"Don't worry Iida, I'm going to save you"

Adrenaline burned like fire through his veins. The frantic drumming of his heart threatening to pierce his chest. A couple of meters away from him, stood the one and only Hero killer, known for being a ruthless assassin. Stain killed dozens of pro heroes, spreading his ideology and making his statement loud and clear. All fake heroes must die. That seemed to be the only thing the media could get as information on him. His name, quirk, and origins were all a mystery. Everything they knew was that he went after whatever hero he deemed unworthy to call a true hero. It didn't matter if the hero was powerful or not. Nobody survives the hero killer unless he wants them too. Tensei Iida, also known as the turbo hero Ingenium, was nothing more than a message to the Hero world. A warning.

Now, standing before the murderer, Izuku couldn't help but feel intimidated. However, he needed to work past it. His friend's life was on the line. Stain was still somewhat shocked from his sudden appearance. Izuku took the chance to look over to his friend. Iida was lying face down, blood was pooling from a somewhat deep gash on his shoulder. Guilt gnawed at him. If only he was faster, then perhaps Iida wouldn't have been hurt.

His classmate was looking at him with a confused and angry look. His gaze was different from the soft yet stern look the class president usually had on. This was the same look he has seen at the train station. This look screamed Rage.

"Midoriya... Why?"

"Can you move? Make for the main road and get some pros to come and help us!"

"I can't- I can't move. He cut me, I think it's his quirk..." Iida's voice was hoarse, his words came out as gritted, pain evident in his tone.

"So, he needs to cut you for the quirk to work?" Movement caught Izuku's attention as he tried to figure out the vigilante's quirk. There, slumped against the ally's wall was another pro hero. Izuku recognized him as Native. This isn't good, if it was only Iida and him, he might have been able to carry him and run but now he'd have to stay and save the other incapacitated hero.

"Midoriya, don't...interfere." Every word was laced with pure fury, every syllable dripping with venom. "This doesn't concern you."

"Iida..."

His words were cut off by a knife flying past by his face, grazing his cheek. The cut deep enough to draw blood. His head whipped back to the killer.

"You want to help your friend huh? 'I'm going to save you' Nice line, but it's my duty to kill these two. Society must be purged of all the fakes and if it comes to it, then naturally, the weaker of us will go down." His voice echoed through the dark alley. His words sending shivers down his spine.

The hero killer's eyes bore through Izuku, threatening and deadly.

Izuku couldn't win this alone. He needed backup, he needs to alert someone. Making sure none of his movements were visible, he slowly reached for his phone. Going through the familiar motions behind his back, he sent what he hoped was his location to all his contacts. Hopefully, someone would realize that something was wrong. He hoped so. Until then he will have to drive off the hero killer on his own. People's lives depended on him. He couldn't screw this up.

"Midoriya! Run! This has nothing to do with you!" He heard Iida shout as he strained to lift his head off the ground.

"Iida... I have a lot of things, I need to tell you but it'll have to be later. Because it's like a great hero once said. Helping people, getting involved, even when not asked for is the essence of being a true hero." Izuku raised his fist, his stance offensive and protective. He wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Stain grinned at him, the smile unsettling and straight up creepy. "You! I understand now why Shigaraki was so adamant on getting his hands on you. At first, I thought you were just another hero wannabe, trying to be something you weren't. But you are different, aren't you? That look in your eyes, you've seen the worst in life, haven't you? You may just be worthy enough for me to let you live."

With that, the villain charged. The action barely giving Izuku the time to register the things that were said to him. With one swift motion, the teen dodged the blade coming towards him. Using the training he gained from Torino, he launched himself at the wall, simultaneously jumping above the vigilante. Effectively dodging another cut. If what he gathered was right, Stain needed to cut his opponent for his quirk to take action, however, he'd already cut him but Izuku could still move. Did that mean that a cut wasn't the condition? He barely got to think before another blade was thrust his way. The hero killer was fast, agile and his movement was expertly calculated. His experience and skills outmatched Izuku in every way. However, Izuku had strengths and analyses on his side. If he could just figure out the man's quirk, maybe he stands a chance against him.

______________________________________________

Meanwhile, Izuku's message was received by his contacts. Most of them shrugging at the message or just assuming something different. However, two people realized the implications of the mysterious location. Back at UA, a certain black-haired teacher was surprised to hear his phone ding. Surprise quickly morphed into worry when he read the sender's name.

