102

Chapter 102: Drone

A/N: And here we are: another chapter closer to the end! This time around - the aftermath of the raid.

"So, umm… what exactly are we going to do with... these ones?"

"Simple. They're no longer human, and at the very least each one has slaughtered at minimal a few dozen. With their abilities, keeping them captive would be too much of a hassle and prove to be much too dangerous. Let's consider the teachings of my late master: the best and most humane option here would be extermination."

"Ha! Of course that'd be your answer, you fanatic! It'd be easy for you to say that, considering you're the one that left them as limbless, writhing torsos!"

"As I recall, young miss, you were fairly thorough in asking your friend to make a grenade for you, and then shoving said grenade and your whole left arm into one of the nomu's skulls. Through the eye socket, might I add."

"That was different! I killed that flying fucker in one hit! But you took your time with those three on the ground right there!"

"Does it even matter?"

"It does. They might not seem it now, but remember that they too were people in the past. They had jobs, ate food at restaurants, wore denim pants to and fro on a daily basis. It would be best to consider that, when discussing their fate."

"Hold on; we aren't really in the midst of battle, right? Aren't there proper protocols that we'd need to abide by regarding prisoners of war?"

"A valid point, Miss Yaoyorozu. Though… the Commission folks are usually the ones that would care for that. And… Well, they aren't in a position to enforce those rules at the moment. So I say it's a done deal."

"Hawks."

"What? Come on, Jeanist. You and I both know it."

"Oh! I could like... I don't know. Sink them into the ground for all of you?"

"They're already immobilized, bro. I'm sure that I could smack them with a good 'btooom' and the end result would be the same."

"Oh! Oh! I wouldn't mind keeping one for experimentation!"

…

"What? You all know that the crazy doctor's lab was destroyed due to dry-skin over there! And besides, it'll just be for the artificial quirk parts! And it can be a corpse if you all want! I just want to see if I could somehow make babies with simulated quirks!"

"No. And I'm telling Power Loader about your insane idea; he needs to watch out for early signs of your aspirations. Also, when we're done with this whole crisis, no lab for a whole week. And detention with me."

"But pirate-sensei!"

"That's a month now."

"NOOOOOOO!"

"Not in my ears, Hatsume!"

"I think we're straying away from the topic, don't you think?"

"Well, maybe if we just put it to a—"

A groan interrupted the conversation midway. All sense of ease dispelled from the air, every voice dropping off into silence as every single eye fell upon a single position.

Even with his eyes still closed and his mind still reviving itself from Shigaraki's headspace, Izuku knew that he was the cause of the sudden bout of tension in the air. Still, there wasn't much that he could do about it now — removing himself from Shigaraki's mindscape was finding itself to be a much more difficult process than Izuku had anticipated.

"Was…? Was that—!"

"Shit. What about Midoriya?"

"He… he's still unconscious! He hasn't woken up yet!"

The thoughts in Izuku's mind halted all at once. Wait… What?

"Jeanist!"

Izuku felt the tightly bound coil wrap around both his right and left arms — wait, I'm restrained? — grow even tighter.

"I'll try my best to hold him."

"I've got the eyedropper, Aizawa-sensei!"

"Keep it close, Tokage. Yaoyorozu—"

Shit! Need to get my mouth open! Need to know what's going on!

"Cannon ready, sensei!"

"Fukidashi!"

Come on…

"In the middle of trying to call Todoroki back! But the fucking reception—"

"Give me that! Use my receiver, you idiot!"

Aha!

"W—Wait! Just a second!"

Everyone's head all jerked at once, centering onto the same spot.

His eyelids were unnaturally heavy, but Izuku willed them open nonetheless. Aside from the various forms of the people he knew arming up for battle, the first thing he noticed was his hair. Wavy, silvery strands of hair.

With the ache of the chapped lips adorned on his face and the longer than usual spindly arms on his torso — plus the sight of his actual unconscious body (costume, green hair and all) being floated away via a good portion of Setsuna's limbs — the explanation came to him fairly easily.

An involuntary shiver raced through his body. "Oh. Poo."

"Shigaraki," Aizawa growled, eye flaring up with his quirk. "Move anything but your mouth and you're dead. Now, tell me: what happened to Midoriya? Why are you awake, and he isn't?"

Izuku gulped. "Umm…" Izuku mentally winced. "Let me explain." Great. I'm speaking with Shigaraki' voice too.

