Real Monsters

Tanya floated above the battlefield, angry. Upset it had come to this. Time slowed to a crawl as everything froze in place. A gray filter washed over the world as only the strongest colors shone through. Being X had come to talk.

"My Precious Angel," a hint of gloating colored his voice, "you have called to me for the first time in this life."

Tanya grit her teeth and flapped her wings to stay aloft, even though she wasn't going anywhere. "Just get on with the blessing. I know what happens next."

"In your last life, you were chosen for a holy purpose."

"Would that have been your amusement?" Tanya sarcastically raised an eyebrow. "Putting children through World War I for fun? Finding a single mortal to bully and obsess over?"

"Faith had been dying out. Humanity had slowly severed its ties to the heavens, to me." A cold and pointed annoyance rang through his voice.

"I believe we've been over this." Tanya smirked. "Your oh so perfect Heaven had a bad business model. Humanity has simply adapted and overtaken a weak market. Competition at its finest. You've been outmoded."

A wave of snarkiness drowned her voice as she grinned with disgust. "You said my previous life was to be my last unless I changed my ways and showed faith. Yet here we are and I am no more pious."

"Your last life proved your theory correct. My experiment was a failure." His disembodied voice felt detached and grew colder.

"Is that an admission to defeat I hear!" Tanya placed a hand onto her forehead and started laughing. She doubled over in the air, her wings flapped with glee. "Self-proclaimed God himself, admitting to losing to a human! Heyahahaha!"

He continued unimpeded by the mortal's taunting. "The type 95 relic was a test on free will vs. faith. Could free will be removed enough to ensure love, yet the power of faith remain; even in a weaker state? Could a sufficient amount of faith be forced out?"

"An experiment to create faith crops out of humans? That sounds wonderfully holy." Tanya spat in disgust. The idea of a tyrant so powerful they can force your heart and mind to bend to their will. It made her ill.

"In a sense. Your little displays of disobedience and hatred, despite my concentrated efforts at forcing faith out, showed heaven that humanity's love must be received, not taken. Human determination, even just spite, is enough to taint any forced source of faith. For faith… It seems, is a derivative of determination.

There were more interesting findings though. Humanity's faith improved upon seeing the power of God firsthand, even through a medium such as yourself."

"An ad campaign using an unwilling participant?". 'And it had worked.' Tanya felt sickened. Every time she had used her powers, every time she had struggled against the type 95's influence, it was all for nothing. Even if she had resisted and overcame the odds, it meant nothing when her displays of power were enough to create a net gain for Being X.

"Not this time around." Being X's amusement could be heard in his voice. "I made your body and I hand crafted your Quirk. This time, you will be directly empowered by all the faith you display. So that I can claim it back!"

If Tanya had already felt sick, she now felt like she was going to vomit. 'My own Quirk; a relic!' Her body felt repulsive, her skin crawled, her feathers shifted and flicked. It all felt invasive, unwanted, and inescapable.

"With the knowledge gained from the type 95, Heaven has devised a new strategy. To regrow our image with a herald, like in the days of old. Today, All Might is a man everyone aspires to be and looks up to. Worshiped like a god should be. He defines how the world is shaped, a right I alone bare. Tell me Tanya Von Degurechaff… Tenikari. What if a champion, with God backing them, were to be worshiped like that?" Being X's molten eyes lit with a frenzied golden light, encompassing the world with his covetous gaze.

"You'd be a tyrant!" Tanya's blood began to boil in rage. "You promise to look over humanity, but your agreements are always faulty! A false product that you need humanity to buy into! You run a black company where you expect everything and give only when you feel like it, defying your contracts! I refuse to partake in this gross business conduct!"

Being X gave an honest laugh, amused by the mortal's antics as she backed into familiar terminology to protect herself. "After today, I have no more need of you, My Precious Angel. I have found a new champion, one who loves me… and is on the path to becoming a hero herself. I will grow her strength, and the whole world will know the name Ibara Shiozaki. With her as the number one hero, and my power blended in, humanity will finally have retaken its rightful place; worshiping me."

Tanya's eyes widened in fear as Being X left her. Color flooded back into reality as time returned to its normal pace. 'He's gone. I've been replaced. But if I'm free, then why am I still being targeted!'

A familiar pale golden light burned forth around her as the blessing activated. It had been so long since such strength flooded her system. She floated in the air as the blessing swept through her body. Her fear numbed and shifted into plotting. 'If Being X wants Shiozaki to become the next number one, then she would need to overcome a threat. One powerful enough to horrify the world, to place herself as a savior figure.'

From her hovering spot, as the light died down and revealed her blessed form, she gazed upon the villainous horde. Her white wings shone gold as a heavenly aura emanated from her, her hair floated with a controlled elegance, and her once cold blue eyes burned gold. Her plotting then ignited into anger. 'Being X set this all up! He wanted them to kill All Might and establish themselves as a threat! They were just too incompetent to achieve that!'

'Even if I wasn't here, I would be caught in the crossfire of Being X's master plan, caught in the fallout of his actions.' A thought flatlined in her skull.

'What if he wins?'

