Chapter 64: Torch Tower’s Top

Getting to Yaoyorozu was easy enough. With both villains defeated it was just the waves of security drones that hampered them. Approaching from the size and with space to move, Midoriya unleashed a wave of emerald flames across one side, horribly burning dozens of drones. Their armor started to fail as it cracked, buckled, and melted, leaving in its wake blackened and bubbling.

"That'll keep them at bay for a minute," He called out as he got to her side.

"Have you handled things on your end?" Yaoyorozu asked, holding another shot for her canon.

“Those two are down, but I need your help. Can you make that grappling line?" Midoriya asked as the others continued fighting around them.

Ignoring the piercing shriek of Todoroki creating another blast of ice, Yaoyorozu nodded. 

“I’ll need some time.” She was already turning away to make the object.

“I can buy you that,”  Midoriya nodded, smoke bleeding out his lips as he turned to Mellissa, who was thankfully untouched by the fighting around her. "Mellissa, we're about to go. Be ready!"

“R-right!” Mellissa nodded, struggling to keep up with how much was happening and just doing her best not to get in the way. With that handled, Midoriya turned to the growing number of threats and let a smile form across his face, Koharu hissing in anticipation.

Rushing into the crowd of security drones, they locked onto him and went to confront him, Midoriya spying on their panels opening to try and restrain him. He waited till they shot their lines to jump, soaring over them as he transformed, flesh and blood burning away and being replaced with magma and rock.

With his inner flame already stroked, all he had to do was let his jaw open and give it an outlet as emerald flames raced from his core to this opening.

“Serpent Fire Scales!” Midoriya blasted out a bright, searing, hot fireball, burning like a small star, which then exploded, showering the drones with a dozen fireballs that hit them between joints with explosive force; if their limbs didn't break, they were knocked around, having been blasted further up, he latched onto the side of the tower, his clawed hands and feet burning themselves footing. His other hand exploded off his elbow and flew towards another drone, latching onto his head; he reeled it in right as he jumped towards it.

Landing a powerful knee strike to its chest, he didn’t let it go as he rode it down, crashing into another and destroying both. Upon impact, his snake hair lashed out and grabbed onto 5 more drones, holding them in place as Koharu, having shifted as well, bathed them in flames, slowly roasting the machines till they were little more than slag.

“Midoriya, I got some targets in the air!” Uraraka called out, both boy and snake turning to see Uraraka having floated at least a dozen of them. She had done so in a way that put the tower and its wind turbines out of harm’s way.

Koharu handled them one as Midoriya looked for more.

"These ones are slowed down; take them out!" Jiro yelled, her boots sending a blast of concentrated sound waves in another direction. As Koharu let loose another blistering stream of flames at the floating drones, Midoriya unleashed a Boa Flame against Jiro's targets, the sound girl appreciating the heat of his attack with how windy it was.

Switching between ice to immobilize and fire to destroy, Todoroki glared at another round of drones pouring into the roof, with him being unable to freeze one or both entrances shut to stop them, not when he wasn't close enough. The drones seemed to be wary of that. “It’s like they’re sending all they have against us.” He let out a frosty breath as he stomped his right foot and sent out a wave of ice across the floor, but it didn't trap even half as much of the drones as it did before, as they were catching on.

"It only means they're close, and they know it," Yaoyorozu commented as she turned back to the action. In her hands, she held a durable cable and a grappling line. “Done. You know how to use it?” she asked as Midoriya returned to her side.

"Just point and shoot, right? " he asked, pointing toward the hatch they were planning on using to get to the security room.

“Not exactly, allow me." Yaoyorozu didn't have time to properly explain it, so she just did it herself. It was hard to aim, but she had gone through more than enough firearms training. Taking account of the possible air current created by the fans, she shifted her arm far to the right before she fired.

Midoriya wondered why she did that, but as the arrow flew, it started to shift back left thanks to the wind turbines, catching Midoriya by surprise before he pierced into the bottom of the top, incredibly close to the service hatch. Pulling on it, Yaoyorozu was satisfied with it. “It seems secure.”

