Chapter 17: Another angle on USJ events
…..
Meanwhile, chaos engulfed the USJ as Class 1-A's students struggled to survive in the face of overwhelming danger. Scattered across the facility, each group faced their own battles.
In the Flood Zone, Izuku, Tsuyu, and Mineta were cornered by villains. The situation seemed hopeless until Tsuyu, with her quick thinking, pulled them to safety. On the boat, Izuku devised a plan to use their Quirks in tandem. Mineta's sticky balls trapped the villains in a tangled mess, and the trio escaped, bruised but victorious.
Elsewhere, in UA's infirmary, All Might attempted to contact the teachers at USJ, but Principal Nezu delayed him for a few minutes, discussing educational theories. Once the conversation ended, All Might prepared to leave.
Meanwhile, at USJ's central plaza, No. 13 ordered Tenya to escape and call for help. Tenya hesitated but was encouraged by No. 13 and the others. As he attempted to flee, the mist-like villain intercepted him. No. 13 intervened and confronted Kurogiri but was incapacitated when her own Quirk was reflected back at her. With the help of Shoji and Uraraka, Tenya ultimately escaped and sprinted toward UA to call for reinforcements.
In the landslide zone,Todoroki stood amidst., he froze and easily defeated the villains there with a calmness that belied the chaos around him, he unleashed a devastating wave of ice, freezing his attackers in their tracks. His precision and control left no room for retaliation.
Around the same time, in the mountainous zone, In the Mountain Zone, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, and Jiro fought together to survive. Using her ingenuity, Yaoyorozu crafted an insulating sheet, allowing Kaminari to unleash his electricity and incapacitate most of their attackers.
At the central plaza, Aizawa fought valiantly against waves of villains. His Quirk nullified their powers, and his combat skills kept him one step ahead. But then, the hand-covered villain, Tomura Shigaraki, entered the fray. Aizawa managed to land a solid hit, but Tomura retaliated with devastating precision, disintegrating part of Aizawa's arm.
As Aizawa faltered, Nomu, a monstrous creature designed to counter All Might, appeared. It attacked with terrifying power, brutally injuring Aizawa. Blood pooled around him as he fought to stay conscious, his body barely holding together.
During this time, Tenya encountered All Might on his way to call for help at UA.
Meanwhile, Izuku, Tsuyu, and Mineta returned to the plaza just in time to see Aizawa crushed under Nomu's relentless assault. Izuku's heart raced as he saw Shigaraki lunge toward Tsuyu. Acting instinctively, Aizawa erased Shigaraki's Quirk at the last moment, saving her life but at great cost to himself.
Before Izuku could intervene further, Nomu intercepted him, showcasing its monstrous resilience. Every strike from Izuku's Quirk was absorbed, leaving the young hero in despair.
And then, All Might arrived.
The Symbol of Peace burst onto the scene, dispatching minor villains in an instant. His mere presence ignited hope in the students, who watched in awe as he rescued Tsuyu, Mineta, and Izuku from danger. All Might stood between the students and the villains, shielding them as he prepared to confront Nomu and Shigaraki.
Nomu was a force unlike any All Might had ever faced. Blow after blow landed, but the creature absorbed every hit and countered with ferocious strength. Sweat dripped from All Might's brow as he realized he was nearing his limit.
Meanwhile, in the Mountain Zone, their victory was short-lived—one villain, unaffected by the attack of Kaminari, managed to grab him, using him as a hostage.
Back in the central plaza, All Might decided to push beyond his limit to defeat Nomu and began unleashing all his strength against the villain. He unleashes a devastating series of punches on Nomu. Each blow shook the facility, but the creature stood firm.
…
"Yep. I'm slowing down. In my heyday, five of those punches would've been enough," All Might thought, having finally managed to defeat Nomu and send him flying out of USJ.
"But that was over 300 hits just now," said All Might with a confident smile, his muscular yet injured body covered in dust from the fight. The lingering dust in the air concealed the full extent of his injuries.
