Mountain Zone

"SHIT!" Setsuna's body parts flew back, yanking on the backs of both Bondo and Rin's costumes as the ground where they'd just been standing erupted. The mass of rock and dirt began converging in on itself to form a humanoid body.

"Alright, plan B!" She shouted. "Bondo, glue him!"

With a terrified yell, Bondo swung his head around, glue spraying out of the holes of his head. A wall of earth rose in front of the villain, the glue hitting and hardening against it.

"GO GO!" Setsuna urged the boys as she pushed them to run. "We need to- AH!" She cried out in pain as her left hand erupted in pain as something hit it at high velocity. She bit her lip, trying to block out the pain as she, Bondo, and Rin ducked behind a corner as Rin shot scales at the earth villain. Setsuna reformed most of her body and tried bringing her hand back to her, but the connection was wavering. Then it shattered completely and her hand, which looked bloody and broken, dropped to the ground and no longer was able to be controlled by her. She heaved a sigh of relief as the pain subsided, replaced by the peculiar sensation of a new hand beginning to regrow.

"Oh my god," Bondo whimpered as he noticed the hand lying motionless on the ground.

"It's worse than it looks," Setsuna assured him before wincing as she gave her hand another look. "Okay, maybe not."

"Heads up, the villain disappeared into the ground!" Rin shouted suddenly, pulling his arms back just as another missile slammed into the side of the mountain with a sharp crack.

Three villains at least, Setsuna counted the quirks in her head. Green crystals, projectile, and earth body. Crap, this is really bad. Fighting might not be our best option here.

"C'mon, we need to keep moving," she told them as she hurried off. "We just need to get to the plaza. All Might is there and-"

"You think All Might will save you?" The villain from before emerged from the side of the mountain just ahead of them, his voice gravelly. "Oh no, you're stuck here with us."

Crystals erupted around the area they were in, boxing them in as a figure leapt down from atop one of the crystals, brushing his hands against his jeans. "Man, UA students are tough, huh." He raised his head and flipped his hood off, revealing spiky blue hair and golden eyes. "I mutilated your hand and look at you just walking it off."

"Aren't you a little young to be a villain?" Setsuna questioned him. Make them talk and maybe I can come up with a plan to get us out of this situation.

The earthen villain gave the boy a hard stare, who chuckled as he held up his hands. "Hey, our cover was never going to stay under wraps just because we all bought some hoodies. There's a point being made here and it won't be unless we show who we are."

"Can I ask what this point is exactly?" Setsuna moved back closer to Rin and Bondo to keep both villains in her line of sight. The third villain, the one creating the crystals was nowhere in sight.

The blue haired teen returned his gaze to her and she hoped to god that her bangs were doing a good enough job to hide the fact that her right eye had taken off around the mountainside. "You may, actually, but that doesn't mean you're going to get the answers you seek-"

The situation in the plaza didn't look good. Vlad King and All Might were engaging several villains and the latter seemed to have met his match, if that was even possible.

"-but in a nutshell," the villain went on. "Our business here is to send a message-"

Forcing her eye to move on from watching the intense fighting in the plaza, she had it zoom back around the mountainside. There, the third villain, wearing a bulky coat as they walked up to the wall of crystals that caged them in. She resisted the urge to glance with her left eye at where she knew the villain was on the other side of the wall. Good, she didn't see any other villains around, so it was hopefully just these three.

"-time of heroes is coming to an-"

"Yeah, sorry, I think I spaced out there for a minute," Setsuna shrugged apologetically. "All I heard were the stupid reasons as to why you are villains."

"Look, I was trying to play nice and answer your question, and this is the response I get?" The blue haired guy sighed dramatically. "Fine then." He dug into his pocket and produced several small rocks. "You UA students, no, hero students in general, have it so lucky. Best of the best, praised, held above the rest in regards to quirks and skill. What makes you so special, I wonder?"

He flicked his wrist and one of the rocks zoomed past Setsuna, hitting the rock wall behind her with a crash. Her eye widened at the speed.

"Let's see who'll win," the boy primed another rock. "The glorious UA students, or the dregs of hero society?"

...

