"He has Sorahiko!"
"Calm down."
"You fucking calm down! All for One has Sorahiko!"
Nana didn't think she was susceptible to hysteria, but as she paced across the rooftop her anxieties, her fears and increasingly rising sense of panic and dread for what might be happening to her friend were forcing her to re-evaluate her overly optimistic assumptions.
The Bat was suddenly there, standing eye to eye with her as his face came in close.
"This" The man hissed. "Is exactly what he wants. What he expects from you."
She grit her teeth, and the urge to tell him to go to hell was strong, held back only by the fact that she needed his help, his skills, now more than ever.
So she doesn't tell him off, instead she puts one hand to his chest and shoves.
He doesn't fall, but it's enough.
"He wants to get inside your head, throw you off. You're the one with the best shot at taking him out. If you let him walk all over you before the fight even starts, then we've already lost." He growled.
Her conversation with Bruce, so very long ago now rang in her ears, the similar sentiments bouncing around her skull.
It took effort, willpower, but she reigned in her fraying nerves and burning anger. Forcing air into her lungs, she released it slowly.
"Where do we go from here?" She bit out.
"Torino isn't dead."
She looked at him. He sounded sure of himself, but he always sounded like that. "How the hell do you know that?"
"Because-" He began. "The profile has held so far, and the profile points to the fact that he won't kill him, not because he doesn't want to but because he wants to draw us out. He believes that if he kills him he loses the bait. He thinks you'll run. Because he's hurt you before. Without Sorahiko to bring you to him he's sure you'll go into hiding again and he doesn't know me well enough to make a call."
Nana nodded slowly though it was unnerving how Bat had so easily mentioned her history with All For One and gotten so close to the truth. Had he made a profile on her too? It wouldn't surprise her..
"Makes sense…"
"Right now, our priority needs to be to pick up the trail. It'll be there. He wants us to follow, now that he has Sorahiko he wants to play with his food. Us."
"We need to get to Shadaa then." She deduced.
The Bat nodded, pulling out something, a scanner. "The earpieces I gave you double as tracking devices. Sorahiko's device hasn't moved from its location in hours, likely dumped where he was captured. That's where we'll find a trail."
"I'm coming with you." It wasn't a request.
"I was gonna need you to come along anyway. Frankly, you can travel faster than I can and All For One may have left traps along this trail. Neither of us can operate alone anymore. We need to act under the presumption that he's watching us at all times."
She hissed. "Yeah. Not fucking creepy at all."
The Bat said nothing, she floated up to the air grabbing hold of his wrist. He gave a nod and she took to the sky, One for All boosting her speed as she soared across the city.
(X)(X)(X)
It was night by the time they reached the place; signaled by the Bat tapping her wrist.
"We're here." He said. "Let go."
She did, and his cape flared open around him becoming rigid like wings as he glided down towards a rooftop, circling the area.
She dropped straight down, her feet crunching into the gravel as she scanned her eyes around her, searching for… everything really. Any sign of danger, anything that looked out of place.
When the bat landed beside her in a crouch he stood slowly. "The tracker is directly below us." He drawled. "I trust I don't need to tell you to be careful."
She grit her teeth.
She understood his point… he was right but.
"Sorahiko needs us, so let's get in there before I tear this whole damn building down."
"Hn."
Luckily for the both of them, he pulled free a flashlight stepping towards the rooftop access door.
When he reached it, it was unlocked, he pulled the door open-
And the smell hit her like a hammer.
She gagged and she saw the Bat's lip curl in distaste.
"Smells like-"
"Decomp." He finished for her. "Multiple. He's sealed the smell in here likely with a quirk, and warned off others from calling the police. He wants us to see his handiwork."
She closed her eyes, steeling herself. "Yeah… sounds like him."
He stepped in first, and as they walked into the stairwell Nana felt her bile rise.
There were arrows.
Arrows in blood, like finger paintings.
Lining the walls, the floors, the ceilings each one a perfectly straight line, so straight and exact it was disconcerting, following the incline of the stairs and floor to an exact degree.
Bat stepped forward, boots quiet on the concrete floor and steel steps as they followed the trail.
They went down a flight, another and another, each door carrying a politely worded sign. 'Not here' 'Keep going' 'Almost' and so on and so forth printed out and framed in front of each doorway in pristine white in direct contrast to the bloody handprints around it.
Finally, they reached the ground floor.
'Right this way' read the sign and taped to its side-
"Sora's mask." She breathed.
Bat reached for it, his dark gloved hands seemingly ready to pluck it free before instead lightly touching the frame of the sign itself, angling it.
"No fingerprints beyond Gran Torino's."
She looked to him, noting a reddish glow behind the lenses of his cowl.
He moved the sign lightly, this way and that way, searching before he seemed satisfied, plucking the eyemask from its place before finally opening the door.
What they found was a charnel pit.
Bodies were everywhere, blood pooled on the floor deep enough to leave visible puddles. The corpses were a mishmash of different states. Some decayed and bloated, others almost freshly dead, even more were torn apart, ripped open while others didn't look injured at all.
Some hung from chains hanging along the club lights overhead, and some were still sitting at their seats, seemingly enjoying their drinks, their faces frozen in parodies of merriment.
She cast her eyes over all of them.
"This is sick."
"It's a way of showing off." Batman said beside her. "He wants to show us how many different ways he can kill, how easy it is for him to break us, physically as well as emotionally. I wouldn't be surprised if each individual here died to a different quirk or weapon of choice."
"I always knew he was a monster." She said. "But this-" She trailed off.
The Bat pulled free the tracker, turning a dial on it before she heard the chime of its pulse.
He stepped forward, feet making wet sloshing sounds as he walked past the blood.
She followed.
Stepping into an area that had more than a few destroyed tables the Bat paused.
"They fought here." He said, trailing the light of his flashlight "He hit the ground hard, the floor made it slick enough for him to slide."
He stepped closer to a pile of debris. Crouching low. "Wasn't injured… not yet." The flashlight moved around, lighting up the metal she could now see had been punched into the wood, walls and surrounding floors.
"Projectiles. A magnetism quirk of some kind."
"How bad?"
"Too much foreign blood to tell. I can't say if it's his or someone else's. But he's alive and being used as bait."
"Would All For One…" She trailed off for a moment, the words sticking in her throat. "Would he torture him?"
The Bat shook his head. "Not physically. He doesn't enjoy it anymore. Too simple. Boring. Mentally and emotionally are a completely different matter. Frankly, it would depend on his mood."
She gnawed on her lip. "Other than showing us… all this. What'd he leave behind? Where's the trail? He must've left one." She wasn't sure if it was an assertion or a plea.
The Bat looked around, eyes narrowed,... "He would have…"
He trailed off, eyes going this way and that way before his gaze seemed to focus on something.
"What?"
"He views himself as a puppet master, pulling strings. Always in the shadows."
Her brain clicked. "Backstage."
She floated up off the ground, Batman following after her, hopping onto the stage where the macabre display of a dead stripper was strung up to the pole.
They stepped around it, moving past the curtain and into the dressing area.
"No bodies here." She said. Opening doors.
"Nothing here more like." He answered. "No clothing, makeup, props"
"Why?"
"Nothing is allowed to distract from the One that needs all the attention on him." He surmised.
Nana pursed her lips.
Finally, they reached the last room.
They opened the door.
Whatever the room had been used for before it, like all the others had been cleared out, leaving just a single table with a box on it.
She marched forward, Batman right at her side.
She moved to grab the thing, only for the Bat to hold her back at the last moment. She looked at him and saw the red tint to his cowl lenses again.
He shut it off after a moment and turned to her with a nod.
She reached down, noting a latch on the front, with a click it came undone, letting her open it to reveal a small monitor, no larger than a cellphone.
The image came up.
Her heart stuttered in her chest.
"Hello Mrs. Shimura. Oh. Forgive me, Ms. Shimura these days."
His smile was a mockery, something that would seem kind if not for the glint of cruelty hiding in the shadow of his eyes.
No doubt you're desperately searching for your good friend Torino. Well my dear I'll be more than happy to deliver him to you. Unharmed and with quirk intact. Promise.
She looked to the Bat, but he gave no answer, eyeing the monitor with a blank, stoic face.
"All I need in return is, of course; You. And that vigilante that's been fussing about."
His smile widened, no longer kind, but hungry, predatory and sadistic, the change was so startling it almost made her take a step back even without his physical presence.
"I trust these terms are acceptable for such… upstanding, galant heroes such as yourself, yes?"
The Monster laughed, leaning back in his seat.
"I'll give you hmmm… three days. To think it over. In seventy two hours, this little device will activate and give you coordinates for our meeting place. I am looking forward to this.
He leaned forward, hand rising to deactivate the recording device, but then he paused, smiling wide as he leaned in.
"Oh… and Nana. Do remember to smile when we meet again. It's only polite you give me one of those winning smiles dear."
His laugh crawled ice down her spine.
It shut off. She and Bat stared at the device for a moment before he spoke, breaking the sudden silence.
"Take it with us. I'll place it in a faraday cage before we reach any sensitive locations."
"The hell's that?"
"No transmissions in or out. He won't be able to track us with the device once it's secured.
She eyed the box with a new sense of trepidation. "You think he'd do that?"
"I would."
(X)(X)(X)
By the time the device was secured in the cage, the moon hung high in the sky, half dark but still bright enough to cast long, cold shadows.
"He's given you three days to wear down your patience."
She looked to Batman and found him staring back at her. "Your mind will keep going back to Sorahiko. You won't sleep tonight, likely not tomorrow either. By the third day you might but not enough."
"So when he calls me I'll be easy… well… easier." She sighed through her nostrils, bringing her fingers up to press tightly against the bridge of her nose. Then she laughed, a hollow sound. "Can't even laugh at my own innuendos anymore…"
His features softened. She must look a damn right mess.
Finally, he looked away. "Is there someone you can stay with?"
"Why?"
"Emotionally, you won't do well if you're alone with nothing and no one to distract you even a little bit."
"Gee thanks."
"I'm serious. You're close to Sorahiko, he knows that and he's exploiting it. You need to turn to someone else right now."
She started to shake her head, for so long it had been just her and Sorahiko, just her hiding; quietly nursing One for All, praying, hoping…
Then she stopped trying to blink away the tears. "Maybe… I'll have to ask him. But… Maybe. Won't that bring All For One to his doorstep though?"
