Izuku spent about three minutes searching in the trash for something to tie up the knocked out villain, before settling for some flimsy looking strings. They looked like they would snap at the slightest struggle, but the worst of their troubles should be over by now.

“Just tie him up so that it’ll be easy to transport him,” Felix said lazily, leaning against the wall. “If he breaks out, I’ll break his legs.”

“I thought you were supposed to be out of the country,” Izuku asked Felix. “How did you know where to find us?”

“I didn’t leave the country. I was just… visiting the other prefectures in Japan and happened to be in the area.”

“My father is in the area as well,” Todoroki chimed in. “We should be prepared to turn The Hero Killer over soon.”

There was a soft thud as Tenya suddenly fell to his knees. Alarm danced in Izuku’s eyes as he reached out to his friend, fearing that he had somehow collapsed from an injury-

“I’m sorry, everyone!” Tenya was sobbing. “You were injured because of me. I couldn’t see anything through my anger. This is all my fault…”

Izuku tapped his back gently.

“I’m sorry too, Iida. Even though you were feeling so cornered, I didn’t notice at all,” he said. “Even though we’re friends, I wasn’t there to support you…”

“Pull yourself together. You’re the class rep, right?” Todoroki gave him an uncharacteristically warm smile.

“You did nothing wrong, Tenya.” Felix approached him as well. “You’re a hero. Don’t ever forget that.”

Footsteps turned briskly around the corner, interrupting the moment before it could get any mushier.

“Gran Torino!” Izuku exclaimed, relieved that his mentor was none the worse for wear. The old man was not as pleased.

“Y-you! What are you doing here?” Concern and shock creased his wrinkled face even further. “I thought I told you to stay on the bullet train!”

“Gran Torino, I’m s-sorry…”

“Shoto. So this is what you meant when you said that your friends might be in danger.” Endeavour walked in behind the elder, keeping his flaming arms folded. “I see you’ve subdued The Hero Killer before I could. Well done. Worthy of praise.”

“We’re gonna need an ambulance for a few of us,” Felix stated flatly.

“Already done. There was a request for help. So obviously, I took the liberty of calling one here,” Endeavour said in a gruff voice. “The police are on their way too.”

“Well, I don’t really know what’s going on, but I’m glad you kids are okay,” Gran Torino said, clearly aware of the rapidly spreading tension between the heroes. “Just stay put until- Look out!”

Screeching flew above them as the charred Nomu swooped overhead, attempting to seize the heroes. It turned sharply and dived towards them again. Flames exploded from Endeavour’s body as he stretched a hand out, preparing to incinerate the monster for good.

The creature froze mid-flight, trembling slightly as a pink aura held it together. Sickening cracks were heard as every limb and appendage on its body snapped off at their joints. Bones jutted out at awkward angles, before being crushed into fine dust as the invisible force compressed its grotesque body.

Felix flicked his hand casually, as if throwing a crumpled ball of waste paper. The clump of flesh plopped onto the floor anticlimactically.

“Damn, I should really learn to finish the job more thoroughly…” he muttered.

A primal roar shattered the air. It was raw, almost inhuman sounding even.

“You fakes! I must make things right…” Stain had broken free of his bindings and was yelling at the heroes in front of him, as if challenging them to a fight. “I will reclaim what it means to be a hero! This world must be cleansed with blood!”

The heroes did not move a muscle, as though paralysed with fear by the man’s sheer intimidating aura.

“Come! Try and get me, you fakes! The only one I’ll let kill me is the true hero, All Might!”

Stain stopped abruptly, the pearly whites of his eyes showing as he froze in his position. Izuku glanced at Felix to see if he was the one who telekinetically knocked out the man, but the boy only shook his head slightly.

And for that moment, the only one who was ready to fight his opponent to the death was The Hero Killer.

~ ~ ~

It wasn’t until a day later when it was revealed that a broken rib had punctured Stain’s lung in his exertion. The Hero Killer, though brought low by fletchling heroes, was the one who dealt the finishing blow on himself. For better or worse, he was miraculously still alive after all that, and was locked up in the supermax prison, Tartarus.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The young heroes, with the exception of Felix, spent the next few days recuperating in Hosu General Hospital. Tenya had suffered the worst injuries out of the three. His left hand was the most damaged, although the injury really only affected his finger dexterity in the future. Despite only suffering mostly superficial wounds, the police were adamant that they be kept in their rooms for now.

“Oh, are you wounded kids awake?” Gran Torino slid the hospital door open. Felix followed the old man in, accompanied by Manual, and a policeman with a dog’s head on his shoulders.

“Gran Torino, Felix!” Izuku exclaimed energetically.

“Manual…” Tenya mumbled, keeping his head low.

“Kid, I’ve got a lot of complaints for you.” Gran Torino shook his head. “But first, this is Hosu’s chief of police, Kenji Tsuragamae.”

The students struggled to get out of their beds to stand, but the dog-man motioned them to remain in their beds. Felix walked over as well, standing among his fellow classmates.