'All Might and heroes define the world of today. If Shiozaki were to take All Might's place, a theocracy would rise with her. An unstable, easily corruptible, wasteful system! A world I could never live in!' Her anger blazed and took a life of its own.

The blessing coursing through her pushed her over the edge. She glared down at Shigaraki and made up her mind, her wings rose. 'Judgment shall be upon them!'

Way down on the ground, under the newly glowing ball of light that had been Tanya, a series of exchanges had enacted a horrible outcome.

Bakugo shuddered as he held himself, his heated palms pressed into his sides. Sickly sweet sweat slid down his sides and face. His gauntlets had long since been filled to the brim, and now he had used his skin for extra storage capacity. His clothes felt heavy and stuck to his skin. 'An explosion to put the Howitzer Impact to shame! Go ahead and try to block this! Never say I don't learn, Stupid Smoke!'

The moment he saw Kurogiri flying through the air, he grinned in victorious mania. He unfurled his pose and tucked a hand behind him. With only the slightest ignition, he exploded forth. The ground cracked as the air screamed by him. His wrist hurt from the launch, but he had shot like a cannonball; living artillery!

The wind roared in Bakugo's ears, his heart became a drum solo that played to the sound of imminent annihilation. He raised his other hand, held his gauntlet for a brace, and pulled the pin.

Kurogiri saw the ball of light as he was thrown across the USJ. His mind raced as he did everything he could to follow his orders; protect Shigaraki. An explosion sounded in the distance. He opened a portal for himself, to move to his young master's side, only to hear a faint whooshing sound to his side.

Kurogiri turned to see Bakugo's hand pointed straight at him, only a half dozen meters out. "So you have learned your lesson. An admirable attempt, but still too slow." He smirked as he thought he knew what came next. The click of Bakugo's pin was heard, and Kurogiri shifted his portal material around like a cloak, to protect himself once more.

TURRR!!

The air shattered as Bakugo ignited. Fire and sound raced out in fractals of destruction, smoke followed in their wake. He shot back, propelled away by his own display of power. He would have screamed in pain had his adrenaline not been at an all time high! Cracks ran down his gauntlet as it nearly shattered from the output, his forearm wasn't fairing much better.

In miniscule moments, light cracked through Kurogiri's smoke defense. Sound ruptured through his cloak as his shield burned away. His eyes widened as he came up with a last minute portal play before he went unconscious. He was launched into the ceiling, his body slammed and cracked the light fixtures before he hurtled back to the ground.

"Haaa hahaha!" Bakugo began laughing in glory as he flew back and saw the size of his explosion. Even with his arm seering in pain, he fell in awe of a blast large enough to fit a baseball diamond.

Back down on the ground, the nomu only stopped beating down on Sato when Kurogiri's voice came from a portal behind it.

"Nomu," The faint voice of Kurogiri's fading consciousness came through, "protect, Shigaraki."

The nomu roared as it climbed out of the pit, eager to follow its commands. A hand clenched around its ankle just as it reached its hand through the portal.

Beneath it, blood ran down Sato's face. He crushed an empty sugar canister under his palm as he pushed himself to his feet. His teeth were bared like a wild animal. His costume stretched and started to rip as muscle expanded and grew. His upper body received the most growth, his chest nearly doubled in size.

He was built like a stockier, slightly shorter, All Might. His eyes lacked thought beyond instinct and momentary existence. Massive lips curled back into a snarl as his grip tightened so hard that the nomu's ankle cracked and shattered.

"Rrraaagghhhh!!!" What can only be described as a roar truly primal echoed forth from Sato's chest, which had been freed from his costume. His once full suit of yellow had torn off at the top. His intense and defined musculature was coated by blood, bruises, and dirt. Each muscle could be seen flexing and releasing as he moved and shifted his weight away from the nomu.

With the turn of his heel, he pulled the nomu's leg over his shoulder. Like a spike driving hammer, he swung the nomu to the ground, beak first. Its limbs flailed in confusion as Sato swung it again.

The nomu bounced off the ground again, unharmed as it slammed into the floor. The shock absorption was in full effect, and no number of Sato's slow, one beat hits would hurt it.

Sato reared up for another swing. The nomu curled down and grabbed onto Sato's bulked up arm as its back cracked the pavement.

It wrestled with Sato's grip on its ankle as it made upset screeching sounds in protest of the hero's newfound strength.

Sato shifted his feet and rolled his upper body under the beaked beast. His free hand grabbed into the creature's side and broke finger holds into its rib cage. Huwwreckeckck!

The nomu retaliated, driving its palms backwards over its shoulder into Sato's face. Sato's neck strained as his nose broke under the force. He held strong as he bit into the black skin, his teeth slowly sank into its flesh, till blood ran into his mouth and dripped down his face. The nomu's healing factor kicked in and buried Sato's teeth and mouth in the flesh of the nomu's palm.

With one hand holding the nomu's ankle, the other its ribs, Sato reared back with all the strength his massive form had to offer. He heaved forward and slammed the nomu into the ground. Rearing his head back, he tore the nomu's hand open and bellowed. Blackened flesh, muscle, and darkened blood spewed from Sato's mouth.

The two devolved into a thrashing grapple as Sato continued to slam the nomu into the ground. It fought to escape, to achieve its new goal of protecting Shigaraki.

