Bond Between Rivals

"Mikey, let's finish this." Alyx's voice echoed.

"I'm way ahead of you, Leonidus."

The boys darted towards Armstrong with blazing speed, launching a hellacious assault of fists on him. A huge ball of light burst from Mikey's palm, exploding in Armstrong's face. Alyx thundered through the smoke, his blade held high, flames ignited from the tip of it.

"𝘏𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘒𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘢, 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘢𝘻𝘦." Leonidus thought.

Alyx slashed forward, Armstrong looked at him with confusion as he didn't see the hit connect.

"You can't hit me from that range? Pathe-" Armstrong smirked.

He recoiled backwards, circuitry and oil spilling out from the deep cut in his chest. Armstrong looked down at his chest, his vision became blurry, his entire body began to shake. He screamed out as he began to overheat, knocking Leonidus back down to the ground next to Mikey.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU BO-" He roared.

Mikey and Alyx appeared in front of him before he could enter his final state, both of them slamming their fists into his stomach. Chasing after him as he flew through multiple buildings. Mikey elbowed Armstrong in the face, Leonidus flipped over his back, delivering a kick into Armstrong's chest. Langlitz detonated a gigantic ball of light in Armstrong's face, the light covered the entirety of Las Vegas! Armstrong laid in a huge crater, convulsing and coughing as he stared up at the sky, holding on to the shreds of life he had left. Star and Stripe watched as her students quickly took control of the situation. Mikey and Alyx walked into Armstrong's view, he began whimpering as the two looked at each other.

"You really thought we'd let you use your full power? What are we? Idiotic heroes?" Mikey scoffed.

Leonidus remained silent as he stared at Armstrong, "Hey, Alyx, let's finish this fuckface off."

"With pleasure."

Alyx and Mikey simultaneously lifted their arms up, Armstrong's eyes read their next attack, causing him to short circuit. The two ran down millions of fist, faster than what the eye could see! Armstrong's body was like a pinball, bouncing around as fists pelted him from every direction possible and impossible! After the onslaught ended, Armstrong was nothing but metal scrap, the boys reverted out of their Quirks. Leonidus fell to one knee after they climbed out of the crater.

"You did it! You freakin' did it!" Karson exulted.

Mikey helped Alyx up to his feet, he smiled and laughed as Karson and Sheyenne ran over to them. Star and Stripe walked over to them with Joshua in her clutches, Alyx gasped as he saw Joshua's wound, he quickly mustered up his remaining Overdrive to heal him. The people of Las Vegas slowly made their way back home as Pro Heroes deemed the town safe. Leonidus stood in front of hundreds of people as they thanked him, he saw Laura in the distance, smiling at him.

"You did it, you did it, Aly." She told him.

Alyx smiled back at her as she disappeared behind another citizen.

[Later that Evening...]

Leonidus sat on top of a building him and Laura used to gaze out towards the city. He rested his chin on his knees as the reconstructed city burst with life once more.

"Reminiscing, I see?" Star and Stripe spoke up.

Alyx looked behind him to see Mikey standing with her, "Oh, Star and Stripe, I didn't see you there."

"You don't have to call me that anymore, Alyx. You can call me Cathleen, you know, I'd prefer it honestly."

"Huh? Why's that? I do it out of respect, it's kinda weird not to. That's like calling my mom by her real name."

She sat down next to him, "Because what you did today proved to me that you're more than just a hero. When I looked at you in the past, I saw a boy wanting to get better, a boy simply wanting revenge on his own Grandmother. But now... I see a symbol of hope, peace, and most importantly, kindness. You've grown so much in so little time, I couldn't be any more proud of you, Alyx. You've finally gotten what you've been searching for, redemption."

Cathleen's words sunk into Alyx's mind. He remembered all of the training, all of the days he wanted to give up, everything that's happened to him up to this point.

"𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓! 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍!" He told Star and Stripe.

"𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒕, 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖? 𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒂 𝒃𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆..." Mikey sighed.