Feeling it for himself, Midoriya agreed with that statement as he went to collect Mellissa. The two returned to find Uraraka waiting for them. Mellissa was hesitant for a moment but warmed up to getting onto Midoriya's back, where, despite the boy being a walking volcano, he was only slightly warmer than he had been before.

It was nice.

Koharu wrapped around them to secure her as Uraraka laid a palm on all three of them, causing them to start floating, with only Midoriya's hold on the line keeping them from drifting.

"There you go, both of you are now weightless," Uraraka told them as she turned and ran back into the fight, grabbing onto a weightless drone and throwing it into another one. Her demeanour shifted from bubbly determination to a more…scary one.

“This feels weird.” Midoriya ignored that, as they had to focus on each other.

"Doesn't matter; just get going. We'll catch up!" Vlad yelled as he handled three drones at once, the roof slowly getting covered in their wrecks even as more poured out.

"Hold on," Midoriya advised Mellissa, who nodded as he shifted. One hand remained on the line but didn't tightly grip it, allowing the line to slip through his grip. His other hand ruptured, though not nearly as violently as he typically spilled lava on Mellissa. His hand fell off, exposing the magna core as a barrel of stone formed, one which he altered more into a nozzle akin to a jet engine.

Kicking off the best he could, he let out a steady but powerful stream of flames, propelling the trio up the line like a rocket-powered cable car. For a moment, they faced no issues as Midoriya rocketed them up, the line keeping them on course. But much like the line, they got hit with a heavy gust that tried to get them off course.

Midoriya only increased his burn rate, adding to their speed as he maintained his grip on the line. He played a risky game, as the line needed to be loose enough for it to pass through but tight enough not to allow the wind to fly them over the island.

Koharu, seeing them starting to struggle, aimed to their left. Her jaw unhinged as he fired off a counterforce, forcing closer into the centre line as they continued to ascend.

"Thanks, Koharu! Mellissa, get ready. We won't land close enough to access it, so we'll find another way in!" Midoriya called out as they approached the bottom of the tower.

“Got it!” Mellissa hid behind Midoriya, her face pressed into his serpentine dreadlocks, which, despite appearance and logic, were as soft as a rubber hot water bottle. Clearing the fans, Koharu ceased her counter thrust, which Midoriya cut their main propulsion. Instead, she focused on amassing heat to handle what was before them.

“Serpent’s fireball!” Midoriya created a smaller fireball. The force of its launch killed most of their momentum, but it did not stop them as the fireball hit the tower meters from the hatch with an explosion. Searing hot debris fell, leaving a hole large enough to drive a car through. Its edges were hot to the touch as the two flew through it.

“They got it!” Uraraka called out, getting some cheers from the rest.  “Release.” As she released her quirk, Midoriya immediately felt gravity’s effects on them again, shifting so that he would land belly first, protecting Mellissa from the landing.

Line Break

In the reception hall, All Might tried to prove that the will could supersede the body by maintaining his muscle form even as he passed his typical limits. It wasn't without issue as it had been slow. Still, steam was starting to escape his body like an old parade balloon, with the symbol of peace just happy that none in the room noticed, with the hostages too scared and the villains too preoccupied. The latter didn't say it, but All Might and what he believed would be most heroes could see the growing concern and fear in the villains.

It was how they moved, how they clenched their weapons, and how they seemed to eye one another and the crowds. They hadn't been this unsteady before, but ever since the boss left, it had only grown worse, and that could only mean one thing.

 ‘Just a little longer, All Might. Have faith in your colleague.’ He didn't know how, but Vlad and whoever was with him was making progress. And a lot of it if the villains were this jumpy. Now, he just had to wait as, ideally, they would retake the system. Once the people were out of harm's way, he and the rest could handle the villains present. But he doubted Vlad would know how.

'I just have to have faith that he found someone who does.' All Might clenched his fist, fighting the desire to deflate for as long as he could and then even longer.

Line Break

“Mellissa, are you okay?” Midoriya asked as he got up.

"I should be asking you that," Mellissa replied, smiling at him, only for Koharu to hiss and lunge at something behind her. Midoriya was also pulling her in as the snake near bit into the villain, who reacted fast and batted her aside, landing a deep cut into her skeletal body.

