52

Chapter Text

"So, what is this crap?" Young Bakugou asked as they stood on top of a building a few blocks outside of Hosu. 

There had been a terrible gas attack on Hosu an hour ago and they were waiting for the all-clear so they could enter and begin rescue operations. All around the city were hundreds of heroes and more were arriving every minute, but sending anyone into the city while the gas was still there would just be making things worse. From what he could see, the gas had long ago dispersed, but the crews on site were making sure before allowing anyone inside. 

Toshinori wished they would hurry up; it hurt to look at the city and not being able to help was making it worse. Flames were burning all across the horizon, to the point that the sun was being blocked out, which only made the bright fires stand out more against the haze. 

"Do you know what Trigger is, Young Bakugou?" Toshinori asked casually.

To his surprise, his intern scoffed. "Yeah. It's that drug that makes you nuts but supercharges your quirk."

Toshinori nodded, rubbing his chin. "They don't know what it is exactly, but the team I talked to told me that one part of this gas is undeniably Trigger."

"So there's a bunch of civilians tweaking out on quirk boosters in there," Young Bakugou responded harshly. "It sucks that we can't help them yet, but I'm glad we're waiting. I don't want to get touched by that stuff."

Toshinori's eyebrow raised slightly. "You know, there was talk a few years back about legalizing the stuff. It would be regulated by the government, of course, but there was serious support for it. The proponents argued that at the very least, research should be legalized so the negative side-effects could be reduced or removed entirely. It never got anywhere, for better or for worse."

"For better," Young Bakugou mumbled. 

"You wouldn't want a power boost?" Toshinori asked, wanting to gauge his reaction.

Young Bakugou didn't even pause to think. "Hell no. I worked for my strength; I don't take shortcuts or handouts. Any power I have, I've earned, and that's the way I like it. Anything else would make me feel like a fake." 

"Hmm," Toshinori mused, rubbing his chin as he looked over the raging flames, not giving his intern any tangible reaction.

Just then, his phone buzzed. Toshinori reached into one of his belt pouches and pulled it out, spotting a message from Sorahiko. 

'I'm keeping the boy away from Hosu. I trust you to pick up my slack.'

Toshinori nodded to himself and tucked the phone back away. It was smart for Sorahiko to keep Young Iida back; there was too much at risk with Stain still reported in the area. He shuddered to think how dangerous and unhinged the Hero Killer could be if he was affected by the gas.

He heard a commotion down below and walked to the edge of the building, glancing down to see a space being cleared in the middle of the street. There was a shorter man standing in the center of the clearing wearing a heavy cloak that was split down the middle, half-black and half-white. His face and body were split perfectly down the middle in the same way, white hair and black hair flowing from the middle of his head, and a pure white and pure black eye gazing forward. 

Toshinori knew exactly why he was here. "Young Bakugou!" he called, waving the student over. "Have you ever seen the Gemini Hero at work?" 

"No," Young Bakugou answered as he approached the edge of the building and looked down at the man. "Is that Castor or Pollux?"

"Cas-" Toshinori began, before pausing. "No, I think it's Pollux. I think he's the one with the black right side. Or is it the other way around? I can never remember."

Young Bakugou huffed in a rough approximation of dry laughter as they watched the hero's left side begin to glow. He reached out, light pouring from him as a small, shining portal formed in front of him. A second hand, jet black and letting off a disorienting dark light, appeared in the portal—the left hand of the hero's twin brother—and clasped the white hand. 

Suddenly, there was a massive burst of light as the portal grew to nearly fifty feet wide, creating a shimmering white disk in the middle of the street. Nothing could be seen through the portal except for the form of the Gemini Heroes, one black and white, and the other white and black, holding hands firmly as the power poured from them. 

Then people began to walk out of the light, stepping into the dismal smog on the outskirts of the burning city. He saw hero after hero appear, each from the northern end of Japan, including Purifier, who was followed closely by Young Todoroki. 

