The rest of the week passed quickly. Izuku and the others continued to go out and explore and enjoy the island, though as the week progressed, the group began to break up to go off and do what they wished separate of the others. By the day of the gala, Izuku had taken to wandering on his own, seeing what he could find, and what he could get into without causing (too much) trouble. He'd found a lot of fun in using his illusions to both amaze and mess with people. Fun which he'd continued into the nights when he went exploring, though he made sure to keep the existential terror of the first night to a minimum.
Then, it was time for the gala. The 'main event' of the expo, so to speak, even if Izuku didn't see it as such. It was a chance to dress up even fancier than was his usual, enjoy what was likely to be top-tier food, and meet a number of heroes and executives of support gear companies, all of which held a certain appeal, but he'd be just as happy to continue his wandering.
Nonetheless, when Yagi transformed into All Might and set out for the gala, Izuku left with him, dressed in the finest clothes he'd worn in his life.
It was similar to what he'd been wearing thus far, but the vest was now entirely gold, and he'd added a bowtie—white and gold, of course—and a jacket.
Going with Yagi meant that they were arriving rather early, and that they were the center of attention as soon as they walked in. Mostly Yagi, being All Might, but Izuku could feel the eyes on him, wondering who he was to be All Might's plus one.
Izuku chose to make himself scarce as the crowd immediately started converging. A quick application of 'Ghost' and a rather skillful use of his flight quirk had him across the room in an instant, with a good view as Yagi got swarmed. He smiled as the man took it in stride, handling the crowd with practiced ease.
A few minutes later, Izuku turned to look as he noticed David Shield approaching him. He could feel the man's curiosity, along with a certain amount of concern, and alongside it, a bit of amusement, likely directed at Yagi's current predicament.
"You came here to the island with Toshi, didn't you?" David asked once he came to a stop next to him.
Izuku nodded. "I did."
"And since you arrived here at the gala with All Might, I'm guessing that means that you know."
Another nod. "I do."
David watched him for a few moments, emotions shifting around like a kaleidoscope.
"I won't ask how you came to know." He eventually continued. "But given that you're here with him, he obviously trusts you with that knowledge."
"I imagine so, yes."
David narrowed his eyes slightly. "Be that as it may, I feel that, as his oldest friend, I should remind you just how critical it is that you do not betray that trust. The legacy of All Might is far too important to be put at risk because of a spilled secret."
Izuku raised an eyebrow at the man. The sudden protectiveness was interesting, as was his choice in words, and the implied threat that ran beneath it all.
"Ignoring the fact that a fragile, squishy little human such as yourself could never even begin to pose a threat to me, that more powerful people have tried and failed to hurt me and mine, I'll tell you what I told him when I first found out. The world would be just fine without All Might if only he would leave heroics in a calm, measured way. Leave slowly, doing less and less as the other heroes adjust to pick up the slack. He could announce the beginning of his retirement here at this gala and the world would be fine."
David continued to watch him with narrowed eyes. Izuku could practically see the gears turning in his head as he processed Izuku's words.
"Maybe." He finally said, turning to look at where Yagi was still in the middle of the swarm. "Maybe the world would be fine. But I doubt it. And I doubt hewould be fine either."
Izuku tilted his head. "It's rather curious, your sense of duty and protectiveness towards a man who could sink this entire island unheeded if he so wished. All Might isn't exactly a person one would consider in need of protection. Though, I do think I understand where you're coming from. It's not the first time I've witnessed someone trying to protect one far stronger than them."
David glanced back at Izuku, curiosity growing stronger. "Speaking of, I think I should go rescue him from the crowd."
"You go do that." Izuku said, glancing around the room as an idea popped into his head. "But before you do, who in here sits the highest in the island's governance? I want to tease him or her with the knowledge that I know who Deku is but won't tell them."
David paused where he'd already been stepping towards Yagi, looking back at him. "I-. That's… I don't… think I should tell you, if that's why you're looking for them."
Izuku shrugged, undeterred. "So be it."
He waved a hand dismissively. "Go on. Go save him."
He moved away, ignoring the way that David's eyes stayed glued to his back for a few seconds. So, no information on who he was looking for, but there's no way that someone important wouldn't be at this gala.
Izuku grinned as he picked out one of the few people who hadn't rushed to swarm Yagi. He would just have to plant the information here and there, that he knew the true identity of Deku, to let the rumors start spreading. Then the people he wanted to talk to would come to him.
By the time Izuku had planted a few seeds, setting his plan into motion, Yagi was only just getting free of the crowd, coming to a stop off to the side of the room, away from everyone else while David distracted them. Izuku moved to join him.
"Having fun yet?" Izuku asked when he reached him.
Yagi gave a quiet laugh. "Interacting with fans has always been enjoyable. But I won't lie and say that being swarmed like that isn't tiring at times."
"Well, maybe now you'll be able to enjoy the rest of the gala in relative peace-."
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to I-Expo's closing night reception." A voice called out, pulling their attention to a man standing up on the stage at the end of the room. "We at I-Island hope you enjoy yourselves."
"Now," he continued, "I wonder if we can get All Might, the number one hero up here."
"Or maybe not." Izuku said, grinning at the exhaustion practically rolling off of Yagi.
"He's visiting from Japan. Wouldn't you like to hear him say a few words? C'mon, maybe a round of applause will help."
Yagi raised a hand as everyone's attention focused on him. "They could've at least warned me…" He muttered.
"Honestly it probably should've been expected." Izuku said. "I mean, All Might, showing up at any sort of public gathering? Of course they're going to pull you up on stage. Who wouldn't want to hear some inspiring words from everyone's favorite hero?"
Yagi groaned quietly, already moving towards the stage. "They're lucky I'm so good at winging these sorts of things, otherwise I'd be a lot more insistent about not doing this."
Izuku let out a quiet laugh, moving towards the buffet across the room. It all looked quite delicious, and now would be the perfect time to try some of it, while everyone else was distracted by Yagi.
He froze mid-stride when something caught his attention. A few rooms away, a group of men were gathered, wearing matching outfits, masks, and wielding guns. Some sort of security guards, perhaps? Unlikely, considering their outfits.
A quick look with 'Appraisal' dispelled that idea entirely, when he focused on the single man in the group who was dressed differently, and carried himself in a way that indicated he was in charge.
Name: Wolfram
Quirk: Metal Manipulation. Focus/Contact. Kinesis.
Allows the user to manipulate and control metal.
Quirk: Muscle Augment. Focus.Transformation/Enhancement.
Enhances the user's strength.
Izuku's mood soured instantly, anger already starting to bubble up.
All For One.
Of course the villain and his band of insects were making an appearance. Izuku couldn't even enjoy a relaxing vacation without having to deal with them.
Dimly, Izuku recognized that he now knew for sure that 'Appraisal' worked on targets with more than one quirk, so long as they weren't braindead like the Noumu. Though whether it relied on the target knowing that they had more than one was as of yet unknown.
