Kaminari: Hasn't there already been a Viridian chapter like this?
Jana: I know but just cut Clouds some slack. You try writing about this much and not forgetting a few things.
Izuku was trying his hardest not to hopelessly fanboy, he really was, but it was Ingenium! He was such an amazing hero, especially considering how young he was, and he had an entire team of sidekicks working for him! There were dozens! And Izuku had never seen him in this area before... well, he actually had, considering that Ingenium had come to Musutafu for a UA reunion and patrolled the streets to sign autographs, but that didn't really count.
Iida(lighting up): Oh, Tensei's in this story.
He was curious as to why he was here though. Had he moved recently? Maybe there was some increase in villainy recently? Izuku thought he would have noticed if that were the case, but maybe with the whole breaking his arm thing it was possible some things had slipped through the cracks... Izuku shook his head and took off over the rooftops again. He needed to be looking for crimes right now, not geeking out over a hero, even if he was really cool.
Aizawa: Probably because of the trigger case...
Mic: Oh yeah he was part of it too wasn't he?
Midnight: Yep.
Maybe he'd have a chance to run into Eraserhead again tonight. He hadn't actually seen him since their talk last week, something that was honestly freaking him out a little bit. Sure, Eraser had been really supportive and everything, but now he knew. Talking openly about his suicide plans had seemed really comforting in the moment, but now that Izuku had had a while to worry about it, he was starting to think that he should have just laughed it off and deny the whole thing. Not that his Midoriya tears would even let him do that, but he could have at least tried.
Vlad: He wouldn't have believed you.
What if Eraserhead was avoiding him and that was why Izuku hadn't seen him? But if he was avoiding him, why hadn't he started doing that before the whole suicide talk thing? It would havelet him avoid a really awkward conversation, so why didn't he just do that?
Joke: He's not avoiding you.
Thankfully, a shout from a few streets over knocked Izuku out of his thoughts, but then he immediately felt guilty for being grateful. Someone was in trouble! That wasn't a good thing! He jumped down onto the next roof and peered over right as someone screamed. There was a group of girls that were seemingly coming home from a night on the town and cornering them against the wall was the big\gest villain Izuku had ever seen. He was almost tempted to say that the guy wasn't human, but that would be incredibly rude. What was obvious was that the guy had a mutation quirk, though Izuku couldn't tell exactly what it was from his current angle, just that he was huge, had multiple arms, and his hands didn't actually look like hands.
(everyone stared)
All Might: ...That's what used to be Jun Hamasaki isn't it?
Gran Torino: Yes...
Alright, so Izuku probably wouldn't be able to handle this guy on his own, so he should get a hero. Rock Lock should be the closest to where he was now, based on his patrol schedule. He needed to get him quickly before...
The villain let out a terrifying roar and slammed his claws into the ground. Wait, maybe they were pincers? Izuku shook his head, either way they were strong enough to completely shatter the concrete, which the villain was now starting to grab and throw at the girls, who only just managed to dodge the largest pieces in time. Even as it was, a few of them had been hit by the rubble and at least one had been knocked out that Izuku could see, which meant that he didn't have time to go get a hero. He needed to engage the villain and distract him long enough that the victims who were still standing could drag the injured ones away.
Inko: Izuku!
If this fight didn't kill him, Eraserhead definitely would.
(everyone snorted)
The villain screamed in rage again as he ran out of ammo and started lumbering toward the girls again, and Izuku knew he couldn't wait any longer. He grabbed his slingshot and loaded up a marble, shooting straight for the villain's center of mass. There was a quiet ting as it hit its mark, but the villain didn't even seem to notice. He must be wearing some sort of armor, but that couldn't be right because he wasn't even wearing a shirt... which meant his skin must be the armor. This fight just got a whole lot harder.
Uraraka: Oh no deku!
The girls were screaming and dodging as the villain buried one of his pincers into the wall where one of the girls had been just a second before. The hit made the whole building Izuku was standing on shake, but rather than waiting for the building to stop moving, he just jumped off it, landing harshly in a roll that would definitely leave bruises, but he couldn't afford to worry about that now.
"I'll distract him." Izuku made eye contact with one of the girls who was still standing and trying to help one of her friends who was on the ground. "As soon as his attention's on me, you all need to run!"
Mitsuki: You too Izuku!
Tsu: Stop making yourself a target, ribbit!
