Lightning Bug [MHA/Worm}

[Ultimate]

This is one of my favorite chapters so far! thank you all so supporting me! Trust me when I say, things will take a turn and canon will fall on his head. There will be a couple more DEVASTATING losses, so stay tuned. This isn't over yet.

 

[TH0TSLAY3R]

"I agree. We wouldn't want to make the same mistake again."

I raised an eyebrow. "What mistake? What are you talking about? I know you're not talking about me."


hes a clone isnt he

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Seventeen:

This couldn't have gotten worse.

First, my time in America got off to a rocky start with Clockblocker. Then, I met one of the worst villains ever, Skitter. Then I had more conflict with Clockblocker, THEN they attacked us, Then they nearly killed Uraraka, THEN I was captured by the same villain that tried to kill All Might!!

This field trip couldn't have gotten worse.

Now, here they were. Winner and loser of the last fight. Using what little advantage they had to try and get one over on the heroes. On All Might.

Not to mention, now everyone knows about All Might's limiter! His power!

It's all Skitter's fault. All they had to do was let me go. All she had to do was not web me up and use me as a bargaining chip! but because of her idea, they're using me.

Not to mention she said I was bullying her. I don't bully! How can you bully a villain anyway? Bullying is only for innocent people! Villains aren't innocent!

If I stay here any longer, they're going to destroy this city. I know that. So I have to stop them.

I can't use my power. I already have TEN broken fingers, well eight if you don't count the thumbs. Even if I did break my fingers again to beat them, The Travelers are right downstairs. They were able to beat kacchan. I can't take them on in a fight.

So here I was. With a target on my back and a price on my head.

They turned the stream off.

"Well, I think that went rather well." Regent said.

"Yes," Shigaraki agreed. "Now we know the true nature of All Might, and his power."

My blood burned hotter than flames. I felt ready to work off some steam. "Do you…have any idea…what you've done?"

Skitter looked at me. I couldn't see her facial expression under her newly made mask. "I won, is what I've done."

I glared at her, as she did the same for me.

"Don't worry, brat," Shigaraki said. "I'm sure no one will take his power after I kill him."

"Damn you, all of you. You're the worst villains I ever came across."

"Wow," Regent said. "Japanese kids really are privileged."

"Yeah, talk about white people problems." Imp added.

I don't think I'm privileged…

"Well, that's that." Grue said. "I think you're going to have a successful territory, Skitter."

What? That's what this was about!?

"YOU'RE USING ME AS A BARGAINING CHIP BECAUSE YOU WANT MONEY FOR YOUR GODDAMN TERRITORY!?" I said.

Skitter didn't even flinch. "I'll do anything to protect my people."

"If you really cared about them. You'd set them free!"

"I'm not letting some heroes take care of them!"

What? What was she talking about?

"Besides," Tattletale smirked. "You should be thanking us. All Might doesn't have to keep his secret anymore."

"Thank you? THANK YOU? Is that what you think? That I should be thanking you for ruining All Might's life!?"

"Secrets are only bad when you keep them," Tattletale said. "Better to lay out everything on the table."

"Then take off your mask," I said.

Tattletale smiled. "Nice try, but that's not gonna work. We Americans actually have secret identities. Unlike most of you Japanese heroes. I'm not disclosing that."

I frowned.

Hellhound took off her mask. "We should hurt him. Make him pay for fucking with us and knocking my arm off."

"You got your arm knocked off?" Skitter said.

Hellhound nodded.

Skitter turned to glare at me. Why? Because I hurt a villain? Well, whoop-de-freaking-do. Villains don't care about each other. So why is she acting like it?

"Hold on," Grue said. "If we do anything else to him, the heroes will have our heads. Just doing this and having him here with broken fingers is risky enough. Let's stay cautious right now."

Tattletale grinned. "He's right. Let's just get him to Coil's base."

"I want him here."

Everyone, including me, looked at Skitter.

"He's been a real pain in our asses, but especially mine. I see no reason why we can't have him here."

"Because it's dumb?" Regent said.

"Or because it's too dangerous," Grue said. "You already lost a fight between him. You're usually more cautious than this, Skitter."

"I am being cautious. I don't trust Coil to keep him safe. I'm keeping him safe."

"It's not about safety," Shigaraki added. "It's about security. Making sure he doesn't get away."

"Then give me one of your black Nomu!"

Shigaraki rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I get to check up on him."

"When would you do that?"

"Whenever I feel like it."

Skitter sighed. "Ok. Is it settled?"

Grue turned to Shigaraki. "You have another Nomu on standby?"

"Yes."

"Then I guess Skitter will look after him."

Skitter looked at me.

And I couldn't tell…But I swear, I think she was smiling under her mask.

This is gonna suck.

The Next Day.

I stared at the door. Waiting for her return. I haven't seen her since yesterday. Even though this was her room. She must've slept somewhere else. Meanwhile, I was stuck here in 4 feet of webbing, not even able to scratch my back.

The room was mostly clear, except for abstract art on the wall next to me. And a stack of something hidden by a blanket. There was a king sized bed next to me as well. Set up against the west wall. I heard the sounds of screaming downstairs. The cry of dreads and woes from children.

What was she doing?

I'm trying to remember the last thing Skitter said to me, but it's escaping me. When Skitter comes back, she'll do who knows what to me. I can't comprehend the mind of a villain. She could do anything to me.

I had to get out of here. I had to save them, save myself, and everyone.

I wiggled and moved and did anything I could do to get myself out of here. Could I use One for All? It would break my finger again, but what choice do I have? It's like I can use my toes…

Wait…could I?...

I mean, I can use One for All on my legs. Why can't I use it on my feet? In fact, I think I already do when I jump. So maybe…

I flicked, using what only felt like 5% to not alert Skitter of my presence. Strangely, I didn't feel any pain. What did she do to me while I was asleep? Fortunately, I made a dent in the webbing. But not nearly enough.

I tried again. At a higher percentage, maybe 10%, And destroyed more of the webbing.

Still couldn't do it, So I tried at 20%. Maybe it wouldn't create a…

It did! It created a shock wave! Ohhhhhhhh, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!

Ok, this is fine. I broke the webbing enough to escape. So all I have to do is leave!

I ran out the door and ran downstairs. It smelled like cigar butts and blood. But I didn't see anyone, weird, then where was the screaming come from?

It must be from outside. I got to hurry and-

"Izuku." Skitter said from behind me.

I looked behind me and saw her in her armor. Looking creepy as hell with her armor made of bugs. Looking like Insect Master.

Oh, that's a villain All Might fought. No, I don't know why he called himself 'Insect Master' Instead of Hive Mind.

"Skitter," I aimed my arm. "Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want to hurt you again."

Skitter leaned her head back. Probably rolled her eyes. Trust me, that's not gonna happen this time.

"If you say so." I fired a shock wave from my finger on my left arm. But her costume exploded and bugs came from within it. She did the same trick again? And I was stupid enought o fall for it. Dammit.

Strangely, I didn't feel any pain. What did she do to me while I was asleep? She must've done something for me to not feel any pain.

"Over here." I heard her from behind.

I fired a shock wave from behind but only hit a bug clone. Dammit. She fooled me again. I heard her made a noise from behind and I fired another shock wave. But just hit another bug clone. Goddammit, why did I even fire another shock wave. I should've KNOWN it would be a trick!

"Deku!"

Deku? Is that? Uraraka!

I ran outside and burst through the door. There was Uraraka, Iida, Glory Girl, and Clockblocker, all trying to save me. The screaming stopped.

I cried hard enough to send me flying backwards.

"Crap! Hold on, guys!" I ran outside again. And continued past the door.

Uraraka ran after me as well. "Deku! I lo-" She gasped.

"What!?" I went to look behind me but was stopped by a familiar hand snatching me, except for one finger.

Shigaraki!

"Midoriya!" Iida said.

"Leave him alone!" Glory Girl said.

"I don't think so." Shigaraki spat. "Skitter?"

"On it." She said.

Bugs came from nowhere and darkened the sky. Attacked my friends, filling their minds with despair and pain.

"GUYS!!" I started to run after them, only to get stopped by Shigaraki.

"Don't even think about it," Shigaraki glared at me. "You move a inch, brat, and I dust you."

I gulped.

The bugs cleared away, revealing the guys were mostly unharmed. What was she thinking?

I got a horrific answer when she started shoving bugs into their throats. They clawed at their necks like Shigaraki.

I couldn't control my breathing. "Stop it. Stop it! STOP IT!"

Uraraka raised an arm towards me while on her left hand and knees. Only to go limp. Her eyes turned white.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

I fired a shock wave to kill the bugs and felt my breath hitch in my throat. My neck started to decay.

"I warned you," Shigaraki said.

The last thing I heard was those words.

…

I woke up, covered in sweat. I felt like I ran a marathon. Even though I just woke up I felt exhausted and my heart felt ready to pop.

It was just a dream…

I cried. I didn't even know why, whether it was from relief or from processing what happened in my dream. I couldn't hold it in. My tears soaked the webbing with sorrow.

Skitter came in. Crap. "Here's your food…Why are you crying?"

I sniffed. God, I looked so pathetic. And in front of a supervillain as well! "I…uhhh, had a bad dream."

Skitter looked down, then up. "Uh-huh."

"No, I'm serious," I thought for a second. "Actually, it was about you."

"Oh?" Skitter said, In an unrecognizable tone.

"Yeah, you killed my friends," I said.

Skitter looked down, then scratched her head. Why? Was she thinking? "I don't care about what heroes think about me."

I glared at her.

"Anyway, here's your food." She placed a food platter on the floor.

"How am I supposed to eat that?" I asked.

Skitter looked at me. Her facial expression was unreadable under the mask. "What do you want me to do? Feed it to you?"

"What else am I supposed to do? I don't have any hands!"

Skitter took the food off the ground, and for a second, I thought she was going to smash it right in my face. Instead, she placed it on the silk and used her spiders to stick it to the silk.

"There, you can eat it like that." Skitter turned to walk away. "Now quit bugging me. I have more important things to do."

Was that a pun? Skitter doesn't seem like one to make jokes.

But it didn't matter. I didn't want her to leave. "You'll lose, you know that, right?"

Skitter stopped. Then turned around to me. "What?"

"You'll lose. Villains always lose. No matter what. All Might will stop you. You stand no chance against…what?"

She started to…chuckle? Not to mention, she was having a hard time holding in her laughter. Eventually, she didn't even try and laughed out loud, holding her head back while doing so. Great, she has an evil laugh as well. Dammit, it's just making me angrier.

"Really? Because my team and I beat The Wards, New Wave, and The Protectorate. At the same time!"

"That's impossible!" Was she telling the truth? Villains never win! Even Endbringers could be driven off by certain heroes! "What are you talking about!?"

"They didn't tell you? We beat them at their fundraiser. They didn't stand a chance. If you-"

"You're lying!" I said. "Villains never win!"

Skitter folded her arms. "So wait, you don't just believe all heroes are good and all villains are bad. You believe that villains always lose?" Skitter scoffed. "And I thought you couldn't get any dumber."

I grit my teeth. "Dumb? DUMB? Is that what you call it? I would call it hope, idealism, knowing that the heroes will always make a brighter future. No matter what! And the superheroes will save me! 'Cause, there's a difference between heroes and superheroes! Superheroes have superpowers, while heroes can be anyone. And anyone will band together to save a superhero when they need it. And to save a kid. You kidnapped both. No matter where they come from, anyone can be a hero if they want to."

"Heh," Skitter said. She actually said heh. "I guess someone should tell Omni-Man that."

What? "What?"

"I said, I guess someone should tell Omni-man that."

"...What?"

"Do you not know who Omni-Man is?"

"Of course, I know!" Everyone knows him, the famous supervillain that fought for superhuman supremacy, believing they're better than everyone else. It reminded me of Kacchan, but way worse. Like…fifty times worse. He resorted to terrorist attacks and attempts at world domination to make sure they were winning. It's not like the metahumans, as some people called them, are oppressed. Only about 1000th of the population had powers. But they could succeed easily! Whether as heroes or S-workers!

But I'm getting off-topic. That's not what I was confused by. "How did you know what that reporter said?"

She stood there silently. "What?"

"That quote! The one I said was a quote from All Might. 'No matter where they come from, anyone can be a hero if they want to.' and what you said was the snarky reporter's response. I read about it in U.S.A Magazine."

Despite how it sounds, it wasn't a regular magazine. It was a cape magazine. The U.S.A stands for 'United Superheroes of America'. It was one of my favorite cape magazines, which is pretty hard. Considering I try to read all the ones in my country, and that one came from America.

"...You read American magazine?" She asked.

"Yes! I speak English. I learned from comic books. Now-why-don't distract me! You're throwing me off topic. How do you know that quote?"

"I didn't I just…came up with my own quote-uhhh, line…"

Was it true? It had to be, right? There was no way a supervillain was a fan of a hero. Was she a fan before? But why would a superhero fan become a supervillain? It doesn't make any sense!

I had to test it. "Do you know about the Vinegar Riverbank Incident? All Might's first outing? Whether or not he'd ever teamed up with Endeavor?"

"I don't know, and I don't care." Skitter turned to leave.

Dammit, she's not going to give me anything, I had to egg her on.

One chance.

"Me neither. Just thought you would."

She stopped. And turned to me. "You expect me to believe that? You quoted All Might when I first met you."

"Hey, he's the top hero. Have to ride off his coattails if I want to be popular."

"You expect me to believe you only care about popularity?"

I shrugged. "That and money." i narrowed my eyes. "That's the difference between me and you. I get my money legally."

"Just because it's against the walls doesn't mean it's bad."

She really believed that!? She must be crazy.

I concealed my shock. "Whatever. So I don't care about the top heroes. Like All Might, The Triumvirate."

She shook her head and walk away. She seemed frustrated. Was I getting to her?
"Couldn't care any less about Legend, Eidolon, or Alexandria."

Her hand froze before she made it to the doorknob. She then immediately went for it.

I got her. "You know those false heroes Stain the Hero Killer talk about? Alexandria and the rest of The Triumvirate or like that. I mean, they show up at Endbringer fights, but all heroes do that!"

She clutched the doorknob.

"Alexandria…she's just some bitch that can punch hard. She got lucky by getting powers. Especially strong ones. Flight? Superintelligence? Invulnerability? OP as hell. She doesn't have to work or try. It's easy for her! It's obvious that even All Might or Armsmaster, heroes that have to work are more awesome than-"

"Shut. Up."

My eyes widened, "What?"

"Everything you said was wrong. Alexandria says all the time how she fights against S-class threats only. And how they attack several times every year. Do you know how stressful it is to have the world on your shoulder? It's. Not. Easy. She's a strong hero not because of her power, but because of her mind."

"Which is a power!" I said. It was pretty much confirmed at this point. But I wanted to be sure. "Face it! Alexandria is just another hero. Not like the greats, she doesn't even like her team! She said so in a interview!"

"That's not true! In U.S.A #54, she said she has…a…close…bond…with them."

I smiled. "Wow, can't believe you fell for that."

Skitter put her hand to her mouth. "Fuck. Wait, I just read to learn about my enemies. I didn't-"

"Didn't what? Want to learn more about your favorite hero? Then why are you defending her, and getting offended over me insulting her?"

"It wasn't that! You said Armsmaster was better!"

"So you don't hate all heroes?"

She didn't have an answer.

I chuckled. "How about that? The villain is a fangirl of the heroes. Or previous fangirl. Do you have their autographs? Do you have Armsmaster underwear?"

"God, fuck off!" Skitter got closer. "Why are you like this!? Why are you such a bully!? WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE FOR YOU TO REALIZE THE TRIO ARE NEVER GOING TO GO OUT WITH YOU!?"

"..."

She leaned back.

"uhhhhhh…What?" I asked.

"No-nothing! I…God, why can't you just be nice?" She sat down on the bed, putting her feet on the bed and her arms around her legs.

Was she…sad?...

Why was she acting victimized? Because I was mean? That doesn't make sense! She shot Uraraka! She's a villain! And now she's acting as I hurt her!?

"Don't play the sympathy card with me," I said. "You attacked the heroes, You shot Uraraka. Don't expect me to feel any sort of care towards you."

"I didn't even shoot her!" She actually said. "And even if I did, it wouldn't matter! You nearly killed Tattletale and Grue. You nearly killed me as well! And you expect me to care about you? Go to hell! You're nothing but a sociopathic little bully, and I expect you, I hope that you suffer after we get our money!"

I blinked. "What?"

"I said-"

"No, I mean, I know what you said…but…why are you crying?"

She froze. "I'm…not crying."

"Yes, you are! You clearly are!"

"Can't you just leave me alone? You've already done enough!"

She put her face into her hands and sobbed. She put her face into her hands and sobbed.

Why was she crying? What did I say? I thought a villain would only cry if they were hurt, whether physically or emotionally. But…what hurt her didn't make any sense.

It had to be her nearly dying, right!? It couldn't be because I nearly killed Tattletale and Grue, right?...right?

Wait…I nearly killed Tattletale and Grue!?

I mentally kicked myself. Of course, I nearly killed them. I hit them with One for All at 100%. That would kill nearly everyone. And there I was, trying to claim the moral high ground over not killing Skitter. When I nearly killed her friends!

Wait…are they her friends…?

"This…This doesn't make any sense." I said. "Do you care about your friends?"

Skitter looked up, and sniffed. "Of course I do."

"...O-oh! Of course! Friend means something different in America! You don't trust them that much."

"Don't. Insult me. I would trust them with my life!"

She's…she telling the truth. I can tell when she's lying. Because she's so bad at it. Does that mean…

Does that mean she really trusts them?

"Weird…Oh!"

She tilted her head. "What?"

"I wanted to apologize. For nearly killing those guys. Tattletale and Grue."

"And Bitch."

Now I titled my head.

"Hellhound."

"Oh. Yeah, her too. I didn't want to kill anyone…I don't even know why I did it…I guess I was that angry…" I sighed. "It sounds stupid when I say it like that."

Skitter leaned back a bit.

"Actually, it's stupid no matter what. But I actually didn't want to kill them. I shouldn't have tried to kill them. No matter how angry I was. Heroes are supposed to be better than that. So, I'm sorry."

Skitter stood there silently. "I'm sorry too."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah, I am. The only reason why we shot her was because it was an accident. I didn't even want to shoot you."

I blinked. "You tormented them."

"Don't remind me. I don't like thinking about it. It's not the same as killing them, but I only did it because I convinced myself it would be for the greater good."

I blinked again. "You thought tormenting heroes would be for the greater good?"

"I have my reasons."

"So it's not the only reason?"

Skitter scratched the back of her head. "Not…the only reason I have for thinking it's for the greater good."

"I can tell you're lying to me, Skitter." I said, "Just tell me, why else did you think was ok to hurt my friends?"

Skitter froze. Why? It doesn't make any sense. None of this makes any sense.

Skitter sighed. "Because I don't like heroes. I think they can be just as bad as villains."

"Can be?"

She nodded. "The thing with The Wards and The Protectorate is that they harbor some pretty nasty individuals. Like Shadow Stalker and Armsmaster."

Shadow Stalker? How does she know what she's like? I barely know what she's like! Wait a second…

"You mentioned Armsmaster before. What did he do?"

Skitter paused. "He broke The Unwritten Rules."

I tried to conceal my laughter. "That's a conspiracy theory! The Unwritten Rules are not real!"

"What about The Endbringer Truce? Is that real?"

What? "He…he broke the Endbringer truce."

"He structured things with his tinker tech in order to get his shot at the Endbringer, even if it meant people would die."

He broke The Endbringer Truce!? That's one of the most sacred things in a superhero community! Could that be true? It must be true. I would be able to tell if she was lying. All Might said he met Armsmaster. He said he was awkward but well-meaning. I saw him at a charity advent on youtube. He fought in dozens of Endbringer fights.

Could he really be a villain?

Is…he still a hero?

No...that's not possible.

I looked down. "I guess he wasn't planning on getting caught."

"It's still stupid."

I nodded. "I know, but…he never got caught-"

"He thought he could kill an Endbringer. There was a dime a dozen thinkers with superintelligence who could have figured it out. And one of them did. Tattletale."

What? Her teammate, is that smart?

"I…I…"

"Don't want to realize heroes could be bad." She guessed.

"I…I guess."

As much as I hated to admit it, I didn't want to entertain the idea of heroes being bad. I was ok with villains being good. Wasn't sure I believed it, but the world would be better that way.

But heroes being bad? Being evil? I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't believe it.

But the more I thought about it, though, the more I thought it could be true. Kacchan had things I hated about him. Could it be possible that there were heroes that were all bad?

"I just want you to know," Skitter began. "I thought it would be ok to hurt them because the heroes have some bad eggs. And allowed it. But if your heroes aren't like that, then I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt anyone that doesn't have it coming."

She was telling the truth again! Could she really mean it? How could a villain have a sense of morality?

But wait…That wasn't the weirdest part….

"How did you know they allowed it?"

"What?" She asked.

"The heroes! How did you know they allowed The Endbringer Truce to be broken?"

"They didn't," Skitter said. "Miss Militia shot Armsmaster in the back because of what he did."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"If he did that, and Shadow Stalker tried to kill me what else do you think they did?"

What? Shadow Stalker tried to kill her!? Heroes don't kill! Why would she do that? Kacchan talks about killing villains as well. Does she have a similar mindset?

Getting off-topic. "You don't know that! You're just assuming! If you really think heroes can be bad and villains can be good, surely you must believe heroes can be good and villains can be bad, right?"

She nodded.

"Then why be a villain at all?"

She looked away. "I can't tell you."

"Yes, you can. Trust me. I already apologized for hurting your friends. You don't have to forgive me. Just be honest with me."

She put her face into her hands. Why can't she tell me? Judging from her character, it wouldn't be for money, or for power.

But why wouldn't it? She's a villain! All Might brought down the crime rate! He could only do that if the villains he stopped were brutal, pure evil bastards! if it was systematic failures, like my mother suggested, then All Might could never bring the crime rate down! I mean, I know All Might couldn't erase crime…but…

Oh god…I feel like my world is shattering.

"Izuku?"

I was brought to reality.

"Are you ok?"

"Oh…Just thinking…if All Might can't stop all crime…maybe it isn't because we're not strong enough."

Skitter titled her head. "Is that what you think?"

I nodded.

"Well, you're not wrong. Half my friends are villains because they didn't have any other option. Whether they hurt someone on accident or needed money and there was no other way to get it, or because they…didn't have any other identity."

What? What did she mean by that? And what was with the pause? Was she hiding something?

Also, she must actually care about people. She was having a crisis and my being confused was enough for her to try with me.

Wait…if she cares about people…and she's won't say she's a villain…then…

"You're trying to save someone."

She froze. "What…what do you mean?"

"You trying to save someone. That's the reason why you're working with your boss. Who does he have? Your mother? Your father?"

She twitched when I answered her mother. Was that it?

She sighed. "Dinah. The mayor's daughter."

"...but…you don't know her personally."

"Doesn't matter. I'm going to try to save anyone I can." She said.

I can't believe it…I couldn't believe it.

Skitter was a villain with the personality of a hero.

 

[Ultimate]

Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy! This one was really fun to write. I think I'm going to be subverting your expectation of how this Fanfiction is going to go. Trust me on that. And I will absolutely destroy canon in this. If you thought the suffering was over. Just wait, it gets worse.

Also, if you're wondering who's Omni-Man...Well... you could always check out my site. TheUltimateWriting. And see for yourself.

Also, I got a review saying this fusion is lazy because it has Undersiders favoritism and hero bashing...after I just had The Undersiders get their ass kicked and lose a fight...against the heroes...

Boy, if he hates that! he's going to hate what else I got in store for other fanfiction!

Also, I'm going to upload my web novel 'Ultimate' on my site sometime this week. So stay tuned for that! and check out my profile on for my Twitter, Tumblr, and Patre0n

That's all I had to say. This is Super Ultimate Number One, signing out. Peace!

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Eighteen:

"What did Shigaraki by 'If quirks can be taken, why can't they be given?" Ochaco asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" The Girl who really should be covering up more said. "It means All Might gave his power to Midoriya."

"But that's not possible!" Iida chopped the air with his hands. What the hell was that for? "Quirks have never shown the ability to transfer!"

"What is his timer!?" the laser guy said.

"WHY DIDN'T HE GIVE IT TO ME!?" Katsuki said.

All the students came to the teachers and Protectorate with questions galore. All The Wards stayed silent, but I knew they wanted to ask questions. We all had the same faces as the students. So I can't blame them for it.

"alright…ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!!" Aizawa said. "The questions will be answered at a later date!"

"Meanwhile," Piggot said. "We have a hostage situation that none of you are focusing on!"

The students gasped.

Ochaco looked apologetic. "You're right. We should focus on saving Deku."

"We might not be able to."

Everyone looked at Miss Militia.

"The Undersiders and The Travelers have beaten us before. We were holding back, but the same could be true for The Undersiders. Not to mention they have the help of Shigaraki, and the misty villain."

"Kurogiri." Thirteen informed.

"Kurogiri." Miss Militia repeated. "He could drop us into a room filled with bombs, or the ocean. The only reason why they didn't must be because they don't want to kill us. That might change if we go on the hard offensive."

"So you'll let Midoriya die!?" Iida asked.

"The kid is right," Assault said. "We can't the kid die. We're responsible for him."

"We won't have to if All Might coughs it up," Piggot asked. "If you know what I mean."

"It can be anyone," Aizawa said. "I doubt they have access to All Might's bank account."

"That's what you think," Piggot said, under her breath.

Aizawa raised his eyebrows. He heard her. "What are you saying?"

"What are you saying?" Assault asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Battery said. "They're working with someone who can steal quirks."

Assault paused. "Oh."

"What? What does that mean?" Vista asked. "Does this mean we're giving into Skitter's demands?"

"What choice do we have?" Piggot said. "This team-up is too powerful."

"But we are going to save him, right?" Glory Girl asked.

"We are," Aizawa said. "At the expense of our reputation."

"Yes," Midnight said. "If we give in to their demands, on an international team up In a city, an Endbringer attacked. It'll get a lot of attention."

"Which means they'll lose their faith in heroes," Present Mic said. "Not to mention, they'll think villains are stronger now. For all, we know, that'll help put The League of Villains on the map! What if, after this, they get more support? And the villains of Japan see The League of Villains as see that team the team to join? This is an international team-up! There are a lot of eyes."

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you let students in this city," Piggot said.

"Funny, I remember you ultimately approving of the trip," Aizawa said. "Along with Nedzu. You specifically said there will be no villain attacks in this city."

"And the principal said the teachers would protect them." Piggot shot back. "Whose fault this is doesn't matter. What matters is what we do now."

"And your solution is to give in to the villains!?" Present Mic said.

Midnight folded her arms. "It doesn't bode well for u-"

"What is wrong with you guys!?" Ochaco shouted. Everyone looked at her. "Deku is hurt! Scared! He never got healed by Panacea! He's over there with broken fingers and a bleeding chest, and all you're thinking about is yourself!!"

"Uraraka!" Aizawa's hair rose. "We understand your concerns! But acting irrationally will not help!"

Piggot glared. "This doesn't concern The Wards or Class 1-A."

"But he's our-"

"This mission is far too dangerous for you kids," Piggot cut Iida off. "So we'll be leaving it to the professional."

"But-" Ochaco said.

"But nothing. You Japanese are big on orders. Maybe you specific ones aren't, but I doubt it. As I understand it from Aizawa, you understand when you get an order, you follow it." Piggot said. "Do you understand?"

Ochaco looked down. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good, now take a rest. We're going to need some energy tomorrow."

The Next Day

I've never been angrier than I am now.

Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. I was probably angrier when my dad first got his sickness. When that happened, I'm surprised I didn't get my power right then and there. I wanted to throw up; I wanted to hit something; I wanted to throw and scream and break down immediately. It would've been easier. At least for me.

But other than that, this was the angriest I felt. We lost the fight again; we failed to save Izuku. I failed to save Izuku. Now they were using him for money. They were threatening to kill him if we tried anything funny. And now we have to give in to their demands.

And worst of all, they were literally preventing me from doing ANYTHING.

This whole time, I've been angry. When I'm with my family, I'm angry because I feel like I should be with the people. When I'm with people, I'm angry because I feel like I should be with my family. The only thing stopping it is when I'm helping someone.

And right when I have the chance, I was told not to even fucking bother.

I really felt the need to blow off some steam. To hurt someone. Anyone I didn't know.

I settled for robots.

On my way to the training field, I passed several PRT officers; I passed interns, and they all tried to figure out why I was up at 10:00 in the morning. But I ignored them. All I wanted was to go to the robots and kick some scrap.

When I made it to the training room though, I already heard someone in there.

I opened the door. And I saw Ochaco training. She grabbed one one-pointer and hit a two-pointer with it, then slammed it on top of a three-pointer. When she was done with that, she threw the one-pointer at another one-pointer charging at her. She grabbed the three-pointer and did a suplex on it. Afterward, she threw the pieces at the rest of the robots, destroying them. She was panting, practically seething, but she was still fighting…

Why does she remind me of Shadow Stalker right now?

I didn't want to distract her. A moment of hesitation could mean injury.

So instead, I turned the robots off. I pressed the button on the wall and shut them down.

"Huh?" she said. "What the-"

"Having a hard time?" I walked up to her.

She turned to me. "The robots aren't hard. As I said, you just have to-"

"That's not what I meant."

Her face was pained with realization. She looked away. "That's none of your business."

"Come on Ocha-" I stopped myself.

"Uraraka."

"Uraraka," I repeated her words. "A hero's job is to save people. That includes people dealing with stress."

She panted. "Do you even care? You didn't even like Deku."

"Doesn't mean I want him to die."

She stared at me with eyes as wide as dinner plates. "You really think they'll kill him?"

Oh shit. "Nonononononono, I was just saying what they might do! I wasn't saying it for certain!"

Ochaco looked down and put her face into her hands. She couldn't stop panting.

"Uraraka…are you ok?"

Ochaco stopped panting. Did I-"It's my fault."

What? "How is it your fault?"

"I was there! I was literally in the fight with Deku! I could've saved him! I was so close to saving him! But I was shot! You know that, right!?"

I nodded.

"If I was faster, If I was a better fighter…Deku never would have gotten captured." She teared up. "He inspired everyone! I know that they blame me!" She walked up to me and cried on my chest plate. "And now. No matter what, we can't do anything because the heroes told us not to! He could be in pain or suffering or be dead and it's all my fault!"

Oh god…She's been dealing with Izuku being captured way worse than me, blaming herself even more than I did.

This is what I was afraid about, the students dealing with Izuku being captured in unhealthy ways because they're young, they're students. They're not ready for this.

But at the same time, they deserve to save them as well.

"Maybe there is something we can do."

Ochaco sniffed. "Really?"

"Yeah, wake up your team. I got a plan."

Later

Everyone was in hero costumes. All the students were there, as were all The Wards. We were in the lobby. I was standing on a chair, ready to give a speech. It felt weird, like I was the leader of the group when I really wasn't. It felt…empowering, but wrong at the same time.

"Clockblocker," Iida started. "Where are the pro heroes?"

"Don't know, probably-"

"What!?" Tsuyu said. "You woke us up and brought us here for no reason other than just because!?"

Why are girls like this? "No, Tsuyu. I actually have a reason."

"You must forgive my fellow student," Iida said. "We just assumed when Ochaco woke us up that…So tell me, Clockblocker, why did you call us if not for the pros?"

"Can we hurry this up?" Mineta yawned. "I want to go back under my sheets after this."

"That's going to be a little hard, Mineta. "'Cause, we're going to be saving Izuku."

The Wards' facial expressions didn't change from the quiet contemplation they had going on. While the students' were a mixture of confusion and…disgust?...

Oh shit! It's because I said his first name! "Uhhhhh, I meant to call him Izuku-I mean, Midoriya! I meant to call him-"

"That's ok," Ochaco said. "I mean, it really isn't. But you're American, so it's fine."

It's ok because I'm American? What does that mean? Was that racist? I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"The problem they have is…you're asking them to reject orders?"

"THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM!!" Katsuki said. "THE PROBLEM IS HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO BE SAVED! NOT AFTER GETTING ALL MIGHT'S POWER! HE CAN DIE FOR ALL I CARE!"

Ochaco gasped. "Bakugo!"

"Dude!" the rock guy said. I think his name was Kirishima. "You don't really mean that!"

"It's fine, actually it really isn't, but I expected it from him," I said. "It's worth it. The pro heroes are probably discussing how to save him right now. It'll take too long, not to mention, that we'll suffer a loss as heroes if we do what the villains are asking. That's bad for America and Japan."

"But that doesn't matter, does it?" Iida asked.

"It does. It means we have to save them on our terms by kicking some ass."

"Hell yeah!" Glory Girl pumped her fist into the air. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear from you!"

"You agree with this dork?" The girl with the…were those…earphones made out of flesh? Ew.

"Why wouldn't we?" Vista asked. "We can't let your friend die! It's a hero's job to save people."

"It's also a hero's job to follow the law." The boy with the scar said.

"So you'd let Midoriya in the jaws of those villains because we weren't told to?" Kid Win asked. "Even Clockblocker is saving him!"

"It's not that we weren't told to!" Kirishima said. "It's that we were told not to! I mean, I want to help him too! but," He looked at the other students. "We can't help him if we're disobeying orders. Can we?"

Most of the students shook their heads.

"We can."

Ochaco said.

"Think about it! Deku helped us, he inspired us! He saved All Might when no one else could or would! Why shouldn't we do the same for him!?"

"Because heroes follow the rules!" the invisible girl said. "It's what separates us from the villains!"

I raised my eyebrows. "So what? We're like villains because we're trying to save a life?"

"That's a justification a lot of villains use!" Mina said.

"Guys!" the electric guy said. "Fighting each other won't help Midoriya!"

"But neither are they!" Glory Girl said. Her anger showing.

"No, that's enough." The girl whose name I learned was Momo said. "You want to know why I took the translator from Aizawa, students? You think it's because I can't speak English?"

I tried to scratch my head only for my hand to rub my helmet. "Isn't that the reason? The translator helps us understand each other."

Momo shook her head. "What you haven't considered is…" She took out the translator. "I can speak English just fine."

What!? I can still understand her! But then why?...

Vista had the same question. "Then why…"

"Because I was ordered to. And order matters more than personal identity, or your own feelings or thoughts on the matter!"

"What if you ordered to do something bad?" Flechette asked in a way that wasn't judging.

"That's ridiculous!" Four arms said. "Why would authority figures order us to do something bad!?"

What the hell was wrong with these guys!? They deal with Aizawa, who was almost as bad as Piggot! In some aspects, it might be even worse! And they still didn't think authority figures could be wrong!?

"Weld!" I said. "You're the leader. Tell them what's up!"

Weld sighed. "I wish I could…but…"

Oh-no…"But?"

"I agree with them."

God dammit. "Weld, come on, you can't be serious."

"Maybe if we weren't given specific orders to stay, we could justify it, but we can't…because they did. The Protectorate and the teachers will save them, and they will win. So we don't have to do anything. We just need to have faith."

"You want to operate on faith when our friend is in danger?" Glory Girl asked.

"I want to believe the heroes will beat them. And I know they will."

Thanks, Weld." Tsuyu said. "You're an honorary Japanese citizen, in my eyes."

What? What kind of racist bullshit was that!?

"That's nice, but I'm fine being American."

Tsuyu gave him a confused look.

"Wait…" Ochaco said. "Tsuyu…are you saying…you don't want to save him?..."

"No, Ochaco…you're wrong."

Ochaco smiled.

Tsuyu continued. "I do want to save him, more than anything…but I'm not a bad guy…so I can't."

What!? What kind of shit logic was that!?

Ochaco stood there with her mouth open. "Oh…that's ok. I don't judge you."

Tsuyu hugged Ochaco. Ochaco hugged her back.

"When you fight Skitter," Tsuyu said. "Kick her in the teeth for me."

"I'm afraid we can't let that happen."

Everyone looked at Weld,

He continued. "As leaders, we going to have to nip this thing in the bid. Come on, Iida, let's lead them back to their rooms."

Iida pushed up his glasses. "I'd love to. After all, heroes have to follow orders to stay on the right path."

Weld nodded. "Thank you."

"But Midoriya is my friend," Iida said. "I'd do anything to save him."

A moment's worth of shock and confusion was wretched on Weld's face. "Oh…of course."

Iida bowed. "I'll give myself to the authorities afterward and let themselves do as they see fit."

"That would be the noble thing to do," Weld said.

"Then why aren't you doing it?" I said.

OH SHIT. Why did I say that!? Do I want him to know I hate him!? God, crap! Crap! Crap!

"Most likely because it's moronic." The bird guy said.

"Gee thanks."

"Don't get snippy with me." The bird guy said. "All we have to do is wait for All Might and-"

His stomach growled.

"You hungry?" Kid win asked.

"No, that means Dark Shadow want's to talk." Bird guy brought out his projection. "IS there something you want to say, Dark Shadow?"

"Yes," It said. "I want to save him."

The bird guy's eyes widened. "But-"

"But nothing!" Dark Shadow said. "It's my fault he captured, if I didn't spend time showing off I could've saved him! Let me redeem myself! Let me save him."

The bird guy sighed. "You really want to do it?"

Dark Shadow nodded.

"Ok, we'll go."

"Well, I'm on Clockblocker side," Sero said. "Through and through."

I smiled.

Weld looked around and sighed. "All I can say is good luck. Don't get hurt." Weld gave a stern look directed toward me.

I nodded.

"Everyone not helping them, follow me."

Eventually, everyone not saving him left the room.

"Ok," I said. "Let's get to work."

 

[Ultimate]

That's right! The heroes are going to battle Skitter and The Undersiders in one of these chapters! The Travelers will probably be there as well!

I'm going to upload a new chapter for 'It's Always Sunny' In Brockton Bay' soon, so stay tuned for that!

Also, I made some new edits to my site! Check out TheUltimateWriting.com for more of the timeline.

That's all I had to say. This is Super Ultimate Number One, sighing out! Peace!

 

[Obloquy]

And remember to leave a comment and discuss the story with each other. It helps us, writers more than you know

Click to shrink...

Okay, wow. You've put a lot of effort into this story and it shows. You've got a bunch of compelling character interactions built around an interesting premise, and this is a really creative outcome.

At the same time, this reads a lot like a rough draft to me. Which is part of a consistent problem with fan fiction if we don't have beta readers, but at the same time it's really rocky in some ways I don't usually see.

"You can like someone without agreeing with what they do."

Click to shrink...

We arrived at the PRT headquarters. The day after we took a bus to the plane and took the plane to America, we needed some rest, considering it was nighttime at the time we were there. When we got there, we all stepped off into the base.

It was standard superhero base fare, enormous building, exterior all window, with the added bonus of a hospital added on the side. They must really care about people.

Click to shrink...

I walked up to Grue, right where he was at the building. I wasn't sure what he wanted to talk about. But anytime I could get to talk to him I didn't mind.

Click to shrink...

You have a consistent problem in rotating around the POV character without making it immediately clear who said character is, and it's sometimes hard to keep track. These are all the first lines in chapter, but honestly I just recommending adding a tag like [Skitter] or [Clockblocker] at the start of each chapter to convey who is narrating, it would keep it straighter.

I'm glad you have a rotating view point, though, because it provides for much more interesting developments and analysis of situations and controlling which characters know what while the readers know everything.

I narrowly dodged each and everyone of the robots. They were only one pointers, so it was easy, and humans kinda got a physical boost ever since powers first appeared so it didn't take that much of my stamina to maneuver around them.

I was dealing with five one pointers. Fast but fragile. it was hard to grab on to one of them, but luckily they didn't have any projectile moves, so they had to come to me to take me down. Making it easier to take them out.

Click to shrink...

Point of order: the whole "one pointers" thing is solely and specifically used in UA's hero entrance exam. Those robots are built by UA for internal use, and even if UA did ship them out then there's no particular reason why PRT ENE would buy them or use that terminology for them. The robots aren't even particularly good practice for heroes because they aren't human shaped so you can't use them to practice fighting villains, they're just a useful and disposable tool for kids who don't have much training already to get their feet wet.

But using the robots and this term made me think for a long time that it was a UA student narrating and that was very confusing.

"That is not what I-" suddenly, a THREE POINTER crashed into me and Izuku, sending us both flying.

Click to shrink...

Same as above.

But before they hit me, the ground suddenly turned into spikes and punctured both machines. I automatically knew it was.

"having a hard day?"

Vista came confidently into the training room.

Click to shrink...

Vista? Vista controls space, not matter, unless you're giving her a power change for some reason. She could pinch space to make the robots crash into each other, but she couldn't turn the floor into spikes.

Even I wasn't convincing myself. Coil wouldn't give Dinah up for something as minor as a good start. I think Grue noticed my dejection.

Click to shrink...

I pondered what Grue had said. And he was right. If the heroes were giving supplies as well, then Coil would be even more unlikely to give Dinah. 'Cause the heroes would steal all of my potential workers away. The territory would be even more of a fail. I couldn't afford for that to happen.

Click to shrink...

The only way I'll save Dinah is if I do this. Coil said himself he'd do less extreme measure if I succeeded in this. That's all I need to know to give this my all. Dinah's treatment always left me hugging my body, terrified for her. If he didn't use drugs…if he didn't abuse her. I'll beat every student here if I had to.

Click to shrink...

I appreciate that Taylor is focusing on Dinah as much or more than on any of her other reasons for working under Coil. It shows that she's still got that core of being a good person.

It just also makes me wonder at her later arguments, because she knows that the heroes haven't kidnapped and drugged a pre-teen girl the way coil has so I'd expect that to affect Taylor's arguments and willingness to bargain.

Like... when All Might showed up and was expressing sympathy for Taylor probably being bullied, Taylor had the opportunity to get in close and whisper in his ear, "Coil has moles in the PRT and he's kidnapped a young girl who I'm trying to get out." All Might would probably be smart enough to not officially report it but it would go a long way to explaining what Skitter is doing and why and All Might is powerful enough that he could almost certainly get Dinah out once he knew where she was, so he'd have reason to come back and surreptitiously get a location from Skitter so he could do a fast rescue if possible.

"Apperently," Grue folded his arms. "his Class 1-A is here on a field trip. On the promise that they won't have supervillain attacking them due to the whole 'All Might' situation, whike also making sure they always have a Protectorate member or a teacher protect them."

Click to shrink...

If this is pre-Sports Festival, then All Might has only been known to be working at UA in Japan as a teacher for significantly less than a month, and Grue really shouldn't know or care about it being "Class 1-A" in particular.

It would be more like Grue saying, "All Might is supervising a class of trainee heroes from Japan who came for volunteer work."

"I didn't want to bring All Might. He would be busy. And I was just wanted, scratch that, NEEDED to take down the supervillain," I explained, "AND help her 'minions' with getting supplies."

"We have to do this carefully. We can't just arrest criminals suddenly because-"

"Why not?"

"Because if we do that, without getting enough evidence or playing our cards carefully, they'll just win the eventual court case, or the people that depend on them will be hurt. We won't always be getting supplies. We can't just fight supervillains willy-nilly!"

Click to shrink...

If this is pre-Sports Festival, then Izuku really shouldn't be trying to "take down" any supervillain because it's literally illegal even if he in Japan and especially if he's in another country.

Also, you're making Izuku... really oddly aggressive? Katsuki is the one who obsesses over taking down villains, Izuku is the one who obsesses about saving people. If Izuku was trying to figure out Full Cowling early so he could do extra supply runs to nearby cities for more stuff to give needy people, that would be in-character, but this is just really weird to hear from him.

We're talking about a guy who canonically expressed a desire to save Shigaraki (even if he probably knows it may not work out), so seeing this here, especially pre-Sports Festival when he knows he isn't actually trained in or skilled at fighting is confusing.

I was watching the scene from a building. Skitter was amassing her minions into the open, easily getting their attention with her bugs.

I admit I got spooked a couple of times by the bugs that were flying next to me, but I tried my hardest to ignore them.

Skitter looked even more terrifying than I thought she would. Her costume was clearly made out of bug shells and silk from the looks of it, with a window in the back for her hair. She was wearing some skin-tight spandex underneath, and she was covered in bugs. So creepy. It's definitely not an appearance a hero would have.

Click to shrink...

I notice a couple times, usually with Imp but it's notable here too, that you sort of ignore people's powers.

Skitter can see and hear through her bugs' senses. If the bugs were next to Izuku, Skitter ought to know that Izuku was there and was listening in. Whether or not she acts on it is a different thing (she might think he's a cape who wants to join or a spy from a rival gang,) but she absolutely should have known he was there and maybe landed a few bugs to tracks him if he left.

She's absolutely capable of just landing a fly on the cuff of his pants where he wouldn't notice it.

I stepped out of Kurogiri's portal, into the base of Coil. I don't know what I expected, but it definitely wasn't some brats.

What the hell were The Undersiders doing here?

The first one I noticed was Skitter, she was covered in silk and dead arthropods judging from how it looked. She had yellow goggles lenses on her mask and the mask itself resembled a bug's mandibles. Her long dark hair was flowing behind her. Which seemed stupid to me. Not like superheroes wear armor where I come from, but if you're going to wear it, why not wear it in as many spots as you can? Did she purposefully keep it flowing, or did she have to do it like that?

The next I noticed was another brat. I think she was Tattletale. A teenage girl with dirty blonde hair and a purple mask. Covered in purple spandex. With an eye on her chest area on her costume. She was looking back at Coil and at me. Clearly not expecting me. Wait, now she was smiling? Why the hell was she smiling?

The next person I noticed was a buff guy covered in shadows, Definitely Grue. Then a white kid wearing some Venetian mask, Regent. After that, a tiny girl in black spandex, Imp. And last, a butch girl wearing a dog mask. As if that'll conceal your secret identity.

Then again, Hellhound, also known as Rachel Lindth, didn't have one, so I suppose it didn't matter.

Then of course there was Coil. wearing dark spandex, with holes in the head for the eyes, showing his dark skin. A white snake working in contrast acting as part of the costume wrapping around him. Yeah, that'll make people trust you. What a creepy character design.

"Woah. gross." Imp said.

Click to shrink...

Imp's canonical power is a passive perception filter that makes people ignore or forget about her. It takes her effort to be noticeable to people and can lapse if she's surprised.

A guy coming through unexpectedly is absolutely the type of thing that ought to make her drop into unnoticeability and position for an ambush attack if necessary. Otherwise, you basically just have several places where Imp drops a one-liner in conversations but she doesn't do anything. I advise you have her using her power more, and then it's at least deliberate that she isn't commented on and you can get some good dialogue from her teammates when she comes back into focus and reports what she saw while sneaking around or flanking people.

I knew exactly what to do. If I tried to attack her, then the people who have future sight will try to stop it. The other four definitely didn't have the powers. I knew all their powers from the research I did. None of them was future sight. The only person's powers that weren't known was Tattletale. I didn't consider it relevant before, but now that I know she's a part of this team…

What if instead of seeing opponents' weak points, she just knew what she would say, and said it? After all, information can come from nowhere.

Click to shrink...

I feel like you're making Shigaraki too smart here. It's easy for us to put pieces together to get Tattletale's power when we already know, but there are a bunch of powers it could be that people who don't know wouldn't be able to guess between. Unless you've somehow given Shigaraki the Jack Slash power of metaknowledge...

Also, Shigaraki did research on these random villains? IIRC he didn't even canonically look up Overhaul's powers, or else he would've warned Magne to not get in melee range. Shigaraki is a self-obsessed man-child, so why would he even care about analyzing the Undersiders or researching their powers?

She turned to me. "Your quirk works by pressing five fingers against someone, and you can't turn it off, meaning you constantly have to be careful when you're touching yourself."

"Ew," Imp said, with some amusement in her voice.

Click to shrink...

Another Imp comment that doesn't contribute anything. I still think it would be better if everyone just forgot Imp was there because she's deliberately hiding behind her powers. Or at the very least have someone make the "Ex" comment and Shigaraki gets annoyed when he can't figure out which of the Undersiders were mouthing off (because Imp said it while still hiding out).

Also, IIRC Shigaraki's power explicitly doesn't affect his own body, even if it can affect his clothing. If nothing else he'd have already dusted himself by this point or in his accidental killing of his family as a kid.

"Oh, but I think I do. I think you're one of those types of people with powers that like to cause conflict. I think you had a trigger event. And I think you had a trigger event when you couldn't figure something out. Like a narcissist. No, something else. You tried to help someone but failed. Someone close to you, your mother? Your father? Your sibling? Sibling, right." I knew just from her looks. "And that trigger event DEEPLY affected you, like it does to everyone else. And it causes you to look for information to prove you're the smartest. Your power gives you rewards for causing conflict. And you're pissed off because I'm smarter than you."

I leaned back. "How about that? You have a completely unique power and someone without it is still better at it than you."

She was glaring daggers into my soul right about now. "Don't fucking test me. Whether or not you fucking figured out my power. I'm still fucking smarter than you. I'm still fucking better than you. And I can still figure you out."

