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2025-06-07
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2025-07-17
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That moment when you mistake an orphan for your dead sister except you don’t know she’s dead

Summary:

Instead of going into care at UA, Eri is taken in by the HPSC for definitely not legal reasons but she isn’t there for long, as an accident unleashes project Shadow who has been in there for over 1600 years With that extremely long time Shadow doesn’t remember what Maria looks like and thinks Eri is Maria
Oh boy…

Chapter 1: Project shadow

Notes:


For those looking for the next chapter of my pokemon fics sorry hyper fixation burned out!
This one was sitting in my head for a hot minute in fact It was gonna be "WE ARE ANTI HEROES AT WORST." But it didn't pan out because I didn't know where to take the plot
like i had shadow going to the ark fighting eclipse who was up there and Eri getting thrown into the machine that made shadow to give her black arms powers it was a mess
But now i got a vague idea of what i want

Chapter Text

The ride to the Hero Public Safety Commission’s “temporary housing” was long.

The boat trip had been quiet.

Eri sat in the back of the transport vehicle, hands folded neatly in her lap. The seat was too big for her. Everything was too big, too sterile, too white, too quiet. The agents assigned to her didn’t speak unless spoken to, and even then their words were curt, too practiced. They didn’t smile. Not like Mr. Aizawa. Not like Mirio. Not like Mr. Deku.

She missed them already.


(Flashback)

"You can't be serious right now." Aizawa said voice stern

"We are," Madam President "her quirk is unstable and way too dangerous and with the League of Villains stealing the bullets from the transport truck it's likely they'll make a move on Eri for more."

She looked to Eri still in her hospital bed

It was only a few days after the raid only 3 days

"Until we can be certain the league isn't interested in Eri, she shall stay in protective custody." Madam president said

Aizawa took a deep breath in

"Fine, but as soon as it's safe you bring her to UA." Aizawa said

"Of course." Madam president said "We'll first let her rest up, once she's cleared She'll come with us."


(Flashback End)

That was 5 days ago and now instead of being with mr.Aizawa, Mr.Mirio, and mr. Deku she was in a transport boat heading to a building

They said That this was just temporary. Safer. Better. Heroes don’t lie.

Right?

Speaking of which, they were here.

The building was massive. The entrance bore the golden insignia of the Hero Public Safety Commission. Inside, clean steel walls stretched into the distance, polished floors reflecting overhead lights like mirrors.

The Hpsc president greeted her at the door

Eri didn't know much about her except that she was very important.

"Hello Eri, it's good to see you again." Madam president said with a faint smile Her turquoise eyes were kind, but hollow "Now you are a very special little girl. That's why you're here. It's a more stable place. UA has seen too many attacks. You’ll be safe here, Eri.”

Eri didn’t trust smiles like that they reminded her of Overhaul and could tell she was hiding something...

But what?

"Come I'll show you where you will be staying." Madam president said

They first started going down an elevator

But eventually, they had to start going down stairs

"We didn't want too many buttons on the elevator," madam president said "That's why invested in the stairs."

The further they went, The fewer people she saw.

They took her down.

And down.

And down.

Deeper and Deeper

Every floor lost a little more color. Posters of heroes vanished. Then the lights dimmed. Then came the old door — not glass, but rusting alloy, marked with a symbol she didn’t recognize.

G.U.N.

"What's that?" Eri asked curiosity getting the better of her

"That is...What the HPSC used to be called." Madam president said "You see all the hero commissions around the world used to be one entity called the guardian unit of nations or G.U.N. For short but when quirks appeared in 2317 and then years later heroes started becoming common place G.U.N. Was forced to adapt, divide and become the the hero public safety commission and other similar organizations."

She smiled and said

"Now in the year of 3570 we are here we fund so many heroes and help so many people ."

A scientist walked next to the president looking nervous

"Ma'am unfortunately we are out of rooms with the needed equipment we need to use a room that's old ." The scientist said

"Do we have any old spaces we can use?" Madam president asked

"That's just the thing the only room we can use is...the one with Project Shadow." The scientist said

Madam president scoffed

"That old thing? I'm not sure why the Americans are so scared of that thing, It hasn't moved in 1613 years. Set up the room in there." Madam president said

The scientist nodded and left

"What's project Shadow?" Eri asked

"Project Shadow is some old experiment from the 1950's way before any of us were born. It used to be at the American hero commission but when our crime rate hit zero thanks to All Might the American hero commission gave him to us believing All might could take him down if he ever escaped." Madam president said "Unfortunately we don't know much about it, It's purpose, it's abilities and even who made it, Have been lost to time."

Eri looked fascinated at that

Soon they reached a thick metal door

The HPSC president unlocked it with biometric scanners and dual keys. It groaned open to reveal a cavernous chamber, the ceiling darkened with the exception of a few small lights, walls lined with obsolete machinery, racks of dust-covered weapons, and one massive containment tank in the center connected to the wall by thick cables, humming with dormant energy.

Within it floated a figure.

He was unlike anything Eri had ever seen black and red fur, long quills, heavy rings on his wrists and ankles, feet clad in strange shoes that looked more like engines than footwear. He didn’t move. He didn’t breathe. He might have been dead.

But something about him felt… alive.

Like something was playing on loop...

Also, inside the room was glass window that showed a monitor room

"That room is where we monitor Project Shadow." Madam president said lookingat the monitor room "It may look dead but it's very much alive, it's basically in a very deep sleep."

"What is he?" Eri asked

"A hedgehog, If we let him loose he would be indistinguishable from someone with a mutation quirk." Madam President said "We're not sure why he's a hedgehog, It looks like something someone would make for their granddaughter rather than a weapon."

She turned elsewhere

"Now let's get started."

Eri was so focused on Shadow, she didn't notice the scientists in the room setting up the table

She turned and saw:

Overhaul's notes

The table, the syringes

No...No no no-

Eri immediately tried to get out of the room, but was grabbed by a guard and strapped to the table, struggling the whole way

"Please! No! I don't want to!" Eri said, thrashing and panicking

"We're really sorry Eri, like I said earlier, you're a very special girl, but with the league having the bullets we can't risk not having the antidote, we need it because we can't risk such a disadvantage. but don't worry, We don't have Chisaki's quirk meaning we can't drain you dry and reassemble you, we'll take breaks, give you numming agents, and then wipe your memory with one of our agent's quirks after it's all done. We aren't heartless." Madam president said

"And if we ever need more, we'll just rinse and repeat."

She then left the room and headed to the monitor room, intent on watching to make sure nothing went wrong.

A few minutes later her voice appeared of the speaker

"Okay, You may begin." She said calm and focused "Remember don't kill her we don't have Overhaul's quirk."

The moment the needle for numbing went in, Eri's quirk flared up

What happened next would be considered the world's worst series of Events

One of the scientists backed away to avoid getting rewinded

But he backed into then generator powering Project Shadow's pod and that scientist had a electricty draining quirk

The power in the room failed, but in the monitor room...

(Beep...Beep...beep)

A pulse...

Shadow's pulse

Inside the room Eri screamed for help

And in that moment

It sounded like someone only one person in that room knew

And that person...

Was Shadow


(Inside the Shadow's mind)

The memories of that day ran through Shadow's mind like a record

But over the thousand years the memories decayed

He couldn't remember how maria looked

But he remembered her voice

"Please...Shadow, Give the people of earth a chance to be happy, to hope." Maria said her hands on a lever but Shadow couldn't remember her face

"Maria! What are you-" Shadow began

Then The G.U.N. Soldiers burst in

"Freeze! Don't move! Step away or we'll shoot!" The leader said, holding a pistol

“Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog.” Maria said, as she pulled the lever

(BANG!)

Shadow watched Maria fall

An angel...Snuffed out

“MARIA!” Shadow yelled

And then the pod was launched, sent to earth.

Despite the decay, despite the 1613 years, in kept playing on loop in his subconscious

Until in that very moment...

"HELP!"

...It suddenly stopped..


Inside the pod Shadow began to stir

"What's going on!? Get the power back on!" Madam president said

"We can't! That shock destablized the containment field!" An agent said

"Meaning!?" Madam president demanded

"...He's waking up."

The look on the agent's face was one of pure terror

"Get guards in there now!" Madam president yelled

"We can't the door is shut! The shock fried it!" The agent said

Inside the tank, for a moment, nothing happened.

Everyone took a sigh of relief as the power in the room was restored

Then two crimson eyes snapped open, glowing like embers.

Then one punch.

One punch was all it took to break the glass that had held steady for over 1600 years

The tank exploded.

Glass and red fluid flew in all directions. Cryogenic steam hissed into the room like a living fog. From within, a figure stepped out soaked, dripping, furious.

Project Shadow... no The Ultimate Lifeform, had awakened

And he was absolutely livid.

His eyes darted around the room

He saw the horrified scientists, the people looking through the glass, the guards who just burst in rifles raised...

And her, the girl strapped to the table, syringes clearly having been just used and the look of absolute terror on her face

"...Maria?" Shadow asked voice scratchy most likely from lack of use

Due to Shadow's fractured memories he couldn't remember Maria's face and general head properly and any inconsistencies were in his mind, caused by the experiments currently being done on her

In his eyes

This girl WAS Maria

"...Let go of her...NOW!" Shadow yelled chaos energy crackling

And then he vanished

And one movement

He knocked out 3 guards, 2 scientists in one movement

The rest of the guards opened fire, but Shadow was too fast

In blinks of movement and bursts of speed he knocked out each guard one by one until one remained

Shadow appeared in a blink and knocked him out in one punch

He then walked over to "Maria"

“…What did they do to you, Maria?” Shadow asked

She was smaller, skinny, but not in a sick way more of a...Starving way...

In fact she didn't look too sick at all.

"Maria did they...cure you?" Shadow asked

Eri couldn’t respond. She just reached out, eyes begging.

Shadow gave a small smile

She was cured

His sister, could finally walk the earth at long last.

"Come on Maria," Shadow said "We're leaving."

Eri didn't say anything, didn't correct him,

She just wanted out

Madam president snapped out of the trance of seeing Shadow in action

"Hey! return her immediately! Just who the hell do you think you are!?" She demanded as she activated the emergency lock on the door

Shadow turned to face the monitor room glass, frown back

"I am the ultimate lifeform."

He put Eri on his back and he then smashed through the steel in a single punch

"...I go wherever I want." Shadow said

He began skating with his air shoes out of there.

"What the-??!" Madam president said, shocked at the utter disrespect

"Get every guard we have! Block every exit! Get Hawks here too!"

"Ma'am what about Endeavour?" An agent asked

"Hawks knows what we're doing and understands the necessity of it, Endeavour doesn't. If we get Endeavour he will tell the public, regardless of how much dirt we have on him." Madam president said

"And... if Endeavour dies fighting this...thing... any hope we have of winning is gone."


Shadow began tearing his way out before spotting a familiar logo:

G.U.N.

"G.U.N. I should have known they were behind this." Shadow said "Hang on Maria, I'll get you ot of here."

Eri held on tighter

Shadow kept moving before spotting something on the G.U.N. "Worldwide hall of heroes."

Commander Walters's free olive garden food card with no expiration date rewarded to him for something Shadow doesn't remember, next to a photo of the commander

He does remember Walters talking to the professor about it something about "never ending breadsticks" and "when you're there you're family."

Maria could use some food she's so light, too light.

And family is something they could both use

"Maria after this I'm taking you to olvie garden." Shadow said

"...Olive garden? What's that?" Eri asked tilting her head slightly seemingly intrigued despite what she just went through

That made Shadow pause

Maria alwats wanted to try fresh olive garden

Why doesn't she remember

Had G.U.N. Taken her memories?

How...dare they...

Shadow smashed open the case and grabbed the card

"Maria I'll promise, I'll fix this...and then I'll crush every last one of them. No mistakes! Everyone working with G.U.N. will pay!" Shadow said

Shadow began moving again

The escape had begun.

Shadow didn’t know who she really was.

Eri didn’t care what he was.

She clung to the only one who fought to save her from this place.

Like Mr. Deku did like Mr.Mirio did

Another hero

Meanwhile Shadow has no clue how long he was out for

But now he was awake

And no one was going to put him back

Never again.

Chapter 2: The power of the ultimate lifeform

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Shadow's escape wasn't quiet

The facility descended into chaos.

Steel buckled. Walls exploded. The floors split open as Shadow carved his way through the HPSC’s underground nightmare with unstoppable rage and laser-like focus. Alarms blared, red lights painting the corridors in violent hues. Every guard, every gun, every desperate commandnone of it mattered.

He was a streak of black and red fury, a storm of violence with a singular purpose: protect Maria

Shadow tore through the corridor, a blur of fury. His hover-skates hissed across the steel floor, the jets leaving scorched trails as he moved.

“TARGET IS MOBILE OPEN FIRE!” A guard yelled

Bullets cracked through the air, but Shadow weaved between them with inhuman precision. He vanished in a blink and his boot slammed into a soldier’s chest, sending him hurtling into a wall.

Another guard lunged, his body swelling grotesquely as his muscles mutated.

Shadow paused mid-charge, his eyes narrowing.

“…The hell?”

The guard roared, swinging a meaty fist the size of a truck tire.

Shadow dodged with contemptuous ease and spun into a roundhouse that shattered the man’s jaw.

"What the hell are you? Some sort of G.U.N experiment?" Shadow asked the downed guard

An officer burst from a side door, her arms transforming into writhing tentacles.

Another spat acid from his palms.

Shadow dodged the acid

Madam president's voice came over the speaker

"Be careful! He has something very important on his back!"

The guard's hesitation was exactly what Shadow needed

"Chaos snap!" Shadow said

With a snap of his fingers, the acid guard was hit with energy, as Shadow punched the other guard in the face

Eri was amazed

He's...so strong

Shadow’s glare deepened. “This level of Biological weaponry... mutating their own soliders? They’ve gone mad.”

He turned to face Eri

"Is that what they did to you Maria?" Shadow asked

Before she could answer they were attacked by another guard, this one with ice powers

Shadow kicked him in the face and kept moving

Another burst through a ceiling hatch, crackling with fire. “You’re not getting off this island!”

“You people and your lab freaks,” Shadow muttered, grabbing the guard by the throat. “How many lives did you ruin to make this one? Have they truly fallen so far? Playing with genetics like children with matches…”

He crushed the man’s ribcage with a knee and launched up through the levels floor after floor, a blur of chaos.

No matter how many guards were sent his way

None of them could stop him.

He ascended floor after floor, leaving a trail of bodies and sparking control panels in his wake. His muscles moved with memory, muscle, and precision, a being built for war, purpose etched into every motion. Yet his mind reeled.

"Maria. They… changed her I can feel it. Why? How long have I been gone?"

On his way up the stairwell Shadow noticed a new sign

HPSC

"So G.U.N. Thinks hiding behind a new name clears them of the past? Not while I'm around." Shadow said grimly

Then the stairway opened to a wide, circular room a hangar built just above sea level. Helicopters were spooling up. Floodlights flickered in the downpour beyond. Rain slicked the glass, casting erratic shadows.

A figure stood between Shadow and the exit.

Wings spread. Blond hair damp in the stormlight.

Shadow’s eyes flared as he set Eri down

"This is definitely a new age." he said darkly, shifting Eri gently behind him. “I never knew G.U.N. had such odd workers, bird-man. Are those wings real? And if they aren't, what manner of experiments have you gone through?"

The winged man raised a brow. “Experiments?”

His expression changed, wariness sharpening into caution. “Just who the hell do you think you are?”

Shadow took a step forward, black and red quills dripping, eyes burning.

“I am the Ultimate Lifeform,” he said, arms out gesturing to himself, “Professor Gerald Robotnik’s finest work, Shadow the hedgehog. And you are?”

The man’s wings flared, defensive but cocky.

“Hawks,” he said. “Number two hero in Japan.”

"A pity." Shadow said, arms crossed not even thinking of the hero part

"How so?" Hawks asked

"If they wanted to capture me again, they should have sent number 1."

In a blink Shadow moved

Hawks barely had time to react getting nicked in the side with a kick

(He's fast-) Hawks thought before getting punched in the face

"How pathetic." Shadow said arms crossed

"Sorry pal not all of us are the ultimate life form." Hawks said "If that's really what you are."

That pissed Shadow off a bit

“I’ll give you one warning,” Hawks said, summoning blades of hardened feathers in a spread behind him. “Step away from the girl.”

“She stays with me,” Shadow growled, eyes glowing.

“I was ordered to retrieve her. You don’t know what you’re getting involved in.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Feathers launched toward him like razors, but shadow twisted through them mid-air and slammed a foot into Hawks’ chest, sending him crashing into a fuel tank.

“You’re fast,” Hawks muttered, standing. “Faster than anyone I’ve fought.”

“And you’re slow,” Shadow snapped, teleporting behind him. "Way too slow."

Hawks blocked the kick only for Shadow to activate his air shoes the flames forcing Hawks to back away

Shadow curled up into a ball and slammed into Hawks

"Shit, I think you cracked a rib...so you're not just fast you're strong and smart too." Hawks said

"I am the ultimate-"

"I know I know the ultimate lifeform." Hawks said mockingly

Hawks immediately regretted that

BOOM!

A chaos-charged punch sent Hawks into the ground.

Feathers flared again, forming a shield, slicing toward Shadow. He flickered, teleporting above and kicking Hawks into the ground Again.

"Do not mock me." Shadow said

(Shit! This guy is tough!) Hawks thought (Wait the kid. I dont want to do this but somethings need to be done if I could hold her in place I can make him surrender.)

He made feather blade go closer to Eri

However, Shadow noticed it

And without hesitation...

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

Shadow put a chaos spear through Hawks's head both killing him and making the feather drop like...well a feather

"Never...again." Shadow said

Shadow stared at the corpse for a beat longer than necessary.

He then turned to Eri

"I'm sorry you had to see that Maria." Shadow said sounding genuinely sorry "But he was gonna hurt you again."

"It's okay...I'm used to getting hurt." Eri said

That made Shadow pause

WHO

THE FUCK

HURT HIS BIG, NOW LITTLE SISTER!?!

"There's gonna be hell to pay." Shadow said under his breath

Shadow clenched his fists.

With a roar, Shadow punched through the hangar wall, crumpling steel.

Beyond it open sea. Rain poured in. Wind howled.

He then turned and blasted their helicopters to hell

"There that should keep them from following us." Shadow said

Eri clung to his arm, shivering from the cold

He pulled her close and leapt into the storm, skating across the water at impossible speed, his Air Shoes slicing the surface with jets of propulsion.

Behind him, the facility's hangar burned from the exploded helicopter

Ahead, the mainland.

Shadow didn’t know where he was. What century it was. Why Maria looked different. Why she didn’t remember.

But one thing was clear:

G.U.N. was still active. And still corrupt.

Not ever.

Shadow didn’t look back.

He didn’t care who came after him.

They’d hurt Maria.

They’d altered her, given her powers, erased her memories. But her eyes… her spirit…

She was still Maria.

And no one, no one hurt Maria and lived.


Meanwhile

The hallway was rubble.

Twisted beams and shattered walls lined the corridor where once sterile order had ruled. Sparks hissed from broken panels, the hum of power systems now replaced by the groans of fractured metal.

Madam President stepped carefully through the debris, flanked by aides and guards. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes burned with calculation.

"Look at this mess." Madam president said looking at the destroyed hall way "He took out everyone?"

"Most are injured badly." An aid said, trembling as she scrolled through the datapad "Others are in critical condition."

"Any casualties?" Madam president asked

"One so far. Hawks." The aid said

The President stopped mid-step. Her face lost a fraction of its control.

"What?" She said

"Project Shadow threw an energy spear into his skull. It caught Hawks trying to get the girl in a hostage position, it then threw more at the helicopters, destroying them, All of them.” The aid said nervously

"Shit. So using the girl against it is a bad play." Madam president said

"Ma'am he's heading towards the mainland. What do we tell the public, the press, and the other heroes? Especially since a figure as popular as Hawks, is dead?"

“Ma’am,” a soldier said carefully. “Do we mobilize the Top Ten?”

She didn’t answer at first she thought about it

“No,” she said finally.

"Nothing for now, as of right now Hawks's death is classified, if we can't find and capture Shadow in 48 hours we the. Reveal it." Madam president said "Thankfully most people will mistake him for a mutant type. As long as he doesn't do any acts of violence in public there will be no panic."

"As for the remaining top ten, we can't risk losing any more heavy hitters. We need intel and we need it fast.

“What about the raid heroes and U.A. heroes in training?” the trembling aide asked. “Eraserhead, Midoriya, Togata all of them they know Eri or at the very least seen her once, They’ll recognize her.”

"Let's hope they think He's an Aide." Madam president said

"and what about the UA culture festival in two days?" A different aid asked "We approved their request to bring Eri."

Madam President blinked.

“…Shit. I forgot we greenlit that. I was hoping she’d be patched up and memory-wiped by then.”

She turned away from the wreckage, her heels clicking as she moved toward the tech hub. A wicked thought crept into her voice.

"Luckily for us Eri knows about it. She will likely ask project Shadow to go and seeing how weak he is against her, he will say yes." Madam president said "Then after festival we do a sneak attack. If we fail and they ask We'll say project shadow Escaped saw Eri believed she was this "Maria" , then he intercepted our truck and she asked him to take her to the festival."

"What if Eri talks?" The aid asked

“She won’t,” Madam President said. “She’s too grateful. Too traumatized. And deep down, she wants to believe someone rescued her because they cared. Not because she’s useful.”

She turned to the tech team

"Anything useful in that footage?" She asked

A tech nodded

"Yes! have a look at this!"

He pressed play

"What the hell are you? Some sort of G.U.N experiment?" Shadow asked the downed guard in the clip

"We already know he doesn't know about quirks he's from the 1950's for god sake." Madam president said "That's the one advantage we have."

The tech played another clip

Shadow took a step forward, black and red quills dripping, eyes burning.

“I am the Ultimate Lifeform,” he said. “Professor Gerald Robotnik’s finest work, Shadow the hedgehog. And you are?”

“That’s now that's something,” the President said with a gleam. “We’ve got names. Shadow. Gerald Robotnik. And Mariawho he keeps mistaking Eri for.”

She gestured to the team. “Start digging. Every record, every file, no matter how buried. I want everything on Gerald Robotnik and this Maria."

“And figure out why he keeps calling himself the Ultimate Lifeform.”

"I find that name of Shadow kinda boring like it's the name of the project why not something like Terinos?" A tech support asked

"Look, we don't have time to discuss names did he do anything else?" Madam president asked "Any clues to his next location?"

"He took the free food from Olive Garden card from G.U.N's wall of heroes." The tech support said

"Okay he's definitely intelligent to know the need of food have drones one him in an hour. Find them." Madam president said watching Hawks's death

"Before Shadow take his rage out on us further."

Madam President stood before a monitor still flickering with the last signals from Hawks’ bodycam. She watched his death a third time the spear, the silence, the crumpling wings.

Dead. Just like that.

So easily.

“I want AI-assisted reconstruction. Predictive modeling of this Shadow’s abilities. You have the footage—build something out of it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the tech team said in chorus, tapping furiously.

God...

What the hell is this thing?

And why… why did it care about this Maria so much that it was willing to tear the world apart to protect a little girl?

So many questions and zero answers

Another aide ran in, panting. “Ma’am! Satellite imagery just came through.”

She turned.

“We’ve got him. He’s heading straight for Musutafu. At high speed.”

“How fast?” Madam president asked

“Estimate… 160 kilometres an hour. On foot. Over water. He’s riding some sort of propulsion system.”

“ETA?”

"5 minutes he's also teleporting over distances instantly." The aide said

"Shit he clearly knows his abilities well... Start analyzing right away, when you get the drones up monitor every word that comes out of his mouth he's one of our only sources of intel." Madam president said

"And let's hope he doesn't get more pissed off at us before we can get him before we can get him back in the pod."


Later

The city was a blur beneath Shadow’s feet neon lights flickering off the soaked streets, towers of chrome and glass looming overhead. Rain still fell, misting against his face as he darted down an alley, Eri safe in his arms.

Shadow ducked into a side alley, steam hissing from grates as he skidded to a halt behind a dumpster.

He listened eyes scanning, ears twitching.

No pursuit.

Only the sound of distant traffic and the gentle breathing of the small girl in his arms.

Eri still clung tightly to his chest, trembling from the cold and the trauma, but silent. Brave. Like her.

(or so he thinks)

Shadow slowly knelt and let her down. She staggered slightly before regaining her balance, oversized hospital gown sticking to her like a second skin.

He crouched to her eye level, scanning her for wounds.

“…You hungry?”

She nodded hesitantly.

"Good." Shadow said "let's get something to eat."

Notes:

Sorry hawks fans your boy is dead

Chapter 3: When you’re here you’re family

Chapter Text

Shadow didn’t know the city.

Its towers glistened like alien monoliths, neon veins pulsing along their edges. Signs changed as he walked, shifting between pictures and words. The streets glimmered with wet reflection, the rain washing neon into long streaks of color.

His Air Shoes hissed softly, steam curling from beneath his heels as he stepped onto the sidewalk. Eri remained quiet, her small fingers clinging to the white tuft on his chest. The wind tousled her hair. She looked around with wide, amazed eyes.

Shadow scanned the city.

Sleek cars. Wider roads. People moved in flowing crowds under translucent umbrellas. Despite all the chaos he had caused just hours ago, no one here screamed. No one looked for him. The world went on.

And then he noticed them.

A girl with glowing tattoos shifting across her arms. A man with additional eyes on the sides of his head. Two laughing children with webbed hands and scaled cheeks. A woman clearly human walking beside her bat-winged friend without a second glance.

“…G.U.N’s experiments?” Shadow muttered.

But there were too many. Far too many. And they weren’t hidden. They weren’t under surveillance.

These… people… were living. Normal. Mundane.

Not soldiers. Not freaks. Not like him.

He saw two boys lifting tiny pebbles with some form of telekinesis

Then he saw their mother tugging two boys by the collar. “Not in public! You don’t have your quirk licenses yet!”

Quirk.

That word. It echoed strangely in his mind.

And they...needed licenses? Like the cars maria and Gerald talked about?

He looked at the anthropomorphic figures too. A rabbit-eared girl offered a passing nod. A feline-like young man leaned against a rail, scrolling on a sleek glowing device. They weren’t hiding either.

“…They weren’t altered,” he murmured.

Eri stirred in his arms. “What?”

He quickly shook his head. “Nothing.”

He looked around again searching for an anchor. Something familiar.

And then he saw it.

Across the street.

A beacon. A sanctuary.

OLIVE GARDEN

Those 2 words

Thank god they could get something to eat.

“…Perfect.”

In a flash, his Air Shoes hissed to life. He dashed across the crosswalk in a blur of speed, narrowly missing a taxi that honked violently behind him.

Doors whooshed open.

Shadow the Hedgehog stepped into a warm, softly lit dining room, still dripping rainwater, glowing red eyes scanning for threats.

A hostess around 20 years of age blinked. “Uh… sir…?”

He pull the card out of his quills and placed it on the counter

"Where did you get this?" She asked

“A friend,” Shadow replied flatly, knowing full well he was lying.

If calling Walters a friend ever became true, he might just throw himself back into cryo.

"You must have one hell of a friend these haven't been printed in a long time." She said

“It still works?” he asked, calm but direct.

"It says free forever of course it still works." The hostess said "Right this way sir."

They were seated in a booth near the window.

The storm outside painted shadows across the table. Eri stared at the menu like it was a holy relic.

“You can pick,” Shadow said quietly.

She looked up at him. “I can?”

That question, that tone, nearly broke something inside him.

“…Yes.”

She chose a kid’s pizza, hands shaking slightly as she pointed.

Shadow chose pasta. Simple. Fuel. Efficiency.

The server returned with their order quickly—too quickly. Eri’s eyes lit up at the small cup of juice and smiling breadstick mascot printed on the plate.

Shadow’s fork paused mid-spin of noodles.

(She didn’t expect a choice,) he thought. (She thought she’d just be… fed. Like a lab rat.)

A silence passed between them, the clink of forks and quiet hum of the restaurant soundtrack stretching out.

Eri looked up after a few bites.

"Thank you Mr. Shadow." Eri said

"Please, just call me Shadow." Shadow said

The clink of cutlery and the hush of rain created a kind of lullaby.


After a little bit Eri finished the last bite of her pizza, then wiped her mouth on a napkin with an exaggerated care that betrayed her usual lack of experience with restaurants (She mimicked Shadow). Her legs still swung gently beneath the table, heels thudding against the booth in a soft rhythm.

Shadow, halfway through his pasta, had begun to slow.

Not from weariness.

But from thought.

He watched her movements. The way she Didn't smile at all felt wrong. But The way her small fingers curled around the edge of the table.

Maria always held the table like that when she sat across from Gerald, he thought. Always leaning forward when she was excited, even if her body couldn’t handle it.

She had her differences. White hair instead of blonde. A horn. Scars on her arms and shadows in her eyes.

But she had her kindness. Her light.

Yes this was Maria, no Matter the changes


But across the table, Eri stirred.

And in her heart, Maria was a stranger.

She glanced at Shadow now and then, chewing her lip. The way he watched her,gentle but intense, it made something twist in her stomach.

She was used to being studied. But this wasn’t like the scientists.

This wasn’t like Overhaul.

He didn’t look at her like a puzzle.

He looked at her like she meant something.

Like she was someone.

And that was even more confusing.

She pressed a hand to her chest where her horn curved slightly upward, felt the faint ache of phantom pain.

“Mr. Sh—um, Shadow?” she asked softly.

He looked up, eyes sharp, but not harsh. “Yes?”

“…Who’s Maria?”

"She's you." Shadow said

Eri blinked

"I don't care what name they gave you during those changes. You're Maria Robotnik." Shadow said

Oh no...

Her little fingers gripped the edge of the table again, tighter this time.

She may have only been six, but Eri was smart. Smart enough to recognize delusion.

He thought she was someone else.

He wasn’t threatening. He wasn’t angry. But his words settled over her like a warm blanket, and she wasn’t sure if it made her feel safe, or scared.

This was the kind of mistake she’d been taught to correct.

But no alarms were going off.

And Shadow… was kind. Honest, in a strange way.

He cared. Really cared.

Maybe… this was a nice kind of wrong.

Maybe it didn’t have to be corrected. Not yet.

She glanced down at her plate, whispering, “…Okay.”

Shadow tilted his head slightly, but said nothing.

The storm outside rolled on, distant thunder echoing softly.

Inside the booth, between half-finished meals and flickering candlelight, a strange quiet peace settled over them, fragile, but real.

For the first time in a long time, Eri didn’t feel afraid.

"Do you want dessert?" Shadow asked

Eri nodded


“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE NOTHING ABOUT WHO MADE THIS THING!?”

The words cracked across the command room like a whip. Half the staff flinched. One dropped his datapad. The echo of Madam President’s fury lingered in the sterile, humming silence.

She stood at the center of the room, tension radiating off her like heat. Her perfectly tailored jacket might as well have been combat armor. The way her turquoise eyes sliced across the room it was war.

A senior analyst adjusted his glasses nervously. “W-We’ve scoured all government and military archives. Everything postdating Gerald Robotnik’s projects has either been redacted, destroyed, or… never digitally recorded. We only have fragments, birth certificate, military clearance level, and… date of death.”

The air seemed to stop.

“Go on,” she said. Coldly.

“Gerald Robotnik was executed in 1960,” the analyst said. “Charged with high treason. No details listed. Just that his ‘research presented a potential existential threat to world stability.’”

“Execution,” she repeated, voice like glass under strain.

“Via public firing squad. Sealed records. No trial.” The analyst said

“Cause of death?”

“Confirmed. Twelve rounds. Head and chest.”

Madam President turned slowly, her jaw clenched. She didn’t scream this time.

Because she was thinking.

That was worse.

“Any surviving relatives?”

There was a pause.

Then a younger tech, the same one who had retrieved Shadow’s footage, spoke up. “Not anymore but, we caught something from the restaurant.”

A few keystrokes later, audio played across the command center.

“Who’s Maria?”

“She’s you.”

“You’re Maria Robotnik.”

The clip ended.

The air in the room chilled.

“That’s it,” the tech said. “That’s the first confirmation of Maria’s full name. The drones caught it from the booth camera. She’s connected to Gerald.”

“Related?” the President asked.

“We ran a few simulations. Based on age range, common naming structures, and what we know of the timeline… Maria was likely his granddaughter. Shadow calls her that with too much emotional weight for anything less. Shadow must have a deteriorated memory if he's mistaking Eri for this Maria."

Madam President’s eyes narrowed. “So Shadow is Emotionally compromised.”

“Critically.”

She stared at the holographic map now flickering above the center table. Shadow’s location was clearly pinged by the surveillance drones they’d finally deployed.

“Olive Garden,” she muttered.

A pause.

“That’s where he went?”

“He used an ancient ‘free food forever ’ card from our old G.U.N. personnel wall.”

She blinked. “That actually worked?”

“It did, ma’am.”

Someone in the back coughed. Another tried not to laugh.

Madam President’s eye twitched.

“Wonderful. We’re being outmaneuvered by an over thousand year old military weapon… who wants unlimited breadsticks.”

