Lightning Bug [MHA/Worm}

[Ultimate]

Chapter One:

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

Uraraka raised an eyebrow. "I guess so, but that Bakugo guy is so mean. I just don't understand how you admire him"

"Yeah, it's a little weird, especially considering I'm the target for him most of the time, but my idea of victory is tied to him." I looked at Kacchan, "I can't help but admire him."

"Well, how'd your idea of victory get so tied to him?"

"Cause he was the best at everything. Ball, hopscotch, fighting. If you named it he could do it." I looked up at Kacchan, who was yelling at Sero.

"SHUT UP TAPE ARMS! I DON'T WANNA HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"

"I'm just saying," Sero said. "If you were more empathic, like a real hero, you wouldn't say half the crap you do."

"YOU THINK I'M NOT A REAL HERO!? WHY DON'T YOU COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT!"

"Come on Bakugo, Are you stupid? I'm not going to fight you on the way to the city that was attacked. Put some fertilizer in your head and grow some brains. "

"HAHA! THAT WHAT'S I THOUGHT! YOU'RE TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO-ULP!"

Kacchan was cut off by Aizawa grabbing him with his scarf. "That's enough Bakugo, I won't tolerate you acting like a stubborn, short-tempered child. Either start acting more mature, or I'll expel you from this class."

Kacchan put his hands in his pockets. Aizawa used his cloth to let go and Bakugo said, "Whatever."

"You really like him?" Uraraka whispered to me.

"There are things I hate about him, I can't deny that..." I looked at Kacchan again. "But I guess… I see Kacchan as the embodiment of victory."

"Does he mind that you gave him a pet name?"

"It's not a pet name!" I blushed a little. "And he never notices."

"Oh ok."

The scene on the bus was quiet and still for the most part. We were all decked out in hero gear, and no one was making a sound for this field trip. And why would we? Considering where we were going.

It was Iida's idea to start a field trip to America. To help those in need and as a plus, gain valuable experience doing hero work. We were going to one of the most crime-infested places in America. A cesspool of criminal activity.

Everyone here except for me and Kacchan were a little tense at coming up here. I think in Kacchan case, he wouldn't know fear even if it punched him in the face, looked him in the eye, and said, 'I'm fear'. He wasn't even afraid of the villain attack on the USJ a week back. Then again, he did show fear when and after I beat him on our first lesson at U.A. so maybe not completely fearless. I just don't think he's scared of what he considers to be 'loser villains'.

As for me? I couldn't be scared. I wanted to be a hero all my life; I don't know if it was because of my idolization of All Might, I wasn't sure if it was because I was bullied, beaten, and picked on relentlessly until fourth grade, or some mixture of the two. But I knew I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to protect people. No matter who they were, and that means being fearless. If I'm going to be one of the strongest heroes that saves people with a smile on my face, it meant I couldn't have fear. My fear won't control me anymore.

If anything, I was excited. I even almost squealed in excitement when I heard where we were going. I was going to the land of the heroes, the place where all the top heroes lived, where All Might began his hero journey

"Alright," Aizawa stated, "we're here."

And it was at this time we arrived at our destination.

Brockton bay.

Things here didn't seem TOO bad.

But that was before the Endbringer attacked.

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Two:

There weren't a lot of things that I liked. In fact, I wouldn't be hard-pressed to say I hated everything. Even video games get under my skin every once in a while. These damned heroes make me so uncontrollably angry that I just want to destroy everything that breathes, everything that moves. Especially a certain hero and a certain brat. They just make me so pissed off that all I want to do is kill them and everyone else.

So when I heard about the Endbringer attack. I was ecstatic.

I was never afraid of the Endbringers, I saw them as creatures of pure destruction. Things that didn't see any point in anything and wanted to destroy everything. So you can imagine how I feel about it. I enjoyed every minute of watching the Endbringer plow through several of the Brockton Bay buildings and heroes. But upon watching the Endbringer kill nearly all of Brockton Bay finest, I noticed something. Something about the Endbringer's possible motive. Something the Endbringer goal.

I guess that's what Sensei wants to talk about.

Before the TV turned on, Kurogiri put down a glass he was cleaning and walked over to me.

"Are you…distracted, Tomura?" Kurogiri asked. Probably because I was eyeing a picture of the damn brat that stopped us from killing All Might.

"No, just thinking," I answered him.

"About?"

"That brat. I keep replaying that moment where he distracts us, tells us to get away from All Might, and buys him enough time for the reinforcements to come."

"He only distracted us for a second." Kurogiri retorted.

"And that second was enough for the reinforcement to come! Preventing us from killing All Might...I Imagine he looks up to All Might, and heroes in general. Probably thinks they can save anyone. And the heroes will always win in the end." I pauesed "Ugh. I can't STAND people who think like that." I decayed my glass, letting all the liquor fall down. I didn't care if it made a mess. I needed something to vent my rage.

As I went to scratch that burning itch when Kurogiri said, "Try not to let it overwhelm your thoughts. What's prudent is destroying All Might. If you also want revenge on the boy, doing that will be enough."

I sighed. "I know. I just wish we could do something more…"

There was a small silence in the bar for a little while. I decided to break it. "So about the Endbringer, what do you think of it showing up early?"

"Admittingly, it's strange. Them changing their plans doesn't bode well for our own. But we should hold off this discussion until Sensei calls."

"Right."

We sat in that bar for a while, waiting for sensei to call. Until…

The TV flicked on.

"I assume you know what we're here to talk about," Sensei said

Kurogiri looked down "The Endbringer."

Sensei spoke again. "It appeared a few months early. It's...shocking, to say the least. How it appeared so soon. It's way ahead of schedule for the Endbringer. I wanted to know what you think, Tomura."

I looked up from my picture of Izuku Midoriya. "eh, anytime an Endbringer shows up and ruins everything for our heroes is fine by me. I just wish I was there to see it in person."

"Well, considering how powerful they are, that wouldn't be wise. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Yeah, right?" I said, admittingly a little embarrassed. "So what's our plan?"

"I don't see anything we can do, or any reason. They didn't attack Japan and as long as they didn't do that. It's not of our concern."

I scratched my head. 'wait, you mean you didn't see it?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand"

"The Endbringer, you didn't notice its goal?"

"You did?"

"Kurogiri, get the second tv and playback the footage from the Endbringer fight."

"As you wish, Tomura." Kurogiri complied

As Kurogiri warped the second TV into the bar and turned it on, I found the remote and turned on the recording of the Endbringer attack on Brockton bay. We watched for about 10 minutes while I hoped Sensei would see what I saw. Luckily, the camera showed a wide angle every time it traveled, making it easier to spot.

"I don't see it, Tomura," Sensei said.

"Really? You don't see how he's traveling in a specific direction?"

"What do you mean?"

'He's trying to get to a specific location."

"Really? Can you prove that?" Sensei seemed intrigued now.

"I printed a map of Brockton Bay. I circled all the areas that they hemmed the Endbringer at and wrote lines in the same direction that he ran after getting away. They all point to the same location"

I showed him my work and how all the lines converged on the same location.

"Play the footage again." Sensei requested.

We watched the whole thing from beginning to end, including the part where Armmaster, an American hero, took on the Endbringer by himself.

I was confused about how one hero was able to do that. It's not like he's All Might. But then again, he seemed to dodge before the Endbringer even made his move. So I guess he made some tinker bullcrap to battle him. That's how the halberd of his was able to do so much damage I assume. He was ultimately defeated when it was revealed the Endbringer had been faking the whole time.

In the end, two villains named Skitter and Hellhound took on the Endbringer by themselves. The Skitter kid even used Armmaster's halberd and dug it in the Endbringer's back. Impressive for someone who could only control bugs. They were the last defense against the Endbringer until Scion arrived.

"Well well well, you're correct. Impressive Tomura. You found something about the Endbringer that some of the best minds couldn't. That even I couldn't"

"Thank you," I replied. I couldn't hide the fact that I was flattered.

"So, with this knowledge, what is your next move?"

"We need to find out what he was looking for. KurogirI," I pointed at one of the circled locations on my map. "I want you to warp to this location. Tell me what you can find."

"As you wish Tomura." he answered

And with that. He warped away to find whatever he could discover.

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Three:

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.

One of them came at me at lightning speed. I leaped over his head and froze him in place. The good thing about these things is even though my power could last for 30 seconds. That's all that's needed for the robots' programming to decide they've been beaten and shut down. Really convenient for me.

Another came barreling towards me, this time I went under it and touched it's body to freeze it in place. This was getting easier than I remember. Why did I have a problem with these guys again?

"Come on tin-cans, give me a challenge here!"

Another one came towards me so I decided to go under one of them again only to find him leaping over me.

'Huh? What in the-'

When I looked up at the robot and followed its trajectory with my eyes. I was suddenly barreled over by another one pointer, sent flying to the wall of the training room.

"Ow! Oh goddammit!" I just remembered! These things adapt! I keep forgetting that! Admittingly, I haven't fought these things in a while. Not in a few months. Hopefully, that's good enough of an excuse.

So I have to change my strategy. Ok, I can manage that. I waited until one of them came towards me and I used my power on some paper. The second the one pointer came towards me it crashed into the paper, completely obliterating it. I covered myself to protect myself from shrapnel. I moved to the side of the destroyed robot and moved forward to try it again. Only to find the robot jumping over my head. I quickly placed a paper behind me but the second I turned, a one pointer rammed into me sending me to the west wall.

"Gah! Shit!" I shouted.

I needed another strategy. If the last time they jumped over me to avoid me, maybe going over them will work. I ran towards them again. This time, I was planning to go over one of them, but it backed away and ran as quickly as it could towards me to ram me, fast enough to the point where I couldn't even grab him, And I went flying again.

I went on the ground hard.

"Son...of….a...bitch…"

The one pointers came at me fast.

'This is gonna hurt'

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.

"Yeah" I responded. "You could say that"

"You shouldn't take on so many one pointers by yourself. You don't exactly have the best quirk for combat"

"Actually, my quirk is perfect for combating these guys, I just forgot they adapt."

"Ok." Vista responded "Well, Weld wanted me yo come get you"

"Great, what does HE want?"

"What's with that tone of voice?" vista crossed her arms

"No reason"

"You promised you'd try with him."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. So what does he want."

"He and the rest of the PRT wants everyone outside."

I wondered why, then I remembered what day it was, and felt the feeling to groan at the coming fans. Vista finished my thought.

"The U.A students are here."

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Four:

I was gathering as many bugs as I could. I needed all the bugs I could get for this job. When I was done, I put them into people's homes. Or what were their current homes with what was going on…

I caused the bugs to buzz loudly around people and nip them, waking them up.

When that was done, I made an arrow in bugs with the words supplied under them. Accounting for the illiterate, I put the bugs down in shapes of basic food - a drumstick, a cut of cheese, a can.

Wasn't my best work. I could only hope they understood what it meant

I placed large arrows on the side of buildings to guide people to where we were. We stopped at a part of the road that was torn up and has made it difficult for traffic. We barely had enough time to set up before people started coming in. I had coil's guys that were with me placing the supplies on the ground. I was worried about the supplies getting wet, I knew they were at least partially waterproof, but a part of me wished I had the foresight to ask Coil for some padding to put them on.

The first people to come were kids, looked like no older than 10, the other two groups were families with kids, and there were some men walking in with swagger. I couldn't tell whether they were merchants or just men that were confident. Luckily, if they were merchants, it wouldn't be because I planned for this.