He had heard that Endeavor was in the city when the attack happened; it was good that Purifier was here.

Toshinori didn't want to think about what would have become of the number two hero if he had been caught by that hellish gas.

Once all the heroes had passed through the portal, the Gemini Heroes unclasped their hands and the glowing disk vanished. A few more minutes passed as the new arrivals took places outside the police line, each of them getting antsier every moment, just like everyone else.

The screech of a megaphone cut through the tense atmosphere as all eyes turned to a police captain standing on top of a car. 

"Listen carefully!" the woman called, loudly enough for anyone nearby to hear. "The gas has dispersed and we are ready to allow you into the city for containment and rescue. It appears that the gas has caused anyone who inhaled it to experience hallucinations and psychosis, as well as amplifying their quirk. There's no way for us to get an antidote this quickly, so we have to try and keep the people trapped inside from hurting themselves or others as best we can." 

The woman pointed to several nearby cases filled with small steel tubes. "We do have sedatives, but our supply is limited. Please restrain who you can and save the sedatives for individuals with exceptionally powerful and uncontrollable quirks. Once I'm done speaking, please all come and take one before you head inside Hosu."

The captain looked around a little, her eyes lingering on Toshinori for just a moment, which seemed to bolster her nerves. "Now, there are a lot of you here, so there is no need to do anything risky! If you encounter someone with a quirk you can't handle, please fall back and try to contain the situation until someone more suited arrives. We don't need any of you getting hurt; we're here to help people, not for glory."

"That's all. Stay safe and good luck."

Hisashi grabbed two syringes, handing one to Izuku as they began to follow the rest of the heroes pouring into Hosu, now that the police had lifted the quarantine. Asui was still under strict orders from Recovery Girl to rest, so they had left her behind, despite the woman's protests. 

The two had arrived on the west side of Hosu and there weren't a whole lot of other bigger-name heroes in the area, other than Mt. Lady. He would have expected Endeavor to be there, except he knew that the number two was already in the city when the attack began.

He hoped that Hatsuo had decided to come; there were few others who could stand up to Endeavor's Hellflame.

There was something inspiring about the giant mass of heroes, all coming together to work toward a single goal. The last time he had seen anything like it was when the last All-Heroes Bulletin was put out, during the final, climactic battle that had brought Terrorflame down. 

They jogged with the mass of heroes toward the heart of the city, the horde thinning as people broke off and spread throughout the city. Hisashi wanted to fly, but with all the smoke in the air, it was too dangerous, so both he and his son were grounded for the time being. 

Regardless, his instincts were riding high. An added benefit of an All-Heroes Bulletin was the increased pay that it offered. These sorts of disasters were thankfully few and far between, but when they did happen, the government spared no expense making sure all the heroes were properly rewarded. While Stormclaw hadn't been in the top ten in many years, he was still ranked well-enough to be ensured a solid bonus from the night, assuming all went well.

He glanced down at his son, whose eyes were glowing almost as brightly as his were as they moved together, their quirks pushing their legs to make them run faster and jump higher. Izuku was being driven by something else, as he wasn't being paid. Hisashi couldn't say for certain, but he suspected it was a desire to prove himself, both to himself, to Hisashi, and to the world at large. 

In many ways, he had failed his 'debut' the previous day. If it hadn't been for Asui, he might have seriously hurt that villain—who he had learned was named Innsmouth—in a way that he couldn't justify or explain. Izuku hadn't said as much, but Hisashi inferred that his son was worried that he might have even killed the villain.

Either of those would have likely brought an end to Izuku's aspiring hero dreams. 

However, in other ways, he had succeeded admirably. Those sailors praised Izuku and Asui for their bravery and quick thinking that had saved them from a watery grave. He had also tried to talk Innsmouth down first, which proved that he was at least trying to work with his instincts. 

At the end of the day, he was still proud of his son, and he was profoundly grateful for Asui and the other women in Izuku's life that were doing their best to help him reach his dream. If he had been in a less supportive class, his entire life would be different right now.

