My Hero Academia: From The Ground Up

Chapter 8: Salvation Cometh

"ALL MIGHT?! I-IT'S REALLY ALL MIGHT!" Izuku screamed.

"Stay right where you are, All Might!" Nucleon roared at the hero. "Move any closer and I'll french fry this little freak!"

All Might stopped in his tracks and stood tall with his hands up in a temporary surrender. "What are you doing at the library, Nucleon? Late on your class readings again?" He quipped.

"Oh, nothing important now. I got what I needed. So if you just let me exit through those doors, I'll be on my way and maybe I'll let this brat go." He said.

"D-don't listen to him, All Might!" Izuku shouted.

All Might continued to try questioning the villain as Ochaco limped through the library keeping watch over the two floating heavy objects that slowly drifted above the scene. She was too distracted by her aching stomach to determine where to let go.

"Let me go or I'll kill this kid!" Nucleon yelled.

All Might relaxed himself and his smile grew a little bigger. "Heh. Alright." And with immeasurable speed to match his incredible power, he lunged at the two, targeting Nucleon and strategizing how to separate them faster than his lasers could harm Midoriya.

But in that same moment, Ochaco pressed her fingers together and vomited all over the library floor behind them.

Before anyone could react to anything, a book shelf slammed on top of Nucleon's head and another slammed on All Might. Izuku was knocked down in between the two and the rubble that covered them.

Ochaco dry-heaved despite her stomach being emptied all on the ground and she only felt a little better. Just enough to force herself to stand up again and move quickly to Midoriya. She moved a few books and wooden boards out of the way and yanked her friend up.

He had been knocked out from the force but he appeared to not have any visible wounds aside from a few bruises on his arms.

"Sorry, Izu!" She cried out as she tugged his body away from the mess and towards the front door.

"YOU! DUMB! BRAT!"

Ochaco turned them both just enough to see Nucleon ripping himself out from under the heavy shelf. His head was bleeding but his body glowed a furiously bright green.

"I'm gonna... blast... the biggest hole right through you!" He breathed.

Just as he took a step forward, All Might's hand grabbed his ankle. "N-not so fast, Nucleon!" He said.

Ochaco took the opportunity to drag her friend to the door.

Nucleon groaned and reached down to grab All Might's hand. Although he didn't force it off his ankle. "You want to play the hands game, do ya? Well... I could use some of that power ya got."

All Might groaned and forced himself to break out of the bookshelf in defense but as he did so, he began to feel his energy draining from his body.

Nucleon suddenly perked up wickedly happy. "Holy shit... HOLY SHIT THIS IS INCREDIBLE!" He laughed loudly and suddenly ripped All Might up, immediately following by blasting him in the torso with a powerful laser beam.

He laughed some more observing his glowing hands as All Might fell back. "This is awesome. This power... Ho...ly..."

Ochaco quickly pulled herself and Izuku out the front doors in front of dozens of police and a few more pro-heroes. As they descended the library steps, the front doors exploded with a green titled concentrated blast that traveled up and down the side of the building, ripping it apart and vaporizing anything in its path.

"GET THOSE TWO OUT OF HERE!" A hero shouted grabbing Ochaco and Izuku and practically tossing them to the nearest police.

Two officers grabbed the children and carried them to an ambulance nearby just as Nucleon emerged from the collapsing library.

"I'M GONNA WALK OUT OF HERE AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA STOP ME!" He roared in laughter as his body glowed a bright green.

Police fired their pistols at him but the bullets disintegrated centimeters from his body.

"NOTHING CAN STOP ME WITH THE POWER OF ALL MIGHT COURSING THROUGH MY VEINS!"

"Nothing except All Might himself, of course." A weakened but immovable voice spoke behind him.

Nucleon looked around to see a fist launch right into his jaw. He stumbled back and rubbed his chin as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

"You can take as much power as you want, but I have no limit to my energy." The hero said with a smile. "So no matter how much you absorb from me, you'll still be beatable. So I suggest you surrender now."

Nucleon didn't heed his words. He blasted All Might at close range, but All Might quickly leapt to the side and lunged toward the villain. He punched him once again in the chest and sent his body down the library steps.

The big hero marched down after him and planted his foot on Nucleon's chest. "Stay down, son. If you know what's good for you. You're lucky no one was killed today."

"I'm...not...done yet!" The villain squirmed underneath him. He reached out toward Ochaco and Izuku being pulled into the ambulance and blasted it.

"NO!" All Might screamed.

Just as the vehicle exploded, Izuku and Ochaco jumped out the door with torn and burnt clothes. Izuku had reacted quick enough to throw them to safety.

"Those...brats..."

All Might quickly turned back to the villain in anger. "Stop fighting. That energy inside you is too much for your body. You're growing weak."

"I'm...not....done YET!" His body erupted in a green light that blinded the scene and launched everything in close range back quite a few meters, even police cars. What followed was a deafening boom that caused a ringing to be heard in the ears of everyone still conscious.

All Might was planted in the library steps, sore but not hurt badly. He left an imprint as he sat up to inspect the scene. All the closest officers had been vaporized. Nearby officers and the pro-heroes were visibly burned down to their skins. Ash and black soot started to snow down.

Where the villain was laying was nothing more than a black streak on the ground that bloomed out in all directions across the pavement.

As he watched the remaining paramedics escort the children off, something made him go back up and inspect the library for clues. One of the first things he saw at a broken nearby table was an All Might styled journal labeled "Notes to Become a Hero".