After a two-hour train ride, we arrived at Yokohama City. The streets were flooded with people despite the fact that it was late at night. The boys and I wanted to immediately start our search, but Momo brought up a great point: we were practically celebrities, too recognizable to walk around without any sort of disguise. I was the winner of the sports festival, after all.
And so, Momo bought all of us new outfits, which we then modeled an alter ego after. For example, Midoriya wore a suit with a chain, giving him a sort of thug vibe. He even started talking like a gangster, which didn't suit him at all. Todoroki dressed like some sort of emo, heart-throb, pop star, which suited him pretty well. Iida put on some suspenders and a fake mustache while Kirishima let his hair down and put some fake horns on his head; their whole angle was that they were looking to pick up chicks, or something. Momo was dressed like some rich modeling agent, which fit her already stern personality. As for me, well, I put on the most touristy-looking outfit I could find, wearing a shirt that says "I love Japan" on it with some summer-time sunglasses to hide my face. I even started talking in broken Japanese to really sell my role.
I realized after we got all dressed up that Momo really just wanted to go shopping, but it was a good idea nonetheless.
As we followed the tracker, we saw a television broadcast showing UA's president, King Vlad, and Aizawa apologizing for what had happened at summer camp. We couldn't believe it, especially since Aizawa never appeared on TV; it just goes to show how seriously UA was handling the situation. Meanwhile, the people around us were making comments implying that they were ready to turn against the heroes, that there was no need for us in the world. I guess the villains got what they wanted.
It made me think about Sandman and what he'd said about why he became a villain. He felt as though the world didn't care about the common man and that heroes only cared about money and glory. It made me wonder if these people were falling down the same path as he had.
"Guys, we have to keep moving," Todoroki said, snapping us all out of our trance. Momo continued to lead the way using her tracker until we ended up in front of an old, warehouse-like building.
"Looks pretty inconspicuous," I said.
"Guess that makes it a good base," Kirishima added.
Yaoyorozu turned to us, dropping the whole fashion agent act. Playtime was over; we all knew that once we stepped on this street.
"We have a tracker, but we're still completely blind to the situation. All we know is that there is a villain inside that building. We don't even know if Bakugo is in there. We need to be careful," she told us.
"Yeah, and none of us are good at sneaking around. If only Hagakure hadn't been hurt or if Jirou had agreed to come along... If things go badly, we flee. Remember that."
"Yeah, yeah..." I muttered. "And I can sneak around. Did you forget I can climb walls and stuff? Let's look for an entry point. Maybe a back door or something."
They nodded along with me, and I led the way. There was a gap between the target building and its neighbor; it was so small that we had to shimmy sideways through it. However, there was indeed a window without any barricade.
"You see that window?" Midoriya said.
"How are we supposed to see through the darkness?" Todoroki asked.
Kirishima started digging around in his pocket and said, "Well, I figured we might need something like this." He pulled out a night vision scope, and it looked expensive, too. I guess this proves that friendship transcends any monetary value.
I started climbing the wall, and Kirishima handed the scope to me. I leered inside the building, finding what you'd expect in an old warehouse. Dust bunnies, old crates, and some ancient machinery. I noticed that there was a little bit of light emanating from one side of the room, so I followed it with my eyes until I saw something truly horrifying. There were dozens of these glass incubators, each one filled with a deformed monstrocity — a Nomu like the ones that attacked the USJ and the training camp.
I must've had an adverse reaction because everyone asked me what was wrong. After I told them what I saw, they all became pale. Distracted by the horror of it all, we hadn't noticed Mt. Lady standing in front of the building, towering over it with her Quirk. All it took was a single hit for her to decimate the building. I swear, all I did was blink before she, Best Jeanist, Gang Orca, and Tiger had complete control of the situation, capturing the Nomu and saving Ragdoll, who was being held there. However, there was no sign of Bakugo anywhere.
"Looks like the heroes were on top of this way before we were," Iida said with a smile.
I was glad that the heroes were able to step in before we could; in fact, it was best that way. There's no way we could've handled the situation so gracefully and swiftly. Still, I felt guilty for how I portrayed them and the police in my head.
"I'm sorry," I said to my friends. They all turned to me, looking at me with various types of eyes. Some said 'I told you so', while others said 'me too'. "I shouldn't have said what I said about the pro heroes and the police. They're pros for a reason. I was out of line for thinking otherwise."
"Don't be too hard on yourself, man," Kirishima said, slapping me on the back. "We all just wanted to make sure that our friend was safe. Let's just be happy that things turned out how they did."
"He's right, Miles. This was the best-case scenario."
"And," Midoriya added. "They mentioned All Might being somewhere else. That must be where Kacchan is. If anyone can save him, it's All Might."
