MHA: Dark Matter

I closed my eyes. For what I needed to do next, my "Gaze" would be enough. The world around me filled with various shades of darkness, against which the bright silhouettes of people stood out vividly. I quickly located the silhouettes of the mercenaries aiming at us. Their protective helmets meant their eyes would barely be affected by the flashbang, but right now they couldn't see a thing. And random gunfire? At that moment, not a single rifle was aimed at the three people who had the highest priority for me.

My body had already shed the blue capture ribbons using "Choice." Coins were clenched between my fingers. This moment would last no longer than a second on video, recorded only as a blur of white, so…

Rejection.

Eight coins flew through the air. Seven of them knocked the nearest mercenaries off their feet. The last one destroyed the camera on the ceiling.

Three seconds later, Bakugo flew into the room and immediately attacked the villains closest to him. Through my "Gaze," I could see the silhouette of the hard headed one, slightly behind him. Two Tone wasn't with them because he had been carrying out my earlier request.

Good thing they found my message near the server room. Even better that Two Tone did what was written there. Thanks to my paranoia and some professional interest as a thief, I had already studied the tower's layout. During this run up the floors, I had also questioned Melissa. I learned that not far from the server room was the power supply system that provided electricity to the upper floors. And Two Tone had an extremely destructive Quirk.

Of course, the tower's designers had planned for backup power in case of problems, but some parts of the security system would be disabled for at least five minutes.

"Damn kids."

With an electrical crackle from the man with the iron mask on his face, metal pillars flew toward us. Kicking the still dazed Class 1A students aside so they wouldn't get turned into cutlets, I threw a screaming Melissa over my shoulder and ran toward the guard who had decided to flee in the confusion. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, giving his desperate escape attempt some direction, and ran, dragging two clearly superfluous elements for the upcoming fight, into one of the corridors that would lead to the stairs leading up after a couple of turns.

I still needed to reboot the security system before the villains made good on their threats. That was why I was dragging the guard along, to remove a restraining factor for the larval heroes. The villains clearly weren't going to kill Shield or Abraham, so I wished Midoriya and Butthurt good luck.

One of the mercenaries, trying to shoot the maneuvering Butthurt out of the air, decided to pay attention to me, attempting to put a few holes in me. Before I could act, the "robot" took him out with a horizontal kick. The noise of the battle behind me kept growing, so I sped up.

Finally, a turn. I could leave the guard behind. I ran on.

Despite the successful plan, executed in the best Plus Ultra style, meaning on the edge, which had even made me shout that stupid "battle cry" in my excitement, my mood was far from optimistic. Because despite all the chaos that could hide some of my actions, I had been exposed as someone who could hold his own in combat against hero course students.

And even though my official Quirk was "passive physical enhancement," that didn't change the fact that I was now seen as extraordinary in the eyes of others. So, after returning to Japan, I would have to prepare for possible attention from U.A.'s administration. And also for the possibility that I might be exposed.

Fortunately, the people connected to my official identity had solid alibis and protocols for such a situation. Only Mei and the Yoshiokas…

"Ken, could you put me down? We're already at the control floor."

A flustered female voice brought me back to reality. I finally noticed the pleasant feeling of a woman's body on my shoulder. Hesitating for a second, I set the blushing Melissa down on her feet. Reluctantly. Hormones. Hormones. Hormones. But her waist had been nice to touch.

Damn.

Irritated, I quickly knocked the wind out of two mercenaries who were too focused on regaining control of the security system and watching the live broadcast of the "Boss and Comrades versus U.A. Students" action movie. My friend immediately set about resetting the security system and undoing the new settings.

The action movie plot continued to unfold, but in an unpleasant direction.

"Ah, heroes are so predictable. Even threatening a sinner like you, Shield, can easily stop them."

Iron Mask had decided to use the students' weak spot, putting his gun to David Shield's head. The girl next to me froze.

I had clearly overestimated the scientist's importance to the villains.

"I AM HERE!"

Our relieved exhale was surprisingly synchronized. The villain was sent crashing into a wall with a crash, and the number one hero helped his old friend to his feet. I looked at Melissa, who was smiling happily, until my eyes widened.

Blood splattered onto the control center's touch screen.

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[Izuku Midoriya'S Pov]

The green haired boy smiled happily, watching his sensei, who had once again saved them all. But at the back of his mind, a thought still smoldered. If All Might hadn't weakened, if he hadn't passed his Quirk to him, none of this would have happened, and those people wouldn't have died. David Shield wouldn't be a criminal right now, and none of them would be risking their lives, wouldn't have seen that room…

Swallowing and suppressing the urge to vomit at the memory, Izuku looked at his friends. Mineta and Kaminari, leaning on each other, were breathing heavily. Kirishima was helping the quietly cursing Kacchan bandage a wound on his shoulder. Iida and the just arrived Todoroki were gloomily staring at the unconscious villains.

A cry of pain made him look the other way. Jiro and Yaoyorozu were helping Uraraka stay on her feet. The girl was trying not to put weight on her right leg.

Izuku lowered his head, looking at his clenched fists.

All Might said you should always smile. No matter the pain, the obstacles, the failures. But why is it so hard to smile right now?

"Koeti… Koeti… Koeti… my love…"

The blood covered figure of the heroine rocking back and forth, staring at the hanging corpse of the man.

"…and I believe in your ideals, in your dream, in you…"

All Might's blue eyes, full of confidence, stared at him.

"Self flagellation won't save anyone or live up to Toshinori sensei's expectations."

Nodding confidently to himself, Midoriya looked at All Might.

Everyone present's eyes widened in shock as the number one hero was knocked down by a metal pillar.

"Someone said recently that All Might was weakened. So I got curious…"

A tremor ran through the building. Following someone else's will, dozens of metal sheets mixed with cables flew toward the figure hidden in a cloud of dust.

A screech.

"…how long will he last against my current strength, achieved thanks to his old friend?"

The villain in the white coat, embedded waist deep in a pile of metal, grinned crookedly. His face, no longer hidden by the iron mask, allowed everyone present to see the device on his head, burning with blue fire.

A wave of his hand, and metal rods yanked David Shield toward the villain.

"RELEASE MY OLD FRIEND, VILLAIN!"

Creating a powerful gust of wind, All Might shattered the metal pillars restraining him in a fraction of a second. Midoriya watched as his teacher's lightning fast silhouette was wrapped in black cables. Straining his muscles, he tried to reach the figure in the white coat. Instead, a reddened hand squeezed his throat.

"This power…"

"Speaking of old friends. One of our mutual acquaintances sends his regards and wishes you to fully enjoy the fact that your old friend has become a criminal involved in the murder of people…"

The villain's voice, his body now more muscular and reddened, boomed across the crumbling hall.

"…because you won't be able to do anything else. Why? Because YOUR TIME IS UP."

The villain's other hand dropped sharply and squeezed the spot under the hero's left lung where his old wound was. Midoriya's ears were assaulted by All Might's scream of pain.

[End Pov Izuku Midoriya]

****A/N****

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