For the people of Los Angeles, all was still fun on this ordinary night.
The LA Villains Detention Center was not only a facility to keep the societies' filth in, but it also gave courage to the citizens just with its presence.
Because of the LA's busy lifestyle, day and night, the number of Heroes was always in short supply.
However, with a contingent of Heroes always stationed at the Detention Center, it meant that when the city really faced an issue that local Heroes couldn't resolve, another score of Heroes could be called at a moment's notice.
That's why Los Angeles was one of the USA's most populous cities with one of the lowest crime rates.
Alas, it only took one ill turn of fate to change all data.
The dark sky over the Detention Center suddenly gained a blacker tinge, a teleportation portal spiraling into existence.
Wings of doom flapped out of the massive portal in the next moment.
It was a massive creature… dark purple skin, with dozens of feet long wingspan. Its face was like that of an octopus, with many thick, elephant-like trunks flailing around its neck. And… its brain was exposed.
But it wasn't the only thing that had come out of the portal.
Standing on the massive creature's back were Tomura Shigaraki, covered in hands, and Hero Killer Stain, whose red pupils kept landing on the Nomu under its feet — with greed.
"… That Doctor is still hiding… toys like this?" Stain wondered aloud. "What did he name it…"
Shigaraki was one moment away from pushing Stain off the Nomu's back. "Near High-End," he replied, annoyed.
Kurogiri took shape behind them, landing on Nomu's large back as well.
"These are not ready to be released, yet," he explained more patiently. "You can consider this as both a show of strength and an experiment."
Show of strength…? Stain hid a twitch on his face, stroking the mutated Nomu's head at his waist. We will see about that…
"Do you know where they are keeping Doctor Sam?" Kurogiri asked.
"No," Stain replied.
Both Kurogiri and Shigaraki looked at Stain, stunned.
"I just know he's here," Stain explained, smiling. "It's All For One who wants the man, not me. Go get him yourself. I am here only as a backup…"
"…"
"…"
Shigaraki couldn't hold it anymore. Slowly, he lifted his hand and scratched his neck. "Well… We will just have to kill our way to the man, then…"
As if that was a command, the Near High End let out a screech, shooting itself toward the massive Detention Center.
Its speed was so great that it crossed the mile-long distance in one swoop, sonic booms exploding in its wake.
Kurogiri had to hold onto Shigaraki as both of them hung tight on the Nomu's back.
Next to them, Stain needed no assistance, flesh tendrils shooting out of his legs, wrapping around the Nomu to keep him from blowing away.
Even before the Nomu reached 500 meters of distance, the hundreds of Dragonfly drones sensed their presence.
Automatic sirens began screaming all over the Detention Center as they found a foreign object in the No-Fly Zone.
However, nothing could stop the Nomu's momentum.
A swarm of drones homed in on the Nomu's flight trajectory and fired thousands of Quirk Suppression Drug syringes like bullets from an automatic rifle.
For a moment, the entire sky got lit by a cyan hue of the drug, seeping out from the syringes' glassy bodies.
In response, the Near High End Nomu arrested its momentum and arched its back, as if it were standing upright in the sky.
Then, it outstretched its wings, hiding the three Villains completely behind it.
The Nomu didn't have any arms, but only large wings. In the middle part of those wings, there were two hands, though. It was as if someone had cut the Nomu's arms from the elbows and then glued them to the wings midway.
It ended up giving the Nomu much greater control over the wings, along with arms.
The moment those syringes came, it spanned the wings wider, letting the bullets hit its skin.
However, the same syringes that could even pierce steel with their momentum couldn't even leave a scratch on the Nomu's skin.
Letting out a screech, as if it was laughing, the Nomu boomed once again with one flap of its wings.
And the entire sky lit up with hundreds of explosions, darkening the stars overhead.
More drones kept coming toward the Nomu, but each one of them met only doom, getting utterly obliterated to smithereens.
As explosions and fire claimed the sky over the Detention Center, the Nomu finally came down and landed in the Outer Zone.
Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!
The Near High End Nomu's growl deafened the ears, making the pale-faced guards, who had seen what happened in the sky, even paler.
Stain, Shigaraki, and Kurogiri slid off the Nomu's back and eyed the guards as well.
Then, before either of the guards or Villains could make a move, dozens of Heroes arrived at the scene, putting themselves around the Villains and in front of the Quirkless guards.
"Who are you…" One of the Heroes, having a mutation Quirk that gave him a snake's body, hissed. But before he could finish the question, Shigaraki pointed at him.
All the Heroes unnervingly looked at the Villain covered in hands, confused.
What was he pointing at? For what? Did he come here for Snake Man?! Could someone be so stupid…
That thought regarding the Villain's stupid action got buried tens of feet under the earth… along with the Snake Man.
A muffled boom resounded a moment later as if the world had registered the Near High End Nomu's movement late, now towering above the dead Hero with a blood-stained hand.
For a moment, not one of the Heroes spoke.
All the guards and the Heroes just looked at the dead Hero, whose face looked like mush, and then at the Nomu.
Suddenly, the Heroes, who were kept at the Detention Center as a token only, knew…
… this ordinary night might be their last.
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