The whirring of police sirens filled the air as did the thunderous sound of Mt.Lady tearing through the compound walls, fortunately a sidekick with X-ray vision had gave her the clear to do so since there was no one in the area she was tearing down.
This gave Nejire as well as everyone else the chance to quickly go in and tear this organization down.
Nejire Hado hovered over the chaos, her spiralling energy spinning like ribbons as they propelled her gracefully through the sky. From her vantage point she was quick to see the smoke and debris billow into the air, Overhaul's compound was already turning to rubble under the heroes combined force.
Nejire glanced to the side, catching Yuki Arakawa, Genesis. Genesis was rigid, her posture as cold and disciplined as the personality that Nejire got to know. But Nejire could see tension radiating from her form.
The roar of Overhaul's voice calling for someone—Eri—cut through the air. It was a sound that made even Nejire flinch. The desperation and anger in his voice made her skin crawl.
Nejire's gaze followed the commotion, and her eyes widened as she spotted a figure shooting into the sky. It was unmistakeable: the swirling wing of paper, the distinct silhouette was carrying a... child in his arms.
"Sōryū," she muttered, her voice was barely audible over the wind. That was the villain that Genesis had identified as her younger brother.
Nejire had looked to Yuki and saw her tense. Her cold facade cracked just for a moment, as she locked on to the figure flying in the air. Nejire didn't need to be a mind reader to tell what she was thinking, that was her family.
The shoes Yuki wore were laced with wing like attachments, without a word they came to life. Nejire had always admired her quirk, the way she can bring things to life was captivating. Wings sprouted from the side of her silver boots, unfolding like a metal phoenix, and Genesis launched herself into the air.
"Genesis wait!" Nejire called out, but Genesis didn't hesitate to zoom past her. She surged forward, the intensity in her movements matching the storm brewing within her.
Nejire propelled herself after her classmate, spirals of energy crackling around her like lightening. The wind tore at her hair, and her mind raced. She thought of the Sōryū that they had been briefed on, just another careless enforcer of Overhaul's will. But seeing him now, carrying a child so carefully. It didn't add up.
As they closed the gap, Nejire focused on the child in Sōryū's arms. She was tiny, her white hair catching the sunlight as it streamed behind her. Nejire's heart clenched. Who was she? Why was Sōryū carrying her?
The child clung to Sōryū tightly, her face buried in his shoulder. Nejire noticed the way he held her, not like a kidnapper fleeing the scene, but like someone trying to shield her from pain.
"Genesis!" Nejire called out, Genesis seemed to be paying mild attention without letting her eyes leave Sōryū. "I think... I think that your brother is saving that girl."
***
The air felt heavier than it should have been at this altitude. My wings of paper flexed against the breeze, Eri was clinging to me like it was the only lifeline she had left. Below us chaos reigned, the compound was being crushed, the biggest figure's I could see were Mt. Lady and Ryukyu.
But my focus was on someone else. Someone in front of me.
Yuki.
She hovered there, just a few feet away, her animated silver wings on her feet kept her on a level playing field. Her violet eyes burned with the same fire they always had, they were just sharper now, colder. She was Genesis. That's what they called her now, 'good hero name,'
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The wind filled the silence, carrying with it the distant echoes of battle. But I wasn't here anymore. Not really, her face had yanked me back to a memory that blurred into my mind...
I was in fifth grade, the boys bathroom. I was standing below Katsuki Bakugou as he was held in the air by white sheet like rope. His face pale, his lips gasping for air.
The paper rope twisted around his neck tightening with each pulse of a psychotic anger that was in me. Blood trickled from a gash on his forehead where I'd slammed him against the sink.
I didn't hear the door open, but I felt hands her hands on me, strong and unrelenting.
Yuki who had already progressed into middle school was there for some reason I don't recall. She ripped me away with force that left my shoulder aching for days. I barely had enough time to process what was happening before a fist collided with my face. Then again. And again.
I heard a thud of most likely Bakugou falling on the floor of the stall he was in.
My sister didn't stop. Her fists rained down on me in a storm of anger and disgust. I tasted my own blood for the first time then. My vision blurred. It was like she wanted to erase something in me, or maybe just me. That's what I felt at the time.
It wasn't until a teacher pulled her off of me that it ended. Even then, her voice echoed in my ears: "You're sick Kobe. You're bad, you're terrible."
I don't know why, but hearing her in a tone I had never heard before, spitting out what felt like hate to me. It didn't sit right with me. She wasn't like that before.
I remember asking her something about what she had said, thinking that since she seemed calmer now she would take it back. I wanted her to take it back. Why? Cause it still wasn't sitting right with me.
"Nobody good would have to ask that. No matter what bad people do, bad people stay bad."
I think I stared up at her taller frame with nausea, it was like I was seeing two sets of her pointing a finger at me telling me I'm wrong. I was wrong, but it was a lapse in judgment. A mistake. I could come back from it, I could do better.
But I wasn't given the chance, the next thing I remember is my Mom's tears as she gave me away to authorities.
I think I was crying that day.
Years later, Yuki's eyes hadn't changed. That same cold detachment, the same judgement. And I wanted to say I hate her for it.
"You've hit a new low Kobe!" her voice cut like thin ice, "Working for a man like Overhaul? Do you even understand what you've done? What he's done?"
There she was, ready to act as the judge, jury and executioner. Eri shifted in my arms, clutching to my jumper. I took a steadying breath, my voice deliberately light as I replied.
