Shoji and Fumikage ran as the robots chased them.
Far into the distance behind them, Sato and Hanta fought their way out, going in the opposite direction.
It was hard to figure out what was happening from here.
However, with their experience, the boys had figured out that it wasn't as simple as the threat of a bomb at the I-Expo. It was especially so when it felt like the robots were actively surrounding the people, instead of searching for the bomb.
Things had become even more certain when the robots attacked the four of them when they tried to escape, going for the Central Tower.
With a hiss, Fumikage used the Dark Shadow to blast a few of the robots.
"Here!" Shoji shouted from ahead, taking a turn.
However, just as the boys entered the alley, dozens more robots appeared in front of them, their beacons glowing red.
Beeping, even more robots appeared behind them, pinning the two of them in the middle of the alley.
"Get ready…" Shoji said, his many appendages becoming arms.
Fumikage nodded, the darkness in the alley making the Dark Shadow grow larger.
With an alarming acceleration, the robots pounced on them, giant claws extending out from their bodies.
Suddenly, just as Shoji and Fumikage were about to engage the robots, a thick pillar of brightness came from above and burned its way through the robots in front of them.
A figure also appeared behind them and swirled itself at the incoming robots, sending them flying.
It was Yuga and Ojiro!
"So you guys had the same idea, huh?" Ojiro smiled.
Shoji and Fumikage nodded, letting out a sigh.
"Let's go before more of those things catch up to us," Shoji said, the other boys nodding in agreement.
However, just as they were about to run away, a laugh caught their attention, their heads snapping up.
Yuga was still standing on the edge of the roof, his hands resting on his waist.
"… What's he doing?" Fumikage asked.
Ojiro's mouth twitched as Yuga kept laughing. "I guess… he's asking for help to come down…"
"…"
"…"
…
Mina splattered acid on the robots as Tsuyu hopped over them.
At first, they had thought to stay in the hotel rooms until the Security System dealt with the bomb threat.
But if that was the case, then All Might should have contacted them by now.
It wasn't like him to not know the status of his students for so long when the stakes were so high.
Thinking like that, the girls had left their rooms to check out the surroundings. And, to their surprise, things indeed seemed much abnormal than the warnings getting played on the TV screens.
As if that wasn't enough, the robots suddenly attacked them when they tried to evacuate a group of civilians.
They knew that without their Hero Licenses, they weren't supposed to use their Quirks.
But, compared to getting captured by these robots, which were obviously under some Villains' control, using their Quirks and reaching the Tower looked like a better alternative.
Just as Mina and Tsuyu went past another row of the robots and began running toward the Tower, they suddenly paused.
"… What…" Mina gaped.
Even Tsuyu's eyes went wide. "Fireworks?"
Far away from them, against the massive Tower's shadow, something extraordinary was happening.
Bright flashes were popping in and out of existence.
Not only that, it felt like someone was controlling the soundless fireworks with a timer.
One after another, the fireworks were climbing up in a chain reaction, lighting up the entire space between the Tower's foot to its top.
The two girls couldn't do anything but watch the fireworks disappear, craning their necks up, their mouths opened slightly in amazement.
Then, with a screeching sound, another group of robots caught up to them.
"Just…" Mina greeted her teeth and hurled another handful of acid at them.
Tsuyu lashed out with her tongue, wrapped it around a robot, and bashed it into others. "… what's going on?!"
…
Up at the Central Tower, standing at the edge of the open-walled Wind Generator Hall, Pop*Step dropped another set of the flammable marbles.
However, the moment these marbles left her hands, one of them lit up, bursting out in a mass of flames.
Kazuho let out a gasp and stumbled back in shock, her single eye narrowing against the flaming brightness behind the mask.
From the mass of flames, wearing a white suit and pants, and having a black mask and a white top hat on his head, Dr. Blessed walked out, his foot landing neatly on the floor.
A powerful gust of wind flapped his greatcoat, making him hold his hat from blowing away.
He looked around before walking a few steps forward and staring at Kazuho.
"Impressive timing, Ms. Pop*Step," Dr. Blessed praised. "Couldn't have done better myself."
A cold, refreshing feeling washed over Kazuho's entire body as she heard him.
She had known that receiving feedback from powerful people worked the best for Digestion. Still, she had no idea that it would be to this extent.
It all made her feel like she was showing herself as too needy…
Pouting at that thought, Kazuho got up. "What next?"
Dr. Blessed examined the bag and made a count of the remaining flammable marbles.
"Next…" he said, looking up, "… we need to wait — for the right time."
…
Inside the Central Tower, panting beyond their stamina, the children reached the 80th floor and found the stairs ahead blocked.
"Now I know… why Luke… didn't come with us…" Kaminari said, taking huge breaths through his mouth. "He's clever…"
The rest of the squad planted their backs against the walls, too, eying the massive door in front of them.
"It's good that… the Villains aren't looking for us…" Melissa said, feeling the dryness in her throat. "Let's just find a way to keep…"
"Hey, guys," Mineta said, holding the handle of a door just next to them. "Let's go… through here…"
"No!" Midoriya, Tenya, Todoroki, and the rest screamed at Mineta, but it was already too late.
Up at the Control Room, an alarm went off, a screen bringing up the scene where the security breach had occurred…
… and showing a group of exhausted, horrified children clearly to all the Villains.
******************
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100 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter