MHA: Dark Matter

"So, what were you saying about me?"

I sighed and crouched down. I began searching through the mercenaries' gear and pockets, not forgetting to stash several knives in my sleeves and suit. These mercenaries had relaxed too much the moment I threw my knife on the floor. They didn't know that I actually had three of them. And, surprisingly, all of them had been taken from the same hero's corpse. That hero in the Native American costume must have really loved bladed weapons, since he carried them in addition to his sword. Not that I was one to talk.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

"It was a distraction maneuver to close the distance."

"You still haven't answered the question."

"Everything I said was unfounded nonsense, meant only to manipulate the enemy's mood and attention."

"But you said it with such conviction. And you still haven't answered the question."

"A good actor is one who believes their own lies."

"So it really was your opinion after all."

"That is merely your delusion."

"You don't sound very convincing right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I answered with a deadpan expression, stuffing a flashbang grenade into my pocket. I wasn't about to tell her that I had been trying to distract the mercenary aiming at them with my words, and that I had been planning to go on about how her constant stares in my direction and her "possible designs on my innocence" bothered me. That kind of nonsense could have confused those guys for a moment, which would have been enough for me. But Jiro's outburst had made the mercenaries flinch and momentarily take their attention off me.

Then came the knife throw at the wrist holding the rifle of the quieter mercenary, and another throw, this time with the blunt side, at the groin of the talkative one. The first reacted as expected, but the knife near the second just stopped in mid air and fell to the floor. Because of that, I had to close the distance, dodging a shot in the process, and deliver a "forbidden" blow. This time, the mercenary's Quirk didn't work. From this, I concluded that his Quirk needed time to recharge or certain conditions to activate. Not that it mattered. I had found what I was looking for. If these idiots had said that one of them had activated the deflector shields…

An electronic tablet appeared in my hands.

"Melissa, is this a mobile terminal for controlling the security system?"

The girl, who had been staring at me strangely until then, finally snapped out of it.

"Not the whole system. Security uses such tablets for on site control of security robots and the defense system, but they are divided by priority and access level. They can also be disconnected from the central control room."

"Well, let's see if their lumberjack is a complete idiot or not."

I quickly found the tabs and switched a few intuitively understandable parameters. The deflector shield disappeared, and all the "nightstand" security robots froze. The Class 1A students even paused at this turn of events. I understood. They had been psyching themselves up for overcoming adversity and drama, and now the enemies were gone.

"I can authoritatively state that their lumberjack is a complete idiot."

I walked over to Midoriya, who was looking at me questioningly, waving the tablet. At that moment, the screen with the still open tabs went dark. I pressed the start button. No response.

Well, maybe not a complete idiot.

I thought, tossing the tablet aside and starting to run toward the other exit.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Applause from the villains for being such good kids?"

Our "save everyone" suicide squad finally snapped out of it. I had the feeling that I had already exceeded my heroism quota for today by three times. God forbid Nezu considers this a reason to transfer me to the hero course for such results. I would not survive that kind of absurdity and broken expectations.

Well, for now, I needed to do something else. And also ask Melissa something.

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[Engel Wilfried'S Pov ]

Watching the profusely sweating "lumberjack" rapidly pressing keys, Engel considered his next move. Shield and Abraham were about to open the prototype storage chamber, and two helicopters were already waiting for him and his men, as was a cargo ship not far from the island. No one outside the tower yet knew what was happening. All Might and all the other heroes were still in the banquet hall.

In this situation, only two variables remained for Wolfram: Haijima and the U.A. students. The actions of the former were not entirely clear, but he did not intend to interfere in their affairs. The U.A. students, however, had proven to be surprisingly tenacious and lucky. For Engel Wilfried, the fact that a handful of teenagers had defeated several of his subordinates was an extremely unpleasant surprise. As if they were not experienced mercenaries who had fought alongside him in many battles, but some kind of second rate villains from an adventure film.

Well, it's time to show them that luck won't always be on their side.

"Remove all the partitions leading to the hall near the elevator on the 198th floor. Also, stop sending security drones to them."

"Yes, Boss."

His white haired subordinate looked at him in surprise, then carried out the order.

"Pawn, Rook, take your men. We're going to the 198th floor."

A wide smile spread across the yellow eyed man's face.

[End Pov Engel Wilfried]

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[Melissa Shield's Pov]

Following the others, the girl tried not to fall behind. Feeling the pain in her bare feet and the numerous cuts on her body, earned during the entire journey that had begun on the first floor, she felt more useless than ever. While everyone else fought, sometimes forced to protect her, she just watched. Weak, worthless, Quirkless. Even Ken, who was not training to be a hero and was a civilian, fought the villains. And won.