She turned sharply to her aides.

“Scramble Observation Drones 5 through 9. I want a continuous feed on him, but do not engage. Not until we understand how he moves. How he thinks.”

“And Eri?”

Madam President hesitated.

“Let her be. As long as she believes she’s safe, she’ll keep him anchored. That buys us time.”

She paced slowly back toward the central monitor, hands clasped tightly behind her back.

“We find out everything about Project Shadow. Cross-reference global files. Military. Private. Anything related to the term ultimate lifeform."

“And Give me a list of quirk users worldwide who could kill or capture this thing. I don’t care about morals.”

There was a pause as databases were searched, filters narrowed.

A reply came:

“There’s three. One’s gone. One refuses. One might work, everyone else has to beat him out right which considering what we've seen might be difficult."

“Explain the 3.”

“Overhaul. Can no longer use his quirk. Lost his arms when Shigaraki stole the erasure bullets. Useless.”

“I assume the won't, is Eri?” the President asked knowingly.

“You're correct, Too unstable. Too traumatized. And she won’t use it against him.”

That left one.

“Stars and Stripes,” the aide continued. “U.S. Hero. Number One. Quirk: New Order. She can apply one rule to anything she touches. For example, ‘If this man moves, his heart stops.’ But she has to know the name and see the target.”

“She could kill him?”

“If the command lands before he reacts,” the aide admitted. “But even then… Shadow isn’t a normal being. His biology doesn’t match any known structure. There’s no guarantee New Order would take effect. He might not fall under quirk logic at all.”

The President nodded slowly.

“And what about Shigaraki?”

Another aide stepped forward.

“His quirk decomposes by rapidly aging matter to dust.”

“And?” Madam president questioned "Wouldn't that work?"

“Shadow’s historical records, what little we have, label him functionally immortal. He doesn’t age. Gerald Robotnik designed him to live forever. Even if he’d never gone into cryo, he’d still be alive today.”

The words hit like lead.

“Shigaraki’s quirk,” the aide finished, “wouldn’t work.”

The room fell silent.

Even the computers seemed to quiet, as if sensing the weight pressing down on every soul present.

The President turned back to the central monitor. The same frozen image still lingered on screen: Shadow and Eri, side by side in the booth. A plate of shared breadsticks between them.

So calm. So mundane.

A monster and a miracle child… sharing dinner.

“We’re running out of options,” she said.

No one disagreed.

She stared at the monitor as the storm inside her built, quiet, relentless, and coming closer.

And still, across the world of tactics and power, nothing felt more dangerous than the way that girl had looked at him.

"We need a plan." Madam president said

Then RING RING RING

The shrill chime cut through the command center’s tension like a blade. Everyone turned toward the sound, the glowing red line flashing on the central comms unit.

Madam President stiffened. A muscle ticked near her jaw.

“…Ah shit. It’s Nezu.”

She composed herself in a single breath and answered.

“Hero public safety commission President speaking.”

“Hellooo, Madam President!” came a voice so sweet, it curdled the stomach.

Nezu. The principal of U.A. High School. A genius. A wildcard. And a problem.

“Hello, Nezu,” she said smoothly. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Oh, nothing major!” Nezu chirped. “Mirio was just wondering this morning about the drop-off terms for Eri, specifically when she’d arrive and under whose care, so I thought I’d give you a quick call! You know, to clarify!”

The way he said the word made her want to destroy something.

“Of course,” she replied, her voice velvet over barbed wire. “We’ll be assigning Eri an aide. For security. And a codename, strictly protocol. You understand. Mirio may be physically capable, but he’s quirkless now. We’d rather not take chances.”

She leaned into the lie like it was a language she’d spoken all her life.

“They’ll arrive directly at U.A.’s front gates. Discreetly. Before the festival begins.”

Every word was calculated. Noncommittal. Flexible.

If they captured Shadow in time, they’d assign someone else as the aide, slap the “Maria” codename on Eri, and quietly erase this entire mess along with Eri's memories

But if they failed?

Well.

Then it was just as they’d planned earlier:

“If it doesn't work and he escapes we'll say Project Shadow escaped containment, fixated on Eri because of some buried G.U.N. delusion. Say he intercepted our truck, she asked to attend the festival, and he obliged.”

Two plays. One lie. No risk of contradiction.

Nezu chuckled warmly. Too warmly.

“Wonderful! I’ll let Mirio know! Looking forward to seeing her happy. It’s been a long year.”

Click.

The line went dead.

Silence clung to the command center.

“…Holy shit,” Madam President muttered. “I just got away with lying to Nezu...NEZU."

A few aides looked like they wanted to clap. One looked like he might be sick.

She didn’t smile. Not really.

Because she knew something none of them said out loud:

If Nezu called again… it wouldn’t be to ask questions.

It would be because he already had the answers

Chapter 4: Put on a happy face (please)

Chapter Text

The night was thick with rain.

The streets of the city glistened with reflected neon, but Shadow found no comfort in its glow. It all felt wrong—cold and synthetic, as alien as the world he had woken up into.

He stood at the edge of a rooftop now, Eri held gently in his arms worn out from the events, her breath soft and even as she dozed against his chest. The wind tugged at her hair. He stared across the skyline, watching airships blink above towers, searching the dark heavens for something that wasn’t there.

The ARK.

The space station. His home. Maria’s haven. Gerald’s workplace

The place he was created.

But there was no signs of it.

And it hit him for the first timehe had no idea what year it was.

He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep. Didn’t know if the ARK still existed. If it had fallen. If it had been forgotten.

He was homeless.

Earth had changed. Civilization had shifted. And he was alone in a world where his past was a ghost no one remembered.

Except for Maria that was the only familiar thing

...Right?


It was extremely late when they found a place Eri was still asleep

It was the kind of place that didn’t ask questions. The clerk barely glanced up, one look into Shadow’s glowing eyes and the currency he tossed on the counter (scavenged from those foolish enough to stand in his way), and the room was theirs.

It was small. One bed. One lamp. A dusty TV that didn’t work. But it was warm. Dry.

Safe.

Shadow laid Eri down gently. She didn’t stir. Her arms instinctively curled around the juice cup from Olive Garden, clutched like treasure. He adjusted the threadbare blanket over her and moved to the lone chair, settling into watch.

He didn’t sleep. He never did. Sleep was a weakness he’d shed long ago.

(And he was scared he would wake up years later...Again.)

Instead, he listened.

The quiet hum of the city. The wind whistling against the windowpane. Eri’s breath, slow and steady, like waves on a distant shore.

Eventually, she stirred.

Her eyes blinked open, hazy with sleep. She sat up, rubbing at them with one hand while clutching the juice cup with the other..

“…Is this where we live now?” she asked softly.

“No,” he said. “But it will do for tonight.”

She nodded, sitting up. She reached for her juice cup, still half-full, still clutched like treasure.

Not sad. Just accepting.

Too accepting.

She took a sip from the cup. Then, almost hesitantly, she looked up.

“Do you know about the festival?”

Shadow blinked. “Festival?”

“U.A. has one every year at least that's whatthey said,” she said. “I was gonna go… with Mirio, and Mr. Deku. There’s candy booths. Shows. Everyone does something fun.”

She paused.

“It’s in two days.”

He stared at her, confused, his mind scrambled to find any connection.

U.A. meant nothing to him. Mirio and Deku—names with no context. He didn’t know the customs of this world, didn’t understand its traditions..

He didn't know this...Mr. Deku or Mr. Mirio

But then he looked at her face.

And what he didn’t see broke something in him.

No smile.

Not a trace of joy. No spark of mischief. No glow of anticipation.

Just words. Hollow.

“Maria…” he said quietly, “why aren’t you smiling?”

She looked confused. Like he’d asked her why water was wet.

“I don’t know how.”

The words fell like a hammer that shattered his soul.

She wasn’t refusing.

She couldn’t.

The realization cracked through him with cold, righteous fury.

The way she sat. The way she held herself. Like she was waiting to be punished for asking for something.

The bastards...

Whoever did this. Whoever broke her so completely that she forgot how to smile, they would suffer.

When he's done with them, it's gonna look like whatever the biolizard is feeling is like having a spa day in comparison to what's gonna happen to them

He rose from the chair slowly and knelt beside the bed, eye-level with her.

“If you want to go to the festival,” he said softly, “you’ll go.”

“But...do you know where it is?"

“I don’t care if it’s on the moon,” Shadow said. “If you want it, it’s yours.”

Eri looked at him then. Really looked. She saw something in his eyes, not madness, not confusion.

Devotion.

Not the kind that demanded something in return.

The kind that would cross worlds to give her back the sky.

And for just a second… she tried to smile.

Her lips twitched. Almost.

“…Okay,” she whispered.

Although the smile didn’t come, Shadow swore he saw the light behind it.

And somewhere out there, past the glow of towers and the ghosts of history—was the place she wanted to go.

“U.A.,” he whispered to himself.

He didn’t know what it was.

But He would get her there.

And when it was done, when she was safe… he would destroy the ones who made her forget how to smile.

While Eri, wondered how amazing Maria must've been


Meanwhile  

“THANK GOD HE AGREED!”

The outburst rang through the command center like a bell tolling over a battlefield. Heads snapped up. Fingers froze mid-typing. But no one celebrated.

Not openly.

Madam President didn’t look away from the screen. Her arms remained crossed, her right foot tapping the tile in a rhythm of precise calculation. Her turquoise eyes, however—cold and gleaming—spoke volumes.

On the monitor, the moment replayed:

“If you want to go to the festival… you’ll go.”

“But… do you know where it is?”

“I don’t care if it’s on the moon. If you want it, it’s yours.”

“…Okay.”

Shadow’s voice echoed with a kind of devotion most in the room had never heard in real life. It wasn’t rage. It wasn’t power.

It was promise.

One that chilled everyone listening.

Except her.

“He agreed,” Madam President said softly, almost reverently. “Perfect.”

She turned slowly to face her team, the mask of control never cracking.

“If we couldn’t capture him,” she said, “we let him walk right through our front door.”

An aide stepped forward, holding a trembling tablet. “He’s following the plan unknowingly. If he brings Eri to U.A. on festival day, we use the narrative: she’s escorted by an aide. ‘Maria’ is her codename. No red flags. No alarm bells we don't say anything about the code name just in case we do somehow capture him.”

Another analyst, emboldened by her calm, added, “The heroes will assume it was pre-arranged. Just one more part of the festival logistics. We do nothing… until the time is right.”

“And if something goes wrong?” the first aide asked, softer now. “If the heroes interfere? If Shadow catches on?”

“Then we deploy the fallback,” she said with icy confidence. “Shadow escaped. He mistook Eri for a delusional figure from his past. He intercepted our convoy. We weren’t involved. U.A. wasn’t warned. No one’s to blame. The optics are clean.”

She swept her gaze across the room. The air thickened with the pressure of her words.

"Whatever happens,” she said, “we have our alibi.”

The monitor still played the same clip Eri clutching her juice cup like a sacred treasure, whispering her small, unsure “okay.”

Madam President leaned forward slightly, her voice sharp now.

“All that’s left is the extraction window. One day. One memory. That’s all we give him if he escapes our grasp that is.”

“And after that?” another aide whispered.

She didn’t answer.

Because she didn’t need to.

The plan was simple.

Use the child.

Exploit the illusion.

Strike clean.

Neutralize the threat.

But the calm didn't last long

Madam President leaned over the central console, fingers steepled, eyes locked on the blueprints and tech specs glowing across multiple screens. The footage from Olive Garden still looped silently in one corner. A reminder.

“You saw what he did to Hawks,” she said. “What he did to the containment levels. Whatever this thing is, it’s not just fast. It’s intelligent. Tactical.”

“Right,” an analyst replied. “He doesn’t just hit. He strikes with purpose. He disables first. Eliminates second. Like a ghost trained in room-clearing ops.”

“We’re not looking at a rogue Nomu,” another muttered. “This is something else. Something built from the ground up.”

“Which means,” Madam President said slowly, “we need to stop thinking like heroes.”

She turned toward her R division black-suited techs who had been watching and listening the entire time.

“Give me options,” she said. “Not ways to beat him ways to contain him. Alive.”

A pause. Then:

“Best theoretical solution?” one tech offered nervously. “Cryogenic suspension. It worked before. Freezes his cellular activity, suppresses brain function, locks out response time.”

“But getting him in the pod is…” another trailed off, clearly not thrilled with the idea.

“Next to impossible,” the first one finished. “Even if he’s emotionally compromised, it’s unlikely he’d step into anything willingly. Unless he thought it was for Eri or Maria in his mind. Or unless she was already inside.”

A grim silence followed.

“We don’t even know if he’d freeze again,” someone else added. “He might have resistance now. Biological adaptation.”

“And we still don’t understand what powers him,” the lead engineer admitted. “We’ve ruled out standard bioenergy and quirk activity based on the fact is from before quirks. He’s not drawing from a traditional energy source. His readings spike dramatically right before his speed or teleportation events.”

“Could it be nuclear? Or some energy source we haven't discovered?” someone asked from the back.

“Don’t speculate,” Madam President snapped. “If we don’t understand it, we can’t rely on it. Focus on what we can do.”

“Stasis field?” another analyst offered. “Electromagnetic suspension? Pressure lock grid?”

“Tried it in Level 9 containment,” a tech replied. “He shattered it like glass.”

“Nanite sedatives? Long-range bio-shock? Sleeper gas?”

“None of it lands,” came the response. “Too fast. Too perceptive. Our best shot is to bait him. Get him inside something. Then drop it fast enough that he doesn’t have time to react.”

“And if that fails?”

There was a long pause.

Finally, one grim-faced engineer said, “We bury the pod. Deep. No power lines. No access. Just… gone.”

“That’s assuming we get him in the pod,” another reminded.

The room turned toward Madam President.

Her expression was unreadable. Her voice was not.

“Cryo is our endgame,” she said. “We wait for him to bring the girl to the festival. We let them have their moment. Then we strike.”

“How?” someone asked. “He’ll never go quietly. And if Eri gets in the way—”

“Then we sedate her first,” Madam President said flatly. “Use her presence to trigger his protective instincts. We design the trap around his obsession.”

The silence was deafening.

She turned to her most senior handler.

“Build me a cryopod,” she ordered. “A fast one. One chance. One drop.”

“And if it fails?” the man asked.

She looked back to the monitor where Shadow’s crimson eyes glowed in grainy surveillance stills.

“If it fails,” she said coldly, “we make sure it’s the last thing he ever sees.”

Her command hung over the room, cold and final.

“Get me the pod specs from the Tartarus deep-cell archives,” she continued, “I don’t want prototypes. I want proven death-row containment systems."

“Yes, ma’am,” one engineer said, already typing. “Pulling schematics now.”

“I want triple-layer reinforcement," she said without missing a beat. "Adaptive cooling. No reliance on external power. This pod needs to lock once sealed. If he breaks out before full freeze, it’s over.”

“We’ll build internal override suppression,” another added quickly. “We'll figure out some energy nullification tech I think gerald's notes had something...Limiter rings I think. We'll Deploy them around his wrists and ankles the moment the door shuts. Tied to a backup battery system, no chance of EMP interference. Containment-grade inhibitors. Stronger materials than what we used on the USJ Nomu."

"What about the ones already on his wrists an ankles?" Madam president asked raising an eyebrow

"We'll just figure out a way to get them off him, they're just cosmetics, at worst imperfect prototypes."

"Because there's no way in hell he's this strong with limiters."

Little did they know...

The rings already on his wrists and ankles WERE limiters...

Chapter 5: SHADOW THE HATER

Chapter Text

The morning didn’t begin with an alert.

It began with static.

Inside Surveillance Station 4, the hum of monitors and caffeine-buzzed conversation died when Drone 07’s feed collapsed into glitching static. The smooth aerial tracking that had followed Shadow’s rooftop movements flickered, spasmed, then went black.

“Uh…” muttered the tech manning the desk, jabbing buttons on his console. “We lost visual.”

“What do you mean ‘lost’?” snapped a supervisor, rushing over.

“Drone 07 just went dark. Feed corrupted. We had audio for a second,some wind, maybe a voice,and then it all flatlined.”

“Check the last frame.”

Another tech leaned in, face pale. “Uh… guys?”

On the screen: a final, distorted freeze-frame.

A blur of red and black streaked across the lens.

Then a fist.

A white gloved fist.

Then nothing.

SIGNAL INTERCEPTED

PHYSICAL CONTACT DETECTED

DRONE SYSTEM BREACH: HARD SHUTDOWN

SURFACE IMPACT CONFIRMED

It wasn’t sabotage.

It was a message.


Meanwhile, deep in the city’s lower districts…

Shadow crouched beside the crumpled remains of Drone 07, fingers flexing as he tilted the cracked lens toward the sky.

“Obnoxious little thing,” he muttered.

Its light blinked pathetically once. Twice.

Then died.

He stood up just as a man came jogging around the corner, frantically checking a handheld tracker. Likely a recovery tech. Civilian-clothed. Nervous.

Shadow lobbed the drone at him casually. Underhand.

The man caught it instinctively, blinking in relief, then met Shadow’s eyes.

And almost shat himself

“Hello,” Shadow said, his voice neutral but smiling.

It was not a kind smile.

Ten seconds later, the man’s head hit a dumpster.

One hour later, he woke up inside it—with a splitting headache, no wallet, and no motorcycle.

 

Across the street, Eri sipped juice from a takeaway cup, her legs swinging from a bench. Her eyes sparkled with interest as Shadow inspected the stolen bike.

A cruiser-style military model. Black, stripped down. Aggressively utilitarian. Front wheel guard. Bulky back tire. One exhaust. Red HPSC logo on the fuel tank.

Efficient. Powerful.

And now, his.

It had one problem: no seat for Maria

Now That wouldn’t do.


An hour later, in a low-level garage on the edge of the industrial district, Shadow stood beside a grizzled mechanic whose only question had been “Cash or trade?”

“Bought it off a guy,” Shadow said simply, placing bills, taken from the unconscious tech, onto the counter.

The mechanic eyed the bike, especially the red insignia.

“Looks government-issue.”

“It’s not anymore.”

The sander buzzed to life, scouring away the HPSC logo. The paint job was retouched. Sleek. Matte. Void-black.

Then came the sidecar.

Simple. Reinforced. With a canopy and seat harness.

Eri tested it shyly, hands resting on the edge, her eyes wide with quiet excitement.

Shadow knelt beside her, tightening bolts, inspecting welds.

When they rolled out, the bike wasn’t just modified, it was transformed.

Silent. Sleek. Devastating.

A wolf in steel’s clothing.


Meanwhile Back in the command center…

“He did what?” Madam President barked.

The room stiffened.

“Shot down the drone,” said the head of Surveillance grimly. “Knocked out the recovery agent. Took his wallet. And the HPSC field cruiser.”

“He stole our surveillance bike?!”

“No, ma’am,” said another. “He repurposed it. Garage footage confirms logo removal, new paint, sidecar installed. Paid in cash, our cash.”

Madam President pressed her fingers to her temple, fury building behind her composed facade.

“He’s a menace.”

“He’s also smart,” someone added nervously. “Didn’t destroy the asset, he claimed it. He’s mobile now. Disconnected. No tracking.”

The screen shifted.

Footage from a passing streetcam: Shadow revving the cruiser, Eri seated beside him, hands on her lap. The bike purring like a panther. The city parting around them.

No one chased them.

No one could.

“…He really hates us,” Madam President said under her breath.

She took a deep breath

"Halt all capture plans until after the festival."

"Ma'am are you sure?" A tech asked

"If we keep sending people he'll just rob them and the last thing we need is him getting enough money to leave the country with Eri." Madam president said "Plus that means we can let him get comfortable, thus letting his guard down just enough to catch him off guard."

"So for now let's watch him and see what he does with that cruiser and wallet."


And what did Shadow do with a military-grade cruiser motorcycle and a stolen wallet?

Buy shit, obviously.

Because Maria deserved the world.

The cruiser "Dark Rider" as he dubbed it rumbled quietly through the lower districts of the city, gliding like a panther through alley shadows and half-lit streets. Shadow didn’t need a map. His instincts guided him, not toward destinations but toward intent.

Eri sat silent in the sidecar, wrapped in a faint mist of morning dew. The small canopy kept the worst of the cold out, but she clutched her juice cup close to her chest like it was the only thing anchoring her. Her eyes didn’t wander with curiosity. They scanned with caution. Observation without engagement.

The wallet? Still thick with cards and cash. HPSC didn’t skimp on expense accounts. Rookie mistake.

Shadow didn’t care about price tags. He cared about presentation.

So first stop: clothes.

They passed a window with mannequins. Dresses. Suits. Color. Life.

Shadow stopped the bike.

Perfect.

He walked inside the shop, the bell above the door ringing with old mechanical cheer. The clerk, a middle-aged woman with silver in her hair and years of not asking questions behind her eyes,didn’t even flinch when he entered.

“Children’s dresses,” he said.

“In the back, left.”

Eri followed, hesitantly, looking around like the walls might close in.

“Pick something,” Shadow said.

She blinked up at him, eyes wide. “I… don’t need anything.”

“Not the question Maria.”

Her hands curled into her sleeves. She didn’t move.

So Shadow moved instead.

His hand brushed over fabrics. Soft. Rough. Cheap. Elegant. Then, he paused.

A dress. Blue. Soft cotton, white trim at the edges. It swayed slightly on the hanger as if stirred by memory itself.

He took it from the rack and turned to Eri, holding it out.

She stepped forward cautiously. Her fingers brushed the fabric like she was afraid it would vanish. Then she nodded,silently,and disappeared behind the curtain to try it on.

Shadow waited.

And when she emerged, the dress a little big on her but flowing just right, his chest tightened. For a moment, the city disappeared. The world fell quiet. He didn’t see this timeline, this broken planet.

He saw her again.

She didn’t smile. She didn’t twirl. But she stood straighter. Like she remembered something that made her feel tall again.

The shopkeeper wrapped the dress she had arrived in without a word.

Shadow dropped a wad of cash on the counter and left with her at his side.


Next stop: donuts.

The donut shop smelled like dreams.

Sugar in the air, oil in the vents, a neon sign in the shape of a cartoon pastry beaming “Open 24/7” in sleepy pink glow.

Shadow walked directly to the display case and pointed.

“That one.”

It was a star-sprinkled donut, iced in soft blue with glimmering sugar flecks. One that looked like it had been decorated for children’s parties or holiday events. Eri’s gaze locked onto it like it held a secret.

“Anything else?” the baker asked nervously.

“Five more,” Shadow replied. “Whatever she likes.”

They left with a box of six.

She hesitated. Then peeled back the lid.

Six donuts. Round. Fluffy. Dusted in powdered sugar.

She picked the smallest one, as if she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to eat the rest.

One small bite. Powder clung to her lips.

She didn’t wipe it off. She didn’t notice.

Shadow did.

Still no smile.

But she didn’t say “thank you” this time.

Because this time, it felt like it was hers.


Next stop: supper

They found a McDonald’s (Shadow didn't know what it was but it looked like it sold food) on the edge of the commercial sector, tucked between a repair kiosk and a glowing public archive terminal. The windows were smudged, the lights too bright. Inside, the hum of artificial cheer buzzed under every plastic surface.

The neon sign buzzed above the fast-food chain’s glass door, flickering in and out like a dying star. Inside, the restaurant was mostly empty—just a few tired patrons, a single staffer at the counter, and the ghost of fryer grease in the air.

Shadow didn’t understand the food. But Eri wanted to try fries and a burger

Eri hesitated at the threshold.

Shadow gave her a nod.

She walked up, timid but certain, and ordered: “A Happy Meal… please.”

“Anything to drink?” the teen cashier asked.

She looked at Shadow. He nodded once.

“Apple juice.”

Shadow ordered a combo meal for himself—though he barely cared about taste. Fuel. Nutrients. That’s all food was to him.

(That didn't stop him from also buying a container of coffee beans)

They sat in a booth near the window. Eri opened her box carefully, revealing fries, a tiny burger, and a toy in a plastic bag she didn’t quite recognize.

She dipped her fries in ketchup one by one, eating quietly. She didn’t bounce. She didn’t swing her legs. But she ate.

Shadow watched her for a long moment, then slowly picked up his burger.

She ate slowly, methodically. Her eyes kept drifting to the kids at the next table—laughing over a shared sundae. But she didn’t say anything.

“You’re still not smiling,” Shadow said, mid-bite.

She looked down at her tray.

“…I’m sorry.”

He leaned forward, voice calm, low. Not angry.

“Don’t be. That’s not your job. It’s mine.”

For the first time in a long time, the moment didn’t feel like war.

It felt like waiting.


The store didn’t have a name. Just a metal shutter rolled halfway up and racks of dusty jackets lining the walls like trophies. The clerk had scars. A thousand-yard stare. Didn’t flinch at Shadow’s appearance.

“Looking for something tactical?” he asked.

“No,” Shadow replied. “Something clean.”

He tried on three. Settled on one.

Black. Heavy. Matte finish. Reinforced seams. High collar. No symbols.

The kind of jacket someone might wear to war. Or a funeral.

It looked good.

He paid with the last of the stolen cash.

The clerk didn’t ask questions.

“Big day tomorrow?” he asked.

Shadow nodded once.

“…The biggest.”


The library was quiet.

Too quiet for a world so loud.

It stood like a relic, an old, silver-veneered building pressed between towering office complexes and a neon-drenched sushi shop. Its windows were large and clean, its walls lined with unmarked digital banners scrolling local news and weather in text no one seemed to read.

Inside, there was no music. No chatter.

Just the faint hum of machines and the soft whirr of the air system.

Shadow entered like a phantom, his jacket still damp at the shoulders. Eri walked beside him, a little behind. Her eyes scanned the shelves—books she couldn’t name, stories she didn’t know.

At the far wall, blinking quietly in a recessed alcove, was the public console.

Shadow sat at a console and pulled up the public systems database (Google).

"What a weird name for an information machine." Shadow said

He did not understand the internet

But with trial and error he found it

He typed slowly.

U.A.

Cultural Festival

Location

The machine spat out results instantly.

Maps. Links. Articles. Videos. A school crest animated in the corner with looping jazz music and scrolling captions:

“Come celebrate the talents of tomorrow’s heroes at Japan’s premier Pro Hero Academy! Culture Festival Day welcomes all!”

Shadow blinked.

“…A school?”

He clicked through pages, scanning the images.

Children.

Young. Untrained. Smiling.

All wearing uniforms. All posing beside strange creatures, glowing powers, robots, even buildings shaped like mascots.

His frown deepened.

“A school for heroes…”

He clicked an article titled “U.A.'s most promising hero students.”

Deku.

Mirio.

Todoroki.

Bakugo.

Names. Faces. Quirks.

Shadow read through pages of history, public statements, social media tags,all presented like trading cards for public consumption.

Maria never spoke of this place back on the ARK.

When she talked about Earth, it was about beaches.

Parks.

Trains and fireworks and animals.

Gerald told her bedtime stories about old Earth forests and places that smelled like cinnamon.

Never once did she mention a high school training children to become weapons.

He stared at the emblem again. The bold “U.A.” etched in gold.

Heroes.

Children.

He exhaled.

But if this was where she wanted to go,if she’d ever spoken of it to Eri, or seen it in a broadcast, or just once dreamed of it, it didn’t matter.

She would go.

And somehow,

He didn't notice the date on the screen


Back outside, the sun began to set behind layers of city haze.

Eri changed beneath the sidecar canopy. Shadow stood a careful distance away, arms folded, eyes fixed on the sidewalk cracks.

When she emerged, the blue dress fluttered just around her knees.

It didn’t fit perfectly. But it fit enough.

She looked smaller.

But stronger.

Still no smile.

But her grip on the juice cup was lighter now.

Like maybe, just maybe, she believed she’d get another.


That night, they parked beneath an old bridge where the skyline gave way to open road.

Eri curled in the blanket, the blue dress draped around her shoulders like a cloak. She didn’t clutch the juice cup anymore. She held it.

Her eyes fluttered. Closed.

Sleep came easier now.

Shadow sat beside her, back against the concrete wall, legs stretched out.

He didn’t sleep.

He never did.

Sleep was too dangerous. Too fragile.

Instead, he watched the sky through the broken underpass. The clouds were scattered, and behind them,the stars, faint and pale.

The ARK wasn’t among them.

But maybe something else was.

He plotted the route to U.A., memorized every corner, every checkpoint. Not that he needed to. But it gave him something to do.

Something to control.

And as the wind howled past their makeshift camp, he allowed himself, just once, to wonder.

"Maybe after I get payback…

I’ll take Maria around the world like she wanted."

He imagined the stops.

A forest. A beach. A city where the lights danced on water.

That would jog some memories.

He’d make her smile.

Even if it took the rest of his life.


Tomorrow, they would go to U.A.

Tomorrow, she would have her day.

And the bastards who made her forget how to smile…

They would pray it never ended.

Because once it did?

So would their time.

Chapter 6: Festival time

Chapter Text

The morning of the festival had arrived.

U.A. buzzed with life.

Banners flapped from rooftops. Students raced from booth to booth for last-minute checks. Class 1-A’s stage shimmered with final adjustments, Kirishima double-checking rigging while Jiro ran a sound test. In the green room, Itsuka, Nejire, and Bibimi did battle not with quirks, but eyeliner.

All around campus, the excitement was electric.

But not at the gates.

There, tension brewed.

Aizawa stood like a stone statue, arms crossed, scarf billowing faintly in the wind. Beside him, Mirio looked up at the sun, hand shielding his eyes, scanning the road.

Nezu stood calmly on a folding chair, sipping tea with the serenity of a creature who never stopped calculating.

They were waiting.

Not for visitors.

For Eri.

“She was supposed to be here by now,” Mirio said, his voice tight with concern. “I thought they’d bring her before the opening.”

“She’ll come,” Nezu said,. “They have an ‘aide’ assigned. Probably taking a cautious route.”

Aizawa’s brow furrowed. “No name. No file. No vehicle registration. Just… a message saying she’d be delivered. Who sends an unidentified escort for a six-year-old?”

“HPSC,” Nezu replied, smiling without humor. “Naturally.”

Then came the sound.

A low, throaty rumble that turned heads even from inside the gates.

From beyond the front road, the Dark Rider approached, black as night, engine purring like a big cat stalking its prey.

It was sleek. Customized. Silent but powerful. A ghost of war reborn in chrome.

And riding it...

Was him.

Black quilss. Red stripes. Glowing red eyes. White chest fur, A leather jacket that screamed rebellion. And sunglasses.

Not fitted, but taped.

Two pieces of matte black scotch tape ran from the frames to the tops of his head, securing the glasses over ears that had no right wearing human sunglasses.

From just outside , someone entering whispered, “…Wait, how did he—?”

“I dunno but I’m taking notes,” said a student with cat ears, pulling out her phone.

In the sidecar, small and calm, sat Eri.

She too wore sunglasses, child-sized, tinted blue to match the soft flutter of her dress. It ruffled slightly in the breeze.

One gloved hand rested on the lip of the sidecar.

The other still held her juice cup.

The motorcycle came to a perfect stop in front of the gates.

Aizawa stared.

Mirio blinked.

Nezu lowered his tea.

“…What the hell,” Aizawa finally muttered.

Mirio took a step forward, voice caught between concern and confusion. “Is… is this the aide?”

The bike engine cut off. Silence followed.

Shadow dismounted smoothly, his movements fluid and unhurried.

He walked around the sidecar and lifted Eri gently into his arms, setting her down on the pavement with practiced care.

“Maria,” he said softly, brushing a strand of white hair behind her ear, “stay close.”

The staff all exchanged glances.

Mirio coughed into his fist. “A-ah, yes, the… code name. Of course.”

Aizawa’s eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t told the name.”

Nezu tilted his head. “They must’ve assumed it was classified but still it is odd.”

Shadow looked up, sensing the eyes on him.

He didn’t know who these people were.

Didn’t know this place. Or the ceremony. Or the reason everyone was dressed in coordinated chaos.

But they didn’t look hostile.

So he nodded once. Civil. Respectful.

“You must be the ones in charge,” he said flatly.

Aizawa slowly crossed his arms. “And you are?”

“Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

He said it like a statement. Not a name—a title.

Mirio stepped forward, crouching beside Eri.

“Hey, sunshine. You okay?”

She looked at him, hesitant.

Then nodded.

Still no smile.

But her eyes didn’t flinch. Her hands didn’t tremble.

That was enough for Mirio.

He looked up at Shadow. “Thanks for getting her here. We’ll take it from—”

“No,” Shadow said, his voice iron.

Everyone paused.

“I stay with her.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. “You’re… staying? As in, on campus?”

“I said I’d take her to the festival. I will.”

“Ah, yes,” Nezu said smoothly, clapping his tiny paws. “Very well! The HPSC did mention your full involvement. Makes sense, given your… unique profile.”

But in his head Nezu had a different thought

(Or lack there of.) Nezu thought to himself

Shadow tilted his head. “My what?”

“Oh, nothing!” Nezu chuckled. “Just a paperwork note. You know how bureaucracies are.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

A student peeked through the gate and whispered, “That bike… that’s an HPSC surveillance cruiser. I recognize the design. My dad used to—”

“Logo’s gone,” someone else whispered. “Paint’s new. He modded it.”