The world slowed to a crawl as he pulled on 'Quick Thinker,' and he focused more on 'All Sight' to start scanning through the tower, searching for any more villains that might be wandering about.
He saw Ochako and Tsuyu, wearing the dresses they'd picked out at the mall, along with a few other members of their class. He saw a number of researchers and security guards tied up throughout the tower. He saw security gates and barriers start to slam into place, and swarms of what he assumed to be some form of security robot rushing around.
There. Another group of villains on the top floor of the tower. It seemed to be some form of control center, likely for the security systems in the tower, if not the island as a whole.
Izuku narrowed his eyes, considering the situation, and his options as he resumed his walk to the buffet.
Nine villains down low, now beginning to split up, another four up on the top floor, an unknown number of security robots, probably some other parts of the tower's security that weren't immediately obvious. And, since All For One was involved, probably some more surprises that he couldn't see.
Potential goals were either something relating to All Might, something relating to the students of 1A, or something specific to I-Island, likely some form of tech or maybe a researcher. Given that all of 1A was either out of the tower, or in a comparatively less-secure location within, and the villains were right outside the gala, they probably weren't the target.
All Might was still an option, though if he were the target then Izuku would expect to see more than a handful of villains with worthless quirks and a single man with two quirks. With All For One behind this, there'd probably be a swarm of Noumu if All Might was the target.
They could be after a bit of tech, but if they had access to the tower's security systems, then there'd be no need to go to the gala. Just quietly retrieve whatever they were after without making a scene.
That left a researcher as their target, either for their knowledge, their value as a hostage, or perhaps to get through something that couldn't be accessed with the security systems alone.
Izuku's focus homed in on David Shield. With the exception of any potential island higher-ups, he was the most valuable non-hero in the room.
So, assuming Izuku's assumptions were correct, the villains were probably here for either David Shield himself, or for something that only he could give them or do for them. They were seizing control of the tower, and were probably aiming to turn the gala into a hostage situation in order to keep All Might and the other heroes under control while they did whatever they came to do.
How should Izuku respond?
He could very easily eliminate the closer group of villains before they reached the gala, and could reach the top group a handful of seconds later—or maybe even instantly, depending on the state of the shadows leading to them—to incapacitate them as well. If that's all there was to it, then Izuku could have this wrapped up before it even began.
However, he doubted that it was as simple as that. Part of it was the knowledge that All For One was involved. If that villain was as powerful and dangerous as he'd been made out to be, then the possibility existed that there was far more to this situation than Izuku could determine. If that was the case, then jumping in prematurely could mean losing out on valuable information about the villain's movements at best, and injured or killed civilians at worst.
The other part was a simple gut feeling. Izuku's instincts held him back from just rushing in to crush the insects just a few rooms away. They told him that there was more to this than what he was seeing.
A few seconds later, right as he reached the buffet table, he was proven right as alarms began to blare, and every screen in the room flashed red.
"This is an announcement from the I-Island security system. We have received a report that an explosive device was discovered somewhere on the I-Expo grounds. I-Island will now be in high alert mode. Your safety is our top priority. Residents and tourists should report to their lodgings at this time. If that is not a possibility, please report to the nearest evacuation center. Anyone remaining on the street after ten minutes will be in violation of the law. Please clear out all public areas. As a precautionary measure, most of the main island buildings will now be sealed off. I repeat, we have received a report…"
So not just the tower's security then, but the entire island's. A glance outside the tower revealed security bots and civilians alike rushing around.
Izuku glanced over at Yagi to see the man already looking at him, concern and a low buzzing anxiety radiating off of him. Pulling on his illusion quirk, he created a copy of his voice right at Yagi's ear.
"Villains." He said. "Nine villains outside this room, four more on the top floor. They have control of the entire island's security systems, so don't do anything just yet. They're most likely here for one of the researchers. David Shield is the most likely target."
He ignored the spike of concern and fear from Yagi when he learned that his friend was in danger, choosing to instead continue on to the most important bit.
"All For One is involved." And there was an even greater spike of anxiety. "I'm not sure to what end, but the lead villain has two quirks."
"Just stay calm for now. This has already turned into a massive hostage situation. If you do anything, then civilians all over the island could be at risk. I'll step in if they try to kill anyone. Otherwise, I'm going to wait until they're finished here, and take care of them when it is safe to do so."
Yagi hesitated for a moment, before steadying himself, and nodding minutely.
At that moment, doors all around the room burst open, revealing the villains, with Wolfram right at the front. He felt a rush of panic from the guests around him as they entered, brandishing guns, and had to resist the temptation to simply rush forward and eliminate them. Also tamped down was the urge to quickly and discreetly rush to subdue the three heroes across the room who were reacting so strongly that he could see them charging Wolfram with 'Observation.' He was loathe to hurt heroes, but them doing anything would put people at risk.
"In case you haven't caught on, the security system is under our control now. Now I know we have a lot of heroes here, but if you try to make a scene…" He gestured towards one of the massive screens on the wall, and they all changed at the signal to show camera footage from, presumably, all across the island. "We'll make sure that the security sentries think the good people of this island are dangerous criminals. Now then, do we need a demonstration? Or are we going to play nice?"
Izuku relaxed minutely when the villain's words pacified the heroes. With no immediate threat, he made a point of appearing as if he was completely ignoring the commotion in favor of perusing the buffet. A picture of perfect nonchalance in spite of the ongoing hostage situation right behind him.
He had an idea—at least the beginnings of one—for how to protect both those in the gala and everyone else on the island. He just needed Wolfram's attention, but would not purposely draw the attention to himself and challenge the man, lest he respond to the challenge by using the hostages. He would simply make himself stand out in a way that would have Wolfram coming to him. With how he saw this situation playing out, he'd be the center of attention soon enough.
"Very good." Wolfram said, apparently noticing the heroes standing down. "I'd stay calm if I were you, because everyone on this island is now my hostage. Naturally, that includes all of you."
"Do it." He ordered.
Izuku spotted motion all across the floor. Tiny compartments opened everywhere, and bright, glowing strands of something not unlike Eraser's capture equipment sprang out, wrapping around every hero in the room, including Yagi, who immediately began struggling out of it. A testament to the abilities of the minds of I-Island, that someone of Yagi's strength couldn't simply shrug the restraints off.
Izuku watched Wolfram raise his gun as he headed towards the stage, and tensed in preparation to intercept the bullet, only for it to raise past all of the guests, towards the ceiling. Yagi stopped struggling at the sound of the gunshot.
"Keep it up, and I'll kill every last person in here." Wolfram said, leveling the gun at Yagi.
"Villain-!" Yagi's words cut off as Wolfram kicked him in the side, knocking him to the floor. Izuku once again had to resist the urge to make a move, though this time the urge was much stronger, and would've resulted in a significantly bigger mess.