"Start talking," Aizawa snarled, teeth bared. "Now."

Izuku began to nod, but remembered Aizawa's wording. Just his mouth for now.

"Okay," Izuku breathed. "I know that it's going to sound crazy. But… I'm actually Izuku. I'm just in Shigaraki's body at the moment."

The blank stares and disbelieving glares were telling enough of what everyone felt of his statement.

"Yeah…" Izuku trailed off. "And I'd really appreciate it if you'd not blow up Shigaraki's body. He's still healing."

Aizawa scoffed. "And we're just supposed to… believe that you're telling the truth?"

"Come on," Izuku started, "Do you really think that the temperamental and unstable disintegration-inducing villain would have even an iota of quick thinking in this situation?"

The blank stares seemed to grow even steeper.

"Uhh… You can call Nezu!" Izuku proposed. "He'll verify for sure…" Izuku narrowed his eyes. "Or he'll purposefully say that I'm lying so he could sate his sadistic tendencies with watching the ensuing battle that would occur… Yeah, nevermind; don't do that."

Aizawa drummed his fingers across his side in thought. After a few seconds, he let out a minute hum. "Hatsume. Make the call."

Izuku's — that is, Shigaraki's — eyes widened in panic. "I—"

"No need!" A familiar pink blur zoomed towards their position.

"Hatsume!" Aizawa shouted. But it was all for naught; within a moment Mei was within arms reach of the Shigaraki's body.

"Hatsume! I'm ordering you to back away right now!" Aizawa ordered.

Mei didn't listen, instead inching her face closer and zooming in her perspective with her eyes.

"So… Big-dry-skin-meanie who claims that he's Izuku… What was baby number five-hundred and eighty-seven?"

Izuku blinked. And blinked again. I don't know that! That was what? Over five years ago?! Doesn't she know how many other things she's invented since then?!

"Well?" she asked, smile threatening to tear her face in two. The expression was unusually… unnerving from the girl.

"I— Uh…" Izuku gulped. 587? "Was that the cryo-splicer or the automatic basket weaver?"

"HA!" Mei shrilled, turning to face Aizawa. "See! That wasn't that hard!"

Mei turned back to Izuku, a beaming smile replacing the previous expression from earlier. "I'm not hugging you though. At least not while you're in—" she waved her fingers at him "—that."

"Not a problem," Izuku said, slowly rotating his head in order to look around at the others. "Just… can you all just make sure you don't overreact and launch any attacks?"

Izuku waited for a couple nods, and once he was satisfied in believing all threats to Shigaraki's body ceasing to be, Izuku acted. Within seconds, the body of Shigaraki fell limp, head swooning down against his body.

With the simple flick of a mental switch, Izuku found his consciousness leaving the body of Shigaraki behind and slowly trailing its way back into his own.

The second that Izuku's mind was back into place, Izuku shot up into the waking world. The abrupt movement had the unfortunate result of startling Setsuna, the girl yelping and dropping Izuku to the ground.

"Ow."

"Shoot!" Setsuna screamed, hovering over Izuku. "I didn't mean to drop you. You okay?!"

Setsuna lowered herself down, holding her remaining arm out and aiding in Izuku pulling himself off the ground.

Izuku groaned as he got back fully on his own two feet, a bit of nausea reeling him in from doing anything to overt. "Ugh, I'm fine… Okay, will be fine. Just a bit dizzy. That was… different than I was expecting."

"Izuku!" Manga exclaimed, walking over and pulling Izuku down to ruffle his hair. "You scared me there for a second! I thought that I was going to have to fight Shigaraki for a second!"

"Yeah, sorry. Not exactly what I intended to do."

"What exactly was that?" Momo asked as she approached. "As far as I'm aware your… 'body snatching' abilities haven't been so… robust and precise."

"Just something I've been keeping up my sleeve," Izuku said. "But enough about that. How are we doing on the police front of things?"

"We have them off our backs," Hawks replied with a laugh, his own voice relaying the information rather than that text-to-speech program from before. "Seeing as how busy the Commissioner is with everything happening back in the cities, he took our word that Jeanist and I would be leading a "super secret squad of heroes" to take out Shigaraki.

Hawks walked forward, slapping Izuku in the back. "Only reason he allowed it without much hassle was the fact that you'd be partaking in the raid."

