100

Chapter 100: Cockroaches

A/N: Woohoo! It's chapter 100, everyone! I'll highlight this milestone by saying… the end is near! It's not really a secret, of course, if you've been checking. But I'm just bringing it up again for those of you not in the know. So, just prepare for that! Now, on to the actual chapter!

The liquified slush of earth surrounding them suddenly expanded, repelled outwards by the small device that rested at the phenomenon's center.

The absence of the liquid led to the group falling, their feet steadying to meeting the newly made floor. Of the group, one individual was a little more worse for wear than the others.

Honenuki didn't check on the other three behind when he fell to his knees, ripping his mask off his face as he gasped, what little oxygen that was in the air rushing into his lungs.

"Sorry about that!" Mei yelled from behind him, her voice echoing off the walls the small and artificial that they found themselves in. She reached into her bag, grabbing a spare mask and throwing it towards Honenuki. "Here, catch!"

Izuku caught the mask before it could hit Honenuki, the boy in no position to catch the device hurtling towards him.

"Mei!" Izuku scolded.

"What?" Mei asked, pulling out a rather bulky piece of equipment and beginning the process of calibrating it to her specifications. "I need to start this up soon, you know!"

"Ooh! Ooh ooh!" Toga exclaimed, leaning over Mei's shoulder. "Can I watch?!"

"Can you not?" Mei asked, unfazed. "I'm just turning some dials and flipping some switches. Nothing that would amuse you."

"But I want to!"

"Izuku! Get her off me!"

"Behave." Izuku yelled out.

"HA! Take that, psycho kidnapper bitch!" Mei exclaimed triumphantly.

Izuku rolled his eyes. "That means you too, Mei!"

"Hey!"

Izuku ignored the scuffle that suddenly erupted behind him; Mei was capable of defending herself, after all. Instead of interfering, Izuku made his way to Honenuki and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You alright?" Izuku asked, offering the mask in his hand.

Honenuki nodded slowly, rising to his feet and taking the mask from Izuku. Once he placed it onto his face, he inhaled a rather deep breath.

Once he was settled, Honenuki took the time to look straight at Izuku. "If I'm going to be honest, I still don't know why the heck I'm here, Midoriya. I really don't think I'm the right guy for this type of thing!"

Izuku's mouth drew a line. "Then why are you here then?"

Honenuki blinked. "Huh?"

"You could have left anytime you wanted," Izuku clarified. "I'm not forcing you to be here."

"Well, yeah, but…" Honenuki paused. "I guess… It's just… You and Tokage were just so earnest with your requests. I couldn't just say no!"

Izuku tilted his head forwards.

Honenuki sighed in thought. "And… the thought that we could do something, I guess. You weren't there when Gigantomachia… I couldn't let something like that happen again."

Izuku smirked. "Sounds like you belong here to me."

"Huh?"

Izuku wrapped an arm around Honenuki's shoulders. "Think of it like this: You're here, over five hundred feet below the Earth's surface, trapped in a miniscule chamber of air with a slightly unhinged bug controller, an overly eccentric inventor, and a psychotic girl with limitless bloodlust. You're the most normal out of all of us! And yet you're risking yourself, planting us deep in enemy territory, all because you want to stop a homicidal monster of untold proportions. Any normal person would've given up and left by now; but you haven't. If you ask me, you definitely belong here."

Honenuki narrowed his eyes, glancing over t Izuku. "Was that supposed to be… reassuring?"

Izuku grimaced. "Yes…?" He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Point is, you're a true hero for sticking with us. And you're quite brave for agreeing to swim us down hundreds of feet into the earth, knowing the chances that you wouldn't be able to handle it. You have nothing to feel anxious about — I approve of what I see."

"I… see…"

Izuku patted Honenuki in the back. "Great! Now…" He looked over at Mei and Toga. Their fight had ended a bit ago, Mei's taser leading for the other to back off. "You almost done, Mei?"

"Uh huh! Just need to stabilize this, calibrate that, focus this, and… Done!"

Izuku walked over, taking the device from Mei's hands and placing it up to his ears, clearing his throat before speaking into it. "Hello?"