That kick hit Yagi right in his old injury. Probably the only reason he fell. Izuku could see the blood in Yagi's mouth at the impact.
Oh, he hoped that this situation ended with him and Wolfram alone. He would pay that back and then some.
"There's a good boy." Wolfram drawled, smug arrogance practically rolling off of him, as if he didn't have a massive human shield protecting him.
"Now then," Wolfram continued, swinging the gun out towards the guests, "You're going to follow All Might's lead and do whatever we say, right? Good. Everyone on the ground. Now."
Izuku turned towards the stage as everyone scrambled to comply, meeting Yagi's eyes. He could practically see the question.
"Keep still." He said, turning back to the buffet. "Let him feel big for now. He'll be torn back down soon enough."
He started humming to himself, forcing his expression into a pleasant smile as he loaded up his plate. All of the guests were either tied up or on the ground, and the villains were spreading out through the room. Any second now…
"Hey, you."
Bingo.
One of the villains, with a quirk that Izuku wouldn't even glance at under normal circumstances, but which now he would gladly rip from the man as punishment, walked over to him, gun leveled at him.
"Hey." He repeated, coming to a stop a few feet away. "Down on the ground, now."
Izuku hummed to himself a second longer, before turning to glance at the villain.
"Hm? Oh, sorry. Were you talking to me?"
Izuku felt anger building up in the man.
"Yes. On the ground. Now."
Izuku scoffed. "Are you kidding me?" He gestured down at himself. "Look at what I'm wearing. It's worth more than you. I'm not about to get it dirty crawling around on the floor."
"Besides," he continued, turning back to the food, "that would mean letting this buffet go unattended, which is simply unacceptable. I mean," he turned back as he gestured down at the dish he was standing at, "have you tried any of this yet? It's exquisite."
The villain's anger spiked. "I don't care-!" Another gunshot rang through the room, cutting him off.
There it was. Now he had Wolfram's attention.
Wolfram jumped down from the stage, before slowly making his way over to Izuku and the lackey who was no longer important enough to hold more than the bare minimum of Izuku's attention.
He stopped a short distance away, leveling his gun at Izuku.
"Would you prefer to get dirt on your pants, or blood? Your choice."
Izuku laughed, loud and mocking. "Oh, silly little insect." He said, condescension dripping off every word. "You think you can hurt me with a gun? How presumptuous. There will be no blood of mine staining these clothes tonight."
Wolfram narrowed his eyes. Izuku could practically see the gears turning in his head. Surprisingly, there was no anger, no irritation. There was a bit of curiosity, some slight wariness, but no anger.
The gun swung around to point at the guests on the floor. "Maybe not yours. But what about theirs? Should I stain those clothes of yours with their blood? Or will you behave?"
And now, everything was perfectly staged.
Izuku laughed again, this time lower, dangerous. Not quite the danger of an Oni laugh, ringing loud in the middle of a fight, a laugh that followed in his wake alongside broken and quirkless criminals. This one was more a warning of what was to come.
"You certainly could." Izuku said. "You're obviously the one holding the power over their lives right now. In fact, you might as well do it, because I've no intention of obeying you."
A wave of shock rippled through the room at his words. Yagi's was the most intense, followed by Wolfram's. The villain was caught off guard by Izuku's complete dismissal of the hostages, but was quickly recovering, and a scene of him following through with his threat played in Izuku's head.
"But before you do, I've a question to ask you." Izuku said, stopping him.
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"How exactly is a dead hostage going to protect you from me?"
Wolfram went silent for a few moments. "What?"
"You heard me. How does a dead hostage afford you any protection from me? See, as things are right now, you have your…" he gestured dismissively, "little hostage situation, and I have this beautiful buffet. I don't particularly care about you, or whatever you're trying to do here, and you have no reason to care about me."
"But." He continued, exerting just a bit with 'Conqueror,' weighing down on Wolfram and the other inconsequential. "Should you kill a hostage, then I will have a reason to care about you, which will not be an enjoyable experience for you. Kill a hostage, and I will have no choice but to make you regret that decision for the rest of your life which, believe me, will not be very long."
"So, what's it to be?" He asked, swapping back to a cheery demeanor. "Will you let me continue to enjoy this buffet undisturbed, or would you like to know firsthand just how creative I can be when punishing someone?"
Izuku took a half step forward, lowering his voice. "Wanna find out who can be scarier between me and All For One?"
He felt shock run through Wolfram at the name drop, followed by a fair bit of fear.
The villain took a step back, and gestured for the insignificant to do the same. Then, showing a surprising amount of control over himself, he reigned his emotions back in, before retaking control over the room.
"Mister Shield." He called, turning and pointing his gun at the man. "You and your assistant are needed."
He gestured at the men with his free hand, and two of the other insects moved to them, pulling them to their feet and dragging them to Wolfram.
"The two of you are coming with me."
"What do you want?" David asked. "What are you here for?"
"Right now what I want is for you to shut up and come with me." Wolfram responded, raising his gun.
He gestured at the insects holding the two men. "Let's go."
Izuku grinned as the five of them headed for the doors. Then, when Wolfram glanced back at him before passing through, he turned that grin sharp, baring pointed teeth and exerting with 'Conqueror,' low power but extremely targeted to reach him all the way across the room. He felt the fear bubble up in the villain again as he immediately turned and left the room.
Izuku let out a quiet laugh, relaxing just a bit as he turned back to the buffet, continuing his act of perusing the food.
The hostages should be a bit safer now. He'd scared Wolfram. Not enough to make him panic and do something rash to save his own hide, but just enough to make him wary of Izuku, and what he might do should Wolfram cross the line.
It was a good start. But how to proceed from here?
He'd all but eliminated the possibility of the hostages across the island being threatened—barring any extreme circumstances—as that order would likely come from Wolfram himself, but that still left the gala. A room full of hostages left with a handful of lackeys to watch over them. Even though Wolfram might be cowed, and he seemed smart enough to recognize the ultimatum, who knew what sort of idiots he'd surrounded himself with.
So, six villains still in the gala, four up top in the control room, soon to be seven with the addition of Wolfram and the two others. He needed to remove, or at least reduce the threat to the hostages, and he needed to do so in a way that didn't involve physically subduing them or otherwise drawing attention to himself.
He could call Tamako, pull them in from across an ocean, see if they couldn't turn the villains against one another.
He dismissed that idea almost before it was even fully complete. Any sort of disagreement between the villains that would be significant enough to mean anything would also put the hostages at risk.
Scaring them, everything from—relatively—mild threats like what he'd done with Wolfram to the more existential terror that he'd toyed with throughout the week, was discarded just as quickly. Wolfram was a few steps above these insects, and so could take a bit of fear without panicking. If he were to try to scare the others, he'd be toeing a very thin line. One wrong step would have them panicking.
