บท 53: 22
"Stop her!" shouted Wolfram to his hacker, who tried to run towards the exit to follow her, only for Izuku to suddenly appear at the exit.
Izuku raised his arms, ready to fight when he felt his leg falter for a second. Before he realized why, Wolfram was already sending several steel pillars at his location. Izuku did his best to resist all the metal pillars slamming into him, but he was soon buried underneath the attack.
"Foolish child, did you think the spear that pierced your body was just that?" sneered Wolfram as he waltzed by the pile, "We covered the spear with a paralytic agent. I'm not one to be so foolish to think you're not a threat just because you're a child."
However, Izuku had bought enough time for Melissa to access the security control center and reactivate its normal settings.
"Tch, did she get the security systems back to normal?" grunted Wolfram in annoyance as he heard the alert winding down as well as the security doors opening up again.
All over I-Island, the communications blackout was lifted while security robots returned to normal. In the tower itself, the robots that had been attacking the two groups halted their attacks, going back into hibernation. In the banquet hall, the restraining cables deactivated, allowing the heroes to break free and quickly take down the terrorists.
'Did you do it, everyone?' thought All Might as he stood up before rushing out of the banquet hall.
Seeing that they no longer had control of the security room, Wolfram quickly threw David over his shoulder and began to calmly walk towards the landing pad on top of the building, where the helicopter had already landed.
Moments later, the metal pillars that had buried Izuku suddenly began to shake, each one shaking more violently as seconds passed. Suddenly, Izuku burst out of the metal prison, heaving as he did so.
"Can... barely... move," gritted Izuku as he clutched his wound, "But... I'm not out yet!"
Finding the willpower to stand up once more, Izuku slowly walked out to see a droplet of blood leading away from the vault. Realizing that it was David's blood, Izuku began to follow it. He took only a few steps before stumbling once more.
"Dam... paralytic," growled Izuku as he tried to push himself up once more. Suddenly, he felt a hand over his shoulder as well as a sting in his arm. Izuku turned his head to see Sam injecting Izuku with some sort of concoction.
"That'll get rid of the paralysis," murmured Sam as he finished the injection, quickly tearing off the sleeve of his suit to wrap it around Izuku's wound. As he finished, Sam groaned in pain as he put a hand over his shoulder.
"Why help me?" sneered Izuku as he slowly clenched and unclenched his hand, feeling his nerves coming back to him.
"Though I intended to steal the invention and get money for it, I never intended to actually hurt David," groaned Sam, leaning against the wall now, "I gave them the poison to paralyze David if he tried to stop the plan, but I kept the antidote just in case. It was never in the plan to shoot him and kidnap him. Despite everything that's happened... I never imagined it going this far off track."
Sam slowly looked at Izuku straight in the eye, "So please. Rescue David. Rescue my friend who saved me despite having betrayed him."
"That was always the plan," nodded Izuku as he stood back up once more, limping after the blood trail while slowly regaining control of his body once more, "I will do what I can!"
All Might dashed down the hall before he felt his phone vibrate. Quickly picking it up, he saw it was from Melissa.
"What's wrong, Melissa?" asked All Might in a rush.
"Uncle Might! Papa's been taken by the villains, and Izuku has gone after them! Izuku is seriously injured right now," reported Melissa as she rapidly switched over the cameras to see her father being carried away by villains with Izuku slowly trailing behind.
"It'll be fine! I will go!" replied All Might as he ran even faster. Though he wasn't aiming for the stairs, but rather the nearest exit.
"Boss, what about everyone else?" asked the pilot as he saw Wolfram and the others arrive at the rooftop, where a helicopter was waiting for them.
"We're leaving before the security system gets reactivated," ordered Wolfram.
The pilot nodded as he quickly ran back into the helicopter to start up the engine.
"Kill... me...," groaned David as he woke up from being knocked unconscious.
"I'll add just a few more sins before making your wish come true," retorted Wolfram with a grin.
Just as he tossed David into the helicopter, along with the suitcase, he heard a familiar voice roar out "Wait!"
Wolfram turned to see Izuku hunched over the door, pushing himself forward.
"Give back the professor!" demanded Izuku as David slowly opened his eyes in shock and fear for Izuku.
"You... shouldn't be moving. Not after being hit with that drug," hummed Wolfram curiously before shrugging, using an openly mocking tone, "Did you come to take back this man who has clearly committed a heinous crime?"
"No!" shot back Izuku as arcs of electricity wrapped around his body once more, "I came to save the professor!"
"To save a criminal?" mocked Wolfram as he slammed his palm into the ground, manipulating the metal structure to create metal pillars to attack Izuku.
"I plan to save everyone! So I'll save the professor too!" shouted Izuku as he jumped forward, dodging all the attacks with his Ghost Perplexing Steps, "That's what heroes do! They save those in trouble!"
"Damn brat is hard to track with his weird movements," growled Wolfram before changing plans, quickly pointing his gun at a defenseless David, "How do you plan to do that?"
Izuku stopped, unable to do anything least he risked David's life.
"Don't worry about me... get away!" pleaded David.
"Jeez, it's so inconvenient being a hero," laughed Wolfram, "I didn't do much, and you already can't move."
With his target now standing still, Wolfram launched several more metal pillars at Izuku with a vengeance. Izuku raised his arms up, using the gauntlet as the first line of defense to block.
"No matter what, it's not a smart way to live," commented Wolfram as his final attack launched Izuku back into the door he came through, "Get us out of here."
The helicopter began to ascend as Izuku pushed himself back onto his feet. Thanks to his rubber body, he didn't suffer any real injuries, but the attacks did aggravate the wound he already had. Izuku clenched his teeth in pain as he felt blood slowly pouring through the bindings Sam had made. Still, this wasn't enough to make him give up. With a roar, Izuku dashed forward once more, using the metal pillars that Wolfram had created as a pathway up before jumping off it. Izuku raised his left arm and shot it forward, letting it stretch towards the helicopter before grabbing hold of the landing slide.
'Since he's in the air and not touching any other metallic structures, he can't use his quirk one me!' theorized Izuku as he pulled himself forward. He doubted Wolfram would use the helicopter as a weapon as it was his only means of escape.
"Shit!" cursed the pilot as he tried to stabilize the helicopter to cope with the additional weight.
Melissa managed to arrive at the rooftop to see Izuku holding onto the helicopter.
"Izuku!" shouted Melissa in fright at such a dangerous situation Izuku was in.
"Professor!" shouted Izuku as he tried to get his upper body into the helicopter.
"Stop it," whimpered David, "Midoriya, get away! I'm not worth it!"
"Melissa is waiting for you!" shouted Izuku back as he managed to get his upper body onto the helicopter.
David could only look at Izuku in shock and awe at his will to help him when he heard a gun being cocked.
"You certainly are a hero," acknowledged Wolfram, if only for the sheer amount of stubbornness in Izuku, before pointing his gun at Izuku, "But you're an idiot."
Just before Wolfram fired though, David tackled his arm in a desperate attempt. The bullet slammed into Izuku's gauntlet covered arm as he raised it to defend himself. The bullet luckily deflected off of the gauntlet, ricocheting into the night sky. The impact, however, was enough to cause Izuku to lose his grip on the helicopter.
Melissa screamed in fear as Izuku fell back down to the tower.
'I won't give up!' thought Izuku to himself as he prepared to stretch his right arm forward. Just as he did so, he felt his body freeze up for a second.
'Dammit, that stupid drug!' cursed Izuku as he managed to regain control of his body, only for it to be too late as he crashed on top of the tower. Melissa quickly ran towards Izuku in worry.
Back in the helicopter, Wolfram threw David into a wall in annoyance at his stubbornness and having interfered with his attempts to kill someone.
"Izuku!" cried Melissa as she saw Izuku's shoulder wound bleeding even more heavily. She tore the bottom of her dress to attempt to stop the bleeding as Izuku sat back up.
"Give him back! Give the professor back!" shouted Izuku in desperation as he managed to stand up once more, ready to rocket himself in an attempt to catch up.
"Now is the time to smile, Young Izuku!" shouted All Might with a grin from the bottom of the tower. Then, with a mere mighty flex of his leg muscles, All Might jumped, shooting himself towards the helicopter. In mere seconds, All Might shot past the helicopter. He then swung his arms out, halting his ascension so he was floating above the helicopter. The pilot and the hacker gaped in shock and horror at the figure of All Might.
"It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!" declared All Might boisterously, "I'll have you give my friend back, you villain!"
Using his mighty strength, All Might shot himself towards the helicopter. The pilot tried to move the helicopter out of the way, but it was too late. All Might punched right through the helicopter blade and the helicopter itself. A second later, the helicopter exploded from the damage, spiraling down back towards the tower.
All Might, however, had not only punched through the helicopter but also grabbed David in the mere milliseconds he was inside the helicopter, carrying him in his hands as the two of them landed safely.
"Papa!" breathed Melissa in a sigh of relief.
"Melissa," groaned David as he raised his hands towards Melissa as All Might ripped the bindings away.
"It's fine now," said All Might calmly, "Everything will be alright."
"All Might," whispered David, looking down in shame. "I.."
Whatever David had been about to say was interrupted when a metal pillar slammed into All Might, sending him tumbling away.
"All Might!" exclaimed Izuku and Melissa in shock before quickly turning towards the source to see metallic cables suddenly wrap around David, dragging him away.
"Papa!"
"Professor!"
"That Sam.. He said that All Might's Quirk was declining and that he didn't have the power he once had," laughed Wolfram as he slowly ascended upwards, wearing David's invention with a grin as his voice blurred while trapping David inside his metal prison.
'He's using.. the professor's invention!' thought Izuku, his eyes widening at the power Wolfram was clearly displaying.
All Might coughed as he noticed his time was running low before getting back up, ready to fight.
"You don't know when to give up, huh?" growled All Might before dashing forward, his left arm raised behind him, "Texas..."
Wolfram immediately raised a thick metallic wall in between them, blocking All Might's path.
"Smash!" roared All Might, punching the metallic wall in hope of breaking through it. He looked in shock when he saw the wall didn't even budge.
"Was that it?" smirked Wolfram before blasting All Might away.
With a maniacal laugh, Wolfram began to reshape the tower to his own liking, adding it to his own throne.
"As expected of something from David Shield. I can feel my quirk being revitalized! This is good... no this is great!" bellowed Wolfram as more and more metal came towards him. With the device, he didn't even need to touch the metal surface, but rather command it to come with his mind.
While the Izuku, All Might, and Melissa could only stare in horror at the amount of power Wolfram was generating.
"Now, to raise the price of this device, why don't we have a demonstration of how it can destroy All Might?" mused Wolfram, "But first..."
Wolfram raised his arm before pointing it at Melissa. Instantly, a large metallic block formed above Melissa and dropped down towards her.
Melissa looked up and screamed in fear, her legs refusing to move due to the fear.
"Melissa!" shouted Izuku as he managed to push Melissa away, but now he was the target. Izuku quickly put his hands up, catching the object with a grunt, his legs buckling under the pressure.
What he didn't notice was due to the force of the object hitting him from above, the blood rushed down towards his legs, distorting them a bit before acting like a pump and pushed the blood back upwards. Izuku's body began to steam as the sweat from his body began to vaporize, his skin taking a slight pink hue.
"Izuku!" shouted Melissa, only to suddenly find herself being wrapped around metallic cables.
"Then again, perhaps I was too hasty," hummed Wolfram before a malicious grin appeared on his face, "Having a second Shield to create more devices for me and to use as a hostage will certainly be beneficial!"
Izuku saw red as he pushed the metal object off him, One for All surging within his body as steam wafted off his body still.
"Don't even think about it!" roared Izuku as he cocked his arm back.
Wolfram scoffed as he sent several more metallic cables to block out Izuku's attempt to rescue Melissa. He had seen how fast Izuku's stretching powers went and already calculated that by the time the fist could even reach Melissa, his cables would be there to block and restrain his fist.
However, both he and Izuku would be surprised at what would happen next.
Austrian Smash!
Izuku's attack accelerated far faster than anyone could anticipate. Wolfram's attack didn't even reach Izuku's arm in time when it smashed the cables wrapping Melissa before being withdrawn back to Izuku.
'What the heck was that?' thought Izuku to himself, 'That was far more powerful and faster than my usual attack.'
Izuku didn't take too long to ponder as he shot himself towards Melissa, catching her in midair before quickly running away with her in his arms.
"Izuku? Why is your body steaming?" asked Melissa worriedly as she quickly analyzed the situation before noticing a lack of sweat on Izuku's body. She also noticed that Izuku was a lot warmer than usual. Before either could say anything else, the steam faded away, returning Izuku to normal.
"That brat!" growled Wolfram, intending to fire a barrage of pillars at the two before noticing All Might charging forward at him. Quickly reverting to his original plan, Wolfram changed targets, sending a metal pillar to clash against All Might.
All Might threw a punch at the metal pillar, the attacks crashing against each other and creating a small shockwave before All Might was pushed back down to the ground.
Izuku winced in worry when he saw All Might's body steaming up, struggling to push the attack back as he coughed harshly. Wolfram laughed as he sent more pillars at All Might, relentlessly with his strikes.
"Uncle Might," whispered Melissa in fear as he saw All Might struggling before coughing out blood.
"Hurry up and get crushed!" shouted Wolfram as he sent several more metal pillars at the Symbol of Peace, intending to crush the symbol forever.
Before the attack reached its mark, a wave of ice froze the pillars in place. Wolfram growled before looking up in surprise, hearing explosions coming close to him.
"Go to hell!" howled Katsuki as he fired a chain of explosions at Wolfram, who quickly raised a metal wall to defend himself.
Katsuki kept firing until he winced in pain, his wrists screaming at him for abusing explosions so much.
"How can you get beaten up by such a damn lame lost boss, huh All Might?" demanded Katsuki.
"Young Bakugo!" All Might clenched his teeth in surprise.
"While you can.. the villain," panted Shoto as he and the rest of the gang arrived at the battlefield.
"We'll take on the lumps of metal!" shouted Eijirou, hardening his arms.
"Yaoyorozu, please take care of things here," asked Tenya as the engines on his legs began to rev up, dashing forward with Eijiro.
Izuku grinned as he made his way towards the others. With Melissa with them, she would be much safer.
"With my students so motivated, I can't be held back by some stupid limit! I just need to go past my limit and beyond!" shouted All Might as he saw his precious students doing their best to eliminate the metal pillars to ease his job.
All Might threw another punch, shattering the objects attacking him before jumping forward, creating a small shockwave as he did so.
"That's right, Plus Ultra!" roared All Might as he punched, weaved, dodged, and ran his way through Wolfram's barrage of attack.
As three more pillars tried to slam into All Might, All Might crossed his arms together.
Carolina Smash
All Might's cross arm chop destroyed the attempted attack, creating a blinding light as he did had just landed to where Momo and the others were, too. Wolfram was forced to shield his eyes from debris and light before looking back down once more to see All Might closing in.
"Prepare yourself, villain!" bellowed All Might as he tried to punch Wolfram.
Abruptly, his charge was halted as All Might's limbs were suddenly entangled in metallic cables. Still, All Might tried to brute force his way forward.
"Is this all you've got-?" taunted All Might before Wolfram's hand clasped around on his throat. All Might looked in surprise at the amount of strength Wolfram was displaying before the said arm's muscles suddenly expanded, gaining a pink tinge as it did so.
"Prepare myself?" mocked Wolfram "You should take your own advice, All Might."
'What's with this power?' thought All Might before he coughed up blood as Wolfram tightened his grip on his throat. Then, to his horror, Wolfram's other hand moved towards his injury, the thumb pressing down on the scar viciously as the other fingers squeezed down on his muscle. All Might couldn't help but scream out in pain.
The students looked in horror as they tried to break through, but Wolfram was still sending waves of pillars at them as he toyed with All Might's injuries, preventing them from getting close.
"All Might!" shouted Izuku as he bent his legs to interfere, only to suddenly collapse from the pain on his shoulder.
"Izuku!" shouted Melissa, Itsuka, Momo, Tsuyu and Ochako as they noticed him go down to his knees.
'This power enhanced muscles... there are multiple quirks here...' thought All Might before his mind quickly came to a conclusion, "D-don't tell me.."
"Yeah, when we were planning this extortion, I received a call from that man," nodded Wolfram, proving All Might's theory, "He said that he wanted to work with me. When I asked him why this is what he said. 'If All Might's friend has said he wants to have a hand in something evil, then I definitely want to help. It is unfortunate that I will not be able to see All Might's face twist in pain when he finds out, though.'"
"All For One!" rasped out All Might in anger, his smile gone from his face.
"You've finally stopped smiling, huh?" smirked Wolfram as All Might struggled to reach him.
With a wave of his hand, he had the metal cables restraining All Might pull him away. Before All Might could try to break free, he saw two metal blocks from either side of him flying towards him. He quickly raised his arm to defend himself as the two blocks crushed him in the middle. As if All Might was a magnet, more and more metal blocks collided towards him, trying to crush him even more.
"Farewell, All Might!" proclaimed Wolfram as he manipulated several metal pillars into spears and shot them right through the growing pile of cubes trapping All Might.
The students felt a sharp chill in their spine when they saw this image, and couldn't help imagine All Might's mangled body from it.
"Massachusetts Smash!" screamed Izuku as he jumped forward, ignoring the pain while adrenaline rushed through his body, his right arm already extended and coiled right arm smashing the cubes trapping All Might.
The attack smashed open the prison, free All Might while sending debris towards Wolfram. Wolfram raised his arm to defend himself while sending another pillar to smack Izuku back into the ground. Izuku winced as he hit the ground hard but quickly stood back up as All Might landed next to him.
"Young Midoriya! That was reckless of you," scolded All Might, "Not to mention you're bleeding heavily!"
Izuku could only give All Might a grin before replying, "Yea, it was. But it's a hero's job to save those in need, no matter what."
All Might looked at Izuku, stunned for a second before smiling back, "Haha. True, I'm in a bit of a pinch right now. So will you aid me, Young Izuku?"
Izuku grinned, both at how All Might used his first name as well as asking for his help. Taking his hand, Izuku stood up, giving a small laugh.
"Shishishi, let's do this," grinned Izuku as he charged up One for All at 100% throughout his body.
Arcs of green lightning surrounded Izuku once more as his hair spiked up, with lightning streaming out of the corner of his eyes.
"Let's go," said All Might, his body no longer steaming as much as it had been.
"Right!" nodded Izuku as the two of them bent their knees before dashing forward towards Wolfram.
"Worthless little brat! You're nothing better than trash! You don't know when to give up!" howled Wolfram in anger as the dust cleared from all the debris he was hit with. He thrust his arm forward, sending many more metal blocks at the two who were charging towards him.
"You're the one who doesn't!" shouted Katsuki fired off another chain of explosions at the blocks, ignoring the stabbing pain in his forearms.
Seeing his first attack fail, Wolfram manipulated the metal around him and threw metal pillars at All Might and Izuku.
"I won't let you!" declared Shoto as he fired a wave of ice, forming a giant glacier to block the attack.
"You bra-" began Wolfram, only to widen his eyes as giant objects were flung in his direction. Quickly pulling a metal wall to defend himself, he spied the other students of U.A. Ochaco was using her quirk to lighten anything she touched before passing them to Yui, who touched each object. Itsuka was hurling objects with her giant hands, Tsuyu with her tongue, and Tenya with his feet.
"Enough!" shouted Wolfram as he ruptured the ground near the students, sending them tumbling away. Kosei managed to create several air bubbles, manipulating it so they were softer than his usual rigid air barriers. Each one of them landed onto the bubbles, breaking their fall and landing more gently.
With the distractions out of the way, Wolfram turned his attention towards Izuku and All Might.
Izuku, utilizing his footwork, dodged the barrage of attack while charging forward. All Might punched through quite a few, surpassing his limit. A blur of yellow and green streaked up towards Wolfram, getting too close for Wolfram's comfort.
With a loud grunt, Wolfram gathered all the metallic debris above him, forming a large block on a scale much grander than before.
"To overcome the crisis in front of you..." began All Might as he clenched his left fist.
"With everything you got..." continued Izuku, clenching his right fist with the gauntlet beeping behind him, getting into the chant.
"And save everyone..."
"With everything you've got!"
"That's what makes...
"A Hero!"
"I'll crush you all and this tower!" bellowed Wolfram as he fired the metal cube down at them.
"Double Detroit Smash!" shouted the two of them, Izuku paying homage to his mentor by using the same attack name.
Their attack smashed into the metal cube, forcing it to halt in its path. Wolfram tried to will the metal cube forward, but he was being pushed back from the attack. The two users of One for All glanced at each other and nodded, pouring even more power into their attack. Soon, it was too much for Wolfram as he winced from the backlash of losing control of his attack. The metal cube burst into pieces as Izuku and All Might continued forward, undeterred by Wolfram's frantic attacks.
As the students of U.A. cheered them on, Melissa could only gaze up in awe at Izuku and All Might's determination.
Resonating deep within the two, the past wills and power of One for All echoed in their bodies, granting even more power within them.
"Go... Beyond!" shouted Izuku and All Might as they readied their final attack, with All Might striking a pose, "Plus Ultra/Plus Ultra!"
The two of them shot forward as Wolfram quickly wrapped himself in metallic wirings in hopes to protect himself. Ultimately, it didn't stand a chance against two powered-up punches as it broke through. Izuku's punch struck deeply into Wolfram's gut as he pushed it forward, shattering the Full Gauntlet. Wolfram didn't have time to ponder about this as All Might's punch smacked him in the face. With the attacks landing, Wolfram roared in pain before losing all control of his quirk, rendering his metal throne into pieces. As David, who had woken up from All Might and Izuku's chant, looked up, he saw Izuku in the air in a pose just like All Might. He could clearly superimpose All Might's image with Izuku, and saw that Izuku was more than just a student that All Might favored at U.A. Izuku was to be his successor to the Symbol of Peace.
"Did.. they do it?" asked Tenya as he watched the metal tower Wolfram had created crumble.
"They did it...," whispered Mienta, "They finished off the villain!"
They all began to cheer in excitement while Shoto and Katsuki gave off small grins.
As the sun began to rise, Melissa was already dashing up towards the area where the final clash took place. There hung Wolfram, his whole body shriveled up from abusing his quirk as David's invention fell off him. Izuku himself managed to pull himself out of the debris covering him, coughing as he did so.
"Izuku!" exclaimed Melissa as she ran up to him, "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Shishishi, nothing to it," grinned Izuku before wincing as his wound flared up.
"We'll get you to a hospital asap," ordered Melissa, "But first... thank you. I'm so glad... very glad. Thanks to you all, we were able to save everyone."
"You shouldn't downplay yourself, you did just as much," replied Izuku, "Without your expertise, we could have never rebooted the system. Not to mention you saved me from being stabbed. Not to mention the Full Gauntlet was useful in allowing me to use all of my power. So thank you very much!"
"Izuku...," whispered Melissa with a smile.
"Ah, but I broke it," winced Izuku.
"Don't worry about it," chuckled Melissa, "I've seen it in action and got the valuable data I need. I can make you a new and stronger one soon."
The two of them stared into each other's eyes with a smile until Ochako and the other arrived, making sure Izuku was alright.
Sitting a bit further away was Dave, leaning against a wall as All Might made sure he was okay, though his body slightly steaming as he began to show signs of transforming back to his true form.
"You should thank Melissa and young Izuku," smiled All Might when David thanked him for saving his life, "They did just as much. Melissa told me everything."
"That boy... he's your successor, isn't he," gestured David towards Izuku.
"He is," coughed Toshinori, who had finally run out of time with his muscle form, "He still has quite a bit of ways to go, but he'll be ready when the time comes."
"And here I was scared of losing your light... losing the peace that you built," confessed David. "But my ideas and devices were merely helping keep the status quo. You, however... you're looking into the future while I ignored it, not noticing Melissa trying to become my successor. And I can see why you feel confident about the future. I can see it in the boy. The light of a hero."
David sighed as he watched the other students gather around Izuku and Melissa.
"I've made a big mistake this time. And no matter what I do, my daughter will suffer for it. I'll be lucky if I don't end up in Tartarus for this."
"But you were tricked! Surely it wouldn't be that bad?" hissed Toshinori.
"You know as well as I do that what I did can't be taken lightly," replied David, "I brought in villains and disabled the security in I-Island. I put the whole civilian population and heroes at risk with this stunt. It doesn't matter that I thought I brought in actors pretending to be villains just to get the device back."
Toshinori looked away, unable to face his friend. When put like that, it made his friend's crime so much bigger.
"I also have to apologize to you, too," breathed out David, "You came to me for help, and I failed to consider the consequences of my own action with this. With my crime exposed, the people I was going to request to help you with your surgery will no longer want to help me and cut off any connection with me to keep themselves safe."
"It's alright, I'll just have to find another way," smiled Toshinori sadly.
"At the very least, I've already sent a lot of the medical equipment I had planned to use to help you to U.A.," smiled David, "Including my personal medical scanning pod as well as medical equipment that would be needed for your surgery. The instructions are already included inside the package, so any medical doctor will be able to operate it."
David looked to her daughter, his eyes growing wetter as he saw her talking with the other students, laughing with them before making a request.
"Toshi... I... I have no real right to ask you of this. But if things get too harsh for Melissa, can I ask for you to help watch over her, and if needed, take care of her? Due to her quirkless status, a lot of her peers tend to look down on her despite being one of the best students. They would flaunt their quirks sometimes in front of her as if telling her she wasn't good enough. My reputation has helped stem a lot of them from acting out, but with me in prison, I'm afraid she won't have a shield anymore. She barely has any friends as it is now, and the ones who do 'hang out' with her are mostly hoping to get an in with me. It doesn't help that my daughter inherited her mother's beautiful looks, and is getting more boys interested in getting into her pants. I'm terrified that someone might force their way in, and-"
"Calm down and breath, David," interrupted Toshinori, "I swear, you're just like Izuku when he gets on his little rambling streak. And you don't need to ask, I intend to help protect your daughter as much as I can, just like I intend to help you. When her peers hear that I, All Might, stand behind her, they'll think twice about crossing the line."
David could only breathe a small sigh of relief, knowing the number one hero would be looking out for his daughter.
Unbeknownst to them all, when Izuku and All Might's attack crashed into Wolfram, a stray lightning bolt flashed out from the clash. The energy from One for All as well as Izuku's devil fruit, which had combined with One for All, as well as David's invention overloading from abuse, caused a small tear in space where the lightning bolt traveled through it. Empowered by all the quirks as well as the space it went through, the lightning bolt flashed away from everyone, going off until it slammed into a pink dahlia. The flower was flung into the air from the force of the strike, though it didn't burn into ashes. Instead, it began to mutate, growing larger and changing its soft petal structure into a fruit. When it finished transforming, it landed on a truck full of fruit baskets, jostling along it until it was hidden.
The next day, Toshinori and Izuku were already up and about. Thanks to the advanced medical equipment on I-Island that hadn't been affected, the two were healed. I-Expo was canceled, much to the disappointment of many, but it was understandable after such an event. Security would need to go through a major overhaul with this latest breach, and they wouldn't be able to do so safely while hosting tourists from around the world.
As a treat, though, Toshinori invited all of class 1-A and 1-B who had come to I-Island for the I-Expo for a barbeque near a private pool that he had reserved. He himself would do all the grilling, though he would be in his All Might persona. As he did live in America, which could be considered the spiritual home of barbeque, he learned all about it, and thus knew how to grill.
David and Melissa had also been invited, too. During the last 24 hours, there had been a quick but closed trial for David. Sam had confessed to being the main perpetrator of bringing the villains in, stating that he had manipulated David into following his lead. He insisted that it was he alone that was the mastermind of the attack, trying to take all the blame. Sam was sentenced to 20 years in Tartarus as a minimum level prisoner, who took it without complaint.
David, however, was a much harder case. Not only did he have the backing of All Might, but his inventions and everything he had done was nothing to sneer at. In the end, David was sentenced to 10 years at a private correctional institution at I-Island. He, however, would still be able to help or invent, though with a lot of restrictions as well as a monitor. His privileges as a high-level scientist had been revoked, thus denying him access to any privileged information he might have been able to look at before, but David took it all with grace. With good behavior, he would be able to get out in half that time. Still, it would mean that he would not be able to see his daughter as often, as they would have to be separated. So the party itself would also be a farewell party for the duo.
"Hahaha, enjoy!" laughed All Might boisterously as he finished grilling a stack of skewers, prepping up another batch with Izuku, Pony, and Melissa helping him. Pony was ecstatic to talk to someone that could speak fluent English as well as being able to eat barbeque. Japan didn't have too many USA style barbeques, and she missed the Texas barbeques she used to have with her family.
"Melissa, why don't you go talk with your father some more or got to know my students some more?" suggested All Might as he placed the skewers on the grill with ease, checking on the ribs to make sure they were cooking properly.
"We can handle the workload here," assured Izuku as he ripped off a beef cube from his skewer before helping All Might with another load of skewers.
"Yea, go have some fun," nodded Pony.
"Pony, why don't you go with Melissa?" suggested Ibara, "It's a rare chance for you to make new friends and be able to communicate with them so easily. I would be more than willing to assist our teacher with cooking."
"Really? Ok!" exclaimed Pony before dragging Melissa over to where Itsuka and the other girls were, all sitting at a table where a fruit basket was in the middle. Ochako was peeling some oranges from the said basket.
Izuku smiled as he went to grab another hot plate for All Might to plate, only to be intercepted by Shoto.
"It would be wrong to not help out," muttered Shoto, causing Izuku to smile at his help. Tenya would have offered his assistance had he not been busy making sure Kosei, Mineta, and Denki weren't perving at the girls, as it was a pool party.
David himself was relaxing on an outdoor lounge chaise with a sling still on his arm. He was grateful that Toshinori had volunteered to 'watch' over him for this party, otherwise, he would've had a government agent hovering behind him to make sure he wouldn't escape.
Everything at the party seemed to be going well when...
"What a peculiar looking fruit," hummed Momo when Melissa reached into the fruit basket and pulled out a pink fruit with swirls all around it.
"What type of fruit is that?" asked Ochako in curiosity.
"Doesn't look like any fruit I've seen," commented Setsuna.
"Kero, maybe a hybrid sort?" suggested Tsuyu, though she herself had her doubts on that.
"Doesn't look like any sort of fungi either, shroom," nodded Kinoko.
"It could be one of the fruits from the plant laboratory where we try to see how some quirks influence plants," hummed Melissa, "Though I don't recall seeing this particular one. Not to mention it looks more like a pink dahlia. Oh well, I'm sure it tastes fine, despite all these swirls."
As soon as she said swirls, Izuku's head suddenly whirled towards Melissa and the others. His eyes locked onto the fruit that Melissa held, and knew instantly that it was a Devil Fruit. Before he could even do anything, Melissa had already taken a big bite into the fruit.
Melissa held her posture for a few seconds before swallowing. Seconds later, she stuck out her tongue, trying to spit out any remnants of the fruit she just ate.
"Ewww! That was easily the most horrible thing I've ever tasted! It was like eating crap rolled up in expired cheese and stomped on by fungus infested feet!" shrieked Melissa as she continued to vainly spit out anything on her tongue.
"That's... descriptive," commented Kyoka as Momo quickly offered Melissa a cup of water to wash away the flavor.
"Bleh, that was an experience," huffed Melissa after gurgling some water before spitting it out, "I'm going to go swim to get this out of my system!"
Quickly pulling her shirt off to reveal a blue two-piece swimsuit, Melissa walked towards the pool, tossing her glasses onto a nearby chair where her towel was.
"Wait, don't!" shouted out Izuku as he began to run towards Melissa, but it was too late. Melissa dove headfirst into the pool in a perfect dive.
"What wrong Deku?" asked Ochako, surprised at his sudden shout.
"We have to get Melissa out of the water now!" replied Izuku, rushing towards the pool while pulling his shirt off.
"Why? The pool's just fine," blinked Eijiro, looking up from the pool before taking a spike to the head from a pool volleyball. Luckily, he hardened himself just as he turned around as if expecting that to happen.
"Weird hair! Pay attention dammit!" barked Katsuki as their opponents, Tetsutesu and Togaru cheered at their point.
"Midoriya, my daughter is a capable swimmer. I'm not sure where this worry is coming from," frowned David, only to pause when he noticed his friend's face paling.
All eyes stared at Izuku, who ignored everyone and dove straight into the pool. Their eyes tracked to where Melissa had dived in, seeing a stream of bubbles coming up to the water's surface. They also noticed how it wasn't moving, as if Melissa had decided to stay stationary underwater. Their worries began to grow when they noticed it slowly losing steam.
As Izuku swam downwards, he saw Melissa at the bottom of the pool, unable to move.
'Just as I thought,' thought Izuku to himself as he quickly scooped Melissa up in his arms, his legs touching the bottom of the pool. With a small application of One for All in his legs, Izuku shot up towards the surface.
With a great explosion, Izuku jumped out of the pool with Melissa in his hands, landing on the ground near where Melissa had her towel and glasses. Unfortunately, he forgot to calculate how slippery the surface was when landing on cement that had been constantly watered with pool water. Upon landing, Izuku slipped and fell down onto his back, his head slamming into the cement. Luckily, as he was a rubber man, the fall didn't hurt him nor Melissa, as he took most of the impact.
"Melissa! Are you alright?" asked David quickly as he limped over to them, checking for injuries as did the other students, "What happened? I know for a fact you can swim. I was there when I taught you!"
Melissa managed to push herself off of Izuku, coughing out the water in her lungs before replying, "I... I don't know. As soon as I hit the water, I felt all my strength leave me. I couldn't even move my arms or legs to swim. I felt like a hammer in the water, unable to do anything."
Melissa managed to lift her head up, only for droplets of water to start falling into her eyes. Quickly closing them, she murmured, "I need my towel and my glasses."
David had been ready to stand and grab them when he noticed a pair of hands holding Melissa's towel and glasses were held in front of him.
"Ah thanks," nodded David absentmindedly as he grabbed them and passed them to Melissa. David blinked as his mind flashed back to the hands holding the items. They looked very familiar... almost as if they were Melissa's own hands! David quickly looked back to the source of the hands, tracing it back to the source before screaming in shock.
"Dad? What's wrong?" asked Melissa as she wiped her face dry and quickly put her glasses on.
"Hands!" pointed out David.
Melissa and a few others traced to where David was pointing to indeed see two whole human arms with hands that had somehow sprouted from the seat where Melissa's glasses and towels had been.
"What? Where did that come from?" blinked Setsuna, "Is that your quirk?"
"Quirk? Impossible, I'm quirkless," breathed out Melissa in shock.
"But these hands look like yours," commented Yosetsu.
Melissa took a closer look at the hands and noticed that they did look like hers. Even the small scar on her arm that she had gotten from Swordkill could be seen.
"Are these really... my arms?" questioned Melissa as her mind couldn't comprehend what was going on. Much to their surprise, the arms dispersed into pink petals in front of them.
"Could it be? Is it possible that you had a quirk all this time and that it only now bloomed?" theorized David, murmuring to himself.
"Ah, David. Do you mind taking young Midoriya to the nearest medical room? He did hit his head rather hard just now, and I'm worried that he might have a concussion. Perhaps Melissa could use a visit as well, seeing as she almost drowned," suggested All Might, suddenly appearing behind them all.
"Ah, yes, that would be a good idea," nodded David, "Come, I'll take you two there."
Izuku managed to stand back up despite Momo, Tsuyu, Itsuka, and Ochako fretting over him and followed David. Truth be told, he didn't have any injuries, but he knew what All Might wanted to do. He also saw him surreptitiously slip the Devil Fruit into his pocket before heading back to the grill. What All Might didn't know was that Katsuki had seen what All Might did and frowned. The fruit itself looked quite familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen it.
"Looks like you're alright," concluded David as he finished his scan over Izuku, "Now then, are you going to explain why Toshi wanted us here, away from the others?"
David had already known that Toshinori's words were just an excuse to get them alone.
"Hope I didn't take long!" said All Might as he walked into the room, transforming back to his skinny self, "I left Yaoyorozu, Iida, and Kendo in charge of the grill for a bit."
"We're here now. So why did you need to talk to us in private?" asked David, repeating his question once more.
"Just a moment," coughed Toshinori before pulling out the fruit he had snagged away.
"Hey, that's the fruit I just ate!" exclaimed Melissa.
"Izuku, is this what I think it is?" asked Toshinori, ignoring Melissa for the moment.
Izuku took a closer look at the fruit, noticing the swirls all around it before nodding, "That's a Devil Fruit."
"Devil Fruit?" blinked Melissa and David in unison.
Izuku and Toshinori glance at each other for a second before Izuku took a deep breath.
"It's what gave Melissa her quirk. It's also why she can't swim anymore," explained Izuku.
"I... I have a quirk?" gasped Melissa, staring at her hands in disbelief. For so long, she had been ridiculed for not having one, for being an outcast, a freak. Izuku could easily see that haunted look in her face and recognized it, as he had seen it on his own face every time he looked in the mirror before he ate his Devil Fruit. He could also see that hope and relief rising within her, too.
"Wait, how does this... Devil Fruit even work? How do you two even know about it?" asked David.
"Because the source of my rubbery body also came from a Devil Fruit," clarified Izuku, "How I know... is a different story."
David glanced at Izuku, then at Toshinori, before realizing there was a secret that All Might had never told him.
Before Toshinori could open his mouth, David stopped him.
"If it's a secret that can't be easily shared, don't. Especially since I'll be heading to jail. Better to not let me know as everyone will know where I am going to be. But I'm going to assume this secret that the two of you have is related to why Midoriya can swim?"
Toshinori and Izuku nodded, both happy and sad they didn't have to explain about One for All. Toshinori trusted David even after this fiasco, and dearly wished he would've told David earlier. Perhaps the whole thing could've been avoided.
"But how did a Devil Fruit even get here? And why aren't there more cases of people gaining quirks through these weird fruits?" asked Melissa inquisitively.
Izuku shrugged, unsure of how to answer. From what his own Devil Fruit told him, his had been the only one in existence in this world.
"...bzzt... Hey... can you hear me?" called out a voice in Izuku's head.
Izuku's eyebrow instantly shot up as he recognized it as the first user of One for All, trying to contact him.
'Yes?' thought Izuku back.
"Oh good... you hea... me... Connection is st... pretty bad. Anyways... the other guy says... he sensed his kin arriv... just a few moments after you punched... that other dude with All Might...The girl ate... the Hana Hana no Mi. Says his... previous host... knew the other host of... that fruit... sprouts body parts...from any solid object apparently," stated the first user of One for All, "That's about it... connection is fading... Go-."
At that point, Izuku felt the connection disappear.
"Izuku? Are you alright? You suddenly spaced out for a bit," waived Melissa, snapping her finger in front of Izuku with Toshinori and David looking concerned at Izuku.
"Ah, sorry," apologized Izuku, "I sorta got a message from my own Devil Fruit just now about yours."
"A message? And why is that fruit called a Devil Fruit?" asked Melissa.
Izuku took a deep breath as he began explaining everything about the Devil Fruit, from how they were now hosts of a 'devil' and gained its powers to their weakness to the sea, or water in general. And that they were in no danger of 'losing' their soul or selling their soul to the devil, as the devil merely migrated to the nearest fruit when they died.
"So I ate the fruit called... the Hana Hana no MI?" inquired Melissa, looking up from her notepad that she had grabbed from somewhere.
"Yea, apparently you can sprout body parts on any solid object," nodded Izuku, "Like the hands you created on the chair earlier."
Melissa looked at Izuku and concentrated, her face contorting as she tried to mentally force hands to sprout out from Izuku.
"Don't put too much focus on it, let it flow naturally," lectured Izuku, "Think of it as an extension of your body. Well, in this case, a literal one."
