The air crackled, a sickening purple hue blooming in the middle of the USJ training grounds. My eyes, the same shade of cool green as my mother's, narrowed at the anomaly – a portal, swirling and malevolent. A knot tightened in my gut, a familiar sensation I'd learned to heed during my time with the Justice League. Something was terribly wrong. We hadn't seen this kind of disruption, not ever.
Class 1-A was thrown into chaotic panic. Shouts of alarm echoed around me, their fear palpable. Bakugo, predictably, was already surging forward, a feral snarl on his face, eager to unleash his explosive power. Aizawa-sensei, bless his gruff resolve, managed to grab him by the collar before he could charge headlong into the unknown. The portal pulsed, and through it stepped a figure, a swirling mist coalescing into the form of Kurogiri. That confirmed my worst fears. This wasn't some random occurrence. The League of Villains was here.
My heart hammered against my ribs, anxiety turning to ice-cold dread. My eyes scanned the crowd, a frantic search for Izuku. He wasn't there. Panic flared, a cold, sharp blade slicing through my composure. Where was he? My hands clenched into fists, my vision momentarily blurring as I pushed past a group of wide-eyed classmates. "Izuku!" I yelled, my voice tinged with a desperate edge that I rarely allowed myself.
I caught a glimpse of him, finally, and my breath hitched. He was backed up against a crumbling wall, his face pale, eyes wide with a mix of fear and determination. And there, standing between him and the rest of the class, was Shigaraki, the League's leader, his dry, cracked hands outstretched, ready to strike.
Izuku was trying to stand his ground, but I could see the tremble in his limbs. He was not ready for this. He wasn't ready to face Shigaraki, not now. My hands shook as I pushed to act, a desperate need to surge in front of my younger brother. But I was also an older brother, a protector, and I also knew I had to assess.
My gaze darted around the chaos of USJ. Aizawa-sensei was engaged. His quirk was erasing a giant Nomu, a horrifying monster that looked like a grotesque caricature of humanity. The rest of the teachers were no where to see, they must have been distracted by the other Villians. The fear in my classmates was palpable, a suffocating blanket of dread. Kurogiri had effectively cut off our escape. We were trapped.
I could feel the cold fury bubbling up inside me, the white-hot anger that always surfaced when Izuku was threatened. It was an emotion that came with my powers, with the responsibility of all the power I should hold. I have to, I have to protect him. But I also have to protect everyone. How could I possibly do both? A lifetime of training with the Justice League never prepared me for a moment like this. This was too calculated, too personal.
I could unleash my full force. I could fly in, knock out Shigaraki and break the nomu and get everything under control but what about my classmates? They could be in danger. If I move faster and stronger than anyone else, I might cause damage around me. My eyes darted back and forth between Izuku and Shigaraki, my mind racing. I couldn't just watch. I wouldn't. I'd sworn to keep him safe. I would keep him safe. I had to. But how? In this chaotic moment, my powers felt inadequate. I needed a plan, a way to protect everyone, starting with my brother. But time was running out.