It kicked and shoved at Sato to no avail. The duo were evenly matched in strength, and the nomu's speed meant nothing in their oversized wrestling match. Its lack of intelligence giving its abilities no advantages. The two titans clashed, forces of weight and strength unmatched. The earth rumbled as they slammed, smashed, and thrashed each other.

In the end, the nomu wasn't able to make it through the portal, to get to Shigiraki's side and protect him from what was coming.

Up above, after the sky split with smoke and thunder, and the titan's clashed, Tanya's glowing orb died down to reveal her holy form. The students and horde of villains held their breath as, only for a moment, the angel didn't move.

Then lightning struck!

Tanya vanished from view, a trail of gold light traced behind her as she dove out of the sky. She raced down to ground level before banking at a perfect angle.

Villains screamed, in the mere moment they had to react. Judgment had come for them at last. The gold-lit angel zipped through the crowd, blood geysered forth as limbs were severed or exploded seemingly at random. Faces, torsos, anything the golden angel could get her talons into got slashed open. A symphony of screams played for the USJ to hear.

A thrill coursed through Tanya's every nerve. She smiled in childlike glee as her talons sheared through another villain's arm. 'It feels like magic! OH I've missed this feeling!' She cheered to herself. She outflew the spray of blood, everything looked like it was moving in slow motion. With each twitch of her wings, she rocketed with unmatched speed.

Aizawa watched in horror as the villains around him burst into crimson, pierced by a single gold trail. It was as if their skin had been stretched to its breaking point, every piece of their gore was eager to burst forth, their bodies waited their entire lives for this moment. Muscle, blood, and shards of bone filled the air with red, weighty confetti. Blood spattered Aizawa's goggles and rendered him unable to use his Quirk.

'First Sato's Quirk awakens, now Tenikari's! People are getting torn to pieces!' He desperately tried to sweep the blood off his goggles before giving up and throwing them off. Even though villains were being filleted around him, part of him knew that this was a part of the business the world wanted to look away from. That sometimes, when pushed into a corner, horrible things could happen. A deep, dark corner of him was proud that his students were surviving, even if it meant something as dark as this. They had the power to overcome the adversity of true villainy.

A villain crouched down and covered his head. He whimpered as his comrades were dismembered around him, their blood splattered on his back. "Nononono, it wasn't supposed to be this way!"

A streak of gold tore his legs off below the knees. He screamed in pain as he collapsed to the floor. His back was torn open into jagged cuts. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" A morbid laughter shook his body. He curled into a ball as he went into shock. "Please… Forgive me God. Have mercy." The sweet release of unconsciousness took him away from the pain.

In the water of the indoor lake, Midoriya, Tsuyu, and Mineta watched as gold and crimson filled the air. None of them could bring themselves to move, to do anything beyond just watch in horror and awe.

"Crush over." Mineta muttered under his breath. "No amount of being hot forgives that level of crazy."

Shigaraki stumbled back as all around him, his troops began bursting apart. "What broken powerup is this!" Fear undertoned his angered yelling. For once in his life, the consequences of his actions were coming for him. He hated it.

'I need to save myself!' He thought in a panic as he raced towards the water. He saw the students, trapped in fear. 'I'll take a hostage, try to buy time till Kurogiri or Sensei can bail me out!'

He pounced at Tsuyu, his hands held out, thumbs pulled back to not dust her instantly.

Blood splattered both their faces as his hands uselessly bounced off her flinching head. His hands flopped to the floor as he fell to his knees. His red, blunt wrists screamed at him . The newfound absence of hands caught up to him in a lasting flash of agony.

Tsuyu croaked in fear as she leapt away. "Blep." Her tongue shot out and snatched Deku. Mineta safely tucked under her arm.

Tanya appeared above Shigaraki, blood smeared her talons and armor, but not a single speck on her skin, face, nor hair. Her manic grin glowed with victory. 'Now that he nearly killed another student, legally speaking, killing him would be in defense. One kill to end a war before it even starts.'

'What do I do?!' Midoriya cried to himself as the trio were whisked away by Tsuyu's powerful leap. 'A hero saves everyone, but does that include the villains?! What am I even supposed to do here?!' His mind crashed to a halt in light of this traumatic experience. By the time he would make up his mind, it would be too late.

Tanya raised her wings and cast forth a gale strong enough to lift Shigaraki into the air. Her wings blasted a self sustaining tornado into existence before she disappeared into a gold blur. Shigaraki spun like a thrashing ragdoll in the wind while the floor flew away from him.

"Aggghhhh!" Shigaraki screamed in terror and anger as he waved around in the air, his brain raked for a way out. He had to survive to fulfill his desires!

Pwhwor! His leg exploded as the trail of gold severed where it used to be.

The angel of destruction swiftly circled around his airborne prison. She dashed out before instantly circling around and darting back through. Every time, another chunk of him would burst into viscera.

Tears ran down his face as he screamed. More of him vanished as gore in the wind. He was juggled in the torrent, diced, clipped, and chopped like meat in a butcher's shop.