-Who is this?-

"Platypus-phi mochi-zeta sigma-Vesuvius," Izuku responded back.

-Ha! Glad to see that the good Doctor wasn't lying about Shigaraki's Radio Waves. They're active, not passive. And that works in our favor-

"That they are, Manga. How's your team doing up there?"

-The team is still in position lying in wait. Todoroki and I are here just… lounging around I guess. We're hiding in some bushes though! Don't worry. Oh! And Spinner's doing surveillance from the treetops-

"Good, good. And… status on Jeanist?"

-E.T.A. Ten minutes, if Mei's tracker is right-

"What'd you say?!"

Izuku turned his body away from the irate inventor. "Good," he sighed in relief. "Plenty of time. Team #3?"

-Everything on the ground is good here- Momo answered. -I have the mortars ready with Traveler. And Pony's ready to lift Hawks and Aizawa-sensei into the air at your signal-

Izuku nodded. "Good. Just wait for orders then."

Nearly five hundred feet above him, Izuku began to act. Bugs began to survey the world up above, looking into every nook and cranny in the nondescript cabin within the woods.

As expected, the members of the League were in various states of relaxation inside the cabin. And, the seven remaining high ends lied in wait in the large barn across, motionless and isolated.

Izuku found his target on the second floor, lying in bed. He called forth his power. And struck.

The radio crackled to life once more. -You are ready for this, right, Midoriya?-

"Well, Aizawa-sensei," Izuku started, "considering where we are, it's either that or we all die."

Izuku took a second to fully take in the features of his new puppet. Prehensile tail, covered in a chitinous structure. Telescoping legs, up to five feet. Whiplike arms. Hmm… acidic saliva. And echolocation, since it seems as if his eyes are gone. And he could probably climb up a vertical surface considering his cla—

-I'm serious, Midoriya.- The crackle of Aizawa's voice interrupted. -We can still back off if you can't handle it-

Izuku willed Bombastic's body out of the room. Walking down the hall and down the stairs was relatively simple, especially since the others seemed to be keeping to themselves. The same went with target number two, who was alone in the kitchen. Perfect.

"We need to do this now. The longer they are out and about, the more time they have to build up their forces. All For One's ability to storm a prison solo isn't helping the situation."

-So you're admitting that you're out of your league, here.-

Task successful. Bombastic led Twice outside. Something about wanting to show him something. Izuku led the two some ways away, not stopping until they were at least out of the clearing and into the treeline.

"All For One isn't here," Izuku said. "He's busy halfway across the country looking for wherever the government is keeping Gigantomachia. And rather than bring the League, he's using all those prisoners that have begun to flock to him like a flock of sheep to the shepherd. That'll be his mistake."

-That's not what I meant, Midoriya. And you know it-

"No matter how similar they are, Shigaraki and All For One aren't the same. All For One is unattainable at the moment. But Shigaraki? I can reach him."

"Traveler," Izuku announced over the comms, interrupting Aizawa before he could continue. "It's time."

A flash of light and a pop made its way into the cramped and dark hole. Izuku looked over at Traveler and his upcoming passenger, taking care to look Toga directly in the eyes.

"Remember the deal," Izuku said. "Remember what I promised."

Toga merely grinned before she and Traveler were whisked away, five hundred feet above.

"Still don't think that it's a good idea trusting her," Mei called out.

"She'll follow through," Izuku muttered. "I hope."

Twice followed along willingly, letting Bombastic lead him off into the trees. He didn't exactly know what he was expecting. Knowing Twice, it could have been a wide variety of things.

But what he wasn't expecting was the big oaf to just be standing there, not making even a peep!

"So, what exactly is it that you wanted to show me?—Hurry up you damn brit!"

Bombastic shook his head. "W… Wa—wa...it. Waaitt."

Twice growled. "What do you mean 'wait?!'"

A flash. A pop.

Twice turned around, taking out his measuring tape to eviscerate whoever—

"Toga!?"

"Twicey!" Toga cheered, running over to hug Twice. "Hi!"

"You're here! How'd you escape?!—Get away from me, you freak!"

"Aww! I missed you too!"