One of the men went for the supplies but i manages to scare him off with my bugs.

I was taking a shot in the dark here. Gambling. It was like betting a million dollars you could hit a bullseye when you barely played darts. You just really needed that million dollars.

Basically, I really needed to get underway with Coil's agenda, and I needed to do it fast.

More people started to come. I was worried we wouldn't have enough supplies for everyone, or they would get confident and try to mob us.

No, my gut told me now was the time to act. I gathered some of my bugs into a humanoid shape and moved from the crowd. I heard a few gasps, a few murmurs, a woman shrieking, and I felt the crowd part. When everyone could see, I scattered its shape and had it shoot towards the truck, landing on top of the crates.

The moments I knew people wouldn't be able to see, I walked into the swarm; I scattered every bug into every direction, the people on the truck backed up.

To the crowd, it looked like I had transported myself to the truck. A cheap, chessy trick, yes and not one that it would take long to figure out. But I'm hoping the lighting and the whole dramatic lead up made it believable.

I kept the bugs around me, swirling. Like grue did with his power. Using my bugs to make me look bigger. Like a dog raising its shackles, or a cat arching its back.

"Some of you know of me!" I called out, and the noises of the swarm stressed the words, giving an eerie, strangely loud echo to my voice. "My name is Skitter!"

I looked over at the crowd. So many kids, so many unwashed and wrinkled, but my eye fell on someone who wasn't either of those things. Her white and gray costume had on it in light blue not too different from a circuit board.

'Battery' I thought. I knew this thing could attract heroes. Still, it was intimidating. A reminder of how fragile this whole thing was.

"I am laying claim to this area! From this moment, I rule this territory!"

I could have been booed or jeered. Instead, all I heard were murmurs. Battery hadn't budged. She just put her finger to her ear, and her lips were moving. She didn't move her head from me, and I could imagine her staring at me.

"I am not the ABB! I am not the Merchants, the Empire, or the Chosen!" I am acting in your interest!"

"I demand no money from you. I do not intend to interfere in your lives unless you interfere in mine! I do not want to take or destroy what you have!"

I pointed at crates that were below my feet. I lowered my voice. "These Supplies are yours, a gift from me to you. And there will be more, delivered regularly for as long as I am here. My abilities mean there will be no buzzing or biting flies harassing you, no cockroaches crawling over you as you sleep. I am offering you protection, security, and reprieve, for as long as you are my subjects! All I require is that you obey my rules, so hear me!"

"No gangs will operate here. Merchants? Chosen? I know some of you are in this crowd. Consider this my declaration of war. I will not permit you to sell drugs, to hurt my people or steal from them, or seek shelter in my territory!"

I raised my right hand and let my bugs gather around it in a large spherical shape.

"My bugs can devour a cow to the bone in one and a half minutes." i have no idea if that was true or not, it sounded good. "I have a million eyes to watch you with. Go elsewhere."

"To everyone else! If you assist any of these groups, give them food, shelter, or business? If you sell drugs, steal, or prey on the people in this area, you lose my goodwill. You will receive no more supplies and you will earn my attention, with eyes on you every waking hour. That's strike one. If I catch you doing it again, I'll treat you as one of the enemies."

I let my words hang in the air for effect, I looked at Battery. she wasn't going to stop me...interesting.

"Each box contains enough basic food rations for four people. They also have first aid supplies and water filters. These supplies will keep you going until we start fixing things and making more basic conveniences available."

"If you want more? Work for me. This work does not have to be criminal, for I need people to pass on messages, to act as spokesperson, and to clean up or rebuild. For anyone who does assist me, they and their families will have access to some of those food you miss, to showers and electricity, and generous payments. You and your loved one will be dry, clean, and will have fresh clothes. The heroes won't be able to do anything for MONTHS. And for the supplies, at least one more month. The only way to get them is through me."

I looked over the crowd, they were getting restless. At least they weren't lynching me.

"Thank you for listening, these supplies are yours to take. One to each family or group, up to two if your family is large enough."

My monologue finished, I waited. Nobody ventured forward. Did I do too good a job at intimidating them?

Eventually, a family came forward. And took a box without so much as a thank you. Although it eventually paved the way for more people to come forward to get boxes.

But there weren't enough boxes for everyone even with one box for one family.

I knew Coil had more, his underground base had stored a ridiculous amount. I began thinking of a plan of getting Coil to give me more supplies.

But my thoughts were interrupted by a man yelling in the crowd.

It was one of the men with swagger. A lizard man turning his arm into a sword and swinging it. Grinning at the reaction he was getting. His buddies behind him were grinning as well.

"Big man," I called out, "you feel proud with that knife of yours?"

He turned towards me,"Fuck you! I'm not scared of bugs!"

I stepped down from the truck, people backed away, but the man held his ground. His eyes went wider the closer I got. He chewed his lip like it was trying to get away from him.

"You a member of the Merchants?" i asked

"Fuck you!" he snarled.

I wasn't going to be able to have a conversation with this guy.

"Fine. Don't care. You're threatening my people? You'd better be ready to take me on"

"Not scared of you!

I shrugged. "Prove it, use that rusty thing on me. Stab me."

He looked at the crowd, hesitated.

"What?" I asked him. "I thought you weren't scared?"

"I'm not!"

"Then stab me!" I raised my voice.

"THAT WON'T BE NECESSARY!!"

Suddenly, a voice came from the air. I turned my head to see a muscular figure standing on one of the buildings. It was hard to tell who it was from a distance. He jumped straight up and then shot forward. Did he have a flying power?

"WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!!"

Wait, is that?...No way…

The man landed right on the lizard man, crushing him. The other gang member ran away from the behemoth of a man that stood before me. A man with a build rivaling Arnold Schwarzenegger, wearing what looked like an American Flag as a costume. Hair that stood up like a bunny, blue eyes with black irises, and a big grin.

'All Might' iI thought 'it's fucking All Might"

for a second I grew giddy, All Might is here, Fucking All Might. The man that had fought Endbringer several times and lives, the man that, unlike The Triumvirate, also helps ‌with regular crimes wherever he goes, the man that inspires basically everyone. One of the top heroes in the world, he's even bigger in person. As damaging for my reputation as it might have been, I couldn't conceal my excitement.

Then I stopped myself and thought about it. How do I know All Might isn't like the other heroes? How do I know he's not someone like Armmaster? A self-serving glory hound who was only concerned for himself? He did a lot of attention and enjoyed it. So it was a possibility.

No one was cheering for him now. He was getting a few claps, but for the most part people were silent and it's easy to see why. All Might wasn't there in the Endbringer fight. He left the people of Brockton Bay to die. Maybe he just couldn't get there in time, but that's never happened before, And I doubt the people of Brockton Bay would forgive him so quickly

"HAVE NO ALARM CITIZENS! THE CRIMINAL IS TAKEN CARE OF!" He announced. "I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING DURING THE ENDBRINGER FIGHT!! I HAD NO IDEA HE WOULD SHOW UP SO EARLY! BUT I AM HERE NOW TO MAKE UP FOR MY MISTAKE!!"

Everyone cheered for that.

Or maybe they would.

NOW GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS WHILE I TALK WITH THE SUPERVILLAIN"

Wait…He wanted to talk to me?

Everyone that had a crate went away. Well, everyone that didn't have one waited. I felt a tinge of guilt for not having enough crates for everyone. All Might stood over me.

"Do you need me to recap what I said?" I asked.

"NO NEED!" he shouted hammily. "BATTERY ALREADY TOLD ME! THROUGH VOICE COMMS!"

I looked over to Battery, who simply waved at me. I awkwardly waved back.

"So!" he lowered his voice a bit. "you're the girl pretending to be a villain. Or the girl pretending to be a hero, pretending to be a villain!"

I looked down. "Yeah, pretty much."

"So, which is it?"

"What?"

"Which one are you, a hero, or a villain?

I thought about it for a moment. "It's not that simple."

"I can see how you think that," he looked down, "but we live in a superhero society! And when you don that cape, and I know most heroes don't wear capes but you get what I mean, you're either a hero or a villain!" he got on one knee and put his one arm on it to look me in the eye "That's how it is!"

That mindset was so stupid and wonderfully black and white, that I'm surprised the number one hero had it.

"I'm...not sure I believe that"

"Oh, and what do you believe?"

I thought about it for a little while. What did I believe? I became a supervillain to help Dinah, because superheroes weren't as innocent or as glamorous as I thought, but I didn't really think about my philosophy because I didn't have time.

After some consideration, taking everything into account. Planning what I'd say carefully, I gave him my answer.

"I don't think the heroes are that different from the villains."

His look didn't change. Interesting. "Really?"

"No, heroes....they like to think they're in for what's good and what's right. But at the end of the game. They're only in for the money, the glory, the power. They're not better than us villains. We do what they do. Except we're more high risk, more high reward."

"I can see why you think that. But I think you mean 'end of the day.'"

"No, I don't. After all, this is all just a game, right?"

After a long pause, All Might responded. "What do you mean by that?"

"This is all just a game. Heroes are basically your local sports team and villains are the competition. That's why there's merchandising, interviews, and why heroes are treated like celebrities."

All Might responded. "I can tell you're not very passionate, young Skitter!"

"I'm not young, but what do you mean by passionate?"

"First off, I can tell you're young by your body type and voice, but mainly your voice."

Really? Was it that easy to figure out? He mentioned it was mainly because of my voice. I guess I do sound kinda young. I would have to work towards masking my voice with the swarm to cover that more often.

"I could just sound young for my age."

"That could be the case! But the fact that you propose it as a possibility and not as the actual case nearly confirms it! Unless you're just trying to throw me off!"

"I'm not telling."

"Well, there is other evidence that supports my theory. So I'm not ready to throw it out just yet."

I'm so fucking stupid. Why did I phrase it as a possibility? He was THIS close to figuring me out. And according to him, he still takes it as fact. I became an owner of my territory and a full time villain but I still couldn't lie for shit. Maybe Lisa could teach me...

"But!" All Might continued "you don't seem passionate about your game analogy! If you really believed them, then you would seem passionate. Your heart would bleed for your philosophy!"

Great, he figured that out too. As much as I didn't want to admit it, he had a point. I wasn't sure how much I believed that. I knew heroes were selfish but I wasn't sure I was on board with Lisa's whole 'cops and robbers' theory. It would explain a lot of things about hero society. But I wasn't sure I believed in it as much as she did.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"When you fight as many villains as I have, you learn a lot of things. And from the way you talk, I can tell you believe heroes are selfish, but not that they're any different from villains."

All Might continued. "If I had to guess, I would say that you had that idea planted in your head by a comrade! Someone you worked with when you were trying to get information about the boss. Someone who probably has been manipulating you, someone you might even consider a friend"

"You're getting-I-I mean...making a lot of assumptions based on little information."

"It makes sense, you were bullied at school, correct?"

My eyes went wide "What? How do you…"

"I already shared the theory with the Protectorate, They told me you refused to go with the Wards when you decided to become the hero, the only reason you wouldn't want to do that is if you don't trust the system, meaning something had to happen to justify you not trusting the system. I assume you tried to get help from the school for your bullying, but they didn't. Correct?"