In his final moments, left with only an arm, the upper part of his chest, and his head, he saw her face, her cold and calculating stare. Even buried beneath a manic grin that he knew all too well, he could see she had deliberately calculated his death. He reached out with his stub and glared through his tears. He stopped grappling for an escape, and in a moment of clarity, one thing was on his mind.

"I will destroy you!" He declared in his last moments before exploding into viscera as Tanya dashed her talons through him.

With the opening of her wings, Tanya came to a halt. Around her were maimed and mangled villains that screamed out in pain. She floated down to the ground, her talons dipped into the mess of blood and bone shards. One emotion could describe her feeling as her blessing ran out. The grin receded from her face as she slowed down.

Apathy. She barely glanced at one of her victims and the gold light receded from her wings, the glow faded around her. Her hair fell and bounced back into its normal state. She blinked and her icy blue eyes returned. 'This was a massive loss of human resources, even beyond lost numbers. Every one of them had a unique Quirk, a guaranteed speciality they could have brought to this world; wasted. All because Being X wants a new idol to try to fulfill his tyrannical desires.'

A wave of fatigue washed over her. She staggered a bit before slipping to her knees, her wings slumped under their own weight. "AH!" She gasped in surprised pain. 'That doesn't feel good. This must be Quirk exhaustion then.'

Back in the rain zone, Mina continued her defense against the villainous duo.

"I always thought," Mina whimpered as the beatings continued, "that people can be good. That we could all be friends." Her shoulder felt dislocated, she knew for a fact she had a concussion. Bruises speckled her body as her blood mixed with the acid shield. "That will never change. But I see now…" The acid began foaming and popping as Mina raised the acidity. Her temper shattered as a fire was lit within her!

"You will find your friends behind bars!" She shouted as she pointed to where she remembered Lucy was. Even if she perceived a boat beneath her feet, a tangerine grove beyond the river, and an evening sky, she knew it must be an illusion.

Her acid began to mutate under her newfound determination. It began to change color. Like ink dropped into water, Mina's skin began to produce colored acid; vibrant purples, foamy blues, and soft yellows joined her reliable gray goo. It lifted around her like a series of slickened tentacles. Each appendage hung large, heavy droplets that sporadically slipped off and splashed to the floor.

Lucy snapped out of her daydream as she stepped away from the acid tentacle monster before her. "Hey now." She was only vaguely afraid, her mind still trying to space out. "We can talk about this."

Lucy's Quirk broke as she became focused, and the illusion faded away.

Mina's body armor folded off of her. The loose acid slid into a wobbly base around her feet.

"Once you're in prison, I'll consider stopping by for that chat." Mina growled back. She shifted her eyes around in an attempt to find who had been clawing her.

"Acid Kraken!" With the thrust of her hand, Mina's acid tentacles shot out. They whipped and reached for Lucy. Mina struggled to lower the acidity at the ends of her pseudopods, afraid of what a direct hit would do.

The villain reached up to protect herself as she stepped back. She preemptively closed her eyes as the tentacles closed in on her.

From the floor, a pair of boney gray claws emerged. Monster grabbed Lucy's heels and lifted her off the floor. Like a shark fin through water, his arms swept across the floor and carried Lucy away and out of the room.

Lucy smiled and cheered. "Thanks Monmon!" She went back to her usual smirk as they slid down the hall. Her mood quickly changed to surprise.

"Don't thank me yet!" Monster called back from beneath the floor. The duo speed through the hall, only to be followed by Mina.

The doorway splintered to make room as her acid surged forth.

"You're not escaping!" She called out as she rode a wave of her own acid. Her arms and legs pumping as if she were roller skating with extra weights tacked on. Acid Tentacles grappled from the rolling base and pulled her forth at a terrifying speed. The base spun and surged, like the front of a viscous tidal wave. Behind her was a thin trail of acid that hissed and tore apart the tile flooring.

Lucy squeaked in fear as Monster picked up the pace. She leaned and weaved as Mina's tentacles reached out for her, missing by mere inches. Monster's hands danced across the floor shifting with Lucy's dodges like skates on ice.

"Why do you fight as a hero!?" Lucy cried out as she was pulled away. She reared back to dodge one of Mina's tentacles so far that her hat nearly came off. She spun her arms as she nearly fell backwards. Monster jerked his arms out from the floor to shove Lucy's feet back under her.

"Because I hate bullies! I hate people who abuse others!" Mina answered. It was simple, and maybe a little childish, but it was her motivation. She knew what it was like to be the outcast; she also knew what it was like to overcome the stigma and make friends. Her Quirk gave her an alien-like complexion and was a safety hazard to everyone around her, yet she still tried to overcome every obstacle before her. Even before UA, she had preserved to eventually make friends with everyone, or at least be on decent grounds. "There are enough people like that in this world! I want to protect people from cruelty, to give a helping hand and a fighting chance!"

A shadow grew under Lucy's brim and covered her eyes. She chuckled a little bit before giving a pained smile. "Then we really aren't all that different… Yet we couldn't be on more different paths."

Lucy and Monster raced and dodged in a desperate attempt to escape Mina's onslaught.

Lucy knew what Mina must have been through. The isolation, the fear, she knew it all too well. She and Monster both knew. They could never fit into society, even a superhuman one, they had given up on that a long time ago.

