He felt the crushing weight of the iron apparatus over his dilapidated husk of a body.

  Just a bit more… he could taste the sweet nectar of retribution.

  “Endeavor —Let’s play!” He yelled in delight, Dabi couldn't feel the smile that his nonexistent facial muscles made, but he burned with joy regardless.

  —

  “ —Come on, get up, you bozo!” A feminine voice roughly complained. Warmth spread over his body from the contact. His bleary eyelashes softly blinked against soft pale hair. Springy muscle lifted him up into the waking world.

  He gasped as his senses rushed back in.

  “ —Where?” he couldn't help but wheeze out, torso rising and falling in short breaths.

  “Oh great, you're awake!” A red Iris was less than a few inches away from his face, so close that it was blurry. Tōya looked down as he took in his surroundings, a ruined bed, glass and debris scattered across the dishevelled bedroom, and the ominous red glow of fire cascaded out of the man-shaped hole of what once was the frame of the window. Turning a lovingly decorated little girl’s room into something wholly inhospitable.

  All For One!

  —His heart startled as he remembered the last few moments of his reawakening. “Shit I’m still alive?” Tōya questioned in genuine confusion, jolting from the dire situation.

  “‘Course you are. Nice moves by the way!” Mirko added, she let go of Tōya from her fireman's carry. He fell on the mattress with a sound of surprise, causing several stuffed toys to fall off the bed. Turning around to fully face him, crouched as she was over the lopsided bed, she addressed him.

  “Man, that attack sent my heart racing! I could feel the adrenaline pumping before the cop even had a chance to lift his finger.” Tōya’s eyebrow rose in question at her nonchalant comment, exhausted arms propping up his torso as he gazed up at her. “I caught you while you were cartwheeling up in the sky. Reminds me of my days back when I played volleyball. Perfect catch… like I said, I’ll protect you.” She reiterated in self-satisfaction, like she was proud of the fact that she was capable of the feat than of the selfless act of saving someone itself.

  Blatantly omitting the fact that he got a faceful of All For One’s attack, before she could catch him…

  The sound of explosions easily made their way to the dilapidated room. Tōya looked at his body, he looked no worse for wear from the attack. Usagiyama had some superficial injuries from the splintering wooden frame of the window. But otherwise All For One’s wide scale attack left her mildly unscathed.

  Tōya opened his mouth to question it, but decided after a second that it really didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things—

  The Rabbit Hero grabbed either side of his face with both hands. “Hey! Look at me. Can you walk? Or run? The second is more preferable.”

  “I’m going to need to support the other heroes out there. For a civvie like you, especially in your condition, its suicide if you use the front door. Go out through the back.” She got up and hovered over the bottom of the ruined window frame as she looked back to him from above her shoulder.

  …I would If I could. That asshole isn't going to let it happen.

  “Can’t do that, I’d love to but that old bastard out there is the one who was running the orphanage that we escaped from. He has a quirk that steals and transfers other people’s meta abilities. He’s not going to quit until someone stops him.” Tōya wrote off as he rolled off the bed and walked up to her.

  Todoroki missed the incredulous look that she threw his way.

  He peeked out from the side to take a gander at the situation. “He was planning on stealing our quirks and using them to make bioengineered villains with the help of some crazy doctor called Garaki.”

  Tōya noted out loud, watching All For One send out cleverly disguised variations of his initial attack. It looked like a masterful use of the same quirk in the eyes of the unknowing, but Tōya knew better.

  He was just funneling other meta abilities into the main one.

  “If I had to guess, he planned on killing All Might. Or something like that, after he used us up.” He added as he briefly turned his eyes to her and back to the scene of chaos outside.

  Snatch used his quirk to block against two spiralling twin-like condensed purple waves of energy, absorbing the first to allow the EMTs to drive away with the children. However, the second portion of the attack was wide enough that Snatch could not overextend his meta ability without putting the lower part of his body in the crossfire. The edge of the blast flipped one of the emergency vehicles on its side as it drove away, the squealing of the ambulance grated at his ears as sparks flew.

  “...Right, I really thought I took the brunt of the impact there.” She commented as she gingerly touched the top of his head to see if he was bleeding. Todoroki slapped her hand away as he looked at her in agitation.

  “I’m being serious, look —are we really doing this right now?” he questioned with sincerity as he gazed between the destruction and her somewhat doubtful look. Tōya palmed the bridge of his nose in exasperation and to soothe his nerves.

  “...Okay, I might appear to be pretty fucked up, but this guy is bad news. If we don’t stop him until All Might gets here then we are all dead.” The burned boy turned to her fully, jolted by a new thought that came to mind. “You have your radio right, or earpiece, whatever. Can you get them to send a top pro to hold this guy off?”

  “...Well, yeah. Snatch always told me to keep it…” Not finishing her sentence, the rabbit hero cupped her large ear to use the earpiece that was normally clipped to the edge of her right earlobe. But she stumbled when she couldn't find it. Her hands made their way up and down the surface of her long ears, as if the device could somehow get lost within them. An apprehensive look made its way to her face when she couldn't find it and she instead dug into the zipped up pockets of her jacket. “ But I always keep a spare…” she dragged out in anticipation, her face relaxed before pulling out a crushed earpiece from her many pockets.