"Exactly. Let's get out of here before we get into any trouble," Iida said, leading the way forward. However, my Spider-Sense started going crazy in a way that I'd never felt before. I've mentioned that there are usually two types of warnings, one that tells me to avoid and attack, and one that tells me to pay attention. This time, I was experiencing something in between those two feelings. It was telling me to run, run away as fast as I can, but there wasn't any sort of attack coming my way. My brain felt like it was seconds away from exploding; the back of my eyes were even starting to hurt, the migraine from it was that substantial.
"What's wrong?" Momo asked. "Is it your Spider-Sense?"
"Yes..." I muttered, pressing my back against the wall, reeling in pain. "Something horrible is about to happen. My brain keeps telling me to run, but I don't know which way. God, it hurts so fucking bad. What the hell could possibly be in that building!?"
"Miles?" I heard Momo say.
"Morales? Where did he go?" Kirishima said.
The rest of them all started looking around as if I'd just disappeared. I touched Momo's shoulder and she jumped, reeling backward.
"Hello?" I said, and everyone else jumped backward. Finally, I looked down at my hand, realizing that there was nothing there. I'd become completely invisible, even my clothes. I guess turning invisible was the equivalent of pissing myself in fear; honestly, I was embarrassed that this was how I found out about having a third Quirk.
Another Quirk? Was my body so scared that I turned invisible? Maybe it's a side effect of Nuform. How the hell do I turn it off?
I took a deep breath and calmed myself as best as I could. Finally, my hand started to reappear, and my friends seemed relieved; however, those feelings of relief wouldn't last for long, nor could they even ask about my new Quirk.
We heard a voice emanating from the darkest corner of the smashed building. It was a man's voice, somewhat robotic, as if his voice were being assisted by machinery.
"Sorry, Tiger," the voice said, thunderous footsteps accompanying every syllable. "Ragdoll's Quirk was just too powerful to pass up. I just had to take it."
Before the figure could fully reveal himself, Best Jeanist wrapped the suspicious individual in his jean strands, which should have completely subdued him. However, the mystery man simply flexed his muscles and broke from Best Jeanist's attack as if it were nothing. The next second, there was an explosion, and the entire block rumbled. Just like that, all four of the heroes and every last police officer were taken out.
I felt a chill go down my spine after witnessing it. This man; no, this monster, was beyond anything I'd ever seen or heard of before. I remember All Might mentioning that he'd lost a fight before, and that was why he was unable to maintain his form for long periods of time. Right then, I was certain that the man before us was the one who'd given All Might his first defeat. Midoriya and I looked at each other, and I realized then that he must've had the same idea.
"All for One..." Midoriya muttered.
"I commend you, Best Jeanist," said the villain. "If you hadn't manipulated the clothing of your comrades at the last possible second, they would have all been obliterated."
Best Jeanist said nothing. He couldn't move his body. All for One's attack was just too powerful, yet he still fought. He attacked All for One with an army of clothing strands, but All for One responded with a powerful blast to the chest. It hit Best Jeanist with so much force that it created a hole in his chest, seemingly killing him instantly.
"Ah, your Quirk required years of practice and skill for you. It lacks raw power; therefore, it is useless to me," All for One said. He stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to us all. He wore a black and white suit and a mechanical mask, explaining the mechanical-sounding voice.
"Miles..." Momo whispered, covering her mouth with one hand, with tears pooling over it. It wasn't just her; everyone was shaken. Their eyes wide, their bodies trembling. We knew that we needed to run away, but we couldn't. Our legs were frozen solid.
It was then that we heard Bakugo's voice. Villains from the summer camp started appearing alongside him; it must've been the work of a teleportation Quirk. All for One approached Shigaraki, scolding him for failing him. However, he offered to help him despite his failure.
Momo held onto me tightly. She looked like she wanted to vomit, and her body was quivering so much that it made my body shake. Even if I wanted to act now, I couldn't due to her grip on me; still, I wasn't even crazy enough to consider fighting. Speaking of crazy, Midoriya looked as if he were hyping himself up to try something. Luckily, Iida was there to hold him down.
I was against the whole running away when things got rough plan. However, this was beyond anything I could have ever comprehended. I looked at Momo, saying nothing with words, but with my eyes. I told her that I trusted her and that we had to run. She nodded, but she didn't move. Neither did I.
Then we heard yet another explosion that caused a tremor to ripple through the city. When we peered around the corner, we saw All Might colliding with One for All, the sheer force of the attack causing a shockwave that pushed everyone else back.
"You will return my student, All for One!" said our teacher, and the two of them wrestled for dominance.
So it really is him...
All for One.