He shared this information with the Protectorate? Great. All I need is for them to see me as nothing but a scared bullied teenage girl who's way in over her head

As for the reason I didn't join the wards, he was close, admittingly I didn't want to escape the pressure of high school into High School 2.0. It would've been cooler maybe, but all the regulations I heard about in the magazines, and bullshit that would be in any group of teenagers just scared me away from it. But I didn't want to admit to that. I looked for a possible explanation but I couldn't find one.

"And I assume Shadow Stalker is one of the people that bullied you. Considering you said you rather go to the birdcage than go with the Wards after learning of her identity. That's quite dramatic! The only reasonable explanation is that you have history with her."

"That's...a large assumption," I answered, not showing my utter disbelief that he figured it out that fast.

"AND" he ignored me "I assume that whatever Armmaster did that no one will tell me about, shattered your belief in heroes, and that your teammates defending you caused you to see them as your real friends. AND I imagine you compartmentalize people into bullies and friends. Heroes being bullies and your villain team being friends."

Jesus. Christ. He could figure out so much about me, so quickly, like it was nothing. I guess being a big brute didn't mean he wasn't intelligent, but there is one thing he got wrong.

"I don't compartmentalize people into bullies and friends. I think I compartmentalize allies and enemies. Like everyone else does."

"I wouldn't say everyone does that." All Might retorted. "But there's something interesting about your response. The fact you didn't deny anything else means there is at least some truth in it, correct?

"It's...more...complicated than that..." I lamely said

"I don't think it is. I know it's hard to trust people after they hurt you, but you can't take it out on other people. And you can't let a bad childhood paint your perspective of everything."

"It wasn't a bad childhood, I'm not a child."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to patronize you! I'm only trying to say heroes aren't as bad as you claim. A few bad eggs shouldn't paint your perspective of everything. I know at your core you're a good person that wants to do good. That's why you're becoming a warlord in the first place, to help people. That fact that you gave these people a gift instead of restricting resources to people who work for you says a lot about your personality and goals."

His voice was soft and warm. He was so understanding and respectful, I couldn't even believe this was happening. I felt tears in my eyes. I didn't know what to say.

"So you're going to not stop me?"

All Might's smile faltered a little. "No but I think you could do more good as a Ward. And with Shadow Stalker off the team, you have nothing to worry about. I know I'm asking you to leave your friends. But your friends are bad people. Murderers."

I twitched at that. I didn't want to be reminded of Alec and bitch being killers. And I DEFINITELY didn't want to leave them.

But it was more than that.

I couldn't just leave Dinah

I volunteered the only answer I could give. "I'll think about it."

"OK, AS LONG AS YOU THINK ABOUT IT!!" He raised his voice to a shout. "WELL THAT'S ALL FOR ME GUESS I'LL GET GOING. BUT I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN SOON! HOPEFULLY!! GOODBYE!!"

And with that he jumped away, using shockwaves to propel himself forward. Looking back, I can't believe I thought All Might might be a hero like Armmaster. Clearly he was a good man.

But I had more important things to worry about.

I went back to worrying about my territory.

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Five:

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.

Ahhh, All I wanted to do was squee and look and freak out. But I couldn't do that. I had to stay professional.

So I puffed my chest out, and walked like a MAN!

"What are you doing?" Uraraka asked.

"I'm…walking…like a man…"

Admittingly, it sounded lamer out loud.

"Dude, walking like that doesn't make you a man." Kirishima said. "Just walk normally. It's what I do."

"Ok…"

Now I felt dorky. Why did I have to do things like this?

"AIZAWA! ARE YOU READY TO GET YOUR GROOVE ON!" a voice called out from in front of us.

"Calm down Present Mic. you'll anger the PRT by breaking their eardrums."

I didn't notice because of my looking at the building, but when I looked I saw it was Midnight that said it. The other teachers, or at least the ones that were chosen, must've got here before we did.

"Come on! It's not like I'm using my quirk!"

"Still, they're probably on guard around you for that." Thirteen tuned to Aizawa. "Glad to see you made it. I was worried you wouldn't make it on time."

"We couldn't move any faster. But Kaminari could've woken up earlier." Aizawa shot a look at Kaminari.

"Yeah, nice job Kaminari." Uraraka said.

"Oh, come on! I was only, like, two minutes late!"

"Yeah, two minutes that we couldn't move out, dimwit," Jirou said.

"Learn to take responsibility for your actions Kaminari," Aizawa said.

Kaminari just scratched the back of his ear awkwardly.

"Have you met the other heroes?" Aizawa asked.

"We met the director of the PRT and several PRT members, but not the heroes themselves."

"They said they wanted to wait until the child heroes were here." Midnight told us.

"Alright," Aizawa said. "Let's go then. Don't embarrass yourself when meeting with the pro heroes kids."

"I still can't believe they let kids be heroes here." Tsuyu said disbelievingly.

"Yeah, it's not very rational." Aizawa agreed. "But don't let them know that we think like that. When you visit another culture, you need to be tolerant of them."

"Yes sir!" we all said at the same time. Except for Kacchan who replied with a simple, "whatever."

The sound system blared and a male voice came out.

"What the heck is he saying?" Sero asked.

Aizawa stopped, and we did the same. "Oh, I almost forgot. Here."

Aizawa pulled out two medium-sized boxes and opened them with his thumb, revealing 10 small earpiece-esch devices in each box. "Take these. They'll allow you to understand the American heroes and allow them to understand you."

"Really? That's so cool!" Uraraka said.

They all took one earpiece and put them in, except for me and Kacchan. Aizawa noticed. "Grab an earpiece, Midoriya."

"Oh, I don't need one."

"Neither do I," Kacchan said.

"What do you mean you don't-oh wait, stand straight, the heroes are coming." Aizawa pointed out.

He was right; the heroes were coming out. The first one was someone I didn't recognize. A metal man looking about my age, meaning he had superpowers and was probably one of the wards. He was wearing a red sleeveless shirt with brown shorts. Not exactly superhero-esch but I guess America is different from Japan.

The other heroes I instantly recognized. Clockblocker came out with his arms in the air, his hands making two peace signs. He was studded in white armor plates with holographic clocks stationed at the shoulder, chest, and face area of his costume. I never liked him. He always struck me as someone that had ego without earning it, like one of the 'cool kids' that hanged around Kacchan. The type that belittles, mocks, and bullies people weaker than them and thinks they can get away with it because of some false superiority. He strikes me as that kind of guy that decided to become a hero. Like Kacchan but with humor instead of punching. And not as cool.

Then came Vista. A short, blonde, girl with a green visor hiding her eyes and a green and yellow dress with wavy green and black lines. I almost forgot that these guys have secret identities and have to hide their faces and or eyes because of it. And considering that these guys commonly have their family and friends attacked when their secret identities get revealed, it makes sense to do so.

Up next was Kid Win, A hero with brown hair and a visor like Vista but red instead of green. He was studded in red and gold armor. He kinda reminded me of clockblocker, but surprisingly and almost paradoxically, he reminded me of myself. Off in his own world, always struggling to stay in the real one. It was strange but it's how I kinda see myself. He was holding twin futuristic pistols in his hand and no one so much as batted an eye at them.

Man, it sure is different around here. I thought.

Out next was someone else I didn't recognize. I admit I'm only familiar with Japanese heroes and American heroes from Brockton Bay. I wasn't much familiar with heroes from other places. Which it seemed like she was because I had no idea who she was. She looked of Japanese descent, meaning she was probably Japanese-American. She was wearing a skintight, purple, costume. And was holding a crossbow.

The last to come out was Glory Girl. wearing a white-and-gold one piece costume and gold crown on her head. She was very pretty, with an angelic face and beautiful blonde hair. When watching her interviews out of curiosity due to her not having a secret identity like our heroes, I learned that her philosophy on being a hero was beating the villains and winning the day, while being pretty arrogant and hot-tempered. She honestly reminds me of a mix of Kacchan and All Might.

The heroes came to us and stopped about 20 feet from us. Except for Clockblocker who walked right up to me and said, "HELLO, MY NAME IS CLOCKBLOCKER! WHAT'S YOURS?"

I raised an eyebrow. He continued. "WELL? CAN YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

I looked at Aizawa, who shrugged. He kept talking, "CAN YOU?"

I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH!?"

"Yes." I replied.

He stopped.

"What? You thought because we were Japanese we wouldn't know English?" Kacchan smiled when everyone looked at him. "We literally learn it in our classes."

"So you know enough English to hold a conversation!?" Mina asked.

I and Kacchan nodded. Even while I was stifling my laughter form Clockblocker's display.

"Even you, Deku?" Uraraka asked.

"Yes, I learned from comic books."

Clockblocker stared at me blankly. "Oh…well...I feel really stupid now."

"Yeah, but you're used to feeling that way." Vista quipped. "Hi, I'm Vista."

Uraraka leaned forward and pinched Vista's cheeks "Awww, nice to meet you! You're so cute!"

Vista slapped Uraraka's hand away. "Don't do that."

Uraraka bowed. "Ok, sorry."

"It must be super cool being heroes at like, so young!" Mina exclaimed. "What kind of things do you guys specialize in? Rescue work or combat?"

"Well unlike Japanese heroes. We do all of the above." The metal man explained. "There's no one group we specialize in."

"Really?" Ojiro asked, in disbelief. "Then how do you get really good at a field in hero work?"

"We have to work hard." Glory Girl said. "And considering the amount of supervillains we have compared to Japan and how Endbringers attack more often here than in Japan. It's necessary that we do well at both."

"Sounds lame," Kacchan said. "Having to do rescue work."

"I guess you think hero work, in general, is lame." Kid Win shot back. "Cause rescuing someone that can't save themselves is the core of hero work."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kacchan took in a breath. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Everyone was looking at Kacchan, who kept laughing, occasionally taking a breath, and slowing down over the course of about thirty to forty-five seconds. When he stopped, he looked at Kid Win. "Oh, you're serious?"

"Yeah." Kid win said.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kacchan took in another breath "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Kid Win crossed his arms as Kacchan continued to laugh and looked at Aizawa.

I might've interrupted Aizawa, but I felt like I had to say something. "Sorry for him. He's...a little bit of a jerk."

"Yes, Bakugo is one of the more difficult students in the class." Aizawa explained. "Hopefully you understand."

"Oh, we do," Clockblocker said. "We had a difficult member of our team too. So it's no problem."

Kacchan was finished laughing when he looked around to see everyone staring at him. "What?"

I sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about him, but anyway, I'm Izuku Midoriya. MY friends"

I held out my hand, and Clockblocker shook it. "Clockblocker."

"Oh, I know who you are!"

Clockblocker titled his head, so I explained further. "Oh, I saw videos of you guys fighting supervillains. Back when I only dreamed of becoming a hero."

"Wait, people in Japan watch us?" Clockblocker asked.

"Well, I doubt everyone does," I answered. "I only did because I was watching a video of All Might saving people in America, and you guys were in the suggested, but I learned a lot from your fights. I took notes!"

"Wait, what?" Clockblocker said.

"Notes!" I opened my backpack and pulled out my fifth notebook. "I took notes on your guy's powers! In case I could ever become a hero."

I noticed Glory Girl's eyes quirked. Oh-no. Was she offended?

"What do you mean 'in case you could ever become a hero'?" The metal man asked.

"Oh, well...my power wasn't that strong at first, and it actually hurt me, so I didn't think I could become a hero," I explained, "but I pulled it off!"

"Tch!" Kacchan voiced. When I looked at him. He growled at me, so I quickly retracted.

"Well anyway, I've been taking notes of you guys since I first heard about you." I talked as I quickly flipped through the pages. "Oh! Here's your page, Clockblocker."

Clockblocker took the book as I handed it to him. He looked at it for three seconds before he said. "You developed countermeasures to my power? Then came up with countermeasures to those countermeasures?"

"Yeah!" I said. "I thought you would like it since it'll help you become a better hero!"

I couldn't see Clockblocker's face, so I couldn't gauge his reaction, but he responded, "well, that's cute. But I think I can be a hero without some student's help."

"Wait, you don't even want to look at it?"

"Of course not. But hey!" His tone became patronizing. "I bet there's a lot of people who will love this kind of stuff on your internet forums or some messenger boards. Where they guess All Might's power or they guess the heroes secret identities. Or something."

I frowned.

"Don't patronize him, Clockblocker," Vista said. "After all, it's nice to know that you're so popular that you have a stalker."

Stalker? Oh no. Did I come off as a weirdo? Or a creep? What could I say to make it better?

"Ummmm…Uhhhh…

"Actually Midoriya does it to everyone, not one specific person and the notes are quite useful," Iida defended me, "but I understand if you heroes are off-put by it."

"Oh no, it's fine," Clockblocker said.

"Yeah, I think it's cool," Vista added.

"How come you do it for everyone?" Glory girl asked me. "As a way to help?"

"Really, more as a hobby. But also to help."

"I thought the superhero scene in Japan was highly competitive."

"I know, but helping people, saving people, making a difference. It's the coolest thing to me. That's why I became a hero in the first place."

"Really? Well, I'm sure you'll be a great hero with that mindset. Maybe we can compare notes."

"Oh! You make notes too?"

"It's one of my favorite hobbies. I'd love to see your notes on me. Then maybe I could make notes on you." She smiled.

I smiled too. "Ok. That'd be great!"

"Helping each other would be the best way to build chemistry to assist with our teamwork," Iida said. " Oh! I'm Tenya Iida by the way."

"And I'm Ochako Uraraka!" Uraraka greeted.

"I'm Shoto Todoroki."

"Minoru Mineta."

"Denki Kaminari."

"Hanta Sero."

The rest of Class 1-A introduced themselves to the kid heroes. When we were finished, it was their turn.

"I'm Weld." The metal guy said. "I'm the new leader of the team."

"Is that so?" Tenya asked. "Maybe we can exchange strategies on how to lead our team, because I happen to be class president of Class 1-A."

"Really?" Weld questioned. "Yeah, that'd be nice."

"Well, you guys already know I'm Clockblocker. Nice to meet you all."

Sero snickered, "nice name."

"Why thank you." Clockblocker sounded a little too flattered considering what his actual name was.

It was hard to tell, but I think Vista rolled her eyes at that. "Great, all we need is for you to come up with more stupid names for things. I'm Vista, by the way. It's nice to meet aspiring heroes."

"Ooooh! You use such fancy words for a little girl!" Mina exclaimed. "You're gonna be so smart when you grow older!"

Vista frowned.

"Don't worry, VIsta," Clockblocker assured. "I'm sure she didn't mean to offend you. Hey Kid Win?"

Kid win was dozing off into space, but when he heard his name turned to look at Clockblocker.

"Yeah?"

"You gonna introduce yourself?"

"Oh right!" Kid Win cleared his throat. "I'm Kid Win. I'm a tinkerer."

"What does that mean?" Kaminari asked.

"Um, we don't really have the same classification system as you." I pointed out. "So he's probably confused. Kaminari, the tinkerer classification, just means you can make tech easily. Without having to learn anything."

"Oh, that's pretty cool."

"Thanks." Kid Win accepted the compliment.

"I'm Flechette." The Japanese hero on the Brockton Bay Wards said. "I'm a new addition to the team."

"Well, it's always a pleasure to have another Japanese hero around," Tsuyui said.

"Thank you."

"And I'm Glory Girl." Glory Girl announced. "I'm actually a part of the New Wave but I decided to help the Wards anyway I can."

"What's the New Wave?" Mina asked.

"It's a group of heroes that don't work for the government," Aizawa answered. "On the upside, they don't have secret identities."

"I see," Iida said. "That makes sense. Without working for the government, the only way to gain the public's trust would be to show themselves upfront and show the people who they really are. While also making themselves accountable for any mistakes."

"Basically, yeah." Glory girl replied.

"Wow! That's soooooooo smart!" Mineta piped in exaggeratedly. "I can tell you're really intelligent. That makes you and I, a perfect duo, because uhhhh, I'm sort of the brains around this operation."

"Awwww I'm sure you are, little guy! I didn't know you guys accepted heroes so young!"

"Little guy!?" Mineta was clearly offended. "I'm 15! Just like everyone else here!!"

"Wait, really? Glory girl looked at us as she said that. We nodded. "Oh…well, you are at a very unfortunate height then."

"Shut up!" Mineta shouted. Then grimed under his breath, "I can't believe I thought you were hot.

"What?"

"Don't worry about that! He said nothing! Complete hallucination!" Kirishima awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he talked.

Class 1-A started to laugh while The Wards scratched their heads in confusion.

Then another person came out of the building, not a superhero because if she was, she would be wearing a costume like all of us. It was an overweight woman with blonde hair that came out. She was wearing a navy blue jacket and medium sized, white skirt.

She walked over and the Wards immediately moved out of the way and when they did, she came face to face with Aizawa. "These are your students?"

"Yes." Aizawa answered. "This is Class-1-A. Inspiring heroes, looking to learn from some of America's."

"And I assume you all introduced yourselves?"

"Yes! We have made with the formalities!" Tenya answered.

"You haven't." Aizawa pointed out.

Midnight looked at Aizawa nervously. "Play nice Aizawa."

The woman didn't seem to mind, considering she smiled, "Director Piggot." She held out her hand for Aizawa to shake.

Now I know who she is! The Wards talked about her in interviews, said she was hard, cold, and stubborn, and all around a very hard-headed leader, but they, specifically Gallant, also said that because she just wants the best of them. Come to think of it, I didn't see Gallant in here or Aegis. I wonder what happened to them after the Endbringer-

Oh...right…

"Come inside for the full briefing of the situation," Piggot ordered. "There's a lot to catch you up on."

The director and the Wards went into the building. Where we followed.

ten minutes later.

"After that, the supervillain Skitter requested reinforcements because Leviathan was attacking a settlement."

Everyone was seated for the speech the PRT member was giving us. Class 1-A on one side, The Wards on another. The Protectorate was here as well with the wards, except for Armsmaster which I thought was a little strange. I guess they just transferred him. They were just debriefing us on what happened during Levithan. While standing in front of a holographic screen.

"Unfortunately, none of the capes we had on hand could get there in time, but that was fortunately when Scion came and drove Levithan away, but the nightmare was just beginning. We lost several capes during that fight, capes we needed to help with the current situation." He paused. "four of the capes we lost were our own."

He stepped to the side and pointed to the holographic screen. As a picture of a person in really cool golden knight armor.

"Dauntless...Gallant...Aegis...Velocity."

A picture of Gallant, the Ward with over a dozen of saves under his belt in knight armor, and Aegis, the leader of the Wards with DOZENS of saves in his belt, in red armor. Last was a picture of Velocity, the speed hero with OVER A HUNDRED saves in his belt.

I looked over at the Wards and saw a few of them look down or wipe their eyes from inside of their masks, they must've been broken up about it.

"It was a great loss." The PRT member continued. "In terms of losing some great allies and some great friends. We must honor the legacy that they left by continuing as heroes and saving people. Unfortunately, Leviathan ruined a lot of people's houses, leaving them homeless and forcing them to live in settlements."

Aizawa told us a little something about this. Said that Levithan always leaves the place he invades nearly a ruined wasteland, and judging from the news it was the same for Brockton Bay, and that it would be taxing mentally and physically. Most of us were ok with it though. Me especially, I couldn't call myself someone willing to push himself to become the top hero if I wasn't willing to do this.

"People don't have enough resources either." The PRT member said. "And because their homes were destroyed, they were forced to lay down with villains when they started taking territory in places and settlements where they stayed for the time being. Meaning they will be working for them, doing several types of crime. they're basically minions now."

I raised my hand. "yes? " The PRT member said.

"Ummm...considering they were just normal people who are trying to survive, it wouldn't be right to just treat them like normal criminals...if that's the case. Right? It's not like their villains or thugs. They're just people. They're not trying to attack heroes or hurt people."

"But they are."

My eyebrow quirked.

"We've gotten several reports of these people mugging, assaulting, and generally causing a disturbance. They even stole supplies from some of our trucks."

"Ok…I just…I still think it'd be hard to treat them like criminals if they're doing it for good reason."

The PRT captain shook his head. "The problem all law enforcement faces."

What?

"But we can't afford to not do that, or they'll get the upper hand. if they terrorize other people for the power of other people, other villain's territories. We have to treat them like any criminal, but with our court system of innocent until proven guilty, it's very unlikely they'll get a big sentence."

Yaoyorozu raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"You don't try to punish criminals?" She asked.

"We do," The PRT member responded. "Just not unfairly."

"Oh, ok."

"The point is, we'll be having you give supplies so that the people can survive. We got them earlier than recent times and because of the Endbringer attack being so early. We'll be grouping you up in five groups of seven. Each group will have five members."

"Huh? But...there are only 26 of us…" Mineta pointed out.

"The Protectorate will be helping you on this task." The members of the Protectorate walked onto the stand as he said that. First was Miss Militia, a Hero with over a hundred saves under her belt and the power to create any weapon. Like yaoyorozu, but only with weapons. She had an american flag wrapped around her face and waist. She was pretty looking, with green eyes and an army suit that showed her curves.

Next was Assault. A hero with a similar amount of saves, and the power to manipulate kinetic energy. He was studded in cool-looking red armor and a red visor. He was a hero that looked cool as he was cool.

Then Battery came up, The other energy hero. I never learned her number of saves, she never told the media, but I assume it was the same number as the other guys. She was wearing cool-techno armor that was skintight and had energy resonating all inside of it.

Last was Triumph. The kid superhero who graduated to the Protectorate when he turned 18. He had basically Present Mic quirk and a blue skin tight costume. I also don't know his amount of saves, but for him to be doing this since he was a kid. I imagine it must be a lot.

"Not to mention, your teachers will be helping you."

"What? But that's only 34…" Mineta said.

"IS IT, YOUNG MINETA!?"

The boisterous voice came from outside. And when all the wards and us Class 1-A students looked behind us. We saw a man jumping up into the air and landing on the stand. Next to Triumph.

"ALL MIGHT!" I shouted.

"CORRECT, YOUNG MIDORIYA! I AM HERE, TO HELP YOU KIDS ON YOUR TASK!!" He told us.

"Right." the PRT member said. "So you see. We have thirty five members. So grouping you all up in seven groups of five is possible."

Mineta nodded. "Ok."

"Each team will have an adult watching over them to make sure they're safe and doing their job correctly."

He leaned into the mic "We're the only ones that can do this. Anyone else would get jumped by villains, we're the city's only hope. Don't put yourself under too much pressure, but realize the amount of responsibility you have."

We all nodded. He leaned away from the microphone and pulled out some paper. "Here are the teams."

They listed the teams to us. I was teamed up with Glory Girl, Sero, Clockblocker, and Aizawa. Iida was teamed up with Mina, Uraraka, Assault, and Thirteen. Bakugo was teamed up with Kirishima, Denki, Vista, And All Might.

Lucky…

The rest of the teams were laid out and they sent us off. They gave us supplies and told us to give them to the civilians. Then they told us to move out to help those in need.

So this was it. This is what my ten months of training were building up to. What 43 months of hard work have been preparing for. The reason why I went through 304 of grueling, bone-breaking work that made me feel like passing out every. Day. Me resisting that urge was all worth it for this moment.

These people are all scared, broken, and hurt. They need help. And we're the ones who can give it to them. This is the moment where I prove myself.

This was one of my first steps toward becoming the greatest hero.

 

[Ultimate]

Remember to leave a comment if you like the story! it helps the story more than you can imagine!

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Six:

"Y'know, you sound like the Shigaraki guy."

I raised an eyebrow and made a strange face. "What?"

"That Shigaraki guy. The one that attacked the U.A. school a week back. Didn't you see the leaked videos of the guy? He sounds just like you."

Leaked footage? I thought the electric guy prevented all signals from getting through. Well, I guess the cameras would've still recorded so nothing I could've done about that, but it means that the electric guy was more incompetent than I thought.

"Is that so? Well, I hope that doesn't earn me any scorn or distrust from people."

"You don't have to worry. As long as you don't look like him."

"Well, I wouldn't know that. Considering I-oh goddammit!"

I had died again. That same little snot killed me a third time since I started this match.

"Haha." the brat freaking laughed.

"Midnightbootyshaking45 kill you again, destroyeverything?"

"Yes, he did. I'm gonna kill that snotwad."

"Don't let it get to you. He's just a kid." The player xXx_Underdog_xXx told me.

"Whatever," I responded.

The game I was playing was the new Men at War game that came out just a couple years ago. I always preferred shooting games to any other game. RPGs were too easy, fighting games took too much effort, it's not like I didn't enjoy those games, I just always preferred shooters.

"Speaking of superheroes. I hope this isn't a downer, but I feel the need to talk about the Endbringer." xXx_Underdog_xXx said.

"What about them?" I spoke.

"Well, they attacked a few months early, hasn't even been a week since the last time they appeared, and yet here they are again, attacking Brockton Bay."

"Maybe he wanted to attack Eidolon." Another player named Smanmuttafuckers suggested.

"What?" xXx_Underdog_xXx asked.

"Like maybe he wanted to attack where he lives or something…"

"Eidolon doesn't live in Brockton Bay." Underdog pointed out.

"How do you know? He's a superhero. You don't know what his secret identity is." Smanmuttafuckers argued.

"He said it himself. He doesn't live there. Didn't you see his second interview? almost everyone has."

"He could've been lying!"

"He wasn't," I said.

"What?" Smanmuttafuckers asked.

"He wasn't. I can tell when someone is lying. He clearly wasn't." I explained.

"Well, sooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry." Sman apologized. "I didn't know. The only thing I know from superheroes is stuff I find out from Fox News and stuff from the porn sites."

"Ew." Underdog squeaked.

"What? We all do it!"

"I meant Fox News."

A few players laughed at that.

"Well I prefer-Crap! Goddammit!"

"Haha." He laughed.

The same freaking kid killed me AGAIN.

"You got killed again?" Underdog asked.

"Yes, by the same damn kid!"

"How do you get killed by the same kid twice in a row?" Sman asked.

"He's camping."

"Oh, I see. Camping is the worst, takes no skill."

"You're the one with 14 deaths and zero kills." Underdog pointed out.

"Hey! I'm new to this game, I'm no coup de grace."

"You mean coup de grâce?"

"Yes!...I guess...you know what I mean!"

"Well, considering that word doesn't mean what you think it means...no...but back to the Endbringers, what do you think it means? Them coming back a few months early. They could keep doing that and destroy the world easily."

Good. I thought.

"They couldn't do that." Sman argued. "They are a lot of heroes that could fend off an Endbringer. They won't be making any big moves. And even if they did. Other countries are helping America with Brockton Bay, so they'll stay happy."

I twitched

"I guess you're right. As long as the other countries help‌, they'll be fine. If the other heroes from those countries help, ‌they'll be even MORE fine. Maybe this is the start of a better world. Maybe people will stay happier this way."

I twitched again.

"Yeah! I mean All Might is already helping ‌with Brockton Bay. probably to make up for not being there. What if the other countries help ‌too? I don't think they all will, but as long as even a few do. Brockton Bay will stay healthy and happy."

I slammed my fist down on the table, causing everyone to go silent. "And...what's so good about that?"

Everyone was silent for a while. Then Sman spoke. "Why...wouldn't it be a good thing?"

"Do you think people can be safe?" I let the words hang in the air. Then spoke again. "Any day, you could die to a supervillain attack, any time you go out, there could be a crisis from any big, extraordinary threat that could kill you in a second, any time you're in your home, someone with a sufficient power could come in and kill you and take everything you own. It could happen any day, at any time."

There was silence for a while. Then Underdog spoke. "So you think people should be paranoid?"

"I think people should realize how fragile their peace really is."

"But then they wouldn't be happy! They would be miserable!" Sman whined.

"Maybe that's the way it should be!"

"You can't seriously think that." Underdog stated.

"Actually, I d-GODDAMMIT!" He killed me. AGAIN.

"Haha." The kid laughed.

I had enough. "I'm going to KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

The kid laughed for real. "What are you going to do? Find me? You can't. You can't do anything. So I'm going to do what I want."

I was freaking seething until I stopped, un-balled my hands, and spoke. "What's the closest game store to you?"

"Uhhhh…"

"I don't think you should answer that kid." Underdog suggested.

"Why? Is he gonna find out just from what I said?" He chose a very mocking voice for what he said. "Pfffftttt. Yeah right, It's a super potato."

"Closest restaurant ?"

"Jigen Yakiniku-shuka."

"Closest convenience store?"

"Lawson."

"Closest hospital?"

"Naniwa Hospital."

"Closest cafe?

"Cafe Makini."

"Favorite place?

"Children plaza."

"Favorite vehicle?"

"Motorcycle."

"Where do you live?"

"In...heh, nice try."

"You really think I can't find out where you live?"

"Nope."

I smirked. "Funny. Because you told me everything I need. I can't believe you didn't know. Super potato narrows down the results. Jigen Yakiniku-shuka, even more so. A lawson? Even more so. Naniwa hospital, confirms it, but I have to be sure or I'll look like a moron. So ask what's the closest cafe. Then to keep you from getting bored I asked you what your favorite places were, and the location added . Then I asked you what your favorite vehicle was, cause what kids see when they are young affects them a lot."

It was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Then the kid spoke. "So…"

"You live in Osaka Guesthouse Koma on the second floor."

The kid stayed silent. Oh, how I wish I could've seen his face. "How?..."

"I wonder what I could do with this information. Maybe I'll take my car and drive down to your place and kill your whole family, maybe I can use my power to destroy the whole building with you in it, maybe I can kidnap you, take you, give you an extra quirk, and turn you into a Nomu. Forcing your mother to watch!"

"Wait what!?" Underdog said. "What are you talking abo-"

"I can do so much now that I know where you are! And I'm going to do all of them! Every single last one! I'M GOING TO FIND YOU AND MAKE YOU WISH I HAD KILLED YOU!"

The kid cried. Then ran away from the sound of it. "MOM-O-O-O-OMMMMM! MOMMY! MO-!"

He entered some place else and shut the door.

I leaned back, practically patting myself on the back. I relished every moment of him crying. Then Sman spoke. "What the fuck?"

"Destroy." Underdog said as I noticed something to the left of me. "Do you have something you want to tell us?..."

"Nope," I answered. "In fact, this little session is over. I have more important things to do."

I turned off the console and finally, after a few seconds. Kurogiri stepped out of his portal, holding something.

"What you got for me Kurogiri?" I asked.

"This." He said. While giving me six photos. When I saw what it was, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

A mass of flesh, blood, and tendrils as large as a goddamn hill, a massive display of organs and meat. There are parts of it in the shape of a heart, parts in the shape of animals, crab claws, and some that I could only describe as some of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. Like combinations of animal parts and crap. At least on the top. Wait...what was that on the top? It wasn't ordinary flesh or bone, it was human shape. Was this a person? Is she alive? Is this just someone's very disturbing pet project?

It was the most disgusting, repulsive, and vile thing I ever laid witness to.

And I loved it.

"So," I said, trying to hide my smugness, "this is what the Endbringer was after…"

"Yes," Kurogiri answered, "it seemed like it would have caused quite some trouble if it escaped."

"I agree, but what kind of trouble? Does it just have super strength? Or does it have some powers to manipulate biology?"

"I can answer that."

My eyebrow raised. "Really? Did she tell you?"

"Yes, after I asked, she told me much about her. As I told her how I found her."

I put my arms down. "Now, why would you do that?"

"I didn't see any harm in it. She wouldn't be able to do anything while trapped, and it gained enough of her trust for her to tell me about her."

I folded my arms. "You could've just not left until she told you everything."

Kurogiri stared for a while.

"What?"

He kept staring.

"Ok, fine, if you're too much of a coward to do that. What did she tell you?"

Kurogiri sighed. "She told me her name was Noelle, and that she's not an Endbringer. She's a regular human that got the wrong powers."

"You could say Endbringers are the same thing." I pointed out. "What else?"

"She says she got her powers from Cauldron. And she's against them."

Cauldron or her powers? "And?"

"She comes from a different dimension."

I stared at Kurogiri. "Really?"

"Yes, AND, she said when she came to this one. She was influenced by the Simurgh."

My eyes widened. "Really? That-that would mean the Simurgh planned this. Knew they would end up causing a lot of conflict, knew that this would set the world against each other, and knew this would cause a lot of problems, and she must have eventually learned this, and looked for a way to solve this...the person in charge of this building. It must be a supervillain. Does he have precognition?"

"You came to that conclusion quicker than me. She says yes."

I smiled. "So she believes this boss can help her be rid of the Simurgh's song? Interesting. And I'll bet the boss has some use for her."

"She does have a team that pulled off some considerable heist," Kurogiri added, "but another thing to note is that she says the team actually has two people with future predicting powers on their team."

"Really? She told you all this?"

Kurogiri looked up and put his hand on where his chin would be if he had one. "Well, some I figured out for myself and asked her to confirm, and sometimes she would tell me a lie, but much like you, I know when people are lying."

"Not as good as me, though."

Kurogiri sighed again. What was getting on his nerves? "No, not as good, but good enough to sniff out the truth. Like a dog. I learned much about her. And I took these pictures so you could see what we're dealing with."

"Yes, this is very good," I praised, "but we still need more information."

"Oh?"

"Yes. like what their powers are? How do they work? What are their limitations? And what are their applications?"

"Do you think it matters?" Kurogiri questioned

"Yes, we could put our plans into motion without this information, but the information of her powers will be helpful to us."

"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."

Kurogiri leaned back. "I was only...I meant to say...never mind. So the next move is clear."

"Is that so?" I challenged. "And where's your next move?"

"Over there." Kurogiri pointed to the T.V. "Where's yours?"

I smirked again.

 

[Ultimate]

I wanted to get this out sooner, but I couldn't edit the story and get the story out at the best time. So I waited until today.

Also, I'd like to say I'm going to upload on Tuesdays and Saturdays so you get something twice every week. Like Worm

I might also upload once a week if life gets to me. Just letting you know.

 

[Ultimate]

Chapter Seven:

"So, who's the hottest?"

I turned towards Hanta. "What?"
"Sorry, I mean the girls on your team. Who's the hottest girl on your team?"

Weird question to ask but ok. "I don't think any of them like that. They're my friends."

"Not even Flechette?"

"Not even Flechette. Besides, the only team member I considered hot is gone now."

Izuku turned to me. "Oh!...Well that's ok! We're pretty accepting. We're not like other Asian countries who might judge you. We're ok with a person's sexuality."

My eyebrow raised. "Oh, nononononono. I'm not interested in Gallant or Aegis. I'm talking about a different member."

Izuku looked down, deep in thought. Then said, "Oh! Shadow Stalker!"

I nodded. "Right."

Izuku took one hand off the supplies. "Y'know I forgot about her. Don't have many fond memories of her. She seems…kinda…like a jerk?"

"Dude, that isn't ok to say." Glory girl said.

"Oh! I didn't mean to insult the dead!"

"Don't worry. She's not dead." I clarified. "She's just in a cell and taking mandatory mental treatment after a super-villain controlled her. And...we don't like her either. She kinda bullied everyone and treated us as coldly as possible. One time, she even attacked Vista over a crush on Gallant."

Glory Girl whipped her head around. "What?"

"Oh, I just realized. Vista only told me why Shadow Stalker attacked her.

"And she did it because of Gallant?" Glory Girl was practically seething.

"Yes, Vista told me everything. She just came out of the blue and attacked. She even mocked her for her crush on him."

"That's horrible!" Izuku said.

"Yeah, that wasn't even the only time she did something like that. She did it, like all the time."

"Man, I knew she was bad. But I didn't think she was that bad…"

"It's not a big deal. I assume any team has that one friend that nobody likes. I imagine for you guys, it's that Katsuki guy."

"Yep." Hanta said. "That guy's nuts."

"Really?" I asked. "Nuts? I just thought he was a jerk. You'd have to tell me more later."

"Sure."

"Focus on the task at hand, don't get distracted," Aizawa said. "Deku, both hands on the supplies. Without the other hand, it makes the supplies heavier."

"Oh, sorry." Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly and put both hands under the supplies.

We were completing the task given to us. To give supplies to the civilians. At least, the ones that weren't working with criminals. We were given several crates filled with food, water and necessities and were ordered to go to a settlement and give them what they needed. They were loaded into a truck, but when ran into a broken road, we carried them. These people lost everything they had when Levithan attacked. They can't get more themselves until their homes are fixed, the homes can't be fixed until the roads are fixed, and that'll take a while. So until then, it's up to the heroes to help them.

It calmed me down a little to be doing something that actually helped people. I just wished it didn't involve seeing more human suffering.

We were downtown, near the plaza. About to enter the settlement that was set up there. It was the biggest settlement there, so they needed a lot. Hopefully, it'll be enough.

"Alright," Aizawa said. "We're here."

We arrived at the settlement in the plaza. It was an enormous mass of people. There were people huddling with their family members, mothers clutching their children, friends passing out scrapes of food and bottles of water.

It was...not AS bad as I was expecting, but it wasn't a pretty sight either. I looked away to avoid seeing the worst of it.

Aizawa must've noticed, Because then he put his hand on my shoulder. "The images you see here may be disturbing. They may be too much for you. All you have to do is say you can't handle it and we'll let you go back to the base. If many of you say it's too much, we'll switch you out with pro heroes."

I turned to Izuku. and he said, "It's what we call heroes who graduated from hero academy. I know not every state in America has those."

"They don't?" Hanta asked.

"Nope, some of them make it a law to have superheroes work in academies before they become pros heroes. Others, well, the Wards are here aren't they? But, they can start way earlier than in japan. As young as 12. Even 11."

"Wow."

"I know," Aizawa said.

I looked around. "What's that supposed to mean? What are you guys saying?"

"Focus," Aizawa ordered, "remember, we're their only chance. Let's go."

"Yes, sir!" the Japanese students said.

I joined in. "oh! Uh...yes sir!" I saluted.

Aizawa looked confused for a second, then moved forward.

I turned towards Hanta. "Hey question, is saluting a Japanese person racist?"

"Depends," He said. "Is doing the Indian mouth cry to a British person racist?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, but doing it to another native American would be racist."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Hanta smirked and put his hand behind his head. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I haven't met any yet."

I smirked as well. "Yeah, you wouldn't want them stuffing and mounting you."

"Well, as long as they buy me a drink first."

I laughed. "Yeah, I guess that would make it alright. Why not? Even though they still stuff you."

"With love." He had a false, hopeful look in his eye.

"With the men's love, if you get what I'm saying."

"Alright," Glory Girl said over Hanta's loud laughter. "That's enough, you two."

"Yeah, knock it off." Izuku joined in. "We have to get started."

"Right, come on man," I told Hanta so that he would get moving.

And with that, we followed Aizawa to the settlement. Ready to get started.

10 Minutes Later

"So," Hanta started, "what made you become a hero?"

I turned to him. "Why do you ask?"

"Why do I ask? Dude, the origin story is the most central part of any hero. We all have them. Isn't it common for heroes when they get together to tell each other about why they're doing what they're doing, why they became a hero?"

"That's only in the comic books." I pointed out.

"Or manga," Hanta added.

"That point is, most heroes don't share their origin story. Especially if you're a hero like me."

"What?"

I gave him a look, not that he could tell behind my mask.

But I think he realized, because he put his hand to his mouth without covering it. "You had a trigger event."

I nodded. "I wasn't one that was lucky enough to just get my power when I'm 4, or at puberty. To get my powers, I had to suffer. Even if I didn't, becoming a hero is something you would do when you've been through something."

"That's not true," Hanta argued. "I mean, you could always become a hero for money."

"But if you were only concerned about money, you could just choose any other career that your powers could assist with. There are already a lot of speedsters that already help the shipping companies."

"Yeah, and I can only imagine what someone with an extra long tongue could do."

"Or extra long fingers."

"Vibrating hand."

"One that spins."

Hanta struggled to keep in his laughter. "Heh, yeah, but being a hero gets a lot of attention and popularity. If you wanted to make it big, and you have a good power, becoming a hero would be an easy way."

"I guess. There are a few like that here, like I know Aegis was one that had a trigger event but he was mainly a hero for the money he needed for college."

Hanta scratched behind his head. "If you don't mind me asking, what was it?"

"He was attacked by gang members," I answered. "Pretty badly too. Bad enough to mangle his hand, he fought back, but he couldn't measure up."

"He sounds like a badass."

"Yeah, he was.

We walked in silence a little after that We were making our way to the last family without supplies. A mother and baby, in pajamas. On the west side of the plaza.

We made a note to help all the families first, then move on with everyone else. It made the most sense to help people who needed it the most. Even Aizawa agreed.

When we were halfway to the family. Hanta spoke. "I joined because of my dad."

I turned towards him. "Was he a hero?"

"Nope," Hanta told me. "He was a police officer."

I gave him another look. "Then why-"

"I wanted to be a cop at first. A lot of cops don't have powers, but they still fight. So I thought they were cooler. I really idolized them." Hanta was silent for a while. "Then my dad was shot...by his own bullet."

I realized what he meant. "A villain that could control metal?"

He nodded. "Not an especially powerful one, but powerful enough to control his bullet and send it back at him." He was silent again. "He couldn't even get behind cover...that bullet followed him. It was then that I realized...you need heroes to battle the villains. Because no one else could stop them. So I decided to use my powers to help people. The best way I can. By becoming a hero."

I got a better grip on the supplies. "That's very noble."

"I would hope so. I wouldn't want to be an asshole and a hero."

"Well, too late for that."

We both snickered.

"Yeah, by the way. Sorry."

Hanta gave me a look. "What for?"

"I always thought people who get their powers at puberty, or age 4 got it off easy, but I guess we all go through something. It was probably insensitive for me to say I wasn't lucky enough to get my powers that way."

"Yeah, a little." Hanta quipped.

I looked down, but Hanta put his hand on my shoulder. "It's alright man. You have a point about it being easier to not get your power through a trigger event, and having your powers be a constant reminder that you've had to suffer to get it. You just forget that everyone suffers majorly at one point of their life. No one's going to hold it against you for forgetting. Even I forgot sometimes. Just...promise you'll remember. Alright?"

I smiled. "Alright. Thank you Hanta. You're nicer than you think."

"What?"

"I said you're nicer than you think?"

"Not that." He said. "You called me Hanta."

"Yeah, that's your name, right?"

Hanta blinked. "Why are you acting like a jerk?"

"I'm not acting like a jerk."

"I helped with your problem and you responded by acting like a jerk?"

"I just called you by your first name."

"Do you really think we're that close?"

"What? What does being close have to do with-"

"Excuse me." The woman cradling her baby said. "Are you two here for me?"

"Yep." Hanta and I put the box down. Hanta continued. "We got supplies for everyone. We even got baby food here."

"Really?"

"Yep." Hanta smiled. "Does your baby like carrots or peas?"

"He hates carrots, but he likes peas."

"Really?" Hanta said. "Alright then. Here"

Hanta gave her the peas and a baby spoon to feed her baby.

"Thank you." The woman thanked us. "When do you think our houses are going to be fixed?"

Hanta shifted his eyes for a second. "Uhhhhh...it'll take...not...long."

"But how long?"

Hanta put his left hand behind his head. "Uhhhhhh…"

"You have to understand that these things take time," I interjected. "First the roads have to get fixed, then the signs, then the road lights, then they'll fix the houses. However, because of other countries chipping in like Japan, we're making significant progress and it should be done in a medium-sized time frame. Possibly short, but I wouldn't put too much faith in that. Y'know what they say, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

"The worst already happened and we WEREN'T prepared." The woman looked at her baby. "I just want to be back as soon as possible. It's not safe here for Timmy. In a place like this, where there's nowhere I can put him down, there's dust and disease everywhere, there are villains taking over half the city, expecting people to do their bidding, and expanding their territory...It's just too much. It feels like any second villains could take this away. What little we have could be taken."

I grabbed the woman by her shoulders. "We heroes would never let that happen. We'll protect you, we'll stop the villains, and we'll build your house and all others. We beat Lung, we can beat a girl that can control bugs and a man made out of metal. We WILL stop them. And save all the people who were FORCED to work for them. You can trust a hero."

The woman smiled. "Ok, I will. Thank you. Again."

I put two fingers on my head and saluted. Then I turned to Hanta. "Come on."

I picked up the supplies with Hanta and walked away to find someone else in need.

"Ok," I said, "That was the last family. Who do we help next? That guy with the black hair and bloodshot eyes seems like he needs it. There's also that blonde girl covered in dust and soot. Maybe we should help her?"

"How did you do that?" Hanta asked.

I turned to him. "What?"

"That." He pointed at the woman we just talked to. "That right there. How did you calm her down so easily? How did you know what to say?"

My head slightly went up from realization. "Oh, well I just know how to calm people down, how to talk to them."

Hanta looked at me like I did the most impressive thing like lift a tank, or dodge a bullet and was describing it like it was no big deal.