If he could remove the cameras watching the room without raising the alarm up in the control room, then he could just break the lackeys, but unfortunately that wasn't an option.
Running through all the quirks in his possession, he froze as an idea struck him. Something he'd never tried before. It would rely upon a combination of a few different quirks that he'd never even considered combining before, and one that he had exceptionally little experience with, despite how long he'd had it.
He had no idea if this would work. But the areas where this might fail had no possibility of causing a scene or raising any sort of alarm.
Izuku grinned. 'Time for some on-the-fly experimentation.'
To start, he put his plate down and focused on the illusion quirk, wrapping himself in light. In the blink of an eye, he was standing in a perfect copy of himself. He pulled on 'Ghost' in the next instant, disappearing from view and leaving the illusion to continue perusing the buffet.
He immediately made his way over to the nearest villain, raising a hand to his head. Now came the most delicate part of this plan.
Despite how much he disliked it, 'Siren' was arguably one of the most useful quirks in his arsenal. The conditions for using it were a bit limiting, but having total control over a person had its uses, especially when it wasn't being used by a slimy piece of-.
Izuku took a deep breath. Nope. Not the time to think about that. He had work to do.
Under normal circumstances, those conditions would make 'Siren' unsuitable for this sort of situation. "Normal circumstances" meaning when it was being used by someone who didn't have a horde of quirks packed into their body.
Put simply, the process of slowly manipulating a target until the quirk could take hold was just the user establishing a connection until the quirk could overpower the target's will, to then take control over the body.
But what if he used it in conjunction with another quirk that allowed him to exert his will over others?
Holding his hand barely an inch from the head of the villain, he let out a low-power exertion with 'Conqueror,' pouring as much focus into 'Siren' as he did. He had next to no experience with this quirk, and had no idea if it could even be used without speaking to the target, so he was playing this by ear.
"Obey." He ordered, his voice reverberating through the air, completely unnoticed by the hostages and villains around him.
He grinned. Despite the fact that his voice ought to be completely undetectable right now, he could feel 'Siren' working. Maybe it had something to do with 'Ghost' being a mental effect. His voice was still there, the quirk just forced people to not notice it. 'Siren' could still use it to establish the connection.
Izuku put a bit more force into 'Conqueror.' "Obey."
He let out a triumphant "Ha!" when he felt 'Siren' take hold. The villain's face went slack beneath the mask.
Lowering his hand, Izuku stepped around the villain to look him in the—masked—face.
"Behave normally." He ordered. "But do not kill, or otherwise harm, anyone."
Right away the villain's face returned to normal. Izuku's grin widened.
"If anyone orders you to kill or harm a hostage, ignore them. Do not discharge your weapon for any reason. If the Island high-alert drops, drop your weapon and surrender yourself."
He reached out to touch the villain's hand, pulling his quirk in a swift and—unfortunately—painless jerk. With that done, he went to move on to the next villain, satisfied that-that would be sufficient for now, when a sudden idea had him halting mid-stride.
"Next time you see Wolfram. Kick him in the dick."
Laughing quietly to himself, he resumed his path to the next villain. The scene playing in his head was almost enough to make up for the deep-seated disgust he felt at using this quirk on someone, even if that someone was a villain that he held very little regard for.
In a few short minutes, he'd gone to every villain in the gala and taken control with 'Siren.' Each one had him smiling a bit wider, partly at the extra commands he added on at the end of each one, various ways for them to hurt Wolfram, and partly at the new quirks added to his collection, but mostly at the things he was learning about the quirks he already had.
It was already a tremendous discovery, that 'Siren' and 'Conqueror' could be used in conjunction like this, and while under the cover of 'Ghost' no less, but now he also knew that not only could 'Siren' control more than one person at a time, it could control at least six, and without any noticeable negative effects.
Izuku stood in the center of the room, looking around at the villains who didn't even know they were under his control. Now then… what next?
He was still playing this by ear. Initially he'd just wanted to reduce the risk to the hostages, both here at the gala and spread across the island, while the villains did what they came to do, but now that he knew a bit more of what 'Siren' could do, what if he went a bit further?
The villains in the gala were all but completely handled, which left six villains in the control room, and then Wolfram, who had gone with David and the fat man into one of the rooms he couldn't see into. He wasn't sure what Wolfram was up to, but if he could get to the villains in the control room, then he could end the hostage situation entirely.
Well, really, with that thought in mind there really wasn't any other option, was there?
A bit of movement up above him caught his attention, and he saw his classmates and Melissa looking down at the gala.
He sighed. Naturally. He shouldn't expect anything less of his class. They were probably coming up with some half-baked plan to stop the villains.
The fact that he was making his own plan up as he went wasn't important. He had experience bullshitting his way through stuff like this.
Alright. First he'd deal with them, make sure that they wouldn't do anything that might put people at risk.
Izuku projected his voice next to Yagi again.
"Change of plans." He said. "I have a way to safely put a stop to this. The villains down here with us are already neutralized. They won't be hurting anyone, and once the lockdown is lifted, they should surrender themselves peacefully. I'm about to head up to the control room to take care of them as well. The me you see over at the buffet is an illusion."
He saw Yagi give a tiny, barely noticeable nod.
"I'll try to keep an eye on things down here, but you'll be on your own for a bit. Though if this goes as smoothly as it should, then this'll be wrapped up in a few minutes."
Another nod, then Izuku turned his attention back to his classmates. He could see them talking to one another, and he noticed Jirou's ear jacks stuck into the floor. She'd probably heard him just now.
"Jirou, stop spying on me." He said, lifting into the air.
She startled, turning to look down at the gala just in time for him to touch down on the railing right next to her, dropping his hold on 'Ghost.'
"Well hello there." He greeted, smiling as they all reacted, with more than one preparing to use their quirk on him before they caught themselves.
"Jinsei!" Ochako responded. "What's going on? We heard the announcement, and we saw everyone all tied up down there."
Izuku dropped down to sit on the railing. "Well, as you might've guessed, there's a bit of a hostage situation going on. Thirteen villains in the tower, and they have control over the island's security system. As of right now, everyone on the island is their hostage."
He purposely avoided telling Melissa that her father had been taken by Wolfram. He had no doubt that she would try to do something heroic and stupid if she knew.
"But, as I'm sure Jirou just told you," he continued, "I'm in the process of handling it. The villains down there," he gestured down at the gala, "are no longer a threat. I was just about to head up to the control room when I noticed all of you."
"What do you need us to do?" Ochako asked, determination practically radiating off of her.
"Stay here and keep out of trouble." He answered, feeling a little sorry when she deflated a bit. "If everything goes smoothly, I'll have the villains taken care of and the lockdown lifted here in a few minutes."
"I might be able to help with that." Melissa stepped in, making Izuku raise an eyebrow at her. "I think I can take over the security system if I can get to the control room."