Twice jerked his head upwards, eyeing that they weren't alone. "Who the heck is that other guy?—He looks like a cool dude!"

"Oh, he's just my transport," Toga explained, backing up. "Izuku and the others hired him."

"Oh, that's—WHAT?!

"Don't worry," Toga cheered. "He's fine!"

"Like hell he is—But of course! Gerry, get rid of him—Bombastic, keep him company!"

Bombastic turned towards Twice. "No."

"What do you mean 'no!'—I guess."

"Twice!" Toga exclaimed. "Just wait up for a second."

Twice halted himself, shutting his mouth shut and looking at the girl before him.

"Fine." Twice pouted, averting his gaze. "Explain."

"So?"

Izuku looked over to Mei. "So what?"

"What's she saying?" Mei exclaimed. "How's their talking going?"

Izuku shrugged his shoulders. "How should I know?"

Mei grabbed at his shoulders, shaking Izuku back and forth. "Are you not watching them with your bugs?! With that weird regenerator guy?!"

"I walked him over to Momo for sedation so Traveler can pop him over to Ashido later. I mean, I could have done it later, but… Well, Toga asked me to not listen in."

"That's stupid!" Mei yelled. "What if they're alerting the others?"

"She won't. You're underestimating the power of what an obsessed and mentally unstable girl would do for who she perceives as her true love." Izuku declared — a statement which left Mei as a stuttering mess.

"And," Izuku continued, "if anyone's going to get through to Twice, it's going to be her."

"And why exactly is that?" Honenuki interjected.

"Well—"

"No, nevermind," Honenuki interrupted. "I'm not going to try to understand some twisted and deranged girl. I have a better question: Tell me again why Togata-senpai isn't here?"

"Easy," Izuku said with a smile. "He's recuperating from his battle with Shigaraki."

Both Mei and Honenuki looked at Izuku.

"What?"

"You were more heavily injured than he was," Mei clarified. "He was out of the hospital before you."

"And yet here you are," Honenuki added,

"leading your second attack against a notorious and dangerous group of villains."

Izuku sighed. "Fine. It's because I have a plan. And I'm going to need Togata to be at his best when I initiate that plan."

"So what?" Mei asked. "You can't risk having him injured right now or something?"

Izuku nodded. "Yep. Because otherwise all of our efforts will have been for moot."

Mei scowled. "Not that's even more stupi—"

A flash. A pop. Izuku felt a figure crashing into him, tackling him to the ground.

"You better not be lying, punk!—You're the coolest! Your plan sounds wonderful!"

Izuku sensed it through the few bugs that had been in the air, released not long ago from where he'd been keeping them safe in his pack. Mei and Honenukli were rushing forward to intervene. He couldn't have that.

A dozen or so bugs each swarmed the duo's front, effectively stopping them in their tracks. They knew what the gesture meant. And with the time available to him, Izuku digested the words carefully. And both of the statements… sounded approving… He hoped.

"So… you agree to turning yourself in for now?" Izuku asked, peering up at the man straddling him. "You won't interfere with what we're about to do?"

"Yes! I didn't sign up for this—Of course you did!—Shut up! Didn't you see Machia's rampage! That was too many—Acceptable losses!—They weren't!" It wasn't long before Twice lifted himself off of Izuku, moving to argue with himself in the corner.

With a sigh, Izuku propped himself up. He nodded towards Traveler. "We should be good here. Head back to where Momo's stationed."

"Roger roger, bossman!"

Flash, pop, gone.

Izuku held his hand out. "Comms."

Mei dutifully handed over the bulky invention, but kept up an effort to ensure her eyes never left the present (ex?)villains.

Izuku placed the device up to his ear.

"Manga. Status on Jeanist."

"E.T.A. Two and a half minutes and counting."

Izuku smirked. "Perfect." He turned. "Honenuki."

The boy straightened out immediately. "Yes?"

Izuku pointed to a section of the wall. "It's time. I want you to start digging at an 80 degree angle until you get topside. You'll reach the barn. And then..."

Honenuki sighed. "And then I wait for Hawks and Aizawa-sensei to relay the position of the nomu."

Izuku narrowed his eyes.

