The air was heavy with tension. Kurogiri's body and the portal all in one form expanded to an immense size, and the first to step out was the seemingly fragile, lean form of Shigaraki. He was not the only person, certainly, for he was soon followed by a small army of villains, and Danny could recognise some of them from that meeting in the warehouse. And their number was alarming, because there was actually a lot of criminals. The gears in Phantom's head began to spin, as he dug in the bag he had been carrying the whole time. A bag with school supplies and his own gadgets — a heavy load, but something he could carry with ease. The tools had not gone anywhere, he was ready to face the biggest headache of the whole villain team. The most polite threat, he had to add.

"Is...is this part of the training, Aizawa-sensei?" Asked Kirishima.

"Doesn't look like it," Danny responded instead. "If only we could have anticipated this," he added dramatically.

"Your tongue will kill you one day," Aizawa growled, putting on the strange goggles, that more resembled a part of a helmet, covering the entire upper half of his face. The teacher had no time to argue with a student who could not read the room for the life of him. "Those are real villains," he spoke to the students.

The reaction of the teenagers was that of shock, and that shock in turn gave birth to a specific brand of initial fright.

"The trespassing was the work of these scumbags, after all."

Danny wished to make another remark, but realised that his ever-confident attitude was not going to help anyone at the time. Furthermore, his ice blue eyes caught something of interest. Near Shigaraki stood a colossal figure about five meters tall. The macabre creature had purple skin and an absolutely ripped body build. Danny knew one thing — that beast did not look human at all. Its eyes were devoid of any sentience, its brain was open to every wind in the world, and its beak looked like a crooked smile. Perhaps, that was the 'tool' Shigaraki had mentioned.

"Teacher!" Yaoyorozu spoke up, talking to Thirteen. "What about the sensors all around the school?"

"We have them, but..."

"They up and teleported inside and bypassed them all," Danny realised.

"But did they teleport only here or all around the school?" Asked Todoroki.

The halfa wished to tell them that their goal here, the whole 'stealing the schedule thing' was solely for AVOIDING that many heroes and concentrating the effort on All Might. Who, by miraculous chance, was not present there at the time. However, Danny still had to reassure his classmates somehow.

"I doubt the latter," he said. "Think of it. They know All Might is at the school. I don't think they will split up knowing that the strongest hero is around. And for some reason... I think THAT thing," he pointed at the purple monstrosity, "Is here for a reason."

"Maybe, but we don't know who they could send there," responded Todoroki. "Either way... the alarm is not going off. This area is also isolated, while a class of students is present here during the lesson. They are far from being fools," he arrived to the same conclusion Danny had reached.

And the rest of the class remained even more distressed. Aizawa was the first to start giving orders.

"Thirteen, evacuate the students. Try contacting the school and learn the status. Kaminari, this means you, too."

"Yes, sir," responded Kaminari and began fiddling with his headphones.

"Are you going in there by yourself?" Danny asked the teacher.

Aizawa did not respond, and everyone realised his answer.

"But with that many, even if you erase their Quirks..." Midoriya spoke. "Eraserhead's style is shutting off the opponent's Quirk and capturing them. But sensei, the frontal assault like this..."

"You can't be a hero with just one trick," answered Aizawa. "And Fenton. I know what you are thinking, and my answer is the same as during the last conversation."

"You can't be serious..." Danny gritted his teeth, before in the edge of his eye he saw his classmates once more.

And then he remembered about the responsibility he had. Why he was so worried about that day from the start.

"I'm leaving this to you, Thirteen," said Aizawa, before finally running forward.

And even from such a distance every student could witness the man skilfully dispatch one villain after another, however Phantom had no illusions. Eraserhead would tire himself out against such an army. He wasn't trying to win, he was buying time. The time for the students to evacuate.

"Come, students, quickly!" Thirteen said, leading the teens in the direction of the exit.

"Woah, Aizawa-sensei can hold against so many people at once."

Midoriya had been lagging behind the rest, his curiosity having got the better of him.

"Don't lag behind, Midoriya!" Danny called out for him. "Gawk at out teacher later!"

"Right!"

The entire class was running towards the entrance as fast as they could, but the desire for the school to make everything enormous was playing a cruel joke on them, in the form of a lengthy path to the exit. And then, eventually, a portal appeared on the ground in front of them. From the hole sprung Kurogiri's ethereal body.

"I won't let you."

Thirteen instinctively shielded the students from the villain who so far was yet to attack. Danny was not in the front row, slowly digging inside his bag for the required device.

"Nice to meet you," Kurogiri continued as politely as always, "We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves in to the house of heroes, U.A. High School, in order to make All Might take his last breath. He should have been here, in fact. Was there a last notice change? Doesn't matter. I will still play my part..."

