Chapter 88
"We need to get out of here," asserted Izuku, his expression and tone hardening as he added, "If this is a legitimate emergency, we need to do what we can to assist. Toshi–All Might might be unbeatable in a fight, but if the enemy takes a hostage, he wouldn't be able to move freely."
Blinking several times, Melissa asked, "You don't think...someone took over I-Island's security system and is using it to hold everyone hostage, do you? While not impossible, the system would have detected them long before they reached the control center...unless..."
"Unless there was a traitor..." finished Izuku. "But the only way to know for certain is to escape this place and uncover the truth. Either way, as tantalizing as the notion of being trapped with you is, it isn't in my nature to sit around and wait for help to arrive."
As he spoke to Melissa, Izuku began emitting Blackwhip from his body, first spreading it to the floor, walls, and then the ceiling as he added, "I trust in your abilities, but, as an extra precaution, I will block the flow of any foam. Do your best, Melissa."
Though he nearly added that the fates of everyone in I-Island may hinge upon her success, Izuku figured Melissa could do without the additional pressure. For all he knew, this was a false alarm. However, based on how quickly everyone in his Party was moving around, something Izuku could track thanks to his system's proximity function, he was pretty sure it was legitimate...
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"You dastardly fiends..." growled Toshinori, his usual smile missing from his face as he glowered at a trenchcoat-wearing man with auburn brown hair and a mask made from metal.
Though his body was bound in a special, energy-based binding, much like the other Heroes at the reception, Toshinori was the only one still upright, perfectly capable of breaking free but choosing not to since the masked assailant and his cronies had taken everyone at the banquet hostage with guns.
Aiming his pistol at Toshinori's face, the masked man mused, "Calling me a fiend? You're going to hurt my feelings. How about you just remain quiet, Mr. Number One Hero? That is, unless you want to see these good people riddled with bullets...?"
Punctuating his words, the masked man fired his pistol. However, instead of impacting Toshinori's forehead, the bullet curved, hitting the wall a few meters behind him. Others might not have noticed, but with his enhanced perception, Toshinori witnessed the metal slug changing trajectories mid-flight, even though there wasn't a draft within the hall.
Half-turning but still keeping Toshinori in his periphery, the masked man addressed the hall, stating, "So long as everyone behaves like good little boys and girls, I can assure you no harm will befall any of you. We didn't come here to occupy the city or to send a message to the world. Once our objective has been achieved, we will leave without a fuss, and you can all return to your privileged little lives. Nice and simple, no?"
Holstering his pistol, the masked man tapped on his notably 'futuristic-looking' headpiece, listening to what the person on the other side had to say before responding, "Understood." Then, with a serious expression, he looked around the banquet hall, eventually focusing his steely brown eyes on a fat man with a fading hairline.
"You, you're a researcher here, right?" asked the masked man. "Samuel Abraham, if my information is correct."
Before Samuel could respond, David caused Toshinori to scream internally, rising to his feet to ask, "What do you and your men want with my assistant?"
"Oh?" uttered the masked man, turning to face David with a broad smile as he remarked, "Well, if it isn't the famous David Shield. Excellent. Both you 'and' your little assistant are coming with us.
Furrowing his brows, David asked, "And if I refuse...?" in a firm, defiant tone.
Exhaling a tittering scoff, the smile faded from the masked man's face as he replied, "Then you're not half as intelligent as people say you are. We currently have this entire island under our control. What makes you think you have the 'right' to refuse?"
Unable to refute the man's words, David remained silent, looking at Sam with concern before shifting his gaze to Toshinori, hoping the latter had a solution. Unfortunately, while Toshinori was perfectly capable of bodying everyone present, doing so would cause the robots throughout the city to attack its citizens. They might not resort to deadly force, but there was no way to guarantee an elderly person or a child wouldn't sustain grave, life-threatening injuries...
Seeing that not even Toshinori had a solution, David exhaled a weary sigh, his face appearing to age quite a bit as he turned to the masked man and expressed, "I will cooperate..." in a somber, defeated tone.
"Good," replied the masked man, regaining a sinister smile as he added, "No need to look so glum. As I stated previously, once our objective has been completed, all these fine people will be free to go. By cooperating with us, you're helping to guarantee the safety of everyone on the island. It's a good thing."
Without waiting for David to respond, the masked man gestured to two of his masked, gun-wielding goons, ordering, "Bind their hands and blindfold them. We're heading out."
As the two men did as they were instructed, their masked leader took one last look at Toshinori, swallowing hard. Even while bound, Toshinori gave off a dangerous aura, enough to compel the masked man to do everything by the books. He would normally shoot one of the lower-priority hostages to keep the rest in line, but if he did that in this situation, the masked man had no doubt Toshinori would leap into action...
With David and Sam bound and blindfolded, the masked man's expression hardened as he backed out of the room with his escort, waiting until the very last moment to turn around and mutter, "Weakened my ass..." under his breath...
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Though she managed to avoid triggering the elevator's anti-tampering measures, Melissa visibly deflated after a few minutes, her expression apologetic as she said, "Sorry, Izuku, but without the proper tools, I don't think I can get us out..."
Shaking his head, Izuku assured, "It's okay, Melissa. I just wanted to try a less forceful approach before resorting to more 'extreme' measures. Now, stand behind me..."
Doing as Izuku instructed, Melissa stood behind him, her body tensing up when he surrounded her in a cacoon of Blackwhip. Then, using one of his re-rolls, Izuku redistributed his stats to be more combat-oriented before squaring his feet into a basic karate stance.
Inhaling a deep breath, Izuku's expression hardened into a resolute look, fully prepared to sacrifice his left arm as he struck out with One-for-All with a burst Strength of 26,000. This was nearly twice his usual limit, but he was confident he could endure it since the original 'Deku' was able to throw out full-powered punches without his arm literally exploding. It was just going to hurt...a lot...
With Izuku's punch packing more than 1,040,000,000 Newtons of force across the surface area of a single fist, the reinforced, multi-layer doors of the elevator didn't stand a chance. They might have if his blow was an ordinary one, but with One-for-All allowing its users to convert kinetic energy into directional shockwaves, the doors buckled outward violently, creating a gaping hole as panels within the floor, ceiling, and walls of the elevator slid open, attempting to fill it with aero-foam concrete.
Reacting quickly, Izuku pulled himself and Melissa out of the elevator before the foam could encompass them, hissing in pain as he habitually caught the disoriented blonde in his arms.
Recovering from her stupor in an instant, Melissa's eyes widened to their limits as she exclaimed, "Your arm...!" in shock.
Borrowing a line from a very dated comedy skit, Izuku forced a smile in spite of the cold sweat breaking out across his body, musing, "Tis but a flesh wound..."
Since holding her up was causing him immense pain, Izuku set Melissa on her feet, willfully avoiding glancing at his nearly purple arm, visible due to his costume practically exploding. Blood trickled from his ruined knuckles, but because he had strengthened his bones with Blackwhip, he could still move his fingers and bend his elbow. It just hurt like hell.
Looking between Izuku's arm and the pained smile on his face, Melissa adopted a frown as she said, "We need to get back to my room. The ID System is offline during High-Alert Mode, but we can move up and down the tower using the emergency stairs. You'll just need to knock down two more doors, preferably without destroying your limbs..."
Though he regretted it immediately, Izuku raised his left hand, wiggling his fingers as he asserted, "It's not as bad as it looks. In fact, if I rest for a few hours, it'll be back to normal. No problem."
As he had experimented by gouging out a piece of his forearm in the past, Izuku knew he would heal from virtually any wound so long as his Vitality recovered. With his 'base' Vitality being 5120, thanks to his re-roll, he just needed to sleep or relax in a hot bath for an hour or two, and he'd be back to 100%.
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Name: [Izuku Midoriya]
Title: Telania's Champion(Luck +500)
Quirk: Digitalization, Transfer, Stockpiling, Singularity, Gearshift(sealed), Fa Jin(sealed), Danger Sense(sealed), Blackwhip, Smokescreen(sealed), Float(sealed)
Current Level: 44 (45,236,421 EXP)
Effective Level: 89
[Attributes]
Strength: 10(100)
Agility: 10(100)
Vitality: 256(5000)->208(4160)
Intelligence: 100
Dexterity: 100(1000)->90(900)
Luck: 500
Free Attributes: 0
Rerolls Available: 95
[Perks]
[Lesser Regeneration], [Healthy Body], [Sharp Mind], [Eidetic Memory], [Nimble Fingers], [Keen Senses], [Lucky], [Intuition], [Tripping]
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Furrowing her brows even further, Melissa insisted, "Even so, we should head to my room as quickly as possible. I should be able to contact my father once I get my watch, and there are some Support Items and tools that should prove useful if this is an actual emergency."
"Sounds good," replied Izuku, lowering his hand and balling it into a fist to avoid being unable to do so once his fingers swelled. Then, with Melissa providing directions from behind, they cautiously entered the emergency stairwell and began their ascent. Fortunately, they only had to go up ten flights to reach her room on the 72nd Floor. Melissa wasn't accustomed to prolonged and intense physical activity, so even though she had boosted her Strength, Agility, and Vitality, she was completely winded by the time they reached the landing of the floor she lived on. It didn't help that she had to run barefoot on the cold hard floor, causing the soles of her feet to cry out in protest as she compelled herself to keep running...
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While Izuku and Melissa were still stuck in the elevator, the students of Class 1-A, at least those planning to attend the reception, were gathered at their rendezvous point with serious looks on their faces.
Wearing a predominately blue suit with a golden tie, Ida attempted to be the voice of reason, firmly asserting, "We should stay here and obey the instructions of the I-Island Security System. Venturing out when we lack a complete understanding of the situation will only imperil ourselves and others."
Though she would ordinarily agree with Ida's reasoning, Momo and the other girls present could see Toshinori's reduced Agility and unchanging location. It was obvious to them that something was very wrong with the present situation, so Momo's expression was uncharacteristically severe as she urged, "We are students of Class 1-A, training to become Heroes. We can't just sit here and wait when there's a possibility that people need our help!"
Furrowing his brows deeply, Ida replied, "While I agree with you on the merits of your statement, the fact is that we're students, 'not' Heroes. I-Island is also outside the jurisdiction of the Hero's Association of Japan, so we have no grounds to take action. As the Representative of Class 1-A, please think rationally, Yaoyorozu-san."
Clenching her teeth, Momo felt the urge to slap someone for the first time in her life. Instead, she turned the tables against Ida, expressing, "I'll take full responsibility and relinquish my post if we are held accountable. Until then, I am in command of the Class, just as we rehearsed during the final exam. Do you object?"
Pushing up his glasses, Ida replied, "If you have resolved yourself to be held accountable, I will follow your orders."
With Ida being the only voice of dissent/reason among those gathered, everyone else quickly fell in line when Momo took control of the situation. Thus, after changing into simplified versions of their Hero Costumes, provided by Momo, they gradually made their way to the reception hall to investigate the situation...
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(A/N: One puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunch~!)