  The two teenagers both stared at the broken receiver in silence.

  “You don’t carry a phone?” Tōya quietly asked after a moment.

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  Mirko looked small as the broken pieces slipped between her fingers and onto the ground.

  “...I’ve been saving for a new one after the last one got disintegrated.” The girl muttered with a wince.

  “—Right… how about we get to Snatch, Hound Dog, or any of the other heroes out there.” Todoroki instead suggested, his hands grasped at the chipped bricks of the exterior facade.

  Tōya’s breath involuntarily hitched when one of the heroes outside narrowly avoided gruesome death via bisection thanks to Hound Dog. The razor sharp beam of purple energy lancing up into the sky as it split a residential building apart. The nimble hero was using his speed to get the other no-name heroes and first responders out of harm's way.

  It was working for the most part, but he could see the unmoving bodies that littered the rim and edge of the gigantic crater from All For One’s initial blast. If they didn’t do something, eventually, they’d all end up just the same.

  Another hero jumped up from the top of one of the buildings, using their translucent shield quirk to deflect a followup attack aimed at the closest police helicopters in the sky. The aerial vehicle pivoted away in alarm, a police officer clipped to the rightmost seat near the open door, stopped firing his assault rifle at the crime lord due to the jerkiness of the movement. Their smaller arms dealing little to no damage to the villain. And yet they still tried to subdue the man in any way they could, already discarding the thought of going non-lethal.

  The black and navy blue uniforms of the Special Assault Team (SAT) were behind All For One, grouped up. A large rifle was held in the hands of two of the men with the assistance of three others. It looked pretty advanced in terms of the support items that he had seen in his time.

  Japan’s number one crime lord was too entranced in his villainy to care as he emitted a salvo of condensed orbs of purple energy, lightning crackled around the objects. They were sent off in a cleave-like fashion from his front. At contact, the projectiles detonated with a bang. Hound dog took cover behind a flipped truck while three no-named heroes could be heard scrambling to the alleyway that they were currently looking out of. The attack shook the street in earnest, a dome of sand covered the fallen ambulance which housed two? Of the children he had escaped with.

  The unwieldy cannon, for that was the best description that Tōya could use for the hunk of shiny metal, glowed with fierceness. A large whining ring emanated and without further delay it shot off with a crescendo. All For One looked over his shoulder from his lax position, with a flick of his wrist, the same quirk turned steady and solid with a mildly curved wall-like shape. An explosive force met an unflinching object, a mushroom cloud grew out from the contact.

  All For One looked no worse for wear as he readjusted his police cap.

  “...We might not have a chance to if… All For One, you said? Gets everyone to kick the bucket.”

  Mirko had joined him as she leaned out the window for a better view. All For One had not moved from his spot on the ruined street. The earlier attack no doubt gave him the high of being untouchable. Several structures around him were caved in by the force of his meta ability. The nearest were merely large piles of unrecognizable rubble easily pushed aside by his quirk.

  The disguised cop lifted his arms up lazily, unleashing more quirk factor into his attack than he had in his prior attacks. Light sprouted from the cracks that cascaded out of the ground, ripping their way from the center of his standing position outward.

  The large scale wave sent tremors over in their direction, Tōya’s feet began to wobble as the room shook. His footing was weak and he nearly fell out of the window, but as soon as he steadied himself against the rumbling. Usagiyama instead grabbed him by his waist, shoving her other arm under his knees in a princess carry.

  They vaulted out of the shaking property without a moment to spare.

  Her armored feet made a heavy sound as they slapped against the ruined frame of the window for leverage. Creating a thundering impact as the brick and wood broke apart. Todoroki’s head was jarred downwards by the unexpected immediate acceleration from near zero.

  The room and building crumbled away into pieces as they flew up into the sky, sending out a plume of dust that was soon joined by the rest of the damaged structures around him. Tōya covered his mouth and nose with his arm to stop himself from instinctively inhaling the nasty air.

  He felt weightless as they cleared several flights of stairs up into the smoldering sky. More buildings went down, creating a domino effect across the surrounding blocks. His ears rang with the sound of the falling properties. The blaring noise of the emergency vehicles wouldn't stop.

  I can't recognize the neighborhood anymore.

  Todoroki thought as he gazed at the clouded streets. Muffled voices of surprise and alarm could be heard before they were smothered by the fine particles in the air. When the dust settled, at the midway point of their ascent, the landscape looked more like isolated two story pillars of brick and wood with spatterings of hilly rubble.

  “...Talk about ‘going from bad to worse.’” Tōya murmured in Mirko’s arms.

  The Rabbit Hero whooped from adrenaline as they rushed downward from their wide arc, the wind buffeted their descent. The heels of her metal clad feet skidded down the length of a mound of fine rubble. Mirko bent her right knee so that she could turn at an angle and away from an exposed piece of rebar that stuck out in their direction on their way down. She leaned back so that she could get more surface area for the soles of her feet, killing their momentum to a standstill and kicking up dust in front.

