Reiko: Speaking of Stain...

Izuku didn't know what possessed him to move. Nezu had told him that he was only supposed to get Iida to safety and leave Stain to him, but then Izuku saw the knife and knew he had to do something. Time seemed to slow down as he drew his gun and shot the blade right as it began to fall. The gunshot echoed too loudly as the force of the bullet knocked the sword off course and sparks flew as the metal hit the concrete. Izuku swallowed as Stain slowly turned to stare straight at him.

Uraraka: Deku!

Izuku's brain was working overtime. He didn't know how injured Iida was, or exactly what Stain's quirk was, or even if the other pro he saw slumped against the wall was still alive... Nezu was a few paces behind him, and was short enough that Stain probably hadn't spotted him yet, but he had most definitely seen Izuku. Neither of them had physical quirks that could overpower the hero killer and Izuku didn't have enough experience to fight him on his own. Right now, the best option would be for Izuku to distract Stain long enough for Nezu to come up with a plan and contact whatever backup he could.

Eraser was going to kill him.

(everyone snorted)

Izuku discreetly took off his utility belt and dropped it to the floor along with his grappling hook, hoping that Nezu would be able to use them in whatever scheme he was already coming up with, then jumped off the roof, using the fire escapes and gutters to parkour his way down to the alleyway. Stain simply watched his descent, eyes narrowed as he took in his new opponent.

"Another child?" Stain scoffed. "Leave now and I'll let you live. I have business to attend to."

Midoriya: I'm not going to leave.

"Let me take Ingenium and you'll never see me again." Izuku said. Prioritize the rescue. Nezu would be able to follow Stain as long as he and Iida were safe. "Let's go Iida."

Iida: I... I can't move...

"I... Midoriya?" Iida's voice sounded broken and Izuku really hoped he'd be okay after all this. "I can't move my body. Ever since he cut me I've been paralyzed."

Izuku frowned. That matched the theories he'd read on Stain's quirk. So cutting must activate his power somehow. That meant he'd have to avoid getting cut.

Toga: Easier said than done! Oh this is already so bloody I love it!

Stain scowled, "This fake isn't worth your attention. He came here to kill me, thinking only of vengeance, not heroics. He must die, but your fate is still undecided."

"Midoriya, don't get involved." Iida pleaded. "Please, this is my fight!"

Todoroki: He's not going to listen Iida.

"No offense, Iida," Izuku said dryly, "but you're not in any condition to take on the hero killer right now."

"Enough!" Stain growled. "When your friend decided to fight me, it guaranteed the weaker of us would be culled! If you insist on protecting a worthless bug like him, I will have no choice but to kill you as well."

Izuku steadied his gun and aimed, "No one is worthless."

Nejire: Exactly!

Mirio wanted to help fight the nomu, but it was just too dangerous to get too close to Endeavor while he fought, so he and Gran Torino were currently working to evacuate the surrounding buildings and making sure none of the civilians got hit by Endeavor's powerful fire blasts. Endeavor's son, who had introduced himself as Shoto, was trying to help them, so Gran had given him emergency permission to use his quirk to protect others so he could shield civilians with his ice and prevent his father's fire from weakening the already unstable buildings.

The good news was that Endeavor was actually making headway against the nomu. He seemed to be gradually overwhelming it, but it kept healing itself. Mirio remembered All Might saying they could do that, but unfortunately the police hadn't shared a lot of information about the nomu with the heroes, considering that they thought the one at the USJ had been the only one. All anyone knew about these monsters was that only All Might had been able to beat the last one, but unless he was miraculously in Hosu for whatever reason, they couldn't count on him to save them.

Hawks: Yeah we really shouldn't have been so overreliant on the symbol of peace.

"Attention all heroes." A voice cut through the static on their standard issue, hero commission communication device. "The hero killer has been spotted at 4-2-10 Ekou Street. If your quirk is ill-suited to fighting the monsters, please assist."

A terrifying grin lit up Endeavor's face and he immediately turned away from the nomu, "Come Shoto."

Everyone: Endeavor!

Endeavor: I didn't do that!

Mirio's jaw dropped and he looked at Gran Torino, who was scowling. Endeavor's quirk was well suited to fighting the nomus, so why was he going to go fight the hero killer? Was he really going to abandon the undefeated Nomu when there were civilians in danger?

Todoroki(scowling): Yes he is.

"We came to Hosu looking for Stain." Shoto explained, then sighed and jogged after his father, who was already disappearing down the street. "I'm sorry."

"That asshole!" Gran growled. "No wonder he's ever been able to beat Toshinori."

Gran Torino: He doesn't deserve the number one spot.

Spinner: I dare say he's the worst fake out of all of them.

Dabi: Agreed.

Mirio swallowed and looked back toward the nomu, who had already recovered from Endeavor's last attack and was lumbering toward the few civilians still evacuating. If All Might was the only person who had ever beaten one, then that meant that as the next holder of One for All, it was his responsibility to defeat these monsters! He let the lighting of his quirk surround him as he ran to stand between the nomu and the fleeing civilians.

"Smash!"

Tamaki: Go Mirio!

Nejire: You can do it!

Izuku's aim was good, but Stain's reflexes had been honed by years of life and death combat, so the bullet barely grazed his arm as he lunged forward, sword in hand. Izuku jumped back, trying not to step on Iida as he holstered his gun and grabbed Stain's arm and tried to yank it behind his back. Stain, however, simply twisted, forcing Izuku to let go of his arm. They both took a step back, panting and waiting for the other to make the next move.

"Stop!" Iida tried. "Midoriya! Save yourself!"

Midoriya: I won't leave you there!

"Shut up, Iida, I'm not leaving you!" Izuku snapped. "That's not what a hero does!"

Stain straightened and eyed Izuku curiously, "Interesting, you might have what it takes to be a real hero, not one of these useless fakes, if you'd commit yourself to protecting those who are actually innocent."

All Might: A true hero saves everyone. Everyone.

Izuku glanced at Iida and Native, then at Stain. If he could hold a conversation, that would be safer than fighting while he waited for Nezu to make his move. He followed Stain's lead and relaxed his stance, "What do you think a true hero is?"

The fire in Stain's eyes was fanatic, "Someone who saves others without expecting anything in return. The broken system keeps churning out self-righteous celebrities who couldn't care less about the people they defend. So far, the only true hero I've seen is All Might."

Spinner(thoughtfully): Most of the hero children in 1A have proven themselves to be true heroes.

Monoma: And what about 1B?!

Spinner: Haven't seen enough of you to tell but Kendo seems to have a good head on her shoulders.

Kendo: Uh thanks?

Izuku bit his lip. The safe option would be to pretend he agreed with Stain, but then the conversation would be over, and if Nezu wasn't ready yet, then... the other option was to try to fight him on ideology. That could potentially make him angry, but it would drag out the conversation and take attention off Iida.

Midoriya: I apologize in advance?

Mineta(panicking): It's never good when you say that!

He was probably going to regret this.

Aizawa: Problem child!

"I don't know if even All Might qualifies as a true hero."

The passion in Stain's eyes turned to rage, "What did you say?"

Toga: Hey don't die before I can make you bleed Izuku!

Izuku forced himself to sound nonchalant, "Have you seen all the merchandise All Might has? He's probably one of the most famous heroes to ever exist! That doesn't sound like your definition of a hero at all. If anything, you should be praising underground heroes. They don't care about the media at all."

Mic: Yeah case in point right here.

"All Might didn't ask for his fame." Stain growled. "He uses it to give people hope."

All Might: Well he is right about that...

Izuku shrugged, "If that's what you choose to believe."

"Why you..."

(Bakugo blinked. He'd never fully realized just how annoying Midoriya could be if he put his mind to it)

Izuku made it look like he was rolling his eyes, but really he was glancing up to see if Nezu was ready. He saw Nezu peeking over the edge of the roof and held back a sigh of relief. Well, so far all he'd been able to do was antagonize a dangerous killer, so he may as well make him more angry. Maybe then he'd make a mistake.

Inko: Izuku no!

"All I'm saying," Izuku held out his hands in mock surrender, "is that All Might isn't as great as you're making him out to be. Heroes are supposed to give people hope, right? Well, when I first met All Might, he didn't waste any time telling me that I couldn't be a hero. Does that sound like something a true hero does?"

(All Might winced)

Recovery Girl: No one's perfect.

