Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Hey, Midoriya-kun.” Shinsou muttered as he slid into his seat.

Izuku nodded at the boy in front of him, not sparing him a glance as Izuku kept sketching in his notebook. He had the pleasure to see a few new heroes debut this morning on the way to school. He entertained himself during the fight thinking about their glaring weaknesses for the villains to use against them. 

Of course, the villains never really seemed to use the weaknesses that stood out to Izuku, so he wasn’t sure if they were things that stood out to anyone else, but he did take a bit of pleasure being able to write out options to help those heroes, even if they didn’t get to see them until later in the week.  

Shinsou turned around in his seat, groaning as he did so. Izuku suppressed a smirk as he looked up. “How’s your abs feeling today?”

Shinsou shot him a sharp look as he huffed. “I am as close to death as I can get without dying. Seriously, where does Aizawa-sensei get off on watching me find muscles I never knew existed until now?” Shinsou huffed, massaging circles into his thighs. “That man is going to be the cause of my death, I swear.”

Izuku smiled. “Well, at least you’re no longer a stick figure. Finally, it looks like you eat a solid three meals a day.”

Shinsou sniffed. “I wasn’t that skinny.”

Izuku flipped to the back of his sketchbook and turned it around, showing Shinsou the Stick Figure™ he drew simply for the sake of this argument. “Your portrait begs to differ.” Izuku flipped the page to show a different Shinsou Stick Figure™ and fought his grin. “Your portrait also seems to be begging for food.”

Shinsou shoved the sketchbook away from him, back to Izuku and crossed his arms. “I still don’t think you can say anything. You’re shorter than my Auntie.” 

Izuku shrugged. “At least I’m not anemic.”

Shinsou glared. “Chill out, Midoriya-kun. You’re talking a lot of shit for someone who shares the same height with Nedzu.”

Izuku snorted. “You know he’s like, 85 cm, right?”

Shinsou looked him up and down. “I’m aware.”

Izuku gasped dramatically, holding a hand to his heart. “Shinsou-kun, I can’t believe you would say such a thing to your bestest friend in the whole wide school.” Shinsou snorted. “Besides, I’m only looking out for you.”

“I thought you’d need to look up for me.” Shinsou raised an eyebrow. 

Izuku frowned. “Not really. Your hair is like a beacon. I don’t even need to look for it. You remember when we watched The Lorax together?” Shinsou groaned. Izuku grinned. “Even your mom agrees; your hair looks like it came from the Truffula Trees.” 

“At least mine doesn’t look like a bush from the suburbs.”

“At least I never looked like a streetlamp.”

Shinsou leaned closer. “At least my growth wasn’t stunted because my dad forgot to come back with the milk.”

Izuku squinted his eyes at his friend. “At least my worst fear isn’t a ceiling fan.”

“At least I’ll never be mistaken for a speedbump.”

“At least I’ve never pretended to be emo to scare off new hero-class classmates. Actually, I’ve never done that to any of my classmates.”

Shinsou scoffed. “I never pretended.”

Izuku looked him up and down. “Then your emo phase was over quick, man.”

“What would you know about an emo phase anyways?”

Izuku panicked. “Nothing.”

Shinsou grinned. “Off-topic. We’re spending the night at my house next weekend, right?”

Izuku hung his head as Shinsou snickered. He knew Shinsou would somehow rope his older sister into giving them emo makeovers and Izuku would have to live with the knowledge that they’d know how ‘teenage edgy’ he looked with eyeliner on (Hawks words - not his). The bell rang, cutting off any extra commentary his friend might’ve had for him and their homeroom teacher walked through the doors. 

Izuku did have a special love for Present Mic growing up. The man was someone Izuku adored as he listened to the local radio station, ‘Put Your Hands Up’ whenever he could. Present Mic was more of a day-to-day hero than anyone else, especially since Present Mic had a talk-portion of the show, allowing listeners to call in and talk about their day and/or issues with the hero. 

Izuku himself never called in, but he listened everytime he possibly could, especially after Hawks snuck a Present Mic Radio into his room. Present Mic was one of the only heroes Izuku grew up actually hearing apart from case meetings and training nights. 

He was also one of the only heroes that Izuku was allowed to show interest towards, whether that be analyzing hero fights or constructing countermoves against the man, Izuku was only ever allowed to idolize him. Of course, his trainer wasn’t all too happy that Izuku had latched onto such a bright and loud hero. His trainer was much more reserved than Present Mic seemed to be and had the driest humor Izuku had ever heard. 

But, that was simply schematics. The problem with being taught by Present Mic was actually two different problems, but could be encompassed into one singular sentence: Present Mic was quieter on his radio show. 

While the man was enthusiastic and loud, he was tenfold that in real life. Not a terrible problem, but Izuku has not found a great excuse for wearing noise-canceling headphones during classes yet and his head always hurts after class. It also meant Izuku was stuck in a class, learning about a man he’d rather be fanboying over, asking quirk-related questions, and overall falling over himself trying to get Present Mic’s autograph. 

Those struggles were, of course, things Izuku could handle. He was fine in class, he didn’t look at Present Mic for more than seven seconds at any given time, and he kept his questions about the man’s hair to himself. 

The biggest problem was something Izuku had accidentally done to himself as he grew up. And that meant that being put in Present Mic’s (Yamada-sensei in the classroom) homeroom was a nightmare dressed as a daydream. 

He loved the hero, but he couldn’t focus in the classroom. At all. He had spent too many nights falling asleep to the man’s voice. It seemed as though Izuku may have pavlov dogged himself into thinking it was nap time whenever he heard the hero’s voice, which meant he was extremely tired whenever the man taught. 

It made classes that much more terrible. He was no longer falling asleep because he found the school material boring. He was actively fighting against sleeping because his teacher’s voice made him want to knock out as soon as he rested his head against his hand. 