Her eyes were wide with fear, but she nodded and Izuku gave her his best shaky smile before he grabbed his pipes and ran toward the villain. Just like with his marble, there was a loud tinging sound the moment the metal came in contact with the hardened shell that acted as the villain's skin, but his pipes didn't even leave a dent. The attack did, however, catch the villain's attention. Izuku gulped as the villain stopped trying to hit the girls and slowly turned to face him.
Everyone: Midoriya!
When he saw the villain's eyes, Izuku felt like all the oxygen in the street had been burned away by the sheer fire of anger in them. Even Kacchan didn't get that angry! What had happened to make him this way? It couldn't have been something the girls did, they were just walking, so what was it?
Recovery Girl: The experimentation...
The villain took a step forward and Izuku realized that it didn't matter why the villain was so angry, what mattered now was that every once of that anger was now directed toward him. Izuku chucked nervously and reminded himself that this had been the plan. Thankfully, he could see the victims dragging each other down the street.
"Um," Izuku smiled breathlessly, "I don't suppose there's any way we can talk this out?"
(everyone snorted)
The villain roared and Izuku had to roll to the side as one of the villain's pincers buried itself in the concrete where he'd just been standing. The minute he was on his feet again, Izuku started running in the opposite direction that the girls had gone, shielding his head as chunks of rock and concrete rained down from behind him.
"Hey! Throwing rocks is my gimmick!" Izuku yelled desperately. "You can't steal my thing!"
Mitsuki: Izuku!
The only response he got was another roar and a particularly large chunk of rock that almost blew off his hood as it whizzed past and shattered a few yards in front of him, which was when Izuku realized that that particular chunk was actually made of brick, not concrete. He glanced behind him and his eyes widened as he realized that the villain was using his pincers to tear at the streets and buildings as he ran, destroying anything that got in his way. It was like all the anger he was holding had made him go absolutely crazy.
Izuku quickly turned his eyes back forward and pushed himself even harder, trying to push away the vivid image of himself being torn apart by the villain's rage just like the buildings.
(Inko suddenly covered her eyes as she made the mistake of picturing it too)
"Okay, Eraser," Izuku panted desperately, "I know you're not here right now, but you win! I don't want to die anymore... or at least not like that!"
Toga: No one does!
He had to find a hero, or multiple heroes preferably. He was still closest to Rock Lock's patrol, but the direction he was running was quickly taking him the opposite direction. Who else did that leave? Amplifier's patrol was too populated for this destructive of a villain, there would be too many casualties, and Izuku had no idea where Eraserhead was. Was that it? Was this really the end?
Suddenly, he caught sight of a white Ingenium hoodie on display in a shop window and he almost started sobbing in relief. Ingenium was in town! Instantly, Izuku skidded down a side street and started to head in the direction that he'd last seen the hero. Hopefully he hadn't strayed too far, because Izuku was completely out of options.
Iida: Yes Tensei!
The moment that he saw the white flash of Ingenium's hero suit, Izuku shot a marble at him. Ingenium, however, had apparently already been heading his way and simply caught the marble and kept running. Within seconds, he was whizzing past Izuku toward the villain, something that in any other situation, would have had him geeking out about his quirk, but today he was just grateful for the hero's speed.
"Be careful!" Izuku forced out, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "His skin is some kind of hard shell!"
"Don't worry, kid, that's why I have armor!" Ingenium yelled back. "Get to safety, I can handle this!"
Iida: Please be careful...
He launched a quirked punch at the villain's stomach and Izuku winced at the loud clang as his metal armor met the villain's shell. The armor, however, held up and Ingenium immediately launched another attack, his engines revving as he hit the villain with punch after punch. Izuku, for his part, hadn't had any time to actually figure out the villain's quirk, since his main concern had been making sure everyone stayed alive, but maybe if he could find the villain's weakness, Ingenium might be able to beat him!
Alright, so the villain was a mutant type with a hard shell-like skin, multiple limbs and pincers. Now that Izuku actually got a decent look at them, they seemed almost exactly like a crab's. He shook his head as he got a weird sense of deja-vu. Why did this quirk feel so familiar? Had he seen it before...?
Aizawa: Yes...
Izuku's eyes widened and he cupped his hands around his mouth to yell, "Ingenium! I've fought this guy before! He has a crab mutation quirk. Aim for his joints, it's where his shell is the weakest!"
"Got it!" Ingenium instantly started aiming his punches and kicks at the villain's joints, which made the villain scream in rage again, although this time laced with pain. "What's up with this guy anyway? It's like he's gone completely berserk!"
Kurogiri: Experiments...
