Once More (My Hero Academia)

14: Dark Path Ahead

The red flare shot towards the ceiling of the dome-shaped facility.

"What the hell is happening... My nomu...!" Shigaraki Tomura stammered, taking a few steps back.

The nomu was gone. Blasted away through the ceiling, leaving a large, gaping hole. It was comical, in a way.

Anger and fear flooded through Shigaraki, and a sudden burst of rage made him yell and dash towards All Might, who was standing heroically near the center of the plaza, dust and smoke billowing around the hero's feet. The sight disgusted Shigaraki, magnifying his rage and resentment.

"Today is the day you die--"

Then suddenly a piercing pain exploded from his forearms and legs, one after the other, and he buckled back, falling to the ground.

He cried out in pain and frustration, then his body trembled with tangible fear as he realized he was shot. He turned quickly to the source of the gunshot sound, and his stomach lurched when he saw them.

They were here.

Standing on a tall ledge from the mountainous terrain, a pro hero with a cowboy hat, a mask, and a red cape held up a gun, pointing directly at Shigaraki. The villain breathed raggedly and slowly inched away, still on the ground.

"Kurogiri!" Shigaraki called, but there was no reply. No purple mist instantly appearing next to him whenever he demanded.

"KUROGIRI!" He yelled again, desperation and denial seeping through his voice.

"Don't bother!" Someone else called out. Shigaraki realized with a jolt it was another pro hero on the other side of the stadium, walking out from the trees. This hero had long blond hair and a really, really annoying voice.

"Your teleporting friend is outta service!" The loud blond hero screeched.

"Dammit! It was a trap all along!" Shigaraki said through gritted teeth, the pain from the bullet wounds tearing through his body, "Master... you lied..."

His mind barely had enough time to register that fact when he felt his entire body restrained as white strands of fabric snapped tight around him.

The villain struggled against the restraints to no avail. His arms were stuck behind his back and his hands couldn't reach the fabric wrapped around him.

"It would be advantageous for you to stop struggling," the deep voice that belonged to Eraser Head said behind Shigaraki, "I've erased your quirk anyway."

"You filthy heroes!" the villain spat, "I will not lose... to..."

His movements became sluggish and his eyelids grew heavy, then he felt himself sink into darkness.

•••

"Wait, they were here, in the facility, the entire time?" Iida said, his voice full of confusion and disbelief.

The group of 1-A students standing on top of the staircase witnessed how pro heroes popped out of nowhere, and they were very, very surprised.

"There's no other explanation..." Bakugo muttered, "it was an ambush, all along."

"So they knew the villains would come here?" Uraraka asked as she watched a swarm of Ectoplasm's clones race towards different sectors of the facility.

On the central plaza, Shigaraki was unconscious, knocked out by Midnight's quirk. Cementoss had constructed a high wall, blocking the students' view of All Might.

Izuku knew that his mentor was at his limit now.

"But how would they know?" Iida wondered out loud, "and if they did, why risk the safety of the class?"