Luke entered the Center Tower, where the Reception Party for the I-Expo must have already started on the 2nd floor.
He was wearing a black suit over a black shirt and pants, with Nyx perched regally on his shoulder.
"You are late!" Tenya reprimanded him right away. "We agreed to meet 15 minutes earlier!!"
Luke smiled wryly, looking around.
Among the boys, other than Tenya, only Kaminari and Mineta had made it on time, it seemed. From the girls' side, Toru and Uraraka were there as well, wearing nice skirts.
"You look nice," Luke casually remarked without looking at any of them.
After what happened in the evening, Luke had decided not to spout nonsense, giving the impression that could easily be misunderstood.
Uraraka let out a toothy grin.
Toru, on the other hand, hopped to Luke. "Just nice?" she asked, making a circle on her feet. "… Red suits me the best, you know…"
Toru was wearing a red one-piece.
Of course, with her being invisible, only the dress stood out.
"What you want to hear?" Nyx suddenly cawed. "Sexy?"
"Nyx!" Luke gasped, his eyes landing on everyone to see if they heard it. Fortunately, they hadn't. "Have you gone…"
"Maybe…" Toru suddenly said, giggling.
As Luke gaped at Toru, confused beyond words, Midoriya joined them, wearing a black-striped, maroon suit.
Soon, in a white suit, Todoroki arrived as well.
"Where's the rest of them?" Luke asked Toru. "I thought you were with Mina and others…"
"Mina and Tsuyu went to the complimentary parlor first," Toru said. "They might get late to the party… And Kyoka and…"
"Sorry, guys." A voice came from behind Luke. "We got late…"
Luke turned around and, for a moment, forgot that he was among children.
For the first time after his regression, he was seeing Momo in makeup, wearing a beautiful green gown.
"Hey!" Toru slapped his back. "That's not fair! You didn't look at me like that!"
Pouting, the invisible girl walked away, stomping her feet.
Letting out a sigh, Luke watched as Kyoka hit Kaminari and Mineta as they mocked her.
On the other hand, after getting reprimanded by Tenya, Momo finally looked around, her eyes suddenly landing on Luke looking back at her. With a snap, she turned her head away, her posture becoming rigid.
Luke almost let out a wry smile.
Not only Momo, but everyone was afraid of making eye contact with him, lest they break out with laughter.
His image was the last thing Luke needed to be worried about sacrificing to keep some secrets. So, it didn't bother him much.
"Hey! What are you smiling for?"
Luke looked to his left and found Melissa. She looked nice, too, he observed. But, compared to Momo, she was miles behind.
Not everyone thought like Luke, though.
Kaminari and Mineta went nuts as they saw Melissa.
"Is everyone here?" Melissa asked, smiling. "It must have already started…"
Those were the exact words Tenya needed to begin dialing numbers all over again.
And, just as Shoji told Tenya that he was hurrying to the Tower with Fumikage, Hanta, and Sato, it happened.
…
A few moments before,
The Villains had already taken control of the Security Systems at the top of the Tower.
Unknown to all this, in the Reception Hall, people had already gathered to enjoy the feast.
Suddenly, the Manager of the I-Expo announced that All Might would be sharing a few words with them.
"This wasn't needed," All Might said, holding a smile on his face.
David shook his head. "It was bound to happen when they learned you are here…"
All Might went to the stage, holding a glass of wine. If he were being honest with himself, then he shouldn't even be here. He had only come to show his face because David had asked him to. Otherwise, given his condition, there was no benefit in keeping his muscle form.
Now, after over an hour of maintaining it, All Might was already having a hard time keeping the muscle form up.
Let's wrap it up… All Might thought and raised the glass of wine, smiling.
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
With a loud, alarming sound, everything took a red tinge, suddenly.
[This is an announcement from I-Island Security System. We have received reports of an explosive device at the I-Expo Area. I-Island will now be in a High-Alert Mode. Your safety…]
The same announcement was being made throughout the I-Island.
Robot units, especially to take down even the most dangerous Villains, rushed out and spread across the entire island.
Meanwhile, with loud thumps, heavy doors locked down the Central Tower, cutting it off from the outside.
In the reception hall, the elevator doors opened, and Villains walked out, carrying weapons.
Wearing a white greatcoat and a metal mask, Wolfram grinned at them, his gaze reflecting All Might. "In case you didn't realize what just happened," he said, raising his hand, "then let me catch you all up to speed…
"— This entire island has become my hostage… Do it."
On the big screen behind All Might, many live images popped up, showing the robot units surrounding civilians.
In the next moment, tiny holes opened up on the floor as well.
From the holes, glowing strands of metal shot out and wrapped themselves around all the Heroes, restraining them.
All Might instinctively tried to break the restraints.
"Uh-huh…" Wolfram appeared next to him, holding a gun. "Move an inch more, and I will start killing the people here at random. Choice is yours… All Might."
All Might planted his blue, hardened gaze on the Villain… his hands relaxing.
"Good boy," Wolfram grinned, kicking All Might to the floor. "Lay there until it's over. For the good of the rest. Haha…"
At the same time, two floors below the reception hall, the Class 1-A students had also picked up on the oddity, heavy steel doors sealing all exits.
As Melissa mentioned that the current procedure wasn't the norm against a bomb threat, Midoriya suggested taking the stairs to the Reception Party to reach All Might.
Luke rushed up the stairs with the rest of them, narrowing his eyes.
Now, he just needed an opportunity to slip away… without causing any suspicion.
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100 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter