Alone (Part 1)

Shigaraki took a deep breath. The stress was beginning to take its toll. He thought he had been ready to stand alone as the leader of the League of Villains, but there were many realities that he hadn't known existed. All for One's name carried much weight and respect, which were both things that Shigarki lacked. It also appeared that, no matter how much he tried, he could never land a deciding blow against the heroes of the United States. Endeavor was always a threat, but he wasn't the biggest fear he had. No, his biggest fear was the students currently attending UA. He had never been able to beat them and they were growing stronger by the day. Luckily his plan was nearly ready. This plan was nearly a year in the making, with much financial backing and support from All for One. His defeat at the hands of All Might had thrown a wrench in the plan, but it was finally time. Shigaraki turned to the doctor behind him. "Spinner and the rookie are in position." The doctor nodded and made a phone call. "Yes Dabi, it's me. You may begin." He then hung up and made the other phone calls to the League of Villains members scattered around Santa Cruz.

The group of friends walked through downtown Santa Cruz, enjoying their first time going out together in a long time. Mina stopped. "Wait, I just realized something terrible." They all stopped and looked at her, unsure if she was being silly or serious. "None of us celebrated our birthdays last year!" Everyone thought back to last year. Kirishima nodded. "...huh. I guess you're right." Chris thought back. "...I'm pretty sure my birthday was a few days after I fought Stain…" Jason shrugged. "I turned 19 during the attack in the forest." Kirishima chuckled nervously. "I turned 20 this last summer." Momo did some quick math. "...that would make Shoto the youngest. She's still 19." Everyone looked at Shoto. She already knew what they were going to ask. "I turn 20 in two months." Mina jumped. "Let's all celebrate!" Kirishima looked a little confused. "Seriously? Two months early?" "Yes! We only have a week before we have to go back to our internships, so who knows when we will all be together again?!" Nobody had any complaints about the idea. The six friends split up to go gather supplies.

The sun had set completely. The lights of the city were bright, illuminating the entire region well beyond the city outskirts. However, there were still sections of the city shrouded in darkness. Jason, who was on the phone with Chris, was walking through one of these darker areas. It was a small alleyway. "I seriously doubt she wants a pink cake." Chris laughed on his end. "Come on. Don't girls like pink?" "Shoto's favorite color is blue." "Seriously?" It was Jason's turn to chuckle. Then he stopped as a massive water droplet hit his head. He sighed, now annoyed. "And of course it starts raining while I don't have a coat or umbrella." Chris looked up into the sky. "...it's not raining over here." Jason, confused, reached up and touched his head. He looked at his hand. It was a clear substance, but it was very sticky. "...what the…" He looked up to try and locate the source. That's when a very large black beast jumped down at him with a howling shriek.

"Jason?! Jason!" Chris threw his phone into his pocket and began running to where he had heard the shriek. Jason had been several blocks away. He began sprinting with 10% of One for All, wanting to save his strength for when he got to the fight. He was running in the bike lane to avoid pedestrians and cars. As he ran across the street, he saw movement in his peripheral vision. He glanced over and got slammed by two tons of Nomu. Chris was thrown into a nearby building with enough momentum to easily shatter the brick wall.

Shoto stopped in her tracks. She had heard a very loud shriek closely followed by what sounded to be something breaking through a wall in the distance. She turned to try and see if she could tell where all of the commotion was coming from. Then she heard something behind her. She tensed up. A seven foot tall Nomu had come out of the alley. Nearby onlookers were beginning to panic. Shoto ignited her flames as she shouted to them. "Get out of here!" She unleashed her fire against the Nomu. The Nomu's mouth opened and unleashed a concentrated jet of water that completely overpowered her flames. Shoto got hit and was sent rolling across the street, soaking wet. She coughed and slammed her right hand on the ground, sending a wall of ice after it. The Nomu 's hands seemed to glow before it unleashed massive dark red flames, melting the ice. Shoto tensed up. If the Nomu had water and fire quirks, then it could only mean one thing: the Nomu was designed specifically for her.

Momo was running towards the shriek when she was forced to stop. A large Nomu had jumped down from the nearby roof. She backed away. She didn't like being this close to an opponent. She looked around and realized that the nearby civilians had run off, but also how there were no pro heroes around. She took a deep breath. It was her duty to hold this thing off until heroes could arrive. She created a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it. The Nomu reached out and caught it. Then it's skin turned bright green. The grenade didn't detonate. When the Nomu's skin turned back to black, it opened up its hand. The grenade was nothing more than ashes. Momo continued to back away as the monster drew closer.

Kirishima was in a dead sprint, heading to the commotion. He got the sudden urge to duck. He rolled, narrowly dodging a Nomu's right hook. He overheard the civilians screaming nearby. "Another one?!" "It's Sacramento all over again!" Kirishima tossed his bag of party supplies off to the side, hardening his skin. He smiled. "Alright, ugly! Bring it on!" The Nomu swung again. Kirishima took the hit. He rolled across the ground, but landed on his feet. Then his arm felt warm. He looked and froze. There were giant claw marks that had cut right through his hardened skin. He looked up and saw that the Nomu's claws were glistening. Kirishima's confidence was completely replaced by fear. "Are… are those diamond claws…?" The Nomu charged again.