Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the wake of the Witness’s defeat, it was as if the universe itself could finally take the time to breathe. With the crisis over, many unpartnered Ghosts restarted their long search for their missing half. Ophelia was one such Ghosts, having spent centuries searching the system for the one who she would eventually awaken. For the past year, Ophelia suspended her search in order to help the Vanguard with finding a way to stop the final shape.

Her friends, most of whom had found their Guardians already, were dispatched to investigate the anomaly on the Centaur Nessus, leaving Ophelia alone. She was currently on her way towards Neomuna, but something caught her eye.

There was a bright light shining in the darkness of space. She decided to take a scan of it in case it could be related to what has been happening to the system.

“This is odd.” Ophelia said to empty space. “It’s definitely a product of both Light and Dark, but what is it doing all the way out here?”

She concluded her scan and was creating a report when the light began shining brighter, overwhelming her vision. She could feel herself being pulled into whatever it is. “Woah, what’s going on?”

After a while, Ophelia felt herself falling, but that shouldn’t be possible in space. Her optical scanner wasn’t working and she was trying to troubleshoot when she felt herself land with an audible crack.

Her vision finally returns and she is met with sand and a whole bunch of trash. “Where am I?” she chirped. She floats herself up off the sand and takes in the surroundings. “This is definitely Earth, but it looks so… clean. Well, clean-ish.”

It was currently around early morning, with the Sun keeping out of the clouds. She definitely found herself on a beach of some sort. There were a few buildings around, though she could see much taller ones in the distance. She even saw a few people going about their day.

Patching into the Vanguard comms, she tried to reach Earth. “Vanguard command, this is Ophelia. I found an anomaly in deep space which transported me to Earth. Hello?” She was met with static.

With a sigh, she disconnects from the comms. “Nothing. Let’s see if there’s a terminal around, see what I’m dealing with.”

Floating away from the trashed beach, she makes her way into the cityscape. The more she saw the more she was confused. Not even the Last City was this peaceful. The few people she saw were wearing nothing like those in the City did.

“This writing,” She hummed, looking at some of the signs on the buildings. “It looks like Old Earth Japanese. But that can’t be right, Japan is underwater.”

During the Collapse, the waves eventually sank what had remained of Japan into the ocean, leaving the survivors to make their way onto the Asia mainland towards the City. Ophelia kept feeling a sense of wrongness. She could feel the Traveler, but it was like it was far away, when it should be hanging in space above Earth. Adding that to the fact that she is, in fact, in Japan when it’s been destroyed for centuries.

Activating her cloaking so as to not draw attention, she kept moving through the sky but was interrupted with an explosion ringing out in the distance. Is it Shadow Legion? There are still some cells active on Earth?

She flew over and eventually spotted a massive figure of some sort, definitely not Shadow Legion. It was a large person with what looked like a shark-ish head wearing a torn vest.

What in the world? She thought. Without a Guardian, there is not much she can do to intervene. She looked down and saw a crowd forming to watch the hulking figure. She was about to go down and warn them to leave when another figure entered the fray. She did a scan and it was definitely a human, though they were wearing some sort of wood… armor?

Ophelia activated her auto translator and the newcomer was saying stuff about the monster being an incarnation of evil. She continued observing as the wood man fought the beast and he looked to be charging up some sort of super move when a rather large lady burst onto the scene, drop kicking the monster.

Ophelia’s eye light blinked on and off as she was, well, flabbergasted. This is definitely not Earth, at least how I know it. Turning away from the scene, she went through a door behind another person and searched the building for a computer. Finding one out of the way, she uncloaks and scans the console to absorb the information on it.

She first searches for some familiar terms. But there was nothing about the Traveler, the Vanguard, Ghosts, Guardians, or anything of the sort. She then decided to download the last few hundred years of history in case she was missing something. She was centuries in the past, somewhere in the 24th century. Instead of the history she knows, she sees entries about what this Earth called quirks, or rather superpowers. Not powers like what the Guardians wielded, but more varied and honestly much more interesting to Ophelia.

Her first and most plausible theory is that that anomaly has transported her to another universe, one where the Traveler and the Witness either never came to Earth or never existed in the first place. In turn, it seems humans evolved to develop superhuman capabilities.

“This is unprecedented,” She mused. “Gallagher would be so jealous.”

It was always a theory that there existed other universes, but to witness one with her own eye, Ophelia was amazed. Though as she continued her research, unbeknownst to her, the boy who would eventually change the world left the cleanup of the battle outside.

“Today is going to be a good day.” Both Ophelia and one Izuku Midoriya thought at once.

Hours later, Ophelia was observing Musutafu and its people. The sun was beginning to set and she was thinking of heading to where the City would have been located in her universe when she felt something. It wasn’t like anything she had felt before, something indescribable. She felt IT. Something she had only heard about from her friends.

“Could it really be? Here of all places?” She said. She followed the feeling, keeping out of sight, until she eventually found herself in a graveyard. As she moves through the cemetery, she is reminded of what exactly the Guardians used to be. The dead and the forgotten. Yes the Ghosts were created to find soldiers to fight in a war, but the war is over now. The Witness is dead. Ophelia stops above a grave, this was the one. She reads the name as well as the date of birth and death.

“So young…” She saws sorrowfully. Her purpose is to find her Guardian, her other half, but is it worth it? The goal of her life’s mission is finally in her reach, but she can only hesitate. With the war over, is it worth bringing this soul out of its sleep? On the other hand, maybe now the Ghosts can find those who deserve a second chance, a chance to live the life that they were unable to before. Ophelia looks again at the headstone. Her chosen is young, much younger than those that are normally chosen. Maybe it’s a sign that she’s right. That she can give someone that second chance.

Steeling herself, Ophelia begins the process of reviving her chosen. Her Guardian. Unlike many before them, her chosen was buried in a casket. She’ll have to do a short range transmat to bring them above the ground.

As the lost Ghost finally fulfills her duty, elsewhere, a young boy is given his own second chance.

It’s cold. I’m… cold.

This is the first sensation that she feels. The chill in the air and the breeze carrying it. Slowly, she opens her eyes and is met with a blurry landscape.

“Are you awake?” a voice says, airy yet tinny at the same time.

Her eyes adjust and her vision clears. “Where am I?” she asks. Her throat feels raw, like she hasn’t spoken in years.

“Musutafu Cemetery.” the voice answers her.

She looks around and is met with a strange flying thing. “What are you?” she asks.

The thing seems to be excited. “I’m a Ghost. Your Ghost. You can call me Ophelia.”

She reaches her pale hand out towards the… Ghost? It seems to settle right above the palm of her hand. It feels like something is missing.

“Who… who am I? I can’t remember.”

“That’s normal.” The Ghost answers. “They never remember who they were before.”

“What?”

“The Guardians. Once they’re risen for the first time, it’s like a full reboot. Everything personal at least is gone. But I can tell you your name.”

“Your name is Ayano, and you’ve been asleep for a rather long time.” The Ghost, Ophelia? answers. “It’s getting late, we should find somewhere to rest for the night.”

“Do I… have family somewhere?” Ayano asks, knowing that she should have such a thing.

“As per Vanguard protocol, Guardians aren’t supposed to investigate their pasts, but I was never one for rules.” Ophelia chirps, leaving Ayano’s hand and looking off into the distance. “But with how long you’ve been gone, there’s no feasible way to explain your sudden resurrection.”

As Ophelia was contemplating their next move, Ayano looked behind her. There was a headstone, one with her name on it. It was a little overgrown, looking as if it hadn't been properly looked after. Her family name is unreadable, but the date wasn’t.

Ayano —--
Dec 12th, 2313 - June 5th, 2326
Beloved sister, daughter, and friend

So it wasn’t that she was merely asleep. She was dead. How was she alive? Ophelia seems to have noticed Ayano’s train of thought.

“I understand that this is a lot to take in, but you’re not in this alone. Think of it as a second chance. A chance to live your life again.” She said, trying to be inspiring.

Ayano looked down at herself. She was wearing a simple white dress that went down to her knees, a matching pair of shoes on her feet. Locks of raspberry colored hair hung around the edges of her vision.

“Normally, we Ghosts would synthesize some basic armor for you, but I felt that it would make you stand out too much. Come on.” Ophelia said, using her body to gesture towards the gates of the cemetery. “Let’s find somewhere to stay for tonight. Resurrection takes a lot out of our chosen, so I can explain more in the morning.”

Her legs still feeling a bit wobbly, Ayano and Ophelia slowly made their way out of the cemetery.

People…. are watching.

Those were Ayano’s thoughts as they trekked through Musutafu. She couldn’t blame people for staring at them, a little girl and a floating robot together in the middle of the city after dark.

A little ahead of her, Ophelia floated while searching her internal map. Though she didn’t feel great about it, she synthesized some yen so they could buy a room for the night.

“This is the place,” Ophelia said, stopping in front of a hotel. It was not the greatest looking building, but it was deemed safe enough for them to stay in. The two walked in the hotel, the receptionist giving them an odd look.

“Can I help you?” He asked, looking confused at the floating Ghost.

“Oh, hello.” Ophelia chirped. “We were looking for a place to stay for tonight, do you have any available rooms?”

“Uhh, we do but,” He paused, glancing over at Ayano. “Are you lost?”

Ayano, who had mostly been unfocused on the conversation, lost the glazed look in her eyes. “Oh um no. We have nowhere else to go.”

“I see.” The receptionist said, as a key floated from the wall behind him. “We have a room for tonight. Don’t worry about paying for it. Believe it or not, I used to be in your shoes, so I can understand.”

With an understanding yet sad smile, the key floated into Ayano’s hand.

“Thank you, sir.”

The two made their way to the elevator, but Ayano stopped short, turning back to the man at the desk.

“Have a good night, mister.” She said, the ghost of a smile on her otherwise impassive face.

After Ayano eventually fell asleep, Ophelia was going back over the information she had gathered during her first day in this universe. She felt guilty because she wasn’t entirely honest with her chosen. Using the dates from her data scan, she knew that Ayano had only been dead for around 20 years, so much of her immediate family was still alive. A lot of guardians were revived many decades if not centuries after their deaths, while the most recent example of a guardian reviving not long after death being the current Hunter Vanguard, Crow. Though Vanguard Protocol wasn’t always Ophelia’s favorite rules, she didn’t want to reopen old wounds for people who had already mourned for those they lost. She also didn’t know how the people of this universe would react. In her world, not staying dead was rather commonplace, but here, she just didn’t know. From her knowledge of pre-Collapse cultures, a lot of the planet thought that messing with the dead was heretical and unnatural.

Part of Ophelia wished her friends were here, but the other part was excited to explore this new world. She was the first Ghost in recorded history to explore the multiverse, though it is not without its risks. Her connection to the Light was still rather dim, but the fact it is still there means that maybe, just maybe, the Traveler was out there somewhere. But it also means that the Witness could be too. And the thought of that scared her more than anything.

Chapter Text

Ayano awoke to the sounds of the busy city streets. Her hotel room had small sun beams poking through the curtains. Sitting up in the bed, she looked over at the small clock on the bedside table.

10:43

“Did you sleep okay?” She heard Ophelia say. She was floating over by the window. “I didn’t want to disturb your rest.”

“.... Thank you.” Ayano said.

“There’s a lot I want to go over with you, but you should freshen up first.”

Nodding towards her new friend, Ayano moved the comforter off of her and made her way towards the small bathroom. Even with the missing gaps in her memory, the routine of preparing a bath was still ingrained into her, but it was like something was missing.

As the water was warming up, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her raspberry hair tumbled down to a little past her shoulders, and her face was still really young looking. Her eyes were a nice shade of black with some purple swirling within her irises. She tried to smile, but it was like her face was incapable of it. Maybe it was a side effect of her revival.

After her bath, Ayano found a new set of clothes, probably left by Ophelia. It was another white short sleeved dress, though it was a bit less basic than the last one. It had a collar with the string of a red bow laying beside the garment, as well as some tights. After putting it on, she went back into the main room where Ophelia was waiting for her.

“I know you must have a lot of questions, so I will try my best to answer them.” Ophelia said.

Ayano thought for a moment before finding her voice. “What exactly are you? And why me?”

“I am a Ghost, created by a paracausal entity known as the Traveler. The Traveler moved from system to system running from an entity known as the Witness, who used the power of the Darkness, Light’s opposite, to its own twisted end. Wherever the Traveler went, it brought life with it, in the form of Light. The Light is what created me and allowed me to bring you back. The Light is a force that lives in all things, and through us Ghosts, it can even be wielded. For centuries, I was searching the system for my chosen, but I never could. But then, I found you. For us Ghosts, finding our other half is what we were made for. Though the Traveler is not infallible, I trusted that one day I’d be able to find you. I was heading to the outer ring of the system when an anomaly composed of Light and Darkness pulled me in and I found myself here.”

“So, you aren’t from this universe?” Ayano asked, her head tilting in thought.

“That appears to be the case,” Ophelia answered. “But I can still feel the Light, so I can still give you access to your powers.The Guardians, through us, channel the Light. As a consequence of your revival, your past is wiped away, to let them be free to be themselves without tethers to who they were. And thanks to the Light, the Guardians are practically immortal. Most guardians are split into the three classes, those being Titan, Warlock, and Hunter. The Titans are the shield of the Last City, using their strength to defend the people. Warlocks are known as the warrior-scholars, using intimate knowledge of the Light to empower their allies and defeat their enemies. Then there are the Hunters, who were the scouts of the City, using tactics and stealth to their advantage.”

“So what am I?”

“That’s the thing, I don’t really know. If I had to guess on it, I would say a Hunter, but the energies of this universe are strange to me.”

“...”

“Do you need a break, I know this is a lot to take in, especially at such a young age.”