Nezu gave a placid smile. “Well! The festivities are beginning shortly. Shall we escort our guests inside?”

Shadow looked down at Eri.

“You want to go?”

She nodded again.

He rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Then we go.”

They walked through the gates.

All eyes followed them.

A little girl in a blue dress.

And the taped-sunglasses war machine beside her.


Past the gates Children ran beneath strings of lanterns and floating holograms. Booths buzzed with activity, food sizzling on skewers, cotton candy machines spinning clouds of sugar. Music drifted in the air, layered with laughter and announcements from club stands and performers on temporary stages.

Shadow walked like a ghost through it all.

Not unnoticed, of course.

The students parted for him, unconsciously. His silhouette, black, red, precise, drew attention like a blade drawn in a ballroom. But no one spoke to him.

They sensed something deeper than mystery.

They sensed purpose.

Eri walked beside him, holding his gloved hand. She didn’t tug or skip. She moved slowly, her white hair bouncing with each step. She still wore the blue dress. She still held the juice cup.

But today, it wasn’t for protection.

It was because she wanted to.


“Would you like something to eat?” Shadow asked, scanning the booths.

Eri pointed at one with bright red-glazed spheres stacked on sticks.

“Candy apples,” she whispered.

He didn’t understand what they were.

But the vendor did.

Shadow paid in exact bills, cash again, no questions, and took the skewered treat carefully.

Eri stared at it.

She took one bite.

Crunch.

Then… blinked.

Her expression didn’t change.

But she took another.

Then a third.

Shadow watched every motion.

Still no smile.

But she finished the entire apple.

It was progress.


Mirio leaned against a nearby booth, arms folded, watching them.

He smiled. On the surface.

But something in his chest was tight.

She trusts him.

Just like that.

No transition. No slow healing arc. No cautious steps.

Just click, instant bond.

And he was happy for her.

But it stung.

Still, he had to admit...

It was a pretty funny dynamic.


Eventually, Mirio approached.

Shadow turned immediately, eyes narrowing.

Eri blinked up at Mirio, then slowly moved behind Shadow’s leg, not out of fear. But habit.

That’s what broke him a little.

“Hey,” Mirio said gently. “Mind if I walk with you two for a minute?”

Shadow didn’t move. “If she says it’s okay.”

Eri peeked out, met Mirio’s eyes, then nodded faintly.

So they walked. Through booths and crowds, past smells of grilled squid and chocolate.

Mirio kept his voice light. Casual.

“You two seem close.”

“She needed help,” Shadow replied simply.

Mirio nodded. “And you gave it.”

“Yes.”

“How did you meet?” he asked, looking at Eri now. “Do you remember?”

Eri looked at her candy stick. Her fingers fidgeted.

Then, softly: “We got Olive Garden when we met.”

Mirio blinked.

“That’s it?” he asked, smiling.

Eri nodded.

Shadow didn’t correct her.

Neither did she offer anything more.

Mirio exhaled slowly.

He didn’t press.

But he understood something then.

She didn’t want to remember what came before that.

And Shadow… respected that.

Maybe that’s why she trusted him so quickly.

Because he never asked her to explain.

He just showed up.


They passed a small game booth. Ring toss. Eri glanced at it. Just once.

Shadow stepped forward without a word and handed the vendor a coin.

Eri hesitated.

Then picked up a ring.

She didn’t win.

But Shadow told her it was perfect.

She still didn’t smile.

But her eyes were brighter.

And Mirio realized with quiet resignation:

That tape-wearing, war-machine hedgehog…

Had earned her heart.

One quiet choice at a time.


later

The stage lights exploded to life. Music thundered across campus.

From every corner of the campus, cheers erupted. Balloons rose into the sky. Confetti cannons thumped. Students in costumes began their routines, and the school burst into an explosion of light, music, and celebration.

Present Mic’s voice echoed across the entire U.A. campus.

“GOOD MORNING, U.A.!! THE CULTURAL FESTIVAL OFFICIALLY BEGINS… NOW!”

Cheers rang out from the crowd, echoing off the campus walls. Students in costume danced on platforms, club booths opened, and speakers thumped with the opening beats of Class 1-A’s show.

But at the front gate, the mood was anything but festive.

Shadow wasn't sure why they asked him and Maria to show up at the gate

Hound Dog’s massive paws skidded to a halt near the security hub, claws digging into the stone as his nose twitched violently. The canine hero growled, nostrils flaring as he scanned the horizon.

“I caught something,” he barked. “Three distinct trails in the forest just west of here. All Human. One of them is a student.”

Aizawa’s head snapped up, eyes sharp. “A student?”

“Most likely Midoriya,” Nezu said calmly from his perch in aizawa's scarf. “He hasn’t returned yet. He left to buy supplies. And judging from the multiple scents, he ran into someone.”

“Mr. Deku?” Eri asked, stepping slightly forward, her hand tightening around her juice cup.

(There it is again,) Shadow thought silently. (That name. The one she says with something in her voice.)

A slight pressure. Like a chord plucked inside her she doesn’t know how to play.

The canine hero turned to Shadow, eyes narrow

“You. Mr. Shadow, right? Can you fight?”

“I can,” Shadow said without hesitation.

His stance didn’t change. But his presence did. His red eyes narrowed, and the weight in the air shifted—like the air itself tensed. Eri stood beside him, calm but alert.

“We believe it may be a distraction,” Hound Dog continued, “or an attempt to separate you from Er- erm...Maria. The Two unknowns and Midoriya are out there.”

Mirio took a step closer. His eyes weren’t as bright now. They were focused. Measured.

“If they’re smart,” he said, “they’ll try to tie us up with festival protocol. Get us isolated. Make us second-guess.”

“And that’s when they move,” Aizawa finished. His voice was steel.

“We can’t risk splitting our hero staff too thin,” Nezu added. “Not until we know the intent. But if you go—”

"She'll be safe." Mirio interrupted, eyes on Shadow.

The words held weight.

A test. A statement.

Shadow didn’t hesitate.

He turned to Eri.

“We’re going,” he said quietly.

She nodded. No fear. No argument.

She trusted him. That was enough.

He extended his hand.

She stepped beside him.

And then—he vanished.

There was no smoke. Just a small flash of light. Then Just absence. Like the air blinked.

One frame: present.

The next: gone.

"...or not..." Mirio said smile strained

The three exchanged glances.

“Do we stop him?” Hound Dog asked.

“No,” Nezu said, sipping his tea. “If it’s a trap, they’re expecting him to stay put. Let’s not be predictable.”

Aizawa stared at the empty space where Shadow had stood.

"Let's hope he can back up his talk." Aizawa said

Mirio nodded, jaw tight.

Nezu smiled, oddly peaceful. “Let’s see what our mystery guest can do.”

And deep in the forest, a certain hedgehog was already closing the gap between Midoriya and his opponent at blinding speed, with a six-year-old still clinging to him like a shadow of the past.

Chapter 7: Her smile

Chapter Text

The forest was quiet.

The distant sounds of the festival barely reached this far. Just the hum of insects, the rustle of branches, and the faint panting of combatants too stubborn to fall.

Gentle was bleeding from the lip, one eye swollen.

La Brava was wide-eyed, terrified, her fingers shaking over her device.

And Midoriya… was catching his breath.

He wasn’t out of steam, not yet, but the clock was ticking. The performance started soon. He had to end this—now.

Gentle charged.

Midoriya braced.

But—

A blur tore through the trees.

Not green. Not pink.

Black and red.

A gust of wind and displaced leaves followed in its wake.

Then—

WHAM.

La Brava screamed as a boot connected with her ribs, launching her sideways like a kicked ball. She flew, hit a tree with a crack, and slid down unconscious.

Gentle’s eyes widened. “La Bra—?!”

He turned—and made a mistake.

He punched.

The black figure didn’t flinch.

Didn’t dodge.

He vanished.

One second: standing.

The next: behind him.

Gentle barely had time to process it before—

CRACK.

A chaos-charged roundhouse kick slammed into the back of his skull. Time slowed for just a second. His eyes rolled back. His limbs went slack. He crumpled into the dirt like a marionette with cut strings.

Midoriya stood frozen.

Mouth open.

Eyes wide.

He stared at the black-furred figure now calmly standing over Gentle’s unconscious body. He looked… like a hedgehog. In a leather jacket. Red stripes. Air Shoes hissing softly against the grass. Red eyes cold as glass.

And…

Was that Eri?

Yes. Eri stepped out from the trees, calm. Untouched. Holding her juice cup.

She walked up beside the hedgehog. Looked at Midoriya.

“…Hi, Mr. Deku,” she said softly.

Midoriya blinked. “Eri?! Are you okay? Who—”

The hedgehog turned.

“I’m her guardian,” he said. “You’re Midoriya.”

“Uh...yeah?!”

Shadow nodded once. “You’re slower than you should be. You overcompensate your weight shift mid-air. It costs you half a second on every rotation.”

Midoriya opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

“What—”

But before he could finish, Eri stepped beside the hedgehog again.

He placed a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded.

And then—

Gone.

Vanished.

Not a blur. Not a teleport shimmer.

Just absence.

Midoriya stared at the spot where they’d stood.

“…Who the hell was that?”

Behind him, Gentle groaned into the dirt.


Back at UA

Students laughed. Teachers mingled. The energy of the festival blanketed the school like warm sunlight.

Then, without warning, reality hiccupped near the main gates.

A flicker.

A pulse of displaced air.

And he was back.

Shadow stepped out of thin air, Air Shoes hissing softly as they touched down on the pavement. Eri landed beside him with the soft grace of someone completely unafraid. She still held her juice cup. A second candy apple now clung to a stick in her other hand.

They walked together like they’d never left.

To the untrained eye, they’d simply gone for snacks.

But the group at the security checkpoint, Aizawa, Mirio, Nezu, stood stock still.

The tension, coiled since the alert, snapped the moment they saw Eri unharmed.

“Mr. Shadow,” Nezu said, stepping forward. “You’re back.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. “Where’s Midoriya?”

“Still conscious,” Shadow said calmly. “He’ll catch up.”

Mirio blinked. “You… handled it already?”

Shadow turned his head slightly. “Problem dealt with.”

There was a moment of silence.

Then everyone—everyone—spoke at once.

“Impressive." Nezu said

“Alone?!” Mirio said

How?!" Aizawa asked

Shadow raised a hand, silencing them.

“Combat training,” he said.

Just that.

“Where?” Aizawa pressed, stepping closer. “Military? Private sector?”

Shadow didn’t answer. He didn’t lie, either. He simply turned to Eri, gently brushing her shoulder to adjust the dress.

In truth, his “training” had been something far stranger.

On the ARK, Gerald had tested him against drones, defense systems, and alien gravity fields designed to simulate nightmare scenarios. Zero gravity. Energy restrictions. Impossible targets.

He’d won.

Because that’s what the “Ultimate Lifeform” was built to do.

But he wasn’t about to tell them that.

“Do we need to alert the authorities?” Nezu asked delicately. “About the intruders?”

“No,” Shadow said. “One is unconscious. The other is incapacitated. I didn’t kill them.”

They talked a bit more, for about ten minutes before...

Hound Dog, just arriving back from the forest perimeter without ectoplasm, skidded to a stop as Shadow stepped past him.

The dog-man sniffed, blinked, and narrowed his eyes.

“You left a crater,” Hound Dog muttered.

“They started it,” Shadow said.

"Ectoplasm is rounding them up." Hound dog said

"Good." Shadow said

Mirio exhaled hard through his nose. “He really is something else.”

“Eri,” Aizawa said softly, crouching to her height. “You okay?”

She nodded once. “He didn’t let them touch me.”

Aizawa looked back at Shadow, who paused just inside the gate and turned to glance over his shoulder.

“I told you she’d be safe,” he said. "Come on Maria."

And with that, he and Eri vanished into the crowd of festivalgoers, leaving a group of elite Pro Heroes speechless.


Later

The auditorium was packed

The stage lights burst to life in a cascade of shimmering gold.

A single heartbeat passed in silence, then—

BOOM.

Bakugou’s explosion fired into the sky, casting sparks and thunder across the festival grounds.

The first chords of Class 1-A’s theme thundered through the air, electric and raw. Kyoka stood front and center, her chest rising and falling as the opening notes surged. Her earlobes vibrated slightly with the rhythm—nerves and anticipation braided together. But she didn’t falter.

She felt it now.

This was her power. Not just music. But her. All of it. Heroism and rhythm. Sound and soul.

And then—

"What am I to be… What is my calling…"

 

The crowd went still for a breath.

Then the bass dropped, the guitar wailed, and Class 1-A came alive.

Students danced across the stage with practiced ease, lights swirling, energy flooding the quad. Kaminari shredded through chords, Todoroki kept beat with icy flourishes, and Bakugo—somehow—nailed every explosion cue like he’d actually cared while still playing the drums.

Shadow noticed Midoriya up there too despite the fight he went through

Huh...

Not bad


From the crowd, Mirio watched.

But his attention wasn’t on the lights.

It was on her.

Eri stood at the edge of the viewing space on shadow's back, eyes wide. Her fingers were curled tightly around the half-melted candy apple Shadow had bought her earlier, the glossy red reflecting the stage lights.

Shadow stood like a sentinel—arms folded, leather jacket unmoved by the pulsing bass.

And yet… even he tilted his head as the tempo shifted.

"Hero too… I am a hero too…"

The sound wrapped around them like light, filling every corner of the open space. Eri’s shoulders tensed, like she was expecting the music to stop—or change into something harsher.

It didn’t.

Instead, it soared.


Kyoka’s voice lifted the air, clear and defiant:

"Strength doesn’t make a hero… True heroes stand up for what they believe…"

Eri’s candy apple lowered

Her lips parted just slightly.

And something changed.

Shadow saw it before even Mirio did.

The smallest twitch.

A quiver at the corner of her mouth.

Eyes wide, still uncertain.

But something inside her… remembered.

Warmth.

Laughter.

Safety.

It was like watching sunlight break through thunderclouds.

Then it happened.

The smile.

Small. Hesitant.

But real.

The ghost of Overhaul’s grip broke in that moment.

And Mirio choked on a sob, covering his mouth with a shaking hand. His heart broke and soared at once. Because that was it. The real her. The girl he and Midoriya had fought so hard to save.

Shadow didn’t speak.

He didn’t move.

He just looked at her.

Like she was Maria, all over again.

So he smiled.


As the last chords faded and Kyoka shouted the final lines— "To make you smile!" —the crowd erupted.

Cheers shook the sky.

Applause thundered through the earth.

And Eri beamed.

She didn’t even notice she’d dropped the candy apple.

 

“Did…” Mirio whispered, wiping his eyes, “Did we just win?”

Shadow didn’t answer.

But when he looked at Eri again—

He knew.

They’d given her one perfect moment.

Now it was his job to make sure no one ever took it from her again.


After the performance 

The gymnasium was quieter now, the adrenaline of the performance fading into the mundane sounds of dismantling stages and sweeping confetti.

Class 1-A moved with a kind of worn joy—cleaning, stacking chairs, coiling cords. Every movement was lighter, smiles lingering even as sweat began to bead again.

The sound of a familiar voice interrupted the rhythm.

“Hey, Midoryia's back!” Kirishima said

Heads turned.

Midoriya entered with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head as All Might’s parting words still echoed in his mind.

(“Be more careful!”)

He barely had time to wave when—

“MR. DEKU!!”

A small voice chirped from the side of the gym.

Eri ran to him—still in her blue dress, eyes practically glowing. She nearly tripped over her shoes in her hurry, and Shadow followed at a calm distance behind, always within reach, ever the shadow in her sun.

Midoryia knelt with open arms.

“Eri!”

She collided with him in a hug, nearly knocking him over.

“It was amazing!” she beamed, pulling back to look him in the eye. “There were lights and music and Jirou-san sang like an angel and Bakugo made explosions but in a good way and I even got a candy apple!”

Midoryia’s throat closed.

The tears hit instantly—because this time, they weren’t from pain. Or fear. Or guilt.

But from joy.

From her joy.

“That’s… that’s wonderful, Eri,” he choked. “I’m so happy you got to see it.”

Shadow approached behind her, arms folded, red eyes still cool but observant. When Izuku finally looked up, their eyes met.

Shadow studied him for a moment. This boy with trembling shoulders. He saw him getting beat up not long ago

And yet… he still preformed.

But his voice was low and level.

“…Thank you,” he said.

The class looked up from their cleanup. Bakugo paused mid-roll of speaker cable. Uraraka blinked. Iida froze with a broom in hand.

Even Mineta stopped muttering about cheerleaders.

“For what?” Midoryia asked, confused.

“For helping Maria,” Shadow said plainly.

There was a long beat of silence.

Then Mina quietly whispered, “He must mean Eri’s code name…”

“Ohh,” Kaminari whispered. “Right, yeah, makes sense. Aide and all.”

Eri didn’t correct him.

Midoryia looked down at her again.

She was smiling.

Actually, honestly smiling.

He couldn’t explain it—why that name didn’t sit right. Why Shadow looked at her like she was someone from another world.

But the truth was plain.

She was safe.

She was happy.

And if that meant “Maria” was her name for today, so be it.

“You’re welcome,” Midoryia said, smiling back. “All of us were happy to help.”

Behind them, Minoru shouted from the back. “Midoryia! Get off your knees and pick up this tarp, man! You missed half the clean-up already!”

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

“…Is he always like that?” he asked.

“Pretty much,” Midoryia sighed.


Later

The sun had begun to dip just beyond the campus walls, casting long shadows across the festival grounds. The colorful decorations fluttered in the breeze, students and families lingering as the energy of the day finally began to settle.

At the front gate, the mood was different—quiet, a little tense.

Shadow stood by the motorcycle.

The motorcycle.

Nezu’s eye twitched as he stared at it. “Still can’t believe he modified a high-grade HPSC cruiser… and added a sidecar.”

“It’s… efficient,” Aizawa muttered, arms crossed.

“It’s terrifying,” Mirio corrected. “No offense.”

Shadow didn’t react. He stood beside the bike like a statue, arms folded, sunglasses still crooked, Eri sitting quietly in the padded sidecar beneath the canopy.

She clutched the last of her candy apple. Her feet didn’t reach the floorboard. But she looked calm. Peaceful.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity,” Shadow said simply.

Midoriya tried to smile, but the whole ‘motorcycle-of-questionable-origin’ thing made it difficult.

“It was good to meet you,” he offered anyway, while giving Eri another candy apple.

Shadow gave a slow nod. “Likewise.”

Nezu cleared his throat, trying not to sound too amused. “You’ll be accompanying her again, I presume?”

“I go where Maria goes.”

The name rolled off his tongue so naturally that even Aizawa didn’t correct him.

Mirio exhaled and leaned down to Eri.

“You’ll come back, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah! I want to!”

Then she looked at Shadow.

“Can we come back?”

“If you want to,” Shadow said, as if the idea of denying her had never existed.

She beamed.

The engine purred to life with a deep, low growl. Shadow climbed into the seat and twisted the handle slightly. The bike rumbled like a beast restrained by steel.

As they rolled out through the gates, Eri waved with her candy-sticky fingers.

Midoriya waved back. “Be safe!”

Mirio gave a smaller wave, still clearly unsure about the whole setup.

“…You still don’t trust him?” Aizawa asked.

“I trust him now,” Mirio admitted. “I just didn’t think it’d be this easy for her to open up to someone else.”

Nezu clasped his paws behind his back.

“Some people,” he said softly, “don’t need long to earn trust. They just have to care.”

The roar of the engine grew fainter as Shadow and Eri vanished down the road, black and red streaks against the golden dusk.

“…Still hate the bike,” Aizawa muttered.

Chapter 8: BIG MISTAKE

Chapter Text

They waited just outside U.A.’s radar perimeter.

A dark van, matte-coated to dodge satellite pingbacks, marked with a disguised delivery logo. Inside, it was nothing short of a mobile containment unit. Cryo-pod prepped. Limiters locked and loaded.

And they had eyes on him. Shadow. Riding with Eri, completely unaware.

Until...

BAM!

The truck’s sides split open with hissed pneumatics. Netting burst from a hidden launcher. Drones descended. Gas canisters flooded the air.

Shadow had just looked over his shoulder, his instincts sparking too late, when the tranquilizer-enhanced blast hit him square in the chest.

Even his reflexes couldn’t beat proximity surprise.

They dragged him off the bike in seconds. Eri screamed, clawing at the arms that pulled her back, but the gas made her vision blur, her strength wilt.

“Sedate the girl!” someone barked.

“She’s not the target, don’t bruise her!” another hissed.

Shadow’s red eyes were half-lidded, just enough to make him seem dazed. But they never lost their glow. Not fully.

They snapped new limiters onto his wrists and ankles, sleek black cuffs humming with unfamiliar tech. His old ones clattered to the floor, dismissed like old jewelry.

“He’s contained,” an agent confirmed over comms.

The cryo-pod hissed open. White steam billowed.

“Good,” came Madam President’s voice through the comms. “Seal it. Move now.”

They shoved him into the pod.

The door hadn’t even finished closing before it happened.

BOOM.

One punch. Just one.

The cryo-pod shattered like glass under a freight train. The reinforced poly-steel bent inward, imploded under his fist like it was tinfoil. Steam exploded outward. The floor cracked.

The van didn’t shake.

The entire back end lifted off the road.

The agents closest to him flew back like rag dolls, their gear screeching across metal. One screamed. Another hit the wall with a crunch.

Shadow stepped out, calm as hell, the smoke curling off his fur. The new limiters?

Gone. Cracked and scattered like cheap plastic.

And on the floor… lay his original golden bracelets.

Still intact.

Shadow knelt, picked them up with reverence, and re-affixed them slowly.

Like putting on armor.

One click. Two. Three. Four.

The hum returned, the deep, resonant energy his body seemed to settle into.

All stable once again.

His red eyes lifted, burning.

"You really thought those...Fakes could hold up to Gerald's work? Hmph you're more foolish than I thought." Shadow said

One surviving agent, bloodied and trembling, raised a rifle.

Shadow vanished.

Then reappeared right in front of him.

His foot connected with the man’s chest.

CRUNCH.

The agent flew through the front of the truck cabin, slamming the driver into the windshield. The vehicle veered off the road and skidded into a ditch.

Eri lay in the back corner, still breathing, untouched by the chaos. Shadow stepped toward her, crouched, and gently lifted her into his arms.

She stirred. Her vision focused. Her tiny hands clutched his fur.

“You came back…” she whispered, groggy.

“I never left,” he said. "They were too weak to hold me."


Meanwhile at HPSC Command Center

An aide stumbled into the operations room, pale.

“Ma’am…” he whispered.

Madam President looked up from her terminal. “What?”

“…He broke the pod. In one hit.”

“What?”

“And the limiters. He crushed them like paper. He put the gold bracelets back on—”

Madam president stiffened

“Then that means they weren't cosmetic, They weren’t failed. They weren’t cosmetic. They were the real thing.”

Madam President’s fingers tightened on the edge of her desk.

“We tried to replace actual limiters,” the aide said, still pale, “with replicas. And provoked him the moment he dropped his guard.”

“…And he just left?”

“He's still there likely prepping his bike. He didn’t kill them all,” the aide added, like it was a mercy.

She turned to the screen—at the live feed.

Just a still image from two minutes ago.

Shadow stepping out of the wreck, the wind catching his quills, Eri in his arms.

His bracelets glowing gold.

His expression unreadable.

But unmistakably done with second chances.

“…He’s going to burn us down,” she said finally.

And this time, no one disagreed.


Back with Shadow

The moment Eri was safe in his arms, Shadow felt it.

Them.

He didn’t need to see them.

Didn’t need to hear them.

The pressure gave them away.

Six cloaked figures shimmered into view, barely visible under stealth quirks, their outlines bending the air like warped glass. They circled him, blades drawn, weapons fully loaded.

But Shadow didn’t hesitate.

He moved.

The first was already mid-lunge when Shadow twisted, grabbed him by the face, and slammed him headfirst into the side of the wrecked truck.

The steel wall buckled.

The man dropped like dead weight.

Another came from behind.

Too slow.

Shadow spun and drove his heel into the gut of the attacker, through the cloak, through the armor. The body folded in half and was flung twenty feet into a tree.

Snap. Silence.

The third guard managed to stab.

But the blade bent against Shadow’s limiter bracelet, Gerald’s design. The instant it failed, Shadow’s elbow crashed into the attacker’s jaw, shattering the stealth mask and knocking out two teeth before the man even hit the ground.

The last three tried to flank.

Shadow vanished.

Chaos Control.

He reappeared behind them.

A flicker.

Then an explosion of motion.

One got a roundhouse to the temple—lights out.

Another took a fist to the ribs, screamed as bone cracked beneath the strike.

The last?

Shadow caught his blade with one hand.

Ripped it free.

And threw it back with such force it buried halfway into the guy’s chestplate.

One minute.

Six guards.

Not one still standing.

Smoke drifted from Shadow’s limbs, his red eyes glowing hotter than ever.

Then he looked up.

Right into the surveillance drone hovering overhead.

Still broadcasting.

Still watching.

Shadow didn’t flinch.

He walked straight to it, slowly, like a predator daring it to run.

He reached up.

Grabbed it by its lens.

And said into the feed:

“No more mistakes! I’ll crush every last one of you!"

And then

CRACK

He punched it straight into the ground.

Sparks exploded. The drone’s feed went dark.

The last thing the HPSC saw was red eyes burning in a storm of broken metal.

Then silence.

And then, casually… he crouched.

And began rifling through the pockets of the unconscious agents.

“…Need to fund our next meal somehow,” he muttered, pulling wallets free. "We can't eat Olive Garden forever and plus those fries at that McDonald's were good."

He pocketed cash, tossed IDs aside.

From her seat in the sidecar, Eri blinked, still foggy but recovering.

“…Was that bad?” she asked softly.

Shadow looked back, tossed one more wallet into the pile, and gave her the faintest smirk.

“Not for us.”


Back in the base 

The room was silent except for the hiss of static on the busted drone feed.

Madam President stood at the center of the command floor, arms folded tightly, her lips pressed in a pale line. Behind her, the footage played again.

Shadow. Eyes glowing. Eri in his arms.

A whirlwind of motion and broken men.

Then the second feed, the one from minutes ago.

The pod door sealing.

Shadow standing silent in the containment chamber.

A blink.

A punch.

The pod shattered.

The guards flung like dolls.

Camera crushed beneath a final, vengeful glare.

And now six agents were down. Half in critical care. Two were already confirmed with spinal fractures. And their multi-million dollar stealth pod was split in half like a tin can.

Her face didn’t twitch. But her nails bit into her palms.

“Okay,” she said finally. Calm. Cold. Ruthless. “Time for Plan B.”

The aides looked up from their consoles. Several paled.

Madam President turned to the main comm screen.

“Start preparing the press package. We tell them about Shadow.”

One of the analysts blinked. “Ma’am?”

She walked toward the central table, pulled up the footage feeds.

“We sell the lie. Use the escape footage, but trim it. Cut out Eri from the base recording. Just show Shadow’s emergence. His escape. His destruction.”

“But what about the festival appearance?” the aide asked. “People saw them together.”

She didn’t miss a beat.

“Like I said we Keep her in that one. Let them believe she was intercepted during transport, make it look like sunrise instead of sunset. She asked him to take her. Emotional confusion. Leftover conditioning.”

“Won’t they ask why a child would want to go with something like that?” the aide asked hesitantly.

“Eri is one traumatized little girl, and project Shadow is super delusional and we have audio of him saying yes."

She tapped the feed again. Shadow’s voice echoed.

“Maria… If you want to go to the festival, you’ll go.”

“And…” she added, turning with surgical precision, “we tell them he killed Hawks on the way out.”

The room froze.

“He did kill Hawks,” she said simply. “That part’s not a lie. Now we frame it. Say Hawks tried to stop him during the escape. Shadow retaliated.”

“But Hawks was… a symbo, the number 2 hero,” someone whispered.

"And he's constantly be thirsted for." Someone else said

“Exactly. His death will raise fear,” she said. “And fear gives us control.”

She turned, pointing to the screen.

“Get the best editors. Strip the footage clean. No trace of the girl in the lab. Just Shadow. His destruction. His power. His instability.”

“We paint him as the monster G.U.N. feared,” she said. “Then we say he’s loose.”

A pause.

Her turquoise eyes sharpened into blades.

“And we make damn sure the world sees us as the ones trying to stop him.”

she was silent for a second.

“Get me a meeting with the remaining Top Ten heroes. Tomorrow morning. First light.”

Aides snapped to action, tapping into secure lines, scrolling rosters.

“And not just the Top Ten,” she added. “I want faces. Popular heroes. The ones who light up social feeds and make toddlers wear their merch.”

Pause.

“Mount Lady. Midnight. Present Mic. Ms. Joke. The whole lot. I want ratings darlings with crowd pull and brand power.”

A bolder aide glanced up. “Even those without active patrol status?”

“If they’ve got a recognizable face and a microphone-friendly voice, they’re in.”

She turned to the side screen.

“And get me the raid heroes. Everyone who was on the Eri case.”

A holographic list appeared.

Nighteye Squad

•Sir Nighteye – deceased

•Bubble Girl

•Centipeder

•Lemillion – quirkless but sympathetic face Could be used to guilt trip Eri

•Deku

•Eraser Head

Ryukyu Squad

•Ryukyu

•Nejire Chan

•Uravity

•Froppy

Fat Gum Squad

•Fat Gum

•Suneater

•Red Riot

Rock Lock

Kesagiriman

Mr. Brave

Other affiliated heroes

“Put them at the front,” she said. “The public saw them with Eri before. We use that. People remember kindness. Fear is stronger when it shatters hope.”

Another aide raised their hand. “What do we tell them?”

“The truth,” Madam President said, voice dry with sarcasm. “That is—our version of it.”

She turned, voice lifting to the room at large.

“We say this: Project Shadow escaped containment. A black-ops relic from a now-defunct G.U.N. program—wiped from every file, classified beyond even our level until his recent breach. A failed sleeper weapon. Highly volatile. Impossible to control.”

She pointed to the board behind her, showing Shadow standing amidst rubble.

“We tell them he killed Hawks during the escape. Crushed surveillance. Shattered a pod rated for high end nomu. Knocked out a full stealth team. All while carrying a civilian.”

“You think they’ll buy it?” someone asked.

“We don’t ask them to buy it,” she snapped. “We give them facts. Real damage. Real loss. And an enemy they don’t want to admit exists. Then we frame their participation as critical. Make them feel like they’re the last wall.”

Her turquoise eyes narrowed.

“Get me that room ready. High-clearance only. No press. No leaks. If even a whisper of this gets out before we’re ready, we lose control of the narrative.”

“And when do we go public?”

“After the meeting,” she said. “If it goes well, we coordinate the release. Joint statement. United front.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

She turned to face the now-frozen footage of Shadow, eyes burning through the screen.

“Then we still go public.”

Her voice dropped.

“And we let the world know we tried everything before he turns the sky red or something."

Chapter 9: WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S AN EXPERIMENT

Chapter Text

The secure briefing room was silent. Dozens of heroes filled the seats in layered rings, Top Ten, raid squads, high-profile pros, all waiting for the reason they’d been summoned.

On the massive central screen: an image froze in place.

Shadow.

Riding the customized black cruiser "Dark Rider" sunglasses gleaming under the rising sun, Eri seated beside him.

Mirio frowned, leaning forward slightly. “Why is Shadow on screen?”

Madam President stepped forward into the spotlight, arms clasped behind her back. The hologram zoomed out,framing Shadow mid-motion, motorcycle tearing toward the U.A. gates from a drone’s point of view.

She spoke without hesitation.

“Because Shadow isn’t an HPSC employee.”

A few murmurs from the crowd. Eyes sharpened.

“He’s an escaped government project,” she continued, “originating from the 1950s.”

That caught them. Hard.

“Fifteen hundred years ago?” Kamui Woods muttered.

“1613,” Madam President corrected coldly. “He was created for an unknown purpose under a multinational organization codenamed G.U.N., the Guardian Unit of Nations.”

The name meant nothing to most of them..

“It was the predecessor to all modern Hero Commissions,” she continued. “Global, secretive, and extremely well-funded. The American branch originally developed and housed him. When All Might rose to prominence and crime in Japan hit historic lows, they transferred Project Shadow to us, believing if containment failed, All Might would be the only one capable of stopping him.”

Her voice never wavered.

“Four days ago, containment did fail.”

The image changed, footage of the destroyed hallway, scorched walls and crumpled guards.

“He tore through ten levels of our facility and executed Keigo Takami, Hawks, when he attempted to detain him.”

Everyone froze but remained composed

They were heroes, death is always a possibility

But the number 2 dying...

That's big…

He escaped with minimal effort. We intended to recapture him before the public knew, but…”

Another image.

Shadow standing amidst a broken transport truck, body smeared with dust and heat. A drone’s view. Sunrise light behind him. Eri in his arms.

“This was taken the morning of the festival,” she said. “We were transporting Eri to U.A. for her visit under a new identity. Shadow intercepted the truck. He didn’t attack at first, he saw Eri, fixated on her, and took her. She asked to attend the festival, and he agreed.”