Conflagration Zone

Dammit! Itsuka cursed internally as she groaned from the impact of being blasted into the building. She lay in the smoky lobby, the sound of crackling fire secondary to the voice of the villain speaking outside as the top of the doorway bubbles and hissed, the material melting down.

"-and the mushroom girl were sent here? This is the optimal environment for us, and the worst setting possible for you."

The building suddenly shook as something heavy hit it, followed by a loud bird-like screech that rattled Itsuka's bones as she was helped to her feet by Komori, who was obviously panicking. She was asking if Itsuka was alright, but the orange haired girl tuned her out as she racked her brain for a way out of this situation.

"It's time for a lesson. Pay attention now, this will be on the test. This is what happens when you are so out of your depth that your past achievements and your quirk mean nothing in the face of an adversary that has already planned ahead. Think of it as a game of chess. And this... this is checkmate."

They know about our quirks! Itsuka realized with a jolt of fear. She and her classmates were in deep shit.

"-uka!" Komori tugged on her arm hard.

"Huh?" Itsuka looked down at the girl, who's eyes held the fear she felt within herself, but also something else. "I-I have an idea." Quickly she relayed her idea and Itsuka felt the embers of hope grow. She turned to the melted doorway separating them from their classmates and villains.

"Let's do it."

...

Ibara Shiozaki, devout believer in God and hero-in-training, was out of her depth. She had tried to shield both her and Kuroiro, only for the insect villain's beams of light to light her vines aflame. She'd been forced to disconnect them from the rest of her hair before the rushing flames reached her head, so now her vines hung at shoulder length. She spared a glance at Kuroiro, who likely could have used his quirk to disappear with all the shadows being cast about, hadn't, and that warmed Ibara's heart greatly. That, or it was all this heat.

"This is a necessary evil for our greater purpose here," the cloaked guy said, hand reaching out towards the hero students. "So I apologize for-"

CRASH

The wall to Ibara's left shattered as a huge fist burst through. Not a second later huge puffs of smoke billowed out, causing everyone to begin coughing horribly, only for those sounds to cut off short. Ibara gagged, something lodged in her throat. Then she felt herself being grabbed and yanked into the building.

"Sorry about that!" Kendo shouted as she carried both Ibara and Kuroiro aloft in her hands as she ran alongside Komori through the length of the burning lobby towards the front entrance at the opposite end. "It was the only way we could get you out of there!"

"So shroomrry-!" Komori's hands flew to her mouth as she realized she'd just made a pun despite the situation.

"No-urk," Ibara struggled to speak, so instead she shook her head quickly to try and reassure her classmates as she coughed horribly. Under normal circumstances such an underhanded tactic would have caused her to look down at the one who initiated such a plan, but at the moment she could only feel grateful, even with what she suspected to be a mushroom in her throat.

They burst back out onto the street as a shadow passed overhead. The giant flaming bird screeched and flames burst from its mouth, blasting the road with flames. "This way!" Kendo shouted, turning on her heels and running along the scorched sidewalk just barely out of reach of the fire burning the inside of the fake shops.

Ibara spotted something yellow amidst the flames and squirmed in Kendo's tight grip to get her attention. "Cough -ire hydr-cough!"

Kendo got the message as she skidded to a stop. Shiozaki pressed her hands together, praying that this would work as her vines shot from her body towards the fire hydrant, wrapping around it. Kendo set her and Kurioro down before tugging on the vines hard. Ibara cried out in pain as her vines nearly tore, but the fire hydrant was ripped from the ground, a geyser of water shooting high up into the air. Kendo wasted no time in pressing her hands on the pressure and directing it towards the giant bird villain who had been swooping down towards them. It tried to dodge, but the water blasted against its wing, making it crash into the nearest building.

"Good job!" Kendo praised the vine haired girl. "Can you two run?"

Still coughing, both Ibara and Kuroiro shook their heads. At that, Kendo hesitated, then shook her head as she grabbed both in her enlarged hands and took off running again with Komori. "Alright, the plan is to escape this hellhole." Ibara tried to glare at her, but the effect was lost when she coughed violently. "These villains are prepared and know too much. Everyone else is probably in as much danger as we are. Kuroiro, could you use your quirk and escape the USJ entirely?"

