Wings of Awakening

Part 22

As the darkness cleared, Izuku found himself plummeting through the air. He barely had time to process the drop before he noticed water below, teeming with dark shapes moving beneath the surface. Without hesitation, he spread his wings, catching the air just in time to halt his fall and hover above the water. Thank goodness, he thought, as he scanned the area and realized the figures below were villains, all with various aquatic mutations.

Nearby, he spotted Asui and Mineta huddled on a partially submerged ship. Wasting no time, he flew over and landed beside them, quickly retracting his wings to conserve energy.

"Is anyone else here?" he asked, glancing around.

"No, just you, me, and Mineta, kero," Asui replied.

Izuku looked around cautiously. "It seems that mist villain teleported us all into different zones to be ambushed by villains."

"We're going to die!" Mineta cried, his voice shaking as he trembled.

Asui's expression grew serious, and without hesitation, she slapped Mineta with her tongue. "Get yourself together, Mineta! We need to come up with a plan if we're going to escape."

"Maybe we should just stay here and wait for the heroes to rescue us?" Mineta suggested, clinging to hope.

Izuku shook his head, watching the villains in the water warily. "I don't think we can count on heroes arriving anytime soon. Right now, we need to survive on our own. They're probably not going to wait around to attack."

He noticed the villains were watching but hadn't yet made a move to attack. Are they trying to assess our quirks?

"Let's share our quirks and abilities so we can come up with a plan," he suggested. Asui nodded, and they quickly filled each other in on their quirks' strengths and limitations.

Izuku considered their options, then said, "I could fly out carrying one of you, but we'd need to distract the villains to keep them from following us."

Just as he spoke, the ship shuddered violently and split, beginning to sink further into the water. Desperate, Mineta pulled some of his sticky balls from his head and threw them into the water, causing the villains to back away momentarily.

"We don't have much time before the ship sinks," Izuku said urgently. "Asui, you grab Mineta and jump. Mineta, keep throwing as many of your balls as you can to slow them down. I'll take care of the rest."

Asui quickly wrapped her tongue around Mineta, securing him as she prepared to jump. Mineta threw his sticky balls into the water, shouting as they left his hand. Izuku watched the villains move to avoid them and took his chance. He took off into the air, concentrating as he summoned his telekinesis.

Focusing his energy, he hurled a powerful telekinetic shockwave into the water, creating a whirlpool that pulled the villains and Mineta's sticky balls together. The villains found themselves stuck to each other and unable to escape thanks to Mineta's adhesive quirk.

With the threat momentarily subdued, Asui and Mineta landed near the central plaza, where Aizawa was fighting a group of villains. They quickly hid in the bushes, Izuku retracting his wings as they took in the chaotic scene before them.

"We made it out," Asui whispered, eyes wide as they watched Aizawa in action.