He might even be dead. If he didn't push himself at the USJ…

Hisashi shook his head. This wasn't the time to worry about these things. 

The pair broke from the main mass and began to ran down a side road with a few other heroes. It was here where Hisashi began to see the hell that Hosu had transformed into over the past hour.

They were running through a commercial district, or at least the remains of one. There wasn't a store that didn't have its windows smashed and its door broken, as it seemed like a large amount of looting took place. Worse than that were the signs of combat and rampant quirk use that were apparent all around, with cars overturned, trees smashed and burnt, concrete crushed, and worst of all… corpses. 

Hisashi counted at least four dead in the first city block and six on the second. The bodies were in various states of broken and bloody, with one torn completely in half, blood staining the road all around it. 

The smell of fire, blood and carnage was pungent in the air. Normally he could use his enhanced sense of smell to detect the wounded, but the air was so thick with the scents of the destruction that it would be difficult at best.

His quirk surged with indignation, but he knew that he likely wouldn't find the culprits here in the city. The villains probably released the gas and fled, not wanting to be affected by it themselves. He guessed that the bastards were sitting in their lairs, watching the news with cruel satisfaction.

No, there wasn't much he could do about them right now, and even less he could do for the dead. He was here to help those that were still alive and still fighting. He was a hero and he would do his duty to the best of his ability.

Both men jerked their head to the right as they heard a faint moan coming from an alleyway. They immediately stopped and hurried over, Izuku staying a half-step behind Hisashi. Despite it only being early afternoon, the smoke clouding the skies made it feel like night, and the only illumination in the alleyway came from the fires burning in the main street.

Fortunately, he was gifted with night vision. Hisashi quickly located the source of the noise: a young woman trapped underneath some rubble. Izuku spotted her as well and quickly moved over with Hisashi. 

The woman's head jerked up and her eyes were immediately filled with fear. "S-stay back!" she stuttered. 

"Don't worry," Hisashi said calmly and firmly as he kneeled down in front of her. "We're heroes, here to stop all this."

"Heroes?" the woman repeated, blinking slowly. Her eyes focused on Hisashi and a glint of recognition flashed across them. "Wait, Stormclaw?"

He nodded. "Just stay calm. You're gonna be okay." It seemed like she had avoided the worst of the gas, or perhaps it had already gone through her system. Either way, she seemed to be mostly in her right mind.

He looked up at Izuku, who quickly moved forward and grabbed onto the rubble that was keeping her trapped. He flexed his quirk, his arms bulging with muscle and scale as he easily lifted the concrete slab off her back. 

He noted that Izuku still wasn't adept at using his quirk without his scales, but it was still very new to him and this wasn't the place to discuss it.

Hisashi reached down and offered his hand to the woman, who cautiously took it and let him help her back to her feet. She was clearly shaken and bruised, so he let her lean on him as they began to slowly move out of the alleyway. Behind them, Izuku carefully placed the rubble back down so as not to startle the woman or draw attention.

"Thank you," the woman said quietly as she trudged into the main street at Hisashi's side.

He smiled as his quirk gave a satisfied hum. "You are welcome. Now, conserve your strength."

"Stormclaw?! Oh, thank God!" 

Hisashi turned his head to the right as a young hero ran up to him. He couldn't have been more than a few years older than Izuku; clearly fresh out of UA or some other hero program. "What's wrong?"

The man almost skidded to a stop in front of him. "We've got a problem. There's a huge, swirling water orb thingy a few blocks away! None of us can get inside but there's someone in the middle. Can you stop him? Here, I'll take her."

Hisashi nodded. "We'll handle it." At least someone had listened to the police's request to get help rather than get hurt.

He helped the woman over to the young man, who took her gently, letting her lean against him. "I'll make sure she gets out safe," he said, an air of relief in his voice. Hisashi assumed he was grateful that he had something to do that didn't involve facing whoever was causing the trouble.