The Bat paused, seeming to think for a moment.
"No. With me taking this monitor, if he was going to track us, that's no longer an option and if he was going to attack us, he would have done it already. He'll wait the three days. The best you can do right now is keep an even keel in spite of what he's doing."
She nodded. It made sense. He always made sense but…
"I fucking hate this."
"He's counting on that." He crouched down, picking up the monitor inside the sealed faraday cage and Nana actually had the luxury of seeing him depart this time, grapple gun and rigid cape falling into the night streets.
She huffed, she really must look like a fucking mess.
(X)(X)(X)
It's almost four in the morning by the time she makes up her mind, builds up the nerve.
Its drizzling outside. She knocks on the door. Bangs on it really.
When Bruce answers the door, Nana isn't surprised to see him holding a kitchen knife at his side, looking as caught off guard as she expected him to be. He puts the knife away when he realizes it's her standing at the door to his home.
"Nana what-"
"He was fucking right." She laughs mirthlessly, sniffs as she tries to blink back the tears. "I don't wanna put you in danger, but right now I'm losing my goddamn mind."
Bruce's features soften, and he reaches closer to grasp her arm, pulling her inside.
The home is more furnished now, still somewhat sparse, but certainly more lived in than it had been so many months ago.
She's cold, and it's not till she enters the house and its warmth does she realize it.
"Wait here" He says.
When he returns, it's with a towel in hand, and she notices the dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept much.
"Shit. I'm sorry. I know it's late I'm-"
He places the towel around her shoulders, looking at her. "I get the feeling you wouldn't be here if it wasn't important. So there's nothing to be sorry about." He says, and gestures for her to enter.
The home is furnished now, a full living room set greets her, dark granite wood shelves, a coffee table.
He lets her sit in the leather couch leaving for a moment before returning minutes later with a drink. It's warm, tea or hot chocolate, she's not sure, but she's grateful as he takes a seat across from her.
"What happened?"
She looks to him, feeling her eyes glisten even as she tries desperately to stop it.
She's done enough crying.
And the Bat's right. It's exactly what All For One wants her to do.
"The quirk thief." She says slowly. "He has Sora."
Bruce sucks in a breath. "I… I see."
He seems to pause, gather his thoughts. "I know you were close. I'm sorry for your loss."
She shook her head. "He's not dead. He's using him as bait. Gonna tell us where in three days. Making us sit in it."
"Oh." Bruce takes a breath. "Yes… yes, that… makes sense."
She nods and she lets them fall into silence.
Bruce seems unsure, hesitant, and that's fine, because she's also unsure. Also hesitant.
She doesn't know what to do, where to go from here. Sitting still for three days is just complete torture.
"He killed my husband."
The words slip out of her mouth before she can stop them, and the tears she's been fighting burn at her eyes again.
"I was taking Kotaro to school… dropped him off. When I looked. I realized I'd left my phone. I had to run back and get it."
The memory scorched her mind, so long hidden away, now that she remembered it blazed like a wildfire across the plains of her thoughts.
"When I got home… he was there. Waiting for me."
She brought her eyes up, looking to the ceiling, closing them as she fruitlessly tried to push away the guilt.
"He was playing with my phone, took it right out of my purse… he saw my son Bruce, was three feet away from him. And he went straight to my house."
She looked at him, Bruce's face was dark, his expression grim, but he didn't interrupt… she was grateful.
She'd never told this story, not to anyone. Not even Sora who'd been with her every step of the way.
"I remember the screams." She admitted quietly. "When he pressed a button on the phone… One of my husband's bones would break. He couldn't move. His arms twisted until I could see the snapped bones breaking skin, his knees shattered, fingers bent back."
She choked down a sob. "I… I remember praying he'd die. Just so the pain would stop. But he wouldn't die. Even when he should have. He forced him to stay alive. All For One kept saying that all I had to do was take the phone back… if I just took the phone back, everything would be okay."
She wiped at her eyes. "I… I ran. It was all I could think of. If I wasn't there… there was no reason to keep him alive. No reason to keep hurting him. He'd just kill him." The shame burned in her chest. "I ran… I grabbed my son… then I gave him up. A different name. A different place." She looked back at him. "He's going to try again with Sora; Isn't he? That's why he's keeping him alive, just to… do it all over again."
The thought was horrifying, gut wrenching. She couldn't wouldn't go through that again.
Bruce moved, standing from his seat to take a knee in front of her. He grasped her hand and she clutched at his fingers.
"He will try." He said gravely. "But you have help this time. You know you're going into a fight, not going home to grab your phone. You can be ready."
"And if it's not enough?"
He stared at her, her quirkless friend who seemed so sure she could win she almost believed him.
"No one's invincible. And this quirk thief is more fragile than most. You can win. But only if you don't let him in your head."
"He's practically living there rent free these days." She admitted miserably.
His hand squeezed hers. "It's late. You're exhausted. I'll give you something to help you sleep and for the next two days, I'm all yours. We'll go over his profile in detail. When you face him, you'll be in his head, not the other way around."
It sounded good. It sounded like exactly what she needed to hear. She wasn't sure if it was the truth, or a white lie… but she was grateful regardless.