Stain scowled and shifted back into his battle stance, "All Might would be able to recognize a true hero, so if he said you couldn't be one, then you're just another fake and for that you must die."

Spinner(objecting): Hey but Midoriya is a true hero!

Shigaraki(sneering): Your precious Stain is an All Might fanatic, Spinner.

Izuku swallowed and got ready to run, "You've been blinded by his fame. You think that you're killing to fix the system, but really you're just a deranged All Might fanboy."

Mitsuki: Izuku run!

Stain lunged forward, but before he could reach Izuku, Nezu dropped a flash grenade down into the alley. Izuku screwed his eyes shut right before it hit and when he opened them again, the alley was filled with the effects of one of his smoke bombs. Stain was swinging blindly now, but Izuku simply ducked and ran to grab Native by the collar and drag him over to Iida. He felt the tip of a blade at his neck and froze. On the other end was Stain, his eyes bloodshot, but definitely filled with rage and focused on Izuku. He'd recovered from the flash grenade a lot faster than Izuku had been planning on.

Everyone: Midoriya!

Izuku swallowed and tried to brace himself for the blow, but before Stain could kill him, There was a zipping sound, then a clang as Izuku's grappling hook embedded itself in the wall. Stain looked at it in confusion, which meant he was still staring in the wrong direction when Nezu retracted the wire and used the momentum to fly at Stain and kick him in the head with his entire body weight.

All Might: Nezu!

Izuku took that as his cue to grab Iida and Native and run. Behind him, he could hear Nezu growling and biting as Stain tried to dislodge him. It was hard to believe that the normally composed principal was capable of defeating the hero killer alone, but more heroes should be showing up soon, so Izuku needed to prioritize the rescue. He didn't stop running until he reached the street.

(everyone stared. Nezu looked... feral)

Mina(shivering): Remind me to never annoy the principal.

Kaminari: I think if you have to be reminded it's already too late...

He propped Iida and Native against the opposite wall so he still had a clear view of the alley in case Nezu needed help, "Are you two okay?"

Shinso: What does it look like?

"I still can't move." Native said weakly. "Other than that, just some stab wounds and some road rash from when you dragged me."

Izuku winced, "I'm so sorry! It's just with the two of you..."

Midnight: Don't apologize, green bean.

Joke: You saved them.

"It's alright Midoriya." Iida said. "It's better than what would have happened to us if we had stayed in the hands of that murderer. Thank you."

"Speaking of, why did I have to save you, Iida?" Izuku knew that the stress of the situation was probably getting to him, but he couldn't help snapping at him. "Why wouldn't you just talk to us? How could you possibly think that seeking revenge was a good idea?"

Iida bowed slightly, "I... I wasn't thinking. All I could focus on was my anger."

Iida: I can move again!

"Wait..." Native looked at Iida in shock. "Can you move?"

Iida's eyes widened and he raised his hand slowly, "Yes! I... how?"

Todoroki: Time limit.

Izuku's brain was rushing again, "Stain's quirk must have a time limit."

"But that can't be right." Native said. "I was paralyzed before Ingenium even showed up and I still can't move."

Nezu: Different kind of time limit.

"Maybe the size of the cut?" Izuku said. "But you both have similar sized stab wounds. Wait, considering the size of his tongue... did he lick the blades before you were paralyzed?"

Iida and Native exchanged a glance and Iida nodded, "I believe so, yes."

"I just thought he was being weird." Native said.

Toga: Nah almost all blood quirks are like that.

Izuku shook his head, "It most likely has to do with blood type. So you have different blood types?"

"I'm B." Native said.

"And I'm A." Iida said.

Midoriya: For the record I'm O...

"Okay." Izuku muttered absently. "So it has a different time limit based on blood type, but that means that there's no way of knowing how his quirk will affect Nezu, since human blood types don't translate into animals. Will Stain's quirk even work on him? Unless of course the scientists spliced human DNA into him along with all the other animals they used..."

Nezu: For the record they didn't.

Koda: Poor Nezu...

