All Might lunged toward Shigaraki, fist cocked back. "CAROLINA SMASH!"
But midway through his charge, Shigaraki's voice cut through the air. "Nomu!"
The creature appeared in a blur, intercepting the punch meant for its master. The impact shook the ground, sending shockwaves across the plaza.
But the Nomu didn't move. Didn't flinch.
The Nomu's massive arms stretched forward, attempting to grab All Might. He bent down at the last moment, muscles coiling, dodging with practiced precision.
"So, physical attacks do no damage to you, huh?" All Might's smile was strained. He readied another punch, this one carrying the full weight of his remaining strength.
BOOM!
The punch landed squarely on the Nomu's torso. The sound echoed like thunder. The creature slid backward three meters but its expression didn't change.
"Tch." All Might didn't hesitate. He unleashed a barrage of punches, each one aimed at the Nomu's face.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
A rhythm of destruction that would have pulverized concrete.
But the Nomu didn't even blink. It growled, a sound more animal than human, and counterattacked with a punch of its own.
All Might slid left, movements fluid despite his deteriorating condition. The Nomu's fist cratered the ground where he'd been standing.
But the creature was fast. Impossibly fast.
It appeared before All Might the moment he skidded to a halt. Fist already in motion.
All Might bent down again, narrowly avoiding the blow. His own fist shot upward. "OKLAHOMA SMASH!"
The uppercut connected. The Nomu's head snapped back.
But it recovered instantly. No damage. No pain.
"It doesn't work!" Shigaraki's voice was gleeful, scratching intensifying. "Shock absorption! There is nothing you can do now, ALL MIGHT!"
All Might ignored him. He continued raining down punches while dodging the Nomu's counterattacks. Each exchange was perfect, a masterclass in combat.
He's trying to continuously damage the Nomu in the same spot, I realized, watching from the sidelines. Overwhelming the shock absorption with concentrated force.
Shigaraki noticed too. He shrugged. "Whether the Nomu will let you do that is a different issue."
A drop of blood formed near All Might's mouth. His movements were getting slower. Heavier.
He rerouted, moving behind the Nomu with a burst of speed. Grabbed it from the torso.
He's going for a suplex.
BOOM!
Smoke exploded outward, covering everything. Nothing was visible.
"All right!" Satou shouted behind me. "Those villains were underestimating All Might way too much!"
"It's crazy how the suplex turned into an explosion," Mineta muttered.
But I knew better. Kurogiri. He warped the Nomu.
The smoke cleared.
What we saw was terrifying.
All Might was bent over awkwardly, Kurogiri's purple mist below him like a portal.
The Nomu's upper half emerged from the warp, gripping All Might from below in a crushing hold.
All Might trembled. "Is that... how it is?"
Everyone around me gasped. Uraraka's hand flew to her mouth. Midoriya's eyes widened in absolute horror.
The Nomu's fingers tightened. Started to dig into All Might's torso. Blood gushed out, staining his white dress shirt crimson.
"Were you trying to restrict the Nomu by sticking him deep into the concrete?" Shigaraki laughed, voice dripping with malice. "You won't be able to stop him like that!"
All Might struggled. The pressure increased.
"This is good, Kurogiri," Shigaraki praised.
The Nomu's fingers dug deeper, reaching—
The hole in his stomach. His weak point.
All Might let go of the Nomu's legs. With visible effort, he grabbed the creature's hands, pulling them away from his torso.
What power! Even injured, even weakened, he was still fighting.
"You'd better prepare yourselves." All Might's voice carried across the plaza.
Kurogiri's mist suddenly retreated backward.
Shigaraki scratched his neck furiously. "What're you doing, Kurogiri?"
"I don't want blood and guts inside me," Kurogiri replied smoothly. "But I would like to take yours."
The mist doubled in size, engulfing All Might's upper body. "You are too fast to see with human eyes when you move at full power."
"So we had the Nomu restrain you first," Kurogiri continued. "Now we can catch and kill you at our leisure."
No.
"ALL MIGHT!" Midoriya screamed. He started running.
He was going to save All Might. At least trying to. Just like canon.
What am I doing? The thought cut through me like ice. I haven't moved. Not once. Despite having this power, I'm just spectating.
Should I go instead? Should I change canon? Will something happen if I do?
Midoriya got closer. Kurogiri appeared before him. "Fool."
Purple mist began engulfing Midoriya's outstretched hand—
BOOM!
Bakugo exploded into view, grabbing Midoriya and pulling him back. His other hand launched an explosion directly at Kurogiri's metal brace.
Todoroki followed immediately, ice spreading from his right side. It froze Kurogiri's portal solid.
They don't need me. Canon is handling itself. I sighed.
Todoroki's ice spread across half the Nomu's body. The creature's grip loosened. All Might wrenched himself free, blood dripping from his wounds.
"Thanks, young Todoroki." His smile was strained but genuine.
Kirishima lunged at Shigaraki, fist hardened. "Take this!"
Shigaraki dodged, stepping back with unnatural grace.