“Koharu!” Midoriya cried at the sight but focused on the villain. He raised his arm to block against the second strikeout of Swordkill, his blades digging deep into his arms, but that only exposed the blades to the burning magna that lay beneath.

Seeing his blades start to heat up, the man pulled back. “You shouldn’t have come here, you brat!” He tried to buy time, knowing from the camera feed that this wasn’t a fight he would have good chances in.

"I should be saying that to you, villain," Midoriya replied, only for the man to hear an angered hiss to his side as Koharu rose up, her wound near completely healed. He tried to pull back more, but she struck, wrapping around him and restraining the man.

Midoriya just approached him and knocked him with a quick jab to the face. Feeling the man go limp, Koharu released him with a disgusted hiss. “That was for Koharu, bad guy.” Midoriya huffed as he returned to Mellissa’s side, dropping his transformed state as he looked her over. “Mellissa.”

He and Koharu had been fast but not careful, as when he had pulled her close, she had touched the still-hot entry hole they made, earning the girl some nasty-looking burns on her fingers and palm.

It hurt, but Mellissa didn't let it stop her. She had faced similar pains from lab accidents, after all. “It’s fine, just a little cut. After everything that’s happened, it’s the best case, right?” Monoma had been willing to take a bullet for her earlier, and the rest were still fighting against what seemed to be half the island's defense force.

A little burn was nothing to write home about.

“Still, we’re here to protect you.” Midoriya quietly stated, grasping her hand and moving to heal it. Still, she flicked him in the forehead with her other hand, getting a surprised yelp out of him.

“And you did, both of you.” She truthfully told the boy and snake, smiling at Midoriya as he held his forehead. Getting up, she pointed towards the stairs. "Let's get going; the security room should be on the top floor." Midoriya sucked up his disappointment in himself and nodded. They had a mission to complete.

They still encountered barricades, but with no time to find alternatives, Midoriya burned through all of them, leaving partially melted doors in their wake, having ensured they were wide enough for the rest to follow.

Hitting the stairs that would take them to the 200th floor, Midoriya had been leading them when he spotted 2 more villains at the top. Like the ones he had dealt with along with Iida and Monoma, they were armed and opened on him.

“They’re here!” One yelled as Midoriya pushed Mellissa out of the line of fire and crossed his arms, protecting his face. The two villains looked on in confusion and then horror as they saw the girl just stand there and take it, their bullets shredding flesh and bone, many hitting her torso and surely damaging vital organs. Still, all they saw was steam bleeding out of the wounds.

Midoriya felt the pain of being shot up like a test dummy at a gun range, but after having had limbs sliced off and being torn in two, this was no more hurtful than stubbing your toe. Instead, he was just furious that their attack ruined Hado-sempai's gift to him.

That, along with his desire to save the hostages, drove him to slowly climb up the stairs. Even as they continued to shoot him, he took another step, his body healing damage nearly as fast as they could deal it, enough to keep him going. "You're going to need something better than hot metal to hurt me; let me show you what real heat can do." He let loose another blast of fire, engulfing both villains, who cried out in pain, their weapons dropping from the heat before exploding.

Mellissa peaked out when she saw that the danger was over and winced when she saw Midoriya's state. However, he seemed to be healing and gave her a thumbs-up, so while she was concerned for his well-being, she trusted it and climbed up to the 200th floor.

"That had to be the last group, so it's a straight shot to the elevator?" Midoriya spoke up after some time, the two running through the empty hall to the top floor, which looked so different from the rest.

"It seems like it's not far. It should be in front of the central elevator," Mellissa replied, betting that they had either exhausted their numbers or the rest were all the way back at the reception hall. Even with the threat on the hostages, it wasn't like they could leave the heroes unattended, and too little would probably lead to a revolt, as she knew Uncle Might wouldn't hesitate if he had the chance.

Line Break

Not long later, they came to a bend. Looking out, they saw what looked to be a safe door. Midoriya wouldn't have paid it any mind, but it was open. More than that, he could see someone inside. “Someone’s in there.” Mellissa peaked out as well and recognised the man at the distance console, his back to them as he seemed to be working on something.