But his time using One For All was up.
Despite this, he didn't show it and smiled directly at the two villains in front of him, Kurogiri and Tomura.
Neither of them responded. One scrutinized him while the other glared at him with irritation, nervously scratching his neck with his right hand, deeply considering the situation.
"Well, villains. How about we hurry up and finish this?" All Might said, trying to intimidate them further.
"You cheated…!" muttered Tomura. "You've weakened? Not that I can see… we're completely outmatched. How dare you do that to my Nomu… He's not weak at all!"
"Well? Coming to get me?!" All Might asked, seeing that neither of them was making a move. "What happened to clearing the game…?"
"If you can take me, then bring it on!" All Might said intimidatingly, staring directly at the more nervous-looking villain. Of course, he was just pretending—he couldn't even move anymore. But only Midoriya knew this.
Yes, Midoriya was the only one present who knew All Might was about to revert to his powerless human form. If the villains made a move, All Might wouldn't be able to stop them, and his secret would be exposed to everyone.
All Might's intimidation worked as Tomura took a few steps back, trembling.
"Uohhhhh…!" Tomura muttered as he retreated.
Meanwhile, Shoto Todoroki, Bakugo, Kirishima, and Midoriya, who were watching, couldn't help but be amazed at the number one hero's strength.
"Right… We're not ready for this level yet…" Todoroki admitted, turning to leave and letting All Might handle the two villains in front of him, who seemed to be the leaders and the strongest.
"Midoriya! We oughta just hang back for now. Rush in, and they might take you hostage or something…" Kirishima said.
But Midoriya knew something they didn't—All Might was bluffing.
It's hidden in the dust cloud, but… that looks like the steam when he's transforming.
He was about to revert to his true form.
"Well? What's keeping you?!" All Might taunted, trying to pressure the villains into retreating. Every passing second made it clear they were hesitating. If they didn't leave, at least All Might could buy enough time for other heroes to arrive.
"If only we still had Nomu! If only! He was taking those hits so well…!" muttered Tomura, growing increasingly frustrated, scratching his neck with both hands.
"Tomura Shigaraki… calm yourself. It's apparent that Nomu did manage to deal some real damage," Kurogiri said, trying to soothe him.
It worked. Tomura stopped scratching and stared at All Might.
"The kids are holding back for some reason. And reinforcement from UA is bound to arrive in a few minutes. But if the two of us double-team him, we still have a chance…" Kurogiri reasoned, making Tomura reconsider.
"Yes… Yes, yes… Right, right, right. We can do this… The final boss is standing right there…" Tomura finally said, more composed and confident as the villains around them began to recover.
Meanwhile, Kirishima, Todoroki, and Bakugo slowly began leaving the area.
"All Might'll take care of the big bads. Let's go see if we can help the others…" Kirishima said casually after witnessing the absurd strength of the number one hero firsthand.
"Midoriya," Todoroki called out to his green-haired classmate, noticing he hadn't moved while they retreated. For Todoroki, staying would only be a distraction for All Might.
On the other hand, Tomura, now resolute, charged at All Might with Kurogiri.
"This is… revenge for Nomu!" Tomura shouted, confident as he rushed toward the symbol of peace to kill him.
All Might cursed his luck, knowing he couldn't do anything to stop their attack.
Midoriya, seeing that the villains weren't retreating and were advancing toward All Might, realized the grave danger All Might was in. He was about to leap forward with all his strength to protect All Might from being killed.
But before he could act, or before the villains could reach All Might, everyone present heard and saw an incredible storm of eerie, powerful lightning bolts that pierced through the roof and fell repeatedly in the same spot.
The sudden storm startled and alerted Tomura and Kurogiri. They instantly realized this wasn't a natural phenomenon. Knowing it had to be a hero's doing, they halted their attack and retreated into a defensive position.
"What's happening?" Tomura asked, both annoyed and worried, still staring at the area where the lightning had struck.