Message from 'Problem child '

It was a location, Hosu city to be precise. Why was Izuku in Hosu? Gran Torino's place wasn't even near the prefecture... Hosu... The news said it was under attack. Without a second thought, the hero quickly geared up and headed out the door.

______________________________________________

They've been going at it for a little while now, it was probably just a few minutes but It felt like a lifetime for the green-haired teen. He was panting hard, exhausted from the constant dodging and jumping.

Stain didn't even seem to break a sweat. The grin from earlier was still stretched on his face.

"You're not bad kid, I'll give you that. Not many people can escape my blades for this long." The hero killer was actually enjoying this.

Izuku was fighting tooth and nails to win and the vigilante was having fun. With one swift move, taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Stain kicked him. Effectively sending him crashing into the opposite wall. He hit the bricks hard with a thud, wheezing as the breath got knocked out of his lungs. In a split of a second, the hero killer was closing in on him.

"I'd hate to put an end to this kid, but I need to do this. Society has been infested by fakes, people posing as heroes for nothing more than fame and fortune. This world needs to be purged, all fakes must die." Ever so slowly, the hero killer licked the blood from the cut on his cheek. The motion nearly making the boy throw up. He tried to move but his body wouldn't respond. So, this is how he does it...

He needs to ingest the person's blood in order for his quirk to work.

This is bad. I need to move before he gets to Iida. I need to do something!

To his horror, Stain was already above a still incapacitated Iida, his blade raised in preparation for the final blow. The move that would cost Izuku his friend's life.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Before he could even finish his cry a wave of fire rushed at the hero killer.

The flames were low enough to be a threat, but also high enough not to hit Iida.

Stain was therefore forced to dodge and spring backward before getting burned.

Both Iida's and Izuku's expression mirrored each other. Their eyes widened as realization slowly dawned on them.

They have seen these flames before.

Stain's voice was strained, frustration and anger bubbling to the surface, past his calm and collected demeanor.

"Someone else to get in my way."

"You need to be more specific in situations like this, Midoriya..." From the shadows, stepped a familiar head of white and red hair. Half his body was still in flames.

"...Todoroki..." Izuku breathed in relief.

"Y-You too, Todoroki!?" Iida said, looking horrified. "W-What are you doing here?"

Todoroki answered slowly. His eyes were trained on the Hero Killer. "I knew something was wrong as soon as I received your message, Midoriya. You aren't really the type to send cryptic messages like that. Not unless something's wrong."

Todoroki broke into a run, towards the Hero Killer.

"Everything's okay now!" Todoroki hollered so that everyone in the alley heard him. "The pros will be here soon!"

He sent another burst of flames at the Hero Killer, and Stain dodged, leaping backward. Todoroki skidded to a halt and slammed his right foot into the ground; immediately, ice surged across the alley floor; Stain dodged it once again.

Todoroki took off again, this time stopping just in front of Izuku. "I knew it was bad when I got your message," Todoroki said, "But I didn't expect it to be the Hero Killer."

Stain was running back at them, and Todoroki shifted his right foot; a mountain of ice formed just in front of them, blocking out the killer and positioning both Iida and Native against the alley's wall, away from the lines of fire.

A second later, the ice shattered to pieces, and Stain was there once again, swords poised. Stain charged forward, throwing two swords in the process.

It was a trap.

Todoroki couldn't dodge both swords without giving stain a direct path towards Iida.

Izuku struggled, trying to break free of Stain's Quirk. It didn't seem to be doing anything, but...he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Not when Todoroki was putting his life on the line like this. Todoroki dodged as predicted. His expression quickly twisting into one of horror as he realized his mistake.

Thinking quickly, he made another wall of ice. However, Stain was faster. A knife was already flying towards the spot where Iida was propped up against the wall. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, the knife turned mid-air, gleaming under the moonlight as it made its way towards the target. One moment Izuku was paralyzed and the next he could move.

Summoning his power, One for All flowed through his veins as he leaped forward. He couldn't let Iida get hurt, he couldn't let his friends get hurt. He needed to save them. Without any hesitation, Izuku threw himself between the knife and his classmates.

"Midoriya!" Both Iida and Todoroki screamed in unison. Their voices were pleading and desperate.