The white haired boy's eyes widened at that. "I know I'm asking a lot." Ibara could hear the desperation in the other girl's voice. "But there's a good chance we're completely cut off from the outside, so we need someone who's fast to escape and get word to UA. The forest surrounding UA is close by, so using the shadows there could guarantee a safe route back to school. Please, Kuroiro!"

After a moment he nodded and Kendo hurriedly set him down. Komori quickly approached him, offering him something from a small capsule. "H-here, a cough drop. I h-hope it helps!" Pink tinged the boy's black features as he accepted it, popped it into his mouth, then with one last worried look at his classmates melted into the shadows and zoomed away just in time as the side of the store near them blew open as the insect villain from before flew through. They were coughing, but harsh light was already building up towards her hands. Kendo quickly raised her hands to shield her classmates, crying out as the beams of light seared her skin.

"You-cough-bitches!" The cloaked villain emerged from the ruined shop, holding his singed cloak together with his hands. A hand flew to his throat, massaging it. "You're-cough-gonna pay for that!"

A piercing screech rang out as the giant bird broke out from the building it had fallen into, fire bursting across its wings.

Back to square one, Ibara thought with despair.

...

Flood Zone

The situation was outlandish. Villains attacking the hero students of UA. It was unheard of. Yet here it was, happening to them. The deck was slick with water as rain poured down from overhead, the storm clouds generated from the storm quirk user having moved overhead. And those dark clouds seemed to be sucked down towards the villain standing atop the ship's cabin above them, swirling around them and obscuring them further.

Kosei Tsuburaba's back hurt, his lungs ached, and he was pretty certain one of his ribs was fractured. That was just a guess on his part though. Just like himself, Tetsutetsu and Yanagi both groaned from either side as they spat out water from where they had been slammed up against the ship's railing.

"You are out of your depth, hero wannabes," the villain covered by swirling clouds spoke from their vantage point, voice all crackly. "Your dreams of becoming heroes? Forget them. Even if we weren't here to put an end to them today, they're just delusions. Heroes are nothing more than crooks, only in it for the money and glory. Very few actually stand for what is truly right and just. Allowing students like yourself, who only see being a hero as something cool and amazing, to grow up and add to the problem is sickening to even think about."

Tetsutetsu spat out water. "Who are you to say that, HUH!? You're just a villain!" He gripped the railing and pulled himself to his feet. "RAH!" He lurched forward, leaping at the side of the cabin, grabbing at handholds. The villain seemed content with watching as he pulled himself onto the platform, facing them. The swirling clouds around their head shifted into a tilt.

"You're going to fight me?" They asked. "Tell me, do you have a license for that?" That stopped Tetsutetsu in his tracks as he was raising a fist, a dumb look on his face. "Look at that. Just the mention of the rules stopped you from trying to take down a villain who was threatening the lives of others." A rush of wind blew past them, slamming into Tetsutetsu's middle, who ground his teeth and fought not to be thrown off. "Tell me, why are there rules forbidding the act of heroism and restricting what they're allowed to do? Seems counterproductive, doesn't it?"

"GAH! SHUT UP!" Tetsutetsu yelled, charging forward, fist raised. Lightning cracked overhead as twin jets of water shot up from either side of the boat and collided with Tetsutetsu, sending him crashing towards the deck.

At the same time, both Kosei and Yanagi moved into action. Yanagi yelled as she tried catching Tetsutetsu with her quirk, a purple glow surrounding the steel covered boy as his weight seemed to visibly force the spooky white haired girl to her knees. Kosei meanwhile had leapt towards the villain, bouncing off a platform of air.

Before he could even reach them, a powerful gale slammed down onto him, slamming him into the deck. He cried out, feeling something crack. If his rib wasn't broken before, it sure was now. He took a shuddering breath. It hurt like hell, but his lung hadn't been punctured. That was something.