“Wait,” Ryukyu said slowly. “Why would he… agree?”

“Because,” Madam President said, “he calls her Maria. That’s not a codename. That’s who he thinks she is.”

Murmurs broke across the room.

Aizawa’s jaw clenched. Mirio looked physically ill. Midoriya blinked fast, words failing.

“He didn’t know what an aide was. Didn’t understand the concept of a codename. Hell,” she added grimly, “we didn’t even assign a codename. We figured the fewer people who knew, the lower the risk of interception. By the time we realized he’d taken her, they were already at U.A.”

“Why didn’t you warn us?” Best Jeanist asked sharply.

“Because we were still trying to track him,” she said. “And we were covering up Hawks’s death to avoid a public panic. We thought we had more time.”

She let the words settle.

“But now it’s out of hand. Shadow is highly unpredictable. He has powers that don’t conform to modern quirk data, speed, strength, teleportation. We don’t know the limits.”

She looked around the room. Dozens of the nation’s finest stared back.

“We need help. Containment failed. We need to bring him in. Quietly. Cleanly. Before the world learns we’ve been hiding a walking weapon of war.”

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then Kamui Woods stood. “You have our support.”

Edgeshot followed. “I’ll assemble my teams.”

Ryukyu nodded firmly. “Eri’s safety comes first.”

Even Endeavor offered a quiet grunt. “We’ll bring him down.”

But off to the side, Eraser Head’s fists were clenched.

Midoriya stared at the floor, processing.

Mirio looked like he’d been punched.

We didn’t see it, they thought.

The constant confusion.

Calling Eri Maria even when alone.

We didn’t see it at all.

Madam President’s eyes swept the room once more.

“Thank you all,” she said. “Today, we begin the hunt.”

Nezu adjusted his tie. “You said he doesn’t have a quirk?”

Madam President nodded. “Correct.”

She tapped a control pad. The next slide appeared on the screen: blurry surveillance images of Shadow moving faster than any camera could properly follow, glowing with flickers of crimson light.

“He calls himself the Ultimate Lifeform. Whether that’s ego or truth is… unclear. What we do know is this: He was engineered, before quirks ever emerged. Prehistoric, by quirk-era standards. His biology defies current scans. He doesn’t age. We don’t know if he even can die.”

Ryukyu narrowed her eyes. “So Eraser Head’s quirk wouldn’t work.”

“No,” Madam President said, glancing at Aizawa. “I’m afraid not. He’s something else.”

Aizawa took a breath, hiding his discomfort. “I suspected that.”

The President continued.

“He can teleport. We’ve documented at least one instance of what he calls ‘Chaos Control’, we don’t know what it draws from. The energy he uses is not quirk-based. It doesn’t match any known emitter-type, and it’s completely immune to suppression fields.”

Another image, Shadow leveling several guards at once with rapid, pinpoint strikes.

“He can tear through reinforced steel like paper. His reaction speed is on par with hyper-enhanced types. His strength and agility rival All Might’s recorded peaks, possibly exceeding them.”

Best Jeanist raised an eyebrow. “And what are his weaknesses?”

She hesitated.

“…He likes stealing wallets.”

The room blinked. Pause. Then confusion.

“It’s not a joke,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “He’s hit three of our agents, taken their money, repurposed our tech, modified one of our motorcycles into his personal cruiser. He’s not just powerful. He’s efficient. Tactical.”

“So he’s dangerous, unstable and broke,” Edgeshot muttered.

“Unstable might not even be accurate,” Madam President said. “He’s emotionally focused. Like I said earlier He believes Eri is someone named Maria, possibly a connection to the project’s original creators. He’s not hostile to her. If anything, he’s overprotective.”

“Do we know why he’s so loyal to her?” Mirio asked quietly.

“We have a theory that Maria was his creator's granddaughter. it’s the only reason we’ve had no civilian casualties. If she’s harmed or taken from him—” she didn’t finish the sentence.

The implications were enough.

Kamui Woods leaned forward. “Any behavioral patterns?”

“He doesn’t trust authority,” she said flatly. “Doesn’t trust government. Understandably so. He doesn’t like the HPSC. At all.”

Endeavor grunted. “Can’t imagine why.”

She ignored the jab.

“And he learns fast. When he first emerged, he didn’t know what a quirk was. He mistook emitter-types for G.U.N. experiments. Now? He’s adapted. He understands licenses, laws, limitations. If he continues evolving…”

They didn’t need the rest.

“…We’ll prepare accordingly,” Nezu said, breaking the silence. “Thank you, Madam President.”

She nodded once.

“Let’s be clear: this isn’t a villain. This is a living weapon with no leash. If we’re to stop him, we need to act together.”

And across the room, heroes braced themselves for the war to come.

Midoriya raised his hand slowly, brows furrowed with doubt. “I mean… surely he can’t be that bad, right? He was super respectful."

Everyone turned to him. A few hopeful glances. A few more skeptical ones.

Madam President said nothing.

Instead, she tapped another panel on the control console.

The footage began to play.

A grainy drone clip dated last night. Shadow, sitting on a low rooftop ledge, one leg propped up. Eri is curled beside him in a blanket, asleep.

In his gloved hand: a small handful of dark, glistening objects.

Coffee beans.

Unbrewed.

Unroasted.

He tosses a few into his mouth and chews, slowly, contemplatively, like they were peanuts. He swallows.

Then grabs more.

The room froze.

Midoriya’s jaw dropped.

“No milk. No grind. No water,” someone whispered.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. “…Throw that motherfucker in jail.”

Midoriya, nodding in sudden horrified agreement, echoed, “Yeah. Jail.”

A beat.

Nezu cleared his throat diplomatically, “While disturbing, dietary choices are not typically a basis for strategic threat level assessment—”

“He chewed raw coffee beans,"Aizawa said again.

“Like snacks,” Midoriya added, still reeling.

Ryukyu blinked. “That can’t be healthy.”

“Or sane,” Mirko said.

“Or legal,” Present Mic added quietly.

Madam President almost cracked a smile, almost. “We’ll add it to the file under ‘psychological anomalies.’”

“Add it to his list of war crimes,” Aizawa muttered.

Midoriya, staring at the paused footage, shuddered. “He really is from another era.”

"Moving on, that respectfulness is likely because he didn't see you as threats, We have footage of him taking down Gentle criminal, The moment Eri's saftey is threatened expect to either wake up in emergency care or not wake up at all." Madam President said

She tapped the table lightly with her fingers

"So let's talk about what we need to do."


The meeting dragged on for hours. Arguments flared. Strategies proposed, then shot down. The name “Shadow” echoed through the chamber like thunder, every hero either intrigued, disturbed, or both.

But Nezu?

Nezu was silent.

The small mammal sat perched in his chair, paws folded neatly, expression unreadable as ever. His ears twitched occasionally, but his beady eyes remained locked on the looping footage of Shadow ripping through reinforced doors and knocking cloaked guards across courtyards.

Inside, however, his mind was alive with thought. Cold, brilliant calculation behind a calm facade.

(Oh… these poor idiots.

They think he’s a villain.)

A slight twitch of his nose.

A weapon out of control. Something to neutralize. Suppress. Classify and contain. Just like they did with me—only this time, they’ve underestimated their creation.

He watched the recording of Shadow lifting Eri with perfect care, brushing a strand of her hair back as if handling porcelain.

That’s not a monster.

That’s a protector.

An angry one. And rightfully so.

Nezu blinked slowly. A hero on the other side of the table launched into a tactical briefing about energy containment fields. He didn’t hear it. Didn’t need to.

(They think he’s dangerous because he broke their system. Because he rejected their leash.)

He remembered his own past too well. The lab coat shadows. The probing tools. The endless questions about what made him tick, how he could think the way he did.

(They hated that they couldn’t predict me. That I didn’t fit in their boxes.)

He studied the frame again—Shadow, boots digging into the pavement, breaking open containment like it was a tin can. The look on his face. Not rage. Not malice.

Resolve.

(You’re not like them, are you? Not quite a hero. Not quite a monster. Just… finished playing their games.) Nezu thought

On the screen, Eri smiled up at him, genuine, radiant. The kind of smile that couldn’t be coerced or trained.

And that’s when Nezu knew.

This wasn’t about control.

This was about ownership.

Madam President hadn’t wanted to protect Eri.

She wanted to reclaim what she believed was hers.

He adjusted his tie subtly, his gaze scanning the expressions around the room.

Aizawa, concerned, calculating.

Midoriya, troubled but trusting.

Mirio, uncertain, heart in conflict.

And Madam President, smug. Too smug.

(She thinks she’s won something today.)

She hadn’t flinched when she admitted Hawks was dead.

But she had overreached.

Nezu’s memory replayed the first phone call. When she tried to reassure him that Eri was being escorted under a code name by a trained aide, no description. No details. Just enough to stall questions.

And he had let it slide.

(For curiosity’s sake. And it was worth it.)

The footage had been good. Too good. Reframed. Sunset re-colored to morning. Angles sharpened. The audio a little too clean.

Nezu’s IQ could calculate orbital velocity. Detect variance in projector flicker. Perceive the frame blending in the edge of Eri’s missing outline.

(She’s lying,) Nezu thought, smile fixed in place. (And she’s using us to clean up her mess.)

He resisted the urge to smile further. The world didn’t need to know how many files on “Project Shadow” he’d already pulled from hidden databases around the world ones thought destroyed or lost, the moment the name was said in this meeting. Or how much of the truth was already archived inside his personal encrypted server.

No one noticed the subtle way he stopped tapping his foot.

Because his mind wasn’t here anymore.

It was in Gerald Robotnik’s server.

The one the world forgot one attached to a G.U.N. Server that became a HPSC server.

And Nezu cracked it open mid-meeting with nothing but a flick of his paw and a polite, toothy smile.

(Smart man, Gerald. Very smart. That encryption almost got me)

He hadn't read them yet but He will after this meeting,

As for when he would act...

(No… the pan is far too hot right now. Let them burn their hands. Let them sweat and stumble.

I’ll wait. Just a little longer.

Wait and watch. See how far they go. See how long they can keep this farce up before Shadow himself knocks down the entire table.

And then, when the moment’s right…)

His smile turned razor-thin.

(Then we talk.)

He glanced once more at the screen.

(Because if this isn't the truth and when the time comes… I won’t be on their side.)

Nezu’s smile, when it came, was small. Almost warm.

Almost.

Chapter 10: Running

Chapter Text

The broadcast went live just before noon.

It was short. Clean. Precise.

A press release issued by the Hero Public Safety Commission. Footage—edited and restructured—aired globally across all major channels.

“Project Shadow,” they called him.

An ancient weapon.

An anomaly lost to time.

A danger to civilians and heroes alike.

Most importantly, the killer of Japan’s Number Two Hero: Hawks.

They didn’t mention the facility. Or what he was doing there. They didn’t explain the bracelets, the containment, the child in his arms. Just the facts they wanted the world to hear.

And the world listened.

Villains saw opportunity. Heroes saw threat.

People everywhere saw a monster.

And Shadow?

He saw none of it.

Not at first.

He stood now in the remnants of a forest clearing, the smell of burnt ozone still lingering from the destroyed HPSC drone convoy that had been sent after him that morning.

The sun broke through the trees in scattered beams. Birds chirped like nothing had changed.

But everything had.

He crouched by a small stream as Eri washed the sticky remains of her latest candy apple from her fingers. Her eyes were down, quiet, distant. She hadn’t smiled since they fled the ambush.

Shadow didn’t speak. He just watched. Watched the way her shoulders slumped, the way her small body curled inward—not from fear, but from a creeping question.

She turned to him, eyes uncertain.

“…Shadow?” she asked quietly.

He looked up.

“What do we do now?” she said."Everyone is gonna be after you."

He blinked.

Her voice trembled, but it wasn’t fear of him.

It was fear of the world. Of them.

Of everyone who was supposed to protect her.

And now wanted to hurt him.

Wanted to take her away.

He stood slowly, the shadows of the trees falling in jagged lines across his face. The wind blew softly through his quills, and for a moment he was still as a statue, an ancient shape staring down the horizon.

“If the world chooses to become my enemy…” he said quietly, “then I will fight like I always have.”

She blinked. “Always have?”

He nodded, slowly.

“It means no matter who I'm up against I will fight the same way I've been fighting. And I have a reason to."

He looked at her now, direct, absolute.

“You’re that reason.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

To her, he was still strange. Still scary in a way she couldn’t explain. He spoke to her like she was someone else. Called her “Maria.” And part of her wanted to correct him.

But she didn’t.

Because no one, not even Mirio, had ever looked at her like that.

Like she mattered more than the world.

Like he'd burn everything down for her.

“…Okay,” she whispered.

Shadow turned back toward the woods. His air shoes hissed softly with each step forward. The world was out there, waiting.

Watching.

Hungry.

And he didn’t care.

Because for the first time in decades, maybe centuries, he had a purpose again.

Not revenge (though it was still on his mind.)

Not justice. (Again still on his mind)

Not even redemption. (Because he ain't done shit)

Protection.

He reached down and lifted Eri back into the sidecar. Adjusted the strap. Tucked her juice cup by her side.

Then he stepped onto the bike.

The Dark Rider purred to life.

And they vanished into the trees.

Let them come.

Let them all come.

Shadow the Hedgehog was done running.


Meanwhile  

The chamber was quiet.

Everyone else had gone. The lights dimmed, the table empty. Somewhere in the distance, janitorial bots swept the floors, humming low tones that echoed off the marble walls of U.A.’s strategic meeting chamber.

But Nezu remained.

His paws moved with silent precision over his personal terminal, a device so deeply encrypted and modified that not even the HPSC’s best tech teams could guess at its architecture. The data flickered across the screen like ancient scripture brought back to life.

Pages of digital scans.

Scrawled handwriting.

The personal journal of one Professor Gerald Robotnik.

Nezu read every line.

He read slowly.

He read deeply.

And by the time he reached Page 23, he sat back in his chair, fingers steepled, a cold weight in his chest.

So much made sense now. And yet so much didn’t.

“Was it a mistake to create the ultimate life form?”

Nezu stared at the sentence, letting it hang in the stillness like a judge’s gavel. Then he closed the file.

He knew who Maria was now. At least the HPSC guessed right about being Gerald's granddaughter

He knew what Shadow had been designed to be. What he had become. And what he had lost.

The G.U.N., the Guardian Unit of Nations. The true predecessor to every Hero Commission on Earth. Their dirty hands stretched farther back than even Nezu had guessed. And at the center of it all was Gerald. A genius who had tried to outmaneuver a world demanding weapons… and failed.

His creation, no, his legacy, no not that either, His son, had been imprisoned for over 1600 years.

Not just preserved.

Contained.

Shaped. Bound. Reduced to something manageable.

Until now.

Until Maria’s voice, or a voice close enough to hers, cracked open a cage no one knew still held its occupant.

And the aliens. The comet. The DNA.

He’d have thought it mad, if not for the consistency. The threads tied too tightly together, and of course the pictures.

Nezu rubbed his eyes slowly.

This wasn’t a quirk.

This wasn’t a mutation.

This was something else.

And no one else knew. Not really. The HPSC thought they understood what they were dealing with. A rogue project. A monster. An anomaly.

They didn’t see what Nezu saw.

A creation born of grief, love, and desperation.

A being not just of science, but of will.

(That’s why he’s so powerful,) Nezu thought. (Not just the energy. Not just the chaos.)

Because he was made to carry the weight of another’s hope.

He stood from his chair.

The room was quiet again.

But his mind wasn’t.

It raced. It surged. It built the next step in a silent plan.

He would say nothing for now. Let them chase their phantom. Let them spread their story, rile up the world.

But Nezu?

Nezu would prepare.

Because now he knew the truth.

And when the time came…

He would choose Shadow.


But the first thing Nezu had to do was get his paws out of it

And to do that...

He had to pull a few plugs


The next day

Morning brought no announcement. No press release. No meeting.

But by 7:00 a.m., seven official withdrawal notices had been sent out.

Tamaki Amajiki. Nejire Hado. Mirio Togata. Ochaco Uraraka. Tsuyu Asui. Eijiro Kirishima. Izuku Midoriya.

All pulled from the Shadow pursuit operation.

On paper, the memo read like a formality: “Due to the high risk and unpredictable variables involving the hostile target codenamed ‘Shadow’, U.A. students involved in prior operations regarding Eri will be temporarily removed from direct field assignments.”

It was signed by Nezu himself.

By 8:30 a.m., the backlash began.

“You can’t be serious!” Midoriya’s voice cracked in disbelief, shoulders trembling. His eyes flicked between Aizawa and the printed notice in his hands.

“I have to help. Eri’s involved. I promised—”

“I know,” Aizawa said quietly, his jaw tight. “Believe me, I argued.”

“Then why?!” Uraraka’s voice joined, confused and frustrated. “Nezu trusts us, right? We’ve faced worse!”

“Worse, yes,” Aizawa replied, gaze distant. “But never something like this.”


Earlier 

In the teacher’s lounge, Nezu stood atop a table, sipping tea. Calm as ever. Aizawa sat at the edge of the room, arms crossed, clearly furious.

“You’re pulling them now? After everything?” he asked. “We need manpower. You know this.”

“I do,” Nezu said softly. “But we need minds more.”

He glanced at the stack of notices beside him. The words were vague. Too vague. But intentionally so.

“Your students are smart. Passionate. Brave. But they’re also young. Emotional. Prone to trusting the wrong people.” He sipped his tea again. “And right now, I don’t trust the people giving the orders.”

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. “You think the Commission’s hiding something?”

“I know they are,” Nezu said flatly.

A heavy silence fell.

“Then say it,” Aizawa pressed. “If there’s more—”

“No,” Nezu interrupted. “Not yet.”

Aizawa stared. That wasn’t like him. Nezu always shared information, always strategized openly when it mattered.

But not now.

Now, he was protecting something.

Or someone.

“I can’t risk it,” Nezu added. “Not until I know who’s listening. Or watching.”


Later

In the hallway, Mirio stood just outside the faculty office, silent as Midoriya ranted nearby.

“They’re pulling us out like we’re liabilities!” Midoriya hissed. “Shadow’s dangerous, yeah, but we’ve fought worse!”

“I could’ve helped! Why won’t Nezu let us?”

“He has Eri, Deku,” Mirio said finally, voice calm but distant. “He has her, and he hasn’t hurt her. Hasn’t even made her cry.”

Midoriya blinked.

“I saw the footage,” Mirio added. “She smiled with him. Smiled. That… means something.”

“So why pull us out?” Midoriya whispered. “Why now?”

Mirio didn’t answer.

Not because he didn’t know.

But because he was starting to wonder.

Wonder if Nezu saw something they didn’t.

"I'm going for a walk." Midoriya said "Don't follow me."

Midoriya then stormed off


Later

The sun dipped low behind U.A.’s campus walls, casting long shadows across the courtyard as students trickled back inside. Mirio stood by the walkway, arms crossed, eyes fixed on nothing.

He was still replaying Midoriya’s words.

“I could’ve helped! Why won’t Nezu let us?”

The frustration in Izuku’s voice lingered like thunder. The bitterness. The betrayal. It wasn’t just about being sidelined.

It was about Eri.

About failing to protect her, again.

And Mirio couldn’t deny it stung.

But he didn’t chase after Midoriya. Didn’t offer comforting words. Not yet.

Because something wasn’t sitting right.

Not with what Madam President said. Not with the timeline.

And especially not with what Eri had told him at the festival.

“We got Olive Garden when we met.”

At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it. A kid’s fond memory. Something warm she could cling to.

But now?

Now that the Hero Public Safety Commission had claimed Shadow abducted Eri during the early morning of the school festival…

That didn’t line up.

If Shadow took her just before the event… when could they have possibly gone to a sit-down restaurant?

Olive Garden wasn’t a convenience store. It wasn’t a booth on the sidewalk. It was a full restaurant, waitstaff, seating, time. Even a quick visit took nearly an hour.

And it opened at 11 way after the festival's time

And Eri had described the food like she really had it. She even remembered the dessert.

No way that happened after the festival. Eri said it during the event. And Mirio had seen her with Shadow, watched her try candy apples and walk the fairgrounds in a new blue dress so it couldn't be during the event.

No, the timeline was off.

Way off.

Mirio’s eyes narrowed.

If they ate before the festival… and not after…

Then Shadow had Eri at least the day before.

Which meant the HPSC’s version of events was a lie.

Or at the very least, manipulated.

He exhaled, jaw tense.

“Why lie?” he murmured.

Why tell them Eri was intercepted in the morning? Why that exact detail? What difference did a few hours make?

Unless…

He looked out across the field. Where Midoriya had gone. Where the fight was heading. Where more heroes would follow.

Unless it wasn’t about time.

It was about control.

He kept the realization to himself for now. Filed it away like a dagger under his coat.

He didn’t have proof. Not yet. And he wasn’t ready to make enemies of the Commission, or his allies.

Not until he was sure.

But the seed of doubt was there now.

And it was growing.

Slowly but surely

Chapter 11: Going rogue

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Midoriya didn’t wait.

Not for Nezu’s approval. Not for Mirio’s hesitation. Not for anyone.

He had his provisional license. He had his gear. He had a trail.

And more than that, he had a promise.

“I’ll protect Eri.”

No matter what.

That was why, just hours after Nezu’s quiet extraction order, Izuku Midoriya was racing down shadowed rooftops, All Might’s voice echoing in the back of his head.

“This is reckless.”

“This is dangerous.”

“This is exactly what a hero does.”


He found them just before midnight, two figures at the edge of the city, near an abandoned station. Eri sat under a rusted awning, sipping juice. Shadow crouched nearby, scanning a broken vending machine for spare coin slots like a raccoon with vengeance.

Midoriya landed softly behind them, his mouth tightening.

He took a breath.

Then attacked.


Shadow reacted instantly.

There was no pause. No hesitation. No monologue. Just a blur.

One moment, Midoriya launched himself forward—One For All crackling through his limbs.

The next, Shadow was in front of him.

Then behind.

Then everywhere.

A boot slammed into Midoriya’s side. It didn’t just hurt, it felt like a freight train.

He flipped midair, coughing blood, trying to regain balance, another strike, this time to the back of the neck. The world spun.

“How—” Midoriya gasped. “Why are you—?!”

“Enemy.” Shadow’s voice cut like a razor. “You followed us.”

“Because she’s not Maria! Her name is Eri and you’re—!”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed.

Red. Unforgiving. Distant.

He surged forward, hand glowing with violent Chaos energy.

Midoriya brought up his arm. “Air Force—!”

Too late.

The blow cracked his mask, sent him skidding through a concrete pillar.

Then Shadow stopped.

Not because he ran out of rage.

But because Midoriya’s mask had broken.

He saw the eyes.

The freckles.

The face.

“…You.”

Midoriya coughed. “Shadow—listen—”

“This is your only warning.” Shadow’s voice was ice. “Don’t follow us again. Don’t try to take her. I don’t want to make Maria sad by killing you.”

“She’s not Maria,” Midoriya whispered, still kneeling. “You’re not protecting her… you’re using her to relive something that’s gone—!”

Shadow didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Just turned away.

“I’m not explaining myself to someone who attacks without thinking,” he muttered. "Especially to someone so wrong."

But even then you could hear doubt in his voice

Then he was gone.

Not just fast. Gone.

Only the wind remained.

Midoriya clutched his cracked gauntlet, his ribs screaming.

And his mind?

Screaming louder.

That wasn’t just a strong opponent.

That was something else entirely.

And next time… he might not stop.

...

"Oh god I'm gonna die doing this." Midoriya said quietly

 

The night had settled into a tense, electric silence.

The alley was quiet.

Too quiet.

Shadow sat perched on the edge of an old rooftop, his boots dangling off the ledge, one arm resting over a bent knee. Below, the city buzzed. Neon. Noise. Everything modern. Everything wrong.

And beside him… Eri.

She sat cross-legged, munching on a lukewarm donut from earlier in the day, juice box clutched in her hands.

The fight had ended. Midoriya was gone.

And now, so was the illusion.

“Foolish boy,” Shadow muttered, voice low and venomous. “Saying you’re not Maria…”

As if he was trying to prove himself right

There was a long pause.

Then—

“Uh…” Eri’s voice, soft. Unsure.

Shadow turned.

He didn’t look angry. He didn’t look violent.

He looked tired.

He sighed.

“…You’re not Maria, are you?” His voice was flat. Not angry. Not accusing.

Eri shook her head. Slowly. Eyes wide, frightened—not of him, but of what he might do next.

There was no scream.

No blast.

Just one word:

“FUCK.”

Shadow turned away again, this time putting a hand to his forehead, gripping tight like he could crush the guilt out of his skull.

“I really am delusional,” he muttered.

He ran the hand down his face.

The silence stretched between them like a canyon.

“You’re… not mad?” she asked quietly.

Shadow let out a noise. Half laugh, half growl. “At myself? Of course I’m mad.”

He looked up at the stars. There was no ARK. No Maria. No Gerald. Just sky.

“I thought—” he said, and stopped. “I saw you. You were small. Fragile. Alone. And I thought… she came back. Somehow. It wasn’t logical. But it felt right.”

Eri didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.

Shadow’s hand dropped to his side. The gloves of his limiters caught the faint moonlight.

“I failed Maria,” he said. “That’s the truth. I wasn’t fast enough. Wasn’t strong enough. They took her. And I swore… I swore if I had another chance…”

He looked at Eri then. Really looked.

“But you’re not her. You’re not Maria.”

Eri shook her head again.

“But you still needed help,” he said, softer. “And I helped. Not just because I thought you were her…”

A pause.

“…but because you needed someone.”

He sank down beside her, elbows resting on his knees, voice quiet.

“So maybe I’m not as broken as I thought.”

Eri glanced up at him. “I’m… glad you helped.”

Shadow closed his eyes.

“Yeah,” he said. “Me too.”

They sat in silence, the city below oblivious to the storm that had just passed between them.

And the storm that was coming next.


The hideout was quiet after that.

Not secure, not fortified—just quiet. A forgotten rooftop annex in a city block shadowed by corporate towers. Nothing but rusted piping, scattered crates, and the fading glow of a vending machine blinking “out of order.”

But it was perfect. Isolated. Calm.

Eri sat cross-legged on the floor, her juice box nearly drained, knees bouncing softly. Across from her, Shadow leaned against the wall, arms folded, red eyes low and unreadable.

“So…” she began softly, “now you know.”

Shadow’s gaze flicked toward her.

“That you’re not Maria?” he said. “Yeah. Took me long enough.”

There was no venom in his voice. Just exhaustion.

Eri shifted her legs, pulling them to her chest. “I didn’t want to lie.”

“You didn’t.”

“I didn’t correct you either.”

Shadow looked away. “Neither did Maria. Not when I thought she was still alive.”

A pause.

“…Was she nice?” Eri asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Shadow didn’t answer at first. He looked at the skyline—where red met silver, where nightfall still remembered the sun—and something in him eased.

“She was everything good in the world,” he said finally. “She saw the world from a hospital bed and still thought it was beautiful.”

Eri stayed quiet.

“She was sick,” Shadow continued, softer now. “Born with a disease no one could cure. She couldn’t run or play like other kids. Couldn’t even breathe without effort on bad days. But she smiled. Every day.”

His hands slowly unclenched.

“She smiled when I learned to read. She smiled when we watched the stars. She smiled even when she knew she didn’t have long.”

Eri swallowed.

“That’s why I thought you were her. I can't remember how she looked… but the way you carried yourself. The quiet. The sadness. The hope.”

“I’m not her,” Eri said quietly.

“I know.”

“I’m not brave like her either.”

Shadow tilted his head. “You think Maria wasn’t scared?”

“She sounds brave,” Eri muttered. “I’m not. I… I cried. Every time they came. When Chisaki took my blood. When he put me back together.”

Shadow said nothing.

“I thought if I stopped crying, they’d stop too. But they didn’t.”

He finally spoke. “That’s not weakness.”

Eri looked up.

Shadow’s voice was low, firm. “You are a child. And you survived something most people wouldn’t come back from. You still smile. That’s strength.”

“I didn’t smile before the festival.”

“I know.”

“…But I did then.”

Shadow didn’t smile, but his expression softened just enough.

“I wanted to protect you because I thought you were Maria,” he said. “Now I want to protect you because you’re Eri.”

Eri’s eyes widened.

“Who you were,” Shadow added, “doesn’t define who you are. You were a prisoner. Now you’re free.”

She looked at her hands.

“They’re scared of me,” she whispered. “Even the good guys. They think my Quirk’s too dangerous.”

“They’re not wrong,” Shadow said bluntly. “But that doesn’t make them right either.”

“…You’re not scared of it?”

“I was built from fear,” he said. “That’s all I know. But Maria wasn’t scared of me. And I won’t be scared of you.”

He looked up. Past her. Into memory.

“You remind me of her more now than ever. Not because you’re the same—but because you both knew what it meant to hurt. And you both chose to help anyway.”

Eri stood.

Shadow watched her walk slowly to the edge of the rooftop, gaze fixed on the stars.

“Do you miss her?” she asked.

“Every day.”

“I miss my mom,” Eri admitted. “Even though she left me.”

Shadow stepped forward.

“She left because she didn’t understand,” Eri whispered. “She thought I was cursed. My grandpa said he’d help. But then… Chisaki…”

She hugged herself.

Shadow gently crouched beside her.

“I know what it’s like to be made into something,” he said. “They told me I was created to save someone. Then they turned me into a weapon.”

“They used me too.”

“They wanted me to destroy. You? They tried to turn your gift into a curse.”

Eri looked at him.

“But your Quirk isn’t a curse. It’s power. And power only hurts when it’s in the wrong hands.”

She stared.

“Whose hands is it in now?” she asked.

Shadow’s gaze didn’t waver. “Yours.”

Eri blinked. “Even if I mess up?”

“You will.”

“…Even if people are scared of me?”

“They will be.”

Eri didn’t say anything for a long time.

Then—

“…Okay.”

Shadow stood beside her, watching the skyline with her.

And somewhere in the stillness, something shifted.

Memory cracked like a mirror in his mind. The image of Maria—soft hair, soft eyes—solidified at last. Her voice. Her laughter. Her final smile.

He remembered it all.

The stars over the ARK.

The way she clutched his hand before she fainted after running too hard to see the aurora.

The promise he made to her.

To protect life. To protect hope.

And now—Eri.

Not Maria.

But not nothing.

He looked down at the small girl beside him, hair swaying gently in the breeze, eyes still healing.

“I’ll keep you safe,” he said. “Not because I thought you were someone else. But because you’re you.”

Eri nodded.

“And I’ll keep trying to smile,” she said. “For me. And for you.”

And for once, in a world that called him weapon, shadow, monster—

He felt whole.

Not a weapon.

Not a mistake.

Just… protector.

Just Shadow.

Eri sipped.

Shadow hadn’t moved since his last words.

“I remember,” he said at last.

She looked at him, waiting.

“Maria’s laugh. The aurora. The lab. The Gizoid's rampage. Gerald’s voice. All of it.”

He didn’t sound relieved.

He sounded wrecked.

“I remember the Death Leech.”

Eri blinked. “What’s that?”

Shadow didn’t answer for a long moment. He stared at the skyline, but his mind was on metal corridors. On sterile lights and sirens. On a skittering, writhing mass of organic cruelty—something only Gerald’s genius and desperation could trap.

“It was a creature we found in the lower labs,” he said. “Part parasite. Part… something else. Gerald said it was an anomaly, but I knew what it was the second I saw it.”

Eri listened.

“I felt it. Not fear. Not confusion. Recognition.” His hands clenched slightly. “Like looking at something in a mirror and hating the reflection.”

“What was it?”

Shadow turned to her.

“Its blood was green. Like mine. Its cells didn’t match anything Earth-born.”

He paused.

“Neither do mine.”

Eri tilted her head. “So… you’re not from Earth?”

“I am. And I’m not.” His voice was calm now. Hollow. “Gerald needed a miracle to save Maria. Something beyond human science. When the Black Comet passed Earth… he made a deal... at least... that's what he told me. He didn't tell me what that deal was."

“Black Comet?” she echoed.

“They weren’t gods. Not demons. Just aliens. Organisms older than our entire planet. They call themselves the Black Arms.”

Shadow’s gaze lowered.

“I’m one of them. A hybrid. The first of my kind. Created with alien DNA. Given form to save a girl who loved Earth.”

Eri was silent for a long time.

Then—

“You’re an alien?”

Shadow nodded.

“You’re… made of space goo?”

He blinked. “That’s one way to put it.”

Eri sipped her juice. “Cool.”

Shadow actually turned to stare at her.

Eri just shrugged. “I mean, you can teleport and punch tanks. And you eat coffee beans raw. I figured something was weird.”

“…That’s not normal?” he deadpanned.

She giggled.

And somehow, it made it all lighter.

“I’m not angry,” Shadow said. “Not anymore. But knowing what I am doesn’t change what I’ll do.”

He looked at her with certainty.

“I’m not a weapon. I’m not their monster. I’m your protector.”

“Even if the whole world hates you?”

He turned back toward the skyline.

"Yes. Even then."