Click to shrink...

Especially pre-Sports Festival, Shigaraki is supposed to be an immature man-child who is obsessed with video games and running mostly on hatred instead of coherent planning.

Him being better at cold-reading Tattletale than she is at reading him -- bearing in mind that Tats canonically figured out someone's PIN from them being exmilitary and a southpaw -- seems very OOC and I don't see the point of it in advancing plot or characterization except to make Shigaraki look more intelligent or capable.

(Did you actually give him Jack Slash's Broadcast power? Because that's honestly what it feels like.)

Coil sat there without showing any emotion. What was his power? Ordinary future sight? Timeline searching? He seemed to be completely calm as if he already knew what would happen, but then why would he even argue with me as if he thought it would work? Did he actually interact in the timelines?

Did he…split them?

Click to shrink...

I smirked. "It's kinda obvious. She always has a new form every time they're spotted. But she doesn't change it in fights. Even when it's beneficial, people don't notice it. But I do." I turned to the beast. "The only explanation is if you can't change your form on the fly when all other shapeshifters can. Meaning you're no shapeshifter, it's just a projection controlled by a handicapped girl."

Click to shrink...

Again, Shigaraki is just randomly jumping to what readers know is a correct answer when he really shouldn't have anywhere near enough information to make this guess.

If this is foreshadowing about Shigaraki having a Broadcast power, then it's utterly brilliant and kudos to you. If not, I'm not sure why it's like this.

Upon hearing her power, I smirked. So Coil's power was to split timelines, I assume, and her power was to calculate probabilities? That's amazing, assuming the brat was loyal. You could try and try again with the probabilities given until you find something that works. You would know what has a high chance of working and what doesn't, and know whether you should keep trying. He could take over the world with those kinds of powers if he played his cards correctly.

Click to shrink...

It seems like Coil folded way too quickly instead of of shooting or bombing Shigaraki after he & Kurogiri came into Coil's secure base that he's thoroughly trapped and prepared.

Coil has a body-double and oodles of back-up contingencies. Unless he's running alternate timelines when he tries to shoot or blow up Shigaraki and it fails, this really doesn't make sense, and if Coil is doing that then you ought to reveal it at some point.

And All for One. But he's nothing but a myth. Better if they don't know I know him. Or believe he's real.

Click to shrink...

Shigaraki would think of AFO as "Sensei" instead of by name, I feel.

"Ok, I guess you're training, Izuku."

"It's Deku or Midoriya." Izuku was speaking through grit teeth. "Actually, to you, it's just Midoriya."

Click to shrink...

This is good intercultural conflict with the first names thing. Though Izuku's reasons for disliking Clockblocker seems really shallow.

Like, if nothing else, Clockblocker has already faced villains and saved people whereas 1-A has not except for the USJ emergency.

If Izuku can like Katsuki for being victorious, why does he dislike Clockblocker when Clock has saved more people than Katsuki has?

"Being a superhero isn't only about fighting, y'know."

"I know, I'm just a Cerebrum Parahuman."

Izuku and I looked confused, and admittingly he seemed to get it before I could. "Oh! You're a neurodivergent Quirker!"

She smiled. "Yeah…pretty much."

Click to shrink...

"I always thought that WAS some Neo-Nazi biological fact. You're not an internalized quirkest, are you?"

"I don't have a quirk!" Glory Girl laughed. "I have a cerebrum power. MY powers don't come from genetics. They come from my brain."

"Well…even so!"

Click to shrink...

Interesting world-building. Sort of hap-hazard? I'm glad that you're differentiating, but honestly it might be better if you didn't draw a difference between them, since this is a supposed to be an always-same-world fusion.

"Ok, dude. Whatever you say. So you were going to analyze the wards?"

Izuku shook his head. "Nope, the villains."

Kaminari was so shocked, that he literary lit up. "WHAT!? YOU CAN'T FIGHT THE VILLAINS!! WHAT WOULD ALL MIGHT SAY!?! WHAT WOULD AIZAWA-"

Click to shrink...

Why is Kaminari freaking out like this? If nothing else, Izuku analyzing them for the PRT's records would be good whether or not Izuku actually fights them.

If this is pre-Sports Festival, then Izuku doesn't yet have his villain magnet memetic status, and honestly Kaminari is one of the guys I would expect to be hung-ho about fighting villains because he doesn't usually think through the consequences of things.

Kaminari let go. "Oh…ok! I…guess that's better. Persevere!"

"Thanks!"

Glory Girl and I turned our heads. The glory girl spoke first. "Persevere?"
"Oh, it's our version of good luck."

Click to shrink...

Kudos to you for trying to translate "Ganbatte-kudasai" but I'd advise that you either have them say it in Japanese or that you translate as "Do you best," or "push through and overcome" or something.

I titled my head. "Something tells me between the authority streak and the hard work fetish, you guys have some particular opinions on criminals."

"You mean that they're all bloodthirsty, animalistic, monsters that need to be put away?"

"Jesus kid, I fight villains daily, and even I don't think like that!"

"Then maybe you're not a good hero." Izuku had a cheeky smirk.

Click to shrink...

What the flip? This is entirely out of character for Izuku. Again, he's the guy who is gang-ho about saving people. This is the type of stuff I'd expect Katsuki to be spewing, but I've basically never seen any of this kind of paint-with-the-same-brush stereotyping from anyone in My Hero Academia, let alone from Izuku.

You just broke my suspension of disbelief into about a dozen pieces and I'm honestly wondering if Izuku is being mastered or mentally influenced by somebody else. Izuku is the "villains need to be saved from their life of crime if we can" guy to me; he'll put villains in jail to make them stop hurting people, but he isn't one to tar people with the same brush like this.

"Uhhhhhhhhh," Iida was trying to find the words. "Do I have to listen to orders? I wouldn't mind having to, but I just wanted to know because I happen to be class president."

"Don't see how that's relevant."

"Because that class president is basically the leader of the class," Aizawa explained. "Not to mention it's rude to call a Japanese citizen by their first name, If you paid attention, you would know that."

Piggot forced a smile. "I can't be expected to notice every piece of a conversation. I apologize if I seemed rude or misinformed."

"Of course."

At least the leaders weren't getting along either.

"So this is how we do things. Te-" Piggot stopped herself. "Iida, you can command your group. But not a ward. If a ward tells you to do something. Do it. And if they tell you to give an order to your team, give the order."

Click to shrink...

Honestly, you could reformat this part into just a more general Establish Chain Of Command thing. It's clunky as-is, and pro heroes are used to organizing who has to follow orders from whom in big events like disaster relief so the pros ought to already have protocols and Eraserhead would've given them a talk about this.

I landed on the same building as All Might and went to him. "All Might! I saw what you were fighting! I want to help!"

"No, Young Midoriya! This is too dangerous! You would be in lethal harm!"

"We signed up for that when we went to Brockton Bay!"

"The only reason we went here was that we thought there would be no villain attacks," All Might argued. "like usual after Levithan attacks! Things are going WAY differently here!"

Click to shrink...

"Funny, I remember you ultimately approving of the trip," Aizawa said. "Along with Nedzu. You specifically said there will be no villain attacks in this city."

"And the principal said the teachers would protect them." Piggot shot back. "Whose fault this is doesn't matter. What matters is what we do now."

Click to shrink...

What? Seriously, what?

The chaos and despair after Endbringers attacks is a 100% perfect time for various villains to get active and take advantage of the chaos and for new people to fall into villainy due to despair or needing to steal for their family.

It's the textbook time for totally ordinary unpowered people to riot, loot, and commit crimes because they're upset and because they need things to keep going or their homes just got destroyed or whatever.

Any professional who thought there would be fewer villain attacks instead of more needs to have their head checked for brain damage before they get fired for incompetence. This just makes absolutely no sense even in-universe for each world, because we see mobs and upticks in crime after disasters even in-universe in MHA, much less in grim dark Worm.

Deku raised his arm, looked me in the eye, and said something with more invective than even Tattletale could manage. "Die, Skitter."

Click to shrink...

She coughed. "Well? Aren't you going to kill me?"

What? "NO! Of course not! I'm a hero! That means you don't kill, no matter what."

Skitter looked at me like I had grown a second head. Was she that deep into villainy?

Click to shrink...

Um. What? Does Izuku have absolutely no sense of self or memory of his own behavior? You honestly have me wondering again if he's being mastered or influenced.

Uraraka coughed up blood. When she did, it splattered right onto my face. "Deku? I'm sorry…I couldn't save you…I'm-"

"Don't be! It's not your fault!"

Uraraka smiled. "Thanks, Deku…My blood is really draining now…I wish I could help…Stay strong…persevere. Remember what your name means…and"

Uraraka tried to get another word out. But she couldn't get it out. What was it? WHAT ELSE DID SHE WANT TO SAY!?

She stopped moving.

Click to shrink...

I admit, this is a good reason for Izuku to go hard against Skitter. Although I do think it would be better if you swapped the scenes/chapters so that we saw Izuku's PoV with Uraraka going still first and then see Skitter's PoV with him attacking her and she's confused why he's going so hard.

Doing the reverse doesn't feel like a Reveal so much as it feels like a Retcon to explain Izuku's uncharacteristic behavior.

At the same time, though, it's also really uncharacteristic for Izuku to go on the attack instead of, say, picking up Uraraka (he's able to haul around fridges and cars even without his Quirk,) and running to get her medical help.

Again, Izuku is the "saving people" guy. He's the one who will choose to save someone while Katsuki is the one who chooses to stop a villain. You're having Izuku act like Katsuki here and it's breaking my suspension of disbelief into pieces.

"You are the most despicable, selfish, fucking annoying hero I have ever meant!" She was speaking through her bugs again. "Just crawl away and DIE!"

"Doesn't matter how much you hurt people," I said. "how evil you are! We will stop you! And we'll avenge everyone you KILLED!"

"Evil? EVIL!? What's it going to take to convince you that heroes can be as bad as villains!?"

She thought heroes were as bad as villains!? "Villains are the bloodthirsty ones that steal, injure, and kill just for kicks! Can you bring up anyone that is even bad!?"

"Sophia, Panacea, Glory Girl-"

What? "Shut the hell up."

She attacked me with bugs. Going for the eyes again, I shielded them with my arms.

"What about Armmaster? Breaking The Unwritten Rules?"

"Unwritten what? What the hell is that?"

Skitter stayed silent. "You Japanese heroes really are hopeless. Wither in despair."

Click to shrink...

I have this idea that Izuku talking to Skitter was supposed to be one of the draws of the story, but they really aren't talking. They're shouting at each other with vague moralizing (or lack thereof) instead of actually bringing in points or personal experiences for what they're doing and what they believe, and it makes me really sad.

Like, Deku and Skitter have extremely similar backstories with a childhood friend who betrayed and bullied them, aided and abetted by an uncaring system in authority. They have a great opportunity for bonding and seeing a mirror of each other's situations, even more than Izuku has with Shigaraki.

She shook her head and walk away. She seemed frustrated. Was I getting to her?
"Couldn't care any less about Legend, Eidolon, or Alexandria."

Her hand froze before she made it to the doorknob. She then immediately went for it.

I got her. "You know those false heroes Stain the Hero Killer talk about? Alexandria and the rest of The Triumvirate or like that. I mean, they show up at Endbringer fights, but all heroes do that!"

She clutched the doorknob.

"Alexandria…she's just some bitch that can punch hard. She got lucky by getting powers. Especially strong ones. Flight? Superintelligence? Invulnerability? OP as hell. She doesn't have to work or try. It's easy for her! It's obvious that even All Might or Armsmaster, heroes that have to work are more awesome than-"

"Shut. Up."

My eyes widened, "What?"

"Everything you said was wrong. Alexandria says all the time how she fights against S-class threats only. And how they attack several times every year. Do you know how stressful it is to have the world on your shoulder? It's. Not. Easy. She's a strong hero not because of her power, but because of her mind."

"Which is a power!" I said. It was pretty much confirmed at this point. But I wanted to be sure. "Face it! Alexandria is just another hero. Not like the greats, she doesn't even like her team! She said so in a interview!"

"That's not true! In U.S.A #54, she said she has…a…close…bond…with them."

I smiled. "Wow, can't believe you fell for that."

Click to shrink...

This bit was much better and more what I was hoping for, but honestly given Taylor's vehemence against the heroes, I would 100% expect her to by now have actually given an answer when/if Izuku asks why she became a villain.

Izuku: "You keep saying heroes can be as bad as villains, but all I've seen here are heroes trying to help people and villains being selfish! Name one time when a hero did something wrong and wasn't held accountable!"​

​

Taylor: "One of the city's teenaged heroes tried to kill me in her secret identity and the PRT hushed it up! Shadow Stalker bullied and harassed me for 18 months and topped it off with a murder attempt on school grounds that put me in the hospital, and the rest of the Protectorate let her get away with it and shut me down when I reported her crimes against me because getting gangsters off the street was more important than a random teen being hurt by one of their own!"​

That's something Izuku can actually understand and sympathize with -- Katsuki did the exact same thing to him repeatedly, minus the murder attempt -- and then it makes a lot more sense for Taylor not to trust the PRT. Instead of him just calling her villain and evil.

Better yet, it would build off that speech in the beginning where All Might reach out to Skitter compassionately that hasn't been followed up on in-universe. Especially with that thing of Skitter knowing Izuku has All Might's quirk (or whatever she's figured out).

I'm surprised it hasn't happened already and if it doesn't happen by the end of the story I will feel incredibly disappointed.

But you should write what you want to write, because you've clearly put a lot of effort and emotion into this. I respect that and this is a cool story so I look forward to seeing how it goes.

If you ever decide to write a cleaner version of this, I can PM you a list of world-building ideas to make the fusion bits fit together more cleanly, but otherwise I'll leave you to it and hope I've contributed meaningfully.

Ganbatte-kudasai, @Ultimate!

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Nineteen:

This would not be as easy as I thought.

Thanks to the kidnapping of Izuku Midoriya, the supplies I got from Coil would all go towards my people. Not anyone else. I wouldn't have to sell them to other territories or settlements. I could just give all my supplies to the people of my territory. That much was settled. I could finally get in my people in my good graces again.

Despite that, I didn't have my people exactly singing my praises. They must still be freaked out about my supposedly threatening them. I could tell them, but I have to make sure the plan works first, then I'll let them do as they please after I tell them.

So why wouldn't be as easy as I thought?

Simply put, I didn't hate Izuku as much as I used to.

I wouldn't say I liked him. I just understood him better, which on the bright side, definitely makes it easier to deal with him when I'm giving him his food. But now, I was having some reservations over basically holding him for ransom.

I shouldn't think about it. Dinah is more important than some kid, I have to focus on her. The whole reason I'm doing this is for the people, and her.

I just had to deal with this for a few more hours, then we'll win.

We always win.

I already gave everyone their food for the hour. So now I just had to go back to the Izuku Midoriya.

But first, I found Sierra with my bugs. She was outside, tending to a child with a cut arm. "Hello, Sierra."

She jumped. "Oh! Jesus! You scared me so bad! I hate it when you speak through your bugs!"

"Sorry about that. everything going ok here?" I asked.

"Everyone has their food. They still seemed afraid, though."

I sighed. "I figured, well, I'm almost done. I just have to give one more food item to someone."

"Who is it?" She asked.

"It's kinda obvious."

Realization dawned on her face. "Oh. Ok."

"I'll be back in a few," I said.

I took food from the supply box and walked upstairs. I opened the door to my room and saw Izuku Midoriya, still wrapped up in silk. "Hello, Izuku."

Izuku glanced at me. "Hey, Skitter."

I walked over to him. "I got you a sandwich this time, with some chips."

"Thanks."

I opened the container to the food, took away the last container, and placed it on the silk next to his mouth. "Do you need for it to be closer?"

"No, this is fine."

"Ok…well…" I pointed to the door with both my hands. "I'm going to go." I turned to leave.

"Why did you become a villain?"

I turned back. "Ummmmmm…what?"

"You know what I mean. You're a villain with the personality, but with the in mind…Why didn't you just become a hero?"

I sighed. "You think I wanted this career?"

Izuku gave me a look. "What?"

"I wanted to be a hero."

Izuku's eyes widened. "Wh…what?"

"It's true. When I got my powers, all I wanted to do was be a hero. It just didn't turn out that way."

Izuku gave me the most confused look I've ever seen in my life. "But…you have a power…that was all you needed to become a hero."

"It was. But I didn't want to work on The Wards, for just another experience indistinguishable from high school."

Izuku titled his head. But he didn't interrupt me.

I continued. "So I became a vigilante. To save people. But I got mistaken for a villain."

Izuku looked like he had a light bulb light up in his head. "So you couldn't become a hero! Because they thought you were a villain! Well, I could try to help you!"

"No, it's not like that."

Izuku went back to being confused.

"They knew I was a hero. At least Armsmaster did. The only reason I joined The Undersiders was to be a mole for the heroes."

"Ok." Izuku nodded. Not judging me.

"But I learned something in my adventures. Not all heroes are good, and not all villains are bad."

Izuku nodded. Good, he wasn't fighting me on this.

"The Undersiders are more compassionate and emphatic than some of the 'heroes'. Like Shadoe Stalker and Armsmaster."

"If that was true, they would've been heroes."

"It's not that simple," I said. "I don't know about Tattletale, but Grue became a supervillain to-" I stopped myself. If I decided to say his sister, would that be enough for the PRT to figure us out?

"What's wrong? Why can't you say it?"

"I can. He's doing it to protect someone, to get enough money for someone he cares about."

Izuku silently contemplated this. "But…if he needed money…Why didn't he just become a Ward? Or a sidekick for the Knights of Justice? Or a sidekick at any hero agency? Or-"

"I don't know why," I said. Ignoring the problem I had with him. Why didn't he do any of that? "But…it's still not that simple. My other teammate? Bitch?"

Izuku didn't understand.

"Hellhound."

"Wait, you guys call her Bitch? That's mean."

"She prefers that name to Hellhound," I said.

"Oh, ok."

"She accidentally maimed her abusive family when she manifested her powers. Being a hero isn't an option for her. She already broke the law."

Izuku grunted. "And Regent?"

"I can't say, but it's the same with him and Bitch. They already did crimes, thanks to their upbringing, They have no other option but to survive."

Izuku gave a stern look. "For a past hero, you're certainly ok with working with villains."

"As I said, not all villains are bad. Like not all heroes are good."

Izuku gave the only answer he was willing to. "Ok…I just think that…it must be hard to be a hero and having to work with villains."

"You heard what I just said, right?"

"I did, but villains, even if they're good, because of their career choice, are more willing to hurt people. How do you work with them? And how do you go from becoming a hero to becoming a villain? You still want to help people, don't you?"

"I do. I just think I can do more good as a villain."

Izuku gave the most flabbergasted look. One of pure befuddlement. I'd find it funny if it wasn't because of me. "But…how can you say that?"

"I took down the ABB with the other villains, not the heroes. I saved the city from the E88 with The Undersiders, not with the heroes."

"I heard about that!" Izuku said. "But the heroes were there too! Even though the media said the heroes were to blame. They always say that, though. They just want drama and soundbites."

"I agree," I said. "At most, you could blame them for taking Purity's children. But they were in an abusive relationship, so it's a little like blaming a student for defending themselves from a bully."

He snickered. "Yeah, what next? Punish a woman for using mace against a rapist?"

I laughed. "It's really stupid. But the point is we do good as villains. We're even protecting people and giving them supplies."

"The heroes are giving the same thing, though."

"We didn't know they do it so quickly."

"It probably happened because of the quicker time with this Endbringer attack."

"Maybe." I put one hand on my chin. "But the point is, we're still helping people."

"But…don't you think you do more good as a hero?"

"I don't think so. They're weighed down by P.R. and restrictions."

"So…are they too bad or too good?"

I didn't have an answer ready. "What I'm trying to say is…heroes have limitations, villains don't."

"You don't worry about hurting people?"

"I only hurt people who have it coming."

Izuku looked down or a few seconds. "I understand that. If someone hurt Kacchan or Uraraka, I'd have no problem taking them down."

That stung knowing that I hurt his friend. And that he nearly killed me in order to get justice for her.

Izuku must've realized what he said because his facial expression softened. "Oh! I don't mean you! I meant someone I wouldn't like! I just meant-"

"No, it's fine," I said. "I know what you meant."

"Really? Well, that's good. Sorry about almost threatening you. I'm really bad at social stuff."

What? He was? "Ummmmmm…"

"I'm assuming it's the same for you?"

"Why do you assume that?"

"Because you're the worst liar i ever met."

I narrowed my eyes. "Hey, I don't-"

"Don't worry. It's not an insult. It just means you respect the truth.

Really? Is that what he thought? I lied all the time. To my dad, to…

Actually, that was it.

I never felt good about lying, but I did it out of near necessity. If I respected the truth. I would've told my dad I was a cape.

"I'm not sure about that."

"It has to be! You're a villain with the personality of a hero!"

"Thanks, but I'm no hero. I'm just a girl forced to make some tough choices."

"Are you referring to terri…come to think of it…why did you scare your people?"

"It was an accident. I didn't mean to."

Izuku titled his head again. Then his eyes widened. "Oh! So you are bad at social stuff!"

I scratched the back of my head, then pointed at him. "You can't tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed." He said. "It's ok. I think people like us are better in the battlefield than at a party."

I snickered. "That's true. I do better with conflict and action. Words are for the weak."

He laughed. "I wouldn't say that. But I definitely do better fighting than I do talking. Which is ironic. Because I used to be afraid of fighting."

"Me too." I said. Why did I share that? I don't want him to know that…do I?

He seemed confused. "I wouldn't expect a villain to fear fighting."

"It was only on my first few days. I was ok after I fought Bakuda."

"It's like that with me, too. When the villains attacked the USJ, I learned you can't hesitate, no matter how afraid you are."

"Now we live for the battle."

"We have a strong desire to win."

I smiled behind my mask. It ceased rather quickly. "Do you think…people like us can have any positive relationship?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're better at fighting than talking. Can we have people liking us without being-"

"Of course!" He said. "I have friends, you have friends. We just need to find people like us!"

That makes sense. If we were to find people who like us for who we are. That would be all i needed…all we needed. But I wasn't sure anyone on my team was actually like me. The closest would be Grue and Tattletale. But Grue is probably still angry about the whole hero business I was apart of. And Tattletale…Actually…I never learned why she tried so hard with me…I'll have to ask her. But my relationship might be strained with her, depending on that. I doubt it, though. Considering Tattletale was probably the Undersider I liked the most.

Maybe…

"What's your favorite hero?"

We both asked the question at the same time.

"Ummmm…" I said. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Izuku said.

"Uhhhh…never mind…So what's your favorite hero?"

"Uhhhh, All Might! Duh!" He chuckled.

"Really? I thought you only used him to become popular…"

"You know that was a lie!" He smiled. "All Might is the best hero out there!"

"He's not better than Alexandria."

"Are you kidding me!?" He almost seemed offended for real. "All Might saved more people, defeated more villains, and he's way faster and stronger!"

"Uhhhhh, Alexandria can lift a million tons." I hoped I didn't sound as geeky as I felt.

"That's a myth! It's never been confirmed!"

"Alexandria can break an into an Endbringer skin a hair deep. You could ONLY do that if you were that strong."

"Well, All Might at his strongest could launch an Endbringer into space."

"We're not talking about Endbringer at his strongest." I stopped myself. "This is probably really weird to hear."

"It is," He agreed. "But I like it. It's cute."

Was he making fun of me? I tried to suppress my feelings after he said that. But after he said that, he looked away. Was he embarrassed?

"Ummm…Are you still a fan of heroes?" He asked.

"Not all of them." I said. "I think most of them are just people. Which means they can be as bad as us. But I like Miss Militia, Triumph, and Alexandria."

"Not a fan of Legend?"

"He kinda forced me to make a decision when I learned a hero's identity. He even said he would make it for me If I didn't answer fast enough."

"Oh…" Izuku looked down, mouth agape. "Well…Maybe he had a good reason?"

"It would help if you didn't defend people who hurt me."

Izuku looked apologetic. "Sorry. I just don't want to believe Legend would be bad."

"Heroes are people. Even if they're good, they can be capable of being bad, afraid, angry."

Izuku sighed. "You're right. I still like heroes, though. Sorry about that."

I didn't have a reaction. I felt it was…charming…naïve…but I was ok with it. It wasn't like he wasn't aware of how bad heroes could be…

Right?

Are you aware bad heroes could be."

"I guess." Izuku said. It seemed honest. "It's not like you're saying all heroes are bad like I thought you were saying before."

What? He thought I said that?