“I… I don’t know.” Ayano breathed. “I don’t even know how old I am, I can’t remember anything about myself. All I know is my name. Who even am I?”

“I’m sorry,” Ophelia said, her shell drooping as she floated to her chosen’s clenched hands. “I know you didn’t choose for this to happen.”

Ophelia felt tears hit her shell. She remained there as she let her chosen, a girl only 13 years old, cry for the life she no longer has.

“Am I stuck like this forever?” Ayano said quietly, the two now lying down on their bed.

“In terms of being alive, yes.” Ophelia answered. “However, I can unpause your body clock to let you grow up some. It wouldn’t do for you to be stuck as a 13 year old forever.”

“Do you hear that?” Ayano said.

“Hear what?”

“That sound. It’s like someone crying.”

Ophelia did a scan on Ayano’s body. She had been meaning to do so for a while now, as the majority of the populace has physiological mutation, showing themselves as quirks. From her scan, she can see that Ayano possesses a mutation in her aural canal.

“From my scan, it seems your quirk allows you to hear sounds from a larger distance than most other people. If someone’s in trouble, we should check it out.”

Ayano opened the door to the balcony, trying to see if she can see where the sounds were coming from. The city was a cacophony of noise, but she closed her eyes and tried to focus in on the sound she wanted. After a few seconds, she was able to focus it, looking down towards an alley a street over.

“It’s in that alley over there.” She pointed out to Ophelia.

“I see it.” Ophelia said before looking back at Ayano. “Here, I’m making a cloak for you. It’ll protect your identity.”

Ayano felt something cover herself. Looking down, she sees a black cloak cover her entire body as well as a hood to cover her head.

“This will be a good opportunity to test your abilities. Hunters, unlike Warlocks and Titans, can channel the Light to enhance their jumps rather than float. We’re high up, so you’ll need to time it right. With some more practice, you’ll be able to do more than one jump, but we need to start small. I can heal injuries just fine, so if anything happens, I will protect you.”

“So how do I do it?” Ayano asked, looking down towards the ground.

“For some it comes naturally. Just feel it within yourself. You are a Guardian. You are my Guardian. If anyone can do this, you can.” Ophelia encouraged. “I’m going to cloak myself, but if you need me, all you need to do is hold out your hand.”

Using a chair, Ayano managed to get herself onto the railing of the balcony.

I can do this. I can do this.

She repeated it like a mantra as she stared at the street below. The cries could still be heard.

If no one else can help, it falls to me.

She moved one foot forward, her mind racing. She takes a deep breath. Then she let herself fall. She tried to keep her mind clear, but the rapidly approaching ground was making her hesitate. She braced herself for her inevitable impact when–

“Ayano.” It was a voice so unfamiliar, but yet so gentle.

“Ayano.” It was like she could sink into this voice.

“Ayano, you can do whatever you put your mind to.”

She felt it. It was like the air was merely another surface she could use. Tensing her legs, she grasped that feeling and pushed down and over with all her might. With a swooshing sound, she launched herself upward, stopping her downward momentum and moving her forward. She reached her hand out and grabbed the ledge of the building on the other end of the street.

Pulling herself up, she raced toward the sound of crying.” She stopped on the other edge of the building when she finally saw the source of the sound. In the alley, there was a couple being attacked by a small group of people wearing all black. She felt Ophelia materialize next to her.

“Oh no.” She cried. “We need to help them.”

“I agree, but what can we do?” Ayano asked.

“It’s too early to do a trial run of any other abilities, but you’re a small target.” Ophelia transmatted a piece of metal into Ayano’s hands. “If you can get behind them, you can take out their legs.”

Grasping the small pole in her hands, Ayano then leaped over the side and once again used her powers to stop her fall. She noticed that her footsteps seemed to be lighter, making less noise. Using the darkness of the alley to her advantage, she crept up on the group of muggers. She readied her makeshift weapon, aimed, then swung, hitting the back of a mugger’s leg with a thud.

“Ow! What the hell?!” He cried out, making the other two look at their attacker. When the one she attacked leaned back, Ayano swung again at his head, knocking the man out. His two cohorts dropped the couple they were mugging and ran at her.

Ayano braced when one tried to stab her with a knife, but she felt the pull again. Following her instincts she dodged sideways, doing a small spin. She used the momentum to try and hit her attacker but he was able to grab her weapon.

“Got you!” He growled, grabbing Ayano’s cloak and throwing her against the wall. She tried to crawl away but a boot to her body kept her back to the ground.

“Who do you think you are?!” The man cried. He was about to stab her with the knife when something wrapped around his body. “What the–”

He couldn’t finish his sentence before both him and his remaining partner were both being attacked by the newcomer.

Ayano was still laying on the ground in shock even after all the muggers were down. She quickly looked up and saw who it was. It was some scruffy looking man that had long black hair and some stubble. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. He recalled his scarf thing and was ready to also tie up Ayano when she heard Ophelia’s voice.

“I got you. Prepare for transmat.”

A light glowed around Ayano and she went from the cold alley and fell back onto the carpeted floor of her hotel room. She breathed a sigh of relief and then promptly passed out on her floor.

Shota Aizawa was having a really confusing evening. First he hears from Nezu that All Might off all heroes had come to him about potentially getting a teaching position at UA. Aizawa was convinced that All Might was just like any other limelight hero, obsessed with the excitement of hero work, but the mere fact that the Number 1 Hero was even considering teaching made him re-examine his own biases. So when he decided to do a late night patrol to get his mind off of it, it came as a shock when the mugging he was about to foil was intruded on by someone else first.

The cloaked figure looked like they were definitely out of their league, but were able to take down one of the criminals. But that was the extent of their luck. He wasn’t the biggest fan of vigilantes, but he wasn’t going to let another person be hurt. After dispatching the muggers, he was about to capture the would-be vigilante to give them his “you should stop before someone gets hurt” speech when they suddenly glowed and disappeared.

That was new.

With a sigh, he turned his attention to the still shaking victims, who had run to each other.

“Are you both alright?” He asked.

“Yes.” The brown haired man said. “Thank you so much. We thought that was it for us.”

From the way his boyfriend was also nodding along, Aizawa assumed they would be fine.

“I’m gonna call the police to come get these guys, do you mind staying so they can get your statement?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you again.”

“No need to thank me.” Aizawa said as he brought his phone up to his ear. “It’s what a hero is supposed to do.”

Izuku Midoriya was excitedly looking at the grainy picture of Eraserhead’s latest catch from the night before when he got the message from All Might. He still couldn’t believe ALL MIGHT, the number one hero All Might, had offered a quirkless nobody like himself One for All. It was like he was dreaming.

All Might (he should probably ask for his name for safety reasons. Just for safety reasons and definitely not so he could know his idol’s name) had warned him that the training they were going to do was gonna be intense.

“Young Midoriya!” All Might called, getting Izuku out of his thoughts. “Are you ready?”

The duo were standing outside of Takoba Municipal Beach. Well, less a beach and more of a dump.

“Yes, All Might, sir!” Izuku cried, doing an attempt at a salute. All Might chuckled at the display but didn’t comment.

“I appreciate you meeting me here this early, but I wanted to further explain my plan.” All Might said. “You see this beach here?”

“Yes sir!”

“You, my boy, are going to clean it.” All Might said proudly.

“Wait….. WHAT!” Izuku cried.

“Onwards!” All Might buffed up, grabbing his charge’s arm. “We have work to do!”

Chapter Text

April

While the successor of One for All is training on the beach, so is the fledgling guardian. On the other side of Takoba Beach, Ophelia was attempting to coach Ayano on how to utilize her powers. Ayano was standing on the beach in some sportswear they had bought with the synthesized yen.

“Normally, Guardians use three different elements within the Light. Those are Arc, Void, and Solar. Though a few years back, Guardians began experimenting with powers from the Darkness. But mastering the Darkness comes with risks, and I feel that it would be better to wait to go over those. A lot of Guardians tend to specialize with one of the elements. The former Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6 was notorious for using Solar, while Warlock Vanguard Ikora Rey uses Void. Our Titan Vanguard Zavala, however, used both Void and Arc.” Ophelia explained, stopping to let Ayano take the information in.

“Let’s start simple.” Ophelia started again. “From what my friends described when training their Chosen, Arc tended to be rather simple. Arc, as a function of Light, is about motion and conduction. Hunters originally used Arc energy in the form of a knife, but after the Red Legion invasion of the City and subsequent loss and regaining of the Light, it came in the form of a staff. We won’t try that until you become more familiar, so let’s begin with grenades.”

“Grenades?” Ayano asked.

“Guardians can also use their Light to form different types of grenades, though most tend to be, well, lethal. So we’ll only be using the ones that won’t kill. For Arc, I believe the flashbang will do the trick. Many natural phenomena contain Arc energy, such as lightning storms. Using your abilities is all about feeling. You need to feel the energy within yourself. Go ahead and give it a go.”

Ayano steadied herself and faced towards the veritable trash mountain in front of her. She held her hand out in front of her, closed her eyes and tried to find that feeling she had felt the night before. She finally felt something, but instead of the flowy energy, it was something more akin to touching a live wire. Ophelia could feel her tapping into the Light and watched as a pale blue light began coalescing in Ayano’s hand.

Ayano felt a light buzzing in her hand, she grasped the potent energy. Opening her eyes, she sees what looks like a grenade in her hand. She sets herself into a throwing stance, winds up, and then chucks it towards the garbage pile. It hits the pile and begins shining brighter. Ayano quickly shuts her eyes and even with them closed, she can see and hear the detonation. Once the ringing stopped, she opened her eyes again.

“That was well done!” Ophelia cheered. “You’re a natural at this.”

For the next hour, Ayano kept channeling the Arc energy into the flash grenades until it became like second nature to her. At sometime around 7 am, Ophelia decided that she had it handled and the two started on the next item.

“The Arc Staff is the ultimate expression of Arc energy for Hunters. Some Guardians like to describe their more powerful abilities as “Supers” or “Ultimates.” Like it's some holo-game.” Ophelia chuckled.

As Ayano prepared to summon the staff, Ophelia scanned some of the trash and formed them into a few dummies. “For today at least, I only want you to summon the staff, but after that we’ll practice with a wooden facsimile until you can handle it well. I don’t want you getting hurt with such potent energy.”

Ayano felt the tingle of Arc once more, but this time released more energy and shaped it. Ophelia could see the staff begin to take shape. Once fully formed, it was like instead of being contained, the electricity was flowing throughout her whole body. Her hair began taking on a blue sheen and flowed in a nonexistent wind. It was like a valve had been wrenched all the way open.

Ophelia was excited, it seemed the unique energies of this universe were affecting the forms of Light itself. She could see an occasional red sparkle of lightning within the storm.

“Okay, release the energy.” She ordered. Ayano closed the open valve and the staff and lightning faded away. She suddenly felt exhausted and fell to one knee.

“Are you okay?” Ophelia fretted, hovering around her.

“Yeah… Just felt winded.” Ayano reassured her Ghost.

“Let’s stop here for now.” Ophelia decided. “I wanted to go around and find some material anyway.”

The two made their way out of the park, passing by a rather skeletal looking blond man watching a green haired boy haul trash. They managed to leave without the pair seeing them.

That night, Shota Aizawa once again found himself in the same area of Musutafu as he had the night before. His goal was to see if that mysterious vigilante would show their face. After about 5 hours, it was 2 am and the vigilante was a no show. Normally, he wouldn’t care as much, but from the little he saw of them, they looked rather small. He hoped against anything that it wasn’t some kid. He had reported what little information he had to the local police department, but they claimed that they had never seen the vigilante before.

So they must be new to this. He thought to himself, perched on a ledge.Huffing to himself, we decided to call it a night, he still had classes in the morning to teach. His current class wasn’t the greatest, as he had to pull the normal routine of expelling and then re-enrolling them. And once again, the parents had complained about it.

He would come back for the next few weeks to keep an eye out, but otherwise he would return to his normal duties. He just hoped that the vigilante would give up.

May

The next month was tough. Using the wooden pole that Ophelia had synthesized, Ayano practiced some forms with the pole. Ophelia was using her eye to project a video off the internet so Ayano could practice. Their days started with stretches, and Ayano found that she was rather flexible. Next was using the staff against the dummies, then they moved onto channeling more flash grenades, and then ended with Ayano keeping the Arc staff intact. She had steadily gotten more used to the process, and was even able to do some of her forms with the electric weapon. If she wasn’t feeling drained after that, she practiced her powered jumps and dodges.

On rest days, Ophelia would often leave the hotel room to scrounge for materials. She used them to discreetly sell scraps so they could continue to live in the room. The receptionist, Hotaru, had agreed that he would be willing to let them stay at a cheaper price as long as they would bring in some income. He still wasn’t quite sure what Ophelia was, but he just assumed it was some type of robo-nanny. Ophelia was also using some of the money to buy materials to make Ayano a proper uniform. It wouldn’t be anything super amazing, but she wanted her chosen to be at least a little more protected.

Speaking of her chosen, Ophelia was still getting used to having a Guardian. She had been created from the Traveler a century or so after the Last City’s founding and had been roaming the system looking for her Guardian. After the Red War began, she hunkered down in the City and helped the Vanguard protect the citizens. The years after the Red War were some of the darkest in Post-Collapse history. The death of the Hunter Vanguard, the shadows encroaching on the moon, The Witness’ fleet capturing half the system’s planets and the Guardian Order’s first use of Darkness, Savathun and her Hive gaining the Light (though it was originally assumed it was stolen), and then Cabal Emperor Calus’ invasion of distant planet Neptune and Neomuna, finally with the Witness breaking into the heart of the Traveler itself. The end of the Witness had renewed Ophelia’s fire in finding her chosen, and she decided to embark into space for that reason. And now, she finds herself here, in an alternate universe. Ayano was unlike any guardian that came before, perhaps except for the Vanguard’s prized Guardian.

Yes, Ayano was young, perhaps the youngest Guardian in history, but she was able to grasp the concepts presented to her. Yes she stumbled some, but she tended to learn quickly. Ophelia hopes to start on the next element soon, and perhaps after that, they could ease back into helping those who cannot help themselves. She often watches this world’s protectors, the Pro-Heroes, as they go about their duties. Ayano never seemed all that interested, but when broached the subject of going out at night, she seemed receptive. Perhaps it was an innate sense of duty. Speaking of the Pro Heroes, Ophelia could see both the appeal and see how off-putting it could be. Many pros were in it merely for the fame they could gain, but almost the same amount were doing this not for themselves, but for the people. But the existence of heroes also facilitates the creation of their opposite, villains. There will always be those who harm, but many are forced to turn to crime out of desperation. Maybe her and Ayano could help protect the innocent, and from Ayano’s attitude, it seemed she wouldn’t be consumed by the allure of fame. And if she does, Ophelia will be there to steer her back to the right path. Many ghosts merely behaved as bystanders, but she refused to do so.

June

“Solar is the element of heat and fusion, but is not a purely destructive expression of Light. Solar is also the element of health. It keeps away the cold nights and protects those under its glow. Hunters use Solar offensively, usually in the form of a gun or a swarm of blades. In terms of the grenades, I feel that the healing grenade will be optimal. Originally, only the Warlocks were able to use it, but some time ago, the others began to be able to as well.”

Ayano frowned a little at the explanation. She’s not sure why, but the thought of using her gift in a purely destructive way made her pause. It was nagging at her, but no matter how hard she tried, it never came to her. She turned to her ghost.

“Ophelia,” she said. “How do the Warlocks…. use their solar abilities?”

“Oh?” The Ghost paused. “Warlocks, in the past, used Solar to enhance their bodies, they were even capable of reviving themselves without the intervention of us Ghosts, but after the Red War, the art was lost. To make up for it, Warlocks learned to use Solar in the form of the Dawnblade, raining fire upon their enemies. They also used the light of dawn to create a Well. This well would protect all those in its radius, keeping them from harm. Does that answer your question?”

“Yes,” Ayano nodded, her hair swaying lightly in the breeze. “I… want to try now.”

They were still in their normal spot, but as the months passed, the green haired young man cleared more and more of the beach. By her calculations, they still had plenty of time to find a new training area, as the boy was still on the other end of the beach.

Ayano took a deep breath. Unlike the crisp feeling of Arc, Solar felt like a gentle warmth. Visualizing what she wanted, she began with the grenade. A ball began forming within her cupped hands. Once she felt satisfied, she let it go. It fell to the ground in a splash and then the core rose a foot or so into the air. Ayano reached out towards it, and it warmed her hand. Once she made contact, it was like all the scrapes she had accumulated during the training had faded away and she felt more energetic.

“Well done!” Ophelia cheered. “You seemed to grasp this much easier than Arc.”

But Ayano didn’t seem to hear her. She was focused on the warmth she felt. She wanted more.

“Ophelia, I think I’m ready for the super.”

“Are you sure?” her Ghost asked, confused. “Let’s start with the Golden Gun. Just visualize a pistol within your hand, and aim it towards the dummy.”

Ayano looked down at her hands.

Is this what I want?

She felt for her inner fire. But, unknown to Ophelia, instead of reaching for the blaze of the sun, she pulled on the gentle warmth, the warmth of the hearth, that which heals, not that which hurts.

Ophelia watched in anticipation. She was worried when Ayano asked to go straight to the gun. Though her worry changed into confusion as her chosen stuck both hands out, one open palmed, the other a closed fist. Her blinking eye widened as the solar energy began to form into a blade as Ayano moved her hands apart.

But…. But that’s impossible!

She saw the soft orange of the Dawnblade’s wings form on Ayano’s back before they were absorbed into the blade. Ayano then reversed her grip on the sword and plunged it into the ground, the outline of the wings appearing on the blade and a yellow orb above the sword connecting onto Ayano.

A Well of Radiance?! But only Warlocks can do that!

“How– How did you do that?” Ophelia asked, stumbling over her words. Ayano looked up where Ophelia was hovering.

“I… I didn’t want to hurt. Violence shouldn’t always be the first option.” She said resolutely, her figure awash in a heavenly glow, her raspberry hair gaining a yellow highlight and a dim halo above her head.

If Ghosts were capable of crying, Ophelia was sure she would be sobbing. Guardians, while protectors, tended to resort to violence. She was proud that her chosen felt so strongly that she was able to break the class binary, altering her destructive fire into a radiant warmth. Ayano brought her hands up and Ophelia floated down to rest above her chosen’s hands.

“Is…. something wrong?” Ayano said.

“No, no.” Ophelia gazed into the warm yet cold eyes of her Guardian. “Hunters have never been able to create a Well of Radiance. But yet, you did it. And that makes me unbelievably proud.”

“Thank you, Ophelia,” Ayano said, bringing her into a hug of sorts. There the two stood, basking in the light of the morning and in the well’s warmth.

September

Izuku was slumped down in his room’s desk chair. The training had been grueling thus far, but he would be lying if he said he regretted it one bit. The beach cleaning had been going well, and he was ahead of schedule. In All Might’s training plan, he was to receive One for All sometime in mid-November. Originally All Might wasn’t going to give it to him until close to the entrance exam, but through the teaching classes the Number One Hero was doing, he realized that One for All would not be the same for Izuku as it was for himself. So after talking to Recovery Girl (and boy did Izuku wish he could have met the hero) All Might had decided to transfer earlier so Izuku can learn the feel of having a quirk before being thrown into a practical exam.

He was broken out of his thoughts as a ping from his laptop sounded out. He opened the email, which was a notification from a forum he had been frequenting as of late. Sometime in late July, a vigilante was spotted in Musutafu. They mostly operated at night so pictures weren’t that clear, but it looked like a small-ish and thin figure (Izuku had guessed that it was someone around his age. Either that or someone with some bad height genes) who wore a black, silver and blue suit and a hooded cape that had a white fur collar and a wolf emblazoned on the cape part. None of the pictures had seen their face, but eyewitness accounts described a face mask that covered up to the eyes and a pair of dark blue goggles. The local press had taken to calling the vigilante the “Phantom of Musutafu” as there was no self-proclaimed name. From all reports, the Phantom had never spoken and had never given a name. Many on the board were trying to guess the vigilante’s quirk, and Izuku was no different. Using what little videos existed, the Phantom mostly used an electric staff that seemed to appear from nowhere. Izuku thought it was an electricity based quirk and they had presumably trained it enough to make constructs from it.

(Somewhere else, an electric blond was feeling strangely inadequate)

Even Eraserhead had been spotted in the area more often after the Phantom’s appearance. Izuku could hardly contain his excitement, Eraserhead was his idol, after All Might of course, as he mostly fought quirkless and it gave Izuku hope that maybe he could make it as a hero, even without a quirk.

Part of Izuku was conflicted on gaining a quirk. For years, he was determined to become a quirkless hero. He knew that he’d never be number one like that, but now that he would be getting All Might’s quirk, he resolved to not forget where he came from. All Might agreed with that sentiment, saying that he was proud that his successor was able to keep himself grounded. He didn’t want to end up like Kacchan, after all. Speaking of Kacchan, ever since the Sludge Villain incident, he had been rather subdued.

He remembers that, sometime in July, Kacchan had asked to speak with him after school, and Izuku had agreed, mostly due to how little bite there was to Kacchan’s words. They had met up at the gates of the school and Izuku was worried that he would be going home with burn marks on his uniform again.

“Hey, Deku.” Kacchan said.

“Um, yes?” Izuku responded.

“After All Might saved me from that Sludge bastard, I was told that I could have died if he had gotten there any later. So I just wanted to say thanks, and sorry.”

“Wait, what?” Izuku was dumbfounded.

“I won’t say it again, nerd.” Kacchan said, turning around. “And don’t forget, I will be the Number One Hero, but put up a fight at least.” And with that, he was gone.

Izuku was sure he was dreaming, but a pinch quickly told him he wasn’t.

“Izuku, dinner is ready!” His mom called, pulling him out of his reminiscence.

“Coming!” he called back.

His mom had been really supportive of his training. She was worried of course, but after All Might had come over and explained what her son was getting into, she seemed to lose her bristles. Though that was only after making All Might promise to look after her son.

His mom had made quite a spread for dinner.

“Izuku, honey?” she said. “I decided that I was going to take a few more shifts at the hospital.”

“That’s fine, mom. But why are you asking?”

“Well, there was something I wanted to save up for.”

“That’s great, mom.” Izuku said, smiling.

December

Ayano and Ophelia were resting in their room after a quick night out. At Ophelia’s discretion, Ayano limited herself to just using Arc, as to make any authorities think she only had the one ability. She was wary at first at going out as a vigilante, with what memories she had of vigilantes being frowned upon, but after a while she got the hang of it. She loved the feeling of helping people, especially without expecting anything in return. That was why she never bothered to come up with a name, because she didn’t want to be like the pro heroes. It was like a part of her distrusted pros.

Currently, she was lying on her bed in the soft pajamas they had bought for her, when Ophelia got her attention. Ayano sat up in her bed and looked towards the table.

“Can you sit in that chair there, and then bring the table up to you?” Ophelia asked.

Ayano did as she was asked, though she was confused as to why. Her question was somewhat answered when a slice of cake on a plate materialized on the table.

“What’s…. the occasion?” She asked.

“I wasn’t sure you remembered since you were out of it when we first met, but today is December 12th.”

Ayano’s face scrunched up trying to remember why the date was so important. Then it came to her.

“Ayano —--
Dec 12th, 2313 - June 5th, 2326
Beloved sister, daughter, and friend”

“Oh.” She whispered.

“Happy 14th Birthday, Ayano.” Her Ghost said, lighting the candle. Ophelia looked up at her Guardian just in time to see a single tear leak from her eyes. She started to move towards Ayano, but paused as more tears fell. The young girl needed this.

January

Using her powers, Ayano leaped across the gap between buildings. It was almost a few months shy of a year since she was revived, and she was proficient in her Arc, Solar, and now Void abilities. Outside of her ability to use the Warlock’s Solar powers, her Void abilities manifested in what Ophelia described as “Shadowshot Deadfall.” Void felt like the opposite of Solar. Where Solar was warmth, Void was all encompassing nothingness. Ophelia had described it as the manipulation of spacetime and dark matter. The Shadowshot itself was not wholly offensive, and the feeling of the cosmic bow in her hands felt inviting. Void had even empowered her base abilities as she found that, with Void, she was now able to cloak herself using either her empowered dodge or using a smoke bomb.

Though her head was covered by her hood and mask, she could still feel the wind whipping past her face. It was a rainy night, and while her armor provided some relief, she could feel the cold in her bones. Ophelia had asked if she wanted to turn in for the night, but Ayano said she was fine. She had heard a sound, not unlike the sound she heard back on that first night she went out all those months ago.

Skidding to a stop, she peered down the building to see a young girl running down the street, looking as if she was being chased. Looking where she was running from, she saw two people chasing her down, wearing plague masks? Aiming between the two parties, Ayano readied a flash grenade and turned the tab on her goggles to shade more. Jumping off the building, she tossed the grenade towards the assailants and when it went off, used her empowered jump to break her momentum. The girl who was running turned when the flash went off and watched as Ayano engaged her pursuers.

Calling upon the Void, Ayano then threw a smoke bomb to further disorient the two masked men. Limiting the Arc flow of her Arcstrider staff, she was able to swiftly take them down. Standing above one of them, and not hearing the girl running, she pointed her staff and asked them a single question.

“What do you want with her?”

She could hear the gnashing teeth, but the rain muddled the sounds of the other attacker getting up. He kicked her knee in and she lost control of her staff, with it dissipating away. With her on the ground, the two men turned tail and ran off.

Dang it. She thought.

On wobbly legs, she heard the girl walk up to her. Trying to compose herself, she turned to face the person she saved.

“Are you… alright?” Ayano asked. The girl was soaked from all the rain, her shoulder length black hair sticking to her neck.

“Yes.” was the short reply.

Ayano could hear police sirens off in the distance, signaling the need to leave.

“Stay safe, alright?” Ayano asked before turning.

“Ophelia, it’s time to go.”

“Sure thing! Prepare for transmat.”

As the police cars turned the corner of the street, Ayano was gone.

Chapter Text

Day of the UA Entrance Exam

Izuku was beyond excited. It’s been a long 10 months, but with All Might’s guidance, he truly feels that he can “go beyond”, as they say. After assuring his mom that he will be safe, he headed towards UA’s campus. From the little that is known by the general public, the written exam is tough but for any course that’s not general education, the practical is where applicants must shine. Having received One for All in November, he had a small grasp on the quirk. Of course, this was after a near miss where Recovery Girl needed to be called in after he broke his arm on his first use. The pain had been intense, and he was glad that they were able to test this before the exams.

Imagine if that happened while I was doing the practical? He shivered at the thought.

As of the night before, he had managed to get control of around 1% of One for All’s power, though he was still channeling it into one arm at a time. For all of All Might’s instructions, the two couldn’t figure out why Izuku was having so much trouble. All Might had waxed poetic about his youth and his training with his mentor, having said he got control of OFA rather quickly, but All Might attributed it to OFA having become stronger since he first inherited it.

Upon arrival on the UA campus, Izuku was surprised at the sheer scale of the main building. The main building was shaped like a large “H” (though it was more like four towers interconnected) and the campus itself was enormous. He was idly wondering how much money it took to build the campus when he stumbled on a loose brick and began falling to the ground. Having done some training on how to fall, he prepared to tuck and roll when he suddenly stopped mid air.

“Are you okay?” a voice from next to him said.

Izuku turned, or attempted to turn, and saw a girl with brown hair wearing a coat with her hand outstretched. He could see small pink pads on her fingers.

“O-Oh, thank you” he stammered. Even after all this training with his idol, social conversation still wasn’t his strong suit.

The girl righted him before putting her hands together.

“There you go.” She said when Izuku felt his weight return to him.

Is it some form of telekinesis? It’s definitely a 5-point touch guessing by the pads and her gesture–

“Oh, my quirk is called “Zero Gravity.” The girl said.

“Did I–”

“Say it out loud?” She finished. “Yeah, but it’s alright. This whole thing sure is nerve-wracking, huh?”

“Definitely” Izuku replied, still feeling flustered from his near fall. “D-Do you wanna head in?”

“Sure! Oh, before I forget, I’m Ochaco Uraraka.” She held her hand out, pinkie rolled in. Izuku hesitated for a moment before returning the gesture.

“Izuku Midoriya.”

After separating from Uraraka and listening through Present Mic’s introduction overview, Izuku was outside Ground Beta, which was a faux cityscape. He was dressed in his lime green sweatsuit and was doing some small stretches in an attempt to calm his nerves. He spotted Uraraka and Minigenium, who had made a small commotion during the presentation and had called Izuku out for muttering, in the same testing ground. He thought about wishing Uraraka good luck, but he didn’t want to psych her out right before the test. He was doing a quick lunge set when a voice from the top of the main building rang out.

“AND BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!”

To say everyone was confused was an understatement.

“WHAT’S WRONG?” The booming voice of Present Mic rang. “THE TEST HAS STARTED!! RUN! RUN! THE DIE IS CAST!”

It was like a floodgate opened and all the applicants, Izuku included, flowed into the testing ground. He felt the energy of One for All flowing through his veins.

Let’s do this!

Inside the UA monitoring room, most of the staff was assembled.

“What do you make of the applicants so far?” Cementoss, Cement Hero and Modern Literature teacher asked the group.

“There are definitely some standout candidates in every test site.” Midnight, the R-Rated Hero and Modern Hero Art History teacher, replied. “There’s a reason we don’t tell the applicants how many villain robots are placed in each site.”

“Such a wide battlefield and limited time brings the best out of them.” Vlad King, Blood Hero and Class 1-B’s homeroom teacher, said. A few of the screens showed specific hero class hopefuls. “Those who can assess any situation.” A screen showed a young man with multiple arms standing atop a building.

“Mobility experts.” Another teacher said as another screen showed Minigenium rushing through the ground’s streets.

“Decision makers.” A screen showed Izuku pulling someone out of the strike zone of a robot that had gotten behind them before powering his arm with OFA and crumpling the robot’s chest.

“And don’t forget the natural born warriors.” Aizawa, who had been mostly silent during the testing, spoke up. The last screen showed Bakugou amongst a pile of destroyed robots. He was hunched over and breathing heavily.

Nezu, the enigmatic principal of UA, flipped the cover off of a red switch. “This should tell us more about the wills of our applicants, if they’re ready to serve the people. People show their true colors when confronted with overwhelming force, and this will do just that.”

He hit the button.

What in the world is that?! Izuku screamed mentally.

A massive robot had activated and began wreaking havoc across the test grounds.

That’s definitely the Zero Pointer Present Mic warned us about.

Izuku was stuck in place as most of the other hopefuls were running away, one of them accidentally knocking him onto the ground. He was about to turn tail when he heard someone cry out. Right in the path of the Zero Pointer, Uraraka had been pinned beneath some rubble from one of the buildings. She looked exhausted, probably from overexerting her quirk.

Picking himself back off the ground, he started running for her.

I can’t just leave her there!

He skidded to a stop right next to her. “Are you okay?!”

“My leg.” She wheezed. “It’s stuck.”

He tried to lift the rubble first and was about to hit it with One for All when the sounds of engines came from behind him.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” The voice of Minigenium (he really needs to get his name) said. “I feel disgraced that I ran at first, but I resolved to rectify that, or else I wouldn’t deserve the Iida name.”

Izuku smashed the rubble, his fist feeling a little sore now.

“Can you carry her?” he asked Iida. “I’m gonna try to at least stall the Zero Pointer.”

“Are you sure you can take it on all by yourself?” Uraraka asked as she was helped up.

“Not sure, but I have to try.” Izuku said resolutely. Uraraka and Iida began moving away and Izuku charged his legs with One for All.

I need to keep it low to not break them, but I’ll need to go past my limit.

Crouching down, power flowed into his legs before he was launched up towards the Zero Pointer. Reaching his arm back as he flew closer to its head, he unconsciously forgot to limit the amount in his arm.

“SMAAAAAAAAAASH!!!” He screamed, following through with the punch, crumpling the entire head and body of the Zero Pointer. The adrenaline quickly wore off as he began to fall, his eyes growing heavy.

No… I need to stay awake. I have to land.

Watching him, Uraraka looked at Iida. “Throw me.” She said as she tapped herself with her hand.

“What?” Iida said incredulously. “Are you crazy?”

“My quirk is Zero Gravity, we need to help him before he hits the ground.”

Understanding her idea, Iida moved her into a better position before he started running back towards the now destroyed robot, skidding and spinning before throwing Uraraka towards the falling Izuku. She raced through the air, her arms outstretched as she collided with Izuku, removing his gravity as well and the two flipped through the air, eventually crashing through a window and rolling to a stop. Making sure Izuku was safe, she turned and promptly threw up on the floor of the building before passing out herself.

A week later Izuku didn’t know how to feel. He broke his arm again (getting another earful from Recovery Girl) and from his own calculations, had only gotten around 35 villain points as he had spent much of the test helping other applicants and then taking on the Zero Pointer. His mom had fretted when he came home in a sling, but he had assured her that he was fine.

He was currently taking some notes in his room when his mom bursted into his room.

“The letter from UA is here!” She said, shaking in excitement.

“Really?!” He exclaimed, getting out of his chair. His mom handed him the letter.

“Do you want to watch it together?” Izuku asked.

Ayano watched the city from a rooftop. The last week had been weirdly quiet, as if the city itself was taking a deep breath.

“Is everything okay?” Ophelia’s voice said from her side.

“I… just have a feeling. Like something is going to happen.” Ayano replied.

“It’s true that less criminals are running around recently.” Ophelia agreed. “Maybe we should keep our ear to the ground and see if something big is being planned.”

“Let’s go home for the night.” Ayano said, as some light snow began falling.

“Do you want to transmat there?”

“No, we can walk.”

Ayano landed on the ground in an alley as her armor was contained by Ophelia. She was left in a dark green turtleneck sweater and a black skirt with the same color tights to keep her legs warm. She also had a white coat with fur around the hood. Her hair was tied into a side ponytail with her bangs still in place. The hairstyle felt oddly nostalgic when she had first done it. She had been trying different hairstyles in their room and when she put it up in the ponytail, she was surprised when a tear ran down her cheek. Perhaps she wore it like this in her original life, and it was because of that she kept doing it that way.

Ophelia nestled herself in the hood as Ayano walked out onto the sidewalk. There weren’t many people out so the walk was relatively quiet.

“Do we need any groceries?” Ophelia asked from her hood.

“We should be fine… at least until the weekend.” Ayano replied, pulling the turtleneck up to warm her face.

Sometime around the new year, Hotaru had helped them look for a more permanent residence, since the hotel didn’t have rooms with kitchens within them and Ayano, while a lot of people at the hotel knew her, was more of a secret within the hotel. Eventually, they found a small apartment across the city, somewhere close to the hospital. In order to make some more money, Ophelia had somehow gotten permission from the CMO of the hospital to use her healing powers from Solar to help some of the hospital patients. They had fudged a certificate that said Ayano’s “quirk” was called “Healing Warmth” and she made sure to wear a mask inside to hide some of her features. She knew that some could definitely tell she was young, but her ability was too good for them to pass up on. Ophelia also thought it could help Ayano get some more social interaction outside of herself and Hotaru.

Finally, she could see the apartment complex in the distance. She found one of the best parts of her impassive outwards appearance, she was able to hide how she was feeling. With her revival date coming up in two months, Ayano was thinking about something she could get Ophelia on that day.

“Have you heard back from our operative?” A masked figure asked his companion.

“Yes, we have the list of exam results.” Another person said. “Our operative successfully made it into UA.”

“Good. With All Might teaching there, he has chosen a successor for One for All. While they remain ‘low leveled’ as Tomura would say, this is the perfect opportunity to finally regain that which was stolen. My brother will soon be returned to me.”

“Yes, master. I will let our spy know to keep tabs on the hero students. Knowing All Might, his successor will be as obnoxiously heroic as he is.”

“Good work Garaki. Will the Nomu be ready?”

“Soon, my lord.”

“Soon Doctor. Soon the game restarts. Let Kurogiri know that he needs to start finding some fodder.”

Chapter Text

Orientation was a rather boring affair for somewhere as prestigious as UA. It was mostly the Principal talking about the different facilities on campus as well as his fur and how well kept it was. After orientation, they were directed to their homerooms, where they would meet their teachers and go over procedures. Izuku was walking next to someone with a bird head, which was really cool if you asked him. He didn’t seem like the type for small talk though. Eventually they reached the door labeled ‘1-A’ and inside they were met with a standing yellow sleeping bag.

All the students were watching it confused when the bag spoke.

“Well, get to your seats.” The bag turned showing a man with massive eye bags. “We don’t have all day.”

The students awkwardly shuffled into their seats. Izuku, by some stroke of fate, was sat behind Bakugou.

When the scores were revealed, Katsuki was not surprised to see his name in first place, but what really surprised him was that the nerd was right behind him in second place by only one point. Part of him was enraged, but the other part decided that forcing answers out of Deku would only cause problems.

Once they were all seated, their teacher(?) unzipped the sleeping bag and stepped out.

“My name is Shota Aizawa, I’m your homeroom teacher for the next year. Now, normally I skip orientation but the Principal decided to hold orientation before going to the classrooms, so we are doing this now.”

He pressed a button on his desk and part of the wall opened up, showing 20 packages with the same blue jumpsuits in them. From where Izuku was sitting, he could see names on the bundles.

“Grab yours and then meet me at the track. We’re doing a test.” With said bombshell dropped, the teacher promptly walked out of the classroom. A moment or two passed with all the students staring at where their teacher was before they all jumped out of their seats and went to grab their respective uniform and then booking it to the locker rooms.

“So,” Aizawa announced to the assembled class. While in the locker room, the boys had quickly gone through and introduced themselves. “We’re doing a quirk apprehension test. It’s essentially your standard middle school gym test but I want you to do them with your quirks. It provides us a good baseline to see where you all are. This is because not everyone gets access to good training facilities. I, for one, am not a big believer in fairness, but as you are all students, you will have three years to see how the world really works.”

He pulls a ball with a sensor on it out of a bag. “Bakugou, you scored top of the entrants, so you’re going first. What was your score in middle school?”

Bakugou grinned and walked into the circle, palming the ball as their teacher tossed it to him. “Sixty-seven meters.”

“Now try it with your quirk, anything goes as long as you don’t leave the circle.”

Getting into a throwing stance, Bakugou pulled back and threw the ball. He made sure to ignite his sweat right as the ball was in the perfect part of the arc. With a loud BOOM the ball went flying, a trail of smoke behind it, before eventually landing somewhere.

Aizawa turned the device in his hand around to show the class. “705.2 meters. Knowing your limits will show both you and me what kind of heroes you will be. Now let’s begin.”

The tests weren’t awful. Being in a lot better shape as well as having the power of One for All behind him had let him blow his middle school scores out of the water. He also got the chance to view the quirks of his classmates. They were all powerful in their own ways, some being outwardly powerful, such as Todoroki’s ice, Tokoyami’s sentient quirk Dark Shadow, and Iida’s engines. Others were powerful in the way they are used, like Shoji’s Dupli-arms and Yaoyorozu’s Creation.

By self evaluation, Izuku placed his scoring somewhere in the middle. His fifty meter dash was only slightly faster than his times on the beach, mostly because keeping OFA stable while running was taxing. Grip strength was where he shined. He managed to get around 480kg, only being beaten by Shoji with 540kg and Yaoyorozu who used a press half made out of her arm to get 500kg. The standing long jump was okay, he didn’t fully clear the sandbox, but he made it rather far, though Bakugou, Asui (who had a frog quirk), and Uraraka were able to just sail over it. Side steps were dominated by Mineta, who used his ball hair to propel himself side to side really quickly. The fifth event circled back to the ball throw. The most notable standout were Uraraka’s infinity score. Finally, it was Izuku’s turn. He stood in the circle and prepared to throw it. He was really hoping to finally get a standout score. Feeling One For All flowing into his arm, he did a small hop before getting into a throwing stance.

Something was odd when he threw it, however. As soon as he started the throwing motion, he felt the power in his arm fade away, the ball only landing 46 meters away. He looked down at his hands.

What just happened? This is almost like–

His gaze snapped up to his teacher, whose eyes were glowing red and his scarf floating off his shoulders slightly. Then it clicked. Their teacher was Eraserhead, an underground hero and Izuku’s second idol after All Might. No wonder he looked so familiar.

“You’re Eraserhead.” he exclaimed, a few of his classmates questioning who that is.

“That’s right. I erased your quirk because I could tell you were about to lose control. I’ve been briefed on your situation, but the moment you lose control is the moment you become a liability. You can’t always rely on someone being there to help you, like Uraraka was during the entrance exam.”

His eyes stopped glowing. “Do it again and this time, focus.”

Izuku caught the ball again and took a deep breath. He visualized his metaphor of an egg in a microwave. All Might had thought it strange, but he had merely said whatever works. Instead of his whole arm, he concentrated One for All into just his hand. He threw it again and this time right as the ball was leaving his hand, he focused the highest percent he could safely muster into his finger. With a boom rivalling Bakugou’s earlier, the ball rocketed away. Izuku’s hand felt bruised but it wasn’t broken. When it finally landed, a chime came from Aizawa’s device.

“705.3 meters,” he announced. “Well done kid.”

Izuku could see Bakugou’s eyes on him, making him think they were probably going to need to talk soon. The rest of the tests were rather uneventful and Class A found themselves gathered again. Aizawa moved the device to face upward and a screen popped out.

“These are the results. If you are in the bottom 10, I’m going to schedule some additional training time. You need to catch up with the rest, and fast.”

Izuku scanned the board and found his name sitting at 7th place, and he let out a sigh of relief. Though he might still request some extra time.

“Your first practical heroics class is in two days. Your costumes will be ready by then as well.”

“Well that was something.” Ashido said.

The class looked at each other for a minute before making their way back to the locker rooms. They did have other classes to be at, after all.

UA was not prestigious just because of its hero course. Many assume that if you don’t make it into the hero course, then you failed, but UA’s other courses were nothing to laugh at. For first years, they all had the same classes, but where the hero course had heroics in the afternoon, the other courses had their specific course classes. The Support Course had their workshop time, the Business Course had higher economics, and General Education students were able to choose an elective they wanted to take. Since today was the first day, Homeroom ran as long as it did because they wouldn’t be doing their last class. The upperclassmen were able to have more specialized schedules but the first years were a more general overview.

After Homeroom with Aizawa, 1A had English, Japanese, History, Science and then lunch break. After that they had Modern Art History and finally was their heroics class. It was now the second day and the class was speculating on who their Heroics class teacher would be. Izuku, on the other hand, was shaking with excitement since he knew exactly who their teacher was. While Izuku was training those ten long months, All Might was studying to get a teaching license. The class quieted when they heard footsteps outside the door.

“I AM HERE!” A booming voice sounded out as the door slammed open. “COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”

The students erupted in a cacophony of excitement as All Might himself walked into the classroom, wearing his silver age costume no less. The Number One Hero walked up to the podium and the class quieted once again. “HERO BASIC TRAINING! THE CLASS THAT’LL PUT YOU THROUGH ALL SORTS OF SPECIAL TRAINING TO MOLD YOU INTO HEROES!!”

He reached to his belt and got out a slip of paper. “TODAY’S ACTIVITY IS THIS!” he announced, thrusting the card out to show the class. It read Quirk Showcase in all caps. “SINCE THIS IS THE CLASS, AIZAWA AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE PERFECT TO SEE YOUR QUIRKS IN ACTION BEFORE THE REAL SHOW BEGINS!”

All Might pressed the button again and the wall where they got their gym uniforms the previous day opened up, this time there were silver metal cases numbered 1-20.

“THESE ARE THE COSTUMES YOU REQUESTED BASED ON THE FORMS YOU FILLED OUT AFTER YOU WERE ADMITTED! GRAB YOUR CASE AND MEET ME IN THE GYM WHERE MYSELF AND SNIPE WILL BE GOING OVER YOUR EQUIPMENT!

Without further ado, the class got up and raced to get their cases. Izuku grabbed the case labeled with 18 and made his way to the locker room.

“So what is it that you wished to inform me about, Aizawa?” The Principal asked, sipping some tea.

“There’s a case I want you to look into.” The Erasure hero said, grabbing a file and sliding it across the Principal’s desk. “It’s been stumping the Musutafu police and with this year starting, I don’t have the luxury of devoting more time to it.”

Opening the file, Nezu hummed. “The Phantom, huh? An interesting case you’ve brought to me. May I ask why?”

“Since my run in with them, they’ve been stepping up with their targets. A few months ago, they stopped an attempted kidnapping, the victim is now attending the school, in Kan’s class. From what footage we were able to get, the assailants were part of a group that Nighteye has been investigating. After that, it seems that the Phantom is looking into organized crime groups. This is what worries me.”

“I see.” Nezu said. “Organized groups are a different beast than petty crimes. You believe they are biting off more than they can chew.”

“It’s not just that.” Aizawa said, putting some eye drops in his eyes. “I’ve been keeping tabs where I can, and in one of their most recent appearances, they seemed to be using a quirk that was not like their usual one.”

That got Nezu to narrow his eyes.

“We had thought their quirk to be merely an electric emitter, but,” he paused, bringing attention to another grainy photo. “They used some kind of purple energy. They are too different to be one and the same.”

“It is very possible that the Phantom might have connections to the Boogeyman of the Underworld. Either that or their quirk is more than we thought, which then brings our pool of potential candidates even higher.”

“Thank you for bringing this to me, Aizawa.” Nezu said, setting his cup down. “Whether or not they have connections to HIM, we need to find the Phantom. We don’t want a repeat of the Naruhata incident. Now, you should be getting back to your class. They should be finishing up their showcase with Yagi and Snipe soon. And I will look into this.”

Aizawa nodded and left the office, leaving the Principal alone with the file.

It seems that we might have stumbled upon something big. He thought.

As it turned out, Void really helped with information gathering. Ayano, currently invisible, was tailing a suspicious looking person as they were walking with purpose to somewhere. The last few weeks, Ayano and Ophelia had been investigating some of the small-time criminals. One they stopped the night before had some sort of paper with directions to a building on it. They were making their way there when they saw someone else doing the same.

The man stopped and looked around before turning into a dark alley. Ayano watched as he went to the end of the alley where a small bar was located. Once the man went inside, Ayano dropped her invisibility and Ophelia uncloaked.

“What do you think is in there?” Ophelia asked, her eye turning to her chosen.

“I’m… not sure.” Ayano responded. “But whatever it is, it makes me worry.”

“Smaller crimes have been dropping, it’s like they’re organizing.” Ophelia deduced. “But what could they be planning?”

“Ophelia.”

“Yes?”

“Can you cloak and go inside?” Ayano asked, spotting yet another person walking towards the bar. “We need… to know what is happening.”

“Leave it to me! I won’t let you down.” Ophelia said quietly, yet proudly.

She cloaked herself and floated downward, making it inside the bar as the newcomer did. Inside was a rather well kept establishment.

Whoever does the cleaning here sure is dedicated. She mused.

Besides that, there was a rather large group gathered. At the front of the group was a grey haired young man with a hand(?) on his face and a well dressed man with his face obscured in shadows, yellow eyes piercing through the fog. The grey haired one, though looking disheveled, seemed to be somewhat young, definitely much older than her chosen, but young all the same. For Ophelia, most of the people in this world were young to her. She was used to seeing the same people for centuries at a time that she sometimes forgets that the original lifespan for humans was short. Quirks certainly made them more healthy, but it was nothing like what the Traveller had blessed humanity in her universe with.

They must be the ones in charge. Since both had their faces covered, she wasn’t able to scan them, but she made sure to record their images into her database, which they had found a way to connect to the phone they had bought for Ayano.

“Thank you all for coming.” The well dressed one said, his voice sounding as misty as the rest of his body. “Many of you came because of our mutual partner, but I assure you, we will make this worth your while. Tomura?” the mist man said, turning to his compatriot.

“For too long, All Might has made the world believe that they are safe, but I want to show them the truth. And for us to accomplish this, I needed to gather party members. All Might has been seen roaming around UA, and this will help us. Tomorrow, we plan to break onto UA’s campus and once we get All Might’s schedule, we plan to strike at the heart. With the group we’re gathering, we will take on this so-called Symbol of Peace and end him.”

This got the assembled villains and Ophelia to go silent. From what she knows of the man, it seems unlikely that they would have the power to take on such a pillar of strength. Unless they had something up their sleeve to inspire such confidence. And it seemed the villains had the same thoughts.

“Are you stupid?” one said. “Taking on All Might? We’d all get turned to mash on the pavement!”

“And that’s where our weapon comes in.” The mist man said, getting attention back on him. “Our benefactor has supplied us with a weapon capable of beating All Might. All we need is to get him distracted on the students for us to strike. And that’s where you all will come in.”

This is bad. Ophelia thought. She needed to get out of there. She spotted a stairway on the other end of the room and floated her way up. She passed by the rooms and spotted a barely open window. She managed to get her way outside and went back to Ayano.

“Did you hear?” Ophelia asked. They couldn’t get video to work, but audio was able to stream to the phone.

“Yes, this is worse than we thought.” Ayano said. “Let’s get home. We can decide… what to do there.”

The showcase, while not the most fun, was still rather exciting, Izuku had decided. He almost had a notebook filled up with notes on his classmates. They all had such interesting quirks. If he had to pick favorites, he would of course pick all of them. The class had a massive variety, from powerhouses to more subtle and versatile quirks. They had gone over their costumes, with Snipe showing them proper maintenance of their gear as well as letting them test out some of their items. Originally, Izuku’s costume was going to be the one his mom had made him, but All Might had some suggestions so they decided to use his mom’s gift as the base design and then add more onto it.

So what he had now was a darker teal jumpsuit with some red accents, changing from the more vibrant green of the base. He also had black elbow and knee pads with a simple pair of red boots. He had gloves that went up to about his elbow that kept his wrist and lower arm compressed. He also originally had a mask and hood combo, but had decided to scrap the hood part, keeping the mask. The mask itself was a gray respirator that when worn, looked like a facsimile of All Might’s signature smile.

Iida had a set of silver armor in the same style as his brother Ingenium and Uraraka had a black and pink bodysuit as well as a helmet with a visor as well as large pink boots. She told them that they had springs in them meant to help with landings, which Izuku thought was a great idea. He had floated (pun intended) to her that maybe she could get some sort of tethers to help her attach herself to different objects. And to Iida, he brought up maybe finding a way to help cool his engines.

The rest of the class also had cool looking costumes. From Kaminari and Jiro’s more streetwear style outfits to Katsuki’s grenade gauntlets and explosion style wings on his mask to Todoroki’s half iced look, which looked quite impractical but who was Izuku to criticize?

After the costume instructions, they took turns doing a quick quirk showcase. It was somewhat similar to Aizawa’s assessment from the previous day, but it was more general to show what they could do. Once that was done, All Might informed them that tomorrow they would be conducting some small scale battle trials, which got them excited.

Currently, Izuku and his mom were eating dinner as he told her about the day.

“You’ll need to bring your friends by sometime, Izuku.” his mom told him. “I’m really happy that you found people you can talk to, especially with what was going on at Aldera.”

“I can ask them tomorrow and see what they say,” he responded. “It makes me happy too. The whole class is great.”

“Now hurry and eat your food before it gets cold.” his mom said, pointing her chopstick at his plate.

“Before your practical class today, I need you all to pick a class representative. I don’t care how you do it, just do it before heroics. That’s all for homeroom.” Their ever enthusiastic teacher said before getting back in his sleeping bag and laying on the floor.

The class then exploded in voices as they all wanted to be rep.

“Pick me! Pick me!”

“No, pick ME!”

“YOU EXTRAS BETTER PICK ME OR I”LL KILL YOU!”

“Quiet down everyone!” Iida spoke authoritatively. “Leading is a task with heavy responsibility. I propose we solve this with a formal vote! One vote per person and no voting for yourself!”

“But we don’t know each other well enough.” Asui said.

“Then let’s do this,” Yaoyorozu said. “Let us vote for representatives, but if for some reason, they do not wish to hold the position or the class as a whole wish to re-elect, we can hold an election again at the beginning of next semester.”

This got many of them nodding along. Iida quickly got some paper and began handing them out to everyone. Izuku looked at his empty sheet and tried thinking of who he wanted to vote for. Like Asui had said, they didn’t know each other very well, but from his initial impressions, he thought that a few seemed like they could handle it. Making up his mind, he wrote down a name…

…And then somehow got the second most amount of votes.

“Huh?”

“WHO THE HELL VOTED FOR DEKU?!” Katsuki yelled, Uraraka subtly whistling in the background.

“Ok.” Their teacher said, now standing in his yellow sleeping bag. “Your Representative is Iida with Vice Rep Midoriya. Now, get ready for your next class.”

After their first half of classes, the class headed to lunch. Izuku could see Kirishima, Kaminari and Ashido bugging Katsuki, who despite yelling at them to get lost, seemed like he didn’t really mind them being there. Izuku was sitting with Iida, Uraraka and Asui. Iida was currently going over the responsibilities of class representatives with him for the fourth time now, but it made Iida happy so Izuku didn’t want to tell him to stop.

Iida was about to go into it a fifth time when an alarm suddenly rang out.

“LEVEL THREE SECURITY BREACH. ALL STUDENTS PLEASE EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION.”

Most of the students got up in a hurried fashion and began pushing each other in order to leave the cafeteria.

“What’s security level three?” Iida asked an upperclassman while chopping his hands.

“It means someone has infiltrated the building! It’s never happened in the three years I’ve been here! Hurry up and get out of here!”

There was a veritable tsunami of students trying to leave through the emergency exit, causing Izuku and Uraraka to be slammed against the windows. Through the window, Izuku could see Aizawa and Present Mic keeping the surging tide of reporters, all clamoring to see All Might. The reporters had bugged them when they were trying to come in at the beginning of the day.

“Iida!” Izuku called out, seeing the taller boy not far from them. “It’s the press!” He could see Iida’s gaze become determined.

“Everyone calm down, it’s just the pre–” he tried to say before also being smashed into the windows.

What would my brother do? He asked himself. To Tenya, his brother was his goal. He was the type of person and hero that Tenya wished himself to be. He looked over at his friends.

“Uraraka!” Iida called. “Float me!”

She nodded and was barely able to reach his hand with her own. He felt his gravity become removed and floated above the crowd of students. Quickly steadying himself against the wall, he rolled up his pant legs and prepared his quirk. With a burst of speed, Iida launched himself to the front of the crowd, crashing into the wall above the door.

“EVERYONE! EVERYTHING IS FINE! IT’S ONLY THE PRESS!”

“No ordinary reporter could do such a thing.” The hero Thirteen said from within their spacesuit.

“I agree.” Nezu said from the ground, where he stood in front of what remained of their front gate. “It seems that someone has instigated this whole affair. None of the press had a quirk capable of this kind of destruction. Check the cameras, we need to find who did this and what they intend to do. Once classes are over, bring the homeroom teachers to my office.”

“Yes sir.”

“So today, we’re running battle trials,” Aizawa addressed the group. “The teams that win will be getting a preview of the rescue training we’ll be doing next week. See it as an incentive to better yourself. Don’t feel too bad if you don’t win, this is the first practical exercise after all.”

“THOSE WHO WIN WILL ALSO BE JOINED BY THE WINNING TEAMS FROM CLASS B!” The booming voice of All Might announced. Class A had been driven to Ground Beta for the battle trials and were now standing in a street. “NOW WHEN YOU THINK OF VILLAIN BATTLES, YOU THINK OF THE ONES YOU SEE OUT ON STREET, BUT THE MOST HEINOUS VILLAINS ARE MORE LIKELY TO APPEAR INDOORS!”

“We’ll be splitting you all into teams of two.” Aizawa held two fingers up. “The Villain team will be set up inside this building and are tasked with protecting a fake bomb from the Hero team.”

“How will the teams be decided?” Iida asked, his hand outstretched.

“Can I blast everyone away?” Katsuki growled.

“Will someone be expelled?” Hagakure asked timidly.

“One at a time.” Aizawa sighed. “Teams will be decided through lots.” He gestured over to a box that All Might brought out. “No, no one will be expelled either.”

“Is drawing lots really the best way of choosing teams?” Iida asked.

“Well,” Izuku said from beside him, “Pros often need to team up with other heroes on the spot during emergencies, so not always knowing who your teammates will be is good practice.”

“YOUNG MIDORIYA IS EXACTLY RIGHT!” All Might said. “NOW, LET’S DRAW TEAMS!”

The teams ended up as Izuku and Uraraka on Team A, to Uraraka’s cheering and Izuku’s nervous laugh. Team B was Shoji and Todoroki. Team C Yaoyorozu and Mineta, so one’s excitement and the other’s discomfort. Team D was Iida and Katsuki, Team E was Aoyama and Ashido, Teams F-J being Sato and Koda, Jiro and Kaminari, Tokoyami and Asui, Ojiro and Hagakure, and finally Kirishima and Sero.

“NOW, LET’S DRAW WHICH TEAMS WILL GO UP AGAINST EACH OTHER. FIRST MATCH WILL BE…” All Might reached into two separate boxes. “TEAM D AS THE VILLAINS AND TEAM A AS THE HEROES!”

Oh crap. Izuku thought, seeing the grin on Katsuki’s face. They turned to each other, Katsuki in challenge and Izuku in determination. This was his chance to show Katsuki that he was capable of fighting back.

The two teams stayed put with All Might while the rest went with Aizawa to the screening room. All Might handed Izuku a map with the floor plan and told them to make a plan while he showed Katsuki and Iida inside.

“So um, what are you thinking?” Izuku asked his teammate.

“There’s no punishment for failure so I’m not too worried,” Uraraka said, but she saw that Izuku was shaking a little. “But are you okay? You look really nervous.”

“We’re up against Katsuki and Iida, so I’m nervous. We’ll need to be on guard, with Katsuki’s pure power and Iida’s speed and diligence.”

“You and Bakugou knew each other already, right? I could tell there’s some bad blood between you two.”

“Yeah, he can be a jerk sometimes, but his skill is amazing. He’s stronger than I could ever be, but that’s why I don’t want to lose to him anymore.” He said, his eyes becoming determined.

“Ooh, it’s like you guys are fated rivals!” Uraraka said, pumping a fist in the air.

Izuku took a breath before looking back at his partner. “Here’s my plan…”

After leading Team D to their place, Yagi made his way into the screening room. Aizawa had already left, as he told Yagi that Nezu wanted him for something. He turned to the students as he pulled out a clipboard, which his hands dwarfed.

Sorry, Young Midoriya, but here I shall be treating you as any other student. There will be no favoritism for you! Show me what you can do!

“PAY ATTENTION, EVERYONE! THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING TO LEARN!”

“So who do you think is going to win?” Ashido said to Hagakure.

“Well the real powerhouses are Bakugou and Midoriya, though Midoriya seems really skittish.” Hagakure replied.

“If you asked me, I think it will come down to who can overpower the other.” Yaoyorozu interjected. “It also depends on which team can work together best.”

“TEAM A MAY NOW ENTER THE BUILDING!”

Using Uraraka’s Zero Gravity, the two were able to enter from the third floor.

“Knowing Katsuki, he’ll be coming straight for me. So be on guard.” Izuku advised.

The two traversed throughout the floor, checking every room and so far no bomb and no Katsuki.

Where could he be? Did we miss him on a lower floor?

They reached the staircase to the fourth floor when they saw him. At the top of the stairs was Katsuki, his arms crossed. Izuku immediately got into a battle ready stance.

“There you are, Deku.” He said. “You’re not going any farther, because there’s no way you can possibly pass me.”

He’s acting strange. Izuku thought. He’s too calm.

“Uraraka, I’ll distract him, you need to find a way onto the next floor.” He whispered. She nodded and backed up, giving the boys some room.

“Ever since that Sludge Bastard, I’ve been training even harder than ever. So get ready!” Katsuki yelled before blasting himself down the stairs. Izuku dodged the first blast and backed out of the stairway, trying to lead Katsuki away from the stairs. Uraraka had already made herself scarce so he wasn’t worried about her getting caught in the crossfire.

Katsuki charged and reared back with his right hand.

There!

Izuku steeled himself, sidestepped the blow while grabbing Katsuki by the arm. Using a small amount of One for All in his legs, Izuku swung Katsuki over his shoulder and onto the ground, taking the wind out of him.

“Katsuki, you always lead with that right hook. I know that because I’ve always seen it. In those notebooks you hated, I wrote about the heroes I think are awesome, you included.” Izuku said, his voice not wavering while Katsuki got himself up and seethed. “I won’t be your punching bag anymore.”

Katsuki gnashed his teeth.

"Bakugou! What’s going on down there?” Katsuki heard Glasses say in the comms All Might had given them.

“Watch out for Cheeks, I’ve got Deku here.” He growled into the mic before turning back to Izuku. “I’m gonna wreck you.”

As the two duked it out, Ochaco made her way up the stairs.

I feel bad about leaving Midoriya there, but we can’t lose. I just gotta find the bomb then stay hidden till he gets here.

She eventually peeked into a room before sneaking inside. She could see Iida in his armor standing next to the bomb and he was… monologuing?

“Though it pains me, I must fulfill the role of the villain. It may bring shame to the Iida name, but this training will help me become a better person.” Iida was saying, before going weirdly rigid, well, more rigid than normal, and then speaking in an over exaggeratedly evil voice. “I am… the Ultimate Evil!”

It was taking everything Ochaco had to not burst out in laughter.

He’s taking this so seriously!

She prepared to move spots, but she accidentally tripped over her own leg and fell to the floor. She looked back and saw Iida looking at her. “Oh hey Iida.”

“So you’ve come, hero!” Iida announced in that evil voice. “The plan is working flawlessly! I have prepared for your arrival. Your quirk allows you to levitate objects, so I removed all the objects on this floor!”

I guess that’s why this floor looked so empty.

“You’ve miscalculated by coming alone, hero! Mwahahahahahahahahaha!”

“Iida found me,” She said into her mic as she backed up.

“Where are you?” She heard Midoriya answer her back.

“Fifth floor, in the center.”

“That’s two floors up from me. We only have a little time left, so be ready.”

“Ready for what?” she asked as Iida began moving towards her.

“You’ll know it when it happens.”

As soon as he said that, the building shook. It sounded like an explosion.

“What was that?!” Iida exclaimed. “What on Earth is Bakugou doing?”

Now’s my chance!

She tapped her hand onto her arm and used the pillar next to her and launched herself towards the bomb.

“Oh no you don’t” Iida said, catching her leg and throwing her into a pillar. “As long as there’s nothing for you to touch, you can’t do anything to me. Continue struggling as your time runs out! HAHAHAHAHA!”

Please hurry Midoriya!

“That was awesome,” Katsuki said, shaking his arm. He had bragged about the capabilities of his gauntlets before pulling the pin and letting the stored sweat blast out. He made sure to use the one with the least sweat, not wanting to inflict too much pain.

“Young Bakugou, let another one of those explosions out and I will be stopping the lesson.” He heard All Might say.

He looked over at Deku, whose costume was covered in soot.

“Pillar by the window? I got it.” He heard the nerd say.

“Come on now, don’t ignore me!” He launched himself with an explosion. He could see Deku preparing to counter, but he used another explosion to launch himself up and over before releasing another explosion into Deku’s back.

“Since you love it so much, here’s that right hook!” He yelled, grabbing the nerd's arm and flinging him onto the ground.

Back in the screening room, some of the class were demanding that the teachers stop the match.

“He’s using too much force!” Kirishima exclaimed. “The capture tape would have ended this ages ago!”

They watched as Midoriya ran, Bakugou giving chase.

“He’s running!” Ashido said.

“It’s not the most manly move,” Kirishima replied. “But he doesn’t have much of a choice. He has a lot of power, but he hasn’t used much of his quirk.”

I should stop the match, All Might thought. But yet…

“I’m not out yet, Katsuki!” He heard his successor say.

The look in the young man’s eyes was the same as that day. The day he offered to mentor Young Midoriya, with his impassioned speech about wanting to be a hero.

No, I will let the match continue. For the path you are striving on, this confrontation is necessary!

He watched as the two launched themselves at each other and he was prepared to call in the medic bots if necessary. He was about to change his mind and call it when Young Midoriya spoke again.

“Uraraka, NOW!”

Instead of using his arm to attack Young Bakugou, he swung his arm upward and the force of One for All tore its way through the ceiling, reaching all the way up to the fifth floor. Young Uraraka grabbed a pillar as it lost its standing and, using her quirk, swung the pillar to hit debris towards Young Iida. As he dodged, she jumped towards the bomb and was able to grab it.

“THE HERO TEAM WINS!!!” All Might announced. He pressed a button on the desk to dispatch the medic bots. That attack managed to break Young Midoriya’s arm.

Well done, my boy.

Taking another loop of string, Ayano wound it around a pin as she connected two different photos. Without meaning to, she has found herself in a precarious position. Taking on small time thugs are one thing, but going up against a plot to kill the Number One Hero? It was not something she could take lightly.

Her and Ophelia had been working since last night trying to come up with their next move. She knew she should warn UA about the attack, but Ophelia expressed worries about contacting the school. From her files, she knew that the Principal of UA was a notorious intelligence hero, and once they ended up on his radar, it was only a matter of time before they were caught.

Ayano had grown a lot in the year since she was revived. For the first few months, Ayano was unsure of herself, but Ophelia was able to see as she became more confident, though it wasn’t outwardly obvious. Of course, Ophelia didn’t know how Ayano was as a person before her death, but her chosen was someone with a heart of gold, yet was soft spoken, tending to pause while she speaks.

Part of her regretted letting Ayano put herself at risk like this, going out and being a vigilante, but Ayano was steadfast. She wanted to help, not expecting anything in return.

“Ayano.”

“Yes, Ophelia?”

“It may not be the best idea, but we can send a message to UA. We should at least let them know something is coming. They may not know and I don’t want to put innocent people at risk.”

“I agree.” Ayano said, moving back to her desk and pulling out a piece of unlined paper. She began writing down some information. What she wrote down was a simple message, one she knew would get their attention. She looked back at her Ghost. “Should we… sign it?”

“I thought you didn’t want to come up with a name?” Ophelia was confused.

“We need to make sure… they take it seriously.”

“Ooh, then I’ve got just the one. Here, how does this sound…”

Nezu, Principal of UA, was returning to his office after the review of Class 1-A and 1-B’s battle trials as well as doing final approvals for the winners doing the first round of rescue training. Despite Aizawa’s protesting, they chose this course of action. Normally, they kept the two hero course classes more separate until the joint training in the winter, but with the whispers going around the underground, Nezu thought it prudent to foster more inter-class cooperation so they can work together better. Nezu has also spoken to the upper-class teachers as well. Upon reaching his office, he could immediately tell something was wrong.

Hmm

He hopped up onto his chair and then he saw it. There was a piece of paper sitting on his desktop. It was a simple white cardstock, but it was what was written on it that interested him. On the front, it simply had his name. Taking the paper in his paw, he flipped it over.

“A storm is coming. Prepare yourself.”
-H

Chapter Text

“Ok, so the ones coming to the rescue training are: Uraraka and Midoriya, Todoroki and Shoji, Kirishima and Sero, Yaoyorozu and Mineta, and Aoyama and Ashido.” Aizawa said, having returned as the trials ended. “The rest of you will be going back over the recordings with Snipe while they’re gone. Those going, you’ll be joined by myself, All Might and a special guest. Now, you’re dismissed. Get home safe.”

He watched as the students left. “You can come back All Might, they’re gone.”