Melissa relaxed her face as she imagined arms sprouting out from Izuku's shoulders.
"Melissa, open your eyes!" exclaimed Izuku in excitement.
Melissa opened her eyes to see two human arms like hers had suddenly sprouted in Izuku's shoulders. With a mental nudge, the arms began to move just the way she wanted them to. Willing the arms away, she saw the arms disperse into flower petals before those faded in existence.
"I... I have a quirk!" gasped Melissa, putting her hands on her mouth in shock, amazement, and joy, "I have a quirk!"
Melissa grabbed Izuku's hand, cheering and dancing around him with Izuku joining her. The excitement was infectious. David couldn't help but smile, knowing her daughter now had something that made her unique and yet also a part of the crowd now. And most importantly, something that could help pursue her dream of a hero.
"I can make some many more improvements on my inventions!" grinned Melissa, "I'm no longer restricted with just two hands! I can be my own team with multiple hands! Can I sprout eyes from different angles?"
Melissa closed her eyes, focusing on another section of the room before creating an eye that she could see through.
"I can! I can monitor my inventions from all angles now! Oh, this is going to be so beneficial and so much fun!" squealed Melissa.
"Melissa? Didn't you want to be a hero? You can become one with this quirk," asked David.
"Not anymore. I have a new dream now. Not only do I want to make support items like you, but I want to surpass you! With your quirk, Bendy Fingers, you could create items with flawless control of your fingers and make amazing items. Now, with my quirk, not only can I do the work of more than one person, but I can even look at it at different angles!" exclaimed Melissa with starry eyes.
Then her expression changed as she shyly looked away, "Plus, someone once told me that I could become a hero for other heroes with my support gear."
Izuku blushed as he looked away, knowing Melissa had just quoted him.
David smiled at Melissa's new resolve before frowning as if remembering something.
"Your quirk registration... it's listed as quirkless. If we change it all of a sudden, it'll cause a lot of scrutiny. I-Island's government will notice a teenager suddenly changing status so drastically and investigate. If they find out that she got her quirk from a fruit... I'm terrified of the aftermath. That she'll be locked away to find how to extract it and duplicate it."
"I'm sure it wouldn't go that far," placated Melissa, though her face paled at that thought.
While Izuku was fretting around and about, Toshinori hummed to himself for a second before picking up his phone. Using the speed dial, he called someone he knew probably already had a plan.
"Principal Nezu," whispered Toshinori as soon as he heard the dial tone end.
"What can I do for you?" hummed Nezu from the other line.
Toshinori held his tongue for a second, wondering how to phrase his wordings before proceeding, "I was around shopping when I found that interesting fruit you've been looking for, ever since the green incident at U.A."
"Oh? Did you try it?" asked Nezu, immediately catching on when Toshinori was saying without actually stating it. Both of them didn't want to risk someone somehow tapping into their phone or somehow getting a recording of the conversation.
"My friend's daughter did, and she didn't like how it tasted," replied Toshinori.
"Hmm, a shame. I suppose it's an acquired taste," hummed Nezu.
"I suppose it is," nodded Toshinori, "Anyways, I'm guessing you already know about the incident at I-Island?"
"Yes, and I have the paperwork already filed for her. I can have it sent in right now. Though it might take a little time, we can have her at U.A. in the second semester right away," answered Nezu, predicting Toshinori's request several hours ahead, "If she wants, she can come to Japan when you leave with your students. I have enough connections to fast track her. Now, if that's all, I have to change locations for our little summer trip again. Goodbye."
"Your boss is rather frightening," commented David as he overheard the conversation.
"He is a cunning animal," nodded Toshinori before turning towards Melissa, "I'm sorry I didn't ask you in the first place, but considering the situation, it may be safer if you transfer. I know compared to I-Island's support academy, U.A's support department is quite lacking. But rest assured, they still have a rather sizable budget. And if you lack any materials, I am more than willing to pitch in. If you're at U.A., you can safely register your quirk with Nezu's help so when you return to I-Island, it won't send alarm bells ringing."
Toshinori coughed before suddenly transforming into his All Might persona, "So Melissa. Will you accept the invitation to my Alma Mater, U.A. High? This could be a new start for you!"
Melissa looked over to her father, who merely nodded, telling her it was her decision before she looked back at All Might. Her eyes snaked over to Izuku, who seemed eager at her decision, before making it.
"I accept!" grinned Melissa, causing All Might and Izuku to cheer while David smiled. That was until when All Might transformed back to his emancipated form when...
"Wait, you're uncle Might!?" shrieked Melissa as she just noticed All Might transform in front of her, "When? How? Why?"
"Ah, we never told her," blinked David and Toshinori.
In the end, they decided to tell Melissa all about Toshinori's injuries, and pretty much what David knew. Though horrified, it only hardened Melissa's resolve to create support gear to aid heroes so they wouldn't end up horribly injured like Toshinori. With that decision made, David gave Melissa his notes on how to operate the medical equipment he had pre-emptively sent over to U.A.
Ta daa. Melissa gets the Hana Hana no Mi fruit, or Nico Robin's fruit. Not to mention I'm going to be chucking her at U.A. with it too!
The Hana Hano no Mi was actually one of the fruits I had considered to have Izuku get with One for All. Can you imagine sprouting five fists behind the enemy, all loaded with 100% of One for All? Maybe 30 fingers formed to flick at the enemy with multiple air pressure shots? Machine gun shots lol. In the end, I decided to go with Gomu Gomu no Mi. Besides the rubber powers, there is another key reason for this fruit, one that'll be revealed in... 3-5 more chapters approximately. Plus Melissa with this fruit with her inventing prowess would be useful.
As it might be obvious, Melissa is most likely going to join the harem group. I had debated on Mei, but decided on Melissa instead when I decided to put in the Two Heroes movie arc.
Second Gear is discovered! The next gear to be discovered is in process.
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