Chapter Text
"Seventy thousand?"
"Yep." Hawks said, lazily strecthing in his chair. "That's what we're up against from the MLA." He grinned though there was little humor in it. "And that's not even counting nomu or any other villain or criminal who might join up."
Yuroi Musha's brow furrowed. "I thought the cultists had an army of over a hundred thousand." He sat down in his own chair across from the number two hero. "All our intel indicated that the Meta liberation army-"
"Intel's changed." Hawks interjected, all humour gone. "The little fight between the league and the front cost them forty thousand."
Silence came over the assembled heroes.
"Explain." Endeavor interupted, his tone demanding answers.
Hawks nodded firmly. "Things went down in Deika to put it mildly. First, Shigaraki's quirk awakened." Best Jeanist's eyes widened.
"A quirk awakening?" The Number three hero asked. "Are you sure? Completely-"
"Yeah." Hawks nodded slowly. "It's gone from a grade four to maybe even a near grade one." That got everyone's attention.
A grade four was a threat, someone not to underestimate. But ultimately someone a trained pro-hero would be able to beat if they were careful or in a larger team
A grade one was a city-wide threat. Someone who alone could be enough of a threat for the entire current top ten. Or for All Might himself to deploy without holding back.
"So he took out forty fucking thousand villains?" Mirko asked, her grin still slightly present yet everyone could tell it was faked. "One hell of an evolution." She muttered.
Hawks shook his head. "No.....Can't believe i'm saying this but he 'only' took out ten thousand or so." Even he couldn't believe what he'd read, for once he was truly terrified by a report.
Edgeshot shot up. "Then who-"
"Soundwave."
Mirko's grin disappeared entirely. "All of them?"
Hawks nodded, no words needed to be said.
Mirko cursed under her breath. Ryukyu clenched her fists, Jeanist closed his eyes.
"What grade?" Endeavor said quietly, his voice quelling any fears in the room.
But only for a moment as Hawks next words truly terrified them all.
"Grade one."
Grade one was officially the highest a villain could be marked, a threat capable of untold destruction.
Among that grade were names like Toxic Chainsaw, Overhaul, Gigantomachia, Flect Turn, Calas Typhon, Overlord, Rokuro Nomura, Jhiaxus, Shroud....
National threats either because of their resources, quirk, strength or simply their influence.
Toxic Chainsaw had "only" been a low grade one, yet he had killed thousands, fought All Might to a standstill twice and had ultimately required All Might going all-out to beat him.
Flect Turn had almost caused an apocalypse and had the influence to almost start a global war. A global effort and quite frankly an absurd amount of luck had been what had finally done him in.
Overhaul had helped fuel that apocalypse and had the potential to kill any hero in a single touch. It had taken an entire raid as a distraction, along with an unexpected alliance between Uravity and Soundwave to beat him.
And that had hardly been without sacrifice...
Gigantomachia was a near mythical beast of destruction, a colossus that simply could not be stopped.
A colossus now allied with the league, with Soundwave and Shigaraki.
Typhon, or Typhus had through his plague-based quirk and the many followers of his plague cult known as the "Death Guard" wiped out a total of seven percent of North America during the societal collapse of the Dawn of Quirks, requiring the final usages of nuclear bombs in history in the infested hives of South Mexico and Northern Guatemala to finally end the plague wars and the so-called "Traveller".
Shroud had been America's greatest villain for over a decade, requiring the combined forces of All Might during his first years as a hero along with almost every hero in Los Angeles to finally take him down for good.
Overlord was such a threat he had taken hundreds of WHA teams made of heroes that either specifically countered him or overpowered him. They'd won, but it had killed almost all of the heroes present.
And that was them ambushing the bastard, actively countering him and having several bombing runs. Even all that had just barely eked out a pyrrhic victory.
Nomura had the capability to rival All Might in power, both through the villain factory and the sheer potential destruction he could have caused. It was frankly a miracle he'd destroyed himself fighting the Crawler....
Jhiaxus had brought the United Kingdom to it's knees through one of the most devastating wars in that nation's history. Even now, almost a century later the day of his defeat was still a national day of mourning in the British isles simply due to the sheer cost of that victory.