“Gooooood morning, guys!” Yamada greeted cheerily, smiling wide. His smile turned into a sharp grin and Izuku gulped. That never bode well for Izuku. It seemed like his teacher had a plan this morning. He let his head hit the desk and heard Shinsou suppress a snort. “I have a surprise for us all. Everyone, welcome Midnight!”

The heroine burst through the doors, her entrance somehow being more dramatic than Present Mic’s entrance from the first day of school. Shinsou let his head drop heavily onto his desk, but Izuku brushed off the concerning bang. Shinsou usually spent homeroom talking to Izuku, glaring at the whiteboard and complaining about an incoming headache in between classes. He simply avoided loud noises at all costs before lunch, which was a truly difficult task to have when someone was placed in Present Mic’s homeroom and got surprised with Midnight’s class often. 

Midnight smirked, strutting towards the teacher’s podium Yamada-sensei was hanging off of. “Gooood morning, students.” She licked her lips and Izuku shuddered. He was 60% sure his teacher’s surprise might end in an injury. 

He looked over and internally wished his classmate currently drooling, Koto-kun, would be the one who ended up in Recovery Girl’s office this afternoon. He wasn’t a terrible classmate, but Izuku could do without the crude commentary about any and all heroines and their bodies. Apparently, since they were public figures, Koto-kun was ‘well within his rights’ to discuss their body parts.

Yeah, Izuku wouldn’t be mourning anything if that guy ended up with a black eye today. 

“Today, we’re going to be combining classes again. Midnight’s homeroom will be here in ten minutes or so and we’re getting together for a European Art Project!”

If Hawks was here with them, he would’ve played cricket noises. Izuku almost laughed at that image. 

“Get excited guys~” Midnight grinned, raising her hands in the air. “Because this is going to be…a competition!”

Yamada jumped up, doing jazz hands from behind Midnight and Izuku so desperately wished he hadn’t begged to attend public school last year. His fifteen year old self truly was an idiot. 

“I’ll write the rules out!” Yamada cheered, turning his attention towards the whiteboard. Shinsou sighed, slumping further into his seat as he took out a notebook. Izuku snickered. “First rule-”

BOOM!

The class felt it more than they saw the explosion burning their front lawn, just inside the gates. The windows warped and rattled dangerously and the school itself seemed to rumble in response to the bomb. Izuku ignored the lights flickering and did his best to ignore Shinsou’s panicked look. Panic wouldn’t help them now. 

He glanced out the windows he was seated next to and saw something that took his breath away. An army. An army of villains so far away they looked like little black spots on the hills away from them, walking closer and closer to UA. 

His breath caught as he looked closer, forcing his eyesight to sharpen. It was Shigaraki and his army. The man had assembled a lot more help than Izuku anticipated and Izuku was not happy to see the development arriving on his school’s doorstep. A few Nomus growled out, nearly sounding like they were calling for Izuku’s attention. A few enhanced looking villains, possibly Trigger running through their veins. Or maybe they were half-nomu’s. Izuku didn’t know if that was possible. 

A few people manning canons stood on the far side of the hill the army was walking up, one still smoking. Giants stood behind the cannon loaders, wearing nothing but very ripped up shorts and warrior helmets on. Izuku squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at their faces. Not many were recognizable villains, but a few he swears he’s seen from the Tartarus database. 

Izuku looked out, still searching, but didn’t catch sight of AFO or any other big name villains before garage-looking blockers slid down in front of the windows and an alarm blared throughout the school. That seemed dramatic. Izuku sighed, rolling his eyes at the hidden security camera he knew was in the classroom. Nedzu had a flair for the dramatics, no matter what the rat tried to say about it. 

“Everyone, stay calm and inside your classrooms.” Nedzu’s voice cut through the alarms and confused protests coming from Izuku’s classmates. He swallowed heavily as he saw his teacher’s glance at each other, looking panicked. He can only hope they won’t hate him after this. 

“Hero students, you’ve been ordered to stay in your respective classes unless I direct you to join. Support course, Majima is in charge of your places. Management, you know what to do. The Internet is running and the network is yours. Gen-Ed, the homeroom teachers are in charge. Do not question them.” Nedzu took a deep breath then, and Izuku felt a chill wash down his back. 

“Bane.” His breath caught. “Consider this a direct order from myself and the program. Protect UA. Defend us to your fullest ability.”

Whispers broke out, Shinsou tried to speak to him, but Izuku simply looked up to one of Nedzu’s cameras in the room and nodded once. 

“Wha- Midoriya, what the hell are you looking at?” Shinsou asked, looking confused and worried. 

Izuku grit his teeth, blinking slowly as he stood from his desk. 

“Ah, listeners, I need you all to stay seated right now.” Yamada-sensei called out, trying to ensure order in the classroom.  

Izuku kept looking at Shinsou and sighed. “I’m sorry for lying to you, Shinsou-kun. Thanks for being my friend though. It’s been really great.”

Before Shinsou could do more than tilt his head, Izuku called upon his power. Thunder rumbled outside the classroom and lightning cracked through the ceiling, straight into Izuku. He focused on transporting himself from inside the classroom to directly in front of the UA gates, stumbling a bit as he landed. 

Izuku glanced out, looking at the approaching enemy before turning around and staring at UA, his safe haven. With a drawn out breath, Izuku lifted up his hand. He forced a pocket of air to condense and seal off UA from the outside world, effectively creating a force field to encircle UA, encasing the entire building where he knew everyone was. Izuku sent out a separate force field, one that encompassed the dorms of UA just in case anyone was still there for whatever reason. 

With that out of the way, Izuku called out, raising his spare hand. Lightning touched down once again and he called upon the stars. He controlled his breathing as he did so, the stars traveling through the lightning, through him, and circling the outside of the gates. 

Izuku walked outside the UA gates as it happened, letting the stars swirl around him before assuming their positions. He always felt the most powerful when he had no one to worry about, and since Nedzu said the agency approved of this, that meant there was no expected cap for his powers. 