The next day

The morning began well, golden light spilling over empty streets and shuttered storefronts. The city, still reeling from chaos of Shadow's existence, remained eerily quiet. Shadow and Eri walked side by side, unhurried. There was no real destination, just movement. It helped keep the quiet at bay.

Eri clutched a juice box they’d scavenged from a vending machine. She sipped it with both hands, glancing up at Shadow every so often. He walked with the slow, steady rhythm of someone not quite used to strolling. His ears twitched occasionally—always listening.

And then…

From a small side alley emerged a familiar figure in a green apron.

Eri blinked. “Wait… that’s…”

The waitress from Olive Garden.

The same one who’d served them a week ago—who brought extra breadsticks without asking, who offered Eri a smile and whispered, “You take care of her, alright?”

She stepped into the sunlight casually, not startled by them, not flinching at the sight of a child walking beside an infamous outlaw.

Her eyes met Shadow’s. Calm. Clear.

She reached into her pocket.

Shadow tensed—but she didn’t reach for a phone, or a weapon.

Just a crumpled twenty-dollar bill.

She handed it to shadow .

“I saw how nice you were,” she said simply. “So I don’t buy the whole being a monster thing."

Shadow stared.

Eri took the bill, confused. “What’s this for?”

“Supplie.” The waitress smiled, just a little. “Hopefully the world figures itself out.”

She looked at Shadow. “No cameras. No calls. Just…” Her gaze softened. “Take care of her.”

And then she turned and walked away, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Eri stared at the twenty, then up at Shadow.

“…People are weird,” she said.

Shadow nodded. “Yeah. But sometimes, weird is good.”

They kept walking.

This time, just a little lighter.

Notes:

THE DELUSION IS DEAD!

Chapter 12: Oh boy a mess

Chapter Text

The sun was high up when the sky cracked open.

No war cry. No warning.

Just impact.

The rooftop detonated as Endeavor hit first, fire rolling out in a pillar. Best Jeanist’s cables coiled from above, slicing for restraint. Crust, Kamui Woods, and Ryukyu followed, landing like a wall of judgment. Mirko was already airborne again, launching toward him like a cannonball.

Shadow could feel more nearby

A burst of flame tore through the buildings, Endeavor’s first strike, red-hot and merciless.

“Target acquired!” yelled Kamui Woods, roots snapping out like serpents to pin Shadow in place.

But Shadow wasn’t there.

A flash of crimson light warped the air. Chaos Control detonated like thunder, warping gravity for a split second.

The roots coiled around empty air.

“He’s fast,” said Mirko, crouched low. “Real fast.”

Above them, no, through them, Shadow came down like a meteor, boot crashing into Crust’s shield. The pro hero barely had time to absorb the blow before he was flung across the glade, crashing through three trees and skidding into a boulder with a grunt.

“Scatter and encircle!” yelled Edgeshot.

Best Jeanist’s denim cables lashed out, threading like needles across the air.

“Chaos Snap.”

A pulse of red light and the cables shredded apart like wet paper.

Jeanist reeled. “What?!”

Then Wash launched water projectiles from the sidelines. Mirko lunged in, legs blurring into a cyclone of kicks.

Shadow ducked one, blocked another, and then caught her third strike.

Mirko’s eyes widened. She felt her leg tremble in his grip.

“You’re fast,” Shadow admitted. “Good.”

Then he slammed her into the ground.

Before Kamui Woods could trap him, Shadow launched off her crumpled form, spinning into the air like a bullet. Jeanist’s threads caught one arm, but the hedgehog ripped free with raw strength, somersaulted, and fired a concentrated Chaos Spear into Wash’s barrel.

Wash yelped. Yes, yelped.

Then— BOOM.

Kamui’s trees ignited from the residual heat. Chaos surged across the field.

Crust charged again, shields raised, his quirk shining. Shadow swept low, knocking his legs out, and followed with an elbow to the jaw that sent him spinning across the rooftop.

Kamui tried to pin him mid-motion, but a Chaos Spear exploded at his feet, cutting through the roots like butter.

Mirko reengaged, faster, angrier, bloodied.

Shadow was sweating now. Breathing harder. But he didn’t slow.

He sidestepped her tornado of kicks, dropped low, and hit her in the side with a spin-kick so hard she bounced. She growled and kept coming. He respected that.

Ryukyu returned, crashing down from above—but he teleported behind her, kicked her in the base of the spine, and sent her sprawling.


Endeavor lit up the battlefield like a solar flare. His Prominence Burn scorched the entire clearing, reducing it to glass and ash. Shadow’s form blinked, right in the middle of it, holding the Chaos Spear like a sword.

He stabbed it into the ground. And activated it.

The blast wave that followed knocked Jeanist and Edgeshot off their feet. Endeavor weathered it, boots dug deep into the dirt.

When the smoke cleared, Shadow was crouched.

Singed.

Bleeding.

But standing.

They were breathing hard now. All of them.

Shadow’s expression darkened.

“Let me guess,” he growled. “You think you’re heroes, you can judge me.”

He glanced toward the treeline.

Where Eri watched in horror.

“Try again.”

Then he vanished.

Chaos Control wasn’t just teleportation.

It was dominance of space.

He reappeared behind Endeavor, striking at the spine. Jeanist redirected with fabric. Edgeshot blurred between them to block—but Shadow predicted it.

He kicked the exact space Edgeshot materialized in.

Edgeshot crumpled, coughing blood.

Jeanist barely dodged a follow-up spear, the projectile shearing through his shoulder.

Gang Orca and Ryukyu (again) charged next. Water pressure and sheer mass from one, dragon force and precision from the other.

It took everything Shadow had to dodge their joint combo, but he was smiling now. Not because it was easy.

Because it wasn’t.

Then Shadow vanished.

Reappeared behind Gang Orca with a CRACK! of displaced air, slamming him into the ground with a spin kick that cracked pavement.

He was really panting now.

Because getting jumped was a bit tiring

"I guess cryostasis made me a bit rusty." Shadow thought

But in his head he was thinking something else

(There's no way that's what happened...is my body preparing for something?)

“Confirmed!” someone shouted over the earpiece. “He’s burning energy faster than expected! We can wear him down!”

Shadow heard that.

And smirked.

“No,” he muttered.

He lowered into a crouch. The air trembled. Red arcs of electricity sparked around his boots.

“I gave you a chance.”

The light behind him bent.

“You chose this.”

Red energy surrounded his body.

“CHAOS…”

Every pro in the field froze.

That word.

That sound.

“BLAST!!!”

The world turned red.

A dome of pure, crackling chaos detonated outward, blinding and hot, erupting from Shadow’s body like a solar pulse. Energy howled through the battlefield—cracking buildings, frying tech, shattering glass. Heroes were launched backward like dolls in a wind tunnel. The air ripped apart with pressure alone.

When the light faded, the area was wreckage.

And Shadow stood in the center, panting slightly, blood trickling from a cracked knuckle. His coat was half-burned. His expression was cold.

"Look like the rust is starting to go away." Shadow said

 

Shadow took a good look at his handy work.

...

"God damn it my Jacket got incinerated." Shadow said, irritated

And then he saw the remains of Dark rider

On fire

In pieces

"MY BABY!" Shadow yelled

He turned to rubble, hoping someone would dare move

From the debris, a boot stuck out. Mirko’s. Jeanist was face-down in what remained of a planter. Crust’s shields were cracked in half like broken teeth.

Only Endeavor remained kneeling.

Shadow walked up and kicked him square in the face.

Endeavor dropped like a sack of bricks.

"For my bike you bastard." Shadow said

And then—

Silence once more.

Shadow turned.

Eri peeked out from behind a splintered bench, her hair a little dusty.

“You okay?” she asked, tiny voice trembling.

Shadow nodded. “You?”

She gave him a thumbs up.

And that was enough.

He turned his back on the battlefield and walked away.

Not a word of gloating.

Not a threat.

Just a shadow returning to the dark, where no pro dared follow.


The battlefield behind him still smoked, a monument to what happened when justice tried to bite something it couldn’t chew. Shadow’s boots cracked glass and ash beneath each step, slow and deliberate. The smell of scorched metal and ozone lingered in the air like a warning.

Eri trailed close behind, one small hand clutching his glove, her hoodie pulled up to shield her from the wind and the ruined skyline.

And then, the air shifted.

It wasn’t wind.

Not pressure.

Intent.

He froze. Turned his head.

Behind him, in the edge of a shattered alleyway, the shadows stretched, and then stepped forward.

Tomura Shigaraki. Dabi. Spinner. Toga. Mr. Compress. Twice.

The League of Villains.

But Shadow didn’t know their names. And Didn’t care.

But he could smell it.

Rot. Violence. A deep wrongness in the air that made his fur rise on end.

Like the scent of blood on rusted steel

Shigaraki’s smile was carved from the carcass of sanity. “Impressive. Very impressive. We’ve been watching, Shadow. That display… mm. Art.”

Shadow didn’t reply. His red eyes narrowed.

"We are the league of villains." Shigaraki said

Dabi crossed his arms, flame licking lazily along his sleeve. “You’ve got power. Control. Hate. You’d fit right in with us.”

"No,” Shadow said flatly.

Toga giggled. “Oh, come on! You don’t even know us yet!”

“I don’t need to,” Shadow said.

Shigaraki’s smile thinned. “We’re offering you a place. Purpose. Allies.”

“I said no.”

The League hesitated. For a moment, there was silence.

And then Spinner stepped forward. “That’s a mistake.”

It wasn’t a threat.

It was a trigger.

Shadow’s hand rose. Fingers curled.

The limiters on his wrists shimmered. Two gold cuffs, deceptively simple, began to glow faintly gold. And then—

Click.

He took them off.

The effect was instantaneous.

The air twisted. Heat shimmered along the edges of his frame. His wounds closed with a hiss. Burned flesh healed. Cracks sealed. His eyes, already red, glowed with a new, furious intensity.

The League collectively stepped back.

Twice took a step back. “Oh, that’s bad. That’s really, really bad.”

Toga’s grin faltered. “Ooooh… he’s prettier angry.”

Shadow raised one hand.

“I just fought a bunch of the strongest heroes on the planet,” he said, his voice lower, vibrating with suppressed force. “I’m bleeding. I’m tired.”

His feet lifted slightly from the ground.

“And I still have more than enough left to end you.”

Dabi flared blue fire. “Big talk—”

Shadow vanished.

Dabi’s chest caved inward as Shadow’s fist exploded into him, sending him straight through the nearest wall. Rebar screamed. Brick cracked. Dabi vanished into rubble.

Toga lunged.

He caught her mid-air. Tossed her aside like paper.

Spinner charged. Sword drawn.

Shadow didn’t even look.

He lashed out with a backhand that cracked Spinner’s jaw and sent him tumbling into Twice.

Mr. Compress tried to launch a marble.

Chaos Spear.

The projectile tore the air apart. Compress screamed and dropped the orb, clutching his ruined mechanical arm.

Shigaraki growled. “You think you’re better than us?!You’re just another weapon!”

Shadow turned. The smoke cleared from his face.

“I am the ultimate lifeform.”

One step forward. His voice dropped like a guillotine.

“You? You’re a tantrum in a trench coat.”

Snarling, Shigaraki lunged.

His fingers caught Shadow’s chest.

And nothing happened.

Decay didn’t spread.

Because Shadow doesn’t age.

He can’t.

“Oh, fuck me-” Shigaraki muttered.

Then—

CRACK.

Shadow headbutted him so hard the pavement split beneath their feet. Shockwaves rang out.

Shigaraki flew back, bleeding from the head, crashing into the same wall Dabi had just vacated.

Shadow stood alone.

The limiters still off.

The red aura flaring like a dying star.

Eri peeked from her hiding spot. “Um… you okay?”

Shadow exhaled slowly. The red aura began to dim.

“I am now.”

He turned to the wreckage. Dabi groaned, half-conscious. Spinner tried to stand, only to collapse. Toga coughed blood and laughed faintly. Mr. Compress had passed out. Shigaraki twitched once, and didn’t move again.

“Next time, take no for an answer.”

He slipped the limiters back on.

His wounds didn’t return.

But the silence did.

Shadow took Eri’s hand, turned away from the smoldering wreckage of would-be villains,and They disappeared into the rising sun.

And behind them, the League of Villains lay broken, beaten…

And very, very lucky to be alive.


Later

They found shelter in the hollowed remains of a train station—long since abandoned, the kind where vines crept through broken skylights and time had stolen all color from the benches. The world outside still smoked with the residue of pro heroes and wrecked villains, but in here?

It was quiet.

Eri sat cross-legged on a crate, clutching a cup of instant cocoa warmed by Chaos energy. Shadow sat nearby on a stack of cinder blocks, arms resting on his knees, gaze blankly fixed on the far wall. He was still coatless (he didn't wear shirt or pants anyway so he was funr)

But his mind?

A mess.

“…They’re not gonna stop coming, are they?” Eri finally asked, voice small.

“No,” Shadow said quietly. “They think they’re right.”

“Even after all that?”

“They’ll think it proves them right.”

Silence again.

Eri sipped her cocoa. Then: “You know, you were really cool.”

Shadow blinked. “Cool?”

She nodded seriously. “Like a really angry shooting star.”

He stared at her for a beat.

Then, somehow, he gave the faintest chuckle. “I’ll take it.”

More silence. A comfortable one, this time.

Eri twirled the cup in her hands. Her feet swung slightly above the floor.

Then, tentatively: “You and Maria… you were siblings, right?”

Shadow’s red eyes shifted to her. His expression softened. “Yes. We were.”

Eri nodded slowly.

“She wasn’t your sister by blood, though.” Eri said

“No. But that didn’t matter.” Shadow responded

“And I’m not Maria,” she said, quieter this time.

“No,” Shadow agreed. “You’re not.”

She took a breath. He could tell she was working herself up to something. Her grip on the cup tightened. Her hoodie sleeves swallowed her hands.

“Let me guess,” he said before she could speak. “You want to call me ‘big brother.’ If so, yes, fine. I suppose that’s—””

“Actually,” Eri cut in, her voice almost a squeak, “I wanted to call you… papa.”

There was a silence so complete it could have shattered glass.

Shadow stared at her.

Blank.

Not just confused.

Shut down.

Shadow.exe had stopped working.

His pupils dilated.

His aura short-circuited for a second.

“What.”

Eri shrank slightly. “I-It’s okay if not! I just— I’ve never really had one I. I used to...but apparently I made him disappear . And you… you saved me. You protect me. You never get mad at me even when I ask a lot of questions, and you’re really warm even though you act cold, and you carry me places even when I don’t ask, and—”

Shadow raised one hand, halting her panic.

“I just survived a barrage of Japan’s strongest heroes,” he said, voice flat.

Eri blinked. “Okay?”

“I just bodied six different maniacs with tragic backstories. I’ve been shot, stabbed, burned, buried underground in cryrostasis , saw my sister die, forgot her face, mistook you for her, and I still don't know the year."

She nodded slowly.

“And this… this is the thing that finally breaks me.”

Eri opened her to say something

"Don't say it, I'm not emotionally ready." Shad said

He buried his face in his hands.

Eri tilted her head. “So… is that a no?”

“No, it's not." Shadow mumbled into his palms.

Eri’s ears perked.

"Is that a yes?" Eri asked

"Yes it is," Shadow Said, looking at her

She beamed at him, nose scrunching as she smiled

Then, quieter: “Is that… okay? Really?”

Shadow looked at her. Long and hard.

He thought about Maria.

How she looked at the world with wonder. How she always saw light where he saw shadow.

How Eri had done the same.

How she’d healed.

And how, just maybe, he had started to, too.

“…Yeah,” he said finally. “It’s okay.”

Eri leaned into him and hugged his side, arms around his waist. “Thanks, Papa."

She immediately jumped into his lap and hugged him with surprising force for someone that small.

Shadow stiffened.

Then… slowly… very slowly… he returned the hug.

They stayed like that for a long time. No war. No chaos.

Just a quiet room, and two broken souls trying to piece themselves back together.

“I’m really glad you found me,” she said softly.

“…Yeah,” he said after a pause. “So am I.”

Chapter 13: Friend?

Chapter Text

The cracked ceiling of the abandoned train station was the first thing Shadow saw when he opened his eyes.

The distant chirp of early morning birds. The smell of rust and old rainwater. The low rumble of passing freight, somewhere miles away, vibrating faintly through the concrete floor.

For a brief moment, everything was still.

Eri slept next to him, curled up beneath the jacket he’d found and draped over her during the night. She breathed evenly now, no nightmares. No sudden flinches. Just sleep. Real sleep.

Shadow sat up, stretching out stiff muscles with a muted groan. His chest ached in faint memory of yesterday’s chaos, the heroes, those weirdos (the league), the Chaos Blast, but the bruises were gone. His body had healed from removing the limiters against the league.

But what caught his eye wasn’t the dust in the air or the faded graffiti on the walls.

It was the phone.

A small black smartphone sat on the floor near his boots.

New. Charged. Screen faintly glowing like it had been there all night.

Shadow frowned. Narrowed his eyes.

He scanned the area for traces of intrusion. Nothing. No new scents. No foreign footprints. Whoever left it had done so without getting close.

Carefully, like it might explode, Shadow picked the device up.

It took him a second, a few frustrated pokes and near-crushes, but he managed to unlock the screen. No passcode. No biometrics.

The first thing that greeted him was the date.

June 13, 3570.

Shadow froze.

The phone creaked in his palm as his grip tightened involuntarily. Plastic strained. Metal casing popped.

One thousand six hundred and thirteen years.

That’s how long it had been since the last time he’d been awake.

Since the ARK.

Since Gerald.

Since Maria.

Shadow’s breath hitched. His throat tightened as centuries of silent time collapsed in on him like a bad dream unraveling. Time was a void, and he’d slept right through it.

“…Damn,” he whispered.

He almost crushed the phone right then.

Almost.

But before he could, the screen flickered again.

Incoming Call: Nezu

Shadow blinked.

“The rat,” he muttered, having over heard the name during the festival.

Hesitating for just a second, he tapped ‘Answer.’

The voice came through instantly.

“Good morning, Shadow!” Nezu said cheerfully. Too cheerfully.

Shadow’s first instinct was to throw the phone. But he didn’t.

“What the hell do you want?” Shadow asked, tone flat, energy low.

“Relax,” Nezu said, sounding far too awake for this hour. “I just wanted to check in.”

Shadow scowled. “How did you leave this here without me noticing?”

“I have my methods,” Nezu replied. “And besides… I figured you’d notice it sooner or later. Given that I wasn’t exactly stealthy about placing it right next to your feet last night.”

Shadow paused. “…You were here?”

“Briefly,” Nezu said. “You needed a way to keep up with what’s happening. I figured a phone was less invasive than a tracking drone or another ambush.”

Shadow almost laughed. Almost.

“Consider it a gesture of good faith,” Nezu added. “I’ll use this line to keep you updated. Especially after… well… the inevitable hero meeting later today.”

Shadow’s ears twitched. “Meeting?”

“Yes,” Nezu confirmed. “Commission’s gathering all relevant Pro Heroes and raid participants. After your little… performance against the some of the Top pros, everyone’s rattled. The HPSC is scrambling. And since they’re not exactly trustworthy…” Nezu’s tone dipped low. “I figured you might like an edge.”

Shadow said nothing. Processing.

Nezu continued before he could reply. “I’ll text you the full meeting details after it happens. Can’t have them knowing I’m feeding you intel.”

Shadow let that settle.

A pause. The line stayed open.

Then Nezu’s voice returned, softer. “Also… I wanted to apologize.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed again. “For what.”

“For Midoriya.”

Shadow stiffened.

“I tried to stop him,” Nezu said. “Forbid him, in fact. But… well, he’s stubborn. Self-righteous. And unfortunately, full of self-sacrificing bad decisions.”

Shadow’s mind flicked back—just for a second—to the a couple nights before.

Midoriya’s ambush. The brawl.

The look on the kid’s face when Shadow punched him through two walls and nearly broke three ribs.

Shadow grunted. “He’s lucky I recognized him before I hit harder.”

“I know,” Nezu said with surprising sincerity. “Believe me, I know.”

Another pause.

Shadow glanced at Eri—still sleeping, hair a tangled mess, but peaceful.

“She’s fine,” Shadow said finally, cutting through the silence.

“Hmm?” Nezu hummed.

“Eri. She’s fine.” Shadow repeated.

There was a quiet crackle over the line. Then Nezu said, carefully, “And judging by the fact you just called her by her real name, I take it that means you’ve… come to terms with things?”

Shadow exhaled slowly. “Yup.”

“Well, that’s progress,” Nezu said lightly. “So what is she to you now?”

Shadow didn’t hesitate.

“My daughter.”

Nezu’s world screeched to a halt.

Dead silence on the other end of the call.

Shadow frowned. Pulled the phone away from his ear to check the screen. “…Hello?”

And then—

Through the receiver—

Nezu’s voice came out in the most flat, horrified, completely caught-off-guard tone Shadow had ever heard from the little rat:

“…Your fucking what.”

Shadow blinked.

Then smirked—small, but real.

“Yeah. You heard me.”

Nezu was absolutely losing his composure on the other side.

Papers fell. Something clattered. A chair might have tipped.

Shadow could practically hear the mental system error alarms screaming inside the principal’s brain.

“I—I leave you unsupervised for what, 36 hours, and—” Nezu cut himself off mid-rant, recomposing fast. “No. No, you know what? Fine. Sure. Adopt a traumatized quirk child while actively being public enemy number one. That’s perfectly normal.”

Shadow’s smirk widened.

“Glad we’re on the same page.”

Nezu groaned audibly.

“…God help me.”

Nezu coughed once. Regained composure. “Well. Alright then. Parental developments aside, I’ll be sending you the meeting minutes as soon as they’re available.”

“Good,” Shadow said, voice low. “I’ll be waiting.”

Another pause.

“Shadow…” Nezu said, tone dipping serious now. “Be careful.”

“Always.”

With that, Shadow ended the call.

He placed the phone down beside him, stared at it for a long time, then let out a slow breath.

So much for quiet mornings.

As if on cue, Eri stirred.

Her small hands reached up to rub her eyes, blinking the sleep away.

“…Morning,” she mumbled.

“Morning,” Shadow replied.

She sat up, hair wild, blinking at the phone beside him.

“New toy?”

“Something like that.”

Eri tilted her head. “Did… someone call?”

“Yeah.”

“Who?”

“The rat.”

Eri blinked again. “Oh. Him.”

Shadow gave her a side glance. “Sleep well?”

She smiled. Just a little. “Yeah.”

The world was still after that.

Quiet.

Shadow rested his elbows on his knees again, watching her yawn and stretch like a cat.

For the first time in a long time…

Peace.

For now.


Later

The conference room was tense.

Again.

Another day. Another emergency meeting.

Another chance for Madam President to spin the truth.

On the main screen, freeze-frame images of Shadow’s latest rampage cycled like a slideshow of humiliation. Pro heroes, top ones at that, scattered like bowling pins. Endeavor unconscious. Jeanist wounded. Mirko half-buried under rubble. Crust with two cracked shields. Gang Orca barely breathing.

And in every frame… Shadow.

Standing.

Alive.

Only sightltywounded at the end of the hero encounter and fully healed at the end of the league encounter .

If anything, stronger.

His energy output had been erratic, flickering like a dying star, but even running on fumes, the so-called “Ultimate Lifeform” had dismantled Japan’s strongest defense like it was target practice.

Madam President’s voice cut through the silence, sharp and professional as ever.

“We underestimated him. Again.”

No one argued.

She tapped her tablet. Another slide came up.

Public opinion.

Screenshots from social media. Polls. Trending hashtags. News clips.

What was concerning… was the tone shift.

Half the population still saw Shadow as a dangerous rogue entity. A villain. A threat.

But the other half?

Supportive.

“Why is he with the girl?”

“Wasn’t she smiling with him at the festival?”

“He’s dangerous but… he didn’t hurt her…”

“Somebody explain why this monster protected a kid for two days straight.”

The comments scrolled like a slow funeral procession of narrative control slipping through their fingers.

Aizawa frowned. “Public’s confused. Not surprising after what happened at the festival.”

Nezu, seated off to the side with his usual serene expression, said nothing.

He already knew the Commission was hiding part of the timeline.

Already knew there were gaps.

And he said nothing.

Because the trap was still being set… and he wanted to see how far they’d fall into it.

Madam President cleared her throat.

“We have no choice. Given the damage to the public image, and the failure of our top pros to neutralize him, we need to escalate.”

“Escalate how?” Fat Gum asked grimly.

The next slide appeared.

A facility.

Half-buried in a mountain range. Overgrown. Old security turrets on the perimeter.

Caption: “Recovered Site: Suspected Former Lab of Professor Gerald Robotnik.”

Murmurs broke out.

“Is that where he was made?” Best Jeanist asked.

“We believe so,” Madam President Said smoothly. “The data points line up. While Shadow himself isn’t there, early scans show significant data storage units and old research equipment still operational. We believe there may be data on his origins, weaknesses… anything that could help.”

(Nezu knew that it wasn't the case but he was intrigued about the lab)

“And you’re suggesting… what?” Ryukyu asked.

Madam President smiled thinly.

“We’re sending a strike team. Young. Mobile. Versatile. One that won’t attract Shadow’s immediate attention and can slip past the remaining automated defenses.”

Her tone sharpened. “We’re deploying Class 1-A.”

Aizawa lifted his head at that.

“Already signed off by their guardians,” Madam President added quickly, before Nezu could interject. “Paperwork’s in place. Mission slips approved. Legal oversight cleared. This falls under their ongoing hero training and field experience mandates.”

Aizawa exhaled through his nose. Reluctant, but not opposing. Not openly.

“They’ve handled dangerous missions before,” he said finally.

“They’re not hunting Shadow,” Madam President clarified, her gaze flicking toward Nezu like a quiet middle finger. “This is purely a recon and intel-gathering operation. Their target is static. Shadow is elsewhere.”

Someone down the line coughed. The elephant in the room shifted again.

“And Midoriya?” Bubble girl asked, arms crossed.

“Currently… off-grid,” Nezu said calmly, eyes half-lidded.

(Technically true. Not like he’d let the Commission track Deku without layers of misdirection.)

“Better that he’s keeping Shadow busy,” Madam President said quickly. “We’ll use the distraction.”

Crust nodded from his wheelchair near the back. “Divide and conquer.”

Nezu tapped one clawed finger gently on the table. “And when Shadow finds out we sent his former festival classmates to raid a place that may or may not be connected to him?”

Madam President’s smile sharpened.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

There it was.

Her gamble.

A public backlash building… an uncontrollable asset in the wild… a UA class being thrown in as pawns…

And Nezu?

Nezu just watched.

Smiling softly.

Because he knew… when this all burned down, it wouldn’t be on Shadow’s head.

It would be on hers.


Later

The rooftops blurred beneath him as Shadow moved.

Night air rushed past, cool against his fur. Eri clung tightly to his back, small fingers knotted into what was left of his torn shirt. Her heart pounded fast, but she didn’t say a word.

Not yet.

Shadow’s mind stayed locked on one thing.

Distance.

He needed space. He needed calm.

And most of all—he needed to avoid another stupid fight with—

“DELWARE SMASH: AIR FORCE!”

The blast cut through the air like a whip crack.

Shadow twisted mid-step. The pressure wave slammed into the roof behind him, sending chunks of concrete skyward.

Izuku Midoriya, green energy flaring around him, skidded onto the next rooftop, panting but determined.

“Stop running!” Midoriya shouted, launching forward, another burst of air propulsion kicking behind him.

Shadow barely dodged the next strike, twisting at impossible angles, skating across the ledge with the hiss of his Air Shoes.

“I don’t want to fight you,” Shadow snapped over his shoulder.

“You don’t have a choice!” Midoriya yelled, blasting forward again.

Shadow gritted his teeth.

(Why won’t this idiot back down?!)

Midoriya threw a punch. Shadow blurred aside. Another strike, this one grazed his shoulder, making him stumble mid-skate.

He didn’t retaliate.

Not yet.

“Let her go!” Midoriya shouted again.

Eri’s grip tightened.

“I’m not your enemy!” Shadow snarled. “I’m trying to protect her!”

“And I’m trying to take her home!”

Another punch.

This one Shadow blocked, palm meeting Midoriya’s gauntlet with a thunderous clap of force.

The rooftop cracked beneath their feet.

“Enough,” Shadow growled.

He turned.

And jumped.

With Eri clinging tight, Shadow leapt clean off the roof—dropping three stories down into the night.

Midoriya gasped. “What the hell—?!”

Shadow rotated mid-air, angling himself to land clean.

But that’s when it hit him.

Without warning.

A spike of pain lanced through his skull like a white-hot blade.

Shadow gasped, clutching his head mid-fall.

The air around him rippled, distorted.

Black and red energy burst from his skin, like corrupted lightning fused with raw chaos matter. For a half-second, yellow sparks danced across his chest and limbs like warning lights on a failing reactor.

“Gh—!!” Shadow coughed, breath hitching.

Eri screamed.

Then... it happened.

A sick, wet tearing sound split the air behind him.

Shadow’s back convulsed, his muscles locking, before something erupted from his back.

Wings.

Black. Fleshy. Veined with blood-red patterns like demonic circuitry.

Massive, unnatural.

Dripping energy like oil and electricity combined.

His descent stabilized instantly. The wings flared wide, slicing through the air with enough lift to pull him upward like a rocket.

Shadow stared in disbelief, trying to process it mid-flight.

(This—this isn’t Chaos Energy… What the hell is—?)

The new limbs moved like they’d always been there. Instinctive. Predatory. Hungry.

Eri clung tighter to him, burying her face into his back some how not poking herself on his quills . “Papa!!”

With one beat of his new wings, he surged forward—tearing across the skyline at impossible speed.

Behind him, Midoriya stood frozen on the rooftop, staring at the fading black trail in the sky.

“What… what the hell was that?” Midoriya muttered.

He didn't hear Eri call Shadow papa


Shadow didn’t slow until they were miles away—landing roughly in a deserted rail yard.

His boots skidded across gravel. Dust and loose stone scattered.

He dropped to one knee.

The wings pulsed, then slowly, painfully, retracted back into his body with a ripple of black matter that dissolved into the air.

Shadow panted hard, sweat running down his neck. His heart rate didn’t drop. His muscles still felt hot. Wrong.

“What the hell… was that?” he said aloud.

Eri stepped down from his back, looking at him wide-eyed. “Papa…?”

He shook his head. “I’ve never… never done anything like that before.”

His hands trembled slightly as he flexed his fingers.

“It didn’t feel like Chaos Energy. Not fully. And not like my limiter breaks either…”

A pause.

“It felt… natural.”

That scared him more than anything.

(Like it had always been there… waiting.)

His mind spun, calculating, comparing. Was this why his body had drained so fast during the fight with the Pro Heroes? Was this mutation why his energy flickered? Some buried instability from his origin? A second-stage biological fail-safe?

Or worse…

Something new entirely.

Shadow stood, shoulders squared.

Whatever it was…

He’d figure it out.

But first—

He glanced at Eri.

“You okay?”

She nodded slowly.

Shadow let out a breath. “Good.”

Another problem for another day.

But one thing was clear now:

His body was changing.

And when it finished?

The world wasn’t ready for what came next.

Chapter 14: New powers new threats

Chapter Text

The sun was starting to dip below the skyline, smearing the horizon with lazy gold and bruised purple.

Shadow walked with Eri along an empty pedestrian overpass, her small hand tucked carefully into his.

For once, there were no sirens. No choppers. No screaming heroes. Just the hush of late-day traffic below, distant and muffled.

Eri kicked a pebble down the walkway, her hoodie sleeves flopping over her hands.

Shadow’s phone, Nezu’s little “gift, buzzed quietly in his pocket.

He pulled it out, thumbed the screen with practiced stubbornness, and opened the new message.

Nezu.

Subject: URGENT – Potential Location: Gerald’s Lab

Message:

We’ve uncovered what appears to be one of Professor Gerald Robotnik’s old research sites. The Commission believes it’s where Shadow was created or at least where major research was conducted. They’re sending Class 1-A there tomorrow morning for infiltration and data recovery.

You didn’t hear this from me. But if you want a head start… it’s there for the taking.

Coordinates attached.

Shadow stared at the map coordinates blinking on the screen.

A part of him tensed.

(If it’s really Gerald’s…)

He swallowed that thought quickly. It didn’t matter right now.

“Something important?” Eri asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Maybe,” Shadow said simply, pocketing the phone.

Another safe place. Maybe even answers. But tomorrow. No point rushing. Not tonight.

He glanced back at the skyline.

Tonight… was quiet.

Or it should have been.

He felt the shift in the air a split second before the first attack came.

A ripple.

Like static through the air.

Shadow grabbed Eri instinctively, leaping back as a humanoid figure burst up from the pavement.

A clone.

Black bodysuit, white-eyed.

Ectoplasm if he remembered correctly.

Shadow’s teeth grit. “Tch…”

Another two clones emerged from the shadows behind a billboard. Then three more from the ground near the sidewalk.

Ectoplasm—hero, Ua teacher

Shadow shoved Eri behind a concrete divider. “Stay down.”

The clones lunged.

Shadow was already moving.