The sounds of the fight could still be heard from the alley and Izuku glanced over to see that the smoke had mostly cleared. Nezu was still holding his own, using a combination of punches and bites to target Stain's pressure points and ligaments. One of the hero killer's arms was already hanging limply by his side, and he seemed to be trying to stay in one place as much as possible, so Nezu had probably managed to injure at least one of his legs, but Izuku knew better than most how easily adrenaline could numb even sever pain, so whatever injuries Stain had, it probably wouldn't hold him back for long, "We should help. Other heroes should be showing up soon, but until then, we can't leave Nezu to fight alone. Are you with me Iida?"

Iida nodded and stood.

"Are you two crazy?"

Mei: Yes.

Iida and Midoriya: Hatsume!

Native asked. "You're just two students! He just about killed you last time."

"We have to try." Iida said. "It's my fault Nezu is even fighting the hero killer, I can't let him die!"

"Midoriya? Iida?"

Todoroki: It's me...

Izuku turned and saw Todoroki and Endeavor running toward them, "Todoroki?"

"Where's the hero killer?" Endeavor scowled. "Is this your idea of a prank?"

Endeavor(huffing): No it's not.

Izuku returned Endeavor's glare and pointed to the alley, where the sound of metal on concrete was still clearly audible, "Hurry. There's already a hero here, but he won't be able to defeat Stain alone."

Endeavor ran into the alley and Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. As terrible a person as Endeavor was, his skill at taking down villains was undeniable. Nezu would be alright. What now? Oh, right, first aid.

Todoroki: At least I am already there to help provide ice.

"Todoroki, can you make some ice for Iida and Native? We need to stop the bleeding and the cold will help with that."

Todoroki nodded and handed Izuku a chunk of ice before crouching beside Native and frosting over his right hand to apply pressure to his shoulder. Izuku made Iida sit down again and started trying to stop the bleeding from the hole in his arm. Most of his medical supplies were in the utility belt he'd given to Nezu, but maybe Todoroki had a few?

Todoroki: Unfortunately not. Endeavor doesn't really think it's necessary.

"You're not hurt, are you Midoriya?" Todoroki asked suddenly.

Izuku shook his head, "I'm fine. Stain didn't really have a chance to hurt me before Nezu stepped in..."

Speaking of Nezu, he chose that moment to scurry out of the alley, looking scorched as he patted his arms frantically to put out the little flames and embers that had gotten caught in his fur, "Why did it have to be Endeavor who came to our aid? It's like he didn't even care that I was there! Oh, hello Todoroki, how is your internship going?"

(everyone had to choose between glaring at Endeavor again and feeling amused about how nonchalant Nezu is at seeing Todoroki. Most did both)

Todoroki seemed surprised by Nezu actually acknowledging him, "Fine..."

Nezu nodded, "And you're already applying first aid, very good. I'm happy to see that Aizawa hasn't been slacking in our training. How is everyone doing?"

Ojiro: He just fought the hero killer and he's acting like everything's normal.

Shoji: Our principal is on another level.

Tokoyami: What a mad banquet of darkness.

Now that Nezu was safe and Izuku could actually get a good look at him, he noticed that he could use some first aid himself. In addition to small burns from Endeavor, Nezu was bleeding from multiple injuries, and since he'd been fighting Stain at close range, Izuku's theory about him being immune to stain's quirk because of a non-human blood-type was probably correct. Hopefully Stain would be in prison before they had to use that knowledge though.

Nezu: Yes hopefully.

"We are doing as well as can be expected, Principal Nezu, sir!" Iida said. "Thank you and Midoriya for coming to our aid."

Nezu's expression hardened, "Iida, we will be addressing this before you return to UA."

(everyone gulped, especially Iida)

Iida swallowed and bowed his head, "I understand. I must apologize..."

Izuku tuned out Iida's rambling apology as he suddenly realized it was a bit cooler than it had been since Endeavor had first joined the fight. Had he beaten the hero killer already? Izuku glanced over toward the alley and his eyes widened.

Todoroki: Uh oh.

Endeavor was crumpled on the ground. His ever-present flames were gone and the only sign he was even still alive was the intense look of hatred on his face. The hero killer limped toward him, sword sparking as he dragged it on the concrete. For the second time that night, Izuku didn't have time to think before he was already moving.

Dabi: Don't die before I can kill you Endeavor!

Todoroki: Don't die before Midoriya can obliterate you in court of law!

Endeavor: Why do you two only care if I die because then you won't be satisfied with my demise?

Hawks(scoffing): Are you seriously asking them that?