Monster's Quirk allowed him to phase into objects and become amorphous while submerged, but his body came with additional mutations to 'benefit' his Quirk. His limbs and torso were stretched to uncanny lengths to let him reach from the floor… but that was the problem, it was too much. He could never stand and walk, his limbs being too gangly and long without strength enhancements. 15 ft tall… His body couldn't support his weight; a whale out of water. He couldn't make it into the hero course to use his Quirk freely, so the villain's life took him in much sooner. Freedom from the pain. Freedom to be himself.

As for Lucy, her Quirk required her imagination and activated with minimal effort. Just the act of daydreaming could entrap people in her illusions… She couldn't live with other humans, because one little slip up and everyone would see what was in her head, become trapped in her fantasies… 7th grade had been the final straw, when she had a… dark and intrusive thought… 'My Quirk is at odds with the shape of society… Villainy is my only path forward.' Freedom from shame. Freedom from guilt.

Mina blinked and tried to take in what was and wasn't real as she pursued Lucy and Monster. Sketchy, gothic drawn school desks with eyes that glared into her soul popped into existence in her path. Crayon doodles of Lucy and Monster's victims littered the doorways, X'd out eyes stared at her as she sped by. Patches of wall broke away to reveal scenes of varying clarity and art styles, they all raced away so quickly that she couldn't catch many details. Around her, she could hear screaming and laughter, and clearest of all, accusation.

"Stop it, let us go!", "Wow, your Quirk really does make you a freak.", "Wh-why would you think such things? Lucy, why!?" A cacophony of voices screamed and stabbed and begged. One rose above the rest.

"You're not alright in your head." It was sharp, clear, and rang out above the choir of hatred and fear.

The shadow of Lucy's hat grew darker as she muttered to herself. "There's a reason Monster and I work so well together. My Quirk doesn't work on him… The only person in the world who I can't hurt."

Monster choked down his empathy. He remained beneath the floor, safe from her line of sight at all times. So close, yet always removed.

"You had a chance!" Mina screamed over the voices as she raced after Lucy and Monster. Her tentacles whipped out, each attempt etched closer to hitting. "You never had to kill anyone! No one else has to be hurt!"

Chalk doodles of fire scrambled over the walls, the sound of fire roaring sang in the background, and the feeling of temperature raised.

"C'mon!" Mina shouted as she swept forth a wave of acid across the floor.

"Woah!" Lucy cried as Monster shoved her up into the air and let her go. He swiftly retracted his hands back into the floor before the acid could hit him.

Before Lucy could fall back down, Monster's hands came out of the ceiling. He braced his arms together beneath her, like the seat of a swing. The duo continued to rock, sway, and weave to dodge Mina's reckless attacks.

"But they do…" Lucy peered out from the shadow of her peaked cap. Her eyes were hurt yet determined, her fate sealed long ago. "We never choose to be villains, that choice was made for us the day our Quirks manifested. We're going to escape our burdens, or burn this world down trying!"

As Mina chased, she saw one of Lucy's figments. In one of the doors stood a tall man, drawn like an old holy painting, a faint glow emanated from behind him. He had white hair, a tuxedo, and his hand was outreached palm up. Mina heard his voice echo through the halls like a powerful opera, and a near-paralyzing, unnamable fear sat momentarily on her spine. If it stayed any longer, she wasn't sure if her heart would hold up.

"Work for me, and I can heal you. All you need is to have faith in me." And just like that, he blinked out of sight.

Lucy gagged and clutched her throat. She opened her mouth and a dark, rubbery gray goo slithered out. It enveloped her before coiling into a ball and vanishing.

"No!" Mina shouted out in desperation. "I won't let you escape!" She shot out her tentacles at Monster's hands, which swiftly submerged underground once more.

Her acid slumped and dissipated as she landed on her feet. She yelled out to the empty space, desperately trying to put her heart out for them to hear. "It never had to be this way! There was always help out there waiting! You gave up and gave in to who they wanted you to be!"

She took a deep breath and yelled, "Your fate was your choice!" Her skin felt raw and began to crack as it had been run dry, protected by the layer of acid. Her pores were wide open and sore from the abuse she put them through. The skin had gone from a healthy shade of bright pink to an abused red-purple. She had produced too much high quality acid too quickly.

"Hehu." Mina whimpered as she forced one foot in front of the next. She had to get to safety. Her skin cracked and ached as she stiffly shuffled away.

Outside, Sato and the nomu's fight ramped back up. The nomu had lost its given order, Shigaraki was dead, and so it fell back on its passive order; kill All Might. It will kill the large, buff, yellow, loud man.

The nomu reared its arm back before slamming its fist into Sato's head. Full swing punch after full swing punch.

Sato ducked the first punch, only to get a facefull of elbow on the next hit. His already broken nose gushed blood as his eyes glazed from the sugar-dulled pain. He shifted his grab position to get completely under the nomu.

With its ankle in one hand, its ribcage in the other, Sato pulled the beast over his head and onto his back. With the nomu's chest to the sky, the duo was back to back, bones cracked as joints started to bend too far as Sato pushed his arms to the floor.