Having moved closer, Satsuki Iwayama stared down at the hero hopefuls. They didn't stand a chance here. Part of her sympathized with them, having once been like them. She thought of her old mentor, Hawks, and how she aspired to be like him one day. Then she remembered all those files on the Hero Commision. All those terrible deeds they performed. From there she began to see just how far the roots of falsehood spread. She wanted justice. She wanted a society that wasn't held back by the corrupt. So if getting her hands dirty was the only way, then, well, she'd already committed herself to this role. It was too late to turn back now.

She spread her arms, allowing for the fiercest winds to coalesce around her, sharpening in intensity. The waves churned more violently beneath her as thunder boomed around her. All those lessons from Hawks in honing and maintaining control over the vast area her quirk controlled had proved useful. If only he could see her now.

He'd have to arrest me, she thought, a giggle almost escaping her lips at the thought. Her expression turned somber. We never did get to have that Christmas dinner.

Her expression shifted again as she put all her concentration into preparing to assault the boat, intending on cracking it in half. Just as she was about to let loose, her concentration broke as something made her instinctively jerk backwards. Her wind started going haywire. She whipped around to find the source, eyes widening as she spotted a small boat bobbing in the waves. Aboard was that space suit wearing hero, Thirteen, one hand directed at the water while another was pointed up towards her. All the caps had been opened on her fingertips, allowing for the full force of Black Hole to begin sucking up both the water and wind.

"GET AWAY FROM MY STUDENTS!" She heard Thirteen shout over the sound of the suction from Black Hole and the winds she was producing.

Back on the boat, Tetsutetsu felt the entire thing jerk. He raised his head, seeing another, smaller boat with Thirteen aboard it. He cracked a grin as he felt another jerk beneath him as the boat began being pulled along with the water from Black Hole. He turned to see the other villain knocked off balance, their form flickering as they swept out their hands towards the water, struggling to do something, but seemingly to no avail.

"Now's our chance," Tetsutetsu grunted, hauling himself to his feet as he saw the dark clouds overhead begin to thin, taking the lightning with them. With a growl he hardened his skin with steel and clashed his fists together. It was payback time.

...

Downpour Zone

Juzo lay upon the wet street, the downpour chilling him to the bones. The heel of the arrogant villain's shoe pressed against his helmet, the metal creaking but not breaking.

Juzo slapped the ground, softening the ground around him in a five meter radius. Both he and the villain plunged into the liquid, the latter shouting in surprise as he tried to run, but tripped in the process with a wet splat.

"You got the drop on me earlier," Juzo activated his helmet and his snorkel popped into place. "So don't expect me to go down easy!" He dived and yanked on the villain's legs, pulling him down with him. His legs kicked out at fast speeds, churning up the liquid and kicking Juzo in the face. This time he heard a crack, a line appearing along his visor.

Cursing, Juzo swam back and found a solid surface. Kicking off it, he propelled himself forwards and slammed into the villain's middle. He yanked on his shoulders and slammed a fist into his face. They struggled, Juzo just barely hanging on as the villain managed to get his head above the surface.

"Get off of me you peasant!" A blond head spat as he went to drive his knee into Juzo's gut, only to curse as he hit his armor plating.

Juzo broke the surface, headbutting the villain in the face, feeling something break. With one final punch for good measure on his already broken nose, Juzo swam to the edge and pulled himself out, quickly hardening the ground.

Juzo didn't stick around to hear the curses hurled at him. With a speed based quirk he shouldn't be able to escape. Right now the safety of his classmates took priority. He tried to remember which direction he had been taken, but they'd moved too fast for him to get a proper sense of direction. Not to mention he could scarcely hear anything over the roaring rain. Muttering beneath his breath, he took his best guess and continued to hurry.

...

"HRAAAAH!" Togaru Kamakiri bounced off a street lamp towards one of the villains, the curved blade jutting out from his arm slicing through the air, aiming straight for the villain's middle. Yet, just as before, dark, thorny vines shot out from beneath the yellow raincoat. Togaru twisted, more blades sprouting around his body as he twirled himself. He sliced several of the vines, but several still sliced his skin and wrapped around his arms, the thorns digging into his skin. Before he could rip them apart he was thrown across the street.

"Don't be so reckless!" Shishida shouted, hurrying to his side.