She stubbornly pressed her lips together and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Just because they are giving their all, I will also do everything I can, no matter how little it might be compared to them.

The higher they climbed, the more anxious she became at the thought that they might soon save her father and the others. Soon, however, she froze, along with the rest of the U.A. students. In the hall in front of the elevator to the 198th floor stood a man in a white coat with an iron mask on his face, holding a pistol. But he wasn't aiming at them. He was aiming at a guard on his knees.

"The adventure is over, kids."

The villain said with a bored expression. Armed mercenaries began to appear from the other corridors leading into the hall. The teenagers, who had been about to move, froze at the villain's shot.

"Move again, and the next bullet will be in his head."

He said weightily, aiming again at the trembling guard. Then he raised his hand to his ear and said something quietly. Soon, blue capture ribbons shot out from openings in the floor, wrapping around her. Quiet curses from the Class 1A students, who were trying to pull the ribbons off themselves, echoed around her.

"You should not have gotten involved in these adult games. But this might still be useful to us. I wonder, young Yaoyorozu, how much are your parents willing to pay for the safe return of their healthy, whole daughter? The Yaoyorozu conglomerate's shares have risen quite nicely after breaking into the European market."

The villain smiled broadly at the pale brunette with the mature body. At that moment, the sound of the arriving elevator rang out. The metal doors slid open, and out stepped…

"We're done. We need to leave soon."

David Shield said gloomily, holding a metal briefcase by the handle. Next to him stood Samuel Abraham, who kept his eyes fixed on the floor.

"Dad?"

The girl stared at her father in shock, unable to understand what was happening. Straightening up and taking a small step toward him, despite the blue capture ribbon squeezing her, she did not take her eyes off him.

"What are you… did they force you to help them?"

The man with the curly hair averted his eyes.

"I needed to get something."

Melissa looked at the metal briefcase in his hand.

"For what? FOR WHAT DID YOU DO ALL THIS?"

Instead of David Shield, Uncle Abraham answered her.

"It's something your father and I worked on a few years ago. A Quirk amplifier that, ignoring the body's physical endurance, can increase the power of a Quirk tenfold. It's our greatest invention, which the board of directors banned, citing the danger to society."

"For this…"

"This is for All Might."

David Shield said firmly, looking her straight in the eye.

"All Might is weakening. Already, the average number of crimes worldwide this year is the highest in the past five years and is steadily increasing. That is why I must give my invention to All Might, so that he can remain the invincible Symbol of Peace."

"DAD, PEOPLE DIED BECAUSE OF THIS!"

Her father's previously serious face became confused. He shifted his gaze to the smiling man in the white coat, then to his old friend.

"Samuel? What does this mean?"

He snatched the briefcase from his hand and walked over to the villain. Then he said, gripping the briefcase tightly:

"David, we've been working together for years. You, more than anyone, should know a confirmed bachelor like me. So why don't you understand? Why don't you know how much I HATE this island?"

The previously good natured face of the light haired man twisted in anger. A furious stare was directed at the flinching David Shield.

"This isn't the first time our inventions have been banned. When our projects have stopped being funded due to 'threats to public safety' or 'economic infeasibility.' You remember how we groveled before the board of directors to get even one percent of the profits from OUR invention. That bastard board of directors only thought about how to make more money for their companies. Anything that didn't bring them big profits was unnecessary."

Shield clenched his fists.

"So you did it for the money…"

"Yes! And also so I could do what I love without having to look over my shoulder at greedy marketers who ban anything that gets in the way of their money. I couldn't leave I Island before, because they put pressure on scientists in other countries. But now I have a chance. With this, someone is ready to give me the opportunity to live the way I want."

The man in the white coat who had been watching the whole exchange laughed. Feeling despair rising within her, Melissa heard a whisper from behind her back.

"When you hear me shout, close your eyes."

Ken said quietly, somehow appearing behind her.

"That was quite an entertaining conversation, gentlemen. But it's time to end this performance."

Suddenly, the lights went out, only to come back on quite quickly. But the blue capture ribbons loosened.

"What…"

"PLUS ULTRA!"

Something struck the villain's iron mask. As the villain stared with wide eyes, recognizing a flashbang grenade, Melissa closed her eyes. Even through her closed lids, everything seemed bright.

[End Pov Melissa Shield]

****A/N****

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