He had been banned from being able to fight the villains directly the entire school year, only being able to use fractions of his power to get the hero students out of immediate life-threatening danger. There was a reason the Nomu at the USJ died from internal bleeding as soon as it touched Eraserhead. There was a reason Snipe had been transported to the USJ as soon as Shigaraki looked over towards Tsu and Mineta, the two students hiding from the fight. 

There was a reason Iida still didn’t know how Stain had disappeared in thin air from that alleyway, only to wind up, beaten and bloodied in front of the police station a few days afterwards. There was a reason Muscular died from a ‘heart attack’ before he had a chance to climb up the mountain the Pussycat’s kid was sitting atop. There was a reason Mr. Compress didn’t have the ability to kidnap anyone in his marbles before he himself disappeared, appearing a second later in an empty cell in Tartarus. There was a reason Toga was found in a mental hospital the second she jumped towards Uraraka and Tsu at the summer camp. 

Izuku had been instructed to watch over class 1-A by the HPSC President, Veronica, with the promise that he’d be allowed to go to a public school for the first time, as long as no one knew who he was or what he could do. 

He did his best to stick to the shadows, especially with such a flashy quirk as his own. He lied to his homeroom on the first day, introducing himself with the alias he was given and said his quirk, while flashy, was capable of nothing more than a light show. He watched over his homeroom, class 1-C, as well as the rest of UA from a distance, just like he was instructed to do. He did his job perfectly, only questioning the president once about AFO and Shigaraki before giving up on that fight. 

Izuku didn’t agree with the sentiment that the war was the only way for Japan’s citizens to realize that the hero system needed a revamp. He thought it was completely possible to overhaul the system they had without the threat of villains overtaking the country, but he was merely cannon fodder, so he avoided voicing too many of his own opinions. 

Izuku was built for the frontlines. That’s all he was. A soldier. A product of desperation. Only created to save people from the darkness, never letting them look away from the light. 

That was his job, ever since his quirk came in and the HPSC took him in. To be more than the useless kid he pretended to be at school and in front of unsuspecting villains. To be more than what anyone expected him to be. 

Because Izuku was more than those facades. He was more than human. 

Izuku took his position in front of the UA gates, grinning to himself when they locked behind him. He was glad Nedzu would be watching him as he fought. Nedzu had questioned him constantly about his abilities to the fullest, never getting an answer. Until now. 

Izuku raised his hand above his head, gripping the lightning that made contact. It was a living sword. Something no one but himself could wield. Izuku flipped it around, grinning a bit as he slammed the tip of it into the ground in front of him. 

Lightning raced through the ground, making contact with the stars surrounding him and crackling with energy as they began to resemble a human being. Izuku walked a few paces forwards before turning around. 

“Attention!” 

Each star transformed snapped to attention at Izuku’s call. He smirked when he saw Nedzu in the window, probably refusing to use any of his own security measures in his own office because of his curiosity. Izuku would just need to make sure no one broke his force field. 

“Defense standard positions. Aim to eliminate.”

Loud thunder rumbled above, dark clouds coming above to block out the sun as Izuku’s own army readied themselves for the attack. One by one, they lifted their hands up, catching falling lightning in their hands, their swords shaping into katanas and wakizashis’ as they fixed their footing. 

Izuku felt as the stars formed into defensive soldiers on the other side of the campus gates, unable to see them, only able to feel them. 

Thunder rumbled louder and Izuku idly wondered if his quirk was the cause of this or if there was something else. Everytime he opened himself up to use his quirk to the fullest extent, the sky answered him, like the sky was in tune with him the entire time. 

Izuku’s phone rang from inside his pocket and he frowned as he pulled it out. Never taking his eyes off of the slowly approaching army, Izuku answered. 

“Hello?”

“Bane. How are you holding up buddy?” Hawks spoke over the phone, sounding a bit breathless as he did so. 

Izuku narrowed his eyes and felt for the mini lightning bolt he hid inside the man’s hero uniform. Izuku found out long ago that he could operate his lightning the same way Hawks could use one of his feathers, feeling vibrations from afar and saving people before something occurred. It was Izuku’s preemptive measure for helping Hawks during missions, just like Hawks had done with Izuku himself. 

“...I’m fine, Hawks. What’s going on?” Izuku casually said, frowning a bit when he didn’t feel any vibrations other than Hawks’ beating heart. 

“I’m good. Chillin- ya know, enjoying the weather.” Izuku winced. “So. Got anything to tell me squirt?”

Izuku hummed as he felt around, raising an eyebrow when Hawks seemed to…fall? “I’m just chillin-” Hawks chuckled. “Besides, aren’t you in the middle of something?”

Izuku heard Hawks curse under his breath and he smirked as he felt something brush against the lightning again. Hawks was wiping something off of his jacket and Izuku didn’t have too many guesses as to what just happened. They had both been put on the League's case, both undercover. Izuku’s only goal was to protect UA so the public had one place to glorify, that way once the school publicly began working with the Hero Commission after this, the public had somewhere to place their trust. 

Hawks was in charge of thinning out the ranks of Shigaraki’s army. He was also instructed to learn as much as he could about the other side, if only so they could learn why this was happening and what they could do to prevent a war from breaking out again. He was instructed to be a traitor, lean into his past and create a villainous persona from it. Izuku nearly laughed when it was Hawk’s old handler that suggested his backstory and coughed into his hand when Veronica forced the man out of the meeting room for being the one to suggest something so stupid. 

“I still don’t know how you do that, Bane.” Hawks muttered. 

Izuku grinned. “It’s called a gift, Hawks. Do you need out of somewhere right now?”

“Nah-” Hawks cut himself off as a door slammed open on his side and hurriedly spoke into the phone. “Actually, that’d be great.”

Izuku didn’t waste another second, calling out to the lightning on Hawks and instructed it to land in Nedzu’s office. He felt a wave of heat before Hawks landed in the office, safe and sound. 

Izuku heard a huff. “I can’t believe you bugged me, Bane.”

“Don’t act too innocent, Hawks. You did the same thing.”

Hawks laughed. “Alright. Alright. You got me there. So, are you gonna let me join the fight?”

Izuku shook his head. “They told me I was allowed to go all out.”

“Okay Bane, but Shigaraki and his crew might be a bit…much to take on, even at your full power.”

Izuku snorted. “Hawks, I don’t mean to be rude or anything,” Izuku raised his free hand and another force field encircled all of UA’s campus, acting as a preemptive measure in case someone was able to break through his defense for the school and the dorms at all. “But, you’ve never actually seen the full extent of what I can do.”

Hawks laughed a bit breathlessly. “Alright, kid. Then Nedzu and I can worry about the school itself. Knock those bitches out for us.”

Izuku hummed. “I’ll do my best.”

“Oh! Nedzu told me to tell you there’s an earpiece in your pocket and to please wear it.” Hawks spoke quickly. 

Izuku turned and gave Nedzu’s office a sharp look before rummaging through his pant’s pockets, finding the piece and putting it up to his ear. “Why am I wearing this?”

Nedzu spoke up through the phone then, squeaky and chipper. “Bane! It’s an earpiece to connect yourself to Hawks, your trainers, Veronica-chan, and myself, of course. We’ll tell you what’s expected of you during the battle while assisting you as best as we can.”

Izuku nodded. “I see.” He tapped the earpiece twice, turning it on. 

“Bane? Once you’ve turned on this line, cut your phone. Can’t have you lookin’ too relaxed out there.” Snipe’s voice rang through the earpiece and Izuku nearly chuckled. 

With a smirk, Izuku hung up and pocketed his phone as he answered his trainer back. “Apologies, cowboy. I always aim to look as professional as possible.”

Someone cleared their throat then. “Bane. We predict this fight to last longer than your usual fights. Plan accordingly since All for One has yet to show his face.”

“You mean his helmet?” Hawks corrected. 

Snipe snorted. “Damn right partn’r. Once that devil shows his helmet we’re wantin’ you to knock em dead, Bane.”

Izuku nodded. “Copy that.”

A Nomu screeched then, a loud sound, sharp and ear piercing. Izuku grimanced. The thing flew into the sky, breaking ranks. Two others followed its lead.

“Don’t spend too long with the Nomus. No need to pay attention to them.” Veronica’s voice suddenly came through. 

Izuku whistled, high and sharp, narrowing his eyes at his enemy. Thunder rumbled, lightning lit up the sky, and three unforgiving strikes of lightning slammed themselves into the Nomu’s brains. Izuku twisted his hand as they fell, maneuvering their falling bodies away from buildings and sidewalks. 

No need to cause the civilians any extra panic, although they seemed panicked enough to make the commission happy. Hopefully Veronica would be okay with this ending since Izuku did not want to deal with a last stand against the villains, one that was more dramatic and way more tense than this was turning out to be. Izuku sighed, tossing their bodies into a nearby forest. 

He picked at his nails, doing his best to look extremely bored as Shigrarki got closer. The man was visibly angry, shoulders hunching and his toxic glare piercing Izuku from the opposite ridge he was standing at. 

“Do I need to spend time with Shigaraki?” Izuku asked. 

Veronica hummed. “Nedzu, your call.”

“I propose fighting with him until you’re able to locate All for One.” Nedzu clicked his tongue then. “Remember, the plan is to eliminate All for One before Shigaraki.”

Izuku hummed. “Yeah, I remember. Traumatize Shigaraki, see if All for One passed along his quirk or his consciousness, then act according to the villain’s reaction.”

“Easy peasy!” Hawks said. 

Veronica got back on the line. “Ah, Hawks. Was your mission successful?”

He winced. “Eh, nearly. Twice and Spinner were eliminated, though Dabi located me as I finished the job. Bane sent me to UA, which is where I currently am. Dabi is still alive, though he should be injured enough to stay away from this fight.”

“I see. Stay there and jump in whenever Bane seems winded. Dabi can be dealt with later.” Veronica instructed. 

Izuku avoided scoffing into the earpiece. He knew it was his fault. He hadn’t ever shown everyone what he was capable of and he certainly never showed them how long he could keep it all up without tiring. It was still annoying to listen to them make plans for his potential burnout though. 

“Bane, you hear that? That means let ‘em outta here whenever we say, got it youngin?” Snipe commanded. 

Izuku resisted the urge to whine. “Yeah, yeah. I got it. Let Hawks out whenever I start flagging.”

“Good.” Snipe praised. “Now, watch your five o’clock and don’t die before I get a chance to knock some sense into ya.”

Izuku whirled around, sword shimmering into existence. He twisted, jumping up and around as he avoided a barrage of knives headed his way. Flipping up and over, Izuku threw his sword, letting it embed itself into the villainess’s neck. The shock along with the sharp sword killed her before she had a chance to counter him. 

Izuku snapped his fingers and the lightning traveled through her body before being released back into the sky. He looked at her body and sucked on his teeth. 

“Ah, what do you guys want me to do about the…bodies?” He asked, looking away from her. 

Veronica sighed. “Right. Citizens can’t handle dead people.”

“Is the forest a viable option?” Nedzu asked. 

Izuku hummed. “I can move them via air, but I can’t teleport anything dead.”

“What about the front lawn of UA? Students can’t see the fight, can they?” Veronica asked. 

Izuku waved his hand towards the barrage of villain’s throwing their quirks towards him. He controlled the air, circling around them. The ice and fire that was sent his way swirled around the quirk users, freezing them and burning them alive. Izuku huffed as he turned his attention back towards the approaching army. 

They seemed separated in waves, with Shigaraki being in the last wave. Izuku was not a fan of that. 

“Guys, we have a bigger problem. I’m going to have bodies racking up quickly unless you want me to arrest everyone and send them to police stations across the country. I won’t engage with Shigaraki until I’ve dealt with at least three separate waves of villains.”

“Engage with them for five minutes.” He heard Veronica snap her fingers. “We’re calling the stations now to get rooms ready. Nedzu, instruct him which offices to send the villains to.”

Izuku nodded and braced himself. He wasn’t a big fan of fighting like this, but damn if he didn’t feel amazing when it happened. The fights usually energized him, encouraging him as he ran through his enemies. It’ll be odd to avoid shish kebabing them, but Izuku is sure he can make do. 

He jumped up, higher and higher, until he was above the villain that tried to send out gas his way. He didn’t know what it was, but the guy looked like he smelled like garlic and mayonnaise and Izuku was unwilling to get too close to the guy. 

He released the winds from his grasp and dropped, letting lightning spark around his hands. He twisted around the lightning rod in his hand and dropped it, right next to the man. The rod embedded itself into the ground. 

Izuku rolled as he landed in the mob of villains. With a smirk, Izuku snapped his fingers and the rod let out a big blast of lightning, knocking the closest villains to the ground, passed out cold. 

He swept his feet, knocking a villain off their feet and smacked the hilt of his new sword into their temple, smiling when they landed on the ground roughly, not getting up. 

“Any bodies you have can be transported to the forest with the Nomus now.” Nedzu commanded as Izuku spun around and clashed with a villain who seemed to grow knives from his teeth. How terrible. “News stations just sent helicopters. You have approximately twelve minutes of privacy from the national news.”

Izuku clicked his tongue as he commanded the wind’s around the villain he killed earlier and quickly sent her to the forest with the winds. He maneuvered a few other villains his star soldiers had killed as well, struggling to avoid cursing as he did so. 

“Awe crap. Hey, Bane, are you…in UA’s school uniform right now?” Hawks asked. 

Izuku’s eyes widened as he sliced through another villain. “Fuck. Yep. Yes I am.”

Veronica groaned. “Nedzu?”

“I have the extra left in my office, Bane.”

Izuku nodded as he raced through the villain’s ranks. “Give it to Hawks. Hawks, put the lightning bolt in the costume somewhere. Theoretically, I should be able to teleport it onto myself.”

“And, practically, youngin?” Snipe questioned. He was the one Izuku discovered he could only teleport living things with, so it only made sense as to why he was asking. 

Izuku nodded as he avoided another barrage of quirks. “Technically, it should work. Practically, I might flash a lot of people.”

Veronica groaned. “No. No flashing people. You’re too young for that. And besides, you’re about to be on national TV in…”

“Seven minutes!” Nedzu chirped. 

Izuku groaned. “Well, either I fight like this in UA’s uniform in front of the world, or I take my chances with getting my uniform to me.”

“If you flash anyone, I’ll shoot you, kid.” Snipe threatened. 

Izuku smirked as he jumped up and twisted his thighs around the villain’s neck, snapping it. “Yikes. That seems a bit extreme, cowboy.”

“Nothin’s too extreme when it comes to keepin’ yous in line, Bane.” Snipe replied. 

Hawks snickered. “He’s not wrong.”

“Whatever. Hawks, get him his uniform. Now.” Veronica demanded. 

Hawks cleared his throat. “Bane, your uniform is ready whenever you are.”

Izuku jumped, letting the winds knock villains to the ground and shooting himself high into the air. Quickly he was wrapped up in the clouds and called for his uniform to come to him. 

The lightning show was intense, with the heat of the lightning burning off the UA uniform and surrounding him as his uniform fitted itself on his body. He grinned, flexing his gloved hands as he did so. Releasing the winds, Izuku pulled his hoodie over his head with a grin. 

He landed, letting excess lightning travel through the ground as he did so. A few villains dropped and Izuku showed their comrades no remorse as he jumped back into the fight. He felt a star soldier behind him and jumped over them, smirking as the soldier wrapped lightning around the villain’s wrists like handcuffs, forcing them to the ground as they did so. 

“Nedzu, all police stations were notified.” Veronica announced. 

“Perfect.” Nedzu practically purred. “Bane, five villains to Kyūshū.” Izuku teleported five random villains as he slid underneath a large guy, narrowly avoiding being stepped on. 

“Tokyo can handle ten villains at each location. That takes care of sixty.”

“Little one! Do you really think you can fight against us all?!” The giant villain taunted. 

Izuku glared at him. “Is anyone comfortable taking a giant?”

“Hosu might be able to.” Veronica spoke up. 

Nedzu hummed as Izuku side-stepped the giant villain again. “Hosu can take him. Send him to the station close to the Hosu Zoo. You know where that is, yes?”

Izuku smirked. “I know the one.” He snapped his fingers, taking no small pleasure in being able to get rid of the giant villain. He hated when they monologue. It was even worse when the villain had an attitude, like they were S-ranked threats. 

“Four locations in Hosu, discounting the one that just took the giant. Each one can take seven.”

“Got it.” Izuku spoke up, transporting the villains to the stations, sorting them into rooms and near tables with quirk-suppressing handcuffs readily available. Izuku pushed his incoming migraine away, unwilling to show any signs of fatigue. Especially not so early in the fight. 

“Esuha City can take five each. That takes care of twenty. Send eighty to Fukuoka, twenty to each station.” Izuku whirled around, eyes blazing blue as his lightning flickered around him, sending villains to different cities as fast as Nedzu spoke. “Naruhata can take thirty villains. Five to each station. Veronica, any suggestions on the remaining…”

“I think there’s around two hundred left, guys.” Izuku panted a bit, jumping up to avoid a stream of water fired his way. 

“Bane. Send fourty to Jaku city. Ten to each station.” Izuku huffed, dropping to the ground quickly as a villain created water spheres in the air, trying to catch and drown him. He willed the lightning to teleport the forty villains, taking care to make sure the water villain was taken away this time. He jumped back into the sky, breathing a sigh of relief when the spheres of water dropped, splashing on the ground. He hated being forcibly grounded. 