“Papa…!” Mellisa nearly cried and gave them away, but as much relief as she felt to see her father alive and well, a nagging question remained in her heart.

What was he doing in the Storage Room?

Midoriya’s brow creased. “All Might said that the villains took him earlier, so maybe he was the one running things, or they wanted something from him?” That seemed likely, as who better to open doors than David Shield? But… if they had an inside man, was their clearance not good enough? Why bring the professor? Was there something in there only he could get?

“It has to be the second thing, but we can’t just leave him.” Melissa focused on getting her father out of there, as these villains were no joke, and wondered if they felt trapped in there with her father.

“Never. We’ll rescue him and stop the villains, too.” Midoriya promised.

“That’s…off, Izuku,” Koharu spoke up after flicking her tongue about, tasting the smell of the hallway and the vault. “I only detect one other person in there; they don't smell like the other villains.”

"That's good, right?" Maybe they had been left unsupervised by the villains they'd already handled, but the professor wouldn't know they were safe and would keep working. All they needed to do was get in and tell them as much.

Koharu's gaze didn't let up. She didn't share his optimism for this; something just…felt off about it. It put her on edge like an unfamiliar patch of forest would: “…I don’t know, but be on guard.”

Line Break

Much like the rest of the tower, the Storage Room was far beyond what any other place would be. Its circular walls dotted with rectangular panels. None had handles or identification, and each was electronically locked. One would need to first access the control panel to even know which case held what, and that was no easy feat, having purposely been designed to be slow and time-consuming with several security checks as what was stored in this vault wasn't mere money or treasures, but research that was considered too dangerous to be released but too important to destroy.

Even David Shield couldn’t avoid those safety measures, but at long last, he got what he wanted and turned to his assistant.

"Block 1147," David told him as Sam raced up the stairs towards it.

"Wonderful." Getting to it, he confirmed the panel number and was relieved to see it unlocked, allowing him to pull out a large briefcase. Opening it, he laughed, joy flowing through him as he saw its contents.

“You did it, professor. Look, everything is here, it’s perfect!” He turned and showed it to the professor, who took a deep breath of relief but still felt wound up.

"Finally…I've gotten it back." He had thought he would never see it again, but they’ve done it. They did all my research, and they just took my device away from me, but now it's mine." David said more to himself than to Sam.

"Just like we planned, and it looks like the villains are holding things down," Sam told him, though he found it odd when they all left, but that wasn’t something to concern himself.

David walked up to meet him at the top of the stairs. “Thank you, I couldn’t have done anything without your help, Sam.”

“Papa…” Both froze at that voice, at that voice that shouldn't be here. Turning, they saw that they hadn't both heard things. Standing in the open doorway was Mellissa, the girl barefoot and slightly out of breath, but she looked more devastated by what she had walked in on. At her side was someone neither scientist recognized, in considerably worse condition with clothing that looked like it had been burned, torn, and pierced.

“Mellissa?” David gasped, his mind unable to understand what his daughter was doing here or accept her looking at him like he was a total stranger.

“What are you doing here?” Sam asked, as shouldn’t the villains have kept people back? How-!

“What does it mean it’s like you planned it?” Mellissa didn’t seem to hear their questions, asking her own as she slowly, weakly, walked in. Her gaze never left her father as she tried to understand, tried to glimpse at the truth, but also refuted it. Because if she didn't, if she accepted what she was seeing and had heard, then…"We…we thought a traitor and insider was helping them…don't…please don't tell me you were…"

“All to steal something…it can’t be true!” Then, it would mean her father had gone and done such a horrible thing for something as vile as theft.

David could see the look in her eyes, the confusion and heartbreak blending with frustration and desperation. He wanted to assure her that it wasn't so, hold her like he had done when she was younger and had a bad dream, but this wasn't like those times, and he respected and loved his daughter too much to try and lie, not when his attempt to keep her blissfully ignorant had already failed.

So, with a heavy heart, he confirmed her worst fears. “Yes, it is.”