Hisashi glanced over at Izuku, who nodded once. The two pushed their quirks into their legs and began to sprint and jump in the direction the young hero had indicated. 

It wasn't long before they saw the problem.

A massive orb of water, churning like a storm, loomed over the nearby buildings. Izuku and Hisashi ran around the corner to find a line of heroes standing several yards back, staring helplessly at the swirling mass. The pair paused alongside them, glancing around at the destroyed buildings and cars before glaring in to see who was at the heart of the storm.

Hisashi didn't recognize him, but Izuku did.

"That's Manual!" he shouted. "He's a hero here in Hosu; he can control water, but I've never seen him do something like this!"

"That Trigger is something else," Hisashi muttered. "Izuku, do you still have that syringe?" 

Izuku held up the steel cylinder.

The two men looked at each other and nodded. "Then we have no time to lose," Hisashi declared, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. 

Stormclaw opened his eyes as Defiant did the same. They shared another nod before they dashed forward, leaving the rest of the heroes behind to stare dumbly at them.

"I'll get his attention, you get close and sedate him," Stormclaw ordered as both men grew scales along their bodies and webbing between their fingers and toes. 

Defiant nodded, growing wings and shooting up into the sky. Stormclaw dove into the orb at ground level, heading straight for Manual as Defiant banked and shot into the water from above, retracting his wings to keep his profile smooth.

Sound travels much faster through water than it does through air, which often disoriented people who weren't used to it. Normally, aquatic villains were experienced enough in the water, but Manual seemed more like the dry-land type. He opened his draconic maw and unleashed an earth-shaking roar, causing Manual to jerk his head toward Stormclaw.

He saw fear and confusion filling the man's face; he couldn't imagine what was going through his mind. Now that he was closer, he could see that there was an air bubble around the man, meaning he couldn't breath water. 

The water itself was swirling and churning, making it difficult for Stormclaw to swim, even with his powerful body. He caught sight of Defiant swimming behind Manual, stalking him and looking for an opening.

Stormclaw unleashed more of his quirk, rapidly growing into his full transformation. With a surge of strength, he pushed forward, cutting through the water and surprising the rampaging hero. 

Manual redoubled his efforts, pushing both of his hands toward Stormclaw and shifting the massive weight of the water down on him. However, even on Trigger, Manual couldn't compete with Stormclaw's strength. 

As the water threw him back, Stormclaw surged forward with all his strength, pushing back toward Manual. The man met Stormclaw's challenge with all his might, but that was exactly what Stormclaw was after.

With Manual fully distracted, Defiant dove down, streaking through the water with deadly speed. In a flash of motion that triggered Stormclaw's battle instincts, Defiant crashed into Manual and wrapped him up, completely restraining him with his arm, legs and tail. 

In that moment, Manual was completely at Defiant's mercy. He towered over the pro with his fanged maw mere inches from the hero's face; with a single motion, Defiant could have ended Manual's life in a multitude of ways. 

There was no doubt in Stormclaw's mind that his son was a true predator.

Defiant's free arm swung down, jamming the syringe into Manual's chest and pressing the button to inject the sedative. 

Almost immediately, the water began to lose its shape. Stormclaw turned around and dove out of the water, bellowing at the heroes who were still staring like a bunch of stunned children. "Run!" 

The water crashed down, forming a massive wave surging out from the epicenter, where Defiant was still firmly holding Manual. 

Stormclaw surged forward and scooped up a literal handful of heroes in his claw, pulling them out of the way as the wave continued its unstoppable onslaught, carrying trees, cars, and rubble along with it.

Finally, the wave lowered and died out, leaving a large number of people coughing and wet, as well as at least one who had a broken arm, but at least everyone was still alive. He placed the heroes he had grabbed down and shrunk back down, letting his quirk retreat and rest.

Hisashi hurried back over to his son, who was carrying the now-unconscious Manual in his arms as the water dripped off both of them. 