"I don't know… Maybe reinforcements, but I can't think of anyone who could do something like this," Kurogiri replied, equally surprised and intrigued.
Just as suddenly as the lightning started, it stopped, leaving everything eerily quiet again.
But everyone continued staring at the spot where the lightning had struck, wondering what had just happened. Not only were the villains confused, but the heroes and students were equally bewildered.
In their distraction, Tomura and Kurogiri suddenly came under fire from another direction.
Snipe, using deadly precision, shot at the two villains near All Might, severely wounding Tomura in both legs and other parts of his body.
Kurogiri quickly shielded Tomura with his dark mist, preventing further injuries.
"Damn, they're here. It's game over, Kurogiri. We'll try again later—it's time to go," Tomura said, lying on the ground, writhing in pain from his injuries.
Kurogiri prepared to retreat, but Thirteen, despite her injuries, tried to stop them.
"I may have failed here, Symbol of Peace… But the next time we meet… you're dead, All Might," Tomura declared as he and Kurogiri successfully escaped despite Thirteen's efforts.
…
…
A few minutes earlier, a group of pro heroes gathered around Principal Nezu as he delivered the grave news of an intrusion at USJ.
Nezu divided the heroes into teams—one to confront the villains and the other to stay behind and protect UA.
The teams moved swiftly, splitting up without hesitation.
The group led by Nezu raced to USJ, unsure of what they would face. Alongside Nezu was Tenya Iida, who had alerted them to the dangerous situation. With a worried expression, he explained everything that had happened.
The more details Iida shared, the more concern grew among the heroes, imagining the possible outcomes of such a dire battle.
"He's never faced anything like this before. His abilities are limited in open combat," Present Mic said, deeply worried about Aizawa.
"He'll be fine. We know he's much stronger than people think, and he's not alone. Thirteen is with him too," Nezu reassured.
"I know, but I can't help but worry about him. He's never faced anything like this before. I don't doubt his ability, but this… this is very different from his previous encounters," Present Mic admitted with a silent sigh, stopping his commentary as they arrived at USJ.
At that moment, they witnessed an unnatural, eerie lightning storm forming above USJ. The bolts struck rapidly in the same spot, filling the heroes with even more urgency.
Believing this was a sign of a powerful villain's Quirk, they hurried inside without delay.
Inside, they were met with silence as a group of students watched the spot where the lightning had struck.
They saw Thirteen, supported by two students, with severe injuries on her back, and Aizawa's battered body lying in the arms of another student. His arm hung limp, blood dripping from his wounds, and his face was bruised, battered, and bloodied—almost unrecognizable.
Rage coursed through the heroes.
As the lightning subsided, they focused on All Might and the villains surrounding him.
Snipe wasted no time, firing rounds with deadly precision at the two villains in front of All Might, whom he deemed the most dangerous.
Present Mic stepped forward, took a deep breath, and unleashed a directional scream, paralyzing anyone in its path.
Still firing, Snipe informed the team that the area where the lightning had struck seemed cleared of villains. However, there were three students there—one of whom was lying motionless on the ground, their condition unknown.
This greatly worried everyone, especially the students struggling to process the situation.
Nezu quickly made it clear that the priority was to secure the students immediately.
Ectoplasm sent clones with Hound Dog to check on the three students in the lightning-struck area, while the rest of the heroes began securing the USJ, ensuring the students' safety and apprehending the villains.
Snipe continued targeting the two most dangerous villains, severely injuring Tomura. But Kurogiri's dark mist shielded him, rendering further shots ineffective.
The situation worsened when Kurogiri began preparing to escape with Tomura.
Thirteen, despite her injuries, used her Quirk in a last-ditch attempt to stop them, but the two villains managed to escape.
Fortunately for the heroes, there didn't seem to be any powerful villain capable of causing the lightning bolts.
Still, everyone was left wondering: What caused those lightning bolts?