Izuku was honestly wondering the same thing. He must have escaped after Eraser arrested him, but if that were it, he wouldn't be this strong. Izuku hadn't even recognized the crab villain when he'd first seen him, considering he was now twice as large as he had been during their last fight and ten times as angry. Even trigger wouldn't explain the change because Izuku had seen him on trigger before and it didn't have this much of an effect...
"The villain factory." Izuku whispered. "They made him into a next level villain."
Midnight: Or worse...
It was so obvious now that he'd realized it. However, it also meant that Ingenium was outmatched and needed backup, since the chase had made Izuku too tired to be of much use in this fight and the effectiveness of his weapons were limited by the villain's shell. However, before Izuku could run to find another hero, someone who seemed to be crouched on the ground shot past him and barreled into the villain's legs, making him lose his balance momentarily.
"Ingenium, you alright?"
"Yeah, this guy just has some anger management issues, nothing too much to handle." Ingenium laughed. "Are the other sidekicks on their way?"
Tsukauchi: Crawler?!
Midnight: Hang on isn't he Captain Celebrity's sidekick in America?
Mic: Must be a different universe thing.
"Teams A & C are incoming." The sidekick straightened, letting Izuku see his hero costume for the first time. It was mostly blue, but with red and yellow accents, almost as if he'd taken his main inspiration from All Might, but changed the pattern around so it wouldn't be too obvious. He had a hood, but unlike Izuku's, his was down. "The other teams remained on the original mission. They sent me ahead in case you needed help sooner."
All Might: Oh wait he's the kid who helps people while wearing All Might hoodies isn't he?
Aizawa: Yup. Honestly surprised you still remember him.
"Well then," Ingenium sounded like he was smiling under his helmet, "let's see if the two of us are fast enough to finish this fight before they get here."
Watching the two heroes fight was honestly breathtaking and unlike the fights he used to watch from the streets, there wasn't any barrier of police or media blocking Izuku's view of the action. Ingenium and his sidekick were obviously extremely used to each other's fighting styles, because there was zero hesitation in how they moved around each other at breakneck speeds. To Izuku, they just looked like blurs of white and blue as they gradually broke down the villain's defenses. After a few minutes, the sidekick stopped attacking at close range and started providing cover fire with some kind of projectile... wait, was that air? Was it some kind of support weapon... no, it had to be part of the sidekick's quirk! But he had a speed quirk, right? So how did that work? Oh, Izuku had so many questions!
Midoriya: Sensei please explain to me how his quirk works!
Aizawa: Maybe later...
Now that he'd gotten a chance to breathe, Izuku figured it was probably time to rejoin the fight. He followed the sidekick's example and decided to keep his distance and attack using his marbles. Careful not to aim anywhere near Ingenium, Izuku quickly fired a marble, hoping to hit the villain's eye, since they shouldn't have the same shell as the rest of the villain, assuming that whatever experiments the villain factory had done on him hadn't changed that.
Spinner: Eyes don't really have shells.
The marble hit its mark and Izuku felt a swell of pride as the crab villain clutched his eye, giving Ingenium and his sidekick an opening to combine their attacks and knock him out. Then the two heroes turned to look straight at Izuku.
He froze and the small smile he'd been wearing melted off his face. Were they going to arrest him? But then he'd have to stop and Eraser would tell his mom about him wanting to kill himself and... could he run? No, they both had speed quirks, there was no way that Izuku could get away fast enough...
Iida: No my brother is oddly lax about vigilantes.
He was shocked out of his thoughts by Ingenium taking off his helmet and smiling at him, "You must be Viridian. Shouta told me I might run into you around here."
Izuku was still tense, wondering if this was some kind of a trick to get him to let his guard down. But why would Ingenium have to trick him...?
Thirteen: He's not tricking you!
The sidekick seemed to pick up on his hesitance because he laughed loudly, "Don't worry kid, Ingenium's actually pretty lax when it comes to vigilantes. Believe me, I know from personal experience."
"Shut up, Crawler." Ingenium griped good-naturedly. "Yeah, kid, don't worry. As long as you're not going around and killing people, we'll be fine."
"O-ok..." Izuku's head was spinning. He was actually talking to Ingenium! And he wasn't even going to try to arrest him! He just hoped he hadn't been too annoying, "Um, are you sure it's okay that I led the villain to you? It's just that there weren't any other heroes nearby and I didn't know what else..."
Joke: No, you're never annoying, green bean.
"You're kidding, right?" Ingenium laughed and held up the marble that Izuku had shot to catch his attention, "Everybody back home is gonna be so jealous that I've got one of these!"