As he spoke, the dark fog grew in size and intensity, as he was visibly readying for an attack. Danny started charging a blast with his free hand, but he was beaten to it by two of his classmates. Kirishima and Bakugo were the first to lunge at the villain and strike him. The latter's explosion created a dust cloud that encompassed everyone around.

"Ha, didn't ya think you'll get beaten by us before you did it?" Kirishima exclaimed teasingly.

"Oh, dear, that really is dangerous."

The dust cloud slowly dissipated, and from Kurogiri's yellow slits for eyes that became much slimmer, everyone could see that he was getting excited.

"Albeit you are still students, you are nonetheless a treasure. My job is to scatter you all, and torture you to death!"

The fog suddenly exploded, expanding at a rapid pace, a second later already enveloping the entire group. The gusts of wind made several people buckle their feet from the pressure. Iida was not one of them, but before he could do anything, he felt a hand grab his shoulder, before he was pulled forward and out of the fog. The next second he blinked, seeing that he, alongside Mina, had been pulled outside by their class representative, who by then had assumed his ghostly persona.

"Iida!" Danny's echoing voice commanded over the noise of the wind.

"Yes?" The bespectacled deputy turned from the fog and on Phantom.

"While the Fog machine is distracted, make a mad dash to the door. I'll give you the room. Go warn the teachers and do so quickly! Got it?"

"Roger that!" Iida made an honour sign, before turning towards the doors. At that second, he lunged forward and started running.

"Mina!" Danny turned to the stunned pink-skinned girl. "We will make sue the bastard has his hands full."

"But how?"

"See those metal bracers under his eyes?" He pointed at one of the spots of the purple dome Kurogiri had created. Soon Mina noticed them as well. "Even if you miss them, I bet the bastard will be more careful and slow. Use your acid."

"I got it!" Mina nodded, before smirking. "I'm glad you chose to try out this outfit."

Danny briefly glanced at his 'vigilante-like' costume and smirked too, before nodding to Iida. The deputy rushed towards the exit while he still could, and Kurogiri immediately came to notice the attempt.

"Where do you think you are...ARGH!" He suddenly received a blast in the face. His yellow eyes turned to the source of his pain.

He could see Danny with his hand outstretched, covered in faint green smoke.

"You talk too much, pal," the halfa spoke and smirked. "And I don't like anyone with a bigger mouth than mine."

"A futile attempt..."

Iida, who had been actively looking behind his shoulder, at the last second noticed a portal opening in front of him. He barely managed to dodge and run past it. The next instant, Kurogiri himself teleported in front of Iida in his entirety. The three students looked where the fog had been just before, and saw that the rest of the class was gone.

"What have you done to them?!" Phantom exclaimed, his toxic green eyes glowing even brighter.

"I took the liberty and scattered your friends across the entire facility. Alongside some of our associates. Will they survive till the end, I wonder?"

"You freak!" Mina exclaimed. "You will not get away with it!"

"And who is going to stop me, you? With all due respect, I believe we are of a different calibre."

Danny rewarded the villain with a malicious grin, the one that Kurogiri felt like he had seen somewhere before. Come to think of it...there was some resemblance.

"You are just a pretentious sentient fart," he responded, as the device on his right glove began to glow and whir. It was a device that looked similar to the one that limited his energy output, but it was larger, bulkier and more sophisticated. "I beat the likes of you when I couldn't even keep my body parts tangible. With tools like this." he raised his hand. "Behold, the next step in ecto-engineering, Project Totem!"

The next second, with a loud sound and a blinding flash, the small device created a powerful, bright torrent, which, for some reason, did not disturb even the dust on the ground. The only thing pulled inside such small contraption was Kurogiri, and out of surprise he could not properly react, as the fog was being sucked inside the aptly named 'totem', somehow still fitting inside.

"Like it?" Danny shouted over the noise the machine was making. "The second you entered this building I felt your presence! Unfortunately for you, generations of my family dedicated their lives to capturing the likes of you! Every trace of ectoenergy is mercilessly sucked inside the improvised modification of my parents' toy."

That was oddly specific and general at the same time, both other students realised. Kurogiri initially panicked, for he was not someone who engaged in direct confrontations. The device that was seemingly tailored purposely against him did not help the matter. That could not be a simple coincidence! The only saving grace was his still full stamina that allowed him to resist the pull at the best of his ability. Phantom had specifically employed a special tactic in the past — he tired the ghosts out first, something he had no time to try at the moment. Even so, the fog was being devoured by the device already.

"Iida!" Danny shouted. "Why are you still here?"

The deputy snapped out of his marvel at the class rep's technical skills and foresight.

"I got it! Hold on, I'll bring help!" Iida rushed to the exit once more.

Kurogiri's eyes turned to the speedster, and he wanted to create a portal once more, but he could feel it. No energy of his could leave the cone of light and pseudo-gravitational pull. Each his attempt was met with a reciprocal force. His fog could not escape! And he had already lost enough, enough to reveal the metal bracers once more.