The nomu reached up before swinging its elbow back into Sato's face. It thrashed as it repeated its onslaught of one note attacks with its entire body weight.

Sato's vision grew blurry and weird as his head felt so far from his body. Tears mixed with the dirt and blood on his face. None of that mattered now. If he gave out, he'd die here and now. His instincts screamed at him. Death is not an option!

Aizawa filed away the Tanya problem for later as he sprinted past all the downed villains. 'I told them to stay back, to retreat!'

He ran as fast as his legs could take him to get to Sato. His eyes shined red as he shut off the nomu's Quirk.

The nomu screamed in confusion as everything the nomu knew it could do suddenly vanished into the blue. It's self-healing shut off, the shock absorption and strength booster shut off. The nomu's spine cracked as it was more easily bent backwards over Sato's back.

It raised its hands up for another attack on its target, only to find Aizawa's scarf slipping around them. The cloth looped around over and over.

"You will not hurt my students any further." Aizawa declared through strained breath. He pulled his binding cloth shut and ensnared the nomu's arms.

It flexed and strained against the cloth. It didn't understand what was happening and began to thrash in an attempt to get it off.

"My capture weapon was designed to restrain even people with super strength. Without your Quirk, you're not strong enough to break free. Surrender!" Aizawa barked as he squatted into a pulling pose to keep the cloth tight. The sound of bone breaking gave him momentary pause.

Sato continued his stretch of the nomu's spine. The sound of its spine failing crackled out as the nomu bent at an impossible angle. It stopped thrashing as it became paralyzed. The beast screamed, unable to continue the fight.

He tossed the nomu off his back, and it thudded to the ground.

Aizawa dashed over to the nomu. In a blur of black and gray, he left the nomu hogtied. He jumped away, concerned about his student.

The nomu sat there, wide eyed and staring at the ceiling, unable to take action. So it did the only thing it knew; it waited for its next order, or until it saw All Might again.

Sato's eyes glossed over as he fell to his knees. His back heaved as his muscles twitched and spasmed. He shrunk back to his normal size.

"Urugh!" Sato heaved up his stomach before passing out. He was lucky to collapse to the side and not into his new puddle.

"Don't worry, I got you." Aizawa reassured as he slipped underneath Sato and hoisted the young man onto his back. His eyes watered as he forced them to stay open. 'Quirks can be dangerous things, even to their own users. A Quirk awakening shouldn't be taken so lightly, nor performed by students so novice. Their bodies can't really handle it yet.'

He looked up as a shadow passed over him. Tanya was gliding to safety. 'I'm sure Nedzu will enjoy talking to her about this.'

The reinforcement heroes showed up soon after. As the class regrouped, they found that no one had been seriously hurt.

With the villains carted away, the students filed in around the ambulances for treatment. The nomu sat with blank eyes, unaware of what it should be doing.

Tanya stood there, a safety blanket wrapped over her shoulders and wings. Her team, or handpicked meatshields, stood clustered around looking worse for wear.

Sato looked completely out of it. He had pushed his Quirk much too far, and was currently paying the price. His head pounded, his body felt a little floaty, some of his bones had been cracked, and his arm was bandaged from where the bullets had been pulled out. Despite his wounds, he was proud. 'I had saved Aizawa. I made my strength count.' A memory sat just out of reach. He wanted to grab it, but every time he tried to turn his thoughts away from here and now, his head throbbed and grounded him back to reality.

Bakugo had a splint for his fractured wrist until Recovery Girl could get to him. He seemed satisfied with his actions, even if a little peeved that Kurogiri got away. 'Blasted smoke man turned into gray goo and vanished! Had to run away from me, haha!'

Mina looked… off colored and sad. Her skin ached, her pores screamed at her in their dry state. 'Lucy… There are so many people who have been trampled on, for so many reasons. But to kill others, you've gone too far.'

She shook her head and pulled her safety blanket closer. 'No, think more positively! Gotta cheer yourself up!' She looked around for something to distract herself with before her eyes fell on Tanya and Bakugo. Her shipping mode engaged and a mischievous smile crept onto her face. 'Those two would make such a cute power couple!' Her mind began racing with ways she could hook them up, because some part of her warned that the duo were too dense to fall in love without a nudge. 'Don't worry lovers to be, momma Mina is on the case!'

Despite the sorry state her troops were in, Tanya was glad they had all proved competent enough to have survived a wave of canon fodder. 'These guys, they'll make a fine unit.'

A familiar nightmare hung over the school. Her wings tensed up and shifted under the blanket. 'Being X said he's found a new champion? A new face for his pitiful cause of turning a dying dynasty around. That would mean… I'm free?!' A confused joy shook her and was quickly replaced with intrigue. 'But, if I'm free, why was I allowed to access my blessed state? Can I still access it? He said I was to be directly powered by my own display of faith, that faith was a derivative of determination.'

'We don't need each other any more, but he's still threatening my life and trying to get value out of me!' She growled silently while her wings flicked off her blanket. 'I'm still caught up in his stupid game!' She sighed and collected herself as she picked the blanket back up. 'My plans remain unchanged. I must secure my safety, and UA is still my best option. I have competent teachers, a good staff, a decent team, this is still doable.'

Aizawa walked over to the gaggle of young heroes. In his scarf sat a white, small mouse-bear creature in a little suit. "I am sure you are aware that this is our principle." He stated calmly.

Everyone gave their affirmations in response.

"I would like a word with Ms. Tenikari, Mr. Sato, and Ms. Ashido." Nedzu spoke with a clarity and confidence that was at odds with his appearance.

A shiver ran down Tanya's spine. 'Ok, I killed one man in self-defense. I should still be fine, right?'

"What about me!?" Bakugo barked. "I was out there too!"

"This initial discussion does not concern you, but your use of overkill could be addressed if you would like." Nedzu replied cheerfully.

Bakugo huffed before picking himself up and leaving. "Fine." He spat under his breath as he grumbled away.

"Mr. Nedzu sir, are we in trouble?" Mina asked with a head tilt.

"Not necessarily." Nedzu answered, his black beady eyes glanced at Tanya. "I wished to congratulate you all on your Quirk awakenings."

"Hu?" Sato asked, his head was still a little out of it. He leaned forward in interest as his hands clenched his blanket tightly.

"A Quirk awakening, or evolution, is a serious milestone for any hero!" Nedzu explained, an audible smile in his voice as he waved his paw up in cheer. "There are two aspects of a Quirk one must consider; its power output and the exact abilities it comes with."

"So, like when my acid changed colors and started moving with me?" Mina guessed. "I remember feeling so powerful at the time, like something inside me was clawing its way out." A smile rested on Mina's face.

"Exactly!" Nedzu pointed in appreciation. "A Quirk awakening can be best described as an expansion of the abilities your Quirk possesses."

"Then why am I here?" Sato quietly questioned with a tiny raised hand. He could barely recall the specifics of what happened.

"We witnessed you showing the ability to stack your Quirk's strength buff with itself!" Nedzu cheered. "Being able to exponentially grow stronger! Your base multiplier is five times, yes? When you powered up and faced the buff villain, you were showing closer to twenty five times strength, or five to the second power. Exponential growth can be a scary thing! We might need to get that mental inhibitor checked though. That may have stacked as well."

A sense of pride glowed warm within Sato. He gave a small smile and said, "I never woulda thought my Quirk could do such a thing."

"Thank you sir." Tanya said with a slight bow. "To be congratulated by you is a great honor."

"No, the honor is mine to have such the chance to teach such determined students!" Nedzu cheered back. "However, can we talk in my office this afternoon Ms. Tenikari? I have some things I'd like to discuss."

Tanya bit down her nerves. 'He just congratulated us, I doubt he'd immediately expel me or punish me for what happened back there.'

"Yes sir." She said with a straight and focused face.

Around the ambulance, just out of sight, Bakugo looked down at his splint. He clenched his fist as his swears took form. 'I will not allow them to outpace me. I will be the strongest in this class, and raw power is all I need to get there!'

As the time passed, everyone got out of their hero clothes and went home. An announcement was made that UA would be closed for the next week. This caused confusion amongst the student body. Meanwhile, the media hounded the students emerging from the USJ for answers, only to come up dry.

Tanya stepped into Nedzu's office, now in her school uniform and cleaned of the blood of her enemies.

Nedzu's office was surprisingly casual. It consisted of a couch, a coffee table, a few loose comfy chairs, and Nedzu's own desk. His desk which was built to his specifications, was a normal sized desk with a raised chair.

He sat across from the couch, his legs patiently crossed as he examined Tanya. 'Why did the villains leave the camera on, but only jammed the communications? For an attack that large, the enemy must have known All Might was supposed to be there. To have the resources to coordinate such a large scale attack as well is concerning. Unless they were watching too? So many questions and so very few leads.' In the spirit of professionalism, he tucked away his other thoughts and decided to focus on her.

Tanya took a seat in the middle of the couch, her wings spread open. "You wished to speak with me Mr. Nedzu?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." Nedzu maintained his usual cheery attitude despite the weight of the situation. "Are you aware of what you have done?"

"Yes sir. I protected my classmates and teacher through what means I had available." Tanya replied. A bead of sweat ran down her back, Nedzu's face was unreadable. His inhuman features and, no-doubt, inhuman mind made all of her experience obsolete.

Tanya sat dead still. Her feathers only shifted from the faint blowing of a stand fan as it, much like Nedzu, stared at her before looking away.

Nedzu examined her as he tried to pick her brain. 'Completely motionless, slight signs of guilt perhaps? Her earlier actions do not appear to line up with her displayed emotions up close?' Nedzu made a mental note of Tanya's inconsistencies.

"Very good. But there's more to it than that." Nedzu sighed as he slipped out of his chair and strutted towards his desk. "During the fight, you showed a near complete lack of empathy towards your enemy, and you didn't hesitate when you took that villain's life."

Nedzu hummed to himself. 'After watching her collapse following her fight might have meant that she processed the trauma of her actions after the fact. In line with the mentality of a seasoned soldier oddly enough.'

Tanya kept her mouth shut. She opted to not say anything that could get her in trouble. Her wings went rigid and motionless.

"Of course, we had expected as such." Nedzu continued as he went through one of his desk's drawers.