"Huh!" Kirishima landed awkwardly. "Damn it! I didn't get to show off!"
"Stop acting so mighty, YOU NOBODY!" Bakugo mocked.
"The Symbol of Peace cannot be killed by the likes of you," Todoroki stated coldly, preparing another ice attack.
"Kacchan," Midoriya wiped his tears. "Everyone!"
Bakugo held Kurogiri's metal collar brace in an iron grip. "I know you have a physical body somewhere in all this mist!"
"Kurogiri," Shigaraki's voice was eerily calm. "Our exit and entrance are both blocked. We're in a pinch."
Kurogiri started to move. "DON'T MOVE!" Bakugo roared. "IF I SEE YOU MOVING SUSPICIOUSLY, I'LL BLOW YOU UP SO BAD THEY'LL BE PIECING YOU TOGETHER FOR WEEKS!"
"Kids these days are amazing," Shigaraki mentioned casually, bringing his hands closer to scratch. "They make us League of Villains look bad."
His eyes found the Nomu. "Nomu."
Oh no. It's going to break free—
Kurogiri's warp appeared. The Nomu was sucked in, disappearing from the ice. It emerged on the other side, half its frozen body shattered and gone.
But that was just the beginning.
The destroyed flesh bubbled. Regenerated. Within seconds, the Nomu was whole again.
Everyone watched in absolute horror.
"EVERYONE, STEP BACK!" All Might yelled, positioning himself between the students and the creature.
"How is it still moving?" Midoriya's face transformed into shock and analytical terror.
"His Quirk wasn't shock absorption?" All Might looked genuinely confused for the first time.
"It's not like it only had one Quirk," Shigaraki laughed, the sound grating and childish. "This Nomu has been engineered to take you on at 100%. Shock absorption. Super regeneration. Enhanced strength."
He pointed. "Go, Nomu. Show them despair."
The Nomu moved.
All Might met it head-on. "DETROIT SMASH!"
The punch connected. The Nomu flew backward, crashing through debris—
But stopped mid-flight. Landed. Charged back.
All Might punched again. "NEW HAMPSHIRE SMASH!"
Again the Nomu flew. Again it stopped. Returned.
They exchanged blows in the center of the plaza. Each impact created shockwaves. Dust and smoke began filling the area.
All Might's punches were getting weaker. His form was breaking down. Steam began rising from his body—the telltale sign of his time limit approaching.
"Kurogiri!" Shigaraki commanded. "Assist!"
Purple mist appeared around the fight. Disorienting. Interfering.
All Might's next punch missed. The Nomu's counter-attack landed squarely on his ribs.
CRACK.
He stumbled. More blood. More steam.
The smoke thickened. I could barely see the fight anymore.
He's going to transform. He's going to reach his limit.
Midoriya saw it too. Started moving forward. "ALL MIGHT, I'LL—"
No.
Not him.
Not this time.
Something inside me snapped.
All the restraint. All the hiding. All the fear of changing canon—
It didn't matter.
What kind of hero watches? I died in my previous life trying to become a hero.
I joined U.A. because somewhere within me, I wanted to be a hero.
Even after all of those threats and Kaito's mysterious background. Enough is enough. To hell with control.
My body moved before my mind could catch up.
The ground beneath my feet exploded into rubble. Concrete and rebar scattered like leaves.
Time... slowed.
Not actually. But my perception accelerated so dramatically that everything around me moved like they were underwater.
Midoriya's foot was mid-step. Bakugo's mouth was forming a shout. Todoroki's ice was beginning to spread.
All in slow motion.
I crossed the plaza in what felt like three heartbeats but was probably less than a tenth of a second.
The smoke parted around me. My speed created a vacuum.
The Nomu was mid-turn, sensing something. Its dead eyes began to track toward my position.
But too slow. Far too slow.
I appeared beside it. Fist already drawn back.
Our eyes met for a fraction of an instant.
The Nomu's expression changed. Just slightly.
Fear.
Because in my eyes—reflected in those dead, engineered pupils—it saw something that shouldn't exist.
Red. Boiling. Absolute.
Death.
My fist connected with its torso.
The world erupted.
The smoke vanished instantly, blown away by the shockwave. Every piece of debris in a fifty-meter radius scattered. The ground beneath us cracked in a spider-web pattern.
And the Nomu—
Half of its upper body simply ceased to exist.
Not destroyed. Not shattered.
Erased.
The remaining half flew backward, spinning through the air before crashing into the plaza fountain with a sickening crunch.
I stood there, fist still extended.
My hand was painted green.
Nomu blood.
My cape settled around my shoulders. The yellow fabric was spotless despite the carnage.
Silence.
Absolute, crushing silence.
Everyone—students, villains, All Might—stared.
At me.
At the crater beneath my feet.
At the Nomu's ruined body.
I lowered my fist slowly.
Steam rose from my knuckles.
"Sorry," I said quietly to no one in particular.
"I couldn't just watch anymore."
TO BE CONTINUED...