Honenuki breathed in. "Don't overexert myself. I'll be tired already from swimming so much. Take down one or two max, and only when it's the ones that we've cemented were made for speed builds and likely won't be able to dig themselves out."

"And you don't need to place masks on them," Izuku added.

Honenuki gulped. "Because it doesn't matter if they die. Right. Because there's no saving them at this point. Right. Right."

Izuku nodded. "Good. Go."

Honenuki complied, striding over the wall and liquifying a good portion of it. The sludge began to pour into the room, but stopped once Honenuki had disappeared into the mix.

That done, Izuku put his ear up to the radio. "Team #3, prepare the barrage. Pony, start launch procedures."

The plan was set; the final step rearing to go. However, due to the severity of the situation and the final word on Izuku's order, it wasn't long before the radio crackled to life yet again.

-You know, I really really don't want to sound like Mr. Pirate Man over here. But honestly, you give me no choice! I can't help but worry! Are you sure that you can handle this?-

Izuku let out a light-hearted laugh. "I'll be fine, Set. Aside from his superhuman physiology, Shigaraki only has five quirks. His stabby things won't be a problem — neither will his Air Cannon. Regeneration is useless for what I'm planning. Radio Waves and Search both have to be activated manually, and he has no reason to think anyone — especially me — would be able to find him here. This'll be simple."

Izuku heard the girl huff over the comms. -Based off of what Ashido told me, last time didn't go all so great-

"I've been practicing."

-But that doesn't—

-Cut the dramatics, you two, sheesh!- Manga's voice interrupted. Jeanist is right above the cabin He needs to drop-

Well, here goes.

"We'll be fine. Remember, just follow what feels right, and we'll be fine."

The radio carried the voice to everyone's ears. -Emergency denim drop, coming right up-

Izuku smirked. "Start."

Touya Todoroki, or as he was much more publicly known as the villain Dabi, left his room in a mess. Half of it was burnt to a crisp, the rest a pile of shambles. It was a miracle that the cabin hadn't caught on fire.

As he left what was left of his room, Dabi looked over at the door to his left. Shigaraki was still in there, pulling himself back together and what not. All For One had left them alone hours ago, so that left him alone with the two idiots downstairs.

Except, when he made way to the kitchen (and he knew that Bombastic had gone down and hadn't been back up — his steps were quite loud, after all — he found the kitchen empty and the door leading to the outside swinging open in the wind.

He scowled, making his way up to the door. He took notice of the footsteps in the ground instantly, and begrudgingly set off to find his two wayward teammates.

It happened just as he began to pass the barn. He almost didn't hear the odd whirring sound up above before it was too late.

Almost, being the key word.

Fire flared up around him.

"Nomu! Shield!"

The barn exploded, shrapnel of wood flying every which way into the trees and some burning up in the raging fires.

Six high ends rushed out to defend one of their targets.

And thus the battle began in earnest.

Tomura Shigaraki sat still in his room. He was sitting upright in his bed, legs folded in and head leaning into his knees.

His ever-so present bodyguard laid forgotten, standing guard over someone who couldn't even acknowledge its existence. And even as said bodyguard began to move on its own, head jerking towards the sounds of explosions as the ground at its feet began to fade away — Shigaraki didn't move.

Shigaraki wasn't aware of the calls for aid from Dabi. Wasn't aware that two of his team had defected. Didn't realize the cacophony of sound emitted by the nomu just outside.

And then the roof found itself torn off, enormous cables ripping wood from wood. And high up in the air, Aizawa stared down with his one good eye.

The tingle that ran through Shigaraki's system, the complete and utter termination of his quirks from his senses, was the thing that finally riled him up from his mind.

But even as his eyes adjusted to the light, as his limbs began to move, as his mind began to catch up with his senses — he found himself falling, falling back ever so into the darkness of the abyss.

And down below, over five hundred feet below the surface within a miniscule space between the rock and dirt?

Even as the same endless void called for him, a smile found itself affixed to the face of Izuku Midoriya.

All the requirements had been met. He was in.

A/N: And I'm sure that some of you know where this is going next! All I can say is, prepare for a battle of wits!