The blade plunged between his shoulder blade as he tumbled onto the ground ungracefully. The pain was hindering but nothing he hasn't felt before. His mother went through a knife phase after all. Panting hard, he slowly got back up. Hand reaching up to his back as he broke the knife's handle. He couldn't let it get in his way, after all.

"I will not let you hurt them Stain. I swore I'd never let anyone get hurt if I could prevent it. I said I would save them and I meant it." He was slightly taken aback by his own tone. It was strange, how; when faced with life or death situation. Izuku's attitude would change completely. He's no longer be a stuttering mess, his demeanor quickly turning from frightened to threatening.

Stain's grin returned to his features at full force. The anomaly was borderline hysterical as the killer seemed to realize something.

"You... You're prepared to go to such length to save someone. To sacrifice yourself, in order to save. You...You're a true hero."

Todoroki, not letting the killer continue his speech sent another wave of ice his way.

"Midoriya, Todoroki...stop this! You can't get any more hurt because of me" Iida cried out from behind him, voice still strained. "I inherited my brother's name! I'm the one who should stop him...!"

"You're Ingenium now?" Todoroki questioned. "Strange! The Ingenium, I knew, never had that look on his face!" Silence met his shout.

Midoriya met Todoroki's eyes, both nodding to one another before charging forward. They worked in synchronicity.

Izuku will distract Stain long enough for him to barely be able to dodge Todoroki's attacks. However, they were both tired. Izuku's head was spinning, the pain in his limbs and back slowly becoming unbearable. He'd overused his quirk and lost a lot of blood. This was bad.

"T-Todoroki...Midoriya...please..." Iida's voice was completely different than before, laced with pain. "I- I can't...watch this..."

"You want to make your brother proud!?" Izuku yelled, narrowing his eyes at the Hero Killer. "You want to stop this, Iida!?"

"Then stand up!" Todoroki continued, swinging his left arm and sending a burst of flames at the Hero Killer. "Stand up and fight! Stand up and be a hero! Never forget who you want to become!" Todoroki's voice was laced with so many emotions, Izuku remembered a time where the fire and Ice user didn't know how to express those emotions.

_______________________________________________

Izuku realized two things as flames were being thrown at the vigilante.

One, the hero killer's movements were getting sloppier, Stain was getting desperate. He wanted to finish the job before the heroes got here.

Two, a desperate killer wasn't a good thing. It was quite the opposite. A desperate killer was even more dangerous.

The blood oozing from the knife in his back was beginning to drip, soon enough stain had plenty to take advantage of. Izuku found himself, once again, unable to move. He was stuck here, bleeding heavily and slowly losing hope.

Todoroki was on his own now. His friend's life was in danger and t was all because of him. He could only stare in horror as one of Stain's knives flew straight at Todoroki. The teen wouldn't have enough time to dodge or deflect it.

Izuku still couldn't move. He wanted to scream. And then, suddenly, Iida intervened. Iida swung his leg, Quirk activated as he deflected the sword with his armor.

"Todoroki...Midoriya..." Iida said, voice strained; blood ran and dripped off his arms, and he was breathing heavily, but he didn't seem to care. "I'm sorry for getting the two of you involved with this. You shouldn't be here."

"Iida--" Izuku started.

"No, I mean, this shouldn't have happened at all," Iida clarified, straightening up. The look in his eyes was completely different than before. The bitter, murderous rage was gone, replaced with determination and... sadness. "This is my doing, and I'm sorry. I won't let either of you shed any more blood on my behalf."

"Fool!" Stain snapped, charging at them again, more menacing than ever. "No matter what you say now, I've seen your true colors. A person's true nature can never be changed!"

Izuku wanted to scream. He wanted to move, to help. To do anything. Anything at all.

"Todoroki!" Iida shouted. "Can you regulate your temperatures!?"

"Not well with my left," Todoroki answered, eyes on Stain and left hand outstretched and ablaze, "but yes, I can!"

"You have to freeze my leg for me!" Iida said, sounding desperate. "Without plugging up the exhaust!"

Todoroki looked at Iida and nodded, choosing to trust the teen.

Another burst of flames; another round of ice; another knife to dodge. When he had a free moment between attacks, Todoroki bent down and set his right hand on Iida's leg. Ice ran across the length of Iida's calf, weaving between exhaust pipes.