  Usagiyama let him go, lowering her arms so that he could stand on his own. Tōya stepped back and turned away from her as he dusted himself off to take in his surroundings. It was a hellscape, he wouldn't think about the people who could have died from All For One’s lazy display of power.

  It wasn't worth the effort.

  “Mirko, do you see anyone?” He looked up at several helicopters in the distance. They were still unscathed due to All For One paying them no mind. Their spotlights were moving back and forth to find any victims within the rubble.

  “Yeah, I see Hound Dog, we must have gone further than I thought.” Usagiyama noted as she put a flat palmed hand above her eyes, taking stock of the damage.

  She whistled, impressed despite herself.

  “...Well I might believe you a tiny bit more, after this.”

  He swivelled to look at her in irritation, but his shoulders dropped as he noticed her playful tone contrasting the serious look in her face. Behind him the sky lit up in purple, he turned his head, farther away he could barely make out All For One. The grimy wind ruffled his bandages, the ones that covered his chest were barely undone.

  I could walk away, no one would blame me…

  His head tilted down as he closed his eyes. When he opened them anew, his gaze set on a dirty phone peeking out from under a piece of drywall. Squinting, he noticed that there was a set of fingers!

  Tōya’s knees quickly hit the ground, his hands dug into the debris to free the person buried under the surface. Mirko joined him, eagerly lifting the larger pieces of the rubble away from them. He expected to find a cooling dead body, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that the no name hero they dug out was breathing. He was unconscious but his breaths were shallow.

  There are more out there, aren't there? Is it my fault? No, no it wasn’t…

  “Looks like he just lost consciousness, I don't see any open wounds.” The tan hero said, she lifted the phone off of the ground, removing the caked dust with her gloved hand. The screen was mildly cracked, and it required a password, but it was perfectly serviceable. Whether it was good fortune or luck, the phone also accepted biometric authentication. Mirko placed the man’s thumb on the screen, her first try unlocked the device.

  It was already set to the Hero Network application.

  “Huh, I don’t recognize him but says here that his hero name is Spitfire.” She echoed out to the ruins around them. Her fingertips were moving at a rapid pace so that she could get to a specific page.

  “You’re not calling the dispatchers at the Hero Commission?” Todoroki probed behind her.

  Mirko shook her head, “nah, they’ll take too long and ask too many questions… A-ha!” The short hero pumped her fist up. ”This guy should have had this in a shortcut, but I guess calling in a code red won't look good for his record… sure beats getting sent six feet under though.” She shrugged at him, the large button on the cracked screen flashed with urgency, pressing down on it caused their surroundings to no longer be eerily quiet. Instead after one minute they could hear the beeping of several cell phones out around them.

  “...Are those all heroes?” Tōya questioned out loud as he stood up, that wasn't good.

  Mirko clicked her tongue in annoyance, “I’m not built for a rescue operation, and the guy out there is still wreaking havoc.” Her thumb was lifted up to her lips in agitation. She tapped her foot several times in thought, “The code red I just sent out will alert every hero in Tokyo and most of the outer prefectures. I doubt I’m the only one, It's usually used for catastrophes. Our location’ll be pinged to the Hero Safety Commission, help will be on the way.”

  “...But I won't be able to wait for it to get here.” Usagiyama held the cellphone limply until it rang, another voice came up on the speaker.

  “This is dispatcher Yumi with the Public Hero Safety Commission, This is the twelfth code red sent out in the last few minutes. How may I help you, Salvo Hero: Spitfire?” The crackling voice on the other end asked professionally.

  “ —Yeah this is Rabbit Hero: Mirko, Spitfire is down, I’m at the center of a critical level threat. I’d say the scale of destruction is on par with a Kaiju. It’s a man in his mid to late thirties, with red eyes. The guy is disguised in a police uniform with a matching cap. He is currently engaged with Hound Dog, and Snatch, His quirk threat scale is on par with All Might.”

  They could hear the rapid click clack of a keyboard as Mirko detailed their current predicament. Several voices could be heard in the background, most yelling status reports over one another. “We need All Might here ASAP.” She roughly spoke into the phone as if she were yelling at it.

  One beat and then two followed.

  “All Might is currently dealing with an estimated high double-digit simultaneous terrorist attack, trigger-bombs have been sited across Japan. The Hero Safety Commission has not been able to reach him.” The dispatcher’s tone was clipped with veiled anxiety. “Several top heroes are currently on route to your location.”

  “Hah!?” Usagiyama responded with an unintelligent sound.

  Tōya looked at his grimy hand and back to the burning city.

  “Mirko, I have a plan. It’ll only really work if we do this perfectly. Could you turn the phone to loudspeaker?” The malnourished boy’s gaze turned to her with an expression of dead calm. “Dispatcher Yumi? I know quirk use would normally get me jailed, but I think this case is an exception..."