He stood, and before he could walk off to grab the sleeping pills or whatever he was going to get Nana stood with him, reaching forward, much to his obvious surprise and wrapping him in a fierce, almost desperate hug.
She felt him stiffen, surprised before quietly returning the embrace.
"You'll be fine." She heard him say.
"I'm here. You'll be fine."
(X)(X)(X)
The next day she woke up well into the afternoon. Whatever Bruce had given her had hit her like a ten ton truck and knocked her flat out. She was still plagued by the morose thoughts, but she certainly felt much more well rested and that made it easier to keep it a bit more 'together' so to speak.
When she stepped out into the home proper it was to see Bruce at the kitchen table, a laptop in front of him as his fingers flew across the keyboard. Good to know he didn't need those big keys like he had on his main computer.
He spotted her, smiling in greeting. "I see you're awake. Coffee is there, tea leaves in the cabinet above if you prefer."
"Coffee is fine." She preferred tea, but she was hardly going to get overly picky after having barged in here at god knows what hour.
She served herself a nice, large mug, the steam wafting up smelt good. She was still a little groggy from the knock out drugs but it was rapidly being chased away as she stepped closer to Bruce and sat down beside him.
"Thanks again…" She said quietly. "For last night."
"My pleasure." He answered, then slid the Laptop closer to her.
There was a file, almost a hundred and seventy pages worth.
"The profile." Bruce said, suddenly all business. "We have a lot of work to go through, and not a lot of time to do it in."
(X)(X)(X)
He was right. They did have a lot of work to go through.
By the time she'd read the whole profile with Bruce breaking things down into far more digestible pieces she had a throbbing headache, but felt like she wasn't quite floundering underwater anymore as she had been yesterday.
It was evening when they finally stopped, the sun beginning to set, Bruce said he needed to do some work for Wayne Tech on the main computer, leaving her to her own devices.
She soon found herself making a call.
It rang once, twice, a third time-
"Ms Shimura?"
She found herself smiling a smile that wasn't wholly forced. "Hey kid."
Did I forget something? I… don't think we had training today. You said you wanted my body to acclimatize to… you know"
"Nah kid. You didn't forget." She said softly. "It's just… something's gonna go down, real soon. Not sure where and I just… figured you should know."
She could hear the sudden movement, like he was adjusting his grip on the phone. "Is it… you know? Him? Do you need me to give it back before you fight?"
"No kid. Don't need ya to give it back. I'm just telling you…" She took a breath. "I'm telling you… just in case. You know?"
There was a pause.
"Ms. Shimura… you promised." His voice was half plea, half accusation.
She nodded. "Yeah. I know. But even if I survive Toshinori… I might have to hide for a while. So you may not see me again."
There was a silence on the line and for a moment, she was afraid he'd hung up in his anger.
But he wasn't like that. He wouldn't do that. And he didn't.
"Is there anything I can do?"
She thought for a moment…
"Yeah." She said. "There is. You go to U.A.. You chase that dream of yours Toshinori. You chase it until you reach it. Become the Hero you want to be, and if I'm… if you can't find me. Just look for Bruce, or another hero called Gran Torino. They'll help you. I know they will."
"...I will. I promise. I will take this opportunity you've given me with both hands. I will become the Symbol of Peace like I told you."
Her smile was wide, grateful. It was a shame he couldn't see it.
"I know you will, Toshinori."
(X)(X)(X)
By the time the fateful night came Nana stood on a rooftop. Bruce had left earlier in the day, stating an emergency had come up with one of his labs. He gave her the key to the house, urging her to use it when she returned.
She'd wanted to say… something to him. But she hadn't. Maybe it was cowardly of her, maybe it was just too cruel.
When the Bat finally arrived, he did so with the Cage box in hand and a large duffel bag in another.
She found herself raising an eyebrow. "More toys than usual?"
"It's a special night." He answered in monotone. He set down the bag, then opened the Faraday cage, releasing the monitor device before opening it.
He brought his forearm up; a small hologram appeared showing a timer.
"What's that?"
"Our contingency" He answered. "In twenty four hours, win or lose, all the evidence Gran Torino and I have gathered through the last year will go public. Mainstream and social media. Names, dates, accounts, video recordings, audio recordings, known quirk thefts and money trails. All of it." He said. "Even if he wins, All for One will be picking up the pieces of his organization for decades at best.
She sucked down a breath through her teeth. "How long have you been planning that."
"Sorahiko came up with the idea. He had the contacts in the media and police that could facilitate it. Six months now."
"How much information?"
"Two Terabytes." At her naked surprise the Bat elaborated. "Operate for several centuries, you leave a trail."
She supposed the man did.
Batman looked at the monitor. "Three minutes."
"You seem awfully confident he'll call the same second we opened it." She said.
"He's obsessive, precise, and wants to give a kernel of truth so his lies seem more believable later.
"You think one of those "kernels of truth" is his promise about Sorahiko?" She asked as the Bat straightened from where he'd been fiddling with the device. "He did promise to give him back okay and with his quirk."
"I wouldn't count on it." He said. "If anything is gonna save Sorahiko, it'll have to be us."
In that instant she was grateful *infinitely* grateful that he'd said the word's us and not her. And she remembered Bruce's words those few nights ago.
"You have help this time"
He was infuriating, rude, a pain in her ass but-
"I'm glad you're here with me."