"I'm fine!" Togaru growled, getting to his feet as he withdrew some of the blades. His eyes widened as he saw the other villain, standing over the other one, a blue tail sticking out from beneath their raincoat, raise their webbed hands.

"MOVE!" Togaru shouted and tackled Shoda as Shishida dodged the other way. Twin bursts of water blasted through the shop windows behind where they had been standing. The water itself had been sparkling with multicolored lights and the surfaces that had been doused began to steam slightly.

"That was close," Shoda said. "Thanks, Kamakiri-" His eyes widened and he shoved Kamakiri away, pushing himself back in the process as a mass of thorny vines crashed into the wall next to them.

"We are not supposed to fight," Shishida turned to the two villains. "But I'm sure our teachers and the authorities would understand our predicament. Shoda, Kamakiri, I'll leave the strategizing to you." His muscles began to ripple as his form began to bulk up. "We need to work together if we're going to get out of this."

"Hah!" Togaru brandished his arms, two more curved blades appearing on each arm. "I like the way you think. If we weren't fighting genuine villains here, I'd want to match my strength against yours!" He shouted as he burst forwards, propelling himself forward by growing blades from his feet.

Nirengeki Shoda watched as both of his classmates attacked the enemy, one letting out a beastly roar while the other shouted almost maniacally. Shishida weaved between bursts of water, almost managing to avoid all of them before his side got doused. He didn't yell out in pain, but Nirengeki could see that it made his hair steam as it began to burn those spots away. Yet he managed to get in a solid punch, the villain flying into a lamppost. Kamakiri wasn't faring much better, not able to get close to the vine villain. He cut most vines, but some still snuck through his defenses and sliced cuts along his arms, legs, and chest. For the time being, all eyes were on his classmates.

Nirengeki ran into the nearest alley, looking for the heaviest available object that he could carry. He found three crates stacked atop one another filled with empty glass bottles. He was only able to heft two of the crates and rushed back out.

"KAMAKIRI!" He yelled as he grabbed two bottles in each hand. "WATCH OUT!"

Kamakiri didn't waste any time in leaping back, some vines shooting towards him while others whipped towards Nirengeki. He launched the bottles, immediately activating Twin Impact. The bottles shot forward as if punched towards the villain, who had to move quickly out of the way as they shattered against the ground. Just as they focused their attention back on him, he had picked up the first crate, spinning and tossing it. It wouldn't have gone far if not for his quirk, the bottles flying out as the projectile slammed into the villain.

Only too late did Nirengeki realize the danger of having glass all over the ground. Cursing himself silently, he quickly dumped the glass bottles out of the other crate while Kamakiri threw himself back at the vine villain, managing to snare their raincoat. It tore off them, revealing a body consisting of the dark vines.

It happened in just a second. A huge mass of vines shot from the villain on all sides, slamming into Kamakiri and wrapping around him. Another mass collided with Shishida, grappling him in place as he struggled to break free. Nirengeki attempted to dodge knowing that it wouldn't help him, but as he threw himself to the side he threw a solid punch at the vines, wincing as his blood flew from the contact. Then the vines wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his side as he was drawn in towards the villain. He caught a glimpse of sharp yellow eyes hidden in the darkness of the vines still covering the villain's body.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other villain sag visibly in relief as Shishida still struggled. He saw some of the vines begin to tear as Shishida let out a bellowing roar, startling the villain he'd been fighting. When the vine villain's gaze turned from him and Kamakiri over to Shishida, he activated his quirk. The force of Twin Impact jerked him and the vines sideways, throwing the villain off balance. Some of the vines ripped, enough for him to free his right hand and punch the vines again, ignoring the stabbing pain as Twin Impact struck again, ripping more of the vines.

Just as more vines began to shoot towards him, a blade trailing blood slashed through the incoming vines and the ones holding Nirengeki aloft. He landed on the ground, glancing to see that Kamakiri had mostly slashed himself free, blood dripping from his arm where he'd torn the blade free. He heard Shishida rip free of his bonds and the telltale sounds of the villain's water quirk going off. But he paid them little attention as he rushed in towards the vine villain, close enough that he crossed the distance in only a second before they could shoot their vines.