Star and Stripe helped him up to his feet, "𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝑰'𝒎 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍, 𝑴𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒚."

Alyx's lip quivered as he finally understood what she had meant. Tears began to fall down his face as he remembered everything.

"I always thought I was weak... That my Quirks weren't good enough... But it was you guys who helped me! Please, forgive me for not seeing this before! Thank you... Thank you so much for shaping me into the person I am today!" Alyx bawled.

"You've truly shaped yourself, Alyx. As of today, you two are no longer my students, but allies, my friends, 𝘮𝘺 heroes. Thank you both, I mean that."

Leonidus hugged her as he sobbed with tears of joy, Cathleen started to tear up as she hugged him. Mikey stood there, not paying attention to them, Cathleen looked up at him. He looked over at the two, rolling his eyes as he walked over.

"Alright, fine, hang on." He sighed.

Mikey joined in on the hug, the three sat together as fireworks lit up the sky.

"I'm gonna miss you guys." Alyx sniffled.

"We aren't far, you know? We'll always be with you, Leonidus, that much I can promise you."

Cathleen glanced over at him, smiling to herself as she realized how much he's changed as well. After a while of looking at the fireworks, both of her sides felt heavier, she saw that the two boys were fast asleep. Cathleen chuckled lightly as she stood up with them.

"New Order, take us home, please." She ordered.

The three disappeared from the rooftop, Cathleen reappeared in her home, walking into the guest room of her home. She gently tucked them into bed, before she left the room, she smiled at them.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘴. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶." Cathleen thought.

Cathleen quietly closed the door, she walked out onto her balcony, white light suddenly appeared next to her. She looked over and was surprised to see who was standing in front of her.

"Darren...? I thought you were..." Cathleen puzzled.

"I am, but I can leave the Plane for a few minutes at a time. I just wanted to say thank you. You didn't have to take my son in as your student, I don't think I could ever repay-" Darren thanked her.

"You don't need to repay me anything, all I ask is that your son stays safe. I should be the one saying that!"

"I guess so!"

As the morning came, Leonidus had hung out with his friends while trying to answer as many questions as possible.

"Are you dating anyone, Alyx?" Joshua nudged.

"Oh, yeah, I am! I was gonna tell you guys about that yesterday."

Karson stirred his drink around, "How many?"

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"Yeah man, how many girls are you bang-"

Sheyenne smacked the back of his head and began to curse him out in Spanish. Mikey looked over at Alyx as Karson tried to prevent Sheyenne from beating Joshua.

"They're like mother and son, what the fuck. I don't think I've ever seen her not try and beat the shit out of him." Mikey noted.

"Yeah, I kinda forgot about that." Alyx replied.

The group of friends walked around Las Vegas until nightfall came, Leonidus had to return back home to Japan.

"You better come back and visit, you hear me, Alyx?" Sheyenne nagged.

"I will! I promise! Thank you guys for helping me, by the way. I wouldn't have been able to defeat Armstrong without your help." Alyx nodded.

"What do you mean? We barely put a dent in that guy!" Joshua exclaimed.

"I'm saying you've all helped me grow in some way, those experiences have helped shape me into who I am today. I won't take them for granted, ever!" Leonidus explained.

Karson started to tear up, "Oh, stop it, I'm gonna cry!"

They all hugged him except for Mikey, who stood away from the group, Leonidus looked over at him. His friends stopped hugging him and he walked over to Mikey.

"Hey, thank you for everything, Mikey. If this is the last time we see each other, take care of them for me, okay?" Leonidus spoke gently.

"You say that as if you're gonna die soon."

"Well, I dunno! Life kinda flows against me, I could die right now if it wanted me to! I guess that's because of who I am, huh?"

Mikey looked at him and sighed, he put one arm around Alyx, pulling him in for a hug.

"I don't wanna hear that you up and died anytime soon, got it? The last thing I want on my mind is having to carry your casket."

Leonidus chuckled as he hugged him back, "You might wanna study up on your Japanese just in case."

He stepped away from Mikey, activating his Overdrive in the process, Alyx looked back at his friends and smiled one more time.

"Hey! What was that you used back there anyway?" Mikey wondered.

"Oh, that? I honestly don't really know! But it kicked his ass though!"

Mikey smirked at him before nodding him off. Alyx waved as he took off into the sky.

"Why didn't he just take a plane?" Karson asked.

"He's pretty fast from what I heard. Why fly in a plane when you're essentially your own plane?" Joshua responded.

Leonidus flew across the Pacific Ocean to head back home to Japan. As he graced the Japan shoreline, he noticed that the air felt different, almost as if there was a sense of peace there for the first time in a while. Citizens looked up into the sky as Alyx cruised past them.

"Looks like that Leonidus kid is back! Hear what he did in America?" A man remarked.

Leonidus made his way towards his Mother's home, he stopped in his tracks as he waved at a familiar sushi shop owner.

"Hey, Mr. Kageyama!" Leonidus greeted.

"Alyx, my boy! I heard what you did in the States, quite remarkable, I shouldn't be surprised that a nasty ole' villain couldn't stand up to you."

"Well, with my friends, it was somewhat easier. Word travels super fast I see! How late are you open today?"

"For you or for the public?"

Alyx laughed as he levitated up into the air, "I'll be back around the usual time, Mr. Kageyama! Make sure Bakugo's food is as spicy as last time!"

Mr. Kageyama nodded and waved at Leonidus as he took off. He blew past Hawks and Endeavor who just so happened to be patrolling. Hawks looked over at Endeavor with an offended look on his face.

"You never told me that kid was 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 fast."

"Oh, was I supposed to? I figured you would've been able to given there's articles about him already."

Hawks pulled his phone out, "Huh?! What the hell? He's voted Pro Hero Official's 'Fastest Man Alive'? How'd he even get nominated?"

Leonidus spotted his Mother outside in her garden as Liz played in the yard behind her. Liz looked up into the sky, she started hopping up and down with excitement.

"Momma! Momma! Aly's here! Look, look!" Liz chirped.

Alyx landed down on the ground in front of Liz, he knelt down and she gave him a hug.

"Heya, kiddo! It's been a while, have you been helping Mom out?" Leonidus beamed.

"Uh huh! I've been helping Mommy out lots! Especially in her garden!"

Marie kissed her son on his forehead, "I'm glad you're alright, Cathleen called me last night to tell me everything that happened. Sounds like you're one step away from doing something you're father hasn't."

"Gear Six? That'll be pretty hard to do!"

Liz slid off of Alyx and ran off back towards her sandbox. Marie's expression changed to one of worry.

"Your father's grave was dug up last night." Marie informed him.

"What? By who?"

"The police came over this morning to tell me that. His body is gone, there's not a single trace of anyone being there. Whoever did it covered their tracks or..."

"Mom, if it's him," Alyx sternly spoke, "I'll finish what Dad started. That much I can promise you."

Marie hugged her son, "He's dangerous, if it was him, be careful."

"I will, Mom. I should head back now, I'll keep in touch, I'll also keep an eye out around the house too."

Leonidus waved goodbye to her and Liz, he flew back towards U.A. High. After a few minutes of flying, he landed down at the dorms, he walked through the doors to see everyone lounging around.

"Yo, dude." Kaminari yawned.

"Geez, you guys look worse for wear! What happened?"

"We fought a crazy powerful Villain and his sidekicks, what about you?" Jiro answered.

Alyx took his hoodie off, "Me? I fought a cyborg with infinite energy alongside it's army of robots and almost had one of my friends die. Oh! I can go into Gear Five now, too, I think? Hang on, let me see..."

"Alyx, please for the love of God-" Iida begged.

His Overdrive exploded outward once again, revealing his thought to be true, he entered Gear Five during his fight with Armstrong.

"Awesome." Jiro responded.

Leonidus pressed his watch to put on his hero costume. Everyone sat up wondering where he was going.

"Alyx? You just got here!" Mina exclaimed.

"I know, I just gotta talk to All Might about something, that's all."

As he smiled, everyone froze as a wave of death filled the room, Yaoyorozu walked downstairs and nearly dropped her cup of tea. Alyx left the dorms and headed towards U.A., his smile was gone, all that was left was one of dreadful intent. He shortly arrived in the faculty room, All Might turned around to face Alyx.

"Ah, Young Leonidus, welcome back! What can I do for you?" All Might greeted.

"Take me to All For One, please."

"You... Leonidus, what do you want with him?"

"I want to know why my father's grave was dug up this morning. It's ironic that when we're all gone, miraculously dad's resting place gets disturbed."

All Might looked down at his watch, "...Alright, give me a few minutes."

[30 Minutes Later...]

"All For One, you have visitors." A guard relayed.

"Visitors? Plural? Interesting, I wonder who they-"

The door opened, death washed over All For One and the cell he sat in, Alyx stood in the doorway with All Might behind him. The two walked into the room, All Might sat down in the chair in front of the holding cell as Alyx stood next to him.

"Leonidus, All Might, what a pleasure it is to see you!" All For One grinned.

"Save it, tell me something, why was my father's grave dug up?"

"Oh? Is that so? I would have no idea!"

"We know it was you, All For One. Your little disciples had something to do with it." All Might chimed in.

"I don't know if it was, besides, whatever they chose to do I have no control of. I'm not sure If I understand..." All For One continued.

Alyx began to walk away, "Let's go All Might, I'm not here to listen to him try and sidetrack us, my suspicions were right. Anymore bullshit and I won't hesitate to act."

"Oh? Running away so soon? Are you scared?" He taunted.

Alyx looked behind him, "Scared? If it was a couple years ago, sure, but right now... I want to kill you, plain and simple."

"Hmph, I guess I can see why they died, your incompetence to act is stellar, Leonidus."

Leonidus stopped in his tracks, holding the door handle, All For One began laughing once again. All Might tensed up as All For One stopped laughing. Alyx was on the other side of the glass, his face right up close to All For One's. For the first time in his life, All For One felt fear all throughout his body. All For One slowly looked over at Leonidus' intense glare.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔, 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒆." Leonidus' voice echoed.

All Might blinked, noticing that Alyx was gone, he quickly looked back to see that Alyx had opened the door.

"Come on, I think it's safe to say we aren't gonna get answers out of him." Alyx beckoned him over.

All Might nodded and walked out of the room, Alyx shut the door slowly, staring down All For One in the process. Alyx was giving him a smile as the door finally shut. The car ride back to U.A. was a silent one, All Might focused on the road as Alyx stared straight ahead.

"Hey, Young Leonidus... Your mother, was she always so scary?" All Might wondered.

"Whenever she used her Quirk? Yeah, why? Or are you asking outside of that? If so, yes."

"Just for reference, that's all."

[Several Minutes Later...]

Alyx had his arms around Momo as he laid on her stomach, "I missed you sooooooo much, Momz."

"You were gone for just a day, it's not like you were half way across the world or anything."

"I actually flew across the Pacific to get here, so you'd technically be right."

Momo put her book down and looked at Leonidus, noticing a distinct change, he looked much calmer than he did in the past.

"You really have grown a lot, haven't you?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You look so much more confident from when we first met. That's what I meant. I like it."

Leonidus smiled back at her, he then rested his head back on her stomach. All seemed well, but darkness was always lurking, Hametsu sat in his apartment looking over an article on Endeavor and Hawks' victory against a High-End Nomu.

"So, Endeavor, you're pretty strong eh? I'd love to add you to my collection! The same with that sidekick of yours! But really though..." Hametsu bubbled.

He looked over at a picture of Leonidus, "From what it sounds like, nobody compares to that boy I met! That's it! I'll just kill the both of you!"

Hametsu began laughing as he crumbled up both articles in his hands.