"So can the villain who's currently sitting at the desk up there." Izuku said. "Presumably the one who took control of it in the first place. I intend to make him set everything straight."
"You can do that?"
"Obviously. I'll control him the same way I controlled them down there. Though, if I really have to, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to comply when I start to relieve him of a few body parts."
He grinned at the shock that rippled through them.
"Everything's under control." He assured them. "So just stay here, and try not to do anything stupid."
He pointed at Ochako. "You're in charge until I get back."
He floated up off of the railing. "Alrighty, boys and girls. See you in a few minutes."
With that, Izuku pulled on 'Ghost' again, disappearing as he flew away, heading for the nearest window. With a quick pull on 'Window' and a tap on the glass, he was flying out into open space, immediately sinking into the darkness to emerge right inside the control room.
The room was dark, hence his being able to get in-in the first place. There was one villain sitting at a desk, who seemed to be the one watching over everything, and five others either standing around or pacing.
Izuku floated right over to the man at the desk, placed a hand on his neck, and took his quirk and took control with 'Siren' simultaneously.
As soon as he felt the connection establish, he raised his other hand towards the other villains and dropped them all at once with a quick, powerful exertion of 'Conqueror.'
"Now then…" He started. "Do you know anyone by the name of 'All For One'?"
"No." Came the bland, emotionless response.
"Is there anyone else in charge, or otherwise in communication with you all, aside from Wolfram."
"No."
"Did Wolfram meet with anyone mysterious and villain-y recently?"
"There was a man made of purple smoke."
Ah, there it is.
"What did he do? What did he want?"
"He just showed up one day. Said that his employer had heard that we were planning something, and had a proposal for us. Said that the employer wanted to talk to Wolfram."
"And how did Wolfram respond?" He asked, even though he already had a good idea.
"He agreed to the meeting. Then he walked into the smoke and disappeared for a while."
"Did your plans change when he got back?"
"No."
"And what is your plan exactly? Why are you here?"
"We came to steal something. One of the researchers here hired us to steal something for him, but we're just going to take it for ourselves."
"Who hired you? And what are you stealing?"
"Samuel Abraham. I don't know what we're stealing. Our job was mostly to just cause a distraction and bring him up here so he could get it."
"Samuel Abraham…" Izuku muttered. "The fat man? David Shield's assistant?" Then, louder, "Is David Shield in on this as well?"
"I don't know."
"Hmm." Izuku hummed, stepping away to gather the quirks of the fallen villains. So they were indeed here to steal something, only it was at the request of one of I-Island's own. And All For One's involvement seemed to be minimal. As far as Izuku could tell at the moment, all he'd done was give Wolfram a second quirk. He was either after whatever was being stolen, was using this as some form of distraction, or was just trying to stir up some chaos.
Whatever the case, Izuku would be wrapping this situation up soon. He couldn't do much if this was a distraction for something else, but if the point of this was chaos or to get whatever was being stolen, then he could put a stop to it.
Standing up from the last villain, he looked back over to the one under his control. "Are there any sort of contingencies in place that would make the island security systems attack the hostages should the lockdown be lifted?"
"No."
Izuku nodded. "Good. Then lift the lockdown and wait there for the authorities. Surrender peacefully when they come for you."
He started walking towards the blocked off room that he'd watched Wolfram, David, and Samuel enter. He heard keys clicking behind him as he moved.
"Oh, and if you ever see that purple smoke again, tell him that he's a punk bitch."
Moving towards the mystery room, Izuku watched as the tower began to settle. Doors unlocked and the swarms of security robots began to file away to where they came from. As soon as the announcement rang out that the lockdown was lifted, he watched as every villain in the gala immediately and simultaneously put their weapons on the floor, each one wearing an expression of pure confusion. The heroes moved as soon as the restraints released, securing the villains.
Izuku lost sight of the gala as he passed through a doorway into the blocked area, right as Yagi was standing up. He couldn't see anything beyond his immediate surroundings. Every surface around him seemed to be made of something that interfered with 'All Sight.'
It was almost surreal. He'd gotten used to seeing everything, but now he was confined to just barely more than regular eyesight, like some sort of normalperson.
Passing through another door, he found himself in a wide open, circular room, lined with countless tiny doors, like lockboxes in a bank.
Right in the center of the room was Samuel, now lying on the floor with a hole in his shoulder and blood pooling beneath him, David, kneeling at his side, and Wolfram, standing a short distance away, still holding his gun and now wearing some strange device on his head. Maybe that was what they'd been stealing?
He barely spared more than a glance at Samuel, beyond ensuring that the bullet hadn't hit anything critical. Now that Izuku had learned that this entire situation was his fault, he didn't really have much sympathy for the man. Granted, he didn't know what Samuel's reasons for doing this were, but he'd still put innocent lives at risk.
His eyes moved to Wolfram. Now then, time to wrap this whole thing up.
He put on a grin as he dropped his hold on 'Ghost.'
"Well now." He started, drawing everyone's attention. "I'm pretty sure that I was quite clear about what I would do if you started killing people."
To Wolfram's credit, he didn't waste even a single second with shock or hesitation. He immediately raised his gun and fired at Izuku with pinpoint accuracy.
Izuku's hand darted out as soon as the bullet was close enough, catching it.
"I'm pretty sure I was also quite clear that guns can't hurt me." He said, pulling on 'Bullseye' and flicking the bullet back at Wolfram, hitting the gun and knocking it out of his hand. "You're oh-for-two right now. You must not be as smart as I initially thought."
"Shut up." Wolfram responded. Then, "I know who you are."
"Oh? Do please enlighten me."
"You're here for him, aren't you? You're here for this." He gestured at the device on his head.
Izuku chose not to respond, just grinning at the man. Did Wolfram really think that Izuku was here on behalf of All For One? Sure, he'd mentioned the villain earlier, and that combined with the impression he'd been trying to give off might be reasonable cause to suspect such a thing, but really? Did he come off as that much of a piece of shit? That was almost insulting. Izuku might enjoy terrifying those who deserve it, and sure, he might trend towards sadism at times, but please, he had standards.
"I don't know what he gave you, but I won't let you take it, not now that I know what it does."
"Uh huh, sure thing." Izuku drawled, dismissing him as he started moving closer. "We're all veryimpressed. Now, hands or feet? Which would you like to lose first? I'll let you decide."
Wolfram grimaced, reaching a hand up to the back of his head.
He flipped a switch on the device, and suddenly Izuku's blood ran cold, a shiver running down his spine, freezing him in his tracks.
What the fuck. What was that device that just by wearing it Wolfram was giving off a feeling similar to the USJ Noumu? And after all the new quirks he'd gotten since then no le-.
He saw Wolfram swinging a hand out with 'Observation.' He couldn't see whatever he was controlling—as he wasn't close enough for that swung hand to mean anything—but his instincts had him jerking his body to the side just in time to avoid the giant metal spear slicing through the air right where he'd been standing. How fast had it been moving? He hadn't even been able to perceive-.