One punch—straight through the closest one’s head. The ectoplasmic matter splattered like mud, evaporating midair.

Two more closed in.

Shadow ducked low, twisted, slammed an elbow into one’s gut, and followed with a heel kick that vaporized the second.

But for every one he knocked down, two more appeared.

A wall of gray bodies swarmed, cutting off every escape point.

Above, a voice rang out:

“Yo, Yo, YOOOO! Present Mic on the scene!!”

Shadow’s gaze snapped up.

That damn Dj.

From the festival.

Damn it.

Present Mic’s Quirk cracked the air like a sonic cannon, blasting low-frequency shockwaves that rattled the overpass.

The pavement near Shadow fractured. Dust and debris swirled.

Eri screamed, covering her ears.

Shadow’s eyes burned with sudden fury.

(This isn’t just a capture attempt… They’re trying to disorient me. Keep me from thinking.)

He dashed low, grabbing Eri and vaulting behind a pillar for cover.

Present Mic didn’t stop.

“Sorry, hedgehog dude!” Present Mic yelled. “But orders are orders! Don’t take it personal!”

Shadow’s patience snapped.

(That’s it.)

Another pulse tore through his skull—sharp, raw, electric.

He dropped to one knee, clutching his temple, the world tilting around him.

“Ugh… not now—!” Shadow said

Dark energy surged along his arm.

Familiar… but different.

Thicker.

Hotter.

Tainted.

The air shifted—again—and suddenly, there it was.

The energy flickered across his fingertips—five separate streams forming at once—spinning into jagged, unstable spearheads of raw, compressed power.

His vision flickered red.

And then—without warning—his right hand ignited.

Black and crimson energy coiled along his palm, swirling like liquid smoke. It condensed—sharp, solid—until a long, jagged spear of dark energy materialized.

No.

Not a Chaos Spear.

This was… different.

Stronger.

Denser.

A new voice whispered in the back of his head.

(Doom Spear.)

It was deep and gravelly

Shadow blinked once.

Then smirked.

"Oh. That’s new.”

Five more Ectoplasm clones charged.

Shadow stood, pulled his arm back, and launched.

The Doom Spear tore across the overpass with screaming force, splitting mid-flight into three separate spears like missiles seeking targets.

Each spear homed perfectly.

Three clones evaporated mid-lunge, their forms dissolving before they even touched the ground.

Two more appeared at his flanks.

Shadow whipped around and, with almost no charge time, hurled two more Doom Spears at point-blank range.

Both clones burst apart like wet paper.

Present Mic paused mid-shout. “…Wait, he can multi-target now?!”

Shadow let the black energy swirl again, another set of spears already forming in his hands.

“I can shoot multiple targets at once…” Shadow muttered with dangerous satisfaction. “How useful.”

Without hesitation, he dashed forward, right into Present Mic’s line of sight.

Mic barely opened his mouth to scream when Shadow was on him.

One spear, thrown just wide enough to force Present mic sideways.

Then a follow up kick to the gut that sent Present Mic flying backwards over the guardrail, crashing into the lower service road below.

Shadow exhaled slowly.

The energy faded from his hands,but the power still hummed beneath his skin like a second heartbeat.

He turned, scooping Eri up again.

“Let’s go,” he said simply.

Eri clung to him, shaking but wide-eyed.

The clones were gone. Mic wasn’t getting up anytime soon.

Shadow was already moving away before more reinforcements could arrive.

His gaze lifted toward the sky, where the horizon started to turn dark with nightfall.

And Shadow—heart still pounding, head still throbbing with lingering feedback—began moving again.

Tomorrow…

The lab.

But for tonight?

They were done.


 Elsewhere At a later time

Tartarus Prison.

In the middle of the oceam

In the Deepest most secured cell

No sun. No time. No escape.

At least, that’s what the world believed.

All For One sat in his reinforced containment cell, unmoving, unblinking, and, as far as the guards could tell, unthinking. The lights cast long, cold shadows over the twisted geography of his ruined face.

For months, he had been little more than a statue of scar tissue and spite.

But today?

Something changed.

At precisely 03:16 AM, every camera watching his cell flickered. For exactly 0.8 seconds.

And in that fraction of time…

He smiled.

The darkness inside him stirred. Not just metaphorically.

Something in the marrow of his body writhed. A slow, syrup-thick pressure began to churn deep inside his ribs. At first, he thought it was a phantom pain, just another reminder of the dozens of quirks he’d forced and layered into this broken body.

But then it spread.

Not like muscle strain.

Like infection.

Like something old and hungry… shifting.

For the first time in years, All For One’s hand trembled.

“What…?”

His head tilted sharply, like a puppet pulled by a bad string.

And then—

BOOM

The walls of his cell cracked outward in a single, blinding pulse of black and red energy.

Across Tartarus, alarms shrieked. Sirens howled. Emergency lights flared blood-red.

Prisoners screamed in their cells. Guards scrambled toward lockdown stations. Security turrets unfolded from the ceilings.

Too late.

By the time the first guard got visual, All For One was already standing.

His hands hung loose at his sides, steam rising from his palms like a freshly broken engine block.

“Energy output unknown!” barked one technician from the control room.

“Massive spike in electromagnetic signatures! His quirks didn’t do this!”

One officer checked the feed. “Where did that energy come from?!”

Another voice, panicked, trembling: “It’s… it’s like That Shadow guy's energy …”

Too late for warnings.

All For One clenched his fist. Space itself seemed to ripple around it, like air folding inward.

And in one step, just one, he vanished from the cell.


The next time he appeared, he stood halfway up the western cliff face overlooking the prison docks.

The sea crashed below him in white arcs of foam. Helicopters scrambled from the mainland. Spotlights roved the air.

All For One lifted his face toward the sky, blind eyes closed, and breathed deeply.

Something in the air… felt right.

He smiled again.

There it was…

That pressure in his bones.

That low hum in his skin.

Like power that didn’t belong to him—but wanted him all the same.

And somewhere… somewhere out there…

The source.

The name meant little to him.

Shadow.

The name played in his head from nowhere

But something… something buried inside him…

Something ancient…

Wanted that being.

And not just for power.

For reunion.

To be one.

Much like how he wants Tomura as a new body

All For One shook off the strange thought with a growl.

“Later,” he muttered, his voice still low and cracked like broken stone. “First… the League.”


Elsewhere

The League of Villains sat scattered around a new hideout.

A half-finished skyscraper surrounded by scaffolding and uninstalled glass. Wind whistled through the hollow floors.

Dabi sat by the edge, watching the sun bleed over the horizon. Toga carved little hearts into the plywood floor. Spinner tuned a cheap radio, static crackling through the air.

And Shigaraki…

He stood at the window, hands stuffed into his pockets, staring blankly at the skyline.

When the air behind them warped, none of them moved at first.

Then a voice, familiar, rotten, dry as dust, spoke:

“I’ve missed you all.”

Shigaraki’s eyes widened.

The room froze.

“No… way…” Dabi muttered.

All For One stepped out from the shadowed stairwell, the lower half of his straitjacket still smoldering with heat scars from the breakout.

None of them spoke.

Then Toga shrieked with a delighted laugh, practically tackling Spinner in surprise.

“Sensei…?” Shigaraki’s voice cracked.

All For One tilted his head.

“Yes, Tomura. It’s me.”

“But… Tartarus—?”

“A temporary setback,” All For One said with a dismissive wave.

Dabi stood, dusting off his knees, half-impressed and half-annoyed. “Guess prison really doesn’t stick to you.”

The villain lord smiled, a slow, jagged thing full of hate and victory.

“And now,” he said, stepping further inside, “we have work to do.”


The meeting lasted two hours.

Plans.

Targets.

Resources.

The League updated him on the heroes’ movements, on the public backlash over Hawks’ death, and on the recent “problem” tearing through Japan like a red and black storm.

Shadow.

The moment Spinner mentioned the name, something deep inside All For One twitched.

The feeling was subtle at first. Like a second heartbeat deep in his chest. Then stronger. Pulsing.

He ignored it. Barely.

“So…” Dabi said, folding his arms, “This Shadow guy. Fast. Strong. Broke the Top Ten like they were first-years.”

“We already tried recruiting him,” Spinner muttered.

“Didn’t work,” Mr. Compress added with a wince, still nursing his ruined mechanical arm.

All For One’s fingers flexed.

That pulse again.

Now stronger.

Like something… waking.

“Bring me everything we have on him,” All For One said at last. His tone left no room for argument. “Locations. Movements. Fight footage.”

“Planning to kill him?” Shigaraki asked, eyes sharp.

“No.”

All For One’s smile widened.

“I want him alive.”

“Why?” Toga asked, tilting her head.

All For One paused.

For the first time in years…

He didn’t know.

He didn’t understand why every cell in his body screamed for Shadow’s presence. Why his hands trembled at the mere thought of that energy signature.

Why some quiet voice at the back of his mind whispered—

“Find him.”

He didn’t like questions without answers.

But that… was a puzzle for another day.

For now…

The hunt began.

All For One stood at the broken window, the cold morning wind whipping against his ruined face.

“Go,” he ordered. “Move our network. Activate every asset.”

The League scrambled to obey.

Behind his cracked ribs, a presence stirred.

Hungry.

Waiting.

Smiling.

Chapter 15: OH FUCKING HELL

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The Hero Public Safety Commission’s central command room hadn’t been this tense since Kamino Ward.

No, scratch that.

This was worse.

Way worse.

Madam President stood at the head of the operations table, turquoise eyes locked on the latest emergency report like it had personally insulted her entire career. A dozen screens flickered across the war room walls energy readings, containment logs, surveillance drone feeds, all of them screaming the same impossible reality.

Tartarus.

Breach.

And not just any breach.

All For One.

Free.

And alive.

“Explain,” she said coldly, voice a razor blade against stone.

A trembling tech pulled up the footage from Tartarus’ internal black box logs. The screen showed the explosion, black and red, chaotic and unnatural,ripping through reinforced levels like tissue paper.

Then the post-breach analysis rolled in.

“Energy output… matches the unidentified energy signature we’ve been tracking since Project Shadow’s awakening,” the tech said, voice tight with fear.

The room went silent.

Absolutely, deathly silent.

A chill swept through every person present.

“…You mean to tell me,” Madam President said slowly, deliberately, “that whatever energy let Shadow wipe the floor with the Top Pro's… is the same thing that got All For One out of Tartarus?”

The tech swallowed hard. “Yes, ma’am. Identical frequency. Down to the decimal.”

Another aide, standing nearby, turned white as a sheet.

“That… shouldn’t be possible,” muttered one of the science advisors. “Shadow predates quirks by over a millennium. All For One shouldn’t—there’s no logical connection.”

“Then find me an illogical one,” Madam President snapped.

She paced slowly to the head of the room, her heels striking like gunshots on the tile.

“We are not leaking this,” she said sharply. “Do you understand me? I don’t care if Tartarus is screaming for help. I don’t care if Endeavor himself starts asking questions. Until we have something concrete to tell the public, this information does not leave this room.”

“But… shouldn’t we at least notify—”

“No. We’re already dealing with public trust collapse over Shadow. Hawks is dead, the Top Ten got flattened, and now civilians are starting to ask why there’s footage of this so-called monster being gentle with a child at a school festival. I am not adding ‘All For One escaped using the same mystery energy’ to that powder keg.”

She turned, eyes narrowing.

“Are we clear?”

Everyone nodded.

“Good.”

She drew in a slow breath, controlling the adrenaline boiling in her veins.

“Triple-layer firewall this data. Lock it behind Class Black clearance. I want every scientist still loyal to us on this energy reading by nightfall.”

One of the analysts raised a shaky hand. “…Ma’am… do we tell Nezu?”

Madam President paused.

Her face twitched for half a second—too small for most to notice.

“…Not yet.”

It wasn’t that she trusted Nezu. Far from it. She’d seen the way the little rodent had been watching during the last meeting. Calculating. Too quiet.

No… Nezu didn’t need to know. Not yet.

Her gaze flicked to the screen—pausing on the frame showing All For One’s escape.

The energy swirling around his mangled body was too familiar.

Too close.

Like a mockery of the footage they had of Shadow.

Her stomach twisted with cold dread.

For the first time since taking this position, Madam President found herself standing in front of two variables she couldn’t quantify.

Shadow.

And now… All For One.

And whatever the hell connected them both.

Silently, she tapped the edge of the console.

“We’ll spin a different narrative,” she said after a long pause. “A Nomu uprising, a facility error, whatever it takes. Keep Shadow as the primary public threat. All For One stays off the board for now.”

Her aides rushed to comply.

But deep down…

A part of her already knew…

They were running out of lies.

And out of time.


Later

The air was already tense as Class 1-A assembled at the lab entrance, shoulders squared, eyes forward.

They didn't know want to expect.

And they definitely weren’t expecting him.

The sound of screeching air cut through the quiet like a blade. A pulse of crimson light blinked at the treeline.

Then—

Shadow appeared.

One second, the space was empty. The next, he stood there, chest rising and falling, Eri at his side like always, holding onto his arm with wide, nervous eyes.

“Run inside,” Shadow said softly to her, voice low but steady. “Now.”

“Wha—wait—!” Ochaco’s eyes widened.

But Eri didn’t hesitate.

She bolted toward the lab entrance at full speed.

The second she vanished through the doors—

Kirishima lunged.

“LIKE HELL WE’RE LETTING YOU JUST WALK UP HERE!”

His hardened fist swung wide, pure power and momentum. Shadow sidestepped with terrifying speed, letting Kirishima’s punch blast into the dirt beside him.

A follow-up explosion from Bakugo streaked toward Shadow’s flank.

BOOM!

Smoke burst, heat rolling across the field—

But Shadow wasn’t there.

He reappeared behind Bakugo mid-flight and planted a heel kick straight into the back of his ribs, sending the blonde spinning into a nearby boulder like a ragdoll.

“Tch.” Bakugo coughed, pulling himself upright, fury already building.

“Scatter formation!” Iida barked, engines roaring to life as he shot forward at blinding speed.

Sero’s tape shot from the sidelines, Shoji coordinated from above, Yaoyorozu called for capture nets.

Shadow weaved through all of it like water through cracks.

Denki fired off a voltage burst, Shadow skated under it with a slide so low it nearly carved into the dirt.

“Move!” Todoroki yelled, summoning a wave of ice.

Shadow burst through it in a single spinning leap, air shoes trailing superheated steam where they cut through the frost.

“Damn it! he’s too fast—!” Jirou shouted, stabbing her jacks into the ground to unleash a concussive bass pulse.

The shockwave rattled the earth, but Shadow skated just over the top of it.

Tsuyu’s tongue snapped out from the side, Uraraka activated her Zero Gravity on debris to launch a flurry of rock missiles, Koda sent birds at him, Mineta threw balls to gum up Shadow’s feet—

And Mina?

Mina waited for her moment.

The second Shadow touched ground—she flooded the area with acid. Thick. Viscous.

It hissed as it spread, steaming the air.

“Let’s see you speed your way out of this one without burning your fancy hover shoes off!” Mina grinned triumphantly.

For half a breath—Shadow paused at the edge of the acid, crouched low, calculating.

Then…

The pain hit.

Hard.

A white-hot spike through his skull.

He clutched his head with a sharp, involuntary snarl—

And the black tendrils came.

Energy and matter twisted around him. Black goop surged up his limbs, red lines etching through the dark mass like scars across space itself. Tentacles burst outward, eleven in total, thick, writhing, oozing with chaotic force. The air shimmered around him with unnatural weight.

A ball of flickering black and red energy floated at the center of the acid trap—mantle forming—red eyes burning on the side of the semi-liquid sphere.

Mina’s heart sank instantly.

“What the hell is THAT?!” Kaminari shouted from behind cover.

The tentacles snapped outward.

Shadow—now something else—something more—surged straight through the acid like it was water, the corrosive fluid sizzling off him like mist.

“WHAT?!” Mina’s scream was swallowed by the next thing she knew—

One of the appendages coiled around her waist and SLAMMED her bodily into the nearest tree. Not hard enough to kill, but enough to leave her gasping for air and stuck in a crater.

Shadow reformed on the other side of the clearing in one flowing, muscle-twisting movement. The tentacles melted back into his skin, leaving steam and distortion in their wake.

He dusted himself off.

“…Heh,” Shadow smirked to himself, cracking his neck. “This one’s my favorite now.”

Kirishima—bloodied lip, cracked knuckles—staggered up, rage boiling in his chest.

“THAT’S BULLSHIT!”

Shadow tilted his head. “Skill issue.”

The class froze.

For half a second—there was just disbelief.

Then—

Bakugo, now fully back on his feet, exploded forward again with a roar.

Todoroki unleashed a burst of both fire and ice from opposite sides.

Iida accelerated past them, flanking with engine screams.

The second wave was coming.

Stronger. Faster. Angrier.

Shadow… smiled.

“Alright… round two.”

And he dove straight back into the fray.

Lightning cracked through the air like a jagged scream.

“EAT THIS!!” Kaminari roared, pushing his voltage to dangerous highs. His hands glowed gold, his hair sparked, and the air itself hummed.

The surge of energy lashed out toward Shadow—fast, wide, and blinding.

Shadow stood still.

For just a second, the world slowed.

Then—

With a flick of his wrist and a burst of Chaos energy, Shadow batted the lightning bolt aside like it was a loose thread.

The redirected surge struck the side of the lab’s exterior wall.

For a moment—nothing.

Then—

BWWWWWMMMMMMM—

The whole base shook.

Lights flickered. Sirens that hadn’t made a sound in centuries suddenly screamed to life.

From deep within the facility, grinding gears stirred. Old launch rails hissed as centuries-old hydraulics coughed themselves awake.

A glitchy, metallic voice—distorted and half-corrupted—blared over the external speakers:

“Ah… intruders… Unauthorized entry detected… Fascinating! I leave my Shadow androids… to deal with you! Based on… my grandfather’s… finest work! Ho-ho-ho…!”

Shadow froze.

That wasn’t Gerald’s voice.

But something about the laughter—it twisted his stomach.

“…What the hell did I just wake up?” Kaminari said, turning pale.

“Shadow what?!” Uraraka shouted, panic rising.

Todoroki’s eyes narrowed. “Did they just say ‘Shadow Androids?’”

Before Shadow could answer—

CLANK CLANK CLANK

Cannons popped out of the lab’s upper walls, turning and locking on target.

Pods the size of small cars launched out like mortar rounds, crashing down around the battlefield and kicking up dust and debris.

One pod cracked open.

Then another.

And another.

Figures rose from inside the wreckage.

Black fur.

Red stripes.

Air Shoes gleaming like polished steel.

Gold Limiters on their wrists.

Eyes glowing, red and cold.

For half the class—it took a second to process.

“Wait… those are—”

“…HIM?!” Kirishima shouted.

“No way—there’s like eight of him now!” Kaminari gasped, stumbling backward.

Even Shadow himself stared for a second, expression unreadable.

Some androids looked just like him, down to the smallest detail.

Others had variations, yellow stripes, blue-tinted sensors, even a silver, chrome-plated one with black eyes and red target sensors glowing like bullseyes.

The silver one stepped forward first, its voice buzzing like cracked speakers:

“Engaging… eliminating… threat…”

Shadow’s lip curled.

“…You may look like me…” He raised one hand, Chaos energy already swirling in his palm.

“But you’re just… a faker.”

Then he launched.

Straight into the nearest android with a Chaos-powered roundhouse kick that tore the bot’s head clean off its shoulders. Sparks exploded as the android collapsed.

The other androids swarmed.


Meanwhile Inside the monitoring room:

“WHAT ARE THOSE!?” Madam President snapped, pointing at the live drone feed showing the android army pouring from the lab.

The techs scrambled.

“They’re not Commission assets! Not from any G.U.N. archive we have!”

“Then whose project—”

"We don't know." The tech said "but they're brilliant just as brilliant as gerald."


Back on the battlefield 

“Focus fire!” Iida yelled. “Group formation! Support Shadow, whether we like it or not!”

“YES, SIR!”

Bakugo landed beside Shadow mid-fight, panting.

“WHAT THE HELL, HEDGEHOG!?” Bakugo roared, blasting an incoming android back with a point-blank explosion. “YOU COULD’VE WARNED US THIS WAS A THING!”

Shadow dodged a claw swipe from another silver unit, flipped backward, and Chaos Spear’d it straight through the chest.

“I didn’t know,” Shadow admitted, panting slightly.

“Wait, seriously!?”

“I have bigger problems right now.”

Meanwhile Todoroki unleashed a shock-freeze across half the field, icing three more into statues.

Kirishima hardened his skin to max and shoulder-checked one of the yellow-striped variants straight into the dirt.

But these androids weren’t just punching bags.

One of the blue-striped models blitzed past Kaminari and nailed him with a backhand that sent him sprawling into a tree.

Another dodged Uraraka’s gravity trap and opened fire with small arm-mounted energy blasts.

Sero tried binding two at once with tape—one cut through it with razor-edged fingers.

Mineta’s sticky balls did little—they just walked through.

Shadow himself blurred between the androids, smashing one’s torso inward with a Chaos Spear, spinning mid-air to dodge a swipe from the Metal Shadow Android, and teleporting behind another to drive his knee through its head casing.

“Damn things don’t stop coming…” Shadow hissed, panting slightly.

Todoroki shot ice pillars to shield the others.

“We need to find the control source!” Yaoyorozu called, already building a sonic disruptor cannon from scratch.

“I think the whole BASE is the control source!!” Kaminari yelled from the ground, still smoking from his own earlier attack.

Shadow landed beside Todoroki, ducking a swipe from one of the red-striped variants.

“Hey,” Todoroki said quickly, breathing hard. “You’ve fought stuff like this before, right? Any weak spots?!”

Shadow smirked faintly. “Yeah. One.”

“And that is—?”

Without answering, Shadow teleported behind the silver Metal Shadow Android—the strongest-looking one—and drove a Chaos-amped punch straight through its reactor core.

The entire bot crumpled like wet cardboard.

“…Punch them hard enough,” Shadow finished dryly.

Another explosion rocked the battlefield.

Bakugo took down two more. Jirou blasted another with a sonic barrage, giving Kirishima the opening to crack its head like a can.

It was chaos.

Pure, reckless chaos.

And yet—

For the first time since this all started…

Shadow was laughing.

Low, under his breath, but real.

“Finally, fighting alongside people,” he said, eyes burning bright as he dove back into the fray, launching a rapid volley of Chaos Spears into three more closing androids.

The war for the lab wasn’t over.

Not by a long shot.

But for now…

Shadow was right where he wanted to be.


A few minutes earlier

The air in the lab hung thick and stale like a tomb sealed centuries too long.

Eri crept through the dim corridors, clutching the hem of her hoodie, her eyes darting from corner to corner. Dust motes floated in the pale emergency lighting, stirred only by her cautious footsteps.

Somewhere deep in the lab, a new light flickered to life.

Doors hissed open.

Hydraulic seals broke for the first time in over a millennium.

A faint, pulsating glow drew her eye.

Down the hall… through a dented archway… resting atop a cracked stone pedestal surrounded by shattered glass tubes…

A green gemstone sat like a beacon.

It shimmered, faint but steady. Almost humming.

Eri’s eyes widened. She hesitated, glancing back over her shoulder toward the distant, muffled sounds of battle from the surface—echoes of Papa still fighting outside.

Her little hands trembled, but she took a step forward. Then another. And another.

Reaching out, she touched the gem.

Warm.

Alive, somehow.

The second her fingers closed around the Chaos Emerald—

BZZZZZTTT-KRAK!

The room lit up like a supernova.

Consoles along the wall exploded with life. Screens crackled. Alarms chirped, distorted by time and disrepair. Rusted pistons shook, gears turning after centuries of silence.

Then—

WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-CLANK!

From the corner…

Two red optics flared to life.

[VOICE DETECTED]

[INTRUSION DETECTED]

[ORDER: PROTECT EMERALD UNTIL FURTHER INSTRUCTION]

Gears whirred. Joints cracked with the sound of grinding metal.

For the first time in over a millennium, E-123 Omega moved.


Eri smiled softly, holding the stone to her chest like a stuffed toy. She turned around to head back down the hall—

Click-ch-ch-ch.

The sound froze her blood.

She looked up slowly.

And found herself staring directly into the rotating barrels of a full-sized minigun aimed straight at her head.

“WHO. ARE. YOU.”

The voice was deep. Robotic. Rattling with speaker distortion and low-bass aggression.

Eri’s eyes widened. “I-I’m Eri! I didn’t mean to take your gem!” she yelped, holding the emerald out like an apology gift.

The towering machine didn’t lower the gun.

Instead, it took one slow mechanical step forward, servos whining.

The red optics glowed brighter.

“IT IS NOT MINE. IT IS MY CREATOR’S.”

“…Oh,” Eri breathed, blinking rapidly. “Where is he?”

“UNKNOWN.” The voice paused, as if accessing memories.

Then:

“DR. IVO ROBOTNIK GAVE ME THIS ORDER ON DECEMBER 30TH… 2003.”

Eri blinked. Her small hands clenched tighter around the emerald.

“…It’s… uh… it’s 3570.”

There was a beat of absolute silence.

”…”

The minigun slowly lowered.

Then Omega screamed.

“IT’S BEEN 1,567 YEARS!?”

The force of his voice shook dust from the ceiling.

Eri flinched but nodded carefully—even if she had no idea if her math was right.

Omega’s entire frame trembled. Metal creaked.

“I HAVE BEEN… ABANDONED!?”

The lights flickered. Consoles sparked. A nearby terminal exploded.

For a second, Eri feared he was going to destroy the whole lab.

But before she could say anything else—

BOOOOOOM.

An explosion rocked the outside yard.

Dust burst from the lab doors.

Omega’s optics sharpened.

“DANGER TO EMERALD DETECTED.”

Without another word, the towering war machine lunged forward, scooping Eri up one-handed like she weighed nothing.

“W-Wait! Where are we—AHHH!”


Back Outside

Shadow had just slammed a Shadow android into the ground with a Chaos Snap and a kickwhen he froze mid-motion.

His ears twitched.

The ground trembled again.

And then—

CRASH!!!

The side of the lab exploded outward.

A black and red juggernaut burst onto the field, kicking up smoke and debris.

Omega.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!” Bakugo yelled, scrambling back, sparks still crackling off his palms.

Before anyone could react, Omega bulldozed right through Sero and Shoji like a damn freight train. Jiro’s sonic waves barely slowed him.

Omega’s minigun spun up instantly.

And he opened fire—not on Shadow—but on the still-standing Shadow Androids.

“FRAUDULENT LIFE SIGNS DETECTED. TARGET DESIGNATION: INFERIOR MACHINES.”

The closest Android barely had time to turn its head before being blown into shrapnel.

“ANOTHER ONE?!” Kaminari shouted, already charging up his next bolt.

Kirishima tried to harden up and block Omega head-on—big mistake. Omega shoulder-checked him like a bowling pin, sending him flipping end over end through a destroyed scaffold.

Mina blinked in disbelief. “WHAT IS THAT THING?!” she shrieked.

Todoroki barely conjured an ice wall in time to block a stray explosion. “New enemy?!”

Shadow stood there, mid-sprint, eyes locked on the chaos unfolding. His mind reeled.

That wasn’t ARK tech.

That wasn’t G.U.N.

And whoever this robot was… it knew how to fight.

More importantly—

It was carrying Eri like she was royalty.

Shadow exhaled sharply, a crooked smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth despite himself.

“…Okay. I’m officially curious.”

Eri, clinging tightly to Omega’s shoulder, peeked over at her Papa, waved, and shouted at the top of her lungs:

“LOOK PAPA! I MADE A NEW FRIEND!”

Shadow sighed.

Today was absolutely unhinged.

And it wasn’t even lunchtime yet.

But of course...

“PAPA!?”

That single word detonated through Class 1-A like a verbal grenade.

Every single student stopped mid-attack.

Kirishima froze, halfway through a punch.

Mina’s acid shot went wide.

Uraraka nearly tripped over her own feet.

Bakugo’s explosion fizzled in his palm.

Todoroki’s ice cracked and crumbled before it even left his fingertips.

Even the HPSC command center—monitoring live—went dead silent.

Mirko, watching the feed, just blinked and muttered, “The hell…?”

Present Mic, still rubbing the bruise Shadow left on him yesterday, stood in front of the central monitor and just whispered, “…Did she just say Papa?”

Nezu nearly spit out his tea.


Before anyone could even finish processing the word—

BOOM!

Omega body-slammed one of the remaining Shadow Androids so hard into the ground that the entire battlefield shook.

The tremor cracked pavement, sent dust into the air, and knocked half the Class off their feet.

Everyone’s balance tilted from the shockwave.

Kirishima, still flat on his ass, looked up at the towering red-and-black mech and whimpered, “Oh… cool… a bigger nightmare…”

Omega didn’t even acknowledge them.

His optics were locked on the remaining Androids. One by one, he rotated his minigun, counting targeting coordinates with chilling precision.

“REMAINING HOSTILES… IRRELEVANT.”


Meanwhile, Eri sprinted to Shadow, still clutching something glowing tightly in her hands.

Shadow, kneeling to catch her, blinked as she shoved it toward him.

“Here!” she said breathlessly. “I found it! It… it felt important! For you!”

Shadow’s breath caught in his throat.

The moment his fingers closed over it—

The world sharpened.

The air around him bent. The pain in his muscles faded instantly.

The Chaos Emerald pulsed in his palm—pure, tangible power.

For the first time in centuries, he felt whole.


Nezu, watching from the feed, paled.

“Is that—?”

“Yes sir!” yelled one of the techs from the HPSC base, already panicking. “Unknown energy source just spiked off the scale! It’s the same wavelength as his previous Chaos Control events but… exponentially higher! We don’t know what that thing is!”

Nezu took another sip of tea.

And said nothing.

He wasn't talking about the energy, he was mostly talking to himself

But hey the emeralds are real.


Back at the battlefield 

Omega’s shoulder compartments opened with a mechanical hiss.

“CALCULATING CLEAN-UP PROTOCOL.”

“INITIATING FINAL MISSION STEP: ERADICATION.”

“Wait. Wait, wait, WAIT—” Kirishima started.

But it was too late.

WHOOSH—KABOOM.

A cluster missile launched from Omega’s shoulder and arced straight at the lab.

The entire facility, every wall, every server, every lingering scrap of potential data, vaporized in a flash of white-orange light.

A flaming mushroom cloud erupted where the lab used to stand.

Shadow Smiled

This place clearly had data on him but now it's gone.

Perfect.

“Time to go,” he muttered.

Tightening his grip on the Emerald, Shadow lifted one hand high.

Energy surged around him. The air bent, warping with sudden force.

“CHAOS CONTROL!”

The space around Shadow, Omega, and Eri fractured like glass, light tearing the air apart at the seams.

In one pulse of green and white…

They were gone.


When the energy flash faded, Class 1-A stood frozen.

Smoke. Silence. Heat distortion.

Nothing but cratered earth and smoldering lab wreckage where Shadow and his allies had stood.

Kirishima was the first to speak.

“…Did… did we just lose?”

“…Yeah,” Bakugo growled, fists trembling.

“WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?” Kaminari yelled.


At HPSC command, absolute chaos reigned.

“WE LOST THE LAB!”

“SIGNAL GONE!”

“THE WHOLE FACILITY’S GONE! THE WHOLE LAB IS GONE!”

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ROBOT!?”

“AND HOW DID SHADOW USE CHAOS CONTROL AT THAT MAGNITUDE?!”

Madam President stood silent, watching the flames roll across the live satellite feed.

Her hands trembled...once.

Just once.

Then she straightened her jacket.

“…I want full reports in an hour,” she said coolly.

“And find me a way to stop that thing.”

No one dared ask if she meant Shadow…

…or Omega.

"Ma'am We don't even know the robot's name." An aide said

"Then find out and get I-Island on the phone. They Scientists there need to see this." Madam president

 

Meanwhile, far away, miles outside the blast radius, deep in the abandoned tunnels of the outskirts.

Shadow, Eri, and Omega stood in the dust-choked ruins of an old station.

Shadow exhaled slow.

His eyes still glowed faintly green.

The Chaos Emerald hummed in his grasp.

Behind him, Omega just threw his arm up.

“TARGETS… ELIMINATED.”

Eri smiled weakly. “You guys are really good at making things explode.”

Shadow chuckled under his breath, still holding the Emerald tight.

“…You get used to it."

But deep inside

Shadow could feel it now.

Everything was escalating.

Too fast.

Too big.

And this was just the beginning.

Notes:

MY GOAT OMEGA IS HERE!

Chapter 16: Team dark

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The mood in the Hero Public Safety Commission’s war room was… tense.

Actually, “tense” didn’t do it justice.

The air buzzed with anxiety, anger, disbelief, and full-blown meltdown-level chaos. The main monitor showed frozen footage of the lab’s destruction: a roaring fireball, black smoke curling into the sky. Another screen looped the clearest image they had of the new player, the hulking red-and-black machine that had bulldozed through Class 1-A like they were made of cardboard.

Someone had helpfully labeled the footage: “GIANT DEATH MACHINE ????”

Another screen showed Shadow, still holding Eri vanishing via Chaos Control. Again.