"Mina!" Danny turned to the pink-haired girl, still holding Kurogiri pinned with his device. "Now is the time!"

Mina saw the grey metal gleam from under the remaining wisps of black fog and immediately realised what Phantom meant.

"On it!" She responded as her palms began to secrete the transparent, gooey acid.

Kurogiri immediately realised what the girl was about to do. Those kids realised his other weakness from the get go. Oh, they were good. Mina fearlessly lunged forward, and it was that fearlessness that failed her. The girl had to shorten her distance, and the villain made no moves to somehow dodge the stream of acid thrown his way, but the bracers indeed moved further and out of reach. It made Mina confident, enough to step into the torrent Totem was creating, harmless to her human self. Just as Kurogiri expected.

Before Mina's eyes materialised a portal formed out of the same energy totem was mercilessly sucking in. Thus, the portal itself moved towards Phantom, but Mina easily dodged it. She immediately launched more acid, and some of it managed to hit the target. The corrosive goo ate away at the bracer, making Kurogiri hiss. However, Mina had no time to triumph as she into the consequent portal opened beneath her feet. And the first portal that was heading towards the half ghost? The girl, maintaining the inertia, flew straight into her classmate. The surprised teen hero had to catch Mina that slammed into him, and that lead to the grip on Kurogiri being loosened enough.

The villain exchanged no pleasantries, and vanished from sight.

"That sneaky bastard," Danny muttered, realising that he was still holding Mina in his hands. "You alright?"

"Uhm, yes!" The girl quickly exclaimed and jumped to the ground. "What should we do next, Danny-kun?"

The halfa glanced downstairs and a plan was hatching in his head. "Kurogiri is the main problem here. As long as he sticks around, the villains have a chance at escaping. We have to take him out first or this will all be for nothing.

Mina blinked. Had that villain mentioned his name? She might have missed it, but now she knew.

"But how can we do that?" She asked. "We would have to pass through the whole army of villains."

"These are nothing I can't handle. Aizawa is strong, but they themselves don't look like much. But...I think you should do something else instead."

"What do you mean?"

"Kurogiri said that our classmates are scattered all around the place, and we don't know if they are alright."

Danny raised his arm, and his bag flew right into the hand. He dug inside one of the compartments and dug out several walkie-talkies, courtesy of meticulous Fenton engineering, putting one into his ear and immediately tossing the rest of them to surprised Mina.

"Here, my little artisan toy. We have to stay in touch. After you help the first group, split up again to cover more ground and aid the rest. Each of the groups has to have someone with a communicator. Tell me about major developments."

"Gee, Danny-kun. You prepared for everything."

"That's our family motto — always be prepared that your day will go to shit," Danny grinned.

In the meantime, Kurogiri re-emerged by Shigaraki's side, which surprised the other villain.

"I thought you were preventing the escape," He hissed.

"I'm sorry, Shigaraki-sama. I scattered most of them, but one managed to escape."

Shigaraki noticed that Kurogiri appeared...battered, if one was to apply such term to the body such as his. The fog was less intense, here and there it would even be see-through. The ringleader scratched his neck with one hand, then the second joined in. Red marks emerged where his fingers ravaged the skin.

"Kurogiri...if not for your Warp Gate, I would have killed you myself. How. Did. You fail?"

"That child..." Kurogiri squinted his eyes as he looked at the platform where two teen heroes stood. "He has the device to counter me specifically."

Aizawa heard what had been said as he dodged another strike from a low-rank villain. He couldn't resist a small smirk. That kid...

The next attack forced the hero make distance from the two villains in charge.

"Counter you? How is that possible?" Shigaraki asked. Did the heroes know they would be coming? All Might was not there, their escape was almost cut off — it could not be a coincidence. No, everyone appeared to be completely caught unaware. For the exception of one person.

"How did he know you will be here?"

As he kept his red eyes focused on the half ghost, a sudden realisation struck both villains. That white hair, green eyes and the ever-mocking tone could belong to only one person they knew. "That CHEATER..."

"This appearance and voice are unmistakable," Kurogiri concluded. "He knew we will be coming because we ourselves told him!"

"It was sensei's suggestion," Shigaraki muttered. "So all this time Pariah was a student..."

A smirk crossed his chapped lips. That was his chance to get back at the teen that had angered him before. "Which means I get to kill him here and now."

"Shigaraki-sama. We must leave urgently. We cannot prevail against dozens of heroes."

"I am not leaving until I choke him to death."

Phantom and Mina quickly reached the bottom of the stairs, as the former had easily grabbed the girl's hand and flew to the bottom. Without leaving the nearest villain the time to blink, he landed right on the man's hand, smashing it into the ground. Then he let go of Mina, as she quickly dashed towards the collapsed cityscape, splashing the ground beneath another villain with acid, melting it and making him stuck. Ironic, they both thought. It really was rescue training, albeit of the different kind. From his musings Phantom was interrupted by a groan beneath him, before he realised that his white boot was currently on a villain's face.