“You must be the U.A. students who brought down the hero killer, right?” The police chief began, and the kids nodded their heads in affirmation.

“Since you are U.A. students, I assume you already know this. When superpowers were still becoming the norm, the police attached high importance to leadership and standards,” he began. “This was all done to make sure Quirks were not used as weapons.”

Felix folded his arms.

“After that, the profession of ‘hero’ emerged to fill that gap. Thanks to the early heroes who followed the ethics and rules of the profession, the use of such lethal force and power— actions that normally would be appropriate to denounce—was finally accepted officially by the public.”

Tenya looked away in regret.

“However, it is a clear violation of the rules for uncertified individuals to cause injury with their Quirks without specific instruction from their guardians or supervisors. Even if you’re up against someone like The Hero Killer,” Chief Tsuragamae said grimly. “As such, the three of you as well as the pro heroes Endeavor, Manual, and Gran Torino, must receive strict punishment.”

Both Izuku and Todoroki looked up in shock.

“Hold up. If Iida hadn’t done anything, Native would’ve been killed. If Midoriya hadn’t arrived on time, the two of them would’ve died.” Indignation was written all over Todoroki’s face. “None of you even realised that the hero killer had reappeared. Are you saying we should just follow the rules and watch people get hurt?”

“That is why you’re not a full-fledged hero yet.” The policeman shook his head in disappointment. “It’s clear that U.A. and Endeavour have taught you nothing.”

Anger flared in Todoroki’s eyes. Fire probably would have too, if he wasn’t concerned about being arrested for assaulting a police officer.

“You son of a bitch!” He stormed up to the man, while Izuku frantically tried to pull him back.

The Chief stood his ground, unfazed by the raging boy. “So are you saying that as long as it turns out alright, it’s okay to bend the rules?”

“Yes!” Felix almost shouted, and the walls trembled slightly. “What have your damned rules gotten you so far? Nothing but more chances for people to slip through society’s cracks. It’s because of these kinds of rules that the wicked go unpunished, while the just get stifled by bureaucracy.”

The boy marched up to the police chief. “You law enforcers are nothing but foolish cowards. You’re afraid of what we can do. Hell, you fear your own powers. Restricting the use of meta abilities will only blow up in your faces in the future. I came here to visit my friends, not watch them get lectured for doing the right thing!”

The room was deathly silent now.

“Now, now. Don’t be rash, young one.” Gran Torino raised a placating hand. “You might want to hear him out until the end.”

“What I’ve said so far is just the official opinion of the police to the public,” Chief Tsuragamae continued, ignoring the students’ outburst. “Any punishment would only be dealt if this was leaked to the public. But truth be told, you would probably be applauded by them instead for doing the right thing. So as far as they are concerned, Endeavour was the one who saved the day. After all, the ‘evidence’ fits nicely.”

“So no one will know the truth of what happened…” Izuku muttered.

“For better, or for worse? That’s up to you to decide.” The Chief nodded. “Personally, I don’t want to crush you promising young heroes just because of one mistake. It’s unfair; you won’t be able to receive public praise for your heroic actions. But as a law enforcer myself, and from the bottom of my heart, I wish to say thank you.”

The man bowed deeply at the students, and the room collectively relaxed.

“You know, you could’ve started with that…” Todoroki mumbled in slight embarrassment.

Tenya walked to his supervisor and bowed his head. “I am truly sorry for all the trouble I caused you.”

“Yeah, you did.” Manual chuckled and smacked his intern on the head lightly. “Don’t do it again, alright?”

“I won’t.”

The doors closed behind the adults shortly after, leaving the students alone. Izuku approached Felix slowly, who was silently staring out of the window.

“H-hey, Felix. Are you alright?” he began hesitantly. “I haven’t gotten the chance to say this, but… thank you for saving us back at the alley.”

The boy released a muffled grunt of acknowledgement, still keeping his back turned to his friends.

“I know I’ve said this before, but I’m glad to be friends with such a strong person like you,” Tenya added. “You really are on a different level from the rest of us.”

“It was because of you that I’ve learnt to embrace my fire quirk again,” Todoroki said. “You lifted my emotional baggage off of me, and that’s something I won’t forget. I know the look of someone with a huge chip on your shoulders. If there’s anything we can do to help, you just need to ask.”

Izuku suppressed his surprise at Todoroki’s straightforwardness. Although the quiet student had not interacted that much with Felix, it looked like even he had picked up on his classmate’s darkness. Felix’s beatdown of Stain also seemed very much personal, as if the villain had brought back some kind of unpleasant memory in him.

“I’m fine.” Felix smiled at them after a long pause. “Sorry about overreacting just now. I’m just mad at the system. They don’t care about doing the right thing. They’d rather silence us to preserve the peace. They…”

The boy’s voice trailed away as his fists clenched audibly.

“I’m… glad that you’re all okay. See you when school starts.”