"No, I never said that, I still like Alexandria." I said. "But you know something stupid? I never met her, but I still want to believe she's good, because I idolized her in the past…"

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You still want to have faith in people, there's nothing wrong with that. No one wants to believe people are bad, they just believe that because they're disappointed. I'm ok with you thinking that. I won't judge you anymore."

That one resonated with me. It was exactly what I was thinking. Something about what he said made me agree with him.

He wasn't as plain looking as I thought.

 

[Obloquy]

Oh wow, I give a review and immediately NEW CHAPTER! And it's got a lot of stuff I was hoping for, even if we';re not fully there yet, yay!

Simply put, I didn't hate Izuku as much as I used to.

I wouldn't say I liked him. I just understood him better, which on the bright side, definitely makes it easier to deal with him when I'm giving him his food. But now, I was having some reservations over basically holding him for ransom.

I shouldn't think about it. Dinah is more important than some kid, I have to focus on her. The whole reason I'm doing this is for the people, and her.

Click to shrink...

Nice to see Taylor is lightening up, and she's also still keeping Dinah in mind as being important. Though the fact that she hasn't told Izuku, "My boss has a little girl hostage, I'm working for him to try to get her out," is sad because it would explain so much to Izuku and it's not like it would give away any big secrets. She can even say "Grue is in a similar situation".

"I agree," I said. "At most, you could blame them for taking Purity's children. But they were in an abusive relationship, so it's a little like blaming a student for defending themselves from a bully."

He snickered. "Yeah, what next? Punish a woman for using mace against a rapist?"

I laughed. "It's really stupid. But the point is we do good as villains. We're even protecting people and giving them supplies."

Click to shrink...

I really wish Taylor had given a, "The PRT repeatedly got me in trouble for defending myself from a bully who happened to be a ward. Before I became a vigilante," response and the fact that she hasn't (yet) makes me sad and eager.

Taylor could totally be winning this argument because she has first-hand life experience that pre-Sports Festival Izuku can't counter with idealism, and she's missing the opportunities to get him over to her side, but at the same time the window hasn't passed.

Not that I think Izuku would turn villain even if he feels sorry for Taylor, but I just love the idea of someone telling Taylor "your anger at your problems is valid, even if I wish you'd choose different actions".

I smiled behind my mask. It ceased rather quickly. "Do you think…people like us can have any positive relationship?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're better at fighting than talking. Can we have people liking us without being-"

"Of course!" He said. "I have friends, you have friends. We just need to find people like us!"

Click to shrink...

Now this is the Izuku I know and love. It's so nice to see him in-character with his compassion for people after oddly-violent-Izuku was so prevalent in the past chapters. Thank you so much for these scenes, they're absolutely lovely.

"What's your favorite hero?"

We both asked the question at the same time.

"Ummmm…" I said. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Izuku said.

"Uhhhh…never mind…So what's your favorite hero?"

"Uhhhh, All Might! Duh!" He chuckled.

"Really? I thought you only used him to become popular…"

"You know that was a lie!" He smiled. "All Might is the best hero out there!"

"He's not better than Alexandria."

Click to shrink...

I love this exchange, two hero nerds arguing a Better Than debate about their faves.

Also, given that Izuku is a hero nerd who canonically modeled his hood & rebreather to imitate All Might's hair-antenna and big smile, how on Earth has Izuku missed that Skitter obviously modeled her costume after Alexandria's.

I mean: all black, covers all her skin, covers her face, exposes her long hair to flow freely in the wind.

Am I describing Skitter's costume or Alexandria's?

Answer: I'm describing both because Taylor is an embarrassing fan girl. Armsmaster might've missed it but how has Izuku not commented on it when he did the exact same thing (except Izuku at least changed the colors while Taylor didn't).

"Oh…" Izuku looked down, mouth agape. "Well…Maybe he had a good reason?"

"It would help if you didn't defend people who hurt me."

Izuku looked apologetic. "Sorry. I just don't want to believe Legend would be bad."

"Heroes are people. Even if they're good, they can be capable of being bad, afraid, angry."

Izuku sighed. "You're right. I still like heroes, though. Sorry about that."

Click to shrink...

This is peak Taylor and Izuku. I just wish Taylor would reveal her actual reasons to Izuku, because even if he trusts in heroes generally he would have to admit that these particular heroes have betrayed her trust by enabling Shadow Stalker.

Thanks for writing, and as I said already:

Ganbatte-kudasai

Click to shrink...

 

[Ultimate]

Next chapter out! I hope you enjoy it. You can probably guess which path I'm taking with it. Things are going to go bad soon enough, trust me.

I'm going to upload the first chapter of my superhero parody Web Novel soon. Who knows? maybe I'll cross it over with Worm.

Next Chapter is Shigaraki's. I'm going to work on the prose for it. It'll go out on time though.

That's all I had to say. This is Super Ultimate One, sighing out. Peace!

 

[Ultimate]

Okay, wow. You've put a lot of effort into this story and it shows. You've got a bunch of compelling character interactions built around an interesting premise, and this is a really creative outcome.

At the same time, this reads a lot like a rough draft to me. Which is part of a consistent problem with fan fiction if we don't have beta readers, but at the same time it's really rocky in some ways I don't usually see

Click to shrink...

To be honest, I didn't know fanfiction had beta readers. So that would be why I didn't do it.

Thanks for telling me though. I'll use that for future fanfiction.

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Twenty:

"What's the point of this meeting, Shigaraki?" Tattletale asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I said. "The heroes are going to attack soon. We need to get ready."

"He's probably right," Grue said. "I doubt they're going to take our kidnapping of a hero very well."

"Exactly," I pointed at Grue. "Like an MMO, you take precautions before you do anything stupid."

"True, but it's a little late for that," Trickster put out his cigarette.

I narrowed my eyes. He's insulting me?

I didn't even want The Travelers here. They were still mad over me, blackmailing Coil, and as a result, blackmailing them. They were only here because I knew The Undersiders weren't strong enough to handle all the heroes by themselves. So I was stuck with them.

I summoned All The Undersiders and Travelers here. Everyone was here except for Skitter. Who I assume was busy with Izuku, but it was annoying, regardless. We were at Coil's base because all of them were 'uncomfortable' going to our bar in Japan. Even though it was two footsteps away with Kurogiri. This is why I hate kids. They want everything their way without settling for anything else. While I was left here, scratching my neck.

Why was it always my neck that itches?

The Travelers were on one side, with Trickster standing in front of his team. In front of Ballistic, Sundancer was in the corner, and Genesis was here in her actual form. Sitting Right next to Sundancer.

The Undersiders were on the right side, with the order going from the right and left. Tattletale, Hellhound, Grue, Imp, and Regent. Regent was simply leaning on the wall, Imp and Hellhound were sitting, while Tattletale and Grue were standing.

"Let's focus on the task at hand," Kurogiri said to get us to focus. "Shigaraki. Tell them of the formidable strategy you have at play."

"Right," I said. "So I have a plan, not surprising, considering I came up with the last plan."

Tattletale rolled her eyes. "So what's the plan, then?"

"I say we all stay at Skitter's base, for when they do attack."

"Woah there, pal," Regent said. "Some of us have territories we have to tend to."

I half groaned, half sighed. "Fine, do you know your territory coordinates?"

"Who gives a shit about that?"

I leaned in. "You don't freakin' know?"

"Why would we?" Regent asked.

"It never seemed important to know," Grue folded his arms.

"What if you met someone with a warp quirk? They need coordinates to work!" I walked over to Grue and Regent. "Are you telling me you never prepared for the chance of that happening!?"

"You must understand, Shigaraki," Kurogiri projected his face over to the side of my face. "They couldn't plan for every eventuality. They're not like…you know…"

Didn't take a genius to figure out he was talking about Master.

"I can't excuse stupidity."

"Not stupidity. Just…a difference."

I sighed in disgust.

"We can tell you later," Imp suggested. "When we return to our bases."

"Fine," I said. "You'll have to do it sometime today."

"What for?" Ballistic said.

"Isn't it obvious? So Kurogiri can warp you from your base to Skitter's at a moment's notice. Except for Sundancer, and Genesis."

Sundancer looked up. "What? Why can't we help?"

I sighed. "You can. You just don't need to be in the area, you two just need to stay out of the area and bring your powers through the portal. Like with the last time."

"Oh, right," Sundancer said.

Genesis wheeled over to me. "What would you have us do?"

"Genesis, you can change the density of your projection, right?"

She nodded.

"Good. We'll have you turn your projection as hard as steel."

Genesis took a glance back at her team. "Wouldn't that make it too heavy?"

"No, can you simulate a body at the cellular level?"

Genesis looked at The Undersiders this time. "What?"

"He's asking if you can simulate a Quirk," Tattletale said.

"Oh, no. I don't understand things on that small of a level," Genesis said.

"Dammit," I put a hand on my chin. "We'll have to rely on powerful winds and increased muscle strength."

"I don't even understand muscle strength that much."

"Figure it out," I looked at Sundancer. "As for you, you need to crank up your sun full blast."

Sundancer put his hands in front of her mouth. "No, I can't do that. I have a strict rule against killing!"

"I know," I said with invective. "But it's exactly the reason we lost in the first place. Because you didn't kill Weld."

Sundancer frowned. "That is not why we lost."

"Really? Because something tells me if you guys went all out, it would be damn easier to win. Not like the heroes can fight, if they're dead, the same goes for The Undersiders."

Grue looked at me. "Us? What are you talking about?"

I pointed to Kurogiri. "Kurogiri told me about what he saw at Regent's base. People just standing perfectly still. And doing anything he asks, I doubt he inspired loyalty. I'd sooner believe that he has a hidden aspect of his nerve powers."

"Well, you'd be right," Regent confirmed. "But we can't use it on a hero. Due to it being…well literally body control."

What? Why couldn't we use it? It was only body contro-

Oh…right…

"Dammit, I didn't realize what I was even saying," I admitted. "It'd be just as constructive to ask you to roofie them," I paused. "But wait…if that's the case, why even do it to anyone?"

"As long as no one knows about it, we'll be fine," Regent said.

What? Did he actually think like that?

"It's…not preferable," Grue said. "But we don't have a choice. We have to take control any way we can."

"Besides," Tattletale began, "how do you know it's not one of those mind control powers where the victim feels nothing?"

"That only applies to mind control, not body control." I looked at Regent. "You'll stay out of this fight."

"What? Why?" He asked.

"Because I don't want to work with a sexual deviant. That's gross."

"I'm not a sexual deviant. I'm not." Why'd he say it twice? Was he lying to me? "I just have a gross power."

"Close enough. I don't want to work for you."

"We have to make use of all our allies," Kurogiri said. "If we don't, it could mean the difference between close calls and disaster."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, but he goes on the front lines."

"Ummm, I'm better in the back."

"Unless you want your boss to get his teeth kicked in by the top heroes, you'll listen to me."

Regent frowned, and Trickster grunted. But he relented. "Do as he says."

Regent put his hands in his pockets. "Fine."

This is what I like about this blackmail business. Usually, I have to resort to my confidence and charisma to gain followers. That meant tempering my anger and ego. 'Cause if they were out full force, they'd be scared off. I already lost a magnetic villain, and one masked villain with the ability to turn things into marbles. Both would've been useful to the fight at the USJ. but was lost the second I showed what they considered too much aggression.

But this was so much easier. Now, I didn't have to worry about crap like that. Now? All I had to do what snap my fingers and they would come to my call. I get to assert so much power over them. I don't even have to destroy them. They'll destroy themselves.

Makes my job so much easier.

"And what about me?" Sundancer asked. "Do I have to kill the heroes?"

"If you want Noelle to be protected, then yes," I said.

She looked down, was she actually considering letting her friend die? 'Cause, that wouldn't be good for us.

Trickster stared at her with accusatory eyes. Something tells me he didn't like what he was seeing. It'd be easier for him if he just let go of his concern for teammates. He's such an idiot.

Then again, it's because of that idiocy that we got this far. So I really should let it slide.

Ultimately, she relented. "Ok."

"Back to The Undersiders, Tattletale will stay out of the fray, watching the fight from cameras we will hook up."

"What?" Hellhound's facial expression changed into something fierce. "Fuck that. We made a deal that Tattletale would get in the fray as well."

"I don't care." I put as much venom as I could into that sentence. "Tattletale works better as the woman in the chair than as someone on the battlefield."

"Funny," Tattletale put one finger on her cheek and looked up. "I didn't hear you saying anything about it when we attacked the PRT base."

"I asked why you were going into the battlefield. The implication being I thought it was stupid. And if I remember, you were nearly killed during that fight."

Tattletale pursed her lips. "I was fine before Izuku Midoriya came along. All humans got more durable when powers came along. The Kaboom Kid only gave me a few bruised ribs."

"Doesn't change the fact that you're better on the back burner, watching the fight and assisting us. I'll…be there with you."

Tattletale stared. "What?"

I sighed. This was going to be worst than I thought. "After all, I'm just as good as analysis as you. I should be assisting. I can join the battle if they start to lose."

Tattletale sneered. "If you really think I'm fucking going to work with fucking you-"

"Tattletale!" Trickster stopped her childish rant. He looked at me and tried to smile, but what came out was a small crack in his confidence. He looked back at Tattletale. "You have to work with him."

"Are you kidding me!? Why do you want to work with him!? He's using Noelle as a hostage!"

"NO SHIT! Why do you think we're working with him!?"

Tattletale paused for a second. "Ok, but-"

"He didn't even do anything to you," Ballistic said. "Do you really think you have a good reason not to work with him?"

"It's not even a difference." Kurogiri said. "He's just too similar to you."

Kurogiri bought his eyes to Tattletale. "If you spent more time working together," He bought his eyes to me. "And not insulting each other, you'd be surprised at one you could accomplish."

I stared at Tattletale, who looked at her team. They all gave her meaningful looks.

She sighed. "Fine."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I don't know why. This was the easy part. "Great, let's get to the rest of the plan. We got a lot of work ahead of us."

Later

Skitter clearly didn't know how to be a supervillain.

First off, her base wasn't hidden. It was just in a warehouse in the middle of the boardwalk, a common villain mistake. You don't just pick empty warehouses for your lair. You pick the most hidden lair, with attainable luxuries and defenses if you can afford and/or need it. Most newbie villains would just pick a warehouse, especially in places like Paragon City, because that's what all the villains in the TV shows do. But it's not just cliche, it's dumb.

Even worse, she's using her power all around the base. Bugs and creepy crawlies surround the base and cover it with cockroaches, bees, flies, and worse.

And I thought Coil was creepy.

But it's not just that. It's the fact that taking the bases was supposed to be a secret. The PRT wasn't supposed to know, at least not right away, but here she was, advertising it like it was a billboard or something. Does she want everyone to know about what she's doing? What would Coil say about one of her guys basically telling everyone that her base was a thing?

When I walked out of the car Coil got for me. I saw people standing around, sitting, and working with power tools. But one thing was common, all of them were silent. Even the children were silent. And children are never silent! This means Skitter isn't inspiring them to work with her. She was terrifying them in order to work with her. And the first thing Master taught me was that never works.

So I got to work with an idiot brat that gets all her ideas for supervillain ideas from TV shows and doesn't even inspire loyalty.

Joy.

I walked into the base. Where Skitter was sitting on a box of supplies, watching over her minions. I walked up to her, only to get stopped by two girls. A red-headed girl and a brunette

"Hey!" the brunette said. "Who are you? Are you a part of the ABB? You can't just walk up to Skitter!"

ABB? Weren't those guys taken down? How stupid is this girl?

"It's ok, Charlotte." Skitter said. Charlotte? Was that her name? Eh, who cares? "He's working with me."

"I'm working with your boss." I clarified.

The red-headed girl looked at Skitter. "You have a boss?"

Skitter stared back. "Sorta," she leaned to me. "Shigaraki, they weren't supposed to know that."

"Half the city will probably know, or at least suspect, thanks to your fuck up with the PRT. Plus, your secrets are not my concern. All I care about is looking over that brat."

Skitter sighed. But moved out my way, "go ahead."

I walked up the stairs to the upstairs room. Then walked to Skitter's room, where the brat was wrapped up in silk.

"Hello, Izuku."

Izuku frowned. "You're not one of the people who can call me that."

"I know." I walked into the room, closer to the brat. "So, how have you been doing with Skitter?"

The brat rolled his lips into his mouth. Then said, "Not pleasant."

"Of course, she is the one the revealed your secret…tell me," I walked over to him. Looking eye to eye. "Why did All Might pick you?"

The brat titled his head. "What?"

"Do I have to repeat myself? Why did All Might pick you? You," I paused, to give what I was going to say more believability. "You must be a wonderful hero in order for him to pick you for his power."

"I don't have-"

"Don't lie to me." I said. "We all already know you have All Might's power. You might as well admit to it."

"You sound annoyed." He said. "What's wrong? Don't want two All Might's running around?"

"Just answer the question. What makes you a selfless hero?" I feigned confusion. "I just don't see it."

"Of course, you wouldn't. You're too evil to see it. You know, when The Undersiders and The Travelers attacked The PRT base, I jumped over to help All Might after I fought through the pain. My body moved before I could think, My body just instinctively went to save All Might. That's why All Might picked me. Because I'm a true hero."

I put one hand on my chin. "I see, wasn't because you were strong. It was because you were good. I bet you didn't even have a quirk! Or any kind of power! You just got lucky to be picked by the one guy who could give you his power. The chances of that happening must be so low, it nearly reaches zero."

"All Might saved half the citizens of Japan once in his life. It was obvious he was going to save me eventually. The only lucky part was that he found me before I tried to take on the exams by myself."

"True." I agreed. "I thought you would have a power that would increase with All Might's quirk. But if he didn't pick you because of his power…and instead because of your character then," I paused. "That might be even worse."

His eyes went wide. "What?"

"If you want to save people more than anything, to the point to your body moved before you could think," I raised my hand to the brat's face. He tried to lean back, cringing all the while. "you going to spend as much time as you could to save people. Just like All Might, but without his timer. You could become All Might as he was in his prime. That…" I plucked a hair out of his head. "Cannot happen."

"What…What are you doing?"

I sighed. "If only Skitter would let me kill you. If she wasn't such an idiot, we could have you dead, and have an All Might on our side."

The brat frowned. "Hey! Don't ta…wait, what?"

What? "What were you saying before?"

The brat looked down. "I…I didn't want you to insult good morals like that. What were you saying about having an All Might?"

Well, I don't believe that for a second. But what was he talking about? "I said that because we have a doctor that can copy quirks. If I give him this hair…"

His eyes immediately went wide. "You can't do that!"

"Oh really? Why not? It's not like you can stop me. I can do whatever I can to ensure my survival."

"You're not…"

"I'm not what?"

The brat stopped himself. "I was…I was going to say you don't care about your survival."

I smiled. "Maybe I don't. Not that much. But one thing for sure, with another All Might on our side. Yours will be short-lived." I turned to walk away. "This conversation has gone on long enough. I'll go." I walked away.

"If you make another All Might-"

"Don't worry brat, I'm going to hold on to this for a bit." I stopped at the doorway and looked back. "I have a stop I have to make first."

Later

The PRT base was a mess. Broken window, cracks in foundation, and if it wasn't for the high-tech, it would look like every other building in this goddamn city.

How much of this was from the attack on The PRT?

Didn't matter. I'm only here‌ for one thing. I walked out of Kurogiri's portal and up to The PRT base with my three Nomu. A low tier, a middle tier…

And a High-End.

This is a new Nomu the doctor has been working on. It wasn't finished. But I'll give it back before the day was done. I only need him for intimidation.

I stopped at the street and stood there, waiting for them to arrive. "Kurogiri, stay here."

Kurogiri came out of the portal. "A precaution?"

I nodded. "Just in case one the heroes gets the wrong idea."

"Of course."

Eventually they did come.

All Might was first. Jumping from the roof of the building. Was there already a hole there? Was it from the fight from last night?

All Might came down with the force of a truck. He took Thirteen and Present Mic with him. Assault and Battery jumped down, Assault landed with no damage to the street. Battery was the complete opposite, creating a crater when she landed. Triumph came down by slowing his descent with powerful sound waves and eventually landing with ease. All Might caught Midnight when she jumped. They must have an unnatural amount of trust in him to do that. Eraser Head swung in from the building with his scarf, taking Miss Militia and a fat woman with him. She really shouldn't be swinging in a skirt. Who is she?

If she's with the heroes, but not in a hero costume, she must be the boss of these guys.

Good.

She talked first. "Who is this?"

Aizawa spoke. "That's Shigaraki." What? Does he know English?

Then I saw the device in his ear and realized he used that to talk to them. His English must not be good enough to speak to them without it. What an idiot.

The heroes' boss looked at me. "You're the one ordering The Undersiders. Or is it your boss that's ordering them?"

Neither. It's Coil. Well technically, me and Coil…

But I decided not to say that. Instead, I put one finger to my nose. "What's your name?"

The Heroes' boss frowned. "I don't think that's your business. All you need to know is that I'm the director."

"I figured," I said. "Just so you know, this is not an attack."

"I figured," she stole my line. "But that does little to ease me."

"Ease us," Aizawa said.

"What business do you have with us, Shigaraki?" All Might said. I noticed he wasn't even smiling. "I doubt it's bringing Young Midoriya back."

"That would be correct." Kurogiri said. "We came to issue a warning."

"What is it?" Assault asked. "You already kidnapped a child. What more could you do? Kill our dog?"

"That's a good idea," I said.

Assault frowned.

"No," Kurogiri said. "We're here specifically to talk to All Might."

"All Might?" Miss Militia looked at All Might.

"What for?" Battery said.

"To tell him," I said. "Not to come to Skitter's base at 5:00."

"You expect him not to save his own pupil?" Triumph asked.

"What!?" All Might said. "Young Midoriya is not my-"

"We already know, All Might," Midnight said. "There's no point in hiding it anymore."

"What was the point of hiding it in the first place?" Present Mic asked.

All Might smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"We'll deal with this later," Eraser Head said. "Why can't All Might come to get Midoriya? It's his money on the table."

"He doesn't have to be the one to deliver it," I pointed out. "Even if All Might wasn't one of the strongest heroes, you think he wouldn't try to save him?"

"So you expect him to stay here?" Thirteen asked.

"Yes, I do. Or else we'll use this guy to kill him." I pointed to the High-End Nomu

All Might Eyes went wide. "WHAT!? YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!"

"Why not? If you come, we lose. So why not kill him when we have the chance? Just to wound your pride?"

They all stared at me. Wanting to do something, anything, to stop me…

But they couldn't…

And I loved it…

All Might could punch away a city block, he could move faster than a sniper bullet, tank ten grenades to the face and it would do nothing but damage his clothing.

And I have more power than him at this moment.

I smiled. "Just so you know, the last Nomu All Might fought was nearly as strong as him. This one is five times stronger."

Nearly all of them backed away from the Nomu. Even Eraser Head backed away.

But All Might and The Director didn't.

"Well, that was it." Kurogiri opened a portal. I backed into it. "Have a great day. Come Nomu."

The Nomu followed.

And when we made it to Coil's base. I smiled.

There was no way they were going to win this.

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Twenty-One:

I felt like my heart was about to pop. I couldn't stop hyperventilating. Sweat ran down my face and my thoughts ran like a speedster.

I couldn't stop it. It's too much. I can't fight it. It's like I'm a puppet being controlled.

How am I going to stop it? How am I going to win?

How am I going to beat a villain with All Might's quirk?

If Shigaraki gets the quirk and gives it to a villain, or worse, gives it to himself, all of Japan is doomed. Not a single hero could stop him. He'll destroy U.A. He'll destroy Tokyo. He'll destroy All Might. I can't do anything to stop him. It's all my fault.

The thoughts came between breaths, coming rapidly and heavily. Unable to be controlled. As much as I fought back against it…

Wait, what am I talking about? You can't fight back against panic attacks! I should know. I used to have them all the time before I got my quirk. When I got nightmares of everyone as disembodied red eyes. Well, not exactly disembodied. They had bodies; they were just tall slender figures, looking down at me like they had contempt for someone just for being weaker.

When I got a panic attack in the past, I didn't fight back against it. At least eventually I didn't. I just let it wash over me. Like a river over stone. That's what I have to do.

I let the breathing happen, I let the beating of my heart happen. Just have to let it all happen…then clear my mind.

Clear…My…

The door opened.

I jumped.

"Izuku?" Skitter said in the doorway, holding a bag of chips. "Are you ok?"

I blushed. It was only Skitter. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…nothing. It was just nothing." I couldn't stop my breathing. Trying to fight it would only make it worse.

"Well…I got you some food."

"Isn't my dinner scheduled at eight?"