Nirengeki was used to not standing out. He was short, unassuming, and his chubby features were plain. But appearances could be misleading. He was a huge boxing fan growing up, and that passion from when he would watch boxers on live TV punch it out would lead him to take up the sport in his free time. What many thought was fat was actually hard muscle from years of training. He was no professional by any means and never seriously got into the sport, but he kept himself fit.

Glass crunched beneath his heels as he breathed in and out, a fist already drawn back. If nothing else, he would be hard to take down once he got in close. He just had to hope that these villains had nothing else up their sleeves.

Even as he thought that, the dome shook from a massive shockwave that originated from somewhere else in the USJ.

...

USJ - Outside the Conflagration Zone

Shihai Kuroiro was grateful that traveling in the darkness didn't exhaust him like running did, even more so now that he couldn't breathe that well with the mushroom in his throat. He wasn't bitter about it, quite the opposite. He understood it was a necessary act to save him and Shiozaki.

He popped out of the Conflagration Zone in a small pocket of shadows. He ran for the trees lining the edge of the inside walls of the USJ, trying his best to silence his coughing and hacking. He had to stop for a moment, leaning on a tree for support. He swished the cough drop around in his mouth. It helped a bit, but not much.

He glanced back at the red fire dome, hesitating once again. It wasn't heroic to leave his classmates behind in danger. But he also understood that if someone could get out and get help, they should do it.

As the USJ suddenly shook with the sound of a heavy impact, Shihai was reminded that he wasn't much of a fighting type and that he should probably get the hell out of here. May the darkness not consume you my fellow classmates. Then he slid into the shadows of the tree and searched for a dark enough spot to get through the USJ's walls to the outside.

...

USJ Roof

Fukuko Sakamoto was no stranger to heights. Once upon a time it scared the absolute hell out of her to even think about going somewhere high up. But after a lot of self-inflicted immersion therapy, that fear had lessened. Still, she shrieked when the entire USJ shook, grabbing onto the other teen on the roof with her to avoid falling.

"Someone has escaped," Asao spoke from where he sat cross-legged beside her on the small flat part of the USJ roof. His blindfold lay in his lap alongside the square black box being used to intercept any signals coming from the USJ. His eyes glowed a harsh blue, the light just barely hiding what Fukuko knew to be scars. From what she had no idea and she definitely wasn't going to ask.

"Who?" She asked him nervously, palms sweaty. She tried wiping them on her jeans to no avail.

"The kid with the shadow quirk," Asao frowned. "I wish our informant gave us more information than just a basic rundown of the class' quirks. Be ready for your moment. If he can move fast, the heroes may be here sooner than we'd hoped."

"Yeah, I, uh, I'll be ready," Fukuko nodded, trying desperately to steady her breathing.

A few silent seconds ticked by before Asao asked, "Why are you afraid of falling?"

She gulped, that word making her pulse spike. Asao's glowing gaze turned to her, forcing her to look away. He spoke again. "I hate using my quirk."

"Huh?" She blinked, caught off guard by his statement.

"I do," he nodded as his gaze turned away. "It reminds me too much of... something terrible. So terrible I gouged out my own eyes. I vowed never to use my quirk again." The black haired teen traced the skin around his eyes. "Dr. Shakusai and his school still seem strange, not quite trustworthy, but their goals align with mine. With them I can actually make a difference. So because of that, knowing that my quirk will be useful in bringing about the change we all seek in society, I can use it."

"Doesn't it still..." Fukuko trailed off, unsure how to proceed.

He seemed to know what she was asking. "It still pains me every time I use it. So ask yourself, is what you're doing worth using your quirk for? Do you believe in the cause you have chosen to align yourself with?"

That was the question wasn't it? Fukuko just didn't want to die. She didn't want to live either. Dr. Shakusai had made the promise to help her overcome her fear, but she knew that she also had to do her part. She had to choose to help herself. And as terrifying as that seemed, it involved taking those first few steps.

She closed her eyes, about to take in a deep breath, only to reopen her eyes back up quickly, clutching her heart.

Right, Fukuko remembered. Don't close your eyes while extremely high up. Bad idea. Really bad idea.