." An orange-haired teen with milky white eyes said with a smirk. He wore a blue bodysuit, but with silver boots and gloves. Two yellow lightning bolts came from his shoulders and met at his abdomen, pointing at the same belt buckle his companion wore. As he said this, lightning danced from his fingers and on the silver rifle comprised of components that didn't have names.
Not in this time.
As the rifle squaked and hissed, the smell of burning hardware filling the air, the boy finished. "What with the high chance you wouldn't have been born in the first place. Time Assassination is a pretty big offense after all."
"I would've been protected, unlike you little punks!"
"So what makes you think that?" A young blond-haired woman wearing a red jumpsuit with a white stripe running down the middle, the yellow image of the planet Saturn in the center of her chest. "You can either tell us, or I dig in there and find out myself. I don't want to do that, but it's your choice."
These three were Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl. Their real names were Reep Daggle, Garth Ranzz, and Imra Ardeen respectively.
They were part of the organization known as the Legion of Superheroes.
They were also from the 30th century.
When their quarry did not answer, Irma sighed. "Alright then. Just remember that I gave you a choice." She placed her hands on her temples and closed her eyes...
"That will not be necessary."
All four of them turned their heads to see an individual stepping out of a glass sphere, silver disks flying from behind him and placing themselves underneath his feet as he acted like he was coming down some stairs. He wore a dark brown button-up shirt, pants, and shoes. His coat was a deep dark purple as was the bow tie he wore. His hair was a rich blond and combed to the side.
His skin was also completely green.
He was called Brainy by his friends, even if he hated it.
His name was Brainiac 5, and he preferred to be referred to that.
"The remnants of radiation within Bleed-space is that of adapted Apokolyptian technology. It's a bit too good of a job to have been done by the Legion of Supervillains, therefore I deduce that we're dealing with Libra and his Cult of Evil again." Brainiac then bent down as his feet touched the ground, picking up a glowing green bullet. One of the metal disks morphed into a cube, which Brainiac dropped the bullet in before it closed. "Likely trying to ensure his Master's "rightful" success down the timeline."
"Ugh. I hate this crap." Garth groaned as he hoisted the gun over his shoulder. "Especially when it's our shift. How come so many people wanna go back and assassinate Superman? Don't they got anything better to do? Like commit crimes in our time? At least we can kick the crap out of them in a place that isn't so freakin' backwards!"
"Oh? So your saying you'd prefer to be on duty to stop those who try to assassinate those Hitler or Kennedy guys?" Reep asked, causing Garth to shiver.
"No way. I pity those poor bastards. Did you hear about the guys who had to stop that 21st Century Meta, Midnighter, from assassinating Hitler during Earth's First World War?"
As the two continued talking, floating along with their captive to the glass sphere, Brainiac stood beside Irma as she stared in the distance.
Stared at Mount Fuji.
"You want to see him." Brainiac stayed simply, and Irma sighed.
"Can you blame me? We're just a few miles away from him. Back when he discovered his origins. It's the stuff that's shown in holo-vids everywhere." With that, Irma touched her wrist and a picture appeared in the space in front of them.
A picture of Izuku Midoriya descending from his jump with his mentor Toshinori Yagi.
Two living legends, even in the 30th Century.
"Plus... he could use some friends before he enters his training period."
"Yes, he could." Brainiac agreed. "But not yet. He needs to find himself first, and when he does... He'll take the first steps needed to make our future. A future that's moved past... this fairly ugly time." Brainiac then took out a white napkin from his coat pocket and began wiping his hands. "And unsanitary. So can we go now, please? I feel the need to begin stating the periodic timetable to keep my mind occupied from all the pollution we are currently inhaling. I mean really. Fossil fuels? Do they have any idea how horrid it all smells? And don't get me started on those glass bottles I saw on the ground in our arriva-!"
"All right Brainy. All right..." Irma giggled before floating up. "Don't short-circuit on us. Let's go home."
As they floated to the Time-Sphere, Irma glanced back at the mountain. He reached out with her mind... and felt his.
She felt doubt, nervousness, and fear.
But also... determination, bravery, and hope.
It was the mind of Izuku Midoriya.
This was the mind of Superman.
"I hope we do meet him, one day. For real this time." Irma told Brainiac as he began pressing on holographic images within the sphere.
He simply smiled.
"We will one day." Brainiac said as the sphere glowed. "It's only a matter of time."
As the three other Legionaries groaned, the sphere glowed as bright as a star...
And then disappeared from existence, as if it were never there in the first place.