"Good work," he said firmly, looking up at his son.

He saw the subtle shift in his son's eyes as Izuku reemerged. "Thanks, Dad. We make a good team."

Hisashi laughed. "I never had any doubt about that."

They both turned as they heard footsteps jogging toward them across the wet pavement. The group of heroes that Hisashi had grabbed were approaching, their expressions mixtures of awe and embarrassment.

"Thanks for saving us," one of them muttered. "It was pretty dumb of us to just be standing there." 

Hisashi looked over them closer; each of them couldn't have been older than 25. 

"Just learn from your mistakes," he declared sternly. "You might not have someone like me to save you next time."

"Right, sorry," another mumbled sheepishly.

A huge crash echoed from several streets over, causing everyone to jump slightly. As Hisashi and the others looked for the source, they saw a new plume of smoke and fire begin to rise over the rooftops.

"We'll take him," one of the young heroes offered. "Thanks again."

Izuku handed over Manual carefully and the two began to run toward the fire, each glancing at each other with a small smile. Despite the bleak surroundings, it felt nice to work alongside his son. 

It made him really proud.

As they cut through an alleyway, they were both stopped in their tracks as the sound of man crying out in pain caught the edges of their enhanced senses. They looked at each other, then Izuku began to move.

"I'll check on that," he said firmly. "Those people ahead of us need you."

Hisashi hated the idea of Izuku going off on his own. It was too dangerous.

"Hold on," Hisashi ordered. "You can't just-"

"I'll be careful," Izuku retorted. "I'm just gonna look and I'll come back if it's anything dangerous. I can't just leave that person there if I can help."

Let him go. There is still war to be waged.

Hisashi grimaced. "This isn't the time to be screwing around."

Izuku had that look. That damned look that told Hisashi he wasn't going to change his mind. His options were to let him go, or to follow him.

He is an adult. I can't protect him forever and there is a greater battle ahead. He stood against Terrorflame, he will be fine.

"Fine," Hisashi relented. "But if you're not back soon, I'm coming to find you. I will not be pleased."

"I'll do my best!" Izuku called as he transformed his legs and sprinted down a different street.

Hisashi turned back to the pillar of fire and smoke and began to run again.

He had a bad feeling about this.

'Damned instincts.'

Izuku jumped over cars and through side streets as he tried to find the source of the noise. Compared to the other areas of the city, the section looked relatively unscathed. The buildings were shorter and less tightly packed together; perhaps the villains didn't target the less densely populated areas. 

Whatever the reason, Izuku was thankful for the break from the destruction and the dead bodies. He could still hear the chaos and commotion from nearby streets, but he would enjoy this relative tranquility while he could. His father was used to it, and he knew that he would have to get used to it eventually, but it was still unsettling. 

It was also nice to have a break from the constant smell of blood. The curse of enhanced senses meant that it was hard to block things out sometimes.

He remembered how Jirou often flinched from sudden loud noises; he supposed they could relate over that.

However, the distinct metallic smell of blood didn't stay away for very long. 

Izuku slowed his pace as he neared the source of the blood, which was leading him into a dark, dank alleyway. He kept himself low and moved stealthily, letting a little more of his quirk out to help him sneak.

He turned the corner and saw a person slumped against the wall in the middle of the alley. He crept forward, pushing more of his quirk to his eyes to get a better look in the darkness as his morbid curiosity got the better of him.

Izuku's eyes widened. He recognized the man. 

The pro hero Native was lying completely still, not breathing at all as blood pooled beneath him. 

Why was Native dead when the rest of the area was abandoned? Why was he here alone?

Part of Izuku knew he should turn and run, but he couldn't help but look around the alleyway. There was no sign of a struggle and Native's body didn't look mangled. This wasn't like anything else Izuku had seen; nothing made sense.

He had stayed too long, he needed to get back to his father.

Izuku heard the faintest noise behind him and barely jumped out of the way as a knife shot past him. 