There were of course many more, with kill counts ranging from the hundreds to the tens of thousands, with entire cities ending at their whims.
There was of course one higher grade:
Calamity.
There had only ever been one calamity grade villain in history. A calamity grade was an international threat, an S+ Rank villain simply because there was nothing higher to put them as.
A Demon Lord.
Grades of course often didn't match with the ranks. A villain could be S-rank and only a grade three. Rankings tended to mainly be dependant on how much damage they caused, their number of crimes publicly known and provided they had one, a kill count.
And now, Soundwave had joined the ranks of the Grade 1s.
Meaning Soundwave was now perhaps the most powerful villain in all of Japan, especially with All for One weakened and incarcerated.
"There is some good news though." Hawks continued. "We have confirmation Soundwave and Tomura Shigaraki are both currently indisposed." He leaned back into his chair. "Shiggy's under some kind of surgery or treatment while Soundwave apparently snapped and went after the league, fought them, the MLA and Gigantomacchia all at once before they could shut him down."
Mirko let out a small whistle. "Damn..."
"So this means neither will be present for the raid?" Ryukyu inquired.
Hawks thought for a moment before he nodded. "Shigaraki won't and if he does he'll be disoriented enough we can take him down easily." He said. "As for Soundwave?" He chuckled. "The league would need to be pretty desperate to deploy him now."
He would come to regret those words.
"LASERBEAK?"
Aizawa hated how small Midoriya's voice sounded, even though by all accounts he shouldn't have been able to speak that quietly with his voice box.
Now wasn't the time to question that though.
"He hasn't activated since he arrived. He just won't turn on." Aizawa said softly, glancing at Midoriya. "But he might for you."
Midoriya moved towards the cassette slowly, as if he thought he was dreaming.
It broke Aizawa's heart to think about how this must have been a moment Midoriya had dreamed about, maybe for months while he sat in Kaon.
Every time he looked at him he saw Shirakumo, he heard his friend tell him to save his fellow victim. It was why he tried so hard, why he stood side by side with Nemuri's killer.
Soundwave put his hand gently on the cassette, caressing the prone form of Laserbeak as his eyes scanned him.
The damage was still there from the last time he'd fought Shigaraki, from Operation Liberation, but it was far better than the damage he'd seen on any of his other children. His dead children, he'd failed to protect them all. Just like Ratbat.
He thought he'd shed all his tears after the war, but now seeing his son......seeing him immobile and still made him wonder if he had any tears left to give.
It made him wonder for just a moment, if he still had anything else to give.
He pressed his hand against his son, words only just coming out as he swallowed harshly in his mechanical throat. "LASERBEAK.....I...." He shook his head and closed his eyes, feeling them burn as he blinked away the tears. "....I AM HERE NOW."
The cassette didn't respond, still inanimate. Soundwave clenched his fist. "PLEASE. WAKE UP."
Aizawa slowly walked towards Izuku and went to put his hand on his shoulder....
*TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE*
....only for the cassette to transform into a mechanical bird right before their eyes.
Soundwave's wide eyes, a mix of purple and green that didn't quite fit stared back at the glowing yellow optics of Laserbeak, of his companion, teammate, friend.....and son.
"L-LASERBEAK..." Soundwave said, tears of joy rolling down his cheeks as his son looked back at him, his son who would have waited forever for him. "OPERATION....." He didn't finish, instead wrapping his arms around Laserbeak as if he were terrified he'd shatter into a million pieces if he ever let go.
Laserbeak squawked back in a language only his father could understand, moving his own wings into a mock hug around Soundwave. His yellow optics closing as father and son, creator and creation were finally reunited.
"I...." Soundwave swallowed heavily behind his mask. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH...MY SON." He choked out, tears still streaming down his face.
Laserbeak squawked back, though it was far softer than before.
And even though Aizawa couldn't understand him, even though Laserbeak hadn't said a word to him....he knew exactly what he'd said back.
"I missed you too Dad."
Soundwave made noises that made Aizawa wince in pain. They were affronts to the ears, noises that would have been far more fitting with a broken radio than a person.
It took him an uncomfortably long time to realise it was Midoriya's attempts as sobbing. Perhaps the first time in almost a year he'd let himself cry.
