Heroes of Tomorrow

Part 28~Suneater

Uzu reached out, grabbing everyone who fell, and he opened his wings, stopping their fall.

"Nice catch," Midoriya praised as Uzu chuckled.

"Guess a bit of Akiko's moves rubbed off on me." Uzu landed on the ground, pulling his arms and limbs back, removing any extra he created.

"Now, where are we?"

"Somewhere, even father from the target," Rock Lock complained before he turned to look at Eagle. "Hey, can you do your eye thing and find a route out of here."

Eagle shook her head slowly. "I... I don't think that's wise. If I accidentally go into an area, the guy upstairs is controlling. That could be the last move to knock me out. It's best I save my eyes for the fight anyway." Eagle struggled as she stood up, leaning against Robbin as Uzu frowned.

"Are you in pain? Maybe you should stop."

Eagle shook her head. "Mostly nauseous and a headache. I can keep going; we can't risk losing many more."

"Here. It's not a lot, but it'll help." Uzu handed her a set of painkillers as she grinned.

"This too. I had a feeling you would forget." Robbin handed her an anti-sickness tablet.

"Woah, you two are seriously the best." She threw the pills in her mouth and swallowed them dry. "Now what?"

"Well, what have we here? Looks like some state-authorised thugs crashed our party. Isn't that strange?" The villains glared at the heroes through their masks.

"These guys are obviously ready for a fight," Fat Gum grinned as he straightened up. "Let's see how long petty criminals can last against the strength of a pro-," he stopped when Tamaki held out his hand.

"The pros should save their strength for when we reach the target. These guys just wanna slow us down. Go on. I can handle them myself."

Kirishima frowned, stepping forward. "You don't have to, we'll work together."

"Please, everyone stay. I'll kill you all," the villain with the sword glared at the heroes as the detective gritted his teeth.

"Setsuno. We can't use our guns on him. It's up to the pros."

"You've done your homework. Oh well. That just means I'm free to let loose."

Setsuno charged forward as Aizawa grabbed his scarf, glaring at the villain. "Think again. Lay down your sword."

The villain next to Setsuno pulled out a gun, pointing it at Aizawa. "Power Erasure? He's an inferior version of Eri. I'd heard that a hero with your abilities existed. But our job's to slow you down. Quirks or not. We still have fists and weapons."

"Fight all ya want, but swords and bullets just sink into my body," Fat Gum screamed, standing taller again. "You have no hope of beating us, so why even bother?"

"Big talk, but you just sound scared to me, Hero," Setsuno jeered as the detective pulled out his gun.

"Eraser cancelled their Quirks. We can use our firearms. Surrender yourselves at once."

Tamaki reacted, too, tentacles stretching out and wrapping around the villains. "Toya Setsuno. Quirk, Larceny. Yu Hojo: Crystalise. Soramitsu Tabe: Food. I read all about these guys in the briefing." Tamaki slammed the villains into the wall, keeping his tentacle wrapped around them and holding their weapons in his other hand. "I can take these three on. We eat tons of Takotaki at the Fat Agency, so Octopus has become one of my specialities. And you know, I gotta say I'm pretty down on guns since I was shot in the street."

His tentacle became a claw as he destroyed the weapons. Kirishima stared in shock. "Hold on, Suneater."

"It's not smart for all of us to fight them. They want as many heroes stalled here as possible. Let's just give them one. We should save all your Quirks, especially Eraser Head's, for later. You'll need to be operating at 100 percent to get through those moving hallways. Fat Gum! I know this is something I can do on my own."

Fat Gum turned, walking to the door. "Let's go." Kirishima protested as Fat Gum kept walking. "Through that door!"

"Hey, wait, where're you going?" Setsuno reached out with his hand when Aizawa glared at him. "Not again." Aizawa moved forward, hitting Tabe down in one swift move.

"Amajiki. You need to move fast. Beat them before they can fight back." Aizawa rushed with the others, heading for the exit.

"Before you go," Tamaki paused, throwing the villains into the wall again. "You have to take care of Mirio. He's definitely going to try too hard. So please keep him safe."

"Here." Robbin held out his arm as the robin landed on Tamaki's head.

"I thought I said I can handle-"

"I know. But that little guy will tell you when it's over, and it'll tell us if others come after you. Do well, Suneater."

Uzu nodded as he left with the others.

"Fat Gum! You gonna leave him alone back there? What are you thinking?" Kirishima stared in horror as Rock Lock nodded.

"He's from your agency, so I left the decision to you. But are you sure he can handle them? Seems kinda risky."

"I have faith in him," Fat Gum answered. "He's stronger than anybody here. His only weakness is self-confidence. The pressure to do things perfectly sometimes leaves him feeling crushed. Breaking his spirit. And yet he's risen to become one of UA's Big Three under those conditions. So I trust him when he says he can take down those thugs on his own. If he believes in himself, I believe in him."

Robbin frowned as he saw what was happening below. He could see the fight falling apart.

"I don't like it when you have expression," Eagle muttered, lowering her voice. "Should we head back?"

"No. He's still handling himself. He just got a surprise."

Uzu and Eagle knew Robbin was hiding something.

"Hey, don't worry. I think you both forget, my robins aren't just for decoration."

Neither looked too convinced, but they continued down the path.

~~~

Tamaki coughed as he was pushed against the wall as the villains spoke, claiming their rule.

"Who cares what happens after this? He picked us up and gave us worth again. I'll kill anyone who gets in his way."

"You really just wanna be used up and thrown away?"

"Even with your back against the wall, you can't understand, can you hero?" Hojo created crystals over his other arm as Tamaki gasped. He was out of tentacles, stuck against the wall.

Tamaki took a breath, growing the eagle foot, when he heard Hojo scream. The crystals loosened around Tamaki, dropping him to the floor as the group stared in horror and confusion. The robin tweeted happily as it landed on Tamaki's shoulder. "Right. It's not over. I have a plan."