"You're pretty sneaky," a gravelly voice said from behind him. "I almost didn't know you were there."

Izuku's quirk surged as he turned around, forming scales all over his body. He saw a shade drop down from a nearby fire escape.

"I was going to let you pass so as not to distract me from my mission," the man continued as the sound of unsheathing blades echoed throughout the alley. "But then I saw what you were."

A tall man with crazed eyes and no nose stepped forward into the ambient light of the burning city. Izuku recognized him from news reports and internet forums.

"A Midoriya," Stain spat.

Kyouka helped a man to his feet as Death Arms lifted the car off him. This wasn't how she had thought her Thursday would go, but she certainly couldn't complain that it was boring.

She had seen more death and destruction today than she ever had before, but it didn't feel as terrible as the USJ had been. Perhaps it was because that danger was more personal. The villains at the USJ were threatening her directly; she had to fight for her life to survive, but here she was mostly on search and rescue. Hosu was certainly a hellscape, but it wasn't hers. She was just helping to get people out alive.

The worst part was being able to hear the chaos all around her. She couldn't block it all out.

Death Arms slumped down on a destroyed car to take a breather, pulling out a water bottle and draining it in an instant. They had been at it for a while now, and the stress was beginning to show. After rubbing his neck, he stood back up and looked at his empty bottle.

"I'm gonna get more water," he grumbled. "You keep looking."

Kyouka nodded, stabbing jacks into the ground again to search for any more nearby survivors as Death Arms jogged away, but she didn't hear any. 

She didn't know whether to feel good that they had rescued everyone they could, or bad because there were so few to rescue.

Right before she pulled her jacks out to move on, she caught something.

"A Midoriya."

Kyouka paused, her brow furrowing. She didn't recognize that voice.

"Stain?!"

Her eyes went wide. She recognized that voice. That was Midoriya and he was with… Stain? The Hero Killer?

"What are you doing here?" Midoriya asked. "Did you get caught in the gas? No, the gas didn't hit the less populated areas, where you were probably hiding out."

Stain made a faint nose of approval. "This storm has brought many fakes right to me. They are numerous, but they are also careless. They only care about the money they will be paid to help. I will cull many more before the day is over."

Kyouka's chest tightened. He was just as deranged as the news said.

"They're here to help!" Midoriya called back defiantly. "Sure, they're getting paid, but they want to help people!"

"This society is built on greed. I wonder how many of them would be here if they weren't offered a bonus."

Kyouka heard the sound of a blade being drawn.

Midoriya was in trouble. He needed help. 

Kyouka looked around, but saw nobody. She was all alone. She didn't have time to wait for Death Arms or get backup. 

She pulled her jacks back and began to sprint in the direction of her classmate and the Hero Killer. 

Kyouka ran through alleys and across streets, cutting past burning cars and damaged buildings as she closed on her friend. 

It wasn't long before she could hear the men even without being plugged into something. 

"This doesn't make sense, I'm not a pro hero! This isn't your MO!"

"You're right, let's see if you can earn your life."

She skidded to a stop right around the corner, peeking around to see Midoriya and Stain staring each other down on the far end of the alley. Midoriya was on the far side, meaning that if she wanted to get to him, she had to get through Stain.

This was madness. Stain was a murderer who had killed pros far more skilled than either Kyouka or Midoriya.

She needed help.

Kyouka pulled out her phone, silently cursing that she had neglected to get most of her classmate's phone numbers. 

Her best bet was the group chat she shared with the other women.

Kyouka sent her location into the chat, along with the message, 'Midoriya is being attacked by Stain'. She couldn't afford for there to be any miscommunication.

Stain threw a knife at Midoriya, who managed to dodge out of the way. 

There wasn't any more time to lose. She couldn't leave Midoriya to face the Hero Killer alone and she didn't know how long it would take for any help to arrive.

Kyouka steeled herself and ran around the corner.

It was time to be a hero.