Manga raised his hand.

Hawks nodded. "Yeah, kid?"

"What's going to happen when he finds out that by 'secret squad,' you meant a bunch of children, a couple of technically-ex-villains, and, no offense: a few should-still-be-on-bedrest pros?"

Hawks let out a full-blown chuckle, his hand moving towards his sides as some of his injuries began acting up as a result. "Let me deal with the fallout when it comes around. You won't have to worry about it."

"And before you ask," Spinner began, keeping his gaze on his blade as he sharpened it, "that Dabi fellow took quite a beating from us. I really must commend… What was his name again? Shoto Todoroki?"

Izuku nodded.

Spinner smirked. "Right. He has potential; somebody just needs to curb that personality of his and we'll be golden."

"Oh?" Momo called out. "And what exactly about Todoroki is it that you deem 'wrong?'"

Spinner waved a dismissive hand. "Not trying to start an argument; so I won't answer that. Point is, your half-n-half friend and the teleporter are dealing with Dabi and the others in the cells under the school as we speak. All in all, mission success now that you're confirmed alright."

"Then… it sounds like everything went to plan!" Izuku all but shouted, obvious relief in his voice. He went and turned to the person responsible for restraining Shigaraki.

"Jeanist, you can probably relinquish your control for now. If everything continues as is we shouldn't even need to—"

"Hold on!" Spinner interrupted, holding his sword out and pointing at Izuku.

Before anyone could react crudely, Spinner slowly moved his arm, pointing his sword at the three limbless nomus on the ground, not making a peep or moving a muscle, but very obviously still 'alive.'

"Midoriya," Spinner announced. "I wish for your opinion."

"Oh, right," Izuku sighed. "Almost forgot about those." He looked to Spinner. "And you didn't just outright kill them because…?"

Spinner crossed his arms. "A bit hard to do when you have three of them on you all at the same time. And before you ask, I ask you this because your opinion is the only one here other than my own that I would even think of considering. It helps that you, too, have partaken in the killing of these creatures before."

"Hey now! That's not fai—"

"No,' Izuku interrupted. "It's fine, Setsuna." Izuku walked forward, kneeling a bit away from the incapacitated nomu. He eyed them for a good while, mind racing of what to do.

After a minute, Izuku stood up, making his way before Spinner.

"Well?"

Izuku sighed. "I… can't say that I have an actual answer for you, Spinner. All of the lives that I've taken… It'd be a lie if I said their lives and deaths were out of my control. Even with people that I didn't want to kill but had to… I don't have the right to bear the judgement of life or death. So… I'll let you decide."

"Hmm," Spinner hummed. "Well said. Very well said. As expected, from one of your stature." Spinner turned, readying his blade. "Then I shall provide a swift death to these miserable beings."

Izuku turned away, not exactly seeing the need to watch the incoming carnage. The others seemed unperturbed, knowing that the decision on the nomus would have been a difficult one regardless.

"Are you sure, Midoriya?" Jeanist asked. "I'm able to keep him restrained during the transport if needed."

"No, no," Izuku countered. "I've got him. You can get rid of the restraints."

Jeanist, although hesitantly, complied with Izuku's wishes. The coils surrounding Shigaraki rescinded, leaving an unmoving Shigaraki left to sit on the ground.

Taking in a breath, Izuku craned his neck from side to side before imbuing his control.

Shigaraki stood, that much was simple. But at the same time Izuku instantly let out a shaky breath, legs waving as he held Shigaraki under his power."

"Midoriya," Aizawa called out. "Don't force yourself if you can't handle it!"

"I can handle it, sensei!" Izuku retorted. "Promise! It just… needs a bit getting used to. The energy strain is a lot more severe with him. Makes sense, all things considered."

After a few moments of ensuring his familiarity with the senses and control that came with puppeting Shigaraki's body, Izuku nodded to himself in approval.

"Alright. I'm good to go. Traveler?"

"Any moment now," Mei responded.

As if summoned, the telltale signs of Traveler's arrival field the clearing.

"Great!" the teleporter cheered. "Mission success! Let's all head on back to base, eh?"

Their arrival was relatively uneventful. All the checks were cleared, and all that was left was to transport Shigaraki to his cell.

Of course, the others insisted on a collar going around Shigaraki's neck — no matter how truly useless the gesture was. Everyone knew that, of course. It was mostly for watching the vitals that the others wanted the collar on.

