Narration POV
Shigaraki scratched at his neck.
Finally.
After so long.
He was going to kill the Symbol of Peace.
That was the plan, however as they crossed the warp gate, Kurogiri had made, one of the few ways to completely pass U.A.'s defense system, they were stopped.
By a child.
BOOM
A sonic boom rattled his ears, the force of it sending several of the weaker villains stumbling backward. Then a gold light, passed in front of him like a comet blazing through the dome, making him stop. It made all the others stop in their tracks too.
When the golden light was gone, a deep cut was laid in front of them, stretching across the concrete floor like a chasm. A warning carved into the very foundation of the building. And at the other side of the cut was the child in question.
"Get back, to where you came, I don't want to hurt you."
The vigilante, Arthur.
Shigaraki's eyes widened behind the hand mask covering his face. Even through all of Sensei's planning, seeing the legendary speed in person was something else entirely. The boy had simply appeared, struck, and positioned himself between villains and students.
He scratched at his neck, the sound harsh as some of his skin peeled off.
A smile spread across his face, the edges of it being the only part visible since the rest was covered by the hand placed on his face.
"You're fast," Shigaraki said, his voice carrying a mixture of admiration and malice. His eyes moved to the students behind Arthur, cataloging their terrified faces with satisfaction. "Too bad we have someone faster."
Arthur POV
I felt it then, something wash over me like a wave. My enhanced senses screamed danger as I looked towards where the sensation had originated.
At the man's sides were two villains, both grinning wildly with expressions that belonged in nightmares. They were black in color, their skin tough and thick, like the hide of a rhino. They had bird-like mouths, sharp beyond measure and their brains were grotesquely exposed, pulsing with visible veins.
However one was much thinner than the other, almost skeletal in build. The thin one was where I felt the wrongness emanating from.
Something was very, very wrong here.
I moved towards him, muscles coiling with familiar power, but I felt it immediately, my speed had changed.
It felt like moving through molasses. Like trying to run underwater. Every step that should have covered meters barely managed inches. My enhanced perception could see everything in perfect clarity, but my body refused to respond at the speeds I was accustomed to.
I blinked and the thin villain appeared in front of me, their left arm performing a wide hook that seemed to move at normal speed, which meant it was impossibly fast for my current state.
My perception could see it coming, the trajectory clear as day, and as I moved to react to it, raising Excalibur to my side in what should have been an effortless block, I realized with growing horror that I couldn't.
I was too slow.
The realization hit me harder than the punch about to connect with my ribs. For years my speed had been what had allowed me to work as a vigilante. It had saved thousands of lives, ended countless battles before they could truly begin. It was as much a part of me as breathing.
And now it was gone.
BAM
I felt the creature's fist land on my ribs, the titanium alloy of my armor crumpling like paper under the impact. The force drove the air from my lungs and sent me skidding backward across the concrete. Pain flared through my side as Avalon immediately began working to repair the damage, but the shock of being hit, truly hit, left me reeling.
The other bird-like villain dashed at me too, this one bulkier and slower than its companion, but against my current compromised speed, it might as well have been a blur. I raised Excalibur defensively, but even that felt sluggish.
The blade caught some of the force, but not enough. The creature's fist connected with my face, sending my head snapping to the side.
Blood filled my mouth as my enhanced hearing picked up the gasps and screams from my classmates behind me.
I needed to fight.
Narration POV
Shigaraki had expected it to go well, but not this well. His grin widened even more, the expression stretching unnaturally as it threatened to tear at the edges of his lips.
The upper nomu, specifically designed to counter Arthur's greatest advantage, his legendary speed. Sensei had been very particular about this one's development.
Quirk: Trick Room.
It allowed the holder to swap speeds with someone they gazed upon for fifteen minutes. A quirk stolen from a young boy, it wasn't that good of a quirk, the only person it worked for was someone impossibly fast, someone whose speed couldn't be matched no matter what quirks were given.
Someone like Arthur.
And now Arthur was stuck with the nomu's artificially limited speed, something sensei had been careful to enhance the least he could while still keeping the nomu at a functional level strength-wise to contend with the other nomus.
Shigaraki's eyes swept over the scene, taking in Arthur's struggle and the horror on the students' faces. Then he looked toward the entrance where the teachers stood frozen if for just a few seconds.
He realized something that made his stomach twist with disappointment.
All Might wasn't here.
"I was sure this class was the one the Symbol of Peace should be in," he said, scratching at his neck with increasing agitation, peeling even more of his skin. The sound stayed in their ears, like a catchy tune. "I wonder if we kill some of his students, whether he'll show up."
Aizawa, still positioned at the entrance part of the building with the students clustered behind him, quickly assessed the situation. Arthur had jumped into action and now that seemed to be a hassle.
"Thirteen, try contacting the school," he commanded, never taking his eyes off the battle below. "Though I don't see it happening since, they have a way around our sensors, probably have an electromagnetic quirk user. Kaminari, you try to contact U.A. too."