He let the boy grieve, Nezu could wait. He was hardly expecting them anyway, he'd give Midoriya a moment with his son first.
Not that Soundwave noticed. Instead he just looked at his son, his living son with eyes that had regained a mote of the light they had once held.
It seemed he had another reason to keep living afterall.
"Well I must admit Soundwave-san, you are here earlier than expected." The chimaera smiled slightly at the sight of Laserbeak perched on the cyber-nomu's shoulder, he found slight joy in the sight of Midoriya looking even just an ounce more at peace. "Though I am glad to see your son is alive, I hope our repairs were of good standards Laserbeak-san."
The casseticon squawked, Soundwave quickly translated. "HE FINDS THEM ACCEPTABLE. HE WISHES TO GIVE HIS THANKS TO THE STAFF OF UA."
Nezu chuckled. "I am afraid that the staff of UA are not to thank in this case. The repairs were done by Miss Hatsume of class 2H." He sipped his tea.
Soundwave nodded. "THEN WE SHALL THANK HER PERSONALLY." A glint of happiness flashed in his eyes, quickly fading. "I CAN ONLY HOPE THE REST OF MY CHILDREN ARE AS SAFE IN HER HANDS."
Aizawa gave a look at Soundwave who quickly nodded back, turning back to Nezu. "....BUT THAT IS NOT WHY WE ARE HERE."
"Class A's reaction to Midoriya has been..." Aizawa tried to find the words. "..Poor."
Nezu frowned as he looked at the CCTV footage from earlier that day, none of this had been in his expected parameters so why-
The realization came far too slowly and far too soon. He'd overlooked human emotions yet again. He'd assumed Miss Ashido's mental state was in far better condition than well, this.
It seemed his lack of understanding of humanity had yet again caused him to make a lapse in judgement.
Nezu looked back up to the two. "Yes, I see." He looked at his monitor. "I must apologise on behalf of UA young Soundwave. Our students treatment of you is-"
"ENTIRELY VALID." Soundwave interupted. "THEY ARE NOT TO BLAME. MY PRESENCE HAS CAUSED THIS."
"Yaoyarozu-san still shouldn't have shot that cannon." Nezu retorted. "Nor should Ashido-san have hit you. That is not the type of hero UA wishes to create."
Soundwave said nothing in response. Laserbeak's optics narrowed dangerously, Aizawa sighed. "I'll deal with it. The question now is what we do next."
Nezu nodded at the man. "Yes. Especially in regards to your accommodation." The rodent of unusual size continued. "Initially and perhaps foolishly we intended for you to stay at heights alliance with the rest of your classmates, however recent events have shown that this would be...."
"Unadvisable." Aizawa finished.
"Indeed." Nezu continued. "As a result we shall have to move to our back-up plan." Nezu tapped a button on his desk. "I shall contact them after we are concluded."
"THEM?" Soundwave asked.
"Your guardians." Nezu clarified, sipping from his tea. "A team of heroes that are to help you acclimatise to life at UA along with providing emotional support."
"SO THEY ARE MY...JAILERS? MY WARDENS?" Soundwave asked, his voice as icy as it was in Kaon though far more resigned. As if he hed expeted the other show to drop.
Nezu shook his head. "No, your guardians. The entire team have both license and experience in dealing with trauma and fostering traumatised children. Not that they are here to replace your mother I assure you." He clarified at Soundwave's glare. "I also asure you that they have full knowledge of you and your condition." He looked Midoriya in the eye. "They still chose to take you in if needed."
Soundwave clenched his fists, Laserbeak squawking in his ear softly. "WHY?
Nezu's voice softened. "Because they see there is far more to you than meets the eye. They see someone they can help. Is that not what heroes do?"
Soundwave shook his head slowly. "NOT TO ME."
"I understand that we failed you then Soundwave-san. I promise we will not fail you again." Nezu promised. "But I swear to you that if you do not find this experience with your guardians good for you....then it shall end."
Soundwave rubbed Laserbeak's head. "FINE." He responded hesitantly. "WILL....WILL I HAVE ENOUGH SPACE FOR MY CASSETTES?"