And a fourth screen…

This one showed the leaked public footage.

People cheering for Shadow.

Calling him things like “Antihero,” “Protector,” and “the only person that little girl trusts.”

A hero in black.

It was a PR nightmare in real-time.


Madam President’s eye twitched.

She turned slowly toward the conference table where Japan’s top and Teacher heroes now sat.

Endeavor. Best Jeanist. Edgeshot. Ryukyu. Mirko. Fat Gum. Gang Orca. Kamui Woods. Wash. And Present Mic and Ectoplasm, still bandaged from their recent encounter with the target.

Aizawa stood off to the side, arms crossed, face unreadable.

Nezu sat perched on the far end of the table. Watching. Smiling. Like this was all very… entertaining.

“Alright…” Madam President finally said, voice low and measured. “…Let’s go down the list.”

She raised a finger.

“One. The Gem.”

A tech brought up the energy readouts.

“This object, retrieved by the child, Eri emits the exact same energy signature as Project Shadow. We don’t know what it is, where it came from, or how it ended up in that lab. The only thing we do know is that after acquiring it… Shadow’s power output quadrupled.”

“Quadrupled?!” Best Jeanist repeated, visibly paling.

“Yes.” The President rubbed her temples. “Also… we lost all tracking the moment he used it.”


“Two. The Death Machine.”

Footage of Omega flattening Shadow Androids replayed on the screen.

“We still don’t know what it is, where it came from, or how it activates,” the tech continued. “It ignored all non-lethal countermeasures. It shrugged off direct hits from multiple 1-A students. And most importantly—”

Click.

A still frame of Omega’s shoulder compartments opening, missiles deploying.

“—it nuked the lab. And casually walked away.”

“Does it have a name?” Mirko asked.

“No recorded designation,” the analyst said. “For now we’re tagging it as ‘Big Red Murderbot.’”

“Very scientific,” Edgeshot muttered.


“Three. The Squid Incident.”

Another monitor showed grainy drone footage of Shadow’s new tentacled transformation, captured during his acid escape.

A second still image showed the wreckage of four Class 1-A students sprawled around the site.

“We still don’t know what this form is,” said the analyst. “But our scientists believe it’s a biologically unstable offshoot of his standard chaos state. Increased regeneration. Increased mobility. Increased attack range. Likely tied to that energy signature again.”

“He’s mutating?!” Ryukyu said sharply.

“Appears so.”


“Four. The Robot Shadows.”

Another screen filled with still images of the Shadow Androids.

Silver bodies. Yellow stripes. Red optical sensors. Wrong-colored fakers.

“They’re built from alloy samples we haven’t identified,” the tech said nervously. “They move like him. They hit like him. They bleed energy like him. And we have no idea how many exist.”

Edgeshot spoke quietly: “Do we know who made them?”

The room went quiet.

“…No.”


“Five. The Lab.”

The president gestured at the burnt ruins.

“We initially believed the facility to be one of Gerald Robotnik’s old bases.”

“Based on your briefing,” Endeavor rumbled, “it wasn’t.”

“Correct.” The President’s voice grew sharper. “There are design elements… but they don’t fully match Gerald’s work. And before anyone asks—no, we don’t know who built it. But based on the recorded voice logs…” She clicked another button.

The speakers played the distorted, glitchy voice again:

“Based on my grandfather’s finest work…”

Silence.

“Whoever built that lab,” the President said coldly, “is a direct descendant of Gerald Robotnik.”

“And we don’t know who that is,” Fat Gum said.

“Correct.”

“And the lab’s blown up now,” Aizawa muttered.

“Correct again.”


“Six. Public Fallout.”

Footage rolled of civilians online reacting to Shadow’s latest escape.

“I dunno… the guy’s violent but… he didn’t kill the students.”

“You see how he protected that little girl? No hesitation.”

“Maybe he’s not the villain here?”

“That robot though?? Oh hell no. Keep that thing away from my neighborhood.”

“Wait did that girl just call him… ‘Papa?’”


And that brought them to the final point.

The President stared at the monitor.

The clip replayed.

Eri’s tiny voice, cutting through the chaos:

“Papa!”

Followed by Omega slamming an Android like a meteor.

Mirko openly gawked despite hearing it once already .

Jeanist sat back, one gloved hand on his forehead.

Fat Gum slowly exhaled.

“…What the actual hell…” Edgeshot whispered.

Aizawa remained dead silent.

(I've been Robbed) he thought

Present Mic just sank lower in his chair.

Ryukyu rubbed her temples. “Are we being pranked? Is this a prank?”

Kamui Woods broke first.

“WHY IS SHE CALLING HIM PAPA!?”

“That’s what I wanna know!!” Mirko shouted, slamming her fist on the table. “Since when!?”

“Since apparently two days ago,” Nezu chimed in from the end of the table, voice sweet as syrup. “It seems… Mr. Shadow has decided on a familial role and now no longer sees Eri as Maria.”

“YOU’RE ENJOYING THIS!” Endeavor barked at him.

Nezu just gave a bright, knowing smile.

The President took a slow breath. “Let me be very clear: We are now sitting on a powder keg of public confusion, fractured trust, misinformation, and escalating pro-Shadow civilian support.”

She slammed her hand on the table.

“We CANNOT afford another loss.”


Everyone in the room straightened.

Madam President turned toward the largest screen—where Shadow, holding Eri with Omega behind him, froze mid-leap from their last known sighting.

“We find him,” she said darkly.

“We bring him down.”

“Or this time next week… Hero Society won’t survive the fallout.”

No one argued.

But from his spot, Nezu only smiled wider.

Because privately?

He already had a very different plan.


The soft scrape of crayon against paper filled the abandoned train station.

The place wasn’t much—a gutted commuter platform long since reclaimed by dust, cracked tile, and weeds punching through concrete. Moonlight slipped in through busted roof panels, illuminating the corner where Eri sat cross-legged on the floor, tongue poking from the side of her mouth in deep concentration.

Shadow sat nearby on an old bench, legs stretched, one arm slung lazily across the backrest. His coat was draped beside him, drying from earlier rain. Omega stood near the far wall like an immovable statue, still as death except for the quiet whir of internal fans cooling his core.

The air was calm. For once.

For now.

Shadow glanced up from cleaning the scratches off his Air Shoes, watching Eri scribble furiously with a bright red crayon.

“…What are you doing?” he asked, voice lazy but curious.

“I’m drawing us,” Eri said, not looking up.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. “Us?”

“Uh-huh!”

She held the paper at arm’s length, squinting at it. Then she frowned and pulled out a black crayon.

Shadow let out a soft breath that might’ve been a chuckle.

Omega’s optical sensors flickered to life.

“DO I HAVE A ROLE IN THIS PROJECT?” Omega’s voice boomed from across the platform.

Eri’s grin widened.

“Yup! You’re the biggest one!”

Omega made a pleased, almost smug humming sound from deep within his frame. His shoulder joints shifted slightly, as if he were preening.

Eri kept coloring.

A bat with big cartoonish ears and tiny, goofy wings sat at the top of the page. The words “ROUGE” were scribbled in thick pink letters above it.

At the center was a tall hedgehog—black with red stripes, white gloves, gold rings around his wrists. She drew him with an over-the-top dramatic pose: arms crossed, eyes narrowed, standing like he owned the planet.

And below both of them…

A hulking robot, blocky and fierce, with angry red eyes and shoulder-mounted missile pods. She’d drawn extra spikes on Omega’s wrists just for flair.

At the bottom of the paper, she carefully wrote: “TEAM DARK”

Shadow finally stood and walked over.

He knelt beside her and tilted his head to look at the drawing.

“…Team Dark?” he repeated.

“It’s the only name I could think of that sounded cool… and…” Eri hesitated, twirling the crayon between her fingers, “…something you and Omega would like.”

Omega’s systems pinged with interest.

“STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NAME: ACCEPTABLE.”

Shadow smirked, amused despite himself. “Hmph. I’ve heard worse.”

Eri’s face lit up like a sunrise.

Shadow studied the drawing again. His eyes lingered on the bat. “Who’s that supposed to be? The… Rouge?”

“That’s me!” Eri chirped proudly.

“…Huh.”

She grinned wider. “I wanna be an animal too! Like you! I was thinking maybe a bat ‘cause I saw one in the tunnels last night and it looked cute.”

Shadow’s face stayed blank, but deep down… something warm shifted. Something soft. Unfamiliar.

Eri pulled out a purple crayon and started adding swirly doodles around the edges. “And I like how they fly… and their ears are funny… and they’re small but fast!”

Omega’s head swiveled toward Shadow. “THE CHILD SHOWS A PENCHANT FOR STRATEGIC MASCOT DESIGNATION.”

“…You’re encouraging this,” Shadow muttered.

“I ENCOURAGE ALL FORMS OF OFFENSIVE MORALE.”

Shadow rolled his eyes but didn’t argue.

Instead, he crouched fully beside Eri, pointing at the middle figure she’d drawn. “You made me too tall.”

“No I didn’t,” Eri said.

Shadow blinked. “I’m not that tall.”

“You are in my head.”

That… caught him off guard.

Before he could say anything, Eri grabbed a blue crayon and started drawing something else at the bottom corner of the page.

Another figure.

Tiny. Chubby. With little wings.

Shadow frowned, tilting his head. “…What’s that supposed to be?”

“That’s Maria.”

Shadow froze.

The word hit him like an unexpected punch to the chest.

For a long second, he couldn’t breathe.

Eri didn’t notice. Or if she did, she didn’t stop coloring.

“She’s not here,” Eri said softly, carefully filling in the wings with pale yellow, “but I wanted her on the team too… ‘cause she’s important to you.”

Shadow’s mouth opened.

But nothing came out.

Instead, he just closed his eyes… and smiled.

Small. Barely there.

But real.

“Thanks… Rouge.”

Eri’s face lit up again.

Omega’s optical sensors pinged softly. “MORALE LEVELS SPIKING.”

Shadow sighed through his nose. “Shut up, Omega.”

“I CANNOT.”


Time passed.

Eri kept drawing, adding stars, doodles, and weird patterns to the margins.

Omega stayed in silent sentinel mode, scanning every few seconds for HPSC drones.

Shadow… just sat there, letting the quiet fill him.

For once… it wasn’t a bad quiet.

No orders. No containment squads. No heroes screaming at him.

Just… his weird, makeshift “team.”

His daughter.

His… oversized death robot.

And a half-finished crayon drawing titled “Team Dark.”

Shadow leaned back, staring at the cracked ceiling.

For the first time in a long time… he felt something almost like peace.

Almost.

Because deep down… he knew this wouldn’t last.

But for tonight?

Tonight, it would.

And heaven help the world when it ended.

"SHADOW I HAVE A QUESTION." Omega asked

"Yes Omega?"

"DO WE HAVE ANY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION BESIDES CHAOS CONTROL BECAUSE IT WOULD BE OPTIMAL SO OUR ENEMIES DONT FULLY FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS." Omega said

"I used to but it was destroyed." Shadow said, crossing his arms

And then he got an idea

What's one more grand thief auto charge?

Notes:

(Eri’s rouge is more like cream the rabbit than canon rouge)

Chapter 17: Doom surf

Chapter Text

The warehouse district near Musutafu’s edge sat abandoned, long since written off after villain attacks had gutted most of its infrastructure. Crumbling asphalt. Half-melted steel supports. Broken glass littered the ground like sharp confetti. In other words… perfect.

Shadow surveyed the area with sharp, calculating eyes. Eri stood nearby, her small hands nervously clutching the hem of her new blue dress. Omega loomed beside them, quiet but radiating enough threat potential to make any bystanders rethink their life choices.

Shadow’s bike—the first one, the one he’d stolen and customized—was gone. Reduced to scrap metal and melted plastic thanks to Endeavor back at the Pro Hero Assault site.

He hadn’t forgotten.

Shadow flexed his fists.

“That was for my bike,” he muttered again under his breath, still holding onto the anger like a familiar weapon.

Omega’s voice broke the silence.

“TARGET ACQUISITION REQUIRED: NEW TRANSPORT VEHICLE.”

Shadow nodded.

“Exactly.”


They didn’t bother with subtlety.

Shadow, moving faster than human eyes could track, led Omega and Eri straight toward a secured HPSC storage yard.

Rows of confiscated vehicles sat behind a hastily-reinforced perimeter. Military bikes. Tactical transports. Old armored vans. Even some prototype models too experimental for field use.

Perfect.

Shadow’s eyes narrowed as he locked onto one bike near the center: Black matte finish. Reinforced frame. Dual thrusters mounted low along the chassis. Something close to a next-gen assault cycle.

Fast. Durable. Efficient.

“Omega,” Shadow said.

Omega’s cannons rotated with a cheerful electronic whine. “TARGET CONFIRMED. PROCEEDING WITH ENTRY.”

By “entry,” Omega of course meant blowing the entire front gate apart.

One railgun shot later, steel and concrete turned to dust.

Alarms screamed.

Searchlights snapped on.

Guards started yelling from watchtowers.

Shadow didn’t care.

He blurred forward with Chaos-enhanced speed, disabling every camera and spotlight within seconds. A blur of red and black flickering through the yard. Guards hit the ground before they could draw weapons.

In the middle of the chaos, Eri stayed crouched behind a stack of crates, watching wide-eyed as Shadow dismantled the entire defense perimeter solo.

Omega cleared the last tower with a single plasma barrage.

Silence settled.

Smoke drifted upward.

Shadow stood over the now-unlocked bike, inspecting the engine block with a satisfied grunt.

“Acceptable.”

But one thing was missing.

Shadow turned to Omega. “We’ll need a sidecar.”

Omega processed this for exactly 0.03 seconds. “AGREED.”


The next hour became a blur of stolen tools, scrap metal scavenging, and improvised engineering.

Shadow stripped two security drones for their servos and support brackets. Omega tore apart a small armored personnel carrier to repurpose its reinforced plating. Together, without words, like it was some ancient instinct, they began welding a sidecar frame onto the right side of the bike.

Omega handled the heavy lifting, clamping metal parts into place with mechanical precision.

Shadow did the fine tuning. Rewiring the throttle system. Reinforcing the shocks. Recalibrating the weight distribution so the bike wouldn’t pull too hard right at high speeds.

Eri sat cross-legged nearby, swinging her legs as she watched the two of them work. Occasionally, she’d offer helpful things like “That part’s shiny!” or “Don’t forget to make it fast!” which Shadow took as critical design feedback.

By the time the sun started to dip toward the horizon, the bike was ready.

Matte black.

Twin exhausts.

New reinforced tires for both land and shallow water traversal.

And—

The sidecar.

Compact but armored. Padded interior. Secured harness for Eri.

Shadow wiped the grease off his gloves, took one long look at their work, and allowed himself the barest hint of a smile.

“Dark Rider Two,” he said aloud, with finality.

Omega paused, optics adjusting focus. “CONFIRMATION: DESIGNATION ACCEPTED.”

Eri tilted her head, confused but smiling. “Dark Rider… two?”

"Yes I will never forget the first." Shadow said "This one is better I think."

Omega leaned down, speaking in his usual booming monotone: “UPGRADED ARMOR PLATING. INCREASED SPEED POTENTIAL. ADDITIONAL IMPACT RESISTANCE. ESTIMATED SURVIVAL RATE FOR ESCORT TARGET: HIGHER THAN PREVIOUS MODEL.”

“…Thanks, Omega,” Eri giggled, giving the robot a tiny thumbs-up.

Shadow swung one leg over the bike, motioning for her to climb into the sidecar. She scrambled in, buckling herself in with the straps he’d modified for her size.

The engine rumbled to life with a deep, satisfying growl.

Shadow revved the throttle once, just enough to make the entire frame vibrate with controlled fury.

Omega stood off to the side, running internal targeting scans on the horizon like a mobile artillery unit ready for the next battle.

Shadow pulled his goggles down over his eyes.

“Time to go.”

With that—

They shot forward out of the ruined yard, crashing through what little fencing remained. The wheels kicked up dirt and debris as they hit the open road, a black blur streaking away toward the coastline.

Behind them, HPSC drones started to appear on the radar.

Didn’t matter.

They weren’t catching him.

So he flipped them off


Later

The abandoned coastline stretched wide and gray beneath the overcast sky. Salt wind whipped through broken concrete and twisted rebar. Crashed ships and derelict cranes sat like fallen giants in the distance. Eri clung tighter to Shadow’s sidecar seat, her blue dress flapping wildly in the sea breeze as their bike tore across the cracked asphalt.

Shadow felt it before he heard it.

That same crawling migraine, deep inside the base of his skull, like knives digging at his brainstem. His vision blurred, the color leeching out of the world for just a second.

Not again.

He squeezed the throttle harder, engine roaring louder, but the headache didn’t fade. It spread like static down his spine.

“Papa?” Eri’s voice cut through. Soft. Worried.

Shadow slowed the bike, tires skidding with a screech as he brought them to a stop near the waterfront.

“Stay here.”

He stepped off, shaking out his gloved hands like he could physically shake off the pain crawling inside him. His breath caught—vision doubled again.

Behind him, the air cracked.

A green blur.

Of course.

Midoriya.


“SHADOW!”

Midoriya landed hard on the cracked pavement, One For All lightning flickering wild across his arms.

His face was pale, hair messier than usual. There were bags under his eyes. Scrapes down his face. His costume was torn in places. But worse than all that—

That look again.

The stubborn one.

The one that didn’t understand the word “stop.”

“I’m taking Eri back,” Midoriya shouted. "And you won't stop me!"

Shadow didn’t answer immediately. He pressed two fingers to his temple, grimacing. His other hand clenched into a fist.

This headache was different from the others.

Worse.

Midoriya started forward, powering up. “You can’t just keep running! She’s not your—!”

Shadow’s eyes snapped open.

The air twisted.

The ground beneath him cracked apart, a sudden rush of pressurized wind exploding outward like a pulse bomb.

Midoriya staggered back, blinking. “What the hell—?”

The water beyond the docks surged.

Something massive pushed its way up from the surface of the ground—a manta ray-like construct made of dense, semi-organic black matter. Like muscle and energy molded into one grotesque but graceful shape.

A Doom Surf.

Shadow didn’t know its name. Didn’t care.

All he knew—

He could move across water now.

Shadow moved with the floating construct, scooping Eri up with one smooth motion as she squeaked in surprise.

Midoriya’s jaw dropped. “Wait—WHAT?!”

Shadow turned, already shifting his weight as the manta began gliding fast across the waves. His voice low, a growl just loud enough for Midoriya to hear:

“I can travel water more easily now.”

And with that—

They were gone. Surfing across open sea at impossible speed.


Midoriya stood there, dumbfounded. Salt spray hit his face.

“I… what the hell was THAT?!”

He didn’t have long to process it.

Because a new shadow fell over him.

Heavy. Mechanical. Looming.

Midoriya turned just in time to see the burning red optics of E-123 Omega step into view, the dock trembling under each footstep.

Omega’s voice rumbled, loud and metallic: “TARGET… IDENTIFIED.”

Midoriya’s heart skipped.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!” he yelled, stumbling backward, charging up One For All instinctively.

Omega paused, as if considering.

Then:

“GOOD QUESTION. I HAVE A BETTER ONE THOUGH.”

A long pause.

“WHAT’S THAT THING ON YOUR FACE?”

Midoriya blinked, confused. “What thing—?”

“MY FIST!"

As he said this Omega’s servos screamed as he launched forward at speed impossible for something his size. Midoriya’s eyes went wide.

“OH CRAP—!”

Omega’s punch landed square in Midoriya’s face.

There was no time to dodge. No time to reinforce his guard. One second Midoriya was standing, the next he was airborne, launched like a missile through three half-collapsed warehouses in a row.

The final impact left a Midoriya-shaped crater in a shipping container.

Steam hissed from Omega’s cannons as he stomped forward, unbothered.

“THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE.”

Omega paused again, scanning with visible red gridlines across his HUD.

“…NOW REDUCED TO LOW.”


Shadow, still riding the Doom Surf with Eri clinging tightly to his chest, felt the headache easing as they sped further away across the waves.

Good.

Whatever this new mutation was… it was already stabilizing.

“Papa… your head… are you okay?” Eri whispered, voice trembling.

“I’ll live,” Shadow said shortly.

Eri nodded into his jacket, squeezing tighter.

For the first time since unlocking these unknown powers… he recognized the pattern.

A transformation under stress.

A spike in strength.

Headaches preceding each one.

His body was… evolving.

Again.

It annoyed him.

Shadow didn’t know the names for any of these abilities. He didn’t care what anyone would’ve called them in a lab or in some ancient file.

They were just… instincts.

Instincts to survive.

To protect.

He looked down at the little girl clinging to him, her small fingers still grasping the edge of his chest armor.

He wasn't sure what Eri thought of this.

But he wasn’t giving her up.

Not for anyone.


Back onshore, Midoriya groaned and clawed his way out of the container wreckage. His face was already swelling from the punch.

“What… was that thing?” he rasped, coughing dust and blood.

His ribs felt cracked. At least two.

His brain felt scrambled.

But none of that mattered.

He forced himself upright, trembling with adrenaline and exhaustion.

Somewhere out there—

Shadow still had Eri.

And Midoriya… wasn’t stopping.

Not now.

Not ever.


The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky with streaks of orange and purple as Shadow returned on doom surf the construct disappearing back into him, near the abandoned coastline. The air smelled like salt and ozone, still charged from the chaos he’d just left behind with Midoriya.

His headache was fading now, dull but persistent like a leftover static charge buzzing at the back of his mind.

Eri clung tightly to his chest, still shaken but holding on.

Shadow landed in a crouch, boots skidding slightly against the cracked pavement. Without hesitation, he stood, scanning the horizon.

There.

Dark Rider 2 sat exactly where he’d left it earlier that morning. Hidden behind a broken wall of shipping containers, engine still intact, the matte black paint gleaming faintly under the dying light.

A faint sense of satisfaction settled in his chest.

Good. At least something today hadn’t been destroyed.

He walked toward the bike, Eri still in his arms.

Behind them, the air shifted with a deep mechanical thruster pulse.

Omega landed moments later—dropping from the sky like a warhead, servos hissing as his retro boosters cut off mid-air to soften the impact.

“ESCAPE ROUTE: RE-ACQUIRED,” Omega announced, scanning the perimeter with glowing red optics.

Shadow didn’t waste time. He settled Eri into her sidecar seat with practiced ease, buckling her in and double-checking the safety harness.

“You good?” he asked, voice low but steady.

Eri nodded quickly, eyes still wide but trusting.

Shadow slid onto the bike seat, gripping the handlebars.

The engine roared to life.

The sound vibrated through the cracked concrete like a declaration.

Shadow revved the throttle once for good measure.

Behind him, Omega’s boosters flared to life again, plasma burn lighting up the space between them in a golden-red burst as the giant war machine lifted just above ground level, hovering beside the bike like an airborne sentry.

Shadow smirked under his breath.

“Let’s move.”


The Dark Rider 2 tore down the coastal highway, tires shrieking with every sharp turn.

Shadow leaned into the curves, each movement fluid and controlled. The sidecar stayed balanced, the custom suspension eating up the uneven terrain as they tore through the outskirts of the industrial zone.

Omega kept pace effortlessly.

His thrusters flared behind him in controlled bursts—short, efficient jets of propulsion that let him hover a few meters off the ground at high speeds. Every few seconds, he’d adjust altitude or reposition, maintaining a tight formation alongside Shadow and Eri like a loyal attack drone.

Occasionally, Omega’s arm-mounted cannons would swivel, scanning the skyline for pursuit craft or drones.

So far—nothing.

But that wouldn’t last.

Eri’s hair whipped in the wind as she peeked out over the side of the bike, grinning for the first time since their fight with Midoriya.

The fear hadn’t fully left her eyes… but it was fading. Replaced now with that stubborn little smile she’d been learning to wear lately.

Shadow caught the glimpse of her grin in the bike’s side mirror.

Good.

Let her enjoy this.

For now.


After several miles of empty road, Shadow finally slowed the bike, pulling them off onto an old, overgrown trail leading toward a forgotten rail tunnel near the cliffs.

Natural cover. Hard to track. Perfect for tonight.

The bike’s engine quieted to a low purr as he killed the ignition.

Omega landed beside them, dust rising from his impact.

Shadow climbed off, helping Eri unbuckle from the sidecar.

“Rest here,” he said, already scanning the area for threats. “We’ll move again soon.”

Omega stood watch at the tunnel entrance, plasma cannons quietly charging at low power—just in case.

Eri sat cross-legged near the bike, hugging her knees, watching the sunset.

Shadow took a moment, leaning back against Dark Rider 2.

His eyes drifted shut for just a second.

Another close call.

Another power unlocked.

More headaches… both literal and metaphorical.

But they were still moving.

Still free.

And as long as that stayed true… he could keep going.

Shadow cracked one eye open, glancing toward Omega.

“Any new signals?”

Omega’s optics flickered. “NEGATIVE. PURSUIT UNITS: STILL DISORGANIZED. PROBABILITY OF IMMEDIATE ENGAGEMENT: LOW.”

Shadow let out a slow breath. “Good.”

He looked toward Eri, watching as she pulled a tiny crayon from her jacket pocket and started doodling on a nearby piece of driftwood.

Drawing again.

Shadow didn’t know how long they’d have this kind of peace.

But for now?

He’d take it.

With one last glance at the sunset, Shadow pushed off the bike, crossed his arms, and stood watch alongside Omega, waiting for whatever came next.

Because they both knew it wouldn’t be long.

Not in this world.

Not for them.

Chapter 18: Big moves

Chapter Text

Jaku General Hospital was quiet.

Too quiet.

Which was exactly how Kyudai Garaki liked it.

Inside a darkened subterranean lab, dozens of green stasis tanks bubbled rhythmically. High-End Nomu floated in varying stages of readiness. The glow from their containment fluid painted the cavern walls a sickly hue.

Steel clanged softly as Garaki shuffled through his lab, white coat swaying. He wore his public mask, round glasses and a permanent, warm, elderly smile. But down here, behind fifteen biometric locks and a triple-baffled sound barrier, there was no need for pretense.

This was his domain.

And today...today was special.

“Ahhh… yes, yes, yes,” he hummed, voice trembling with giddy restraint as he approached the thick glass pod at the center of the room. “You were quite a mess when we recovered you… scorched cortex, cauterized brain stem, a fully severed soul-chain. Yet…”

The fluid-filled tube bubbled softly, revealing the figure within.

It was Hawks.

Or what had once been Hawks.

Now reassembled and refitted, his flesh was paler, marked with vein-like filaments of dark synthetic muscle. His eyes, once bright and teasing, glowed dimly red. Artificial black wings jutted from his back, now forged from reinforced Nomu tissue and interwoven steel sinew. Beneath the surface, six Quirks pulsed through him. His brain was visible like all the others

Kyudai beamed.

“…You’re magnificent.”

A rustling presence emerged behind him.

The air shimmered.

And All For One stepped into view.

No longer bound in Tartarus restraints, he wore his regal battle armor again, dark cloak sweeping behind, the mask over his face alive with embedded sensors and reactive plating. His hands, clasped behind his back.

“Doctor,” he said calmly.

Kyudai spun, a little too fast, nearly tripping over his own feet.

“M-my master! You’re here! Forgive me, I didn’t expect—though of course, of course you’d want to be present for today’s awakening—!”

All For One chuckled lowly. “Calm yourself, Kyudai. I’m pleased.”

The doctor’s breath hitched, smile twitching upward. “He is ready.”

“Has he retained anything?” All For One asked, stepping closer to the tank. He examined the floating Nomu with surgical precision.

Kyudai shook his head. “No memories. But the musculature recall is near-perfect. Flight responses, evasion instincts, even his reflexive aerial maneuvers—they’re all intact. And I’ve added a few extras.”

All For One’s voice darkened. “What kind of extras?”

Kyudai’s eyes twinkled.

“Teleport tagging. Quirk suppression mist. Vibration-enhanced feathers. And… one more.”

All For One leaned in.

“I call him… Black Wing.”

The name hung in the sterile air.

Black Wing’s eyes blinked open inside the tank, glowing like twin furnaces.


Later—deep in the League of Villains’ current hideout—

Tomura Shigaraki sat atop a ruined throne of broken arcade cabinets. His skin, scarred and flaking, twitched as he glanced at the live feed beaming into the central monitor.

Nomus.

Dozens of them.

Each held in suspension tanks. All labeled: High-End Alpha, High-End Beta, Rendclaw, Venomjaw, Torque, Torpedo, Havoc, Crackler, Black Wing

He smirked.

Dabi, lounging nearby with a cigarette, sneered. “Is that supposed to impress us?”

Kyudai’s face appeared on screen, slightly distorted. “Oh my dear Dabi, always so confrontational. But I assure you, these children are something new. Enhanced not just physically, but with emotion triggers now. They feel. They hate.”

“Good,” said Shigaraki. “I want them angry.”

All For One stepped beside Kyudai in the projection, taking over.

“The time has come. We must sow chaos. Heroes are scrambling,chasing ghosts. That thing… Shadow… is a wildcard. We let the public burn itself out chasing him.”

He pointed to Black Wing’s file.

“And in the smoke, our new angels descend.”

Toga tilted her head, eyes gleaming. “He used to be Hawks, didn’t he?”

Kyudai grimaced, but nodded. “Yes. It was… difficult… getting to the body. But we retrieved it before the cremation order was signed. Brain function was gone. But tissue regeneration let us work with what remained.”

Dabi laughed dryly. “So ironic. Hawkboy’s back… and now he’s one of us.”

Shigaraki didn’t laugh.

But all for one smiled

“Send them.”

Kyudai blinked. “S-send them? Already? I… my lord, I need more time to calibrate—”

“Now. Let's see what your science can do, Doctor.”

Kyudai hesitated.

Then nodded.

“…As you command.”


Within the hidden vault beneath the lab, seven massive Nomu tanks lit up.

Alarms pulsed.

One by one, they opened.

Fluid drained. Limbs unfolded. Eyes blinked. Screams echoed.

And last—

Black Wing stepped out, water cascading from his armor-plated form. Wings flared wide. His claws clicked against the floor.

Kyudai, watching from behind a blast-proof wall, shivered.

“Go, my children…”

The new generation of High-End Nomu emerged from the depths.

Unleashed.


Back with All For One, watching from a high cliff under the moonlight—

He breathed in.

This presence was powerful

He did not know its name.

But it whispered to him now in the edges of his perception, dark and alien.

He looked up at the stars, speaking to no one.

“…Soon, the old world will die screaming.”


Later

The city was on fire again.

Downtown was choked in smoke, sirens wailed in the distance, and the sound of shattering concrete echoed off broken skyscrapers like thunder. Panicked civilians scattered, running down debris-clogged streets.

At the epicenter—six grotesque silhouettes stomped across the pavement.

High-End Nomu.

Each different. One with extended serpentine arms that smashed through buildings. Another with missile pods grafted into its shoulders. A third walked like a beast on four limbs, jaw unhinged with a tarry howl.

They weren’t here for destruction.

They were searching.

Tracking.

One roared into the sky: “SHADOOOWWWWW…”


Elsewhere, Omega’s HUD lit up.

“UNKNOWN HOSTILES DETECTED.”

He leapt from a smashed rooftop, cannon arms whirring as he soared through fire and dust. Eri clung to his shoulder, face buried in his plating, while Shadow kept pace below—boots striking sparks off the pavement.

They saw the carnage at once.

Three civilians—an older man, a woman, and her toddler—trapped in an intersection as one of the missile-armed Nomu turned their way. It reared up, metal clacking in its chest cavity. A barrage of explosives locked and loaded.

“FIRING SEQUENCE ENGAGED.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed.

Omega surged forward.

“ESCORT PRIORITY PROTOCOL: ONLINE.”

He moved faster than his size should’ve allowed, intercepting the first five missiles in mid-air. His twin cannons hissed and snapped with each blast. Explosions rocked the air as he destroyed them one after the other in rapid succession.

But one missile slipped through.

Too fast. Too low.

Headed straight for the mother and child.

Omega calculated impact time.

Too late.

But then—

A crimson streak.

Shadow.

He was there, suddenly between them and the missile. His gloved hand snapped out, catching it mid-flight. Sparks flew from his boots skidding against pavement.

The missile whined in his grip, engine still active.

Shadow didn’t blink.

He turned his head.

Looked directly at the Nomu who fired it.

And pointed the missile like a dart.

“Return to sender.”

He let go.

The missile rocketed back across the street. The Nomu reared back, trying to twist out of the way—but Shadow vanished again.

In a blink, he reappeared mid-air in front of the Nomu, gripping the missile again.

He slammed it point-blank into the creature’s exposed brain.

BOOM.

Fire bloomed outward. A wave of molten fluid and bone splattered the walls.

The Nomu dropped without a sound.

Dead.

Shadow landed cleanly in the crater, smoke curling from his boots.

Behind him, the mother collapsed to her knees, clutching her child—stunned but alive.

Omega stomped up next to him, shielding Eri with a bulked arm as two more Nomu began to converge.

“DESTRUCTION OF TARGET CONFIRMED,” Omega said.

Shadow didn’t look back. “Good.”