'What?' Tanya's brain crashed to a halt. 'They had expected me to kill?'

He bounced out of his drawer holding a folder. He trotted back to his seat before setting the folder on the table. On it read her name. It was a bulky thing, complete with color coded tabs.

'UA really does their research.' Tanya grew a little more calm, only a little, as she tried to rationalize her situation. 'If they knew what I would do, but enrolled me anyway, then this couldn't be the end of my hero path.'

"Are you aware of what is in this folder?" Nedzu asked as he tapped his paw on his knee.

"Not necessarily." Tanya replied. It felt like she was staring at a bomb with her name on it.

Nedzu opened the folder and began leafing through. "Orphanhood, adopted at age six.-"

'That thing must be incredibly in-depth!' Tanya's sweat dropped as the metaphorical bomb became less threatening in her mind.

"Schooling shows a vastly above average intellect, but little growth.-" He continued.

'Hard to improve when you've already been through college twice and are trapped in public school.' Tanya mentally groaned. 'At least I was able to do extra research in my spare time, to catch up to this world's advancements and history.'

"Emotionally stunted.-"

'Excuse me?' She felt shocked. Her wings perked up.

"Shows a lack of social connection beyond what can immediately aid her. We suspect her to have a minor case of sociopathy.-" He maintained his same cheerful tone, as if he hadn't just read that she had a potentially dangerous mental trait.

"Age fourteen, got in a fight with another student. Said other student had to be taken to the ER.-"

She remembered that one. He had been creeping her out for far too long and had gotten entirely too close for comfort. 'At least he'll never be having kids of his own.' She mentally smirked.

"Tanya, this entire folder goes to show that you have a long history of antisocial behaviors paired with violent and manipulative tendencies." Nedzu began flipping back to the more recent additions to her folder.

"Here we have your report from the entrance exam, as well as your written portion." Nedzu thumbed them out to get a better look. "You show a highly military perspective of heroics, and your behavior only further backs this up. I am not questioning how you obtained these skills or viewpoints, as the psychology of Homo Superior has been known to be full of oddities. Considering your Quirk appears to be based on a bird of prey, your mentality is not a huge surprise."

Tanya sat in silence as the two stared each other down.

"What you did back there was entirely in-line with your reports, and we had expected as much. Don't worry, you're not in trouble Tanya." Nedzu waved. "Outside of a few students and the staff, no one knows what happened."

"Are you… covering my actions up?" Tanya asked tentatively.

"Legally speaking you didn't do anything wrong. However, we are both aware that, in the event this information gets out, your public image as a hero will be stained." Nedzu still upheld that same cheerful tone. 'It would be unfair of us to throw her to the media wolves. She did everything right by the standards we had expected of her. Additionally, it was in the defense of another student, so despite its cruelty it was heroic in spirit. Even if that spirit is tainted with a penchant for violence.'

'I-I've been blackmailed by a rodent!' Tanya internally screamed. 'He now has evidence against me that could damn my career!'

"We expect you to continue your hero training, and should these antisocial tendencies continue, we do have a therapist on campus. Hound Dog does specialize in extreme cases." Nedzu explained. "I should also be glad to inform you that the school is setting up dorms on campus. As your instructor, I see it as your best interest to move in. Social connection to fellow students outside of training and combat will allow us to… monitor your progress."

The ultimatum had been set. 'Either I get hit with the blackmail, or I play nice with the others… I don't think I really have a choice here.'

Far away, in the darkness of a lab, a faceless man watched his monitors.

"All For One," A short, fat scientist with a huge mustache and big rimmed glasses approached the faceless man. "What are your plans now that Shigaraki has been killed?"

"My plans have remained the same." He emanated a raw confidence that could overpower anyone else.

A long gray, bandaged hand with a tuxedo arm emerged from the floor. In its clutches were Shigraki's dead hands.

All For One reached out and let Monster set them into his awaiting palm. "This was meant to be a learning experience for the young man. What better vessel could there be than a symbol of fear that knows death firsthand?"

"But sir, that would take a long time… to regrow an entire body. It would be an expensive investment." The doctor didn't doubt his master, but he did want to know more.

All For One's hand glowed red as he deposited the super healing Quirk into Shigiraki's cold hands. He handed them to the doctor. "We have plenty of time. However, there is something that concerns me with this class."

"All Might's class seems more dangerous and adept than usual. I don't doubt his successor is amongst their number. And this Tenikari girl was able to shred through our troops with ease. I think we should expand our Gigantomachia project. A second one to deal with the challenges this upcoming wave of heroes provides; something faster, more aggressive, and relentless."

The doctor bowed. He was excited to be experimenting again. "I will do my best to find a suitable candidate!"

AN; Man, now that was a ride!

I activated the dorm defense earlier than in canon. It's such a good source of character interaction, and I need to fit in some downtime before the sports festival.

Fun note, Mina's awakened Quirk is actually based off of her manga cover from chapter 280. On it, her acid is a purple and blue with hints of yellow and her normal anime gray, mixture that stands up and seems to move on its own. The anime has recently covered this chapter, and her acid appears to move with her. I thought 'what better way to power her up then make her acid an extension of herself, and let's give it a color change to sell its evolution'.