"It was, but I figured you would be gone by then."

She almost sounded disappointed. But she shook her head.

"Oh. Right."

"I figured you wouldn't be hungry for a whole meal, so I just…Did I scare you that badly?"

"No." I immediately kicked myself in my mind. What was I doing? She gave me an easy out! I should've taken it!

Skitter stared at me. "You were having a panic attack."

What? "How did you know?"

"It's not like you were running a marathon." Skitter said. "I know you were having a panic attack."

She sounded so confident. Why? "Do…do you know someone that had them?"

She scratched her head. "I dealt with them myself."

My eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Yeah, right after I got my power. I…well…It's none of your business" She walked toward me. And opened the bag of chips. "You can eat these without help?"

I chuckled. "Probably not."

She chuckled as well, then coughed. Did she have a bad throat? "Is it ok if I feed them to you?"

What? A girl was feeding me?

What was I talking about? She's a villain!

No, wait, I can't think like that! She's really nice! And she's trying to save people. There's nothing wrong with her.

But that just makes it weird that she's feeding me. Doesn't it?

"Ummmmm…well…"

"All you have to say is no."

"No, it's fine. I can't eat without you. So, it's fine."

Skitter looked at me, her expression unreadable under her mask. "Ok."

She picked some chips and put them in my mouth. I chewed them, swallowed them, and we repeated the whole thing for a minute.

I had to admit. I wanted to know why she had panic attacks. It could be something we could relate to together. But I can't just ask her or force the issue, it'll just make her feel uncomfortable. I have to ease into it naturally.

Then again, maybe I shouldn't pry into her business. I could just leave it alone…

And then when I leave, she won't have any help. She'll go back to hurting people, and I might as well not have even helped her. I have to do something.

But what can I say to help her? What can I say without offending her?

I thought of something. "Do you get nightmares?"

She twitched. Oh-no? Was that too insensitive?

"That's also none of your business."

What? "Ummm…Am I prying?"

"Yes. You are. Don't try to be my friend. I'm not your friend. Just stay there and eat your supper. Hero!"

What? Hero? Why was she saying that? She sounds ridiculous!

I giggled. Should I tell her not to do this? I kinda didn't want to! It was too funny!

I did something else. "Don't get wise, villains!"

Skitter looked to her left. Then looked back. "What?"

I pulled off my best All Might voice. "You think you villain always win because you got lucky! But let me tell you this, ferocious fiend! Heroes always find a way!"

Skitter tried to conceal her laughter. "Really?"

"You were doing it too."

"I was not!" Skitter pushed me a bit. "I mean…I was acting theatrical. But…not like that!"

"Silence, Antagonist! Your words mean as much as all villain's words!"

Skitter snorted. "Really, Antagonist?"

I smiled a cheeky smile. I don't even why comfortable enough to do this with her. I just am.

She looked down. Then looked up. "You're wrong, hero." She walked away. "I won because of my own skills and intelligence. Not because of luck." she looked back. "As long as I'm a villain, The iniquitous Protectorate will never achieve a victory!"

"You deceive yourself, villain! Calling The Protectorate iniquitous. Is your group any better?" I had to keep this as insensitive as possible. "The Protectorate are true heroes! Fighting a never-ending battle! And you can't take that away!"

She whispered something. I heard 'I can't' and nothing else. But she definitely said something else, Then she grabbed the cover from her bed and turned at the same time she flipped her cover in front of her, like a cape. "I don't have to take it away, I just have to tear them down. The Protectorate will suffer! The heroes will wither! And villains will take over this city!"

That line was so corny, I'm surprised she didn't go into an evil laugh at the end.

"We'll see, Skitter. We'll see."

We stared at each other. I was just struggling to keep my laughter In check, then I saw she was trying to conceal her's as well. I think she noticed the same for me.

So we just let it go.

"That…was…so bad." Skitter said in between laughs.

"No, it was great! We could make it to broadway!"

"Shut up," Skitter said while laughing. "What was that never-ending battle line?"

"You like it?"

"You stole it from Superman!"

"No, I took inspiration." I finally stopped laughing. "After all, Superman is one of the best heroes in the world."

"I'm more of a fan of Spider-Man, or Ladybug."

"Because they're both bug heroes?"

"Because they both use their wits to win fights. I find that so cool. It's the reason I like Alexandria so much."

"Yeah, that is cool. But I find being strong cooler. You can beat anyone if your power was the strongest."

"Tell that to Batman."

"Shut up," I said with a laugh.

"You want me to keep feeding you?" She said, walking towards me while holding a chip.

"Yep." I ate it. "By the way, you don't have to answer my question if you don't want to."
She was about to pop another chip into my mouth. But she held off on it. She put her arm down. "I got them after I got my powers."

I stared at her, looking for the right thing to say. I decided the best thing to do was just to nod.

"It got worse after my boss captured Dinah."

It did? "How? Do you care about her that much?"

"Of course. She's just a kid. I…have to help her."

What? "She's…a kid?"
Skitter titled her head. "I didn't tell you?"

"Uhhhhhhh…no."

"Oh."

That's it? She dropped that fact real casually. "You never told me what your boss was doing to her."

"She…has powers…Thinker powers. She…He made Dinah an addict to control her easily."

I gasped. "What!? That's horrible!"

"I know. And I'm probably more sensitive to drugs than you are." She said. "There are three reasons I became a full-time villain. First was to help The Undersiders, my friends. The second was to save Dinah."

"And the third?" I asked.

Skitter looked up. "Oh…Did I say three? I didn't mean three."

I sighed. "Skitter, I can tell you're lying. Remember, you're a bad liar. I can tell when you're lying."

She scratched the back of her head and looked down.

"It's ok," I said. "You don't have to tell me the reason. Just say you don't feel comfortable diving into it. It's your choice. I'm ok with that."

I wasn't sure I true that was. All I wanted was to help her. I couldn't help her if she couldn't tell me. But I couldn't force the issue. If she didn't want to tell me. That's her choice.

"One of my bullies is a Ward."

What? Hold on…What did she say?

"You…were bullied?" I asked.

She looked up from her thoughts; I assume. "That's what you're focusing on?"

"Yeah, 'cause I was bullied too."

She stared for a bit, the only noise in the room being the buzzing of her bugs.

"Re…really?"

"Yes, really. I was friends with this guy named Katsuki Bakugo. I call him Kacchan. After he got his quirk. He started to change. He started thinking he was too good for me. And he bullied me relentlessly."

She stared again, putting one hand on her chest.

"You probably had a different experience than me. So we can't really relate."

"No…The exact same…"

My eyes went wide. "Really?"

"My best friend, Emma, when she went to summer camp and meant someone else. She thought the exact same thing as Katsuki did. Bullying me because she thought she was too good for me."

"Was she the Ward?"

"No, the friend she made on summer camp was. Sophia."

Sophia. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know she was Shadow Stalker. The hero that Clockblocker was complaining about.

"I don't think you should tell me that," I said. "Aren't their laws about that?"

"I know, but you're not exactly one to start telling people secrets."

I couldn't tell her that was false. I had to respect her decision and not shortchange it.

"When did you meet your friend?" She asked.

"When I was four."

"When did he start bullying you?"

"When I was four."

"Well…at least you didn't have that close of a bond to him before he betrayed you."

What? Did she have a close bond with Emma?

She gasped. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend you or-"

"What?" I realized what she meant. "Oh! It's ok. I didn't mind! I'm more concerned about you!"

She looked around. "What?"

"You had a close bond with your friend before she betrayed you. That must've hurt so much."

"Yeah…it did."

"Sorry," I said. "When did she do it? Third grade? Fourth grade?"

"Last year."

What? "Really?"

"Yes, why?"

"My bully, uhhh, Kacchan, he started to ignore me after fourth grade. Only coming back to bullying me on rare occasions. Your bully didn't stop."

She shook her head, "She only started a year and a half ago."

I decided to comfort her. "Well, at least you didn't have to deal with it as long."

She gave a small nod. But she looked down. Did I say something wr-

Oh! Oh no!

"Skitter, I'm so sorry! I was trying to comfort you! I didn't realize that what I said-"

"It's ok, Izuku. You didn't know."

I had to admit it. I didn't get what she meant. "Know what?"

She sighed. "Do you know what a Trigger Event is?"

"You mean a Trigger? Yes, I knew. Back when I was Quirkless, I used to go after Bakugo to induce one."

She stared at me. "What?"

"I stopped doing it after a talking to from my mother. But back then, I was so desperate to get a Quirk, to get a power, that I was willing to do anything."

She stared at me for a bit until she eventually nodded. Then said. "You were a very stupid kid."

What the? She had venom in her voice. Did I say something wrong? Again?

"Why do you say that?"

"Because a trigger event is something traumatizing. Something terrifying. To the point that anything would be better."

So it's something traumatizing? Something terrifying? Worse than Kacchan?

And she went through it?

Just imagining what it could have been like…

"I'm…not even going to ask you what it was like."

"You don't have to. I'm going to tell you, anyway."

My eyes widened. "Skitter…"

"I want to tell you, I trust you. It's not like you can figure out my secret identity from it."

I nodded. If she wants to tell me, I'm not going to fight it."

"The Bullying campaign? It stopped. Last year, around November, It was like they got bored. The pranks got tamer, then stopped altogether. The taunts stopped, and so did most of the hate mail. It was like they did decide to ignore me. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it didn't I even made a friend out of one of the bullies."

I nodded.

She continued.

"But the day I came back from the winter break, I knew, instinctually, that they were playing me, that they were waiting before they pulled their next stunt, so it had more impact. I didn't think they'd be so patient about it. I went to my locker, and well, they'd obviously raided the bins from the girls' bathrooms or something, because they'd piled used pads and tampons into my locker. Almost filled it."

I almost ralphed. but kept it in. It would have been rude anyway.

"It was pretty obvious that they had done it before the school closed for Christmas, by the smell alone. I bent over to throw up, right there in a crowded hallway, everyone watching. Before I could recover or stop losing my breakfast, someone grabbed me by the hair, hard enough it hurt, and shoved me into the locker."

Oh-no…that means one of the bullies shoved her in. But which one? It could've been any of them.

She started to breathe. Have to help her. "It's ok. You can stop now."

"I know I can." She said. "They shut the locker and put the lock on it. I was trapped in there, with this rancid smell and puke, barely able to move. It was so full. All I could think was that someone had been willing to get their hands that dirty to fuck with me, but of all the students that had seen me get shoved in the locker, nobody was getting a janitor or teacher to let me out."

She hugged her body, she sounded uncharacteristically spiteful. I know what I have to do>

"I panicked, freaked out. My mind went someplace else, and it found the bugs there, I didn't know what they were though, at that point. I didn't have a sense of proportion, and with all the info my power was giving me then, my brain didn't know how to process it all. As far as I knew, all around me, in the walls of the school, in the corners, and crawling around the filthy interior of the locker, there were thousands of these twitchy, alien, distorted things that were each shoving every tiny detail about their bodies and their fucked up biology into my head.

I could hear the sadness in her voice. This was too hard for her. I had to do it. Just had to make sure I could control it.

"It's hard to explain what it's like, having a new sense open up, but it's impossible to understand…I couldn't…Every sound that they heard bounced back to me at a hundred times the volume, with the pitch and everything else all screwed up as if they wanted to make it as unpleasant and painful to listen to as possible. Y'know how my head hurts from my bugs getting killed? This was just as bad." She exhaled. "And…And…"

I think I figured it out.

I flicked my fingers at 20%, destroying half of my silk casing.

"What the hell are you doing? You can't-

I hugged her. As tight as I possibly could.

"It's ok," I whispered, "Take your time."

She exhaled, her breath shaky. "When someone finally let me out, I came out fighting. Biting, scratching, kicking. Screaming incoherently…Probably putting on a good show for all the kids that had come out of their classrooms to watch." She sounded so bitter. Was this working? "The teachers tried to deal with the situation, paramedics eventually came and I don't remember much after that."

My eyes started to water. I patted her back.

"And the worse part…The bully that pushed me into the locker…Is Sophia…The Ward…"

It's true…Heroes really could be as bad as villains.

She hugged me back. I kept hugging her.

And I wasn't going to let go.

 

[Obloquy]

Nice to see Izuku and Skitter bonding. It seems a little fast with how they quickly opened up (though the phrase "once the dam was breeched" may be appropriate here,) and with how they understood stuff quickly (I don't like how quickly Izuku jumped to Shadow Stalker though she and Vista are the only female Wards I guess) but it's some nice pathos and the edges of catharsis. Yay!

 

[Ultimate]

That's right! How's that for a reveal? In case you couldn't figure it out from this chapter. A lot more fiction is canon to this fanfiction. And it all has to do with the big plans I got for this fanfiction. Thank you all for supporting me. A few chapters more and we'll be at the titanic battle betweeen The Wards, Class 1-A, The Undersiders, and The Travelers, Not to mention the League of Villains. It going to pay off everything, so stay tuned!

Also, check out my site. TheUltimateWriting.com for more of my writing. I'm going to make a web novel of Ultimate, and most likely a fanfiction. So you'll want to check it out.

That's all I had to say. This is Super Ultimate Number One, sighing out. Peace!

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Izuku smiled a bright smile while leaning on my bed. It would brighten up Grue's darkness if given the chance. "Really!?"

"Yeah, we could play Mutants and Masterminds if you ever come back. But don't you have the Ochy girl to play with?"

"Ochaco, but that's a nice nickname for her."

I smiled.

Izuku did the same. "You look even prettier when you smile."

I looked away. Why did he say that? That's so weird!

"Oh, I meant that in the most platonic sense!"

I frowned. I don't even know why, I just did. "Thanks. Not that I wouldn't mind! I just-"

"I understand, Ski-"

"Taylor," I said. "Call me Taylor."

Izuku smiled even wider. "Ok. Taylor."

I didn't even feel like it was a gamble this time. Like I did with The Undersiders, before I really knew them. But if I did know them, I wouldn't hesitate to tell them my secret identity. It was the same with Izuku. I already shown him my face. I didn't feel any fear telling him my name.

It was so weird. I thought he'd be another arch-nemesis. Like Armsmaster. But I have as close bond to as I do to Tattletale and Grue. After I told him about my bullies. He comforted me with tears in his eyes, saying the girls that bullied me don't deserve me, my attention, my anything. He was very infuriated. I only see him that mad when Grue shot his friend.

Or when…we shot his friend.

I can't believe I thought he was a nerdy bully. He clearly wasn't. He'd been bullied himself! How could I not see that!? So now, I have to live with the fact that I nearly bullied someone who already has been bullied. I felt terrible about it. But nothing dwelling on it will do.

According to Izuku, his bullying experience was similar to mine. Getting bullied by a main pack and some stragglers. He was mostly bullied by boys, but some girls bullied him as well, to get in good graces with Bakugo. I don't know why. Izuku was way nicer, while Bakugo, judging just from my experiences with him, was a total psycho, like Sophia, except smarter.

But I'd never say that out loud. I wouldn't want Izuku to hear me.

So his bullying experience was just like mine, but with the genders reversed, and with more burning. His bully experience was so bad, that he doesn't even recognize his own achievement. Like cleaning an entire beach, or beating a pack of aquatic villain. It makes me want to punch Bakugo, or as he calls him, 'Kacchan', In the fucking face.

It even made me think about myself. Did I do that? I didn't think so, but neither did Izuku.

"So, back to what we're saying before," Izuku interrupted my thoughts.. "What are you recommended superhero books? Or books in general?"

"Are you going to tell me your favorite superhero comic books?" I said

"Why would I? You don't read comic books!" Izuku said with a dazzling smile.

"I could start. You're going to read regular books."

"Yeah, but I figure you would expect that. Books are more likely considered 'high art' than comics."

"I didn't. I respect people taste."

"Thanks. And I probably recommend Galaxy Wars #1."

My eyes lit up. "You like Galaxy Wars?"

"You do too?"

"Yes! It's my favorite movie series!"

"Me too!" He said. "I love the characters' development and the beautiful locations. They're breathtaking."

"Really?" I said. "I love the sets too."

This must be a dream, a fantasy, someone's power at hand? A master? How could I find someone so similar to me…and he's a hero…That shouldn't be possible.

But here he was, being basically the same as me. And he was still a hero. He was still idealistic…

I'll try not to think about what that says about me. We're probably different in some aspects.

"Wow, I'm glad I found you!" Izuku said. "I never thought I would find someone just like me!" It looked like he was going to say something else, but decided against it. "Which place would you like to vacation to?"

"What place would you like to vacation to?"

"Hey! I asked first!"

"Let's say it at the same time." I suggested.

"Ok!"

We both took a deep breath and said. "Sto Plains of the unnamed continent! What!? Oh my god! Shut up!"

We pushed each other.

"What are the chances we'd want to go to the same area?" Izuku said.

"I know," I said, more incredulously. "There are dozens of continents on this planet. Than chances of us wanting to go to the same ones are…very low."

"Why do you want to go to the Sto Plains?" Izuku said. "Is it to learn magic?"

"You believe in magic?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah! I mean, Dr. Strange and Dr. Fate are a thing."

"They probably have superpowers! Magic can't be real because it defies logic."

"Well, I know there's probably a scientific explanation for it," He said. "But for now, it's basically magic."

"Ok." I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "I would just like to go there because it's a land of adventure. I would love to go on romps throughout the land. Finding people to fight."

"Bad people?"

"Worse than me."

A look of concern washed over his face. "Ummmmmm, not to offend you, but do you have a plan for that?"

I looked down, one hand on my chin, "No…I don't. Come to think of it, I don't typically have plans. I just run into situations and wing it."

"Me too." He replied. "I do better when I'm pressured. Causes me to look for a hundred options a second and pick the one that works."

"That's an exaggeration."

"You're an exaggeration!" He laughed.

He wanted to vacation to the Sto Plains? He fights by the seat of his pants? This has to be an illusion. A hero being so similar? What are the chances? Why did I even hate him so much? He was perfect.

"Well, I'm just glad you didn't say something like The Mushroom Kingdom."

"Isn't that place on the planet behind the sun?" He asked.

"Planet X." I said. "Yes, things are weird there. But they're not exactly happy. The Mushroom Kingdom gets invaded every month."

"How's that different from Doctor Doom or Gorilla Grodd trying to take over the world, like, every week?"

"Touché." I said. While we were talking about this, a thought occurred to me. "You're…not an eleven, are you?"

"No, I'm not from one of the areas that England has."

"You think Japan would've done something about it."

"They're trying to frame it as just sharing land." He said.
"That's so dumb."

"I know, right?" Izuku chortled.

I scratched my ear. "At least you have Kira to help you."

Izuku gave me a look. A bad one. Oh-no? What did I say?

"Kira is barely helping with that. He's mostly killing minor criminals."

Oh, it was nothing

"Also," He added. "It's wrong to kill people, even criminals. Especially now that I know they're not all bad. I can't advocate for that."

Or not…

Should I even bother? Should I argue the fact? If I di I could damage our…relationship. I don't want to do that. It would seem pointless to damage what we have just to fight back against what he said. It's not that important. I'm not going to escalate pointlessly.

But then, if I don't, will he figure it out? He's pretty observate. If I hide from him, will he know?

"Taylor," Izuku said. "Is something wrong?"

Dammit. Speak of the Devil. I can't lie to him. I'm absolutely dreadful at it.

I told the truth. "I think Kira might have a point."

Izuku stared. "Really? But…you're a villain…"

"That why I didn't say they was right." I corrected. "I don't want them to kill all criminals. But to be fair to them, he doesn't kill criminal that have excusable circumstances."

"Great. That means he's smarter than me." He laughed.

I resisted the urge to. Didn't know whether or not it'd hurt him. "Well, what I'm trying to say is, sometimes, you have to do the wrong things for the right reason."

Izuku made a face. "But they're still wrong things. Being a hero means doing the impossible and saving everyone."

"Maybe if you were one of the strongest and the smartest." I said. "Like a New York hero, or a member of the Justice League. But with everyone else, including heroes, you have to make sacrifices. See, you live in Japan, a small country with some of the top heroes and very few crimes."

"Are you saying…that I have it easier?"

Oh god, I fucked up so bad. I didn't mean to invalidate his pain.

"No, not you. Just people like you. They're…more spoiled."

"What about saving everyone?" Izuku said.

"What about it? You can't save everyone."

Izuku stared at me. Then looked down. Oh damn it. What was he thinking about? "What are you favorite books?"

Shit. "If I offended you, just-"

"You didn't. I just wanted to get back on track." He said.

Well, that was obviously bullshit. He just wanted to talk about anything else. That means I offended him. Damn it. I have to make up to him? Should I press the issue?

No…probably not. If I do that, I'll look paranoid, or like a jerk. I should just give the recommendation and talk about it later. If I have a chance.

Oh shit. I wasn't supposed to get close to him! I was supposed to stay as far away from him as possible. It's not like I can't make a bond with our kidnapping victim. Hell, I shouldn't even be seeing him as a victim. This was supposed to be a simple ransom!

Should I just wrap him up again? Should I just ignore this entire conversation?

No, I can't. I'd have to explain myself. And I don't want to tell Izuku that I want to stay far away from him emotionally. Not only is that not entirely true, I don't think his heart could handle it.

Fuck it. "I like…" I paused.

Izuku glanced to the left. "You like…what?"

I frowned. "I just realized…All the stories I liked had heroes being good people…I'm… not sure I would enjoy them anymore."

"You don't think all heroes are bad people, right?"

"No, but after what I experienced, I…" How do I explain myself? How do I articulate how I feel? "I guess I'm not comfortable with people saying heroes are good."

"But if you believe…" He stopped himself. "Actually, forget what I was going to say. I'm not going to fight against your experience, especially with her."

He sounded angry at that last line. A hint of bitterness for someone else entirely.

"Why do people even bully?" I said. "How hard is it to be good?"

"Some people say it's because they weren't given love. But it's probably the opposite. They were given so much love that they think they're better than everyone else."

"Yeah, you're right. Except our 'friends' used to be nice, and they just backstabed us for no reason. They're just jerks. Plain and simple."

"Yeah, Emma's a jerk."

I looked at him. "What about Bakugo?"

"Well, he's a jerk, too. But I can't hate him."

I didn't respond. I don't think I could've. Nothing in my brain could've made a response to what he just said.

"Judging from your reaction, you probably think that's weird. But his talent, hard-work, confidence, and quirk makers me admire him. It's not like you and Emma."

"It's exactly like us. Except it might be worse, because it was for longer." I said, sounding a lot calmer than I felt.

"I doubt Kacchan would've done anything like they did. He's not that bad."

"Maybe not but," I paused. "Wait, that nickname…is that an affectionate one?"

Izuku scratched the back of my head. "Yes…it is…It's something special to the jap-"

"Are you fucking insane?"

Izuku stopped himself. "What?"

"You're defending your bully, making excuses for him. Acting like he's the hottest shit after he bullied you? Are you insane?"

"It's a Japanese thing! We respect people we don't like if they have skills or positive traits! Or if they're authority."

So this was it. This was how we were different. Couldn't it just have been a difference in taste, whether it was music or movies? Did it have to be a difference of the worst kind?

Then again, it's not like he had the same experience as me when it came to authority. So why did it hurt so much?

"But you do like him!" I said. "You say you admire him! And why would you respect people you don't like? Especially if they were awful to you!"

"It's…complicated."

"No, it's really not. I gave up idolizing Armsmaster because he was a jerk. You can't do the same for Bakugo?"

"Armsmaster tried to kill you," He argued. "And broke one of the most sacred things in the super hero community. He's basically a villain. He doesn't deserve your respect."

"I'm not talking about that." I said.

"What?"

I sighed. "When I started the mole mission for the heroes. I had a talk with him. The Undersiders wanted to rob a bank, and I went to talk to Armsmaster about pulling my ass out of the fire if it went to flames."

"Wait, you still wanted on that bank robbery?"

"Yes, at first I wanted to do it to get close to The Undersiders' boss. But then I wanted to do it to prove Armsmaster wrong."

"But what did he say?"

"He told me I was wrong, that I was stupid, and that I should just stop because I'm just a middle schooler with delusion of grandeur."

"He shouldn't have said that…"

"Thank you."

"But…"

I whipped my head around. "But?"

"It's not like he should've called you stupid. Or insulted you. But you…you were wrong. You should've stopped. It wasn't like you could've saved anyone at the bank robbery. They was no reason to do it."

"It got me closer to The Undersiders. It's part of the reason I figured out who their boss was."

"But if a pro hero is telling you to stop. You stop."

He's telling me I should've stopped? That I should've listened to Armsmaster of all people?

"Why? Because they're authority?" I shot back.

"No, because they're usually right!"