Izuku only hoped that his… unique method of problem solving would prove to be long lasting. It was a risk in itself bringing Shigaraki of all people under U.A. of all places. If he'd rampage and break out of containment…

Izuku could only trust that Shigaraki would stay sedated. Which was the reason that Izuku had Traveler — and only Traveler — with him on the trip of escorting Shigaraki to his cell.

"So… Traveler."

The man looked to the boy by his side. "Yes, Midoriya? Question?"

"Hmm… Sort of. I have something that I want to talk to you about."

Traveler quirked an eyebrow in thought. With somebody less… extreme or in any other situation, Traveler would have responded with his usual eccentric nature. But his time with Midoriya and… Nezu really had him on edge around the two.

"And that is…" Traverse asked carefully.

"Later," Izuku emphasized. "We'll talk later. As for now… I hope you don't mind if I take a quick detour."

Traveler took a moment to configure his mental map of the complex in his head to decipher their exact route. "Ah, I see. Speak to them as you wish. I'll stand by at the ready."

It wasn't long before Izuku found himself before another cell, it's viewing mirror shrouded in a blur. Izuku tinkered around with a few buttons on the security system before activating the one-way mirror of said cell, revealing its occupants.

Toga had been moved to her insistence. Now, she was in a co-ed cell with Twice. The two were nearly inseparable the moment they had left Shigaraki to his faith; after all, the two of them were in deep now — really good friends or not.

A flick of a bug and the microphone into the cell awakened. "Hey you two."

"OH!" Toga cheered, jumping in joy and pressing her face against the glass despite not being able to see through it. "Izuku! You made it!"

"Great! Good to hear it!—Took you long enough, you brat!"

"Yep," Izuku responded. "Now look, I'm going to bring down the perception field on the glass, okay? I want to show you something."

"Oh oh oh?! What is it? A puppy? A bloody corpse covered in blood? Oh! Are your clothes in shreds and blood is oozing down a multitude of cuts?"

Izuku ignored the tirade, opting instead to do as he planned, allowing the inhabitants of the cell to see through the other side.

"Oh!" Toga cheered with glee. "It's Shigaraki! You really did it!"

"Somehow, he looks worse than when we left him—Hahaha! Yeah! You deserve it, punk!"

Suddenly, Izuku found Taylor form manifesting just over Toga, eyeing the girl's form pressed against the glass with unease."

"You know," Taylor began, "this girl reminds me too much of Bonesaw. You know, that girl from the S9 that I talked to you about. It's probably not a great idea to continue with this whole… reward-based relationship you two have. Having a psychotic murderous girl at your beck and call who'd do anything to please you isn't exactly something you should be striving for."

Izuu sighed. "You think I don't know that already?"

Toga cocked her head. "What was that, Zuzu?"

Izuku shook his head, banishing Taylor from his sight. "Nothing. Just… Well, I just wanted to let you two know that I kept to the next part of my promise to you two."

"Oh, c'mon 'Zuku! I already knew that you would have followed through! You're you, after all!"

"She does have a point—As if!... Okay, well maybe."

"So what's next, huh?" Toga questioned, backing a little away from the glass. "Mind telling me?"

Izuku smirked. "Well—"

"Midoriya!" Izuku paused at the interruption, turning his head to the side to spot a familiar incoming figure.

"Kaniko?" Izuku asked.

Kaniko took a breath as she rested before Izuku, taking a moment to wipe a bead of sweat off her forehead. "Fwooh! There you are, you little troublemaker! You have no idea how much you owe me!"

Kaniko… never looked this worried. Izuku was almost hesitant to ask. "Why?"

"Well," Kaniko enunciated, craning her neck downwards at Izuku, "You should know that your mother has been pestering me for the past hour about your whereabouts. She wants to talk to you about something."

"Oh," Izuku muttered. "Drat. That's… hmm."

Kaniko shook her head, "Uh huh. Best you hurry it up down here!"

"Right!: Izuku paused, remembering his other objective. "But, um…"

Kaniko took a glance at the menacing figure besides Izuku, suppressing her own shiver at the sight.

"Yeah, fine. You deal with… him, first." She narrowed her eyes as she glanced at Shigaraki.

"I'll just… follow you until you're ready."

A/N: And there we are. Not much to say this time around, so… Have a nice rest of the week!