He looked at her, no surprise on his face or even a flicker of a change to the expression she could see.
"So am I."
And it was enough.
The monitor came to life, revealing a series of numbers. Coordinates.
(X)(X)(X)
"You're sure?"
"No mistake."
They stood at the coast. A small strip of beach.
There was an oil platform just off the coast. Half a mile. They could just see it over the gloom of the night. The moon hung high over the sky, full and bright, casting silver over the ocean.
"Why this spot?"
"So you can use your full strength." Batman answered without hesitation. "He wants you to go all out. And he wants to beat you. Prove you can't win." The duffle bag was adjusted on his shoulder.
He held out something to her.
"Your pills again."
"Two for you, two for Sora. Whoever gets to him first, gives them to him.
"You gonna tell me what these things do?" She asked, even as she shoved them into her mouth and dry swallowed them.
"No. I will tell you to keep the wind pressure blasts to a minimum for as long as possible though."
"Like that clears up anything." She said grimacing as she felt the sensation of the pill get stuck in her throat.
(X)(X)(X)
She set him down on the east side of the platform, their footsteps as quiet as they could be, but disconcertingly loud against the metal plating.
"He's expecting you." The Bat said. "I need time to set up. Three minutes tops. Keep him distracted, keep him talking-"
"He likes to talk." She parroted the words that Bruce's profile had drilled into her.
He nodded, then stepped into the shadows, disappearing from sight.
For the first time, she loved that vanishing act.
She considered floating as she moved forward, then thought against it.
She made noise. She wasn't obvious about her intent but the Bat asked her for a distraction. So she'd distract him.
An oil platform was a massive structure, a miniature city of steel and pipes. But she didn't have to wonder where All for One would be. The profile made that clear enough.
He likes to be the center of attention, so he'd be in the center.
Her footsteps clanked and clanged on the steel grates.
When she reached the center platform with the tallest drill line, there he was.
He sat on a throne of twisted metal, smiling kindly at her, an old television with a black and white film was playing someone singing in english. She recognized the word Heaven but blocked it out of her mind.
Sora was behind him, strung up with chains, tied to the main drill line. He looked beaten, bloodied… but still alive.
"Ms. Shimura. So nice of you to join us." All for One said with a smile, finishing off a serving of wine.
"I could never turn down one of your invitations." She said, injecting some false bravado in her voice.
All For One's smile became predatory. "I believe you're forgetting something Ms. Shimura."
Was she?
Then she remembered.
Do remember to smile when we meet again. It's only polite you give me one of those winning smiles dear.
She forced the smile onto her lips. Forcing her muscles to cooperate.
"There it is." All For One chuckled before standing up. "And where is your dear new friend?"
"He's making his own way." The lie came easily. "I got impatient."
He tutted like a disapproving parent. "Not nice Ms. Shimura. My terms were very clear."
"He'll be here." The words snapped out of her, almost sounding desperate. "He's actually been looking forward to this."
"Oh?" By the tone of his voice, she wondered if she'd misstepped. There was a sudden steel, a sudden danger in his tenor.
I just implied the Bat's underestimating him. He hates that. He wants to be taken seriously, to be feared.
She nodded. "He knows you're the most dangerous villain in Japan. If he can take you down, the rest falls into place."
Perhaps it was that he wasn't expecting it, least of all from her, perhaps her desperation and fear masked her intentions just enough to give him false signals, perhaps it was a million other things, but if she could just twist him for the minutes bat needed, she'd take it.
"Well that still leaves us at an impasse does it not?" He asked, and behind him Sora melted into the metal, swallowed by shifting liquid steel as All for One reached and clicked off the old television with a remote.
She stiffened her concern spiking before Sora appeared again, tied to a pillar of steel between her and All for One. "I can hardly hand you back the good Sorahiko Ms. Shimura. Not until your part of the bargain is complete." He sighed, his head resting against his closed fist with a sigh "Oh dear. What to do, what to do."
Before she could answer. He smiled.
That same smile she'd seen at her home, and she felt suddenly, violently ill.
"Why don't we play a game?"
The question came as he lifted the remote, filled with a plethora of buttons to press.
And she was suddenly back at her home, staring down a hallway as All For One clicked and clicked and bones snapped and muscles tore.
Her bile rose.
"Lets not-"
The voice catches them all by surprise and the second they register the sound Batman is swooping down from the rafters, his armored gauntlets cracking against All For One's skull , sending the man crashing into the steel grates.
She has the time to notice something, some kind of gel over the villain's face before the Bat clicks a button.
The blast startles her, Its intense, steel warps and buckles under the force concentrated directly on All for One's face. His body spasms, jerks.
She rushes forward, all but lunging towards Sorahiko snapping the chains keeping him in place clean off as the remnants of All for One surge under her skin.
Hahahaha.
The laugh startles her. She catches the stumbling Sorahiko, who barely has the strength to keep himself upright and remembers the Bat's earlier warning as she fishes out two pills.
He's conscious, still aware enough, she places the pills in the palm of his hand, making sure he's got a hold of them before she pulls away. He was smart, he'd get the message.
Then she attacks.
One For All, its embers burn to full in her chest, all the power, all the speed, strength and everything that came with it crackles along her skin, and blue lightning sparks across her flesh in barely contained corruscating bolts of energy.
Her fist crashes into his face, and its like a bomb going off, the blast of sheer concussive force dents the metal structures around them with pure wind pressure, The Bat has to dig in his feet to keep standing and the whole platform groans and sways under her power.
The body of All For One melts into sludge, his echoing laugh bouncing off the steel before she sees him emerging from behind the Bat.
Her friend isn't slow at all and he's already whirling, blocking a blow that makes his knees buckle under him before her foot smashes into the warping twisted metal that All for One rapidly sinks into.
It shatters, the blast of wind pressure making the whole structure groan and moan disconcertingly once again.
They're alone for a moment and she has time to see Sora stumble to his feet. She hopes he took the pills.
"And here I was hoping to have some good spirited fun before we got down to… business."
His voice echoes around them, coming from everywhere. The Bat makes it to his feet; stance coiled and ready for a fight.
"Don't let him separate us." He says as quietly as he can
She's about to answer when-
"Well that just wouldn't be fair of me, would it?"
She whirls, her fist sparking with lightning and it's caught in a grip like iron. Wind and concussive force explodes around her , blasting back the Bat's cape even as he tries to capitalize on the opening, fists with knuckled tasers sparking.
Only for All For One's body to split, morph and twist, a second torso appearing from the one holding her, reaching with a smile and grasping at the Bat's wrists, stopping him cold.
Sorahiko, bless him, tries to help, the jet boots whistling like a jet engine before his full body slams into All for One's.
Another torso had tried to form, but the speed and full weight crashes into him, enough to knock the man off his feet.
And the body explodes, a burst of black tar spattering over Sorahiko, heavy, sticky, her injured friend is left sputtering as he tries to pull himself free of the rapidly hardening mess.
Now now. You and I have already played. Its time for the other children to have a go
"Is this it?"
It takes her a moment to peg Batman's voice.
"All those quirks, and we have to deal with someone so afraid he has to resort to hit and run attacks?"
She was about to ask what the hell he was doing when Bruce's words came back to her.
'Smile. And laugh at him'
So she did.
Her smile came easier than it should have, felt more natural than it should have. "Yeah well, its been a few centuries since anyone fought him. Old guy's probably afraid he'll blow out a hip or something"
Perhaps from the Bat, he could have ignored it.
But from her.
Someone that was his prey…
He appeared in front of the both of them in a blur of speed before they can react. He's smiling still, but with a dangerous glint in his eye.
"Boo!"There's an impact, something hard and unseen, she feels like she's just been socked in the chest by a sledgehammer, she goes flying, barely catching herself with her quirk and looks worriedly towards the Bat.
He hits the ground with a pained grunt, rolling with the fall before he manages to put his feet under him. The grimace of pain on his face told her enough.
She floats to his side, as he gets to his feet.
She's hoping he has a plan, something he can whisper.
He does.
"Get him to the main drill line."
She doesn't nod. She can't risk it. She hears the Bat draw two of those batarangs of his, their edges gleaming like sharpened knives.
She doesn't need another incentive.
She charges forward, flying low, low enough her thighs nearly graze the steel grates that make up the floor before angling sharply upwards.
Her shoulder smashes into All for One's ribs, with enough force to shatter a building, hard enough she actually hears him grunt, and feels the breath leave his lungs.
She carries him high, ten feet, fifteen and when she smashes him into the steel drill line the metal buckles, shaking dangerously overhead as the line nearly collapses.
One for All crackles under her skin, the reserve power making her muscle's bulge in her arm before she hits with all the power, fear and anger she had bottled up.
The Blow crashes into his smiling face, she feels the bones warp, crack, bend, break and twist under her fist, but the smile remains.
Another blow, another and another his bones shift and move unnaturally under his skin and for a fleeting moment she wonders if he'll let her crush his skull completely.
Then his hands rise, catching her fists in the palm of his hand as she struggles.
So forceful. I'd almost say there's some anger behind that smile of yours Ms. Shimura
Something flies past her, she blinks and there's a cord around his throat, wrapping around the man and the steel drill line behind him, tightening, steel wire digging into flesh like a garotte, so deep it looks like it'll start grinding his head off.
"Get away!"
She feels All For One's grip tighten, he wants to hold her, but he underestimates her strength. She rips herself free, the full 100% of her power literally tearing his limbs clean off in a gorish display, his fingers are dug into her hands, clutching at her.
The Bat's sharpened batarang sails past her as she descends, slicing open the steel drill line directly over All for One's head.
The Oil is black and thick, oozing over the still smiling monster.
Then it's on fire.
She's not sure where the spark comes from but it goes off.
Immediately warning klaxons sound, alarms blaring, red lights pulsing, drops of burning oil descend like rain and All for One hangs there, arms gone, skull destroyed, strangled without a sound and she knows it's not over.
She rips the still gripping arms off of her, tossing them to the side before she moves, taking the distraction, the opportunity for all its worth as she rushes towards Sorahiko.
She breaks off the hardened, black tar like substance, cracking it and helping him reach his feet.
"You need to run!"
He glares at her, his face is swollen, an eye ruptured a blood vessel leaving him with a blood red sclera as he glares at her.
"I'm not leaving you here!"
There's a sound behind her and Nana turns finding All For One, whole and hale holding Batman up by the throat.
She doesn't have time to argue.
She plants both hands on Sorahiko's chest and shoves.
He flies back and she doesn't bother to see how far before shouting after him GO!
When she rushes to help Batman suddenly, something slams into her, it's like that Kobayakawa girl's quirk, but a thousand times more powerful.
Her flight is stopped, she hits the steel grates underneath with a deafening clang, her whole body held tight under the force.
She can't move... can barely breathe.
It's there, pressed against the steel grates that she sees it.
Underneath, hiding in the gloom.
A small, egg shaped thing. She's not sure what it is, but she can see it spraying something, a thin, barely there mist that vanishes as it sprays from the nozzle.
Her eyes dart, going this way and that way, curious, searching.
There are more of them, hidden, spread out.
She sees Bat's duffle bag.
Empty.
With a start, she realizes what's happening.
Its poison.
That's what the pills are for.
She's not sure what it is, how it works. But right now she doesn't care.
They just have to stall… hold out a little bit longer. Even if they die… if that poison takes hold then… maybe-"
There's a screech of metal somewhere above and heat blooms across her back, the orange glow of the fire now becoming a new sun above them.
It's strange; you know?
All For One's voice is calm, almost languid, a sharp contrast to the tearing metal, spewing oil and crackling flames around them.
Of all the things I've seen when searching for you Nana. I never once truly saw our vigilante friend's quirk in action.
The pressure doesn't let up, she uses all the force she can 100% of One for All but she can't budge a single inch.
"Must be something quite special. Playing it very close to the chest. Hmmm?"
There's a sound. Metal slicing flesh, and Nana feels warm blood spatter her face. She recognizes the sound of the Bat, hissing in pain. Something's wrong.
The lightning crackles along her skin, and Nana tries to fight through the pressure to get to her feet but just barely manages to twitch her fingers.
So what is it, vigilante? Care to share with the class? Or should I just cut you up until I can see it inside for myself?"
The Bat grunts and she can hear him forcing his words through a constricted throat.
"You want to know my quirk?"
"It is quite a curiosity. Yes"
She hears him struggling, and can practically see in her mind's eye his growling glower as he spits out his next words.
"I'm not afraid of monsters!"
There's a sound, like a grenade going off and Nana can suddenly move again, suddenly breathe again, she surges to her feet and sees All For One reeling, one hand rubbing at his eyes the ruined mess of shrapnel in the Bat's gauntlets tell her what happened.
He'd set off a flashbang in the guys face, clutching it in his own hands.
The Bat's bleeding, she can see the blood along his shoulder trailing down his body, caught in the groves and divots of his armor.
She doesn't think on that, doesn't hesitate, her fist, with all her weight and body thrown behind it smashes into the still reeling villain and All For One stumbles, and for the first time the smile isn't on his lips, for the first time she feels like she's hurt him.
Then she can't move.
Just like before, her body freezes, a sudden weight on her that she only just managed to keep from sending her plummeting to the ground all over again.
Her knees shake, the metal under her groans she grits her teeth as she tries desperately to not fall.
The fire's spreading now, the heat is oppressive, suffocating. She wonders what will kill them first. The heat, the flames, the smoke or All For One.
The villain straightens, a flashburn mark rapidly healing over his eye socket. The Bat must've pressed it right up to his face.
Then, the pressure eases suddenly, she sees All For One's eyes dart this way and that way, first with curiosity, then with something that takes her a moment to identify, if only because she never thought to see it on his face.
Unease.
Fear.
"What is this! What are y-? No. no this…"
He starts, turning and looking to them, then a shaky smile is on his lips as he stares at the Bat.
This is it? This is your quirk isn't it! Ha. Hahahaha."
The fear is gone, replaced with confidence, it's only fleeting, and the pressure eases again enough for her to take a single step forward.
Her earpiece chimes.
"He's… cycling through… countermeasures for brain affecting type quirks." The Bat hisses in her ear, as quiet as he can. "Have to… take the opportunity, before he finds one that'll stop me" That, he says loudly.
He's lying. She knows he's lying. It's not a quirk. It must be that poison. The pills, something like that.
But All For One doesn't know.
He still thinks it's a quirk.
"Get away! GET OFF ME! I KILLED YOU! I KILLED ALL OF YOU YOU'RE ALL DEAD YOU'RE NOTHING! ITS MINE NOW YOU CAN'T TAKE IT BACK YOU CAN'T HAVE-"
She realizes, in that moment, two things.
He's cycling through powers too fast to notice what he's doing.
And he has a limit on how many quirks he can have active at any one time.
The fear is growing on his features, the panic beginning to set in, the pressure on her eases one more time and now One for All explodes under her skin, enough to power straight through the collection of quirks still bearing down on her.
She charges, and she sees the Bat right beside her.
All For One sees her coming; he realizes his mistake, too late.
Her drop kick is something that could collapse a bunker like a tin can, All For One's shoulder shatters. She feels it, she sees the shock of pain on his face, the pure surprise and knows he's not faking. The Bat comes in a moment later, a slash of a batarang slicing open a cut above the eyes, followed by a kick straight to the teeth while he's on his knees.