He jerked his body up into the air with his flight quirk just in time to avoid another. He needed to-.
A third hit him right in the center of the chest, instantly overpowering 'Shock Absorption' and piercing through his heart and out through his back. An instant later he was slamming against a wall. Four more spears followed right behind to pin his limbs to the wall.
Ah, so maybe Wolfram wasn't half bad when it came to fighting. The function of the device still wasn't clear—maybe some sort of quirk enhancement? Or was Wolfram's quirk already that powerful?—but he'd seen Izuku dodge that one attack and then immediately hit him with a feint. And Izuku had fallen for it. This was almost embarrassing.
Blood bubbled up out of his throat, spilling from his mouth. His vision went dark around the edges. Had he hit the wall that hard? Or maybe if 'Shock Absorption' was already overwhelmed in one spot, it screwed things up for the rest of the body? He should probably test that at some point. How would he even go about doing that? Maybe Yagi would be willing to help?
Oh, and now his head was going fuzzy. He'd been here too long. He could feel his muscles trying to stitch themselves back together. But he wouldn't last much longer without a functioning heart.
Oh now that would be a fun quirk to find. Something that eliminated the need for a heart, or for blood or oxygen altogether.
He shook his head, ignoring the surge of blood that poured out of his mouth at the motion. No, he wasn't thinking straight. He needed to move. He needed… something… Something to help him escape… What was it? He almost had it. It was right on the tip of his tongue.
Suddenly, he felt something, several somethings slot into place all at once, and then his body was surging with strength, the acrid stench of ozone filling his nose.
Yeah, that. His quirks. That's what it was.
He watched, somewhat detached, as one of his arms tore itself loose from the spear that was pinning it to the wall. The pain was barely registered as his muscles were torn apart and pulled back together just as quickly. The other arm quickly followed, as did his legs.
Now freed, one of his arms gripped at the spear in his chest, while the other slammed into it with a force that seemed to shake the room, destroying it.
Then, he started to slide up and off of the spear, dropping towards the floor as soon as he was free. He distantly registered the feeling of his heart pulling itself back together.
His body caught itself before it could hit the floor, floating a few feet above it, before slowly lowering itself the rest of the way, landing on his hands and knees. Blood continued to pour from his mouth, and from his chest he now noticed, but both were slowing. His vision began clearing at the same time.
"…zuku? Can you hear me? Izuku?"
Suddenly, everything snapped back into place all at once. He was back on his feet in an instant, his body back under his control.
'Tamako?'
They let out a sigh of relief, despite not needing to breathe. "There you are. I was starting to get worried."
Izuku took a deep breath. He could still feel the muscles in his chest stitching themselves back together, but his heart was now in one piece again, and everything else would be back to normal any second now.
He took stock of the situation. Wolfram and David were no longer in the room, and Samuel was still on the floor. He needed to get out of the room to see what else was going on.
How long had he been out of it? Seconds? Minutes? Evidently it'd been bad enough that Tamako had been forced to take control to get him free. It was a good thing they'd been practicing. There wasn't even any panic at the thought that someone else had-had control over his body, though that could very well just be because this was something of an extraneous circumstance.
"What happened? I was watching over Iona when I felt your pain, and then I felt you starting to fade."
Interesting, so Tamako could actually feel what Izuku felt when they were with someone else, even across an ocean. He filed that information away for later.
'I was caught by surprise.' He answered. 'I wasn't expecting his quirk to be so powerful.'
"Whose quirk?"
'Right, quick rundown. There was a hostage situation. A group of villains took over I-Island so they could steal something from the central tower, the building we're in right now. I quietly put a stop to everything, and was in the process of confronting the leader, when I got impaled.'
He pulled on his fire quirk, raising an arm and bathing everything between him and where he'd just been impaled on the wall in flame, burning away all traces of his blood. The flame was extinguished just as quick a few moments later with a gesture.
With that done, he headed towards the door he'd entered through.
"Is everyone else alright? Ochako?"
'Last I saw, everyone was fine. With luck, Ochako and the others are still down by the gala. Though I imagine Yagi would've headed straight up here as soon as the lockdown lifted. There's a chance he's wherever Wolfram ended up.'
He froze as he finally made it back out of the blocked area, 'All Sight' exploding back to its full range. Immediately he noticed the mess going on above him.
He saw Wolfram, surrounded by a storm of metal, Yagi, battered and obviously struggling to hold onto his transformation, and with—his mood soured—Ochako, Bakugou, and Todoroki standing near him.
Izuku exerted with 'Conqueror,' with enough force to shatter every light in the hallway he was standing in. As soon as he registered the resulting darkness, he was sinking into it, emerging up on the roof.
He stared up at the mess in front of him, and despite his irritation that Ochako—and the others—was being put in harm's way because of a villain who didn't know his place, excitement began to bubble up. For one, he had the possibility of an enjoyable fight ahead of him. He wasn't sure if it was the device or not, but judging by the brief fight down below, Wolfram's quirk was powerful, and it wasn't even a direct enhancer, and he still had one of those in addition to this one
That he would absolutely be taking those quirks was the other reason for his excitement. He so hoped that they were this powerful naturally, or at least if it was because of the device, that they would remain this powerful if he took them while the device was enhancing them.
A smile started creeping onto his face. Now he was starting to look forward to this.
He started moving closer, towards Yagi and the others, who were standing directly between him and his fight.
"You three get to safety." Yagi said, holding his side. "Prepare to start evacuating nearby civilians. I'll take care of this."
"No." Izuku interrupted, 'Siren' and 'Conqueror' mixing together to make the air tremble around him.
The others spun around to look at him, eyes widening when they took in the blood covering him.
"Jinsei!"
"Young E- Jinsei!"
Ochako and Yagi shouted at the same time.
"What happened to you!?" Ochako asked. He could feel the concern and panic bleeding off of her.
"I was caught off guard." He answered. "But more importantly…"
He raised a finger towards Yagi. "This is my fight. You can handle the safety of those nearby if you want, but this…" he turned to look at Wolfram, picking him out of the metal swarm, "is mine."
Izuku took a few steps forward, placing himself between Wolfram and the others. Reaching up, he tore away the tattered remains of the top of his suit, tucking it away into 'Hotbar' a moment later.
He also pulled on 'Four Arms,' sprouting a second pair of arms.
"How often do I get a chance like this?" He asked quietly, rolling his shoulders and stretching his new arms. "How often am I allowed to exert myself, and in so many ways?"
He raised all four hands out to his sides, palms up, as he pulled on—arguably—the single most powerful quirk in his possession. Electricity danced along his fingers as he focused on it.
There was a tremendous tugging sensation in his gut, and the air around him trembled in response.
Izuku laughed. So it would seem that not only was this quirk easier to use out in the ocean like this, but it was much more powerful as well. That made sense. The most powerful storms tended to form over the ocean, after all.
'Tempest.'
Lightning split the sky, briefly revealing the pitch-black mess of clouds above him, and the tower shook with the thunder that followed.
As the storm continued to grow, so too did his range with 'All Sight.' The air was becoming charged. Already he could almost see to the edges of City One, and the range was still growing.
He tipped his head back as rain started pouring, as the pressure in the clouds became too much, drenching him almost immediately
"Jinsei!"
Izuku brought a hand up to intercept the metal column, much larger than the spears he'd been impaled with, flashing towards him. Before, he'd only had his standard outfit of enhancers active, and so this same move had overpowered him in a single hit. But now he had everything. His fist met the column with an even greater force, shattering it, and shaking the tower with the shockwave it created.
"That eager to resume our fight, are we?" Izuku asked, raising his head to look at Wolfram. "Well don't worry. I don't intend to disappoint."
He clenched the fists that were still raised, and the storm raging above him responded.
Lightning rained down, striking at the metal surrounding Wolfram. None of it made it to him, but every piece struck was either blasted apart or was left glowing red or even white-hot, or both.
Izuku grinned. Wolfram would have to be careful if he didn't want to end up as a charred piece of meat.
He lowered himself into a crouch, muscles tensing with a tremendous force.
"You all might want to evacuate the roof." He said. "It'll only get more dangerous from here on out."
Then, he exploded forwards, launching himself towards Wolfram.
Wolfram responded immediately. Columns flashed through the air towards him. Izuku met them with a smile, fists darting out to intercept each one, shaking the world around him with the force.
Finally using his flight quirk, he darted out to the side, moving away from Ochako and the others, so he had the option to avoid attacks instead of outright stopping each one. He was just in time, as Wolfram kept up his assault with a second barrage, faster than the first. This time he smoothly darted between them, narrowly avoiding being crushed.
Just as Wolfram was sending yet another attack, Izuku changed directions again, this time heading straight for him. Once again, Wolfram responded immediately. The air around him seemed to pulse, and a massive amount of metal shifted and compressed into two gigantic cubes.
Izuku threw a hand out, focusing on 'Tempest,' directing it. One of the cubes was consumed by a torrent of lightning. It exploded, and seemed to fall out of Wolfram's control as that which was left crumbled apart and fell.
At the same time, Izuku stopped limiting the speed of his flight quirk, and instead pushed in the opposite direction, speeding up as much as he could in a brief instant. The air cracked as he accelerated far beyond the speed of sound, then decelerated just as quickly as he hit the second cube.
His organs were almost soup—probably best not to use 'Metallum' to reinforce when facing a villain who could control metal—and his hearing was shot, but the cube shattered. And using his flight quirk like that was such fun.
He brought both pair of hands together for two massive, simultaneous claps, the resulting shockwaves clearing away the cloud of debris—remains of both cubes—that had just been closing in on him. He surged through the opening, rapidly closing in on Wolfram.
A wall raised up in front of him as he approached, and Izuku almost snorted. Blocking his own line of sight on Izuku when he was already so close? Please.
He very easily could've gone around it, but that wouldn't be as fun. He wanted to break Wolfram's spirit, and it wouldn't be as easy if he avoided that which could be destroyed.
He sped up with his flight quirk once more, shattering the wall, and darting through before Wolfram could even seize control of the debris.
Izuku made it into the strange almost-structure that Wolfram was sitting in, breaking through the cables that snapped at him, trying to hold him back.
His hearing returned just in time to hear himself laugh as he came to a stop right in front of Wolfram, holding back the metal that the man had been trying to drag together to form another wall.
"Come on!" He shouted, a wild smile stretching across his face as he leaned in closer, baiting him to reach out and use that strength quirk he had. "Don't tell me that's all you have. I'm almost starting to lose interest!!"
Wolfram smiled smugly, and Izuku's stretched wider as he saw exactly what he'd been hoping for with 'Observation.'
The villain's hand darted out, latching around Izuku's neck and squeezing. Were this a normal situation, Izuku would've been almost impressed. He still wasn't sure if the device on Wolfram's head was enhancing his quirks, but this strength enhancer he had was actually worth mentioning.
But this wasn't a normal situation. Each and every one of his own enhancers were active, and he was in full 'fight mode,' adrenaline thrumming through his veins.
He completely ignored the enhanced strength, pushing himself closer, until his face was only inches from Wolfram's.
"Pathetic." He said, just barely loud enough to be heard over the storm.
Then he took as deep a breath as he could, pulling on another quirk. 'Screech.'
Opening his mouth, Izuku screamed. As loud as he possibly could.
His hearing immediately cut out, his eardrums completely ruptured. He noted with quite a bit of satisfaction that Wolfram's were as well. Blood was instantly freely flowing down the sides of both of their heads.
Wolfram released his grip on Izuku's neck, bringing his hands up to claw at his ears.
Izuku, not wasting any time on such insignificant things as pain—a pain he'd already experienced twice within the past minute—reached out to grab hold of the villain, completely reversing the situation. One hand around his neck, and two others securing his arms, he pulled Wolfram out of the metal structure and into open air, climbing higher and higher. Wolfram struggled in his grip, trying to free himself, but Izuku didn't even budge.
He relished the fear that took hold in Wolfram at the realization that Izuku was that much stronger.
It took him a second, but Wolfram's panicking mind finally called on the metal still floating through the air around them, pulling it all in.
Izuku smiled, licking his lips as he brought a foot up to Wolfram's chest, and pushed, pulling his arms in the opposite direction.
The metal which had been racing towards them in a last-ditch attempt instantly fell as Wolfram lost control of it. His focus going with the arm that Izuku pulled free.
Discarding the now-useless limb, Izuku wreathed his hand in flame, before grabbing at the ragged, bloody stump, cauterizing it, and making Wolfram scream.
Izuku laughed as Wolfram actually went limp a moment later, the pain rendering him unconscious.
"All week without even a hint of vigilantism." He said, voice falling on—literally—deaf ears. "Not even a single broken bone. I've got to make up for that lost time somehow."
"Now then." He continued, latching onto Wolfram's head with a free hand. "Onto the main event."
Grabbing onto one of the two quirks he could feel within Wolfram—the strength enhancer, judging by the feel of it—he tugged at it, as slow and as painful as he could possibly manage.
Wolfram jerked back into consciousness instantly, screaming bloody murder.
"Make sure you don't take too long." Tamako cut in. "The others are still on the roof watching."
Izuku gave the quirk one last yank, pulling it firmly into himself, before taking a deep breath. Tamako was right. As much as he would love to sit up here and continue to make Wolfram suffer, he did have an audience, one which he did not particularly want to see this side of him, even if he was likely too far up for them to see or hear anything.
One minute, he decided. One more minute to have just a bit more fun, then he'd start wrapping things up.
Just barely over a minute later, Izuku landed back on the roof of the tower, an unconscious, deaf, one-armed, and quirkless Wolfram slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and two new quirks settled in his chest.
He tossed wolfram onto the roof in front of Yagi and the others, looking at each of them with a bright smile on his face.
"Well now, that was fun!"
Ochako took a step closer, gaze shifting back and forth between Izuku and Wolfram. "Is he…"
"Oh, he's alive." Izuku reassured. "Certainly a little worse for wear, but alive."
"Oh yeah!" He continued. "Before I forget…"
He raised his arms out to his sides again, tilting his head back. Focusing on 'Tempest,' he urged the storm to start dissipating. He could feel that it had kept growing even after he'd stopped forcing it to. Left untouched, it might've grown into a full tropical storm, or perhaps even into a hurricane.
He let out a small sigh as the rain stopped, the clouds starting to break up. If only it weren't so dangerous to test. He'd love to experiment with this more in the future.
"And…"
He moved away from the others, darting across the rooftop in an instant with the way his enhancers still thrummed through his limbs.
Stopping at what looked to be just another pile of metal debris from the outside, he reached out a hand, pulling on his newly-acquired metal control quirk. He smiled as the scrap obeyed his directions and began separating and floating into the air, revealing David Shield.
"Hello Mister Shield." He greeted, letting the debris fall back down around them.
"T-Thank you." David responded, falling to his knees. "You're… Jinsei, right?"
"Sure am!" Izuku responded with a smile, kneeling down next to him. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got a few questions for you."
"S-sure."
"First: did you have anything to do with these villains coming here?"
"I-." He lowered his head. "Yes. It was Samuel who had the idea, but I went along with it. I just wanted to get our research back! I just wanted to help the Symbol-."
"Eh, I don't really care." Izuku said, dismissing him with a waved hand. "I really don't care what your reasons were. I just wanted to know if you were complicit."
"Next question: what exactly," he pulled the device that Wolfram had been wearing from the pocket of 'Hotbar' he'd tucked it into, "is this?"
"That… That's what we hired the villains to steal. It's a quirk amplification device. It works just like Trigger, but without the negative effects on the body."
"Oh?"
So it did indeed enhance quirks. How interesting…
"And by how much would you say it enhances quirks?"
"The results varied between people, and weren't always easy to measure, but a rough estimate would be that it enhances a quirk by one-hundred fifty to two-hundred percent."
Izuku's eyes widened. Now that was quiteinteresting.
"And does it need anything else in order to function? Anything that would need to be replaced or refilled over time?"
David shook his head. "It has a battery that would need to be recharged periodically, but otherwise it's completely self-contained."
"Alright, that's all I wanted to know. Thank you."
"So, here's what I'm thinking, Mister Shield." Izuku continued. "I don't particularly care about what you've done. I think that your physical injuries and the knowledge that you very nearly got your own daughter involved in this mess are punishment enough. So, in exchange for not informing the authorities about your part in this, I want you to forget about this." He held up the device. "I think I'll be taking it with me."
"Why are you taking it?" Tamako asked. "I've seen how that Trigger incident went."
'Because this could be quite the trump card if I could manage to contain the enhancements.' He explained.'That sort of boost to my already nearly-unmatched abilities is just the sort of thing I'd like to have saved for a rainy day. And besides, that Trigger incident involved me taking three full doses of the drug. For all I know, I could've taken just a single dose and ended up with basically just the world's biggest sugar rush.'
"I-…" David looked conflicted. Izuku could feel a storm of guilt, concern, fear, and shame roiling inside of him. "Fine. I don't care what happens to it. It was a mistake to build it in the first place and a mistake to try to take it back. Just… Just promise it won't end up in the wrong hands again."
"Oh, you won't have to worry about that." Izuku said, tucking the device back into the pocket it came from.
"Now then, if you don't mind, this is just a bit of insurance…"
He reached a hand towards David, letting out a pulse with 'Conqueror' and grabbing hold with 'Siren' in the same motion.
"You will tell no one that I have the quirk amplification device." He commanded as soon as he felt the quirk take hold. "As far as you know, it was destroyed in the fight. You will also tell no one about our conversation here, or what I'm saying right now. You will forget this conversation completely, but will remember my orders."
With that, he released his hold on the man, and watched as he slumped forward slightly, before almost immediately picking himself back up. He looked around, dazed, until his eyes landed on Izuku.
"Oh! You're Jinsei, right?"
Izuku smiled. "Sure am! Are you okay, Mister Shield?"
"M-my shoulder."
Izuku nodded. "I see that. How about we get you to the others. I'm sure the authorities are on their way here by now."
David nodded. "Yes please. Thank you."
"Of course." Izuku said, looping an arm under David's uninjured one and lifting him up with no effort whatsoever. "My pleasure."
The two of them made their way back towards the others, Yagi rushing forward as soon as he noticed David, taking him from Izuku. With that out of his hands, he headed for his classmates.
"You three are uninjured?" He asked. They all nodded in response.
"Good, because we're about to be swarmed by I-Island's police force." He said, watching as the elevator carried a group of them up towards the roof.
"There's supposedly never been a villain incident here before, and even their crime rate is practically nonexistent." He explained. "They will be rather frantic to find out everything they can."
He grinned as the elevator doors opened, releasing the swarm. "I wonder if they'll be as fun to mess with as those on solid land."
Izuku sighed as he stepped off the plane, followed closely by Ochako, Tsuyu, and Yagi.
The process of dealing with I-Island's authorities had been rather lengthy, and come with a near-endless barrage of questions. But thankfully he had some experience dealing with, and irritating, such people. He'd simply stuck to his go-to method of remaining as close to the truth as he needed to-to match up to everyone else's stories, while also being as vague as possible about everything he was able to. Not to mention constantly toeing the line of irritating them just enough that they wanted nothing more to do with him, but not so much that they would try to do anything to him out of spite.
Naturally, as the one who'd been in the center of the situation almost the entire time, he'd had to deal with the most questions, but he maneuvered his way through it all with ease. There hadn't even been any lie-detection quirks amongst anyone involved with the questioning.
Ochako and his other classmates had gotten off fairly easily, with most of them having not gotten involved at all, and with Ochako, Bakugou, and Todoroki only getting involved right at the end.
In the end, they were finally released, free of any suspicion, and were allowed to board their flight the next day to return home.
Izuku took a deep breath, before sighing again. He was glad to be back in Japan. He'd missed his home. More than that though, he'd missed the people in his home.
Nine days was far too long, in his opinion, for him to be away from Rei and Iona. It was taking everything he had to not simply bypass the airport security and fly straight home.
He grinned as he moved. He couldn't wait to see them. There was so much to tell them, and so many new tricks to show them.