"Oh, totally forgot about ya," Danny said, before knocking the man out with a swift kick and hopping on the ground.

And before him was another small group of villains, getting ready to assault him.

"Pretty stupid of you to come down here, boy," said a lean man with a forked tongue.

"Should've just run off while you still could," a thuggish-looking woman fist pumped.

Danny shrugged, as his eyes turned blue. "Can't even bother to rebut this cliche stuff."

The man lunged forward first, brandishing his claws. Danny easily dodged to the side, as a rod of ice appeared in his hand, to be swung a moment after into the enemy's face. The momentum met the opposing force, resulting in the opponent beaten in a second. The next villain did not hesitate to shorten the distance, and Phantom tossed the rod into the woman's face. She raised her hand to block it and succeeded, but the shielded eyes were the eyes that did not see the halfa coming up to her face and delivering an uppercut that threw her in the air, followed by a point-blank blast that launched the villain away.

"Told you," Danny smirked, blowing stark-white hair from his own eyes.

He turned towards the vicious fighting that Eraserhead was involved in and did not hesitate to take it to the air. Before he could do anything, the halfa saw multiple tentacles heading his way. One of them managed got a hold of his leg, but the halfa only grinned. He spun in the air, pulling the very owner of those tentacles around, making the man tumble into the villains around like a ragdoll. Finally Phantom grabbed the tentacle and pulled with all his strength. The villain flew towards the halfa and was met by a elbow kick to the jaw, before being grabbed and thrown back on the ground and into another group of villains.

With a loud and excited laughter the halfa struck again. His hair began to float as he charged a powerful blast with his hands. A moment later, from his palms emerged a laser that scorched the very earth below the villains, but was slow and easy to dodge. The abysmal speed lured the criminals into security, but then the ground began to explode in the places hit by the emerald-coloured beam. The halfa swiftly landed back on the ground, not letting Eraserhead out of sight. Danny ran forward and towards him, as the wisps of cold air danced around his fingertips.

The villains who had the misfortune of being nearby were rendered helpless, by the ice that emerged from the ground. Either because it had grabbed them in an inescapable grasp, or the force of the suddenly emerging icy, dull spikes was enough to launch them into the air.

"Hey, teach," Danny called, before with a swipe of his hand and telekinesis he forced the flying enemies to push them back on the ground.

"What are you doing here, Fenton," Aizawa asked, knocking out another henchman. "I ordered you to evacuate."

"So do you want me to stop holding back or do you want me away? Make up your mind," Responded Danny with sarcasm, charging another blast.

In the meantime Mina made it to the collapsed cityscape — the closest area to the entrance. She met little resistance along the way, as everyone was too busy fighting either the two heroes in the centre of the facility or was too busy subduing the divided students.

If she was honest with herself, the girl was not sure if she could pull off the given task the way she was now. Acid was not something go-to when rescue operation was involved. Mina could melt the debris, but she could not be completely certain that her Quirk would not cause an unnecessary harm. If her acid could burn through metal, what's there to say about human flesh and bones? They had only been a small while into their studies, why did it have to happen so soon? Mina stopped herself from going into a rant, instead becoming all ears. The cityscape was big, so she needed some pointers still. Eventually, she saw how inside one of the buildings loud explosions shattered the remaining windows, letting out the inferno. It could only be done by one person.

"Out of everyone it has to be Bakugo," Mina mumbled, before quickly counting the floors.

The girl ran inside the building, swiftly reaching the floor just below where the fighting took place. She probably shouldn't have engaged in a battle directly at the moment, what's with flimsy building and Bakugo's explosives obliterating everything in their wake. Instead, her palms produced more acid, which she splashed onto the support beams. The transparent goo ate away at the steel, before the moribund structure gave up and the upper floor largely collapsed, and the surprised screams of the criminals filled the air as they fell on the floor right before her. At that point Mina realised she hadn't thought of a next step, as the villains slowly started getting up.

"Rargh!" From the upper floor jumped Kirishima, who landed on and punched one of the criminals in the face with all the strength and weight of his hardened body.

"Kirishima-kun!"

"Mina-san!" Kirishima exclaimed in surprise. "Have you been here all this time?"

"No, Danny-kun got me and Iida-kun out."

"Pay attention kids!" One of the bandits exclaimed, preparing an electric charge.

"DIE!"

A massive explosion came from above, and Kirishima quickly stood in front of Mina, shielding her from dust and pieces of debris. Bakugo jumped below, his vicious look daring the cutthroats to get up once more.

"The hell are you doing here?!" The blonde barked at Mina.