He activated his capture weapon, the gray scarf unfurling as if it were alive. "I'll go help Arthur."
With that, he launched himself into action, using his scarf to swing down toward the central plaza. Behind him, he could hear Midoriya yelling something, probably a warning or analysis, but there wasn't time to listen. Every second Arthur fought at reduced capacity was another second closer to catastrophe.
"Come on, we have to get out of here and get help!" Iida yelled, his engines already revving as he looked at the battle unfolding below.
"I'm afraid I can't let that happen," a voice like smoke interrupted.
Kurogiri materialized as a swirling black vortex behind the clustered students, the only thing that could be seen were two yellow eyes seemingly glowing.
"Greetings. We are the League of Villains," he said with a politeness no one should have expected from a villain. "I apologize for the presumption, but we took it upon ourselves to enter U.A. in order to engage with All Might, the Symbol of Peace. We were wondering if we might be allowed the opportunity to extinguish him, you see."
His form began to expand, spreading like spilled ink across a cloth.
"Was Mr. All Might not meant to be in attendance at this juncture? Perchance has something been altered? Well, setting that aside..." The villain's voice took on a more sinister tone. "This is my role."
Bakugo and Kirishima reacted instantly. Bakugo's palms crackled with stored sweat as he launched himself forward.
"DIE!" he roared, releasing a massive explosion directly at the center of Kurogiri's mass.
Kirishima was right behind him, his skin hardening to its maximum durability as he threw a devastating right hook. "Bet you didn't think we'd be able to do you in before you got the chance!"
"Yeah, this is why you fuckers should learn not to fucking monologue!" Bakugo added, his explosion still echoing through the dome.
However, their attacks passed harmlessly through Kurogiri's shadowy form, the flames and impact dispersing into nothing.
"That was quite perilous," Kurogiri said, sounding almost impressed. "To be expected of U.A. students. Though you may be students, you are also the hero world's golden eggs."
Thirteen raised her hand toward Kurogiri, her quirk activating. "It's no use! Run, you two!"
But it was too late. Kurogiri's form expanded exponentially, enveloping the entire group in swirling darkness.
"You will be scattered," Kurogiri said, his voice coming from everywhere and nowhere, like wind in a morning spring. "Torn apart and deposited across this facility, where my associates wait to... greet you individually."
Then they disappeared from their positions, moved to the six zones of the USJ facility.
Arthur POV
BOOM
Another impact sent me sprawling across the concrete.
They were strong, their strength alone was more than Mirko's. It was as if they had been designed to seemingly output the most physical damage possible.
I looked at the thin bird villain.
It felt like they had multiple quirks, but that wasn't possible.
I rose slowly, feeling Avalon healing the damage I had sustained, it wasn't much but still much more than I was used to.
I looked towards the two bird-like villains, who were grinning like maniacs, their beaks unhinged in expressions of pure predatory joy.
And yet I felt no ill will from them.
No villain like satisfaction.
It was like they couldn't feel.
Like they were... artificial.
Beings made solely for combat.
Beings made solely to combat me.
Behind them, I could see my classmates disappearing into one of the villains' portals. I wanted to go help, but I was too slow. Aizawa was fighting his way down toward me, but he was still too far away. Thirteen was trying to fight a villain, with glowing yellow eyes, the one which could teleport.
I gnashed my teeth.
The thin nomu cracked its neck, the sound like breaking bones.
I gripped Excalibur tighter, feeling her familiar weight in my hands. I couldn't afford to hold back. Not this time.
But as I looked at the grinning faces of my opponents. I also knew deep inside me, I couldn't afford to go all out. I could kill them. I wouldn't kill them.
I needed to go fast, I needed to do something, I had to do something I had never done before.
My heart beat, like a drum.
The sound rattled my ears.
It beat louder and louder.
The bird villains stopped dead in their tracks.
It beat and beat.
Louder and louder.
I felt it in my veins.
Mana.
It coursed, and then it burst.
The instant came and went. But I released another burst. And another. And another. Continuous bursts.
My muscles coiled, my legs sprung.
No matter my speed, I could amplify it if only for an instant. An instant my heart could make last forever.
"I normally never say this, I don't like saying it, but I can't think of anything else," I said, twirling Excalibur in my hand as I disappeared and reappeared in front of them.
Excalibur raised high.
"Frick you."
A/N: I fell asleep.
Yeah not much else to it. Sorry about that. Here's the bonus chapter, it was thirteen hours instead of the five but oh well, here you go, I hope you enjoyed it. Oh and yeah AFO planned for Arthur, I mean can you imagine if he didn't prepare for him. Arthur has shown speeds that surpassed a Prime All Might, running through Japan at mach 14 and being able to keep those speeds 24/7. So they built a nomu specifically for Arthur.
I hope you all enjoyed it. Thx for reading. Author out.