Authority let me down, kicked on me, stomped on me, and has neglected everyone in care. He really thought that? That I should just shut up and listen to the bastards in charge?

"Authority isn't as right as you think."

Izuku looked down. Then smiled, while saying. "It's not worth fighting over."

"Yes, there is! And there's nothing funny about this. You think I should've listened to Armsmaster when he insulted me? I thought you liked me."

"I do! That's why I said it!" Izuku got up and started pacing. "In Japan, we have a saying, 'if someone has a point, listen, no matter their attitude.' It's a saying especially popular in superhero areas in Japan. You should've listened to Armsmaster. You should've never done the bank robbery. It was just pointless cruelty just to find out about their boss! You hurt people! Don't you care?"

I stared. Then looked down and sighed. "I never said I didn't care."

Izuku quirked his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes. I felt awful about doing it to those people. Did you know I threatened to kill him with spiders?"

He shook his head. "And you did it…because you thought you had to."

I nodded. "To stop them from killing themselves trying to stop us."

Izuku stood there, mouth agape. "I…I can't imagine how you feel."

"I see their faces every day."

Izuku walked over to me. "You shouldn't beat yourself up over it." He sat down next to me. "If you want to feel better, just work your ass off helping this city. That'll be enough."

"It won't change what I did to those people."

"You can redeem yourself regardless. Anyone can."

He really believes in me…

I smiled. Trying to wipe away the tears from my face, and I found Izuku's hand on my cheek, wiping away a tear.

I looked at him with his hand still on my cheek. I flushed.

"Uhhhhh, I was just wiping away a tear! Nothing else!"

"I know." I smiled. "So, what about you? Do you really love everything about Bakugo?"

Izuku sighed. "No, definitely not. I didn't even like him all the time."

My eyebrow quirked. "Really?"

"Yes, back in Junior High. He told me to kill myself."

What?

"Told me to take a swan dive off the roof of the building. I was so angry with him for saying that. I actually resented him for a bit. Until the beginning of this year."

Thank god he didn't have to deal with The Trio. He wouldn't be able to contain himself. And he doesn't deserve the depravity of Emma and Sophia.

"What changed?" I asked.

"He ignored me again." Izuku said. "And the anger for him quietly died down…I just wish he was better…nicer…"

I put my hand on his shoulder. Something had to be said. I knew that. But what? I can't say he doesn't deserve his affection. No matter how much I believed it, He wouldn't like it. I couldn't say he would eventually change. Not only do I not believe that, but it would encourage him to keep trying with Bakugo. I can't encourage that.

What would I want someone to say to me?

"Things will get better." I said. "I promise you. You don't have to do anything but ignore him. Trust me, things will get better."

"They already did." Izuku laughed. "I said he started to ignore me."

"Oh! I just meant-"

"It's ok, Taylor. I know what you meant."

I smiled. "Thanks, Izuku."

"You know, you only use the first name of someone in Japan when you're close to them."

I paused. "Oh…"

"I guess you already know."

Oh! "Ummm, I didn't But thanks for telling me."

"My friends actually call me Deku."

"Ok…Deku."

We started staring into each other's eyes. I felt my heart rate rising. I felt like I had to change the subject. I didn't know how, I just had to.

"You have something you want to say, hero?"

Shit. I did not mean to say that.

Izuku took it in stride, though. "Haha! Let me tell you something, villain! Heroes always have something to say!"

Oh-no, not this again. "Really, Deku?"

"You started it." He said with a laugh.

Dammit. Now I have to play along again or else he'll ask why I even did that. And I…couldn't have that. I just couldn't.

I moved my muscles to smile. "Foolish Hero. No one want to hear you speak."

"Silence, villain! Your plans will never succeed! Like always."

"Don't you understand, Hero? Today is opposite day!"

God, this was cheesy as all hell. It sounded like dialogue from a saturday morning cartoon. It was so fucking bad.

Was it bad that I was enjoying this?

Izuku grabbed one of the wooden board from my workers…well…working. "Well, let's see how true your boast truly are!"

That was so redundant. He was way to into this.

But I didn't want to stop now. I grabbed another board and pointed it at him. "Game on, hero! Game on."

What followed was the dorkest battle I was apart of. We clashed, we swung, we traded quips, at one point, Izuku jumped on the bed and we fought there. As stupid as this was, I had fun. I think being in so many life-threating battles made this cathartic. It was fun.

Until I opened Izuku's chest wound.

"OW!" Izuku cried.

"IZUKU!" I said. "Sit down!" I went to look under my bed.

"What are we going to do!?" He asked. "I'm bleeding out!"

"I know first aid!" I said. I pulled out a first aid kit, opened it, and took out some soapy water. "Take off your shirt."

He did as he was ordered and showed his body. It was…considerably more defined than I first thought. Not in a gross, bodybuilder, way. In an appealing, well toned, more…attractive way. Blood trickled down his chest, giving him a rugged lo…oh god! I haven't been tending to his wound! And I've been staring at his chest!

He didn't seem to notice though. "Why are you staring at my wound?"

"Ummm, no reason."

I poured the water on his chest. Then got the stitches. "This might sting a bit."

"I handled worse." He smiled.

I smiled. I shook my head, though, and got to work.

I put the thread through the needle and put the needle through skin. He winced, but barely flinched. I continued to do it. Aware of my hand on his chest. I stared. At the wound, I mean, not anything else. I had to. I couldn't look at his eyes. I just can't.

"Taylor, look at me."

"I am."

"no…I mean…look me in the eyes."

What? "Ummm…why?"

"I…I don't know. I just want it…"

I sighed. "Ok."

I looked up. Staring at his eyes. It was like time froze in that moment. Like, I could get lost in his eyes forever.

I leaned in.

"Hey, brat."

Holy shit.

I ran to the door and leaned on it. "Not now, Shigaraki!" I signaled for Izuku to go back to his silk wrapping. He ran there and tried to wrap himself.

"Not now?" Shigaraki said. "That's not for you to decide, brat. I decide when i want to see him."

I brought spiders in and wrapped him in silk. As quickly as I could.

"Just come at a later date!"

"He won't even be here in a half hour!" he said.

I finished. And just in time to because he decayed the door, and I fell through it. Right at Shigaraki's feet. "Ummm, hi?"

Shigaraki rolled his eyes. And scratched. Definitely not a good sigh. "How are you doing, brat?"

Izuku frowned. "Fine."

Shigaraki walked in. and looked around. Was he inspecting for something? "Why is your mask off? I thought American heroes were all about secret identities. Like our corporate heroes."

Oh shit.

"He...spat at me and I took it off in the moment. As long as he doesn't know my full name, It'll be ok. People are bad at remembering faces."

"And does he know your full name?"

Why is he asking that?

"No." I said. Technically, it was. I only told him my name was Taylor. Not Taylor Hebert.

Shigaraki looked to the ground. "There's blood here. Why?"

"I whacked him with a board. And he bled. It's on the board."

He bled under the slik?"

"I took it off just to whack him."

"Bad Idea. Don't do that again."

I nodded.

"Alright, well, the brat appears secured. Let's talk outside."

"Why?"

"To discuss strategy. The heroes will come soon to save their precious boy. Come on."

I walked out of the room with Shigaraki. Acting a lot calmer than I felt.

A minute later.

I sat on boxes of supplies with Shigaraki, surveying my surrounding with my bugs. Everyone was busy working on adding more to the base. And that meant everybody was out of the warehouse. It was just me and Shigaraki.

What could I do if he attacked me? Could I depend on my bugs? He can't decay it, right? From what Tattletale told me, he needs all five fingers for it to work, so it wouldn't be able to work on them. My bugs, I mean. So I could just Zerg Rush him. But he's fast…Could I escape from him.?

Am I just being paranoid? He might not even know about me and Deku.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked Shigaraki.

Shigaraki looked at my room. "I hate that brat."

"...What?"

"That brat. Everything about him makes me want to tear apart every atom in his body. And look at the dust that remains. He makes me so angry, I want to vomit. I. Hate. Him."

He hates him? He hates him so much he wants to fucking kill him? But he didn't do anything wrong. He was the kindest…

No… get your thoughts into order. Just respond carefully and calmly.

"I don't remember me asking for your opinion on that stupid nerd."

He moved his head around. "You didn't. but I thought we could relate to that."

What!?"

"I saw part of your fight with him. I heard what you said to him. You really hate him." He grinned.

Oh…

"Well, he's the antithesis of everything I stand for."

"Me too, but we're very different. So the question is…Why about him do you hate?"

I thought back to why I hate him. I forgot some of it. But I remember enough to tell him..

"He thinks heroes are good, responsible, and has a black and white view of morality. I've been screwed over by heroes too much to believe that.

Shigaraki titled his head. "Well, I hate him because he idolizes All Might."

What was wrong with that? Should I ask that?

"All Might is one of the last selfless heroes left."

"Doesn't matter. People like All Might think they can save everyone, but there's always someone out there, dying, suffering, and he can't do anything about it. Anyone that thinks they can save everyone deserves to die. That's just a fact of the-"

"Fuck you."

Shigaraki stared at me. "What?"

Holy shit. Why did I say that? The whole point of this conversation was to ignore my own feelings. Why didn't I just do that? I get so defensive about Deku. Like he's a goddamn Undersider.

"Nothing, I'm just teasing you, Shigaraki."

Shigaraki looked at the door of the warehouse. "I hear bugs being frantic. Is that you?"

"I do that to get them to work faster."

"Right, working through fear. Well, let's cut to the…actually, I think I'll have Tattletale explain the plan to you. Just call her and we'll get ready when they'll appear."

Shigaraki got up and walked away. I walked to my room.

And as I entered it. I could hear Shigaraki scratching.

 

[Ultimate]

That's right! All fiction is canon to this fanfiction! But some, might not be canon yet. It all has to do with my plans for this world! I'll tell you about them soon enough.

Also, I took inspiration from the techno queen for some parts of this fanfiction. Try to guess which ones.

That's all I had to say. this is Super Ultimate Number One, sighing out. Peace!

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Twenty-Three

As I walked out of the warehouse, I thought about one of my favorite video games: Heroes Never Die. A hero shooter that's about heroes trying to stop a war: it was based on that Overwatch group that tried to help in The Great War. I hope you know what that is. Nearly everyone knows what that is. But the game itself is pretty niche. People don't like media that don't have their favorite heroes from this world. They're so many weird things here, that people don't feel like they have to make crap up.

Regardless, in that game, it's the same thing in this world. You take out the healers first. You can't always do that, and sometimes, the DPSes and the Tanks play so badly that the healer can't even heal them. So it makes the job easier. But if the opposing team works together, you usually go for the healers. So they can't support their teammates. It makes the job so much easier. When you're trying to win the game. Now why the hell am I telling you this?

Because It might be what I have to do to Skitter.

I don't know how her powers work, but it's likely not a coincidence her bugs went crazy when I insulted the brat. It's not a coincidence that there was blood on the floor of Skitter's room far away from the brat. She wouldn't have had to take off the silk if she hit him in the face.

She's hiding something…If she's grown a soft spot for the brat, then we can't count on her. We need her out of here.

And from I know of Coil, that being he's paranoid, and homicidal, he'll have no problem with getting rid of her. Just gotta call him.

When I pulled out my phone, though, I got called by an unknown number. Who was this?

I answered it. "Who is this?"

"Hello, Shigaraki."

I recognized the voice. "Tattletale? How did you get my phone number?"

"You have to ask?"

"You couldn't get it from just from super detective reasoning."

"Well, I had a little help from Kurogiri." She admitted.

I sighed. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk. About that strategy you got."

A coincidence? Am I being paranoid? Or is it not by chance that she called me right after I talked with Skitter? Does this brat think she can really outsmart me? Or am I overthinking this?

Only one way to find out. "I'd have to call Kurogiri."

"Ok, do that. And be in my base in about…ten seconds?"

"I'd have to talk to him for a second."

"Ok, thirty seconds to a minute."

"Don't dictate my time," I ordered her. "I'll be there when I want to come there."

"Ok." She hung up without so much of a goodbye. She's such a child.

While I scratched, I called Kurogiri. "Kurogiri?"

"Hello, Shigaraki," He said. "Is there something you wish to ask of me?"

"You didn't tell Tattletale what my phone number was, did you?"

"I didn't. She figured it out from my body language."

I half groaned, half sighed. I seem to do that often today. "Fine. you know the coordinates to Tattletale's base?"

"Yes."

"Teleport me there."

"Is there a reason?"

"I might have to silence a Tattletale.

Five seconds later

I walked through Kurogiri's portal and walked into Tattletale's base. It was a large structure, with a front desk in it. I looked back at the portal to see it disappear, and saw a glass door behind it, that showed several tents and people. She was in charge of a shelter?

I guess all these bases were shelters, technically.

I walked up to the front desk to a blonde girl with freckles.

"Ummm, excuse me." She awkwardly shuffled her feet. "But…we aren't accepting treat or treaters." She seemed legitimately confused.

"I'm here for your boss." I said.

"Oh, ok. Follow me."

Follow me? She can't just call her? Fine, it doesn't matter. I'll get to her, anyway.

She led through a door and we walked for a tad bit. I kept my mouth shut. I'm not making small talk with a coward. She led me to another door. Opening it revealed a small room, and it was hot with the running computers that were crammed into it. Eight sheep were seated at different points in the room, each with their own computer. The walls were scattered with photos, maps, printouts and post-its Black tape joined these elements together in a bizarre configuration that looked like someone trying to piece together a conspiracy theory. All of our enemies were up on the wall: The Merchants, Fenrir's Chosen, the Pure, the Protectorate, New Wave and the Wards. There were pages relating to something Lisa was calling Case 53. Dragon was up there, as was Scion. The Slaughterhouse Nine were on a bulletin board, but Hatchet Face's picture was crossed out in red marker.

"Your boss let's you see this?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Well…wait…what?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Her body language and voice changed in a second, and she pulled out a purple mask and put it on her face.

She's Tattletale.

"I see, cute," I said, rubbing my shoulders against my neck to hide that I was itchy. Probably wouldn't work, though. "You changed everything about yourself to hide yourself."

Tattletale smiled. "Yep, first rule of supers, hide your secret identity. Also, don't try to hide that you're itching, it's not going to work."

Knew it.

"Boys, you're gonna have to leave."

The men nodded and walked out of the room. Saying excuse me as they walked past me. Why do they bother being polite? So stupid, I oughta kill them.

But I won't. As a favor to her.

"Letting your men out while I have murder impulses?"

"I don't fear you, Shigaraki."

So she was underestimating me? Good. Have to use that.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I asked.

"The strategy. I have several notes I never got to tell you about. Did you tell Skitter?"

Talking about Skitter, eh? Well, that's suspicious. Then again, she could just be asking. No way to know for sure yet.

Can't let her know I suspect her. "Yes, I did."

Tattletale pursed her lips. "You know I'm smarter than that, right?"

"What?"

"You may have gotten lucky and outsmarted me before. But what you don't understand is not everything is a battle of wits. You don't have to outsmart me now. Just because you suspect me…of something."

Shit. She figured it out that quick? Did I underestimate her too? Doesn't matter, I have to play things more carefully.

"Fine, I didn't tell her."

"Why not?"

"I was going to tell her right after I checked up on the brat," Didn't want to tell her that, but if I didn't, or I hesitated for too long, she would know something is up. So I decided against it. "But then…" I sighed. It would make it more believable. I wouldn't say this casually. "She pissed me off, so I left."

"I noticed some slight hesitation before you said what you did." Tattletale said. "Why? What did he do?"

Now she sounded confused. But she did so before, as well. I wasn't going to fall for it just yet. Should I just tell the truth?

Let's see what happens if I don't. "None of your goddamn business."

Tattletale eyes widened. "It was that bad?" she said with a chuckle.

"It wasn't what he-" I stopped myself. What the hell was I saying?

"What? Then why…Actually, doesn't matter. Let's get started on the strategy. Do you want me to take charge or do you want to do that? Don't know why I'm asking. You're probably used to being in charge."

"You're a fucking idiot."

Tattletale glared at me. "What?"

"You think I would fall for that? You weren't just curious about what I was doing with Izuku Midoriya; you were getting information for Skitter. To see if I figured out her little secret. You wouldn't stop asking about it unless you figured it out. Even if she didn't ask, you could still tell her and conspire against me. I won't let that happen."

"Shut your fucking mouth."

"It must hurt, knowing the one thing you take pride in, the one thing you're damn good at, there's someone better than you at it. Twice as good as you at it," I leaned in. "But what I bet is even worse…is knowing that you'll never have all the pieces and you'll never have all the information, just like with your sibling. You'll never be able to save them. You probably beat yourself up, thinking of ways you could've saved them. That's why you're obsessed with finding information. It's your own personal redemption for failing your sibling. But you'll never find enough information, because it'll never be enough. No matter what you do, the information will never fill that hole inside."

She looked terrified. Mouth agape and eyes wide. Final word.

I whispered in her ear. "At the end of the day, you're still the same scared little girl who could stop a suicide. Do you really think you can do it for anyone else?"

That was a gamble. A wager. I didn't know if they killed themself. I didn't know if she treid to do it with anyone else. And if she did, she might've have succeeded. Time will tell if it worked.

Tears filled her eyes.

Bingo.

She ran out of the room crying, this is what I like about this blackmail business. I don't have to treat teammates with respect. I don't have to treat them with care…

And if I wanted too, I could have them destroy themself.

That's one problem out of the way, too bad she won't be there to fight against the heroes. Guess I'll be alone figuring out their weakness.

I called Kurogiri.

"Hello, Shigaraki." He said. "Done with Tattletale?"

"Actually, it wasn't even major." I smirked. "Portal me next to Coil's base, I'm feeling good today."

Five minutes later.

I walked up to Coil's room. It was being guarded by the man with the cut ear, and a man that had cat ears. I resisted the urge to laugh.

"I'm here for Coil."

They looked at each other. Then the man with cat ears talked. "Alright, man, actually it's good you're here. He wanted to talk to you. I believe he was about to call you."

Really? What could he want?

They opened the door for me and I walked into his room. "Hello, Coil."

Coil sat at his desk, his computer facing away from me. His eyes looked big. "Hello, Shigaraki."

I sat down at his chair. "I have something to tell you."

"Another order?"

I smirked. "Now, why would you assume that?"

"It's just obvious. Why else would you come here?"

I grinned. "I suppose it is. But trust me, this is in your best interest."

"Can you give a reason why I should listen?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Are the pictures not enough?"

"Yes, those are good reasons to listen." Coil put his right hand on his computer. "Let me give you a better reason why I shouldn't." He turned on the computer, and I saw nothing, but that didn't matter what mattered is what I heard.

"Hello, Shigaraki." Sensei said.

"What? What the hell is this?"

"Coil and I have made a deal." He said. "He gives me support of his Thinker powers. And I give him vials from Caudron."

Cauldron? What the hell was cauldron?

"What!? But I'm blackmailing him! If he's working with you, he'll be above me!"

"That's right." Coil said. A smug as he could.

I grit my teeth. "Why are you doing this!?"

"A girl came to me and told me about Coil. After what she proposed, and after I talked to him, it seems like a pretty good deal."

Tattletale.

But how? When? When did she figure it out? How could Coil charm Master? Have I been played like a fool?

Doesn't matter. "You can't take this from me!" I said.

"You can't take this from me!" I said.

"He gave me a good deal, Shigaraki." He repeated. I hated when people repeated themselves. "You shouldn't have blackmailed him in the first place. Doing generous things are more likely to get you loyal supporters."

"I don't want loyal supporters! I want minions who will do anything I say!"

"They're the same thing, Shigaraki." Sensei said.

"I didn't have a response to that. I couldn't tell him I didn't want to put in the work, sowhat the hell could I-

"Shigaraki." Kurogiri said behind me.

I turned to him. "What do you want?"

"I'm at Skitter's base. You must come, they're here."

Oh-no…Not now!

"Fine," I walked to Kurogiri's portal. "This isn't over."

"What happening?" Coil asked.

"Bad news, you better get ready." I turned to him. "Things are about to get loud.

 

[Pinklestia]

Well, and here I thought Skitter would end getting a Quirk besides her Shard powers.

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Twenty-Four:

This was it, this is what decided whether Midoriya lived or died.

I stood facing Skitter's base, a typical villain warehouse, with people outside all staring at us. They were handling power tools and adding to the warehouse. I guess Skitter was adding to her empire.

I stood side by side with Vista and Sero. Ochaco, Tenya, and Tokoyami stood on my right, next to Sero. And Flechette, Glory Girl, and Kid Win were standing on the left. Next to Vista. We were all in hero costume. Theirs seemed woefully unarmored for this fight. But not all heroes wear armor. I'll just ignore it. I'll have to trust their ability to protect themselves.

I wasn't even sure what to do. I knew how to fight them. I just didn't know how to play this. Should we wait for them? Should we go in? With the warp villain, all The Undersiders and The Travelers could come in instantly. They definitely planned to do that already. But we can't just attack them. There are people outside and inside. So as much as I hated to say it. We needed the villains to come to us.

"Well, we're here," Sero said. "So now what? Do we go in?"

"Not unless we want to start a fight," I said.

"Don't we?" Ochaco asked.

"Not yet. There are still people around. Wait for Skitter to order them inside.

They all nodded, and we waited outside. It was probably only a minute and a half. But it felt thirty times longer.

A portal opened.

The warp villain.

The Undersiders stepped out with three beast, except for Tattletale and Skitter. along with two of The Travelers, Genesis and Ballistic. Genesis was in a Wolf-esch form, orange, and with bushy mane and three tails, their mouth was dripping with drool, and their tongue was long and pointed. The Undersiders and Travelers were dozens of feet away from us, watching with a sense of tension and anticipation.

Where were Trickster and Sundancer? And as a matter of fact, where the hell were Tattletale and Skitter? Were they in the building?

"Heroes." Grue said.

"Undersiders." I turned to The Travelers. "Travelers."

"You shot my friend." Iida said.

"That was an accident." Grue said.

"You're blaming us for you shooting me? Or attacking the heroes?" Ochaco had venom in her voice. She was reminding me of Shadow Stalker again...

"No, I never said that," Grue said. "And it doesn't matter. The deal isn't for fifteen more minutes."

"We have a different idea." Glory Girl smiled.

Grue stood still. "Oh?"

"That's right." Kid Win said. "We're not going to let you hurt Izuku."

"Midoriya." Tenya corrected.

"Midoriya." Kid Win repeated. "We're giving an option."

"You don't get to negotiate." Hellhound spat.

"Funny." Glory Girl folded her arms. "Skitter got told the same thing when she learned Shadow Stalker identity."

Regent looked up. I think he might've rolled his eyes. "So, what do you guys want?"

"We're going to get Izuk…Midoriya, and you're going to get nothing." I said.

"You're kidding, right?" Imp said.

"Dream on, girl." Sero said.

"You villains should consider yourself fortunate," Tokoyami said. "If we were less pleasant, we'd attack you without giving you a choice. But now? You have a chance to surrender before you face the ferocity of wrath."

"We're not afraid of you." Ballistic said.

"Yeah, we don't have a poor track record against you guys." Genesis said. "Why would we surrender?"

"We got a little help." Vista said, while smirking. "If I were you, I suggest you give up."

"We don't want to hurt you." Flechette said.

"What makes you think you can?" Hellhound nearly snarled.

"Last chance," I said. "Give up."

"I don't think so." Grue began to raise his hand.

"If that's what you wish, Sero?"

"On it."

Sero fired some tape out of his elbow onto Grue's arm.

And I grabbed the tape and froze it.

"What the hell!?" Grue struggled, but couldn't get free.

"What the fuck is this!?" Imp said.

Imp seems to care more than the others, a possible connection? Maybe they're banging.

"I believe Skitter said something along these lines," I let go of the frozen tape. "This was over the moment we entered the battlefield."

5 hours ago.

"You want us to kill them!?" Ochaco said.

"Not kill them, just…don't hold back." Glory Girl said.

"But you just said your full vigor will kill them!" Fumikage said. "You expect us to believe, you don't expect us to kill them?"

This argument wasn't going to end anytime soon. The students and The Wards couldn't be anymore different. We had completely different experiences. Only students that was similar to a ward was Sero, and I don't think I have to explain how our relationship was different from the other student and Wards.

Meanwhile, these guys were so different and prone to arguing it could be a reality show. It was like convincing a dog to like a cat. It wasn't going to work.

Which means we might not be able to save Izuku.

"Guys," I said. "We don't have to argue."

"We need to figure out how to deal with them." Flechette said.

"So you agree with them?" Iida asked. "Or are you just agreeing with the point just made?"

"Kinda both, I think we indeed to figure out what to do, but I don't want to kill them."

"Why are you saying that?" Kid Win asked. "You're different from them."

Sero's eyes widened. "What? What's that supposed to mean? This isn't about Mineta trying to grope Glory Girl, is it?"

"I believe it is not," Bird Guy said. "Regardless, I don't know where it is coming from, considering I agree with them."

Ochaco turned around. "Tokoyami…"

Tokoyami? Was that his name? Or that his last name?

"You must understand, allies. I dealt with enough enemies in my time, bullies and thugs who try to eliminate me because I am an animal with a quirk. I know better than possibly anyone else in this room that you don't kill unless you have to. All they are asking is for ask to be willing."

Kid Win nodded. "Guess you are like us."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Iida asked.

"He means…" Glory Girl half groaned, half sighed. "You guys have Quirks, right? You didn't get powers from trauma, like we did."

"What?" Iida asked. "Are you saying you all have Cerebum quirks?"

"That's right."

"And…that means you got your power from trauma?" Ochaco asked.

"We all did, except for you."

"So? I don't see why the hell that matters." Sero said.

"While leaning back in the room, I nudged into something. One of Izuku's notebooks. Out of curiosity, I picked it up and read. It was on my page.

Actually, I don't think I ever read this…

"Because it means you're spoiled." Vista said. "You had easy lives, happy childhoods. You guys don't know what it's like to truly suffer. You don't have prespective. You don't know sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to keep people safe. You guys just want to hold on to your idealistic morality. No matter how little sense it makes."

"I disagree." Iida put his hand on his chin. "I believe that we just don't want to take a life away. We should be avoiding strategy that involve that. Unless it was someone truly horrendous."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about."

"Don't you think what you do with trauma matters than just having it?"

"Maybe they're right." I said.

Everyone looked at me.

"Thanks, Clock." Vista said.

"So you agree with them?" Sero said. Only confused, not judging.

"No, I agree with the stu…Class 1-A."

"What!? Why!?" They all said, although their tone was different on the last line.

"Because, if we're smart enough, we can take them down without killing them. Without even maiming them."

Ochaco breathed a sighed of relief, Iida and Sero smiled.

The Wards stared.

I can't believe I never knew this. I can't believe I looked down at him. And for what? For this?

No better way to say I'm sorry than to save him.

Glory Girl spoke, "Do you think we're smart enough?"

"We're not, but Midoriya is."

Now

"He froze the tape! I can't move!" Grue said.

Sero leaned in. "Well, I guess Midoriya's books were good, after all."

"Damn right." I said. "They can't beat us now."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Grue said. "Trickster?"

Trickster? Oh-no…

Grue was teleported and Glory Girl was in his place, with the frozen tape around her arm.

"The fuck!?" She said.

"Again!" Grue ordered.

Before I could touch him, He was teleported with Genesis, who swatted me away. I went flying, but Iida was able to catch me.

"Thanks, Iida."

"No problem, but the fight is starting. We must commence!"

Iida ran into the battlefield and drop-kicked one of Hellhound's dogs, then leaped away when one of them tried to bite him. The other dog went towards Ochaco, but she leaped over it, and floated midair, landing into the warehouse, beginning to scrawl it.

Glory Girl tried to break the frozen tape, to no avail, and worse, a dog was coming after her.

"Tokoyami! Break the tape!"

I felt weird using a fellow hero's real name on the battlefield, but these guys didn't have much in the way of secret identities.

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami brought out Dark Shadow and had him attack the tape.

It disappeared, and the tape fell.

"'Bout time!" Glory Girl put her fist in her hand and punched the dog, causing it to bite more rapidly.

Dark Shadow went towards Genesis, but then another portal manifested, and a sun came out. Dark Shadow was jumped away to avoid it. Meanwhile, Flechette and Kid Win were firing shots at Genesis, who was avoiding the shots, and grabbed Kid Win.

I ran towards him without even thinking, but Sero stopped me.

"Clock, shall we freeze him?" Sero asked.

"We shall."

Sero shot some tape at Genesis, and at the warehouse, then he went forward like a slingshot and did it several times around Genesis's legs until it was all wrapped up.

I grabbed the tape, ripped it, and froze it around Genesis. It couldn't move. It couldn't even fall, must be really uncomfortable.

"Trickster!" It shouted, in a deep guttural voice.

Suddenly, Genesis disappeared. A rock in their place. And they jumped at Flechette and got on top of her. But then Iida jumped at them and kicked them off her. They skidded on the ground with their claws on the ground. Were they that sharp?

"We're never going to get anywhere with Trickster around!" I said. "We have to find him!"

"Look out!" Dark Shadow pulled Tokoyami away.

"Dark Shadow!" He said. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"A girl was trying to stab you!"

What? Wait…

I pulled out Midoriya's notebook. I skipped over the pages to find Imp's. I skimmed it to find the passage I was looking for.

Imp's power classification: Stranger.

Imp's power: conscience manipulation.

"It's Imp! Dark Shadow! Attack her!"

"Got it!" He said. "May I?"

"As you wish." Tokoyami said.

Wait, if Dark Shadow was sentient, how did Tokoyami control him? Did he control him against his will, in order to get the job done?

Guess he really was like us…

Dark Shadow attacked the air, and Imp flickered into existence. Bouncing on the ground as she skidded on it.

She got up, and looked around. "Ummm…hi?"

"I found Deku!" Ochaco was at the window of the warehouse, on the side of it.

"Great!" I said. "Pull him out of there!"

"You got it! Come on-crap!"

Ochaco leaned back to avoid the bullet that just came out of it.

"Uraraka!" Iida said.
There was an arm hanging out of the window, and Ochaco pulled out a clutch move and grabbed it with her foot, turning off her zero gravity at the same time and pulling Tattletale out.

"Hell yeah, Ochaco!" I said.

"Way to go, girl!" Glory Girl threw her fist into the air.

Ochaco activated her zero gravity again on her and Tattletale right before they were about to fall. Unfortunately, that meant she was busy vomiting while Tattletale aimed.

"Ochaco!" I shouted.

"I got her!" Iida got into a running position.

But Kid Win fired a pulse blast at Tattletale and sent her on her ass.

"Yes!" I said.

Then my mind came to a blank. Did I just forget something?

Wait a second…

I pulled out Midoriya's notebook. I skipped over the pages to find Imp's. I skimmed it to find the passage I was looking for.

Imp's power classification: Stranger.

Imp's power: conscience manipulation.

"Shit! Imp is gone again! Dark Shadow, where is she!?"

"Kinda busy here!" Dark Shadow said, narrowly avoiding Sundancer's sun. Tokoyami jumped away from it, only to get caught by Genesis with their paw.

I wanted to call out to Glory Girl, But she was dealing with two of the dogs now. I couldn't depend on her.

"Kid Win!" I shouted.

Kid Win aimed a shot but missed, Regent. When he aimed again, he was shot by Grue's darkness. He couldn't aim. Fuck.

Speaking of that, where was Imp? She could've stabbed one of us by now and we wouldn't even know.

Flechette shot Genesis's paw. They howled and reeled back.

"Sero! Now!"

Sero shot some tape at Tokoyami and pulled him to us.

"Thank you, friends. I am grateful."

This guy was only fifteen, right? "Don't mention it, stay away from her sun."

"Incoming!" Sero said.

Her sun was coming,

Shit.

I leaped away from the sun. I turned around to give an order but had Sundancer sun following me, moving as fast as I ran.

"Why is it coming after me!?"

"It must want to burn Midoriya's book!" Iida said. "You pulled it out. They're aware of the dangers!"

"Quick, freeze it!" Ochaco said. She was still stable, I thought she was-

Wait, that's it!

I turned on my power and touched the sun. It hurt like hell, but I was able to freeze it.

"GAH! SHIT!"

I looked at my hand, pieces of my hand and finger plates were partially melted. But they weren't melting into my skin. It wasn't all melted.

"Ok, we got Sundancer, she won'tbe able to make another sun, let's go after Gene-"

"Flechette!" Sero ran to her, why was she on the ground…twichting? "She's having a seizure!"

"Seizure? Regent."

"What!?" Sero looked at Regent.

"Hey man, you started the fight." Regent said.

Sero grit his teeth.

"If he does that to her for long enough…" I trailed off. I turned to Iida. "Iida!"

"Already on it!" He started running, he was far away but gaining distance. "Vista, get me close!"

"On it!"

Iida was already half-way there in three of five seconds. He must've not been at full speed. But it didn't matter, with Vista the closed the rest of the distance in a split second…only for Iida to get slapped down by a paw.

The dog was on top of him, Iida went for a kick, but another dog grabbed his leg with his teeth, and started ripping the armor apart.

"IIDA!" Ochaco cried.

"Plan B!" I said.

Sero nodded. "Right!" Sero pulled some meat out of his pocket. "Hey, doggies! Look at the meeeeeeeeaaaaaaat!"

This was our big play. Izu…Midoriya deduced that the beasts Hellhound fostered were still just dogs underneath. This was our chance to prove that theory right.

The dogs wagged their tails. Even the one fighting Glory Girl stopped.

"No," Hellhound said. "No."

"Come on, boys!" Sero said. More worried than I expected. "Don't you want some meat?"

The dogs panted.

"You want it? You want it? GO GET IT!" Sero taped the meat and slung it over to me, the dogs followed, and right when they went for it, I froze them. All of them.

"We all cheered, one of the biggest problems, out of the picture.

"Thanks!" Iida said. He kicked Regent in the face, knocking him out.

"Ok," I began. "Let's-"

"Look out!" Dark Shadow said.

What? Oh sh-

I jumped away, then to my side. Where was she? where did she go?

"Dark Shadow, where is she!?"

"Right in front of you!"

"Dammit!" Imp popped back into life. "Stop revealing where I am, birdbrain!"

"Dark shadow, commence!" Tokoyami jumped after her, she ran away but they followed.

"How the fuck can he see her!?" Grue asked.

"His brain isn't normal! If he even has one." Tattletale said. Wasn't she knocked out?

"Yeah, you aren't too bright, either!" Dark Shadow said.

Tattletale frowned. I think, there was a lot of distance between her and I.

Glory Girl was fighting Genesis, but They looked stronger than the dogs. She went to tackle them but they lashed her with one of their tails and grabbed her in their jaws.

"Iida! Get me close!" I ran after her. Not that it would do me any good, by the time I got to her, her ribcage would be shattered.

Good thing, I got someone with super speed and someone with space warping on this team.

With Iida and Vista help, I was there in a split second, but by the time I got there, Genesis was in the air.

She had wings.

"Great, I can never freeze her now, I can't fly."

"You can't." Glory Girl smirked. "But I can."

I stared at her. "Promise me you won't drop me?"

"Promise."

Glory Girl grabbed me under the shoulder and flew me into the air. I never flew before, but it felt like being falling upwards, like on a swing, constantly moving, going at a hundred miles per hours.

We spotted Genesis. They lashed again with her tail, but this time Glory Girl dodged, immediately going backwards to avoid the strike.

"Fastball special!" Glory Girl threw me.

I turned on my power, but Genesis dodged by spinning, then made a beeline towards Glory Girl.

"Clock!"

Genesis tackled Glory Girl. And dragged her to the ground.

"Well, shit," I said.

I fell and fell and fell, and right when I started praying that I was dreaming. Ochaco catched me.

"Release," She said.

We fell and rolled onto the ground.

"Ochaco…" I whispered.

"Uraraka," she replied.

"Uraraka," I said. "Doesn't using your power on yourself and other people to much make you nauseous?"

"Yes. Very." She held her hand in her mouth. And turned around to vomit.

When she did, I saw Dark Shadow fighting Genesis. Genesis and Dark Shadow both grabbed each other claws Genesis bit at Dark Shadow, only for Dark Shadow to headbutt them. Genesis scratched Dark Shadow, but the claws broke on him.

Dark Shadow ripped off Genesis's arms and grabbed their head.

"Guess mine is better," Tokoyami said.

"Wha-" Genesis was cut off my Dark Shadow crushing their skull.

"Tokoyami…" Ochaco said.

"It's just a projection. I didn't kill a single human here."

"Wait, did we forget something?" Kid Win asked.

He forgot something again?

Wait a second…

I pulled out Midoriya's notebook. I skipped over the pages to find Imp's. I skimmed it to find the passage I was looking for.

Imp's power classification: Stranger.

Imp's-

"Hey!" Dark Shadow said. He went behind me and punched something.

It was Imp, who was holding her bloody nose. "God dammit! I can't even make you forget me!"

"Stay away from him, creep."

"cut that out! It's not like I was going to kill him!"

"How generous of you., I said. "Sero?"

He fired tape next to her, then brought it towards her to wrap her up.

"Well… that was something., Sero said.

"Yep, that's an accurate estimation." I responded.

"Tattletale…" Grue said. "What do we do?"

Tattletale smirked. "I have one last idea. Trickster, teleport Glory Girl!"

"WHAT!? All the heroes said.

In a split second, Glory Girl was in Imp's place.

And right when Sero fired more tape…

"Grue! Hit Dark Shadow with your power!"

"What!? Wouldn't that help us!?" I remember what Dark Shadow looked like in Grue's darkness. When it faded away, Dark Shadow was huge. They wouldn't want that, would they?

"I'm them here, tats." Regent said. He was back up. "This doesn't seem like a smart idea."

"Trust me! DO IT!"

Grue fired darkness at Dark Shadow. Who grew in size, and started to…roar? His roar muted my the darkness.

"No…" Tokoyami said.

"uhhh…Toko?" I said. "What's going on?"

"RUN!!" Tokoyami said.

Dark Shadow attacked. Sero pulled me away with tape, Iida grabbed Ochaco. Flechette went away with her grappling hook and Kid Win fired shots at Dark Shadow while flying on his hoverboard.

"What going on!?" Grue said.

"Dark Shadow is harder to control in the darkness!" Tattletale said. "It also increases his strength!"

"Oh-no…" Sero said.

"Kid Win, Get out of there!" I ordered.

"You guys need a distraction!" He said. Narrowly avoiding Dark Shadow claws.

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami said. "Cease this! Immediately!"

Dark Shadow only roared in response.

"I have an Idea!" I remember one of Midoriya's notes on Grue in his book. I pulled it out and read it.

Grue's darkness is a substance, which means it can be blown away with enough force.

"Glory Girl, gonna need you!" I said.

Glory Girl frowned. "Kinda busy here."

"We don't have Dark Shadow to dissipate the effects of my power!"

"We don't need him!" Flechette said.

She used the grappling hook to go towards her, she empowered a knife with her power and cut the tape in half.

Well, damn.

Glory Girl flew to me. "What you need, Clock?"

"I need you to make a shockwave to dissipate the darkness."

"I don't think I'm strong enough." Glory Girl said. "Deku already shared his notes with me. But when I tried at the PRT base. It didn't work."

"Then…Iida!"

"If she can't," Iida began. "What chance do I have? I'm not that fast." Iida looked down. "but…if we combine our strength." He looked at Glory Girl.

She grinned. "Ready when you are."

"We might wanna stand back," I said to Sero.

He nodded, and we all stood back. Several dozens of feet.

Iida gave a look and then said, "RECIPRO BUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRSSSSSSSST!"

Glory Girl threw a punch, and Iida threw a kick. They clashed, and the darkness dissipated.

Dark Shadow shrunk. He said something I couldn't hear. And Dark Shadow hugged him.

We ran back. "Wow, that actually worked."

"Do it, again!"

Sero wrapped them all in tape. "Oh no you don't!"

I ripped the tape and froze it. Leaving them in place. "Looks like you lose."

"Maybe we are having some off days." Regent said.

"We still have an ace in the hole." Grue said.

"You mean the guy I saw in the second window to othe right?" Kid Win said.

What guy? Genesis?

Trickster.

"VISTA!" I nearly barked.

Vista stretched the second window of the right to make a whole, revealing Trickster. Before he could run, Sero taped him and pulled him out. Leaving him to fall several stories.

"Kid Win?" Sero said. "A little help?"

Kid Win sent out his hoverboard and it cut the tape in half, or maybe a third, and wrapped up Trickster before catching him and putting him on the ground.

"You were saying?" Glory Girl said.

"Ok, we are having a off day." Grue said.

"I thought you guys did better than this." Imp said.

Tattletale whispered something. What did she say? "KUROGIRI!"

Oh shit…

Mist appeared, all going to the same spot, eventually forming into a humanoid shape.

"Hello, heroes." Kurogiri said. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You don't have to go home, but I'll settle for halfway across the city."

We stared and stood still.

"Well, we're fucked." Sero said. Don't think I ever heard him curst like that.

"We'll never be able to beat Kurogiri in a fight." I said.

"Right you are, and with that, I bid you…" He sent out his smoke. "Fare-"

All of the sudden, he was hit by something.

It was an explosion.

"BAKUGO!!" we all said.

"That's right! YOU THINK I WOULD LET HAVE ALL THE FUN!? GET OUTTA HERE!!" He said. Then he pinned Kurogiri to the ground. "If you move, you die. You better hope I'm having a good day!"

He wasn't.

Tattletale sat there…Without a smile, for once. "Shigaraki, I really hate to say this, but…we could really use your help."

"TRY IT!" He said. "I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY… What the hell is that?"

Katsuki was right, we all heard something. Something like…

Buzzing.

"EVERYBODY, RUN!!" I said.

But it was too late. We were in a cloud of bugs. Their screams were as clear as glass and their agony was truthful, I couldn't stop the bugs, there was too many. Thought strangely, none of Midoriya's friends were screaming. Were they not attacked?

I got my answer when the bugs dissipated. They were ok, but my friends were not. They were on the ground, kneeling form the pain. Did she hold a grudge over us trying to stop her!?

The bugs crowded around the warehouse door, staying there for a bit, until…

They went away, and Skitter revealed herself.

"Hello, Wards. Class 1-A."

"Skitter." We all said.

She looked at Katsuki. "Hello…Kacchan, is it?"

Kacchan?

"Ha! Calling me that won't get me to go easy on you!" I couldn't see Katsuki's face, but from his tone, he seemed confident.

Skitter stared. "I heard you're aggressive, short-tempered, psychotic."

Where did she hear this from? Coil's spy? Is Coil their boss? No, it wouldn't make any sense// He's not even a part of the team yet.

"WHAT DID THAT NERD SAY ABOUT ME!?" Katsuki shouted.

"Don't worry, He doesn't hate you."

How does she know all of this?

"But you…" she began. "You are the culmination of everything I hate about heroes. Selfish, Immature, pig-headed."

"Pot, meet kettle." Sero said. "Now sake handles."

I didn't need to see Skitter's face to know she was glaring at Sero.

"I don't care about morality or empathy. I'm too awesome for that! Maybe a loser villain needs it, but I don't! I can do anything I want, to whoever I want, whenever I want!"

"We sure he's a hero?" I said to Sero. who chuckled.

Forget about Ochaco. This guy seems a lot like Shadow Stalker.

Skitter stood there. "If that's what you think, then perish."

We couldn't fight her. We depended on Katsuki.

This was the final Showdown.

 

[Pinklestia]

Oh Baka Explode really poked the wrong button.

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Twenty-Five:

I had an itch I couldn't scratch, no, not a real itch, I had to know what was happening in the battlefield. I mean, my nose was itchy, but I couldn't itch it with all this silk.

The pros weren't here yet, if they were, The Undersiders and Travelers would get beaten in a few seconds. I knew this. I saw them in action. The were definitely smart and strong enough. If they didn't save me yet, that means The Wards were here…

Which means Class 1-A was probably here as well…

I couldn't stand this. I couldn't wait here. There was buzzing, and I heard the wails of the damned. This means Skitter was fighting against Class 1-A.

I couldn't let that happen. The thought made me hyperventilate. If I kept thinking about it, I would have another panic attack.

If Skitter died, or Kacchan died…or…

No, no, no, no, don't think, just do! I have to remove this silk, go to the battlefield, and save everyone. Tattletale was out of the room. So I could leave, I had to.

It hurt when I used 20% of One for All on my fingers. But I had no choice. I couldn't get out of here without doing just that. So I fired my finger and broke the silk. I bit on the silk to ease the pain…No…no time for that. I had to get to the battlefield.

I opened the door to the room, hurting my fingers. I walked out of the room and down the stairs. Running into Skitter's minions. She must've ordered her workers in the building.

They all looked at me.

"uhhh…Hi?" I said.

"Hey!" a black-haired girl my age said. "You're not allowed here!"

"I'm here to save my friends!" I said. "Now let me go out there!"

"We can't let that happen," A red-headed girl a little older than me said.

"Damn right we can't."

Oh-no…I know that voice…The rasp…that aggression.

Everyone turned to the man that said that and cleared a path for him.

Shigaraki.

"Hello, Midoriya.\," He said.

I frowned. "Shigaraki. Don't get in my way."

"What's wrong, brat? Wanna save your friend and girlfriend?"

Girlfriend? Was he talking about Ochaco!?

Or s…someone else…

"Everyone leave. This is going to get messy."

They stayed. Glancing back at me and Shigaraki.

"You heard the brat, go out the back."

The people left. Going out the back of the warehouse. Leaving me and Shigaraki alone.

This is actually good, I mean, assuming he still has it.

"I want my hair back," I said.

"It's already gone," Shigaraki said.

I noticed it. "Then why did you put your hand in your pocket?"

Shigaraki scratched himself. Did he have anxiety? "Cute observation. Fine."

He pulled out the hair. It was green. That meant it was mine. "Give it back."

"I don't think so," Shigaraki put my hair back in his pocket. "This hair will help us finally destroy All Might once and for all."

What am I supposed to do? Should I fight him? I have stitches and ten broken fingers. If I fight him, I'm dead. I have to go back, wait for All Might to-

I heard an explosion. Outside.

Kacchan.

"Well?" Shigaraki asked.

I stood my ground and aimed with my finger.

The change was subtle, but Shigaraki's plain face turned into a frown. And he scratched the underside of his jaw with his two fingers. "Ok…"

I powered up…

And then I flicked.

***

I flew into my base, right into the doors. That explosion wasn't as powerful as the one's back at the PRT headquarters. Was he sweating less?

"THAT WAS A WARNING SHOT! YOUR ONLY ONE!!"

So that was the answer. He was holding back.

"I wouldn't call that a warning shot," I said. "It hit me dead on."

"TRUST ME! I COULD'VE KILLED YOU RIGHT THERE IF I WANTED TO!!"

So that was it? He thought it was a warning shot because it didn't kill me?

Bakugo gave me all the wrong vibes. He seemed like the worst part of Emma and Sophia. I know Deku liked him. Or at least admired him. But I had nothing but hatred for him. He hurt Deku. he could've traumatized him. He worst the embodiment of everything I hated.

I wish I could've said I didn't want to do this, but I did.

"Skitter!" Grue said. "Give him the kid!"

"What? No. We can't do that," I said.

"Are you insane!?" He said.

"You'll never beat him in a fight!" Tattletale said. She sounded concerned. But she was smiling a few seconds ago. Was she confident that they could break out of the tape until I came along? But I would give them more time…

Maybe she just didn't want me to fight Bakugo. He was a problem before…

I heard something behind me. It sounded like a shockwave. What could've created that?

"Hey Bakugo!" Regent said. I think he would've waved if he could. "No hard feelings about attacking your friends, right?"

Bakugo sneered in response. "THEY'RE NOT MY FRIENDS!"

"Oh, cool. Then no hard feelings!"

"DON'T GET ME WRONG, I DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM! I JUST WANT TO KILL THE LOSER VILLAINS! I.E. YOU!!"

Regent got shifty eyes. "Well, shit."

Imp laughed nervously. "We're already beaten, so you can just spare us, right?"

Bakugo chuckled. "Yeah, right."

"Skitter," Bitch began.

I sighed. "Yes?"

"Kick his ass for me."

"Uhhh…what?"

"I would do it myself if I had my dogs, and I wasn't in between this frozen tape. I want him to bleed. So make him bleed."

I nodded. "I will."

"OH YEAH!? I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" He skyrocketed towards me.

I pulled out my knife and baton.

And I ran forward.

***

I dodged the brat's shockwave, and it hit the door, cracking the door as I ran forward. It must've not been at full power. He's holding back.

Good.

I swiped at him to decay him, but I was too far away, and it gave him time to leap out of the way. But I didn't let up though. I ran forward and grabbed his right shoulder, decaying it. The flesh and blood were showing. He cried out in a yelp that filled me with ecstasy.

He backed away, but I moved forward, and in one swift movement, decayed his right arm. He grits his teeth as his tendons throbbed from the pain. I went to his face, but stopped, and went to his chest instead, only for him to flick my hand away with his power. He jumped a couple dozen feet away as I shake my hand.