Izuku prayed and pleaded with all his might for his body to move. To do something! His mind flashed to his mother's words

You'll never be a hero!

You pathetic brat.

Done playing hero, are we?

But then he remembers the things his friends and teachers said.

The encouragement and support they provided. He thinks about all the things he's overcome over the years, the things he's achieved. He's Deku. The hero who never gives up! The hero who always gets back up.

It's then that he feels his body finally moving. He Izuku pushes himself to his feet, the aching in his back is killing him. He's lost a lot of blood and his vision was blurring. Yet, he couldn't give up, his friends needed him. He needed to help them. Pushing past the pain, he ran. Izuku fired up One For All. He met Iida's gaze as he ran, the teen nodded and fired up his own quirk. Both of them rushed at the hero killer.

"Todoroki! Cover us!" Iida shouted, instantly understanding Izuku's intentions.

Izuku landed the punch to Stain's face as Iida landed his kick in the Hero Killer's ribs. Todoroki quickly following up with an attack of fire once they were both out of the way.

"Don't back down!" Todoroki hollered, pulling back his left hand, the flames dissipating. "He's still--!"

He froze. So did Iida and Izuku. The Hero Killer was completely motionless, limp, sprawled on one of Todoroki's heaps of ice.

Izuku's breath caught in his throat. His eyes went wide. They all sighed in relief.

They did it. they won.

They took down the hero killer.

_______________________________________________

They all worked in tandem. Native and Izuku searched stain for any weapon he held, after finding about two dozen knives hidden in his clothes, they tied him up. It would be a problem if the hero killer woke up and managed to escape.

Todoroki was wrapping Iida's arm in gauze, the gash he had wasn't bleeding anymore but it was better to be safe than sorry. As Izuku leaned against the alley's wall for support, Todoroki and Iida came up to him.

"Midoriya..." Iida began. His eyes racked over Izuku's body, taken in the multiple injuries, his eyes lingering on the blood still dripping from the knife in his back.

"Come on we need to get you to a hospital," Todoroki stated, his tone as blunt as ever.

"I'm fine guys" They looked at him with unreadable expressions. "I'm serious! Our first priority is Stain. We need to get him to the pro heroes."

He didn't even finish his sentence before the familiar voice of his new mentor resounded through the alley.

"Kid! Where did you go you brat!" He looked at all of them.

"I was-"He seemed to do a double take. "Is that- "

"The hero killer." A gruff voice finished grimly. That voice... A man emerged from behind the retired hero. The familiar silhouette of Aizawa making itself known."Izuku."

Iida and Todoroki moved out of the way. A sharp intake of air could be heard from both Aizawa and Torino. It was now, that the heroes finally saw the extent to Izuku's injuries.

"Kid, we need to take you to the hospital! You can explain later." Torino urged, his tone unusually stranger. Was that concern?

Suddenly, a huge winged creature emerged from the buildings above them. It was a Nomu and It was headed straight for them. Izuku on instinct pushed both Iida and Todoroki out of the way.

"MIDORIYA!"

Before any of them could react, the Nomu had taken Midoriya between its talons, its claws digging into his shoulders. His vision was blurring, the fight took away all his energy and the loss of blood wasn't helping.

Multiple shouts were heard, all of them screaming his name and he thinks he heard something about Stain.

It felt as if he was underwater, everything around him sounded like background noise. However, one moment they were in the air and the next they were falling. Stain managed to escape his bounds, he leaped at the creature with incredible speed and plunged his sword inside its exposed brain. The Nomu plummeted to the ground, sending Izuku tumbling as it broke his fall.

"Both this shame-filled society and the criminals who wield their power in the name of petty mischief are targets of my purge." His words rang in all of their minds, his voice echoed through their spirits, the pure determination and conviction behind them making their blood run cold. "All for the sake of a better society."

Izuku could only stare helplessly as stain slowly got up, standing right in front of him, he continued his speech. "Come on! Just try me you fake!" he challenged the heroes present. His shouts making them all take a step back in fright. "The only ones allowed to kill me is All Might!" He shouted, raising a pointed finger, he directed it at the bleeding boy on the ground. "...And HIM."

Complete silence followed his declaration. They learned later that one of the hero Killer's broken ribs had punctured a lung. He didn't manage to lick anyones blood but at that moment, they were all frozen, paralyzed.

The world slowly turned dark as consciousness escaped Izuku's grasp.