"Danny-kun told me to come and help the classmates. He also asked that we go and help the rest."

"Hah! That spook ain't gonna order me around! 'Sides, the rest can handle themselves against this garbage. But if that fog bastard is still around, they're gonna escape like nothing happened."

Mina and Kirishima blinked and stared at him.

"What?"

"That's surprisingly reasonable of you," Mina commented.

"Shut up, racoon-eyes!"

"Danny-kun said the same thing," added the girl. "He's even brought a vacuum thing that can easily suck that villain inside... he managed to escape at the last second, but his energy must be seriously drained after this. But Iida made it through and is going to bring help."

Bakugo's right red eye ticked. "That's why we are coming, too."

"I think we should trust the class rep on this one," said Kirishima. "I mean, he looks like he knows what he is doing, and he is also the strongest of us all. We can't know for sure if the others can manage as well as we did, though."

"Yeah, and then we can beat the remaining villains together," Mina said excitedly and fist pumped.

"Whatever," Bakugo huffed. "I ain't wasting my time! Do it yourself!"

The blonde turned to leave, eager to join the main battle. He would not let that annoying spook get ahead of him and get all the spoils. And as Bakugo left, Mina handed her friend another Fenton-tailored walkie-talkie.

"Wait, he drew his logo on these things?" Kirishima asked and cackled.

Mina looked at the tiny 'DP' logo drawn on them and giggled, too. Danny may have denied it, but he certainly had some love for himself. His friends also did not know how his pride compared to his father's. They would share their friend's outlook, otherwise.

"He really thought of everything, though, so no complaints from me!" Mina grinned, before pressing a button. "Danny-kun!"

A loud scream of an unknown person came from the headphone. "Yes?" Danny asked. "Sorry about the bones, pal," he spoke to his victim.

"I found Kirishima-kun and Bakugo. The walking bomb is coming your way, but we will keep searching for others."

"Figures," Danny grinned on his end, turning intangible and avoiding a gunshot. "Good job, everyone. Keep going and be careful."

After dropping the call, the halfa turned his undivided attention to the villains around him. He didn't want to explicitly display his plan, so the offence was not as quick as he would have liked. If Kurogiri knew for certain he would be coming for him, the villain would easily avoid him now that the portal maker was aware of Phantom's second original creation. With the first being blast-power regulator. Although, perhaps it didn't take an Einstein to figure his aim. Not only him or Bakugo, who would soon make an entrance, but Aizawa as well knew which villain was the most problematic and had to be dealt with first.

Shigaraki, in the meantime, grew sick of sitting idle. The crowd of villains was melting by the second, All Might was nowhere to be seen, and their time was running short due to the escaped speedster. It had to be over and done with quickly before the reinforcements came. And the ringleader saw how the heroes were coming closer and closer. And his eyes were focused on the half ghost he had come to hate so quickly. Furthermore, the boy's device was a major threat to their plan. That insolent cheater had to die first.

Danny, who froze the nearest opponent up to his head, was about to go further, but the man with a shark head appeared to have realised something.

"Wait a second... you are Pariah!" He exclaimed.

And was met with a calm, neutral look which clearly hid a murderous intent inside. The man gulped and felt how his mouth did not want to open. Phantom had expected such an outcome, so the best he could do for now was to make them shut up. The half ghost raised his hand and swung it, and a single slap was enough to knock the man out. The problem was dealt with, but how many of those he had downed actually recognised him? He could not possibly know that, but there were far more pressing issues at the moment. And one such issue under the name of Shigaraki was rapidly approaching him. For someone so seemingly frail, he possessed an impressive speed, which he used to reduce the distance.

Phantom readied his fist, assuming the proper stance, and once the villain got close, his ectoplasm engulfed arm impacted the man's head. Phantom had not put enough force into the strike, perhaps too careful not to decimate the enemy's weak body. Shigaraki had used this to stay where he was by grabbing onto the halfa's arm. It was a strange, four-fingered grip. The gaunt man cackled quietly.

"You tricked us, Pariah. Or whatever your actual name is," he whispered hatefully. "I don't like that."

"So you know," Danny gave a small smirk, albeit he was far from happy about such development.

"You don't know who you are messing with. One day you will see that this area is too high-level for you. That is... if you live long enough."

Finally, Shigaraki lowered his thumb. In an instant, they both saw how the halfa's arm was covered in cracks, bit by bit crumbling like the old layer of paint. When the initial shock wore off, Danny phased out of the villain's grasp and flew backwards a couple of feet away. So that was the man's ability. Whatever he touched was reduced to bits.

"I will turn you into dust, you cheater," Shigaraki said, about to lunge again.

But then, an explosion hit the ground the ringleader stood on, forcing him to dodge and jump back.

"Ha! Not so tough now, huh?!?"