The emaciated form of the Number One Hero came back from the side room he had left to since he had run out of time to sustain his hero form.

“Come on, we got to go over the footage with Kan.”

Class B had been doing their own set of trials at another of the testing grounds. Aizawa still didn’t like that the rat had told them to do a joint rescue training, but he couldn’t really argue with the logic behind it. And Aizawa is all about logic.

After the schedule and student participants were finalized, Aizawa was preparing to leave after taking more notes on the trials. A ping from his phone broke him out of his concentration. It was a message from the rat.

“Be careful at the USJ”

A sigh filled the empty room.

“Can I just have one day of peace.”

Ayano was stood atop the main UA building, using Vanish to keep herself cloaked. UA was notoriously security heavy but it seems that the Light keeps her from being detected by their systems. Ophelia was in the process of delivering their note to the Principal, so she could only hope that the Intelligence Hero would take their warning seriously.

Since Ophelia would be gone for a while, Ayano decided to lay down on the roof. She removed her goggles and stared up at the night sky, the light pollution from the city below making it difficult to see the stars. Ophelia had told her stories of her travels through space, and part of Ayano longed to see them for herself. But for now, she had a job to do.

Was it an innate calling of a Guardian to help others? Or was it something left over from the Ayano she used to be? Sometimes she wished to know who she was originally, but she thought that maybe not knowing was for the best. Knowing might only bring pain, not just for her, but for her family. She knew that she had only died a few decades prior so her family is still alive, but how could she possibly explain how she was alive again without exposing Ophelia to the world. Ayano didn’t want to put the only friend she had at risk.

In her time as a vigilante, she had seen both the good and bad of the world. Heroes roamed the streets, making villains rise up to challenge them, which only brings about more heroes, and so the cycle continued. Some heroes were only out for themselves, not really caring about those they had sworn to protect. Some villains were products of circumstances out of their control. It was pointless to classify them in such black and white categories. Not all heroes were good or bad, and the same applied to those they fought.

Deciding to not spiral down that hole again, she chose instead to listen to the sounds of the city. Her quirk made it really easy to hear everything around her. She could faintly hear the sounds of the few remaining people left inside the school, as well as the sound of cars off in the distance. If Ayano focused enough, she could even hear the sounds of the light breeze drifting.

Lately, Ophelia had been trying to show her some of the other functions of the Light. While the Arc staff was the default nowadays, her Ghost had told her about the Bladedancers, Hunters who channeled their Arc Light in the form of a knife. She told her of the way some Hunters used their Solar Light to fire a volley of knives, or how Warlocks could empower themselves solely with Solar without the need for the Dawnblade. How the Void could be used for something similar to Bladedancers. Another thing Ayano was training was using Blink, a form of short range teleport. It worked similarly to her empowered jumps, but it was using it more as a form of dodging more than it was traversal.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she could hear Ophelia coming back to her.

“Did you drop it off?” She asked the Ghost.

“Sure did! I also did some eavesdropping. It seems that the first year hero students are taking a field trip at the beginning of the week to some off site facility. If those villains were going to be striking at UA, it would most likely be there.” Ophelia reported.

Ayano held out her gloved hand and Ophelia moved to hover above it. Ayano always admired how the glowing lines on the shell would pulsate when Ophelia was excited, or how the lines formed a star chart like appearance.

“Good job.” Ayano complimented.

“That’s right, keep it coming.” If a floating robot could look smug, Ophelia would be it. “Since it’s not till next week, we have the weekend to prepare. Though that’s only if we are staying with the plan.”

“Yes, let’s stick to the plan. They… don’t know what we know, so we need to help.”

“We have the recordings, let’s look back over it and figure out who all those people are. We need a plan if we’re going to be helping.”

“Yes, let’s.”

“Alrighty! Prepare for transmat.”

With that, the duo disappeared from the roof of the hero school.

Izuku was spending the weekend writing notes about his classmates’ quirks. He wanted to see if he could figure out how they tick, especially Creation, Invisibility, and Hardening. He had spoken to Hagakure some, after some initial nervousness, and she had told him some about her quirk, but something kept bugging him about it. It could just be quirk fuckery, but if she possessed true invisibility, how was she able to see? There had to be some trick to it. Kirishima had dismissed Hardening as a boring and unflashy quirk, but Izuku had reassured him that it was perfectly suitable. That type of defense was something many pros probably wish they had.

So far UA was everything he had hoped for and more. He had friends, he felt like he finally belonged. A small part of him was sad that he had lost the chance to prove he could be a hero without a quirk, but over his training he had thought about how he would never have trained for the exam. His mindset was just that he would find a way to pass without trying. He would rather still achieve his dream with the quirk than fail and lose his chance to be a hero without one. When he graduated and went pro, he decided that he would advocate for equality for those with quirks deemed undesirable, villainess, worthless and for those who didn’t have quirks. That’s the type of hero Izuku Midoriya wants to be. He was even more excited for the rescue training. Monday couldn’t come fast enough.

Since his costume got banged up, Izuku wore his gym uniform but had also taken his gauntlets, boots and belt. The rest of his classmates had chosen to wear their costumes as well. Since Iida had lost, he was the one in charge, though Iida had left him with some instructions. He means well, but he follows rules a bit too closely. Assigning bus seats based on seat number was a little far. He was writing in his notebook when Vlad King, teacher of Class B, arrived with his students. He saw Itsuka Kendo, who he had met when the Class Reps had an introductory meeting on their duties as well as Nirengeki Shoda, who was the vice rep. The rest he didn’t know, but they all looked cool in their costumes. The silver haired boy kinda had a passing resemblance with Kirishima, something that the two in question immediately saw, starting a conversation with each other.

“Get on the bus,” Aizawa said tiredly, though his eyes were even more focused than normal. “We have a schedule to keep after all.”

Entering the bus, Izuku saw it was an open floor plan, meaning Iida’s chart was useless anyway. He sat down next to Aoyama, who was fawning over his cape again. Across from him was Ashido and Shoji. Before the bus started moving, someone he didn’t recognize sat down on his other side. It was a blond haired boy from Class B. He was wearing what looked like a formal tuxedo.

“Nice to meet you.” he said with some bravado, holding out his hand. “My name is Neito Monoma.”

“Oh,” Izuku replied, returning the handshake. “Izuku Midoriya.”

After Izuku took his hand, he could see Monoma’s smile fade a little, like he was disappointed.

“Is something wrong?” Izuku asked, tilting his head.

“Oh, how could I forget. My quirk is Copy, it lets me copy the quirks of those I touch.”

“That’s so cool!” Izuku beamed.

“Really?” Monoma seemed confused.

“Of course! Imagine how versatile that is! You could copy any quirk suited to the current situation.” He thought for a moment before continuing. “Is that why you shook my hand?”

“I apologize, I just wanted to see what your quirk was, but it seems that it’s a blank.”

“A blank?”

“It’s what I call the ones that I can’t use. It mostly pertains to mutation quirks and ones that stockpile. And since I cannot see a mutation on you, I am assuming it’s the latter.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Izuku said, remembering his prepared spiel of his cover that he and All Might came up with. “My quirk is Energy Release. I release stored energy through my body.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“Ayano.” Ophelia said, nudging the girl beside her. “They’re coming.”

Ayano reached into the pack she brought with them and took out the binoculars. She could see a bus pulling up to the domed building. She watched as the students got out and walked inside.

“The students are in.” Ayano said. “How do you think the villains will appear?”

“Not sure.” Ophelia said. The two kept their eyes on the perimeter for a minute or so when Ophelia spoke up again. “Wait…”

Ayano looked and could see Ophelia’s eye flashing.

“Atmospheric pressure is dropping! A bunch of lifeforms just appeared inside the building!”

“H-How many?!”

“A hundred extra people just appeared at various spots within the building!”

Ayano quickly threw the binoculars back into the bag, zipping it up and slinging it onto her shoulder over her cloak.

“Ophelia, let’s do this.” She said, bringing her goggles up to cover her black eyes.

“There’s no going back if we do, you know that?” Ophelia said, concerned.

“I know, but it’s… the right thing to do.”

“Ok then. I’ll transmat you on top of the dome. It’s up to you now…”

Ayano felt the transmat pull her and suddenly found her footing on the dome.

“...Huntress.”

Ochaco watched in horror as Midoriya and most of the other students fell through the portals that the villains had arrived in. Only her, Shoji, Ashido, and her shroomy lookalike from Class B were left near the top of the stairs. She watched as Shoji quickly grew ears across his arms.

“They’re still in the building, but were moved to different zones.” He said.

Thirteen looked back at them. “Shit, we don’t have anyone speedy. We need to get one of you out to warn the campus. Someone’s interfering with the system so the automatic alarm isn’t working.”

“Quite bold, to be discussing your plans in front of the enemy.” The misty villain said.

“It won’t matter!” Thirteen exclaimed, uncapping the finger on their suit. “You won’t be able to stop us.”

“Thank you…” Izuku said, pausing because he didn’t know her name.

“Setsuna Tokage,” the now identified girl said. “It was a piece of cake with my quirk.”

“The mist villain said that All Might’s schedule must have been revised. That meant they knew what our schedule was.” Izuku said, a hand on his chin. “Was the media rush last week caused by them? And what do they mean they want to kill All Might?”

“There’s no way they could beat All Might!” Mineta exclaimed. “He’ll take care of them easily!”

“They wouldn’t come here just to be beaten,” Tokage said. “They must have a way to kill him.”

“We have to hold out until All Might arrives.” Izuku said, looking at the two of them. He was thinking of everything that All Might has done for him. Why would they want to kill him? Was it because he was heralded as the Symbol of Peace, or because he stands against villains? Izuku’s face twisted in horror as he thought of All Might dying. “No matter the reason they want to kill him, if they have a way to do it, we must stand against them.”

“But how do you propose we do that?” Tokage asked.

“First we need to get out of this zone, and I may have a way to do so…”

The first thing Eijiro felt after being teleported was landing on someone else.

“Ah dammit, get off me!” his pillow yelled. Eijiro quickly got off of him. He looked at who it was and it was one of the Class B boys, Kamakiri, he thinks. “Where the fuck are we?”

“It looks like the ruins zone.” Eijiro said. They heard movement and quickly went to one of the windows. Outside were a bunch of villains, and they saw the students. “We got company!”

Kamakiri growled. “We can take them.” Some blades came out of the boy’s arms. Eijiro grinned, hardening his arms in kind.

“Let’s do this.”

“Be careful!” Momo said to her cohorts. She ended up in the mountains zone alongside two of Class B, Monoma and Kodai. Monoma had quickly explained his and Kodai’s quirks and was currently assisting Momo in creating some defenses. There were many villains surrounding them. Momo had created a bat and shield for herself while Monoma created a bag of bolts for Kodai, whose quirk was Size, letting her change the size of objects.

They were about to start attacking when a massive glacier appeared in the zone next to theirs.

Guess we know where Todoroki went.

While Ashido kept the mist villain busy, Ochaco and Shoji were bolting it for the exit to the USJ. They quickly planned for Shoji to throw a gravity-less Uraraka towards the campus, hoping she could get out of the range of the jammer.

Come on! We’re almost there!

Suddenly a portal blocked the exit. The two stopped as the mist villain closed in on them. But right before he reached them, something shot out of the sky, landing in front of them. It was an electric blue staff. The mist villain ignored it and moved closer when an arc of actual electricity shot off of the staff and hit him square where Ochaco had seen the brace on his neck earlier. The villain fell to the ground seemingly incapacitated. The staff then pried itself out of the ground, flying up as someone caught it in midair before landing in between them and the villain, who started getting back up.

All Ochaco could see of the newcomer was the deep blue cloak adorned with vertical white lines on the hood, a massive white patch and a wolf head on the back, and the black boots they were wearing. The lightning from the staff was coursing across them now too as they held it behind them in a reverse stance.

“Your plan is to escape, right?” The newcomer asked without turning. The voice itself was indistinct and muffled, like they were wearing a mask. “Go, I’ll take care of him.”

They didn’t have to tell her twice. The two ran through the doors and then outside.

“UA is that way,” Shoji said, pointing to the distance.

Ochaco quickly tapped herself, removing her gravity as Shoji grabbed her with his arms. He began spinning to gain momentum before throwing her with all his strength. Ochaco soared through the air, clutching the device Thirteen had given them.

I have to make it!

“And who do you think you are, interfering like this?” Kurogiri asked Huntress.

“Someone who won’t let you hurt innocent people.” She replied.

If they get help, it’s over for us. Kurogiri thought. Tomura must know of this.

“This isn’t over.” Kurogiri said as he warped away.

The Huntress dismissed the Arc Staff as Shoji arrived back inside. She didn’t acknowledge him as she ran towards where Thirteen was injured, Ashido hunched over her protectively.

“What do you want?!” She yelled at the vigilante.

“I am not your enemy.” Huntress replied. “I can help your teacher.”

Ashido clearly didn’t believe her. Huntress slowly pulled up her goggles, letting the student see her eyes, which were sincere.

“Ashido,” Shoji said, having caught up again. “They helped me get Uraraka out, you can trust them.”

“Fine, but only because you said so.” Was the reply as Ashido dropped out of her stance.

Huntress walked over to the lacerated body of the pro hero.

“The damage is too severe to treat fully.” She heard Ophelia say in her head. “But we can stop it from getting worse.”

Huntress got down on a knee as a ball of white mist coalesced in her hand. She pressed it onto the hero’s back as the bleeding stopped.

“I’ve done what I can.” She said to the students. “Keep a watch over them.”

Ashido nodded as Huntress set off towards the stairs.

“What’s the situation so far?” She asked.

“Most of the students were teleported to different parts of the facility. It’s definitely the work of the mist person. It seems the students in the Flood Zone, Landslide Zone, and Ruins Zone have dispatched most to all the villains, so our targets of interest are the Mountain Zone, Conflagration Zone, and the Downpour Zone. Eraserhead is still fighting down in the central plaza. Wait… No, you need to get to the central plaza now! Eraserhead just got taken down by a really large villain.”

Huntress summoned one of her Arc grenades before consuming the energy, causing her legs to start glowing the same blue as her staff.

“Let’s go.” She said before shooting down the stairs, lightning trailing behind her.

Everything hurts.

It was going well originally. Most of these villains were wholly dependent on their quirks, which Shota was able to exploit to his advantage. That was before the villain covered in hands, the leader, had deduced how Erasure worked, which ended up with Shota’s elbow disintegrating. Even so, this was fine, he could still fight. Then the leader ordered the large bird thing he called the Nomu to attack him. With how fast the thing went, it was like All Might himself was here. Activating his quirk, Shota’s eyes glowed red, yet it didn’t slow down.

Shota could hear the bones in his arms cracking as a large hand grabbed him by the head and slammed him into the ground.

“Meet the Anti-Symbol of Peace. The bio-engineered Nomu.” The leader said. “You can cancel out quirks, sure, but you’re no match against Nomu’s strength.”

Shota tried to reach out but the monster grabbed his arm before squeezing, totally shattering all the bones in his arm. Nomu lifted his head up, to which he tried to erase its quirk before seeing movement out of the corner of his eyes.

No no no no! What are they doing over here! He could see Midoriya, Mineta and one of Vlad’s students over by the outer edge of the flood zone. Trying to ignore the pain wracking his body, he tried to signal to them to leave.

The temperature dropped some as the mist villain reappeared next to the leader.

“Tomura Shigaraki,” He said.

“Kurogiri, did you kill Thirteen like you were told to?”

“They are incapacitated, and I was unable to warp away some of the students, keeping me from finishing the job.”

“I should kill you for that, ah, if only you weren’t my escape ticket.” Shigaraki muttered as he began scratching his neck roughly.

“One managed to escape.” Kurogiri said, making Shigaraki turn to him, anger evident in his eyes. “There’s also a third party inside the building. They stopped me from warping the escapee.”

“They aren’t part of our forces?”

“No. They seem to possess some form of electric manipulation, though not like Tesla.”

There’s someone else here? Shota thought from his position on the ground. No hero nearby has a quirk like that.

“How dare someone try and third party us. It’s game over then. We can’t take on them and a horde of pros.”

From over at the edge of the Flood Zone, Izuku was listening. He turned to his classmates. “They’re leaving.”

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Tokage said.

“For them just to leave after all of this.” He said. I thought they wanted to kill All Might, but he’s not here.

“Before we leave though, let’s leave a few dead kids.” Shigaraki’s voice sounded much closer. “To wound the Symbol of Peace’s pride!”

In a short few seconds, the villain had managed to make it all the way to the three students, his hand reaching out towards Tokage’s face. His hand reached forward and all five fingers made contact…..

….yet nothing happened. The villain and the kids were stunned for a second as Shigaraki laughed a little.

“You really are so cool, Eraserhead.”

Shigaraki let go of Tokage’s head before standing up and walking back toward the downed hero.

“How about dead kids, we leave a dead teacher instead. Though, your quirk is quite useful. Kurogiri.” He said, the mist man waiting for the order. “Telep–”

Shigaraki was cut off by a blue projectile connecting with him. He rolled across the plaza and righted himself before coming to a stop. He could see Kurogiri had warped to his side as well as the Nomu letting go of Eraserhead and coming to his side as well to protect its master.

The projectile, a staff, was still floating where it had hit Shigaraki before flying back and landing in the hand of the third party.

“Tomura Shigaraki.” The intruder, their voice a mixture of human and robot.

“What do you want, Third Party?!”

“You will be brought to justice.” The Huntress said.

Guess we’re getting a continue. Tomura thought. “You can try.”

Chapter Text

As Ayano stared the villains down, Ophelia was keeping track of all the life signs present in the building. But she noticed something.

“Aya, whenever the purple one teleports, the atmospheric pressure and temperature drop at the same time.”

“Does this mean that we… can track when he prepares to warp?”

“Yes! Though our main priority is the big guy. His vital signs are all over the place, though I cannot be sure as to why without getting an in depth scan. Just know that he is crazy strong, I’m not sure you can beat him.”

Ayano’s eyes darted between the three villains. The warper and disintegrator make for a deadly combo, but the giveaway the teleport has made it easier to counter. Her first priority, despite Ophelia’s recommendation, should be the warper. Cut off their escape, and they become easier to manage.

Calling upon her Light, Ayano sent more Arc energy into her staff, the sparks beginning to become more wild and spreading more across her body. She brought her left hand behind her back and prepared a flash grenade.

“Let’s get this over with.” Shigaraki groaned. “Nomu! Kill them!”

Ayano’s eyes widened as the bird villain went from across the plaza to right in front of her in an instant. She attempted to jump away, but the Nomu grabbed her leg and threw her up towards the ceiling of the facility, following not far behind. Ayano twisted her body midair, managing to have her feet hit the roof. Using as much power as she could muster, and ignoring the pain in her leg, she kicked off the roof and pointed the tip of the Arc staff, her and the Nomu connecting in the air and bringing them both down to the ground in a splash of sparks.

Nomu, seemingly unfazed by the crash, threw a punch aimed at her face, but before it could connect, she vanished.

Eat this!

From above, Ayano channeled the most Arc Light she could into the staff and launched it. It stabbed through the Nomu and pinned it to the ground as it poured as many volts as it could into the villain.

Ayano blinked again and landed back onto the ground. A massive amount of pain went through her leg and she lost her balance. Trying to heal her leg would cause her to lose focus on the Arc staff so all she could do was watch as Shigaraki stalked towards her. Once he made it, he kneeled in front of her.

“You know, Nomu was made to combat All Might. Our Anti-Symbol of Peace. Did you really think that would be enough to beat it?” As he said that, the Nomu grabbed ahold of the staff, ripping it out of its body and snapping the staff in two, the pieces dissipating into nothingness. All the wounds she had inflicted on it fixed itself, as if it had never happened.

Just at that moment, a massive crash rebound through the facility. At the now destroyed front door, was All Might himself.

“Fear not! For I am Here!” The Number One Hero declared as he ripped the tie off of his dress shirt.

In an instant, both Eraserhead and the students near the central plaza were whisked away towards the top of the stairs before All Might stood before the villains and downed vigilante. The remaining villains in the plaza stood in awe. It seems even to villains, the presence of the number one hero still brought about some childlike glee. To Shigaraki, this is what he has been waiting for.

In a split second, All Might blitzed forward and took down the villains as well as gathering Aizawa and bringing him to his successor and the other students.

“Get him to safety. I will handle these villains.” He said. Tokage and Mineta quickly nodded and helped to support the downed teacher. Izuku was looking at his mentor in worry.

“Will you be fine?” he managed to ask the hero.

“Of course. It’s what I’m here for.” All Might reassured him before turning his attention to the remaining villains. Shigaraki had stood up from his position before turning to the hulking beast next to him.

“Get rid of the third party. The main quest is here.” He said. Nomu rushed, grabbed the vigilante by the arm and chucked her across the facility. “All Might. You’re what's wrong with this society. And that’s why you must die.”

Ayano awoke with a gasp before quickly sitting up. One second she was in the plaza with Shigaraki as All Might arrived, and the next she was here, wherever here was. She was vaguely aware of Ophelia hovering next to her.

“Thank the Traveler, you're okay!” Opehlia cried.

“What happened?” Ayano asked, bringing her hand to her head.

“The Nomu threw you across the USJ,” the Ghost said. “I had to revive you again.”

Ayano’s eyes widened and her breath was caught in her throat. “I… what?”

“No, you’re fine!” Ophelia quickly assured her. “While I’m around, you technically can’t die, at least not fully.”

She wasn’t tired physically, as the revival reset her to a fully healthy state, but she was tired all the same. A crash sounded out nearby, causing Ayano to quickly jolt up and survey their surroundings.

“Ophelia, hide.” She whispered, Ophelia disappearing as she said it. It looked like she was thrown all the way to the mountain zone. Moving ahead, she saw some students surrounded by a larger group of villains. The students didn’t look too injured, but it seems that they’ve been at this for a while.

Seeing as she was higher up than the fight, Ayano drew from the Void as a glowing purple bow materialized in her hands. Getting into a good stance, she drew the string back and an arrow formed. Taking a deep breath, she let the arrow fly. Without watching it, she jumped off the ledge and began her descent towards the fight. No one else needed to get hurt.

We’re in trouble. Neito Monoma thought. At first, it was going well. Using Yaoyorozu’s quirk, he and his classmates were able to hold off the villains for a while but since they were on the defense, by the time they were getting through the group, the first few they knocked out were starting to wake. At the same time, both himself and Yaoyorozu were exhausted from overworking Creation. Kodai also wasn’t looking too great either as she was constantly using Size to throw projectiles.

The villain responsible for jamming the USJ’s signal had revealed himself, as they had an electricity quirk. Just when he thought they were done for, something impacted the ground in front of the villains. It looked like an arrow of some sort.

Just our luck, now we have a ranged— He began but was cut off when the arrow exploded into a ball swirling with purple and black energy of some sort. Tendrils shot out of the ball and attached themselves to the villains, all of them falling in pain. Neito was what you’d call a quirk nerd, something he’d say he shares with 1A’s Midoriya, but no hero he’s ever researched has something like this.

The three hero students watched as all the villains fell unconscious, though none dropped their guard. The ball dissipated, leaving no trace behind. Suddenly, someone landed next to them, all three quickly turning to attack the newcomer but they stopped. Getting a good look at them, he eyes widened in recognition. He knew who this was. Unbeknownst to him, so did someone else.

“Wait!” he said. They slowly let their weapons droop. This was the Phantom of Musutafu.

“Are you all okay?” The modulated voice of the Phantom asked them. The vigilante was checking on the downed villains, tying them up so they can’t move when they wake up.

“Umm, yes?” Yaoyorozu said from beside him. “Thank you for your assistance, are you a hero?”

The Phantom stilled before shaking their head. “No. But I’m here to help.”

Yaoyorozu was about to say more but another crash rang through the USJ and the four watched as a large figure flew through the air and broke through the ceiling to who knows where.

“What was that?!” Neito exclaimed.

“It seems… All Might was able to succeed after all.” The Phantom said, “You all should be safe to move back to the entrance now.”

Yaoyorozu started moving first, followed by Neito. He motioned for Kodai to follow them, but she was still looking at the vigilante. He watched as she bowed before coming to join them. After a moment or two, he turned back but the Phantom was gone. They heard footsteps moving towards them and spotted Present Mic running over.

“Thank goodness!” the hero said, relieved. “Are you all okay?”

“Yes sir,” Yaoyorozu said. “What’s happened?”

“All Might spotted Uraraka in the air and he was able to notify the campus. He was able to get the villains to retreat. You’re safe now.” Mic said, checking them over for injuries. “The police will be here soon. Let’s get you all to the entrance.”

Nezu was angry, more angry than he had been for a long time. Never before had villains tried to attack UA directly, and now that they have, Nezu will be ready. No one hurts his students and gets away with it.

Aizawa and Thirteen were stable. There was going to be some nerve damage to Aizawa’s eyes as well as his arm, but he would hopefully pull through once the Sports Festival passes. Thirteen seemed better than he thought as he was told their quirk was turned against them. While the rescue hero looked bad, their injuries weren’t bleeding.

It was now late, and the students were now at home with their parents. Padding over to his desk, he looked at the note still sitting there. He was warned, and he did not listen as well as he should. At first, he thought Mic was playing a trick on him, but the hero had said it wasn’t him.

That then brought him to his current suspect. According to the students that were at the stairs during the attack, someone intervened, allowing Uraraka to escape and then were able to do… something to Thirteen that stopped the bleeding. The description was something he had heard before. The Phantom. The elusive vigilante that is confusing even him, which unsettled Nezu. At first, he believed they could be an agent of All for One, despite the man being dead. But posing as a vigilante isn’t part of the boogeyman’s MO. So while not fully dismissed, Nezu instead looked for other explanations. With their appearance at the USJ and the note, he could only assume it was them who sent it. He will have to give more attention to this, but it will have to wait. This League of Villains came first. Their leader had given away crucial information. And Nezu will use it to take them down.

Kurogiri was cleaning glasses as the Doctor patched up Tomura, who was still fuming. All Might and the interloper ruined everything.

“You were wrong, Sensei,” Tomura said to the TV that read ‘Audio Only.’ “All Might wasn’t weaker! He beat Nomu like he was nothing.”

“Failure is to be expected.” Sensei’s voice came from the screen. “Remember, there will always be a next time. Have you learned from this experience?”

“We need to find higher level party members,” Tomura said, still glaring. “Numbers are easily overwhelmed in the face of someone as OP as All Might.”

“Then we start there. Tomura, once you heal, begin searching for those who will follow you. Not just anyone will do.” The TV screen went blank.

Back in his lair, All for One pondered their next move. Tomura had mentioned a third party had intervened in the attack. The Phantom of Musutafu. He had thought them nothing special, just another nobody who would be of no note. But yet they managed to stand against the Nomu, though not for long. And the power described by Tomura, this lightning quirk could prove to be extremely helpful, not many electric quirks could form into constructs. He wanted it.

Garaki stepped through Kurogiri’s portal.

“Garaki, how are the rest of the Nomu?”

“They need more work, they won’t be ready for a few weeks at most.”

“Take your time then.”

While Tomura will look for teammates, All for One will be using his time searching for this vigilante.