The Monster hits the ground hard, and his hands thrust out towards them, again, a force slams into them but she's ready this time, Float, empowered by One for All explodes, stopping her mid flight she rises up and slams back down, both feet stomping onto the monster's chest, metal twists and bends and buckles, under him shards of shrapnel cutting into the Symbol of Evil as his ribs cave in.
All For One moves now, abandoning previous subtleties, his strength overpowers her own a hundred fold, the force of his blow when it hits her in the stomach is makes her cough blood and spit, something shifts painfully in her insides, they burn as agony roils across her whole body, she goes flying, earth met sky met flame and everything in between- she doesn't even have the presence of mind to think about catching herself, let alone actually doing it.
She eventually stops, twisted, ruined metal left in her wake, there's a sharp rolling agony in her side that flares up to something that makes her mind go blank with pain whenever she breathes.
She looks, trembling eyes roving downward to see a piece of metal running her through…
Blood oozes from the wound, she sucks down a gasping breath trying to focus through the pain.
She… she's prepared to die. But being prepared for it is hardly wanting it.
Her vision blurs, and she almost wills her eyes to focus. To let her see.
The fire and the smoke and the pain make it hard, but she does, just barely spotting the two shadows standing amidst the roaring flames and collapsing metal.
All For One is shaking, looking like an addict on a relapse trembling as he fights off invisible demons.
Batman walks back stepping deeper into the fires as he marches away from the rapidly fraying creature that is All for One.
You… You think you can frighten ME!? ME!? You're a mote of dust struggling against a *storm*. You're NOTHING and these ghosts less than nothing! You can't bring me down with this quirk vigilante!
There's a moment of silence, she can see tongues of fire snaking up and over the Bat's cape before he finally vanishes into the flames.
You've been frightened all your life...Shigaraki
The fury is immediate.
The blast that tears through the facility sends fires blooming up into the sky, Night is banished from the world, heat and smoke replace it Nana can barely suck down a breath, barely cough, barely think.
There's another and another. All For One is tearing the whole platform apart around their heads.
Then, the Bat's there, standing in front of her. His face is grim, worried.
She must look like hell.
He pulls something free of his belt and somewhere, distantly, her mind recognizes the tool.
Bruce's scanner…
How'd he get his hands on it?
But then, she's wrong. It can't be the scanner because it doesn't scan, he presses it to her injured side, there's a brief flare of pain before cold relief and she feels like she can breathe again.
There are tears in her eyes from the smoke, she looks at the Bat as he speaks, barely making himself heard over the roaring flames.
"We have to leave, Now!"
She nods… he's right. Sora is safe… and they… they can't win.
They gave it their best, more of a fight than he ever expected…
But they can't win.
He tries to help her stand and she's barely on her feet when the world goes cold.
You're not going anywhere.
Her eyes snap up, The Bat whirls.
All For One is there, wreathed in flame, the black of his suit towering over them like a monolith.
His hand is outstretched, energy coruscating along his palm. Its shaking, his eyes are wide, wild, furious, his teeth are bared in a feral angry snarl. The fear cutting through his mind drives him like a cornered animal.
He fires.
Before she's moved, Batman's infront of her, shielding her with his own body and the folds of his cape before it hits them fully and her whole world goes white.
She grabs hold of him, trying to twist her body as best she can to shield him instead, the remnants of One for All giving all the power it can beneath her skin.
The pain is intense, excruciating, she feels like her skin is being flayed off her bones.
Then they hit the ocean below.
(X)(X)(X)
She barely has the strength to pull the both of them to shore. Her quirk, one for all, it takes everything in her just to keep above the surface of the water, keep them both breathing and even then she swallows more ocean than she's comfortable with. She can only pray the Bat didn't drown in her arms.
She can still hear the blasts, still see the flames, almost hear the screams of rage.
He thinks they're not dead.
Because his 'quirk' is still working.
Whatever that poison was, whatever fear it caused, it was having an effect, one that seemed to be getting worse and worse.
There are helicopters now, people moving closer, news, police, rescuemen. Bits and pieces of ruined debris are washing up on the shore, But Nana can't bring herself to care.
She pulls and tugs, as her feet find sand, dragging them up, as the water level drops the buoyancy does too and she realizes how exhausted she is, how weak she is; the strength of One for All doing nothing. She feels as feeble as a kitten, body and mind exhausted as she pulls Batman's limp body to shore before she collapses beside him.
Her side is in agony, the metal still sticking out of her just under her ribs, but she doesn't have time to worry about that right now.
She forces herself up, her eyes trail down to the shredded torn armor, and the utter ruin of the Bat's right arm.
Or… what was left of it.
The armor was scorched, blackened, just by looking at it she could tell a good portion had melted directly into his flesh.
She reaches for his face, cradling the side of his cowl as she moved him 'Bats. Bats, look at me. Hey! Loo-"
She stops.
The cowl is broken.
The pieces of it break away under her palm, the last bit of force making it crumble to pieces to reveal a blood soaked face.
She freezes
She recognizes this face.
Nana's heart stops cold in her chest, disbelief cutting through her like a blade.
No…
No…
He- He was quirkless he…
She peels away the cracked, broken cowl, and there's no mistake.
You'll be alright. I'll make sure of it
You have help now.
I'm here.
The tears burn at her eyes, she feels her breath hitch in her throat.
"No." She whimpers. "Please… no."