Danny looked to the side and saw that Bakugo was looking at and talking to him. The halfa took a look at his hand, and it was a very ugly sight. Up to his neck the clothes were destroyed, and Danny felt constant stabbing pain due to having his skin disintegrated by Shigaraki's Quirk. The process itself, surprisingly, had been painless, but now he was biting his lip to hide his pain. The green, glowing insides of his arm up to the shoulders were seen to all around. And it went without saying that the "totem" was turned to dust as well. Shigaraki must have really wanted him dead.

"Cannot even beat that wimp by yourself, huh, Fenton?!"

Danny hissed. "Not gonna lie, that Quirk is annoying," he chuckled. "Thanks for the save, I suppose."

"You'd better! Now get lost, because I ain't saving you again!"

"That won't be needed," Danny said, channeling the energy to the wounded parts.

"You better listen to your friend," Shigaraki called out. "Because the next time will be your last."

Danny smirked, before everyone witnessed the halfa's wounds rapidly healing. In a few seconds the skin was already back, and even the hoodie he wore was as good as new. Phantom's healing factor was a blessing, his ghost half could sustain and heal the injuries fatal to a human being. But now the halfa felt nauseous and ready to vomit. Too much energy coursed through his body at once without release. Yes, that was not something he would do often.

He also noticed something strange. Danny's hand that used to wear the totem —it flickered with tiny streams of purple, as the tiny wisps danced around his fingertips.

"What in the world..." he muttered.

"No, no no!" Shigaraki exclaimed, scratching his neck rapidly. "You CHEATER!" He yelled.

"Sheesh, someone must be a sore loser," Danny chuckled, before checking out his healed arm. "You broke my prototype. Jerk."

The implications of that, however, were grave. The destroyed tool was the only one he had at the moment. The thermos was still in the bag he had left hundreds of meters away, where he couldn't reach at a time like this.

"I haven't lost yet!" Responded the ringleader. "There's still something you forgot about, didn't you?"

At the last second, the halfa noticed the hulking monstrosity that was coming towards them at a speed few humans could even detect. With supernatural reaction of his own, he pushed Bakugo out of the striking range of the beast, before meeting the fist with another punch. The force of the impact forced everyone in the close vicinity to lose their footing, but the two opponents remained standing, glaring daggers at each other.

"Jesus, you are even uglier from this distance," Danny muttered, but received no verbal response from the purple monster.

"He blocked the Nomu?!" Shigaraki mumbled furiously. "It was supposed to overpower All Might..."

Danny was too focused on the beast to hear what Shigaraki was saying. Bakugo did not hesitate to discharge several explosions right into the monster's face. The creature turned its prolonged head towards the student, but did not seemed to be affected by them. Fully understanding the physical resistance of his enemy, Phantom used the distraction to deliver a powerful blow with all the strength he could muster. Discharging ectoenergy in the process. Once more, the dust was flung into the air, and only. Nomu did not even budge, even after the strength of a train was applied through a single strike. That monster absorbed the entire force behind the blow and shrugged it off.

The halfa dodged the next lighting-fast attack, and then another, the creature was as quick as it was strong, but its bulk was not allowing him to be as agile as the nimble half-ghost.

"Urgh, back off!" He exclaimed, before sliding under another hit and grabbing the creature's leg.

The next second, he pulled on it, forcing the unprepared enemy on the ground. Using a hefty amount of strength, Phantom threw the enormous body at a large distance. And as it flew, he finally had some breathing room.

"Stay with Aizawa, Bakugo. He needs help," He ordered, before bursting forward, leaving only dust behind.

Gritting his teeth at being commanded by that spook again, Bakugo nonetheless conceded. The situation had quickly turned dire, and the only hope was that Fenton could at least hold that thing off until the reinforcements arrived. Until then, Bakugo would have to fight the lowest cut of the invading force. And also Kurogiri, who now didn't need to hide from Fenton's infernal contraption. Those bastards were not making it out in one piece.

The spot Fenton had launched Nomu was the avalanche area, and the impact was hard enough to shatter many rocks at the landing point. The beast quickly recovered and met the upcoming strike by simply raising its arm. Another hit shattered the rocks around them even further, pushing the beast deeper into the hole it made. Once again the creature with an ever-present vicious grin shrugged off the damage and attempted to punch the half ghost. Phantom turned intangible to dodge, but immediately dropped it to pummel the beast's head, exploiting the opening. But that thing shrugged every hit off, absorbing the strikes like a sponge.

Danny jumped away from another strike, softly landing on the ground. He needed a plan. Brute force wasn't cutting it. That thing could withstand All Might, and that guy could push away the clouds by punching the air. His ghostly strength wasn't enough. Maybe this thing's Quirk was absorption or something akin to that. He would just be wasting all his energy while that guy did not tire an inch. The halfa couldn't help but huff out a single laugh. That must have been the first fight he was actually struggling with since coming to that world.

'Think, Fenton,' he told himself, 'This guy should've fought All Might. Does that mean...'

Then, he turned towards a foreign, sudden source of sound and saw his classmates finishing off the villains remaining in that area. Among them were Kirishima and Mina. They noticed him as well, but neither reacted, because the half ghost couldn't catch a breather. Not that he breathed. Phantom jumped into the air, away from the beast's reach, but then it grabbed a massive rock, broke off the piece larger than Nomu itself, before swinging and hurling it right at the halfa. Danny turned intangible, giving it a deadpan look. The monster was not the smartest one.

"He doesn't stand a chance," Shigaraki cackled. "Nomu was built to withstand any damage dealt to him."

He then saw the two heroes heading for him. Fortunately for him, Kurogiri came to his rescue and cut off their path.

"My duty is to protect Shigaraki," the living fog declared. "And I shall see it to the end."

"Less talking, more fighting, you fart!"

"You are so derivative in your remarks, children."

He easily conjured more portals that absorbed the explosions and teleported them elsewhere. He tried to whisk away Bakugo as well, but the blonde managed to dodge. He was about to create another one when he saw the teen rapidly approach him, but then the portal vanished, right after appearing. His yellow glowing eyes turned towards Aizawa. He had shut off the villain's Quirk. With the army of cutthroats depleted, the gate opener was at a major disadvantage. He barely managed to dodge the strike on his own.

"Shigaraki-sama," he turned to the ringleader. "We need Nomu here and now. Or we can..."

"I'm NOT leaving without that bastard's head!" Shigaraki cut him off and pressed on the earpiece. "Nomu! Come to us immediately!" He ordered.

Danny was surprised when the monster suddenly decided to forget about him, instead turning towards the central area. He immediately realised that whatever the reason, Nomu could not be allowed to join his leader. As the beast made a powerful leap forward, the halfa followed it. Right above the monster Danny tried to catch up in time, but he knew he would not be there in time. He needed that bastard fighting him and him alone. He needed it right before him. Phantom felt a sting in his hand, seeing the thin purple wisp again materialise around it. And it wanted to be released.

"Your fight is with me!" He bellowed.

And then, a purple portal emerged right in front of the descending beast. Unable to stop, it flew right into it, and the other end of the gate was opened right above the half-ghost. Danny looked up, before charging a powerful blast and hitting the beast dead on. The scorching laser hit even the dome ceiling, revealing the blue sky above it. Shigaraki looked at Kurogiri in fury.

"Kurogiri, what in the world are you doing?!" He yelled.

"Shigaraki-sama," The villain spoke slowly, without looking away from the halfa, as his expression was that of shock. "It wasn't me."

Even the heroes stopped in their tracks. Had Phantom just... replicated the villain's Quirk? And Shigaraki was probably shocked the most. Danny himself was in shock from that power, but he had quickly realised the parallels. With one particular weather-controlling ghost.

"He absorbed my fog..." Kurogiri realised. "When you destroyed his device, it did not come back to me."

"But you still have your Quirk..." concluded Shigaraki. "Maybe because he hasn't fully taken it?"

"That would explain his arsenal and power...Is it anything like Master's?"

Aizawa heard what the villains said, and in his heart the concern grew. They seemed to have their own alarmingly sound logic.

Phantom in the meantime did not even let the beast land. The initial blast brought the result he had desired to see — the entire front of Nomu being scorched. He was already seeing it heal, but the proof was before him — it could be damaged, as long as it wasn't brute force. Danny burst even higher, as an ice blade appeared in his hand. He swiped his other palm along it, leaving it covered in ectoplasm. Flying close, the half ghost made a massive slash with a loud roar, before punching the beast into the chin to keep it helpless and suspended in the air. The monster writhed and let out a chilling shriek, in pain at having its whole arm sewered and burned by ectoplasm. Its blood smeared the halfa's face.

Phantom pressed the assault, hitting Nomu right where a gaping wound was left. The monster tried to grab him, but the half ghost was too quick and natural in the air. Danny dodged and kicked the beast down into another portal, before throwing his blade upwards. Nomu came from the portal above, and was immediately met by the sword impaling his chest and going right through it. Phantom grabbed the monster's neck when it came close and grinned.

"I can get used to this," he said as his eyes flashed brighter.

But then, the beast did something unexpected. With all its might, it snapped its jaw on the half-ghost's hand.

"ARGH!" Phantom yelled, unconsciously letting go of the grip.

He examined his arm that had gone through a lot during the fight. That bastard had chomped out a half of the 'flesh' on his forearm. Nonetheless, Danny smirked.

"Very poor choice of diet," he whispered.

Nomu could feel it, but lacked the capacity for thought to act upon the pain growing in its throat and stomach. The ectoplasm was gnawing on its insides. Still, the beast stuck the landing, ending up right between the heroes and the two villains in charge of the operation.

"Couldn't even keep it tied, spook?!" Bakugo exclaimed as Phantom slowly landed near them.

"Bakugo..." Danny turned to him. "Shut up already. Are you alright, sensei?"

"I'm fine. Focus on the fight," Aizawa had not turned his mentor role for a second.

"You are full of surprises, heroes," Shigaraki said. "But this is pointless."

The heroes could see how Nomu stood up. And then, in a matter of second, it grew back the entirety of its severed arm.

"Nomu may be dumb and docile, but they will do as we say. And always live to see it through," Shigaraki commented.

As the man finished his bravado, everyone could hear a laughter. It was Phantom's. Under the surprised gazes, the half ghost stepped forward, his mocking grin threatening to split his face in two. Aizawa tried to stop him, but Danny raised his hand and thus told him to trust his judgement.

"What are you laughing about?!" Shigaraki exclaimed furiously.

"You picked the words that are a music to my ears. You gave me an idea, something I should have done from the start! Go ahead then," The halfa opened his arms wide, not even bothering to shield himself in any way. "Send your dim toy at me. This will prove to be amusing."

Kurogiri could not push away the idea that the boy resembled his Master in more ways than one. Everything from his looks and mannerisms to the Quirk he possessed was something similar in Kurogiri's eyes. Shigaraki was too preoccupied with the desire to murder everyone present to care enough. He loudly ordered Nomu to attack, not believing that the boy had anything powerful enough up in his sleeve. The beast lunged forward, not showing any signs of exhaustion, as fast as it did so at the start of their fight. Bakugo and Aizawa immediately jumped away, and the second before the punch impacted Phantom's head, a fanged grin flashed on his face. The next instant, he vanished.

What followed was a bizarre scene, where Nomu suddenly screeched and grabbed its head. The beast went completely berserk, thrashing around and causing damage to the ground it relentlessly destroyed in the process. Nobody could understand what was happening, and the heroes had to find a way through the unpredictable rampant monster, but Shigaraki fearlessly, or perhaps foolishly chose to approach it.

"Nomu!" He shouted. "Stop this at once!"

And it did as instructed, stopping in its tracks. Shigaraki smirked.

"There. That wasn't so..."

And then Nomu swung his hand and hit the ringleader hard enough to send him flying away.

"Shigaraki-sama!" Kurogiri exclaimed, teleporting towards him. "What in the world..."

"I have an answer!"

Phantom's disembodied voice was coming from Nomu. Its mouth did not move, but its beady eyes glowed the same way Danny's did, with the same vibrant emerald colour.

"You see... possession is one of my little tricks. When I learned of the beast's docile nature, I realised that it will not resist. It took a while to get accustomed to this beast's body, however."

Kurogiri watched this in further shock, and even heroes who had not known about that power of his could only stare.

"So..." Danny spoke. "I suppose this is a game over for you. I'll make sure to shut the lights on my way out."

Kurogiri looked at Shigaraki, who was slowly getting up.

"Shigaraki-sama, our plan is completely compromised. We have to leave."

The gaunt man glared at Nomu's body, overtaken by Phantom's indomitable will. He hated that bastard. He HATED him! He wanted him dead! He began to scratch his neck again, in a futile attempt to calm himself. But there was no denying their defeat. Phantom had been ahead of them, he had tricked them and his power was versatile enough to take down their strongest Nomu. Shigaraki watched the beast fall down on the ground, completely unconscious, with the triumphant half-ghost standing on its back. That's what he meant by 'shutting the lights' — shutting down brain activity when exiting the possessed body. The cheater mocked him, and the burning rage within Shigaraki was nigh impossible to suppress.

The ringleader wanted to come at him and fight further, but at last the entrance doors burst open, revealing the school's staff. The heroes' arrival, and All Might in particular, the one who made his way to the battle the fastest, marked the final defeat of the villains. Danny, however, did not notice. Once again opening his arms wide, he exclaimed:

"Thank you truly for this amusing farce!"

And at that All Might froze in his track. The laughter of the blood-smeared half-ghost made his and everyone's blood go cold even more.

Kurogiri no longer waited for permission. He created a portal, and, feeling the green blast scorch his incorporeal body, still whisked away before anyone else could react. Silence settled across the area, before the grinning halfa looked at the newest arrivals.

"Hey, guys," he panted, shifting into his human form. "Took you a while."

"Are...are you alright, young Fenton?" Asked the Symbol of Peace.

"Huh? Oh, that," he pointed at the blood-stains in his hair and on his face. "It's this thing's," he said and lightly kicked the unconscious monster's head. "I'm alright, sir."

At that moment, seeing the destruction around, All Might realised that Tsukauchi's words were far more truthful than he had thought. And Aizawa was unknowingly agreeing with the man, and recalling the words of his friend.

The kid really was a monster.