Takao stood near the back of Class 1-A as they filed into the dome-like structure, the scale of the place stretching beyond what most high schools could ever provide. The moment he stepped onto the metal walkway overlooking the various rescue differing rescue zones: fire, flood, landslide, debris etc. He instinctively scanned every angle, as if he was preparing for combat.
U.A. never did anything halfway.
"Now this…this is impressive," Takao muttered to himself, arms crossed.
"Damn right it is bro." Kirishima replied hearing Takao with a wide smile.
As Thirteen began to explain the layout and purpose of the USJ, Takao's attention slowly drifted. He caught sight of Midoriya near the front, listening to every word. The kid looked like he was in some kind of heaven.
'He should sort out his fanboying if he wants to be a proper hero.' Takao thought, just as a flicker of light overhead made him pause as a buzzing sound invaded his head.
Then the sound grew louder. Takao stiffened, that was no electrical fault. There was a strange current in the air, and he knew the feeling well.
Something was coming.
And then it happened.
A swirling black mist erupted across the platform below, twisting itself into an inky vortex. For a heartbeat, no one moved. Everyone thought it was part of the simulation.
Until the mist formed a mouth.
And it spoke.
"We are the League of Villains. Pardon our intrusion," the voice said with eerie calm. "But we've come to kill the Symbol of Peace."
Takao's eyes narrowed.
Villains. Real ones.
Aizawa wasted no time. His scarf unraveled like a whip, and he leapt forward. "Thirteen, evacuate the students!"
But the mist exploded outward before she could move, swallowing them all. Takao felt his body twist through space, then he landed in a crouch on a cracked cement platform in the flood zone.
His boots splashed against shallow water. The air smelled like damp metal and algae.
Cold water surged around his waist.
Takao shook off the disorientation and rose slowly from the flood zone. The artificial lake shimmered around him, eerily calm despite the violence descending elsewhere.
Fifteen figures emerged from the mist, forming a loose semi-circle. Their appearances varied: spiked armor, shark-like jaws, twisted bodies.
"He's just one student. Let's take him out quickly," one growled..
Takao didn't flinch. His face was unreadable as he raised his right hand slowly and whispered the words like a sacred incantation.
"Aspect of Zeus: Thunder and Lightning."
The flood zone lit up in a blinding flash.
Golden lightning surged from Takao's skin, crackling across the water and turning it into a shimmering web of energy. A resonating thunderclap followed, causing the surface to ripple and the sky within the dome to vibrate.
The villains blinked, stunned.
He vanished in a golden flash.
BOOM!!
The first villain was hit by a lightning-charged punch to the stomach. He flew backward into the water, unconscious before he landed.
Takao blurred to the next, elbowing a second villain in the jaw hard enough to send teeth flying. A third tried to grapple him with vine-like tendrils.
CRACK!!
A blast of thunder from Takao's foot shattered the ground and the tendrils both. He spun into a reverse kick, sending the attacker flying.
He moved like lightning, each action swift, precise, overwhelming. Thunder amplified every motion.
Three more villains tried a combined attack one fired a stream of acidic sludge, another hurled spiked discs, and the third shot ice.
Takao raised both arms.
"Chain Lightning."
A golden bolt erupted from his fingertips and split mid-air into arching branches. It jumped from the ice wielder to the sludge user, then to the last attacker all three collapsed, screaming as their nerves were overloaded.
Takao's face remained calm. Focused.
That was six down.
He felt a tickle at the back of his skull. The faintest stirrings of a headache coming. But he pushed it aside and kept moving.
The next wave came in a pincer, four villains tried to corner him in the deeper part of the lake. One swung a mace. Another had razor-sharp claws. The others lunged with enhanced speed.
Takao ducked beneath the mace and twisted. A flash of golden lightning burst from his shoulder, electrocuting the attacker. He grabbed the clawed villain by the arm, then twisted and threw him into the other two.
A shockwave followed the impact thunder-enhanced strength turning the throw into a concussive blast.
Ten down.
Five more circled him.
"Forget this." one shouted. "Let's just kill him already!"
The water exploded as a barrage of elemental Quirks surged toward him, fire, water, boiling steam, even a burst of minor gravity manipulation.
Takao inhaled deeply, and struck the water below him with both fists.
KRAA-KOOOM!!!
A massive ring of thunder and golden lightning erupted outward like a divine shockwave. It blasted all five villains off their feet and slammed them into the rocky barriers of the zone.
Silence returned.
Steam hissed off the surface of the lake.
Takao stood alone, steam rising from his shoulders, eyes glowing faintly in a golden hue beneath the sparks dancing around him. He took a slow breath calming whatever nerves he had left.
Fifteen down.
No backup. No hesitation, only raw, absolute power.
He glanced up toward the plaza above. Screams echoed. Shouts. Explosions. His work wasn't over. A faint headache pulsed behind his eyes, but nothing serious. Months of training were finally paying off.
That's when the heavy footsteps echoed again.
But this time…they didn't belong to villains.
They were heavier. Inhuman.
A monstrous silhouette descended the central staircase of the USJ a hulking, terrifying figure with exposed muscles, clawed hands, and a strange bird-like head. Its massive body looked built for destruction, every inch of it radiating raw, unfiltered strength.
Takao felt a chill creep down his spine.
"That thing doesn't feel like the others…"
Far above, he saw a flicker of motion Aizawa, fighting like a man possessed. His scarf snapped around a dozen limbs, his eyes glowing with his quirk being used overtime. But even he was starting to get overwhelmed.
Takao's jaw tightened.
He wasn't sure what was coming next.
But he'd already made up his mind.
No running.
No hesitation.