“Any other suggestions?” Izuku asked as he danced around another villain, knocking them in the back of their neck as he did so. Izuku caught them and jumped up, holding them in his arms as he looked out and saw many villains (hopefully passed out) surrounding his star soldiers. 

“Our city can hold up to seventy villains, with each station taking ten. Veronica, what other cities have you contacted?” Nedzu spoke. 

Izuku let his lightning run through the villain’s ranks, thinning them out even more than he had. His eyes lit up brighter than they had been before, the lightning fully taking over his pupils then. His power was finally coming out of the cage Izuku had forced it into so long ago. 

It was time to play. 

“Hiroshima is willing to house fifty villains. Five in each station.”  

Izuku grinned, something vindictive and sharp, as he moved the villains to the stations. 

“Three minutes before NNS 15 makes contact, Bane. Be ready.” Veronica instructed him. 

Izuku dropped down once again, spinning in the air as he landed, letting the winds and lightning knock out his enemy. Izuku let two swords form in his hands, sinking into a fighting stance and spun around to engage in the fight. He sliced at the villain, turning around and blocking an attack as he did so. He jumped up, knocking them down before stabbing someone else. 

“Bane. Stab those villains off camera. Dumbass.” Snipe admonished him. 

Izuku smiled awkwardly, doing his best to calm his adrenaline. He had gotten a burst of excitement and accidentally fell into muscle memory. Whoops. “Right. Right. Don’t kill these guys.”

“Not on national news, Bane. It makes people uncomfortable. Apparently.” Veronica huffed. 

Quickly, Izuku used the wind to rush the downed villains to the forest as he fought, taking care to avoid stabbing anyone this time. 

“Tipoca City is willing to take sixty villains, Each station is able to take ten.” Nedzu spoke up then, clearly trying to move as many villains out of the spotlight as he could. 

Izuku understood as he teleported them away. The villains couldn’t have more exposure than they got now. As long as people knew the heroes fought against an army and won, they didn’t need to know details, like how Izuku had been able to move nearly four hundred villains away, putting them behind bars before the battle was even finished. 

Not to mention the villains that didn’t make it to the end of the fight. He wondered how many there actually were. 

“And who are you?” Shigaraki’s voice carried across the valley, pavement turning to dust underneath his bare feet. Izuku made a face when he saw the man’s grippers, out and wild. That was pretty gross. He didn’t want those feet anywhere near him. He’s pretty sure a variant of covid may actually be living in between the villain’s toes. 

Izuku swallowed away his urge to gag. “Bane.”

Shigaraki hummed to himself. “Finally? A worthy opponent?”

Izuku made a face. Why did it need to be him to get so close to those clompers?

Hawks chuckled through the earpiece. “Four hundred and forty-four villains currently in custody and accounted for. Bane, you only need to worry about approximately thirty more and do your best to avoid engaging with Shigaraki until they’ve been taken care of.”

“If I say I’m flagging, can Hawks fight Shiggy instead?” Izuku whispered. 

“Why ya askin’ Bane?” Snipe spoke up quickly, sounding a bit panicked. 

Izuku groaned as quietly as he could. “Can you guys see Shigaraki’s feet? They’re disgusting.”

Snipe scoffed. “Imma hurt this kid, I swear.”

“Yokohama City can take twenty-five. Five each. I don’t care what happens to the last five.” Nedzu instructed. 

“Send the last five to the HPSC building here in Osaka.” Veronica demanded. 

Izuku quickly did as was asked and dropped back down to the ground with a flourish, his star soldiers stopping their fights and moving back to stand in front of UA’s gates, defending the force fields holding UA. 

His eyes were still glowing with the power of his lightning, strikes still shattering the ground around him sporadically. Thunder continued to rumble, darker clouds rolling in than before. He looked dangerous then, something Shigaraki should’ve worried about before now. He wondered how the hero escaped his notice for so long. 

Shigaraki slammed his hand down into the pavement then, letting decay turn the pavement to dust, the surrounding buildings suffering because of it. Decay traveled fast, cracking UA’s gate until it crumpled and Izuku could only watch, unable to do anything. 

His force field saved UA and the grounds, but failed to save the gate directly in front of it. Izuku glared at the villain, so much more annoyed now that he needed to put in the effort to stage a fight with this bastard.

Shigaraki’s eyes gleamed with madness as Izuku scowled. 

“I can’t wait to destroy you.” Shigaraki purred. 

Izuku fake-gagged. 

“Bane. Shut the fuck up and fight that darn villain.” Snipe exasperatedly commanded Izuku. 

He frowned, disgusted at the sight in front of him. “Do you mind if I argue?”

“National news. Incoming in forty seconds. Make it quick.” Veronica instructed. 

Izuku huffed. That wasn’t enough time to insult the villain in front of him, so he might as well focus on seeing what he can do to make the fight look realistic. 

“I heard there was a more powerful man you tended to hide behind.” Izuku called out, loud and clear for Shigaraki to hear. “I wonder where your protector might be at a time like this?”

Shigaraki was a mix of angry and prideful as he listened to Izuku. He almost screamed. 

“Yes.” Shigaraki said reverently, eyes unfocused as he seemed to be looking at something other than Izuku. He walked closer and Izuku kept one eye on the man’s crusty feet. “Sensei is amazing. Such an amazing ruler.”

“Ruler?” Izuku whispered. 

“I know it’s not what he meant, but I keep thinking about Shigaraki worshiping a tape measure.” Hawks commented. 

Izuku snorted. 

“I can’t wait for you to meet our Demon King. The King of Evil.” Shigaraki laminated, waxing poetics about his…sensei.

“Your sensei is All for One, right?” Izuku asked. He couldn’t help it. He had no desire to fight against some random sensei before he had the chance to locate All for One. Especially since he’s already exerted an annoying amount of energy fighting those villains hand to hand instead of waving them out of his eyesight. Seriously. He probably could’ve dropped them in international waters and decided to avoid dealing with them if he so wished. 