"Papa, how could you?" Midoriya grabbed onto Mellissa before she could get closer. He didn't know what was happening; he was still reeling from the shock of what seemed to be the situation, but Koharu was hissing that they shouldn't get closer to either man, and he had never doubted her instincts.

Sam spoke up, seemingly trying to explain things before Mellissa's view of her father was irreversibly ruined. “The professor was only trying to get back what was stolen. The invention inside this briefcase can amplify someone’s quirk.”

Such a claim surprised the two, especially Midoriya, who had heard about triggers and their effects during his time with the Endeavour agency. "Is that even possible?"

Sam nodded, holding up the now-closed briefcase. "Yes, it's still being tested, but unlike drugs, this device can magnify someone's quirk many times with no adverse effects on them or their quirk gene."

David recalled how his work ended up in the storage room as he spoke. That damned meeting when the entire island-no, the entire world came down on him like an avalanche and gave him no choice. "Yes, despite that, our sponsors confiscated it. The research, this prototype, our notes of it, and they demanded it all be abandoned, fearing what effects it could have on our superhuman society."

"Fearing that governments from different countries pressure your father to cancel the product and surrender all materials relating to it. That's why we did this…"

"I don't understand; I'm missing something, right?" Mellisa didn’t look convinced, and neither was Midoriya by that. So it was deemed dangerous; incredibly, that was even less reason to try and get it out. "Even if it was yours, you'd never do this; you taught me better than this! So why?"

“I had to for All Might,” Mellisa's face twisted in fury at that retort, but she barely kept her anger in check as her father wasn't done. "You two aren't aware, but his quirk is disappearing, and our symbol of peace is with it. I've tried everything I could think of, every treatment and device under the sun, and even more…I can't stop it."

Midoriya bit her lip at that, as he knew he'd known for over a year now that All Might wasn't the same man he had once been. He had been limited to just 3 hours of hero time a day. But he had no idea it had something to do with his quirk besides his injury.

"This device was my last hope. If he can use it, he'll return to his old self. No-he'll be even stronger." David seemed to gain confidence, but Midoriya thought it was closer to desperation as he took the case from Sam and presented it to them. "The number one hero will keep protecting the world; he can keep saving people, just like always. Please, I don't care what happens to me; just get this to All Might. After that, I'll accept my punishment and resign from I-island and never research again if-!"

“I don’t care!” Mellisa yelled, silencing her father as her cry echoed through the space. Tears flowed as she glared at her father like he was some lowly criminal. "I…I just don't…not when I can't accept this. Even if you've betrayed everything that you taught me because of your reasons, what Uncle Might stands for! We worked hard; they fought tooth and nail just to get here! Fighting against villains who would try and kill us!

David paused, as that…didn’t make sense. “What do you mean to try and kill us? Those villains are just actors; they weren't meant to harm anyone." Wait, was that why she was shirtless? Why the other one seemed like they had been through hell? No, that wasn't part of the plan, not at all!

Turning to Sam, his assistant looked away from him. “It’s all meant to be an act.”

"Of course, it was an act," The boss of the villains stated, Koharu hissing at him as he entered, along with someone else, as Midoriya got in front of Mellissa, seeing this new person as the bigger threat. "But where you thought it was us being actors pretending to be criminals, it was the other way around."

“You-!” Midoriya rushed the man, his body already heating up, but before he could burst into flames, the villain placed a hand on the metal door frame. From where his palm touched, there was a soft blue glow. The guard rails then shifted, seemingly coming to life as they tore free of their fixtures and shot towards Midoriya, who couldn't dodge them as he was thrown into the other wall with a thud, the metal wrapping around his midsection and bolting him to the floor, the same with others which stuck his limbs, and neck.

“Midoriya!” Mellissa rushed to his side as Midoriya struggled against the binds.

'His quirk, it lets him manipulate metal? I can break out, but,' Eying Mellissa, he had to cease. Even if he broke out with care not to harm her, if this guy could control metal, it didn't mean he couldn't when it was molten hot, and should he use it against the rest…

“You’ll be smart not to resist, Sam,” the villain warned Midoriya before he turned to Sam. David left, unsure why he would. “Hand it over.”