"W-what?"
The sidekick, Crawler apparently, looked at him in shock, "Wait, you mean you don't know?"
Aizawa: Right they've started collecting them.
Izuku was so confused, "D-don't know what?"
"Your marbles are a collector's item among heroes, kid." Ingenium smiled.
"N-no. That can't be right!" Izuku shook his head frantically, "I just throw them to catch heroes' attention, it's not really anything special and..."
Hagakure: And he's freaking again...
He was cut off by Eraserhead swinging down from a building and landing in front of him, "Kid, are you alright? You're not hurt, are you? What happened?"
"Whoa, Eraser, calm down, the kid's fine." Ingenium teased. "You know people might actually think you care about the kid if you keep acting like his dad."
(everyone laughed)
Eraserhead glared at him, "Shut up, Tensei. But seriously, kid, are you alright?"
Izuku nodded, deciding it'd be best to ignore the confusing dad comment, "How did you even know about the fight, Eraserhead?"
Dabi: Is he being serious right now?
Eraser looked at him dryly, "You do realize that people sometimes call the cops about disturbances, right? The villain wasn't exactly being quiet. "
"Oh..." Izuku said softly, "Sorry, I didn't realize. People were probably really annoyed at being woken up, weren't they?"
"It's not your fault, kid." Eraser sighed. "It's not like you were the one screaming."
Hound Dog: Yes, don't blame yourself for a random villain attack.
"Speaking of screaming, do you have any idea what made the guy so angry, Viridian?" Ingenium asked. "You said you'd fought him before, so does he always go berserk like that or did something happen to set him off?"
Eraserhead looked between Izuku and the unconscious villain, his unspoken question clear just from his posture. Izuku understood why. The villain had changed so much that Izuku really wouldn't have realized it was the same guy if he hadn't recognized his quirk, "It's the crab villain that threw me against the wall that one time."
"The one that almost killed you?" Eraserhead asked in shock. He turned back to the villain, "Are you sure?"
Inko: Yes...
Izuku nodded, "I recognized his quirk, but it's stronger now. I'm pretty sure the villain factory got ahold of him somehow, because trigger alone couldn't have done this to his body."
There was a moment of tense silence as the heroes digested Izuku's discovery before Eraser sighed, "We'll have to do a blood test to make sure, but Jun Hamasaki went missing from custody, so it tracks.
Honenuki: Definitely...
"So the villain factory has been active here." Crawler said. "Honestly, I was hoping you guys were wrong. Last time was a nightmare."
Midnight: Definitely...
"Oh, is that why you guys are here?" Izuku asked, unable to stop himself. "Are you guys confirming the case?"
"Nah, we're here on another mission," Ingenium said, "but Tsukauchi asked us to keep an eye out, since we dealt with the whole instant villain craze in Naruhata a few years ago."
"Oh..." Izuku felt some guilt bubble up inside him. "I'm sorry I distracted you from your mission."
Momo: Don't blame yourself Viridian!
Mina: Yeah it's not your fault!
Eraser put a hand on his head, "None of that, Viridian. It's the villain's fault for attacking and a hero's job is to protect people, no matter if they were planning to or not, so don't try to blame yourself for this, problem child."
Izuku felt tears well up in his eyes and was about to wipe them away when he saw movement down the street. Apparently, Ingenium's back-up had finally arrived, because there were two trucks painted in his colors, but there were also a few other trucks with satellites on them... oh no.
Mic: Great the media.
"Ugh, the vultures are here." Eraser complained. "Don't they ever sleep?"
"You're one to talk." Crawler laughed. "Shouldn't you do something about those eyebags?"
(everyone laughed and Aizawa rolled his eyes)
"Um... I think I'm just gonna go..." Izuku started backing away slowly, trying to keep the heroes between him and the media. That one article had been bad enough, Izuku didn't know if he'd be able to handle it if he made the news.
"Aww, is the local vigilante camera shy?" Crawler teased.
Midoriya: Yeah...
Uraraka: What about you, deku?
Midoriya: Huh? Oh I don't really mind the cameras as much as Viridian does. I'm getting used to it anyway.
"Viridian's not like you and Pop Step were, Crawler." Eraser said as Izuku started to run down the nearest alleyway. "He doesn't want to be famous."
"Ah, so that's why you like the kid so much." Ingenium said.
Izuku was almost too far away to hear Eraserhead's reply, "No. I like the kid because he's got potential."
Nezu: He definitely does.