He’s 97% sure Veronica would never allow him to do such a thing, even if he begged. Izuku huffed. Maybe Nedzu would let him do it sometime. As an experiment, of course. 

“Yes! He is the boogeyman. The villain who made ‘villain’ into the name it is today!” Shigaraki grinned, obviously a fanatic. 

Izuku blinked. He knew All for One wasn’t from this time period, but if Shigaraki’s words held some truth, All for One was…old. Holy shit, he was older than Endeavor. And Endeavor was old. That guy just turned 46 this year. 

Izuku shuddered, completely on accident. Shigaraki’s eyes lit up. “Ah. You feel the power of his evil already, don’t you?”

Izuku rolled his eyes as he felt around the air. He’s never actually pushed himself to feel for certain air particles surrounding certain supervillains, but it was interesting to feel how far out he could go with the power. Maybe he shouldn't tell Veronica about this aspect. 

Izuku blinked as he felt a click in his brain and let his eyes drift towards the area. There was an old house, some place in an abandoned suburb division miles of miles away from them, far from civilization in general. He felt All for One turn towards him and Izuku grinned. 

He snapped his fingers, teleporting All for One in front of him before the man got a chance to pull a trick on Izuku before he could anticipate it. 

All for One wasted no time speaking, immediately attacking Izuku. A large ball of energy swirled from All for One’s fist and four different spheres were shot towards Izuku, following him as he tried to dodge the projectiles. 

Growing frustrated, Izuku called upon the wind and his lightning, smirking when the energy exploded from the pressure, looking like fireworks as Izuku flipped away from one and landed closer to All for One than Shigaraki. 

Izuku attacked then, letting his lightning rain down, his star soldier's swirling around him rapidly as they abandoned their posts from UA’s nonexistent gate and fought alongside him. Izuku felt the lightning humming underneath his skin and breathed out. 

Izuku whirled around, turning into his own personal tornado as he fought against the villains, avoiding their grasp and slicing at whatever he could afford to. He was untouchable in the eye of the tornado, barely registering what was happening. 

“Holy shit.” Snipe breathed into his ear. 

Izuku faltered when he heard that and All for One’s big fist knocked him out of the tornado, straight into the force field protecting UA’s ground. 

“Getting thrown into my own force field is not as enjoyable as I thought it’d be.” Izuku groaned, letting himself peel off it and fall for a bit, straightening out and rolling into a fighting position. 

“You thought it’d be enjoyable?” Hawks questioned. 

Izuku jumped, letting lightning strike out at the two villains, deferring their attacks and burning up Shigaraki’s feet. Oh, thank god. Maybe Kami is real. 

“Of course.” Izuku huffed, panting as he lifted up both of his hands before bowing down, bringing down an intense pressure for the winds, pushing the villains further and further down into the craters they created when they were blasted out of the sky the first time. Runes formed along his arms and down his spine, not that Izuku knew that. “It looked more flexible than it actually is.”

Izuku jumped around, lightning covering him as he blocked an attack coming at his back, something that had escaped his star soldier's notice somehow. Fuck. He was losing energy fast. 

“Power’s been cut in your area. No one can access their phones for the next thirty seconds.” Veronica spoke quickly. 

“Tell me I can finish it.” Izuku growled out, whipping around and shoving All for One’s incoming fist away before severing the other enlarged fist reaching for him, grinning as it happened. 

“Cameras are down. Mics aren’t picking up anything.” Nedzu assured him, sounding smug and happy.

“Shoot ‘em dead, Bane.” Snipe commanded. 

He didn’t need to be told twice. Izuku pulled out the pistol in his uniform, knocked the safety down, and let it rip. All for One chuckled as the bullets made their home into his chest and thigh. 

“What did you think mere bullets would do to me after your attacks?” All for One taunted him. Shigaraki laughed maniacally to the left of him. 

Izuku smirked before turning to shoot Shigaraki in the hand, shoulder, and thigh, doing his best to hit right where his trainer hit during the USJ attack. 

“That’s it, youngin.’” Snipe encouraged. He sounded proud. 

Izuku condensed the winds around the bullet wounds, forcing the blood to spill out quicker and the bullets work their magic. 

“What’s happening?” All for One growled out, clenching and unclenching his regular-sized fists now. 

Izuku smirked as he looked down at the man. “I thought you knew about Overhaul’s little experiments.”

Izuku could see the second All for One understood what had just happened, because he made a mad lunge towards Izuku. He stepped out of the way, zapping the poor old man in front of him with lightning again and sighed. 

“No! I have an empire. Not even All Might could kill me.” All for One growled. Izuku pinched the bullet wound before opening it wider. 

“Ten seconds, Bane.” Veronica reminded him. 

Izuku let lightning flow into the two villains as they died. Shigaraki was literally foaming at the mouth, eyes switching back and forth between glassy blue eyes and deep red. Izuku could only guess he made the right choice in eliminating both of them since Shigaraki seemed to have a bit of All for One inside of him. Izuku huffed to himself as he watched them. What a waste of such a magnificent quirk. 

The quirk-erasing bullets did their job, killing All for One. Shigaraki died not too long afterwards and Izuku finally let up from the lightning attack. He rolled his shoulders, wincing when he noticed just how burnt the two were. Hopefully that wouldn’t be something he was put under review for. 

Izuku looked up towards the sky, rolling his eyes when he saw the stupid news reporters hanging out of the helicopters, obviously trying to figure out what was happening down here and figuring out a way to report what little they had been able to see. 

Izuku let the clouds drag in further, making the helicopter’s visibility so bad, Izuku could hardly see the thing anymore. Quickly, he floated the two bodies into UA, shoving them in UA’s forest, just to be on the safe side. Izuku tucked a few mini lightning bolts as well, just to make sure neither of them tried their hand at defying god under his watch. 