“Right away.” Sam ripped the case from David's hands and ran down the stairs; David was left dumbfounded by his as…this was too much.

“Sam…?” What was happening, and why was it happening? Sam and he had been working together…right? But…wasn't he the same one who first suggested this? And the one who assured him the villains would just be actors? But how he was acting couldn't just be fear; there was something else.

Something that David didn't like to consider but couldn't ignore: "Was this your plan? You brought in these criminals and were going to hand it over to them anyway? But we need the device for All Might. That was the only reason I went through with this!"

“You were saving All Might!” Sam yelled as he turned back to David with a look of utter rage and disgust that made David step back. “I…I was trying to get back what was ours-no, what was mine.” Sam held the case close to his chest like one would a child.

“I was your assistant, your second for 20 long years, and yet when they came for our work, our greatest creation, you didn't even lift a finger to fight for it, did you? You just let them take it away from us!” Sam yelled back. It was Sam who pleaded their case, and he begged. Not David, but it was David who handed it over.

"We could have had fame and fortune, but it was ripped from us." He started tearing up, but his eyes, eyes that David had always thought of as kind, remained angry, but now he didn't recognize the man in them. "If I can't get something from the work I put into this, my entire career was a waste of time."

“Yup, and here’s the payment I promised.” Sam turned to Wolfram just in time to see the man had raised his pistol, shooting him without warning as Sam went down, shocking the students and the professor as Sam now, on his butt, looked up at Wolfram in confused terror, holding at his shoulder which was turning red.

“Sam!” Mellissa yelled as Midoriya growled, a sound akin to rocks being boiled in a furious fire leaving his mouth as the binds holding him grew hot, the boy barely keeping his anger in check at such a careless act of violence.

“Why…? This wasn’t part of the plan…!” Sam asked, the pain of the bullet paling in comparison to his death as the man he had worked with, the man he had thought he came to an understanding with, was pointing a gun at him without a shred of mercy in his eyes.

Sam was right about that; Wolfram didn’t care for him or his life. If anything, he had been having fun with all the juicy drama between the professor, his daughter, and his assistant. The shock, the betrayals, and the reveals, this was prime entertainment, the stuff most grade-A made-for-TV dramas were made of. If he had some popcorn, he could have sat back and watched, but unlike a movie that one could only watch, he could interject and add even more spice to the soup.

“Part of yours, maybe not. But part of mine? From the part. After all, I might be a villain, but even I can't stand traitors…well, that's a lie; I love them when they benefit me, which you did, Sammy. But with your part done, no real reason to keep you around, is there?” He smiled as he pulled the trigger again, with his second bullet tearing through flesh and bone just like the first.

Mellissa gasped, while Midoriya's eyes widened as he saw the blood splatter and immediately could smell copper in the air.

"Professor…?" But it wasn't Sam, but David who, despite everything, rushed into the line of fire; Mellissa screamed as her father went down, a growing puddle of blood beneath him.

“Get out of here…now!” David, despite being in serious pain from having been shot in his side, so close to his lung that he swore his lungs felt the shock of the bullet tearing through his back and out his front, still found the strength to try and save the others.

“Papa!” Mellissa didn’t care as she ran forward, her eyes locked onto her injured father, everything else falling away.

"Stay back!" David yelled, but it came too late as Wolfram smacked Mellissa in the face with the butt of his pistol; the girl let out a shout of pain as she was thrown back, landing on her side. "Mellissa!"

Midoriya semi-transformed, his spine lighting up as he poured greater heat into the steel, burning his flesh. Still, its superheated state offered some resistance- not a lot. Still, he didn't care even as the metal started to dig into his flesh, burning through muscle to the bone. All that did was give him greater access to it, causing the metal to bend as it lost strength and liquified.

"Wow, who would have thought? You just found out your assistant and right-hand man stabbed you in the back, and you still took a bullet for him. I'm not sure if that was an act of chivalry or stupidity." Wolfram scratched his head, looking towards Mitnick, who shrugged. It wasn't like he would have seen that coming.