I mean, I wasn't, was I?

"Come on," I said, "let's go help that blonde woman."

We walked to the blonde woman, stepping over several bystanders and having to ignore their pleading to get this to the person who needed it the most.

"I just don't get it."

I turned to Hanta. "Get what?"

"How you're so good at talking to people. Like, you calmed the woman down after her home was destroyed and her child was endangered like it was nothing."

"It's easy when you're a hero. People are more likely to listen to you."

Hanta looked down, deep in thought. I continued, "When you become a superhero. Like, officially, you learn a couple of things. I learned how to do that when I was 16."

"Wow."

"It comes with the duty, you'll learn too. Especially with you going to a hero school. They probably teach you stuff like that."

"We actually haven't got any exercises like that, but Thirteen said she would eventually teach us that."

"Yeah, so trust me, it's not a big deal. It just comes with the job."

We walked in silence a little while after that. Until I said. "So, can I ask you something? What's up with your elbows?"

"Nuh-uh! Me first. I want to know why you said my first name?"

"We're back to that again? I told you, all I said was-"

"Hey! Those guys are stealing!" Someone shouted.

Me and Hanta quickly looked to our right to see some people near the truck with all the supplies. And suddenly, one of the three guys that was there spawned fireballs out of his hands. "NOBODY MOVE, WE'RE BAGGING THIS SHIT, YOU MOTHERFUCKING PUSSIES!! BACK OFF OR ELSE!!"

"What!?" Hanta shouted.

"They're stealing the supplies!" Glory Girl shouted.

"Aizawa!?" Izuku said.

"What can he do!?" I asked at the top of my lungs.

"Mr. Aizawa has the ability to turn off any power!"

"WHAT!?" the man with the fireballs said.

Aizawa grunted. "Not any power. My power isn't working on him! His power has nothing to do with DNA. It's something with the brain!"

"Oh…" Izuku dejectedly stated.

The fireball man looked very smug. "Well, now that we understand each other, We'll be taking this motherfucking shit, AND YOU GRANDMA-RAPING, PISS-DRINKING, PIECES OF SHIT CAN'T STOP US!!"

"Oh yeah? He's not the only one with powers!"

Izuku aimed his hand at the men like you might aim a gun. "Surrender now or I'll be forced to use my power!"

"Ha! Forced? No one's making you use your power kid! If you kill these people, that's on you!"

"I...uh...I…"

"Come on Hanta." I said over the taunts of the man.

"What? What are we doing?"

"We're heroes, that's a villain. What do you think we're doing?"

Hanta nodded. "Right."

We walked over towards the man. While he kept shouting. "-BE A PUSSY ABOUT IT, HIT ME!!"

Izuku looked like a million thoughts were racing through his mind as the man kept taunting him. We continued to move forward at an average pace. If we ran, they would kill us. if we were too slow, they would get away. So you see the issue.

"COME ON, YOU DON'T WANT US TO GET AWAY DO YOU!? WHY DON'T YOU HIT ME LIKE A REAL MAN, FAGGOT!"

Deku sighed. "I'm giving you one last chance to give up!"

"And I'm giving you one last chance, HIT ME!!"

Izuku put his hands down.

No, no no. I thought. We needed you to keep him distracted for just a little while longer.

"HA! JUST WHAT I THOUGHT! YOU HEROES ARE QUIVERING PUSSIES! THE SECOND YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT POWER TO HANDLE IT YOU...hey, HEY!!"

He turned our way.

"Shit," I whispered.

"Don't you kids try anything! These fireballs are as powerful as grenades! Watch."

He threw a fireball at one building and it made a massive explosion that took out a huge chunk of the building.

Everyone quivered.

"Ya see!?" The fireball man said. "I can kill you all within a second! So no funny business! I'll-"

"Great," I whispered, "there's no way we can fight against this guy. Unless one of our powers is super speed or we have some ranged capabilities, We're fucked."

"Come on man, don't give up hope." Hanta encouraged me. "We can't let these guys steal all of our, or really, their supplies." He pointed at the people. "What will we use to feed them? What will they wear when they're clothes get jacked up? What will it look like to the mother?"

"Those fireballs are as powerful as grenades, unless you have a plan for THAT. We're screwed."

Hanta grabbed his chin, looking like he was in deep thought. He looked at his arms, then back at me.

Then he smirked. "I can use tape to pull him in the air."

"That wouldn't work. He'd just fire at us while he's in the air."

"Then I'll pul him towards us."

"Then he'll set us on fir…wait…You can bring out tape?"

He nodded.

"WELL!? I'M TALKING TO YOU!! DO YOU HEAR ME!? DON'T TRY ANYTHING!"

"Oh, we hear you," I said. "We won't try anything. As a matter of fact, we'll put our hands in the air to show it."

"What?" Hanta whispered.

"Trust me," I whispered back.

"Yeah...yeah, yeah, that's a good idea! EVERYONE PUT YOUR HANDS UP!!"

"What!?" Glory Girl said.

"NOW!!"

Everyone put their hands up. The fireman had the biggest, smuggest smirk on his face. "Now you can't try anything."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that." I said. "NOW, FASTBALL SPECIAL!!"

"Huh?" Hanta looked at me. "Oh! Right!" Then he taped me.

Like, shot some tape at me,

Was that what his elbows were for?

The fireball man got on guard. And Hanta spun around, dragging me along with him.

"Fastball special!" He shouted.

He stopped, throwing me at the fireball man. I grabbed him, froze him, and put some cuffs on him before anyone could even think.

"No!" one robber shouted.

He pulled out a knife and swiped at me. I backed away, and he moved in front of me, swinging several times. "You ruined everything!"

"Uhhh, I kinda stopped a guy from stealing from us and trying to kill people. Weren't you paying attention?" I said as I dodged all the knife swipes.

I froze a paper in place. His knife broke. He pulled out another. Great.

"He was stealing for us! I was stealing for my family! And I don't need a kid telling me what I can't or can do!"

He grabbed my armor, ready to stab me. I was pulled. He let go. Felt some tape at the back of my armor. It didn't take a genius to figure out who it was.

"How about a hero who's specifically trained in telling people what they can't or can do?" Hanta quipped. "I mean, maybe it's just me, but I don't think your family would want you working with a guy trying to kill kids, harassing survivors, and stealing. But that's just my opinion."

"Yeah, maybe she's a soccer mom and as long as the kids are succeeding, she's happy," I suggested.

"Yeah, or maybe she's a Total Yamato Nadeshiko. As long as the kids are happy, she's happy."

"Yeah, or maybe she's a slut."

"SHUT UP!" the man shouted.

"That doesn't have a lot to do with it." Hanta pointed out.

"I know." I agreed. "I just thought it'd be funny."

"You think that's funny?" The man gritted his teeth. "Dragging someone else into it? Insulting someone else's good name!?"

"Pot, meet kennel," I said.

"Yeah," Hanta folded his arms and turned to his side. "Someone needs to look in a mirror."

"RRRRRRAAAAGHHHHHH!!"

The man charged. Hanta fired tape. Hit the knife, and pulled it away. He taped up the man. We pulled him. We wrapped him in the tape and fell. I crouched and used my power on him.

"Ok," I clapped my hands together. "Let's-

We heard the cocking of a gun. Hanta and I looked to the left to see one robber using a gun.

"Don't. You. dare." He said.

"They have a gun?" Santa's eyes went wide. "Why did they only pull it out now?"

"I guess when your boss can shoot fucking fireballs as powerful as grenades. You don't really need a gun."

"What do we do now?"

I looked down in thought.

The man took aim. "We just want to help a bro out, ok? So just stay there, don't move and we-GAH!"

Suddenly, the man went flying into the truck and yelped in pain.

It was Aizawa, moving at blitzing speed. He kneed him in the gut and sent the man flying.

"Hey!" the man fired. Aizawa dodged and caught the bullet with his scarf. He jumped. His scarf grabbed the man. Pulled him up, he kicked his back and landed on top of him.

He had his arm locked. "Give me the gun," Aizawa ordered.

"Fuck off, man! I'm doing this for a friend!"

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Give me the gun."

"I ain't listening to no Jap!"

"Ok, hard way then."

He bent his arm, and I heard it crack. The man screamed and dropped the gun.

Aizawa picked it up

"Well," I clapped my hands together again, "glad that's over with."

"Pretty brutal, sir," Hanta said.

"It was necessary," Aizawa told us. "But we're not done,"

Hanta and I looked at each other, then said, "What?" at the same time.

Aizawa crouched down. "I want to know...who sent you?"

"Maybe they came themselves." Glory Girl suggested as she walked to us with Deku. "they said they came to support their family or friends. They might not even be working with a supervillain."

"Let's be sure of that." Aizawa looked at the man. "Which supervillain do you work with? If any."

"Didn't work with a supervillain." The only not-frozen man said. "We came here of our own accord. Glory Girl is right. No one forced us...Unless we get a lighter sentence if a villain was-"

"Shove it. So you're not a part of a supervillain territory?"

"No, I am, but she's not the reason ‌we're here. We came here because they did not give us enough supplies. We had to get them from somewhere."

"So you stole them!?" Izuku nearly shouted.

"It's easy for you heroes. You're ‌born with a power or you get it, eventually. And you get funded by our taxes to use your power. You're born lucky. We had to work for everything and we still failed. What other choice do we have? We have to take shelter in these supervillain territories."

You hear that a lot from people, especially people in lower-income neighborhoods like Downtown Brockton Bay. The hood rats here resented heroes for having powers, the hobos and drug dealers saw it as little different from having connections, or being privileged. Ignoring the fact that we all suffer, especially heroes, meaning that mindset is invalid‌.

Izuku looked confused, though. Guess he hasn't heard that mindset often. Japan definitely carries less bigotry against supers than America.

"And what supervillain territory are you in?" Aizawa ordered an explanation.

"...Skitter's...the bug supervillain."

Everyone was silent for a while, Aizawa 'cause he was processing the information, me and Glory Girl because I was understanding what that meant for us, and the two students because they didn't know who that was.

Then Hanta looked at me. "There's a supervillain that's a bug?"

I stared at him. "No, dumbass! It's a supervillain that can control bugs."

"Oh." Hanta snickered.

Deku scratched the back of his head. "I mean, we know a talking bird, so a talking bug wouldn't seem that weird." he looked at the thug. "Why wouldn't she give you more supplies?" Deku demanded an answer.

"Don't see how that matters," Aizawa argued.

"Yeah, stay out of this kid!" The man currently pinned by Aizawa shouted.

"It doesn't make any sense. The employer that gave her supplies-"

That got me to turn my head. "She has an employer?"

"Oh. Yeah. 'cause where else would she get them?"

I looked down in thought. Who would be funding another supervillain group? I thought The Undersiders were independent.

"Anyways, this employer is only giving them a limited amount that they can't live off of, instead of giving them enough to make them their minions. To make them loyal. So either they're incompetent, or they're planning something."

"Planning what?" I asked

Izuku put his hand on his chin and looked down for a while. Until he said, "maybe she's making it so they have to earn their supplies. Do work for them so that they get their supplies. And if they don't do work, they don't get enough."

The man looked down as well. "She did say something about us not getting more until we worked for her."

"How do you know there's an employer with Skitter?" Hanta asked.

"I just figured," Izuku answered. "Like I said, there's no other way she could get her supplies without one."

"Maybe she robbed them from a store, what little they have." Glory Girl suggested. "It would be easy for a supervillain to rob a grocery store, or a clothes shop. Depending on what she gave.

"Or maybe she robbed wherever PRT gets their supplies or stopped whatever gives them their supplies." Hanta suggested.

"Well, we get our supplies from farms around the country." I told them. "so that'll be unlikely, even more, unlikely she could steal them from the trucks that transport them."

"Yeah! Everyone knows it's easier to steal from farms halfway across the world than it is to steal from a truck." Hanta quipped. "But seriously, how is it harder?"

"Cause we always have heroes defending the trucks that transport the supplies. Skitter's a powerful villain, good at fighting, but she couldn't beat who we have defending those trucks. She's a brand new villain, the new girl in town. She's capable, but even she must know there are some fights she just can't win."

"So the most rational explanation is that she DOES have a supplier," Aizawa said.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Ok, that's good information." Aizawa looked down. "Anything else you'd like to tell us?"

"Nope, nothing." The man that had the gun said.

"Then let me rephrase the question. Is there anything you SHOULD tell us?"

"We don't know anything! I already told you we aren't working for her."

Aizawa looked at him for a while. "Alright, Clockblocker, freeze him."

"Yes, sir."

Aizawa let go of the man, and before he could get away, I froze him.

"Alright," Aizawa put one finger to his ear, "these people are dangerous, at least the man with the fireballs. I'll call the PRT. they'll take care of him. When they unfreeze."

"You think some ordinary cops could stop a guy with exploding fireballs for hands. He's like a grenade launcher with unlimited ammo! Why don't we get All Might?" Hanta suggested.

"All Might is busy. Plus, it's possible that they could handle them." Deku said. "I mean, All Might could handle these guys, no problem, but the PRT has something designed for situations like this called containment foam."

"What's that?" Hanta asked.

"Foam that rapidly expands and hardens. It can contain all but the fastest and strongest. The fireball man will never be able to use his fireballs if they use that. He'll blow himself up"

Aizawa nodded. "Right. So we call the PRT." I'll watch the man with the fireballs, you watch the others."

Aizawa walked away. Leaving us with the thugs, as he called the PRT.

"So...Izuku...it might be a stupid question to ask you but you seem to know a lot about things here. So who do you think is The Undersiders backer?"

The two of them looked at me strangely.

"The team Skitter is on." Glory Girl added

The two of them made a 'ohhhhhhh' face.

"Well, I don't know everything about things here," Deku said. "I'd guess Kaiser though. He's smart enough."

"Kaiser's dead."

Izuku's eyes widened at that. "Ok, well, Faultline is smart enough. I can't think of another villain with the time or the patience to do something like fund other supervillains. She certainly has the money."

"Faultline is more of a mercenary than a straight-up villain."

"Then I don't know. I don't have knowledge of every villain here, and it was only a theory, even if we don't have a lot of others that are accurate. For all we know, they could have someone that creates things from their body."

Izuku looked down. "What I'm more worried about is...well, these villains are only giving people supplies if they work for them. Unless they work for them, they will probably stop giving them supplies. They have the means to save people, they just won't. They just want minions. I don't know if it's the Boss's idea or Sk-if it was skitter's. But I know this isn't right. It's making these people desperate. Having food dangled in front of them, like a carrot and a horse. It'll make them either work with a supervillain, or commit crimes to survive."

"Yeah," I agreed, "it sucks, but we can't exactly stop them without ruining many people's ways of surviving."

Izuku looked down. "Yeah…"

"We can't exactly just barge into a supervillain's base and start raining hellfire. People might die, the villain might die, and people wouldn't have anywhere to turn to for the time being. It's too dangerous without being worth the risk."

"Maybe if they knew what we were doing, they would leave them?" Deku said.

"Good luck with that," Hanta replied. "They're probably afraid of the villain. They won't backstab them by leaving. Besides, they know as well as we do we don't have supplies for everyone. We don't even have supplies for everyone in this plaza."

"Well, that's just 'cause there are many people here! Maybe...eventually…when we get more supplies…"

"Sorry Deku, I don't believe that would work." Glory Girl commented. "No one could convince them short of All Might. It's almost impossible. Don't be too concerned. We'll beat them eventually and save as many people as we can."

"Save everyone," Izuku said.

What?

Glory Girl nodded. "Right. Save everyone."

It didn't take a psychic to know she didn't believe that.

Deku smiled widely. "Yeah, you're right. I just don't want quirkless people to suffer. That's a terrible feeling…uhhhh! I i-imagine!" He seemed to stutter over herself for that last line.

And, what the hell does quirkless mean? Being born without a power?

"Yeah, it sucks."

Aizawa walked over. "Ok, The PRT will be here shortly. Until then, I want you to keep giving supplies to the people. If you're stressed, you can take a break. If you're not, keep moving."

"Yes, sir!" All of us except for Izuku said.

We all looked at him. He perked up. "Oh! Yes sir!"

Aizawa sighed. "Clockblocker, stay close to the man with the fireballs and freeze him when get unfrozen."

"You mean like now!?" Hanta said.

"WHAT!?" we all shouted.

It was true, the fireball man was unfrozen. And pissed off as fuck. "WHAT HAPPENED!? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BOYS!?"

We stood still.

"YOU. MOTHER. FU-"

Glory Girl punched him in the gut, and Aizawa wrapped him up in his scarf. He pulled him in close. Him and Glory Girl got on top of him. "QUICKLY CLOCKBLOCKER! YOUR POWER!"

He cut the scarf with a knife, but the fireball man was burning the scarf with his flames. So, without a moment's hesitation, I grabbed him and froze him.

We all sat down. Hanta put his hands to his head. "Boy, that was close."

"'I'll say." Glory Girl said.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Aizawa asked Hanta.

"I just noticed it."

"It's ok," Izuku assured.

"You could've been a little more alert." Aizawa said. "If you plan on being a hero, you're going to have to do that. Fortunately, we instantly understood what you said. Just be more vigilant."

"Yes, sir," Hanta said.

"Ok, so what? I just sit next to this guy until he unfreezes and freeze him again when that happens?" I asked.

"Essentially yes, at least until the PRT gets here," Aizawa told me.

"Don't worry, I'll stay with you, Clock." Hanta offered.

"No, you only get a break if you're stressed, which obviously wouldn't be that case if you're willing to sit next to a supervillain. Clockblocker doesn't need help. Divert your attention to giving supplies."

"Yes, sir," Hanta said dejectedly.

"While everyone else is focused on supplies. Clockblocker will keep the men frozen."

The fireball man unfroze again. He instantly started looking around. He made fireballs. "YOU FA-"

I froze him. I sat down again and took a deep breath.

"And keep your hand on him!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Everyone move out."

Twenty minutes later.

I sat on my phone, scrolling through Myspace, seeing what they were saying about Brockton Bay.

The consensus was that this town needed psychics and precogs to fix, even though the Simurgh wasn't even here, but there were always people who said that about cities the Endbringers attacked due to them causing all kinds of conflict, even if it wasn't as dangerous as The Simurgh, they still nearly always sent off-chain events. The Simurgh can see the future, so that'll be a likely explanation.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. There were a few people who said all the people here should die for the betterment of humanity. For the greater good. For the world. Saying villains could gain power, villains could capture Heroes, Full scale war between heroes and villains could happen. That sort of thing.

It really depressed me to know people were that stupid, that heartless. How could people be incapable of empathy for an entire city? It doesn't make any sense to-

I couldn't finish my thought before the fireball man unfroze. He whipped his head around. "YOU! I'LL-"

I froze him. And moved to his right, so he wouldn't be looking at me when he unfroze again.

Then I got a text from Vista. Hey Dennis, what's been going on?"

One of the men unfroze, the one with the gun. Still wrapped up in Aizawa's scarf. "Huh? The fuck is going on? What happened to-"

I froze him again and texted Vista. Nothing major. You?

It's cool, but it's hard here with Katsuki. He's constantly yelling and screaming. Even at the civilians.

Wait, seriously? Why?

According to him, they were asking for more, asking for too much, asking for things that we couldn't give. So instead of lighting them down slightly because to that being understandable and them being unstable, he just yelled. Three times.

The fuck is up with that guy?

I don't know. It's not like everyone else is like that, so it's not a cultural thing. I guess every team has its bad apples.

It's still fucking bullshit. That doesn't make it better.

All Might did try to cool him down, but he just gave him a stern talking to.

If we did something like that, our paychecks would've been cut.

They can't really cut his paycheck though. He's just a student.

They could've done something more.

I guess.

It's fucking bullshit. He shouldn't be allowed to get away with that. He should get detention. Or get suspended. People should tell him he's not fit to be a fucking hero if he's just going to act like the fucking prick that he fucking is with no fucking regrets. Fuck him. And fuck All Might for not doing more against him.

Dennis...are you ok?

What? What do you mean?

You just seem very, very…Angry.

I sighed. Yeah...I guess I am.

You promised me you wouldn't get angry.

Technically I didn't, I just said I would try with Weld.

Well, you should try it with everyone.

Even Katsuki?

She took a while to respond after that. At least promise me you won't be so angry. The last thing we need is for you to get in a fight with a Japanese student and cause an international incident.

All right, if I see Katsuki, I'll try not to lose my temper.

Thank you. So nothing happened?

Well, a guy with fireballs for hands did attack, but we beat him easily, not really noteworthy.

If you say so.

Hanta was walking over. Hey, I gotta go.

Ok. ttyl.

I put the phone in my armor slot.

Hanta waved at me. "Hey, Clock! Where's Midoriya? I haven't seen him in a while."

"Midoriya...oh you mean Izuku? How am I supposed to know?"

"You're the one next to the truck. I thought you would pay attention to where he went."

"I have to focus on these morons!" I said. "I can't focus on them and you guys."

"yeah…We wouldn't want Fireball man to get away." Hanta agreed. "Hmmm, maybe Glory Girl has seen him. Glory Girl"

Glory Girl looked our way. "Yes Sero?"

Why'd she call him by his last name?

"Have you seen Midoriya?" Hanta called out.

"Yeah! He said he needed to ask All Might for something! He'll be right back!"

"Ok!" Hanta turned my way. "Huh, I guess-oh Clock!"

He pointed at one of the men, the one with the knife, struggling. "Let me out! Let me out of this tape! I'll ki-"

I walked over to the left of the fireball man and I froze him.

I sighed again. "You have no idea how annoying it is to have to do that for 20. 5. Straight. Minutes."

"Yeah, must be pretty dull. You think Midoriya will be ok by himself? I mean, it's pretty hectic out there."

"As long as he had a strong power he should be ok, and considering he was afraid of using that power without hurting anyone else, I think he'll be alright."

The fireball man unfroze. "HA! GUESS WHO'S-" I froze him.

"Besides," I took my hand off of him. "I doubt there's anyone too dangerous on the prowl. No one should be able to threaten him."

Hanta smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Midoriya is pretty insane. He's as strong as he is smart. No one has anything he doesn't have. He'll be just fine. I just wonder what he needs All Might for."

"I don't know. Probably because...oh"

"Huh?" Hanta looked at me. "Oh! Right!"
Oh shit…

"...we have to go! NOW!"

Hanta looked very confused. "What? Why?"

"I know where he's going."

 

[Ultimate]

Tell me if there are any typos! Like with Worm.