"You don't want to kill me," the brat said. Not mocking. Only saying. But still freakin' annoying..

"No," I said. "I do want to kill you. The only reason why I didn't before was that I wanted my minions to achieve success. I could've killed you in the future, anyway. But now?" I stopped myself. "Actually…considering they don't care about what I want…but then it'll anger my Master."

"Your master?" The brat said.

"Secret. Not spilling it," I said. "Not that it matters. You might not survive this anyway."

The brat grit his teeth.

"Now suffer." I ran towards him again.

***

I couldn't see anything in the cloud of bugs.

The second Katsuki went forward. Skitter did the same, but covered both her and Katsuki in bugs. The only proof that Bakugo was even alive was his yelling.

"YOU THINK BUG BITES WILL STOP ME!? DIE!"

Suddenly, an enormous, cone-shaped explosion blew up most of the, like, a sixth or fifth of the bugs. He kept going and eventually nearly killed every single last bug there.

Katsuki looked around, and Skitter was right behind him, ready to stab him.

"KATSUKI, BEHIND YOU!!" I said.

Skitter ran towards him.

"DON'T HELP ME!!"

Katsuki turned around while blowing up the ground and hit Skitter dead on. She skidded on the ground.

"Damn, he messed you up," Sero quipped.

Skitter glared at him.

"NOT DONE YET!" Katsuki propelled himself towards Skitter.

"Kurogiri, portal!"

Kurogiri sent his mist between Katsuki and Skitter. He tried to wrap him away, but Katsuki pulled his uncontrollable, unpredictable, pinball maneuvers. He couldn't catch him.

"I can't catch him!" Kurogiri said.

"It's not what I meant, anyway." Skitter said.

"Oh, of course."

Suddenly, Kurogiri put his mist nearly completely around Katsuki and Skitter. We heard the muffled sounds from behind the portal.

Sounded like…

Buzzing.

Bugs came out.

Thousand of them.

"Scared yet?" Skitter said.

Katsuki grinned in response.

Shit.

***

I attempted flicking my finger, lifting my right arm, and forcing it to move, despite the pain. But when I did, Shigaraki disappeared, and before I could even look for him, my back disintegrated.

It already didn't look pleasant when Aizawa got his elbow disintegrated, but it felt way worse. Like my body was in dry acid. Or like my skin was rotting and burning at the same time. My atoms were being torn apart.

I jumped away, using One for All on my feet and legs, went upside down, and flicked another shockwave, using my fingers at 20%. It hit Shigaraki in the gut. He kneeled over from the pain. I was going to take the opportunity to fire another shockwave, but I had to land, and when I did and turned, Shigaraki was already in my face.

I went for a punch, but his speed was unreal, and he disintegrated my left arm. Despite this, I was able to flick my finger at 20% percent of my power, and hit Shigaraki in the chin. He went flying but landed on his feet.

I saw his face and realized his hand fell at my feet.

"You dare hit FATHER!?" Shigaraki screamed.

"Uhhh…no?"

He ran at me faster than before. I forced my arms to moved and aimed, but he was already in front of me, decaying my right shoulder even more. When I jumped away, he simply moved forward and decayed my chest. My stitches opened, and I bled. He went for my neck next, but I grabbed his arm by using my arm at 20%, and I punched him at five. He went skidding on the ground while standing. And ran forward.

I jumped back and aimed, but he was too fast. He tackled me to the ground. I still fired a shockwave from my hand, but in my panic I fired at a higher percentage than 20%, and I felt a stab of pain. He went to decay me again, but he saw the ceiling crumble and jumped away to avoid it. I jumped towards him and headbutted his stomach. He went away and landing in a three point-landing.

He looked down at his hand, or maybe his…father's hand? He picked it up and put it on his face. "You're losing."

I stared at him. "Heroes don't always win. But that just means I have to try harder with you."

Shigaraki chuckled. "That's why I hate heroes. They think they can always win. That they can save everyone. But how many people have grieved over their family after they were lost in a superhero fight? How many times have news casters called out heroes for damages the area? They're narcissistic bastards that I'll take down."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted. "But you're different. You don't think that. And that pushes you to try harder, instead of giving up…You're…interesting." He leaned in. "I'll enjoy breaking you."

I grit my teeth.

And I jumped forward.

***

I swarmed Bakugo with bugs. warrior wasps, tarantula wasps, and bullet ants. All biting and stinging him, I was going to keep doing it until he went down.

"THIS CRAP CAN'T STOP ME!!" He started blowing bugs up.

I backed away to avoid the explosions. It wasn't cone-shaped, which actually made it easier. But it didn't matter. Even though I ran literal circles around him, he killed nearly all of my bugs in less than 15 seconds.

The pain from the loss of bugs made it feel like someone pulled out my eys with a fork, or ripped off my ears. The pain wasn't as great as my fight with Deku. This was only an eight. I wasn't crippled by it.

I pulled in more bugs through the portal. Why'd I even bother? He was just going to blow them up.

Unless I actually damaged him…

I pulled out my knife and covered his eyes. I'd sting them, but that seems like overkill. I went to stab him while he was facing the other way, but he turned around, and I had to leap out the way to avoid getting blown up. Did he see me?

No, he turned to the right and started blowing up more bugs. He doesn't know where I am.

I brought in more bugs and went for another stab. But he went into the air, straight up. The explosion hit me and broke my chest plate.

This was impossible. With his explosions and speed. He was like catching a fly that was on fire. I felt some sympathy for Grue fighting Shadow Stalker. I imagine with his and her power it would be similar to this. Hell.

"LET'S SEE YOU COUNTER THIS!!"

He began to pull a pin on his grenade gauntlets.

Oh-no…

I ran "Kurogiri! Shrink the portal!"

I jumped through it. Ending up in some South American outback. The portal shrunk, which means it wasn't touching the floor.

I quickly rolled under it, and the explosion went through the portal. Destroying everything. Including the bugs.

The pain made me vomit. Like needles in my nails, if nails were in your skull. I had to take off my mask.

When I got up and put on my mask. a hand pulled me through Kurogiri's portal and threw me. I skidded on the floor.

It was Bakugo. " LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE OUT OF BUGS! AND TIME! iF YOU HAVE kUROGIRI MAKE ANOTHER PORTAL, I'LL KILL YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS!!"

He was threatening them? Them?

What could I do? I had almost no bugs and no gun. Even if I had one, Bakugo was too quick with his explosion. It would be basically worthless.

I thought of a plan. He sweats, right? That's where his explosions came from.

So…

He slowly walked toward me. "You were really freakin' annoying. But I got you all the same. You're nothing more than a bug for me to squash."

I rolled my eyes. "Nice pun."

He made a face. "That wasn't a…actually, doesn't matter. I'll still kill you." He raised his right hand and put it in front of me. His glove was still intact. How was it in one piece?

"Die," He said.

Nothing happened.

Bakugo's eyes widened. "Die!"

Still, nothing. "DIE!"

I sliced his hand with my knife. "What's wrong? Running low on sweat?"

He jumped back and glared. "THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!?"

"You get your explosion from your sweat. So I had my bugs crawl on you. And. Eat. it."

"WHAT!?"

"Face it, you lost."

"NO, I DIDN'T!!" He said. "YOU LOST YOUR BUGS!! SO I CAN STILL FIGHT!!"

I got in a fighting position with my knife and baton.

And we ran towards each other.

***

The brat leaped at me, and I sidestepped away from him, raised my hand, and decayed his leg. That would make it harder to pull off any tricky jumps. He settled for firing a shockwave out his finger. I dodged, put my hands out, and ran.

But right before I could decay him, he kicked up some dust in my eyes. I protected my eyes, but then I ran into him.

I grabbed at the floor to slow our rolling down, but that gave the brat a chance to punch me with what felt l like 10% of his power. I flew off him and skidded again. Eventually stopping.

I stood up. "If you want to live, you'll go back to Skitter's room."

"I don't care about myself! I care about s-" He stopped himself. "Saving my friends!"

Was he going to say Skitter before? Was my theory correct? "Don't care about yourself? I bet the people that care about you would hate to hear that."

The brat gave a shocked look. He looked down. Then said. "well…I guess I can't die anyway if I want to save my friends."

"That might be harder than you think," I said.

"What? Why?"

I grabbed the ground behind me and decayed it. "You're not the only one that can use your wits."

I ran forward, and before he could jump back, threw the dust from the decayed floor in his eyes. He covered his eyes, and I tackled him.

I decayed his arms, his legs, his shoulders, and his knees. It was bad enough that you could see bone.

"It's over, brat. You lose."

***

Skitter and Katsuki ran at each other. Katsuki went with a right hook, but Skitter ducked and swiped at her with her baton. Katsuki blocked it, grabbed her neck, and slammed her face on his knee. She leaned back, but he didn't relent. He jumped and went for a punch, but Skitter held her knife up and Katsuki had to just land instead of attacking. Skitter went for a stab while B, but Katsuki's reflexes were too quick. He leaned back and leaned forwards for a headbutt.

"Kurogi-" Katsuki punched her again.

Shit. if Skitter gets Kurogiri to open another portal…

"Sero, pull Kurogiri towards me!" I said.

Sero looked at me. "Gotcha!"

He taped Kurogiri.

His eyes went wide. "Skitter!"

It was too late. Sero pulled him towards us, wrapping him in tape. I ripped it off and froze him.

The mist disappeared, showing his true body…

And taking care of the mist around Skitter and Katsuki.

"We got him!"

"GODDAMMIT!"

Katsuki was on the ground, clutching his side. It was bleeding.

Fuck. he's been stabbed.

"Face it, Kacchan. You lose," Skitter said. How did she know about Midoriya's nickname for him?

"NOT YET! I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SWEAT, BUT I CAN CONTROL MY SWEAT GLANDS TO AN EXTENT!!"

"Won't do you any good if you can't use it," Skitter shot back.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! IF I CAN DO THAT, IT MEANS I CAN DO THIS!!"

His arms started to twitch, throb. Skitter leaned back, but it was too late. A gigantic blast, one bigger than all the others except for the one that supposedly came from his gauntlets. Skitter didn't get hit directly, but she went flying regardless. Skidding on the ground, while holding her head, and lifting her mask partially to vomit.

"LOOKS LIKE I WIN!" Katsuki shouted.

"No," I said. Katsuki looked back at me. "We win."

***

I heard several explosions since I started my fight with Shigaraki, but the one I just heard was the biggest. What was it?

I am so stupid. I could've run away several times during this fight. But I didn't. Then again, he could've stopped me as easily as I tried. But I didn't even try. I hated him so much I wanted to fight him instead of just running. He wasn't like Skitter. He didn't try to help people, he wanted to hurt them. I couldn't accept that. I had to stop him. Did I even had a choice? After he had my hair, Didn't I have to fight him?

The pain I felt was greater than any other. Except for me breaking my broken finger. My bone was showing. My veins felt like they were on fire. And Shigaraki was standing on top on me.

Not good.

"I guess this is it," Shigaraki said. "I win."

I looked for an answer. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take you back to Skitter's room, then I'm going to go outside, and then, I'm going to kill everyone there, not on my side."

He was going to kill Kacchan? Iida!? Uraraka!?

I glared at him, looking for something to say. But he said something instead. "Now, are you going to go back? Or am I going to have to carry you?"

I had one option. I know it was a dream, but…

I flicked with my toe at 100%, destroying the front of the warehouse.

As I planned.

Shigaraki looked back, I looked forward, and everyone looked at me.

"Deku?" Skitter said. Quieter than I was hoping.

"I knew it," Shigaraki whispered under his breath.

"Deku!" Uraraka shouted.

I ran at 5% "Urara-"

I was grabbed from behind, and hand took me by the next

Shigaraki.

"Nobody move," He said. "Or the brat dies.

***

He was threatening Deku? Deku?

The Undersiders were out of the tape, Sundancer's sun was back, Both Ballistic and and Genesis were back up from being knocked out, I don't know what happened to Ballistic, but Genesis was killed by Dark Shadow, if we team up we can stop Shigaraki.

Just wasn't sure they wanted to.

"Let. Him. Go," I said.

"Ah, I see," Shigaraki said. "Without your bugs to put your emotion onto, your emotions show. Interesting."

I heard murmurs from The Undersiders and the heroes. I didn't care. I wanted Deku back.

"HA! YOU EXPECT US TO BELIEVE YOU WOULD KILL HIM!" Bakugo said.

"Why wouldn't you?" Shigaraki said. "After all-"

"You want to kill him, but there's a part of you that says if you kill him, there's no way you're making out of this alive. And that part of you won't shut up."

"Are you kidding!? I rather die than have another All Might on the loose.

"You're a child, Shigaraki," Tattletale said.

Shigaraki glared at her. "What?"

I had the same reaction. What was she doing?

"You're mad that I outsmarted you, you mad that you're not the boss of The Undersiders, and you're mad that now you take orders from our boss. You're so desperate to have something go right today that'll you'll kill the kid we wanted alive. Acting like a child lashing out."

Shigaraki scratched. "I never wanted him alive! I wanted dead! Don't piss me off!"

Oh. I see.

"She's right, Shigaraki." I said.

Shigaraki glared at me.

"This was over the moment you became our boss…"

***

I scratched the burning itch. What was she saying? Was she so desperate to save her boyfriend that she was willing to ruin the plan to do it? Why would Tattletale start it? Why was sh trying to help her?

Was Skitter the one Tattletale tried to help?

"You don't know anything." I said.

"Don't I?" Skitter said. "You information caused us to lose the supplies, you kidnapping Deku caused the heroes to retaliate. Not to mention, you tried to kill Regent by putting him on the front lines, tried to get Tattletale to kill herself! You're the worst teammate, the worst boss."

"Shut up!"

"Everything you do is wrong!"

"SHUT UP!"

"And you cant tolerate people different to you like a blubbering baby!"

I ran towards her, only to get hit in the left liver. I kneeled over in pain, crying and spitting blood. I looked to my left and saw Ballistic with stones in his eyes.

"What the hell!?"

"Nobody fucks with us." Trickster said.

"That's it." Skitter said. "You lose."

I lose? I lose!? I can't lose again! Not again I had one option…

"NOMU!!"

The grey, black, and High-End Nomu crashed through the roof of the warehouse and stared down at them.

"Kill them."

***

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. This was bad, the Nomu were hard enough with the whole team. Then again the tram was crippled by Skitter's bugs, but from what I know of the black Nomu. They were powerful. As strong as All Might…

We stood no chance.

The Nomu ran towards us, and I grabbed Sero and Vista's hands and prepared for the worst.

Until I heard the best thing I could've.

"I AM HERE!"

All Might punch away the Nomu at a blitzing speed and beat the Nomu with ease. Sending them flying into the atmosphere.

"WHAT!?" Shigaraki said. "HOW!? You're weaker than before! Your injury!"

"What injury? This one?" He lifted up his shirt to reveal nothing. "I had Panacea heal it, I'm BACK IN BUSINESS BABY!"

Shigaraki looked terrified, and Midoriya cried. We stood there in shock.

I couldn't believe it, Panacea healed him? Does that mean he's back to his peak strength? No timer? Does Midoriya really have All Might's power because All Might gave it to him?

All Might ran over to Midoriya, said something, and picked him up and ran away.

So that was it…

We won…

 

[Pinklestia]

Ah right Panacea, kinda forgot about her.

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Twenty-Six:

At the PRT base, in the lobby, Uraraka hugged me as tightly as Skitter did when she told me about her backstory. I can't imagine how she felt. The last time she saw me was with broken fingers and grit teeth. Then I ended up with The Undersiders, the people who tortured her and our friends a day ago.

…Wow, I just realized I forgave for hurting my friends when not even a full day ago I was fully prepared to kill her. But I was just angry. I wouldn't ever want to kill her under normal circumstances. I must've been really…

No…I shouldn't justify it like that. It was wrong, no matter what. I'll need to apologize to her when I get the chance.

What else was I thinking about? Oh yeah, I forgave Skitter. It's really amazing what healthy interaction can do for two people. All we had to do was talk about how we really felt. And we let go of our petty hate for each other. I'm not sure Skitter ever hated me though. Although it appeared as such during our first fight. And her bugs went wild at our first meet-

Oh god…I just realized…the reason her bugs were getting more frantic when the people were staying with her was because she felt so guilty tormenting them.

It's so bizarre. I hated her. But when I learned she had compassion, when I learned she was like me, when I learned what she been through, and all the fun we had, I can't hate her anymore. I…I…

Wait…was she still hugging me!? And now Iida was hugging me as well! They must've been really concerned for me.

I had to comfort them. "Panacea healed me. So I'm actually in really good shape. You don't have to worry about me anymore, guys."

"But are you all right?" Uraraka said. "Mentally, I mean?"

"Yes," I said. "I'm better than I was before."

"Really!?" Iida said. Waving his arms to his side. "How would getting captured by villains improve your mental health!?"

"ummm…I'm just in a clearer mind," I said. "Thank you all for saving me."

"It was nothing," Uraraka said. "You'd do the same for us, right?"

I suddenly got a flashback from when I saved Uraraka. Was she still grateful? It was nothing, really. Anyone would've…

And now I remember Skitter saying I had too many insecurities issues. And that I was actually great. Wasn't sure how true that was, though. But Uraraka is almost making me think that's true…

"What about The Wards?" I asked. "Why were they there?"

All of Class 1-A and The Wards were in the lobby. Everyone was looking at me. Except for Katsuki, who was just leaning on the wall.

I looked at Clockblocker. He was there when the heroes saved me. That means he cared enough for him to save me. I…didn't expect that.

"You're staring at Clockblocker," Glory Girl said. Was I? "I want you to know, it was Clockblocker that came up with the idea to save you. He led all of us."

My eyes widened. I looked back at Clockblocker. "Did you?"

He shrugged. "I didn't want you to die. It was nothing."

Nothing? After the way I treated him? He still liked me? Or cared about me enough to want to save me? It wasn't nothing. It was everything.

And just like that, I got reminded of Skitter's thoughts towards her achievements, or my own…

"It wasn't nothing. They would've used me as a bargaining chip if it wasn't for you. So thanks for that."

Clockblocker scratched the back of his head. "So…Does that mean we're cool?"

I have to admit; I didn't expect him to say that. "Ummm…That a conversation that should really be private."

"Why?"

"It would be weird to apologize in front of everyone."

Clockblocker paused. "What? But I-

Suddenly, Glory Girl cut us off by hugging us together. Yes. by hugging us together.

"It's about time you guys got along!" She said. "All you needed was to talk it out!"

"Yeah," I whispered. "I guess that all a lot of people need to do."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to say thank you for saving me. To all of you."

Glory Girl smiled. "Welcome."

"Don't sweat it," Vista said.

"Anything for you guys," Sero said.

"No problem," Flechette smiled.

Kid Win looked me in the eyes. "It was nothing. It's our jobs."

"Trust us," Tokoyami said. "It was no small feat, but we do it again, no hesitation."

"Would you now?"

We all turned to see Aizawa and Piggot walking towards us. Looking kinda pissed. Not good…

"Hold on, Aizawa," I got inbetween them and my friends. "I'd be in danger if it wasn't for them."

Piggot offered a humorless smile. "That's very nice, Midoriya. But they disobeyed orders. Our orders."

"There must be a punishment," Aizawa glared at us. "I can't let this go without doing anything about it."

"Then punish me."

We all looked at Clockblocker.

Piggot frowned.

"And why would we do that?" Aizawa asked.

"Because it was my idea to save him. I ordered them to risk their lives. If you want to punish someone, punish me."

"No, I don't believe that's accurate," Iida said. "I'm the leader of my class. I should've told them not to go. I shouldn't have even gone myself. I have more authority. I should take the punishment."

"You don't have more authority than a Ward," Weld argued. "If anyone should take responsibility, it's me. I'm leader of the Wards, I knew about it, and I didn't stop it because Iida was so determined to save his friends that…that I didn't want to stop him. I've neglected my duties, so I'll take the punishment."

Aizawa and Piggot stared for a second. Then Aizawa spoke. "Well, at least you're sticking your neck out for each other."

"Yes, at least we won't add 'bad teamwork' to your crimes," Piggot added.

"However-" They said it at the same time.

They looked at each other.

"You first." Aizawa said.

Piggot nodded. "Someone has to be punished. If you three want to take it, then you three will."

"I guess because you were ordered by an authority, you thought I was ok," Aizawa said. "But next time, listen to the adults."

"Yes, sir!" we all said. Except for Kacchan.

He's so…Lazy? No, that's not it…Angsty?

No, that's not it either…

"I'll give a week's suspension to Iida," Aizawa said.

"And I'll be changing Clockblocker's and Weld's patrol times." Piggot said.

"I'll accept it with grace," Weld said.

Aizawa sighed. "I guess the rest of you got lucky, but be wary. If you try something like this again, I will not be happy."

We all nodded.

"Clockblocker, a word?" I said to him.

He nodded. "Sure."

We walked out of the building into the street. We wouldn't have to worry about cars for…obvious reasons.

"So…" I said.

.

"So…" He said.

We stood there for a bit.

"I'm sorry, wait what?" We said it at the same time.

"Why are you saying that?" Clockblocker said. "I'm the one that looked down at you."

"Looking down on me isn't a reason for me to be a prick," I argued. "Beside, that wasn't the main reason."

Clockblocker stood there silent for a second. "What?"

"I…I always hated you…" I thought about that for a second. "Ok, that's inaccurate. It's not that I always hated you, I just never liked you. You were always so egotistical without earning it, at least, that's what I thought. So when you ignored the notes I put a lot of work into, insulted Kacchan, and acted like a prick. Or at least, when I thought you acted like a prick, it set off alarms, when there shouldn't have been any."

Clockblocker looked down. "You weren't completely in the wrong. We Wards have talked to other students before. They were always…idolizing us, and worshipping the ground we stand on…I guess…no, I know I treated you as just a fan instead of a student. I dismissed you instead of helping you. I could've read your notes and given pointers and tips. But…to be honest…They're pretty airtight."

"What?"

He pulled out a notebook. My notebook. "The notes are really good. As good as Victoria's, if not better. I will say that some people don't know about the applications of their power because they don't use them, but in reality, when you're on the battlefield, you do a lot of things you regret. Because it wasn't the right call, and you look back at it in the shower, or while looking in the fridge, and you wish you played it differently. Maybe it would've been easier to beat the bad guy, maybe you would've saved more people. But when you're fighting and your adrenaline is through the roof, you make all kinds of calls quickly. And not all of them are going to be right."

Wow. Did-did he?..."Did you read the-"

"Part on me? Yes, I did."

My eyes widened. "And?..."

"It helped. A lot. The knowledge that my power can contain people without touching them is going to help a lot. It helped us against The Undersiders."

Really? It helped them against The Undersiders? But they beat Pros!

Were...Were my notes that good?

I teared up but wiped them away, sniffed, and stayed strong. "Th…thanks. I'm glad you liked them. And I meant it when I said I was sorry. I should've never disrespected you for completely arbitrary reasons."

"Thanks, so did I and neither should I. The looking down on you, the arguing with you. I change it all if I could."

"And dealing Kacchan?"

He scratched the back of his head. Or…wait, scratched the back of his…helmet? "Uhhh…no, I still don't like that dude."

I smiled. "It's ok, because-"

"DEKU!"

I turned around to see Kacchan walking toward us. "I want a word with you."

I sighed. "Yes, Kacchan?"

"I just wanted you to know I didn't fight those losers to save you. I fought them because I wanted some action, I wanted to flex my muscles, I wanted to kill those freakin' idiots! Even if you needed the help, which you clearly did, I wouldn't waste my time-"

"Shut up."

He stopped. "Wh-what?"

"Just shut up. You're not that great, you're not that clever, and you're not that awesome. You might have talent, skill, work ethic, and one hell of a quirk. But that's it. Your character is shit. Your personality is a dumpster fire, and if you don't change, you'll never become the top hero."

Kacchan made a noise, then he grit his teeth. "I ONLY SAID THAT SHIT BECAUSE I'M BETTER THAN YOU! I'M BETTER THAN EVERYONE! AND EVEN THEN, I WAS BEING NICE! NOT ANYMORE! NOW I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE!" He turned around and walked away. "YOU'LL SEE!"

I turned to Clockblocker. "What was I saying?"

"Ummm, you were saying it was ok, because?..." He trailed on

"Oh, right. It's ok because he's not as cool as I thought, anyway."

Clockblocker stared. Then he gave a thumbs up. "Nice one, Midoriya."

Wait…did he just…

I smiled.

I think he has it coming.

 

[Pinklestia]

Well this is over I guess.