"Yeah. I've also read the headlines. Sounds like he's not so nice a guy." I then pointed down. "He's down there somewhere, you should probably go searching..."
Her jaw clenched, the veneer of calm beginning to crack. "Human experimentation. Dealing drugs. Kidnapping. Murder." The list goes on. "This isn't a game Kobe."
"They call me Sōryū now, and have you ever thought that I just don't care." I said shrugging my shoulders.
She flinched, but her expression hardened almost immediately. "You don't mean that. You can't mean that."
"Why not?" I shot back, letting a faint smile tug at my lips. "After all, I'm already a villain in your story aren't I? The bad guys can't change, am I wrong?"
Her eyes flickered, the tiniest sign of doubt creeping in, but she didn't bite. "This isn't about you. This is about what you're doing now. The kid in you're arms, she's just another one of Overhaul's pawns. You think you're saving her? You're not."
"Maybe you're right," I said dismissively, though the words did leave a odd sting that I won't admit. "But I'm not handing her over to you. She doesn't need to be a part of your weird hero fantasy."
The blue haired girl, I almost forgot she was here. But she spoke up.
"Kobe, if you care about her, why are you running? If you're doing the right thing, prove it. Let us help."
A sharp and perverse voice invaded my head only to shout...'{You Don't Need Help!}'
"I don't need help." A bitter laugh escaped my mouth. 'I'm wasting time here.'
"Then tell us," Yuki demanded, her voice rising with frustration. "Stop hiding behind your arrogance and say something real!"
My heart felt like it skipped a beat. There was anger, shame, regret, hate, distrust, rage, fear, annoyance, anxious, aggressive, resentment and shock.
All of it twisted and shook inside me. I let out an uncharacteristic giggle and held on to Eri tighter without meaning to. I felt like soaring to the highest point of the sky and crashing down with a big nuke to satiate those growing emotions.
Yuki's expression hardened, her wings shifted as if she was preparing for a charge. But before she could move, a sound shattered the tension between us. A guttural roar, raw and furious, seemingly so close to us.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
___
Overhaul staggered amidst the rubble of his home. Dust choked the air, he gave a minor thanks for the fact that he had left his father, the ex boss back in Kyushu.
Mt. Lady's catastrophic entrance reverberated through his bones. The screams of his subordinates mixed with the crackle of flame and the sharp, metallic screeches of collapsing steel.
His mind was ablaze with a single thought—betrayal.
Kobe. The name sent a wave of rage crashing through him. That ungrateful worm, his facade of usefulness had shattered. Overhaul's jaw clenched as his gloved hand trembled. He'd known from the time he met him that he was an enigma. He had operated outside of the family's typical rhythm.
But to take Eri—to steal her from under his watchful eye—was a transgression too far. Screw what All For One wants. He can have his rotting corpse and turn it into one of his Nomu when Overhaul is done with him, because he does not plan on allowing him to leave alive.
His breath came in short bursts as he glared upward, catching a fleeting glimpse of them. Tiny silhouettes disappearing into the sky.
Overhaul stood brushing the debris off his coat with deliberate precision, the minor thugs he had brought with him stood on the front lines, surprising but he was glad. The noise and dirt was unbearable, like a cacophony meant to mock his failures.
He turned sharply, catching a glimpse of Rikiya Katsukame hoisting a large piece of rubble over his shoulder. "Rikiya!" Overhaul barked. "Come here!"
Rikiya approached, his hulking frame casting a shadow over the debris-strewn ground. His massive hands streaked with blood and dust. "Boss, the heroes—"
Without warning, Overhaul reached out his free hand finding purchase on Rikiya's chest. The man tensed as Overhaul's quirk surged through him, and in a grotesque instant, their forms had began to merge. Bones cracked, flesh formed and Rikiya's mass became a part of Overhaul.
His heightened frame, muscular and pulsating with stolen energy, now he was coursing with newfound power.
The sensation was intoxicating. Strength. He could feel the pull of Rikiya's quirk enhancing him, and he was still in full control. His battered form felt rejuvenated. His veins throbbed with renewed vigor as the chaos around him blurred into a singular focus—Retrieve Eri.
But Rikiya's power wasn't enough.
"Tengai!" Overhaul's voice thundered. The barrier quirk user stumbled forward, his usually calm demeanour rattled. The smoke cleared and some of the heroes got a clear look at him...
"Boss—"
Just like Rikiya, Tengai didn't even get the chance to react. Overhaul's hand gripped his subordinate. The merging was faster this time, more precise. Overhaul assimilated Tengai's ability in his already growing grotesque form.
The shift was visible, an armoured shell now layered his body, the feint glow of Hekiji's barrier shimmering his elongated arms and legs. The energy coursing through him felt great.
He flexed his overgrown limbs experimentally. Then leaped. The barriers propelled him upward with a force that shattered the ground beneath him, sending waves of debris outward like a bomb had detonated.
Heroes scattered below. Mt. Lady shielded herself with her arms as the shockwave rippled through her stance. Ryukyu, in her dragon form, roared and snapped toward him with a ferocious intent, but Overhaul darted past her with blinding speed, his enhanced strength and barriers cutting through the air.
Above, the wind whipped through his grotesque form as he locked onto the fleeting figures—Kobe and Eri!
His voice erupted into the pale blue skies, animalistic and seething with hatred.
"GIVE HER BACK!"