MHA Incubus: Chapter 29

The Meta Liberation Army had a lofty goal. The free use of quirks as they are a basic human right. Every year, the number of members increased, but because they went against the hero public safety commission, they were labeled as a villain organization. The HPSC pointed to similar countries that had free usage of quirks like America, and the higher-than-normal casualty rates from the usage of quirks instead of other weapons.

It was a false positive because Japan didn’t factor in the deaths caused by villains as quirk usage, but as villain attacks. Statistics didn’t really matter at that point, because everyone knew the truth. Having a quirk and not using it was akin to purposely tying a hand behind your back for your government, and with the sudden heavy casualty rate of civilians who might have been able to defend themselves if they had used their quirk but didn’t because it was against the law, the laws might finally change.

The other reason they might change is that during the chaos, the MLA targeted the more vehement members of the HPSC who would never agree to change the laws that kept them in power. It even led to the destruction of their building, causing even more casualties. The MLA would lay these deaths at the feet of the hero commission, blaming them for the deaths they caused themselves.

All of those who managed to survive would have this attack blamed on them and be punished for it. None of them would make it out unscathed, and even if they did live, they very well could serve jail time, let alone lose their jobs. The entire system was corrupt, and it took a ‘villain’ organization to remove that corruption, one dead politician at a time.

…

“Midoriya! I AM HERE!” All Might arrived even faster than he could have in his prime. His body was packed with even more power, even more energy from the boost Ai provided. All of the other villains helping All for One were dealt with. The only people still conscious were Izuka, a half dozen Ai duplicates, and Zen Shigaraki.

Midoriya was almost as strong as All Might, but she didn’t have the fighting knowledge that All Might did. Even with the help of the Ai clones, it was an uphill losing battle. That now shifted with the arrival of a now restored All Might. He smiled, one of his biggest smiles. The sight of him alone arriving on the battlefield turned the tide on many other battlefields as people filmed him now that he had recovered.

The information was disseminated, and trickled down to the lower-tier villains, some even giving up on the spot and fleeing once they heard All Might had returned. All Might could fight All for One while he was heavily injured, but now that he was fully recovered… Was there even a fight? Yes, there was. All for One always had a feeling of superiority when he fought anyone, knowing that he was always the strongest. All Might only injured him because he dropped his guard.

Zen was on the back foot for the first time in his life; there was no plan, he was fighting for his life, fighting for his dream of the strong ruling over everything, and he knew that there was no surviving this. Ai wouldn’t let him; if he fell, he was dead. He could run, but without the All for One quirk, what would be the purpose? This was it, a last stand to kill his enemies or die trying.

It wasn’t a stagnant battlefield, though. Constant changes kept happening as Zen launched large attacks that All Might and Deku had to block so they wouldn’t kill the other defeated villains. Every time he thought he got a leg up, every clone he destroyed, another two would join the battlefield. Other heroes began to show up as All for One started to get overwhelmed.

A double flying kick from Mirko and Froppy. A large metal box was created by Momo before being floated and covered in acid, then launched in his direction. As he struck it with his hand, it exploded into a flashbang, blinding him momentarily as several ranged attacks landed on him. Nagant was tearing large chunks out of his body as it fought against the quirk, removing bullets,  literally expelling the flesh that came in contact with each bullet to keep his body from falling apart from lack of quirks.

Another metal box was launched, this time he dodged, but as he did so, the box popped open, revealing Jiro pointing a signal-enhancing dish in his direction as she hit him with a powerful sonic blast that overloaded his sonar quirk. The several other heroines behind her moved in tandem as they began striking him. Ragdoll led from the sidelines, keeping the battlefield clear of villains trying to interrupt his take-down. Mandalay and Pixie-Bob struck him. All three were showing clear signs of their pregnancies, only coming out of retirement because this fight was just that important.

His body couldn’t take it; it was already on the verge of falling apart since he lost his quirks, but now he was on the verge of exploding. Too much quirk power all wrapped into a single being, the All for One quirk also worked as an inhibitor for the other quirks. Now that it was gone and he overused his more powerful quirks, he was ripping himself apart.

The explosion would have been enough to level a city block, easily causing hundreds of casualties, but someone moved before he could. Noticing he was finally weakening, finally on his last legs, the real Ai, not a clone, moved to rip the power from him. Slamming down from above him, Ai not only takes the remaining quirks from All for One but smashes him into the ground.

The sudden loss of all the quirks keeping him alive was enough to kill him; the gigantic demonic man slamming down with all his weight was overkill, but necessary to pull off the ruse. All for One needed to die, besides Nezu and Ai, perhaps Deku and All Might; no one else could know that Ai took Zen’s quirk. All for One was just that powerful; it was beyond anything anyone else had, and other countries might move in to squash Ai before he could grow into the powerhouse that Zen was… Except, it was already too late.

Ai was beyond even All Might in terms of strength now. If anyone wanted to kill him, they’d have an uphill battle. He would never be the villain that Zen was, but he would never be the hero that All Might is either. All that power in Zen’s hands, and he still lost to a bunch of kids still in hero school. No, Ai just wanted… To take it easy for a few years.

He would get in the top ten, be a hero for a few years, and then most likely retire to run his businesses. His hero work was only a drop in the bucket; the crime rate was going to drop drastically now that most villains were dealt with, and the symbol of peace was restored. Saving lives by taking life force from gamblers was something only he could do. Curing children's cancer sounded far better than beating up villains who, most of the time, just got a bad hand dealt to them in life.

For every All for One, there were ten Gentle Criminals, only going to villainy because their quirk wasn’t good enough to be a hero. Because it’s the only thing they could do in a world that despised them just because they were born without a heroic quirk. As much of a blow to villainy that Zen’s death was, the battle against injustice and corruption had only just begun, and even with this incredible advantage, it was only a matter of time before the corruption grew back.