He’d kill them a second time if need be. He didn’t give a shit. 

“You can lift the emergency protocols, Nedzu. Everything is clear.” Izuku confirmed once the bodies landed, dusting off his hands and letting the clouds drift away from the news helicopter. 

Nedzu chuckled. “The emergency state was lifted from UA nearly as soon as it was just Shigaraki and yourself out there.”

Izuku groaned, running his hands down his face. “Why in the world would you do that?”

“The teachers at UA needed to know how badly they lost in a bet against me.” Nedzu responded easily. 

Veronica snorted. “Your staff bet against you?”

Nedzu hummed. “It seems silly, doesn’t it?”

“Silly doesn’t even begin to cover it.” Hawks pointed out. 

Izuku groaned again, much louder and much more annoyed this time. “I’m on my last straw.”

“You’re too young to be losin’ it, bucko.” Snipe said. 

Izuku rolled his eyes and began stretching out. His calf was shooting pain into his shins and Izuku was not willing to deal with shin splints for the rest of the day. 

As he bent down, Izuku breathed out, letting the force fields drop slowly. He saw the area darken and looked around, finally realizing the lightning surrounding him and the runes written in his skin. 

(Izuku didn’t honestly realize what he looked like at the moment, though the rest of the world did. The rest of Japan did. The entirety of UA did. 

Izuku had foreign runes written up and down his arms, stopping at his wrists. The runes were written along the back of his neck and slipped down his spine. They glowed blue, the same blue as his striking eyes, shining brightly against his tanned skin. The same blue that glowed as the sporadic lightning dancing around the boy. The same blue as the lightning decorating the dark sky above them all.

It was like looking at a blessed deity that had cracked open the heavens. A god visiting Earth. 

Thunder cracked at his bidding, responding to whatever he had done. The lightning lit him up like heaven itself was shining a light on him. The hood knocked around, enough so the students could see stark white hair, ebbed with a striking blue. Eyes, pure white except for the blue lightning taking over the boy’s pupils. The freckles along his face transforming into living, active stars, dancing along his cheeks. 

He was the embodiment of creation. Something simultaneously haunted and holy. Something that was made by holy hands and glorious blessings.

Something that had been carved from the concept of beauty itself. 

Japan had found their embodiment of a god from a fight that changed the tide of how citizens responded to the war. Although a war had happened, Japan knew why. They knew why and they no longer cared as much as they should have. 

Because they had something more than a hero on the side of the people. Fighting for them. Defending them all. 

They had a god.)

After another few dozen breaths, the clouds began to part and the thunder was quiet as Izuku gradually tucked his quirk back inside him, no longer commanding the winds and sky, no longer extending himself across the skies. 

“I’m too young to be dealing with you guys.” Izuku finally responded to Snipe. 

“Bane, report to Nedzu’s office. I’ll be there once these villains have been dealt with.” Veronica spoke over the line. 

“Yes, ma’am. Should I expect a debrief meeting?” Izuku questioned, doing his best to avoid sounding like he’d rather take a 72 hour nap rather than deal with that meeting. 

Veronica sighed. “In every station, there are at least five villains currently being processed and in custody while most are dealing with ten to twenty. It’ll be a while before a detective can join us for a debrief meeting. The only thing we need to do is move the bodies to a more secure location than a forest, and then we’re all free to go.”

Izuku nodded. That sounded doable and much more practical than what he thought might happen. 

“Alright! Also, Bane, since you’ll be joining us, you can answer a few of our questions.” Hawks said, obvious grinning. 

Izuku narrowed his eyes. “And what’s in it for me?”

“We won’t be torturin’ it outta ya, youngin.” Snipe assured. The sound of a gun clicking filtered through the earpiece and Izuku sighed, too tired to deal with this. 

“I’ll give you a contract to work with NATO if you’d so like.” Veronica butted in, making a deal that had Izuku salivating. He didn’t plan on holding the information about his quirk hostage, but now that she was proposing a way for Izuku to be able to become an international hero when he got older and graduated from the defense program he was currently in? 

“Veronica, once I sign that contract, you’ll be the first to know everything.” Izuku assured as he walked towards UA. 

“Snipe, what would keep Bane at UA?” Nedzu asked then. 

Veronica snorted as Snipe answered. “Anything bright, explosive and fast would keep him here.”

“I can teach you how to explode anything in less than ten seconds.” Nedzu offered.

Izuku smirked. “Oh? Veronica, it looks like you might have competition.” 

Veronica laughed at him. “Right. Right. I can promise you’ll blow things up with NATO, especially if I get you in contact with David Shield on I-Island again.”

“I can also let you meet David Shield, with All Might as a tour guide.” Nedzu countered. 

Izuku chuckled as he walked back up the steps to UA, ignoring the eyes following him from the windows and teleported himself into Nedzu’s office, not willingly to risk taking the halls all the way up. 

He crossed his arms at his two co-workers cooking up arrangements for him to stay in Japan for the rest of his life, a small smile resting on his lips. 

“Is schooling an influential factor for Bane?” Nezu asked Hawks. 

Hawks chuckled. “Please. He burned his textbook once because ‘math wasn’t supposed to have letters’ and fell asleep afterwards. Veronica nearly castrated him for that stunt.”

Izuku went to defend his honor as he thought, privately, he didn’t mind this happening for the remainder of his life. Meeting up with colleges, teasing each other, betting on stupid things with one another. 

Yeah, this is what he fought for. Izuku didn’t regret a thing.

“WHAT?!” Present Mic’s angry shout carried all the way into Nedzu’s office and Izuku looked towards the door fearfully, noticing when Nedzu and Hawks looked towards the door with the same expression as himself. All three gulped when they heard loud stomps towards Nedzu’s office and Izuku ran towards Hawks, hiding behind the desk when the door slammed open. 

“Where the FUCK is my student?!” 

Alright. Izuku regretted one thing.