Nezu's lip quirked upwards. "Of course."
Laserbeak chiped and Soundwave nodded. "I...WE.....ACCEPT. I HOPE YOU HAVE CHOSEN MY....GUARDIANS WELL."
Nezu just drunk his tea in response. 'Oh, I assure you Young Midoriya....you've already made a good impression on them...' He finished his tea and placed his cup on the desk. "I have no other heroes better for the task. Now, let us confirm other.....matters pertaining to your time at UA and on campus."
Later...
Nezu sighed as the two left his office. The current circumstances were hardly ideal.
Then again, he couldn't help but berate himself for not expecting this. For not expecting that the children of Class A because that's what they were and he'd made them soldiers would react negatively towards Midoriya.
Human emotions yet again evaded him. Yet a part of him could only wonder why Sixshot's Snipe's case had worked as well as it had, obviously barring the difference in scale.
Still, he couldn't afford to sit in silent contemplation for too long, he had other matters to attend to.
Far more concerning matters to attend to.
He reached into his cabinet to add a little extra "something" to his tea, he was going to need it.
His computer screen showed the same information that it had two hours ago.
The Gollini family had disappeared entirely, the World heroes association had reported that nearly the enmtire familia was either dead, crippled or in comas when found by European authorities. Yet Valdo Gollini, who had most likly killed his father and usurped him....was simply gone.
And not just him, but several key members of the organisation had also disapeared such as Gil Gollini, a man with a quirk comparable to that of Eraserhead's. A man who had promoted to a semi-grade 1 simply due to the fact he could depower any hero, from Salaam to Endeavor through currently unexplained means.
There was also a string of disappearances to some sort of dark mist quirk, something that was being callled.....The Devourer. The only description they currenyly had was of a mechanical demon with a never-ending hunger. Nezu put this aside for the time, Tsukauchi would inform him if he was needed for this. If worst came to worst, Uravity could just deal with it. All Might would have done the same afterall.
And perhaps worst of all.....Dr Garaki was missing.
His cell was empty, the man had simply....vanished.
The only information they had was a gibbering wreck of a man who had witnessed a "Purple Cyclops" with an arm cannon go into Garaki's cell block.
A cell block that was now full of corpses and one very missing Doctor.
It led to a disturbing realisation.
Soundwave may not be the only cyber-Nomu.
The files they'd found in a former PLF base only a few hours ago indicated the same thing. There were at least four Cyber-Nomu in existence at the time of the Gunga raid.
With plans for several more, most concerningly one that would be made from several villains combined into one.
Nezu prayed to a god he didn't believe in that such an atrocity had never been created.
He had the feeling that this prayer would remain unanswered. But in the meantime he had data to go over.
The first of the four was Unit zero, the Quintesson. Not even Soundwave had information on it, only a vague description and a purpose: a living quirk vault.
Nezu couldn't imagine the torment this poor soul, or souls was under. He only hoped that there was something or someone left there to save....
Unit one, Soundwave. Poor, poor Izuku Midoriya twisted into a weapon. His description simply labelling him as "The perfect instrument of destruction." He had to control himself from snarling at that.
Never again.
Of all the Cyber-Nomu, Midoriya was the one with the most information on him. Thankfully he seemed to be the strongest by far, as his purpose seemed to be a mix of assassin, attack dog and WMD. The other units on the other hand all seemed to be support roles of some kind....
Unit two, they had no name for. Only a file that stated it was "a most logical assistant after the shadowplay procedures" which made Nezu feel a small trace of fear at the implications of such a thing.
Midoriya had apparently been the first attempt at Shadowplay according to his file, whereas Unit two was a complete success.
Nezu didn't think he quite wanted to know what a "success" looked like if Midoriya's current emotional and mental state was any indication.
There was also a description that mentioned a singular eye.
Nezu had a feeling that they'd found Garaki's jailbreaker.
And then of course, there was unit four which only had a name. On it's own, that wasn't much....
'But a name often times implies a role.' He thought, frowning as he looked at the file. Quintesson implied five of something. Soundwave was in reference to Midoriya's main quirk and what it created.
Nezu wondered just what the name Starscream could imply about this one's function.