Stomping on David’s injury, Wolfram ground his foot into it. “Trying to play the hero now? Well, it’s a little late, don’t you think?” David looked up at the man but only saw that sick grin on his face. The overhead light made him all the more twisted.

“No matter your reason, you still dirtied your hands. It doesn't matter if you thought we were actors; you planned and carried out an actual crime. What you've done might become one of the greatest heists in history, all thanks to your generous and wilful aid." David glared at him, but it was weakening as the truth settled in.

“You’re just…like…us. So, allow me to officially welcome you to the other side of the law, Professor David Shield.” He even went as far as to smile at David to break him even more like this…this wasn't what David wanted; he didn't want any of this! But then, a voice in his head that sounded so much like Wolfram told him that what he wanted didn't matter; it was what he did.

Off to the side, Wolfram and the rest heard metal melting and dripping onto the floor, the villain turning to see Midoriya having freed himself, his restraints boiling hot slag on the floor, with his wrists and ankles badly burnt, steaming even.

Sam, David, and the other villains couldn't believe that someone would do something so horrific to themselves, much less that his ankles could support his weight. Wolfram, on the other hand, focused on the kid's eyes, and he liked what he saw.

Without warning, Midoriya launched himself towards Wolfram, moving like a two-legged cheetah, staying low to the ground. Heat and steam billowed off his body as each step damaged his already burnt joints, neck, and midsection, but his quirk rapidly healed them as he moved.

Wolfram, in response, erected a wall that Midoriya crashed into; he boasted of damaging it but not getting through. Hissing out a blast of smoke, Midoriya turned to Mellissa, shooting her a look that, without warning, conveyed his promise to rescue her father and defeat this villain. In his glowing green eyes, Mellissa also saw his plea for her to save everyone else.

Already dealing with so much else, Mellissa threw it to the side and nodded. She didn't know what she felt about any of this, but she knew that she came here to save the island, and she couldn't let the hard work everyone else put in go to waste.

Getting up, she turned and ran towards the.

This didn’t go unnoticed as Wolfram ordered his man. “Don’t let her escape!" He yelled, to which Midoriya ceased trying to bust through to Wolfram and turned to Mellissa. He wished to rush over, but he knew he wouldn't make it, and he still had to deal with this villain and get the professor.

So he went with the next best thing.

"Koharu!" He yelled. No instructions, requests-nothing but she understood perfectly what he wished from her as she lunged off his body, high into the air, where she shifted forms, growing larger as she burst into flames.

When she landed, she was the length of a school bus, blistering hot and in the way of the villain Wolfran had tried to dispatch, the man falling over in fear at the straight infernal serpent before him. She loomed over him, hissing before Wolfram turned his attention to her, launching pillars of metal from the ceiling her way.

“Serpent Fire Scales!” His attack stalled when Midoriya fired off a counter. Each ball of flames struck the pillars of metal and exploded, not completely melting them but shattering their ends into dozens of hot-to-the-touch fragments. Mellissa was protected by it thanks to Koharu's shifting to place her body above her, buying the girl time to run on through before she followed after her.

The barrier between Wolfram and Midoriya also faced a similar fate, as the boy sent a fireball at the spot he had punched, melting the already weakening metal before he came bursting through, covered in burns but ready to fight.

"Hand over the professor, and I'll ensure the flames' kiss is short." Midoriya finished the statement with a buff of flames and smoke; his nostrils flared like a dragon's.

"Nice threat, kid," Wolfram stepped before the downed doctor, smirking at his opponent. “Let’s see if you can live up to it.”

Line Break

Well, there's no power once more. So finishing this was fun, though my father laughed when he called earlier. I explained how little I could get done as he's one of those guys who grew up without stable electricity and kept joking about it. The power bank I bought only works on my phone, which I wasn't angry about. It saved me the headache since when I woke up. It only had 30%, but still.

So, this chapter is shorter than I would have liked. I planned for it to be a beefy chapter to cover everything that remained in the movie, but life doesn’t care if your schedule was ruined by municipal fuck-ups. It's also the last chapter of the I-island arc, so I had to really work to cram it all in there and get to the ending, as I really wanted one particular scene.