Eri peeked out from Omega’s arm. “Are they robots…?”

“No,” Shadow said darkly. “Worse.”

The Nomu didn’t talk.

They screamed.

One of them, with a spider-like lower body, launched a tendril of razor wire at Shadow. He sliced it cleanly with a Chaos-enhanced backhand, then flipped through the air to avoid an energy burst from another.

They were fast.

Too fast for average humans.

But not for him.

Not for Omega.

The three surviving Nomu charged.

Omega locked onto the one with jawblades and lunged to meet it head-on. Their clash sent a ripple through the street. Omega’s shoulder cannon fired point-blank, exploding the Nomu’s right arm off.

Eri ducked behind a car, watching with wide eyes.

A second Nomu dove at her.

Shadow caught it mid-air.

“Touch her again and you die.”

He crushed its throat, then used Chaos Control to teleport behind it—and snap its spine backwards in one clean twist. It crumpled.

The last one tried to run.

It didn’t make it five steps before Omega’s wrist-mounted chaingun shredded it in a hail of hyperdense tungsten.

Silence fell.

Smoke drifted.

Shadow scanned the alleyways. “That’s not all of them.”

Omega’s systems pinged. “SCANS INCONCLUSIVE. MOVEMENT… BELOW.”

Shadow turned slowly.

“They’re hunting me.”

Eri stepped up beside him, hand gripping his jacket. “Why…?”

He knelt, hand gently on her shoulder. “Because they’re afraid.”

Eri looked up at him. “Of you?”

Shadow stood. “Of what I’ll do when someone tries to take you again.”

A distant howl echoed over the city.

More Nomu.

Shadow’s eyes narrowed.

“Let them come.”

"I WILL HUNT DOWN MORE." Omega said before leaving


The air shifted.

Not just wind—but pressure.

Shadow looked up first, his crimson eyes narrowing. The clouds parted like peeled fabric as something black and red descended, trailing a wake of chaotic turbulence behind it.

Its wings were unmistakable.

Feather blades serrated like razors, flexing unnaturally as if alive. Flesh warped over bone. Half of its face was rotted, the other still eerily resembling a man long dead.

Hawks.

No, what was once Hawks.

Now a Nomu.

The horror landed in the street like a meteor, shattering asphalt on impact. Its glowing red eyes locked on Shadow and Eri.

It screeched.

Not human. Not even animal.

A corrupted echo of a soul.

Shadow stepped forward, shielding Eri with his arm.

He didn’t blink.

He didn’t flinch.

“I know those wings,” Shadow said softly. “You poor man.”

He clenched a fist.

“I will put you out of your misery.”

Nomu-Hawks screeched again, wings snapping open like a predator unfurling. In a blur, it launched a storm of feather blades.

They screamed through the air like daggers.

Shadow vanished.

Feathers impaled the ground where he’d stood.

High above, Shadow reappeared in mid-air, body twisting between projectiles. His Chaos-enhanced reflexes carried him higher, flipping through the blade storm.

But halfway through a dodge, he stopped.

Pain.

A migraine.

The same burning behind the eyes.

Another mutation.

“Not now,” he growled, grabbing his head.

His body shifted.

A new surge of power. His back arched, limbs crackling with power.

And then—

He moved.

A black and crimson trail burst behind him as he plummeted, striking Nomu-Hawks with a lightning-fast combo of punches and kicks.

He launched the creature skyward with one final uppercut.

Nomu-Hawks flew backward, stunned, wings trailing smoke.

Shadow’s form vanished again—warping instantly to where the Nomu had been launched.

He was already there.

Doom Blast. Though he didn't know the name

Shadow clenched his fist, brimming with dark power.

And hit.

One punch.

It didn’t just land—it detonated.

Nomu-Hawks exploded in a cone of crimson gore and torn feathers. Bits of flesh rained down like ash, a fine mist dissolving into nothing.

Shadow landed, cape fluttering behind him.

His voice was low. Respectful.

“Rest in peace.”


A few blocks away, Omega was finishing his own symphony of destruction.

He had one Nomu in a headlock, another pinned beneath his knee. His arm cannons surged.

“TARGETS… TERMINATED.”

BOOM.

The first Nomu’s torso vanished in a shockwave. The second tried to crawl away.

Omega stepped on its spine.

“REST IN PIECES.”

He opened fire point-blank.

Smoke billowed.

Silence followed.


Shadow met Omega in the center of the ruined intersection, Eri hurrying to his side.

“THEY'RE GONE.” Omega confirmed, scanning the remains. “BUT THEY WERE SEARCHING. NOT RANDOM.”

“They were looking for me,” Shadow said.

He touched one of the feather fragments, now burnt to black.

“He was looking for me.”

Shadow didn’t say the name.

He didn’t need to.

Eri held his hand tightly, eyes filled with confusion and fear.

“Papa… why did they look like that? That man… he…”

Shadow looked at her.

He didn’t lie.

“I don’t know.”

But inside, a thought festered.

“Whoever built them… they will pay.”

He turned toward the smoke-choked horizon.

More would come.

But so would he.

"But did we win?" Eri asked

"Yes. We did." Shadow said

Eri beamed

"YAY! TEAM DARK WINS!" Eri cheered

And just like that

Team Dark was trending

Chapter 19: New strength

Chapter Text

Nezu adjusted his tie with a paw, blinking his wide mouse eyes at the grim collection of faces surrounding the conference table. Aizawa sat stone-faced, Mirko leaned back with her arms crossed, and Endeavor was visibly fuming. Crust’s usual warmth was gone. Ryukyu, Best Jeanist, Fat Gum, and even Edgeshot looked pale and silent.

Madam President of the HPSC stood at the head of the table, her expression unreadable.

A hologram replayed above the center of the room,the footage of Shadow catching a live missile, launching it back, teleporting, and slamming it point-blank into the Nomu’s brain.

Then came the audio clip of his voice:

“Rest in peace.”

The feed ended. Silence lingered like smoke.

“That’s not a monster,” Best Jeanist finally said.

“Not even close,” Ryukyu added quietly. “He saved that family. No hesitation.”

“Are we really going to pretend the HPSC didn’t lie to us?” Mirko snapped. “They covered up Hawks’ death. And now someone’s made a Nomu out of him?”

The room shifted uncomfortably.

Aizawa’s tone was flat. “And who had access to Hawks’ body? Who runs the morgue?”

All eyes turned toward Madam President.

She didn’t flinch. “That facility is under deep-classified jurisdiction. You know that.”

“You mean your jurisdiction,” Endeavor growled.

Fat Gum frowned. “Public support for Shadow’s exploding. Every clip of him protecting people is going viral. And not the usual hero worship. It’s different. People trust him.”

“They’re calling him ‘The Chaos Guardian,’” Edgeshot added. “Unofficially. Kids are drawing fan art of Team Dark.”

Nezu cleared his throat.

“I believe it’s safe to say the narrative… has shifted. Irrevocably.”

Madam President narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t care how the public feels. I care that someone desecrated Hawks’ remains and we don’t even know how. I care that these Nomu were clearly designed for one purpose—to fight Shadow. And I care that the HPSC has no idea who’s making them.”

“You lost control,” Aizawa said bluntly. “And no one here trusts you anymore.”

The heroes began standing one by one.

“We’re done,” Mirko said.

“Call us when you’re ready to be honest,” Ryukyu added.

Nezu simply bowed politely, tail swaying.

One by one, they left the chamber.

Only Madam President remained.

 

She stood alone at the massive window overlooking the city. Sunlight tried to break through the smoke.

Her aides stood nervously behind her.

“Everyone just walked out,” one muttered.

Madam President didn’t move.

“They’ve chosen sides,” another said.

She finally spoke.

“Make one final attempt.”

The aides exchanged glances.

“With who?”

Madam President turned, her voice cold but resolute.

“Call Star and Stripe.”

The aides froze. “She won’t listen to you. Not after you sanctioned her last strike without permission—”

“She doesn’t have to listen to me.”

Madam President pulled out a secure line, pressing it into an aide’s hand.

“Have All Might call her.”

There was a beat of silence.

And then the room moved.

 

Thousands of miles away in the Utah desert, the air around an American military hangar shimmered under the sun. Jet engines rumbled. Training drills echoed from steel towers.

Inside a private command room, Cathleen Bate—Star and Stripe, stood with her arms crossed, watching news clips of Japan burning.

She saw the creature with wings like knives.

The Nomu that wore a hero’s face.

She saw Shadow, teleporting through the air like a god, shielding a girl, defending civilians, moving like a storm given form.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Who the hell is this guy?” she asked, tapping the screen.

One of her lieutenants shrugged. “The Japanese say he’s some ancient project. But the videos… he’s not what they’re saying he is.”

“He’s too clean,” another pilot said. “Too precise.”

“Look at the girl he’s protecting,” a third added. “He could’ve leveled those buildings. He didn’t.”

The room’s radio crackled.

“Ma’am?” a voice said nervously. “Priority call. From Toshinori Yagi. It’s… All Might.”

Star’s expression froze.

She turned slowly.

“Put him through. Now.”

A screen flickered on.

All Might appeared—older, thinner, but his eyes still held that familiar fire.

“Cathleen,” he said.

Her mouth twitched into the closest thing she had to a smile. “It’s been a while, Big Man.”

“I need your help.”

Her smile vanished.

“You don’t even have to ask.”

“But you should hear what you’re walking into.”

All Might explained everything—the black site, the cryo-pod, the dead hero, the girl named Eri, and a being created to be a living weapon now refusing to be one.

Star didn’t blink through any of it.

When he finished, she said:

“I’ve seen men turn cities to glass before. Never seen one protect a child while doing it.”

All Might nodded. “He’s powerful. Possibly more than even I was. But his heart… his instinct is to protect.”

“Then why am I being called in?” she asked.

"Because the HPSC still fears Shadow and wants him brought in. Now you're gonna have to fight him now im not supposed to say this ,but if you do win let him go." All might said

Star looked out the hangar doors, the red, white, and blue of her cape catching the wind.

Then she turned to her team.

“Prep Liberty One,” she said. “We’re going to Japan.”

Her lieutenants stood immediately.

“Are we doing this official?”

She grinned.

“Rules are made to be broken, bros.”


Back in Japan, Shadow looked up at the smoky skyline, sensing a disturbance far, far above.

He didn’t know it yet.

But a star was falling toward him.


The next day

Downtown lay quiet again, too quiet—like the city itself was holding its breath.

Eri watched from behind a cracked concrete pillar, Omega shielding her with one massive hand. His glowing red optics tracked the sky, sensors locked on the incoming bogey.

“FLIGHT SIGNATURE CONFIRMED. MILITARY-GRADE. UNRECOGNIZED… BUT HOSTILE.”

Eri peeked out, eyes wide.

“What is that…?”

Above them, a sonic boom cracked the sky.

Then another.

And another.

Descending like a comet wrapped in patriotic flame, she arrived—cape flaring, metal stars gleaming, gauntlets glowing with kinetic build-up.

Star and Stripe.

The U.S.’s strongest hero.

She landed in front of Shadow in an explosion of dust and force, her boots leaving craters in the asphalt. Around her, fighter jets circled in tight formation, engines screaming.

Shadow hovered effortlessly above her, arms crossed, cape drifting behind him. His expression unreadable.

They stared at each other in silence for a long moment.

Then—

Star and Stripe smirked. “So… you’re the infamous Chaos Guardian?”

Shadow didn’t respond immediately.

Then: “And you’re the American with too many flags on your outfit.”

“Funny. I thought you’d be taller,” she said.

“Funny. I thought you’d be smarter.”

The air crackled.

Eri gripped Omega tighter. “Papa…?”


Star and Stripe’s stance widened. “I’ve faced lots of villains in the past but you you're something else."

Shadow tilted his head. “You’re stalling.”

“No,” she replied. “I’m setting rules.”

Before he could react, she lunged forward with a blinding leap.

She gripped the air .

She shouted: “ The air The 100-meter area in front of me… becomes a vacuum!”

Instantly, the air was gone.

Thankfully they were in the air so no one on ground was affected

The pilots above pulled back.

Shadow floated mid-air—completely unaffected.

Star’s eyes narrowed. “…You’re not gasping.”

“I don’t need air,” Shadow said simply, voice reverberating in her comms. “Ultimate Life Form. Remember?”

Her smirk returned.

“Then let’s test that.”

She tapped her comm.

“Strike pattern Gamma. Light him up!”

The fighter jets repositioned in a perfect circle—lasers locked.

The sky turned red with energy.

Dozens of beams fired at once.

From above. Below. Side angles. A perfect crossfire.

But Shadow…

He didn’t flinch.

He moved faster.

With a blur, he spun mid-air—backhanding one of the beams and redirecting it into a nearby building. It exploded harmlessly.

The rest closed in.

Shadow’s eyes pulsed red.

"Take this."

He raised a hand—black energy crackling.

Dozens of jagged, spear-like projectiles burst from his palm in a spiraling storm.

The pilots screamed in panic, breaking formation.

The Doom Spears sliced through the sky like divine retribution, narrowly missing multiple jets.

Star and Stripe leapt upward, dodging two that streaked past her chest.

“Careful!” she barked into her comms. “They track!”

Shadow hovered high above her now, watching, analyzing.

He still hadn’t gone all out.

Star grit her teeth.

Neither had she.


On the ground, Omega didn’t move, still shielding Eri.

“ENGAGEMENT LEVEL: ESCALATING.”

Eri whispered: “Is Papa going to win?”

Omega’s voice was flat. “YES. UNLESS SHE BREAKS REALITY FIRST.”

Eri blinked. “She can do that?”

Omega’s cannon powered up slightly. “YES.”


Back in the sky, Star and Stripe circled wide, dodging another burst of Doom Spears.

She exhaled through her teeth. “This guy fights like a missile launcher. I can’t get close.”

She touched her chestplate and whispered: “Cathleen Bate’s speed equals that of a airplane.”

Shadow noticed the shift immediately.

“Interesting trick,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “You talk to yourself often?”

She blasted forward like a rocket, fist drawn back.

“Only when it hurts someone like you!”

Their fists collided mid-air.

The shockwave was immense

The sky crackled with sonic booms.

Shadow and Star and Stripe clashed high above the city, each blow sending shockwaves that flattened clouds and twisted air currents. Fighter jets circled in wide, cautious arcs, pilots stunned at what they were witnessing.

Below, Omega crouched with Eri tucked behind him, watching as titans collided overhead.

But even in the chaos, Star’s voice cut through—firm, clear, and deeply personal.

“A long time ago, a Japanese exchange student saved me and my family.”

Shadow paused, eyes narrowing mid-hover. He remained silent as she circled above.

“We were just civilians. A rogue villain with a transformation Quirk attacked our car. Would’ve killed us in seconds if he hadn’t shown up.”

She floated closer, gaze intense.

“Golden hair. A booming laugh. Two tufts of hair like horns. You’d think he was insane if you didn’t feel so safe near him.”

Shadow tilted his head.

“I’ve fought most of your heroes,” he said slowly. “That one… I’ve never seen.”

Star blinked.

Her expression faltered, confused.

“You’re telling me… you don’t know who All Might is?”

“No,” Shadow said simply.

For a split second, Star’s mask slipped. “You’ve never heard of the Symbol of Peace? The man who saved a generation? Who are you??!"

“I’m Shadow the Hedgehog.”

Shadow’s face didn’t change, but behind his eyes, something shifted.

Curiosity.

But Star had heard enough.

She burst forward, slamming into him mid-air and pinning him against the belly of a nearby jet, her hand gripping his chestplate.

“I’ve touched you. And now I know your name.”

Her voice turned cold.

“NEW ORDER: If Shadow the Hedgehog moves a muscle… his heart will stop.”

The air held still.

The jets cut their engines, hovering in silence.

For three seconds… Shadow didn’t move.

And then—

Everything changed.


From Star and Stripe’s perspective, it happened instantly.

The world ripped away.

She was no longer in the sky.

She stood in the middle of a ruined city—concrete ripped apart, twisted steel floating mid-air like weightless bones. The skies above her burned a deep crimson, swirling like a hurricane of blood and ash.

“What…?” she whispered, her voice echoing strangely.

Then she saw him.

Floating high above the shattered world—

Black Doom.

But she didn't know that

Jet black, legless, robes trailing like vapor. His trio of red-orange beast-like eyes locked onto her, glowing with ancient, malevolent intelligence.

“Hands off... my masterpiece,” he said.

She barely had time to react.

Chaos Energy lashed downward in a spiral beam.

Star’s instincts kicked in—her Quirk activating instantly as she screamed: “Cathleen Bate’s body is now harder than steel!”

The blast hit her like a comet.

It didn’t kill her.

But it because she put an order on herself her Order on Shadow was removed.

Pain ricocheted through her psyche.

And just like that—

She was back.


Reality snapped into place.

Star reeled backward, eyes wide, gasping as if punched in the lungs.

She saw Shadow, gripping his head, breathing heavy, chaos energy swirling violently around his form.

Then black wings erupted from his back, tearing through the air.

Not the temporary ones like before

he could control them now

Their flesh-like structure pulsed with Chaos energy

Shadow’s scream cut through the sky.

“I’LL OVERCOME EVERY OBSTACLE WITH THIS POWER!”

He launched forward.

Star tried to respond—but she was half a second too late.

Shadow’s punch landed square on her temple with surgical precision.

Her vision went black.

She dropped from the sky like a meteor.

Omega caught her in mid-air before she could hit the ground.

“THREAT… NEUTRALIZED.”

Eri ran to Shadow’s side as he descended, wings still glowing behind him like the ghost of a devil or an avenging god.

“Papa!”

Shadow didn’t speak at first. His eyes were distant, focused inward.

He could still feel that presence.

Watching him.

Shaping him.

Not controlling… but influencing.

It was Somewhere.

Waiting.

But not today.

Today… he had won.

He looked down at the unconscious form of Star and Stripe, her cape fluttering softly in the breeze.

“She’s strong,” he said quietly. “Too strong for her own good.”

Omega nodded.

“LIKE YOU.”

Shadow almost smirked.

“Let’s go.”

And with that—

Team Dark disappeared into the skyline.


Somewhere, Black Doom floated silently in the void, eyes watching.

“Soon, my creation… soon…”

Chapter 20: GET SOME SLEEP!

Chapter Text

The streets were quiet again.

Not peaceful, just the kind of calm that comes after too many storms. Cracked pavement. Scorched metal. Police barricades left half-erect. The air smelled faintly of ozone and dust.

Shadow walked silently through the city outskirts, the soles of his air shoes humming faintly with each step. Eri rode in Omega’s palm like a makeshift seat, watching the skyline for any new monsters. Omega moved beside them, ever watchful, sensors constantly scanning.

Then Shadow felt it.

That presence again.

Persistent.

Stubborn.

Stupid.

He stopped walking.

“Come out,” he said flatly, without turning around.

A few yards away, a wind current shifted unnaturally and Midoriya dropped from a rooftop with a low thud. He was scraped, bruised, and his eyes were bloodshot. The green lightning of One For All sparked faintly across his arms.

"Oh my fucking god." Shadow said under his breath

“I found you again,” Midoriya said, breathing heavily.

Omega made a whirring sound.

“SHOULD I REMOVE HIM?”

“No,” Shadow replied, stepping forward slowly.

Midoriya clenched his fists. “I’m not leaving without her.”

Eri tensed behind Omega’s gauntlet fingers, her grip tightening on a metal joint.

“She’s not yours to take,” Shadow said, voice calm. “She chose to stay.”

“You manipulated her,” Midoriya growled. “You’re dangerous. You killed Hawks. You blew up half a city.”

Shadow kept walking toward him.

Midoriya’s body lit with sparks.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Shadow stopped three feet away. “You ever consider getting some help?”

“What?!”

Shadow raised one hand.

“Therapy. Meditation. A nap. You’ve been chasing me like a madman for days. You 6 Piece chicken mc-Nobody."

“I’M TRYING TO SAVE HER!”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed.

“You can’t even save yourself, just look at yourself."

Shadow gestured to all of Midoriya

“You’re running on fumes, you clearly haven't slept in days and when was the last time you ate something?"

Midoriya’s arm lit with black lightning, the energy of One For All struggling to ramp up.

“I-"

“GET SOME SLEEP!!!” Shadow yelled

WHAM.

Shadow didn’t even hold back.

His punch connected cleanly with Midoriya’s jaw, not enough to shatter bones, but perfectly placed to shut his body down like a circuit breaker.

Midoriya’s eyes rolled back, his body stiffening, and he collapsed mid-step.

Shadow caught him before he hit the rubble, slinging him over one shoulder like an unruly duffel bag.

“…Stubborn fool.”

Omega looked down at the unconscious body.

“HE IS… UNIMPRESSIVE.”

Shadow grunted. “He’s exhausted.”

“SHALL I DISCARD HIM?”

“No.”

Shadow bent down, grabbed Midoriya by the back of his collar like a duffel bag, and slung him over his shoulder.

“He’s going home.”


UA High, one hour later.

The main entrance hissed open as Omega stomped through the gate, carrying Eri with one hand and following behind Shadow, who casually walked in with Midoriya unconscious on his back.

Aizawa was already there.

He blinked once.

“…God damn it problem child."

“This kid really doesn't learn does he?,” Shadow asked .

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. “No he doesn't he's really stubborn.”

Shadow dropped Midoriya gently onto a nearby bench like unloading a sack of laundry.

“He’ll be fine. Just a bruised ego.”

Behind him, Eri waved nervously at Aizawa.

“Hi, Mr. Aizawa…”

“Hey, Eri.” His gaze softened a fraction. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Papa protected us again.”

Aizawa glanced at Shadow.

Shadow looked away and despite his quills he was blushing.

No comment.

Omega set Eri down and straightened.

“REQUESTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR DUMPED HERO.”

Aizawa sighed. “Just leave him I'll put him ecovery Girl’s ward. And… maybe tie him down before he can jump off again.”

Shadow turned to leave.

“You’re just walking out?”

“I didn’t bring him back for you,” Shadow said over his shoulder. “I brought him back for her.”

Eri smiled.

"and he's a stalking green stick bug." Shadow said before leaving

And with that, Shadow vanished down the hallway, his red streak flickering into the distance with omega picking Eri back up and taking her with

"Oh god Shadow is a problem child." Aizawa said


Meanwhile

The lab beneath the mountain was colder than usual.

Then, a voice broke it.

“…It’s time.”

All For One stood alone in his private sanctum, bathed in the low hum of decaying machinery. His armor had been modified, sleeker now, adapting with each failed experiment, each fractured step toward godhood.

But something was different tonight.

His breath came heavier, more labored, though his strength had never felt more potent.

His mind burned—not with strategy, not with ambition, but with something deeper.

A hunger.

A compulsion.

“It’s time,” he repeated, voice low, commanding. “The Nomus failed.. The heroes have turned on the Commission. Even the U.S. is reeling.”

He looked down at a flickering hologram of Shadow—his last battle with Star and Stripe replaying on loop.

That final punch.

The flash of power.

The unmistakable permanence of what he had become.

“He’s complete,” All For One murmured.

A long pause followed.

Even he didn't know what he meant by that

Despite this he smiled beneath his mask.

“Which means I must act.”


Unknown to him…

A presence stirred.

Red eyes opened, layered like a spider’s, ancient and burning.

Black Doom did not laugh. He watched.

And he waited.


Elsewhere – Jaku General Hospital, Abandoned Lower Floors

Kyudai Garaki was hunched over a console, hands shaking as he reviewed footage from Hawks’s second set of final moments. Every calculation, every predictive model, all wrong.

He rewound the part where Shadow detonated the Hawks Nomu with a single, warped punch.

“Impossible… he shouldn’t be that stong. He shouldn’t be that powerful…”

Kyudai didn’t hear the footfalls behind him until it was too late.

The metal hissed.

He turned.

All For One stood in the ruined doorway, red glow in his optics radiating through shadow.

“You’re frightened,” All For One observed.

“Yes,” Kyudai admitted. “Because...He's grown too strong for nomu! He's far beyond them! And he's still growing."

“And that’s why I must intervene.”

Kyudai froze. “You…? Personally?”

All For One raised one gloved hand and clenched his fingers into a fist.

“We’ve sent puppets. We’ve sent armies. It was never enough. I’ve watched from the dark long enough.”

“But—”

“I have to, Kyudai. Don’t you feel it?”

The doctor’s eyes twitched. “Feel what?”

“This pull. This drive. Like fate’s claws are gripping my spine and dragging me to the battlefield.”

All For One’s hand trembled slightly, so subtly it went unnoticed by all but the most observant.

“I am the end of this era. I am the necessary conclusion to it.”

Kyudai stepped back, disturbed. “Master… this isn’t you.”

All For One looked down at him slowly.

“You’re mistaken.”

A beat passed.

“…This is exactly who I am. Who I was meant to be!"


Meanwhile

Shadow stood at the edge of a building , overlooking a sleeping city. Eri sat quietly nearby, feeding birds bits of crumbled donut. Omega stood watch like a sentinel, scanning the horizon.

Shadow didn’t speak.

He didn’t need to.

The silence was peaceful.

And yet, in the back of his mind…

Whispers.

Soft. Distant.

Like a voice underwater. Like a dream you can’t wake from.

“You were made for more…”

He tensed slightly.

"Who said that?" Shadow asked

“He’s coming. And so am I.” The voice said again

Shadow opened his eyes.

His crimson gaze glowed faintly.

“Whoever that is Let him come.”

"Papa? Who are you talking to?" Eri asked

"No one." Shadow lied


Back with All For One

“Prepare the extraction protocol,” he commanded.

“Target?” Kyudai’s voice came through, shaking.

All For One smiled.

“Shadow..."

He turned to walk toward the exit, but just before he left the chamber, he stopped.

"Soon he will be mine." All for one said before laughing


The next day

The sterile lights of the UA medical wing buzzed faintly. Outside the reinforced windows, dawn was just beginning to break over the horizon. Birds chirped. Nurses shuffled in and out of nearby rooms.

And in Bed #2 of Recovery Ward C, Midoriya Izuku woke up with a start.

GASP.

His green eyes snapped open. Sweat ran down his forehead. He sat bolt upright-

or rather tried to.

THWIP!

Dozens of reinforced, reinforced straps and steel cables held him down like a mummified cocoon.

He blinked.

“What…?”

Then it all came back to him.

Shadow.

The punch.

The blinding darkness.

And...

“ERI!”

Then the door opened

“Ah, good,” said Aizawa, peering in with a large coffee in hand and zero patience in his eyes. “He’s awake. Let the comedy begin.”

Midoriya struggled. “I have to go! He has her! He could be hurting her! Or brainwashing her! Or—”

“Or,” Aizawa interrupted, entering the room, “you could not rip your stitches trying to chase a hedgehog who carried your unconscious body home like a sack of rice.”

Midoriya paused. “Wait, what?”

“You lost. Again.”

“No, I-I didn’t lose, I just-”

“Got knocked out and dragged back to campus. Like luggage.”

“Okay, but-"

Aizawa sat beside the bed, sipping his coffee. “Midoriya. Let’s recap. You’ve been running around sleepless, bloodied, barely eating. You’ve fought Shadow twice, maybe three times depending on how we’re scoring your dignity and if we're counting that last one as a fight.”

Midoriya pouted. “That’s not fair.”

“He called you a ‘stalking green stick bug’ on the way out.”

Midoriya slumped. “Oh.”

“Oh,” Aizawa echoed. “And he didn’t even gloat. Just dropped you off, said ‘he needs a nap,’ and vanished.”

The straps shifted as Midoriya tried to sit up again.

“Sensei! I-I need to get back out there! If I can just-"

“THWIP.”

More straps deployed automatically from the bed frame, tightening around his arms, legs, and now one gently around his forehead.

“Stop making the bed angry,” Aizawa warned.

“Why does the bed have automatic restraint deployment?!”

“Because this is UA and you’re Midoriya.” Aizawa said as if it was obvious

Midoriya groaned and threw his head back dramatically.

“This is humiliating…”

Recovery girl peeked in. “He tried to use Full Cowling in his sleep. Twice.”

Midoriya covered his face with his only free hand.

“I’m a hero…”

“You’re also a sleep-deprived mess with a messiah complex and a hedgehog obsession,” Aizawa corrected. “Now shut up and listen.”

A screen turned on near the bed, and Nezu’s cheerful face appeared.

“Good morning, Midoriya!”

Midoriya blinked. “Wait, Principal Nezu?”

“Indeed! You’re not dying, and that’s good. Also: you’re suspended from fieldwork for a full week.”

Midoriya’s mouth dropped. “WHAT?!”

“Medical orders. Pro Hero consensus. Hero Commission collapsed like a flan in a cupboard. Honestly, you’re lucky we don’t just tape you to the ceiling and call it a containment strategy.”

Aizawa nodded. “You’ll rest. You’ll recover. And then, if you’re smart, you’ll think.”

Midoriya’s expression turned pouty and over-dramatic. “But Eri-"

“Eri called Shadow ‘Papa’ and drew a picture of ‘Team Dark’ where she was a bat with a cape,” Aizawa said. “She’s fine.”

Midoriya blinked. “She… did?”

“Drew a little jetpack on the robot. Labeled him ‘Uncle Omega.’”

“…He lets her call him Uncle?”

Aizawa arched an eyebrow. “You’re jealous of a walking war machine?”

“…No.”

“Mhmm sure keep telling yourself that.” Nezu said

Aizawa stood. “You’re benched, problem child. Get some sleep. Stop chasing hedgehogs. And if I catch you using Full Cowling in your sleep again, I will turn this whole room into a zero-gravity rehab simulation with Uraraka and Hatsume's help."

He turned and walked out.

Midoriya sighed.

He stared up at the ceiling.

“Maybe I do need a nap…”

Then, muttering:

“…Still not a stalking green stick bug…”

"You Definitely are a stalking green stick bug!" Nezu's voice came over the coms

"OH COME ON!"

In his office , Nezu hummed cheerfully and marked “mildly humbled” on Midoriya’s psychological recovery chart.

Chapter 21: All hail Shadow

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The sun was high over the ruins of western Musutafu. Cracks lined the pavement where buildings once stood. Glass crunched underfoot. Sirens were long gone, now only the wind carried the stories of what had happened here.

In the heart of the city, on a skeletal rooftop with a perfect view of the skyline, Shadow, Eri, and Omega stood in tense silence.

The air shifted.

A shadow darker than their own passed over them.

And then...

He arrived.

All For One descended like a monarch surveying his broken kingdom. His coat fluttered gently in the breeze, his half face obscured by the black armor-mask he wore.

“Ah… Shadow,” he said with slow satisfaction. “We finally meet.”

Shadow didn’t move. He simply stared.

“You’ve been quite the elusive storm. But now… the eye of it has finally reached me.”

Suddenly The air rippled.

A horrific, squelching noise erupted from the sky as something alien tore through the atmosphere like a wound in space.

Doom’s Eye.

A floating, starfish-shaped creature cloaked in dark purple shadows, each of its six jagged tendrils ending in sickly black spikes. At its center: a massive, vertical red-orange eye that pulsated with grotesque intelligence.

It hovered beside All For One.

The tyrant blinked, visibly stunned.

“What,” All For One said. “What is that?”

Shadow’s breath caught.

He knew that thing.

Not the name.

Not the purpose.

But that eye… that design…

“Black Arms,” he muttered. “You’re one of them.”

Suddenly, All For One’s body twitched.

Then jerked.

Then twisted.

His arms contorted. His spine spasmed. His ribs cracked outward like armor peeling from bone.

A sound like tearing silk mixed with cracking bones erupted as his body convulsed, twisting, spasming in ceaseless agony

Doom’s Eye circled him once, then backed away.

And then...

All For One screamed.

From his back erupted spines.

From his chest, a blackened flesh hand tore its way out.

From within him, a second presence, stronger, darker, older than anything Shadow had ever felt.

All For One was torn apart from the inside out.

And what emerged stood taller than Shadow by a good portion. His body was sleek and smooth, dark as obsidian. He had no legs, just a spectral, floating lower half that curled like smoke. His head was crowned with twin crimson-tipped horns, and from his torso dangled ancient golden medallions and tattered maroon cloth inscribed with sigils.

He had three bestial eyes, glowing as one.

Black Doom.

“Hehe… Hello, Shadow,” he said, voice velvety, echoing with centuries of disdain. “Or should I say… my masterpiece.”

Shadow flinched.

“You were born of me,” Black Doom continued. “Your creator… Gerald Robotnik… he used my DNA to construct you. A cure for that fragile child… Maria.”

He chuckled

“You remember, don’t you? He tried to make you a bridge between species… a hope to save her.”

Shadow tensed

“But the humans, The weak pathetic humans who only craved false power, interfered. They betrayed him. Killed her. And then that old fool had the gall to wipe out my comet, to destroy my people, using six of the seven Chaos Emeralds,which you were meant to collect for me as part of Gerald's end of the deal."

Shadow’s eyes sharpened. “Then how are you alive?”

Black Doom chuckled.

“I fell to Earth. My body ruined. My power shattered. But not gone. I hid, gathering strength for centuries. Then, one night, I found a woman dying on the side of the road. A mother. With newborn twins.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed.

“Twins?”

Black Doom’s eyes gleamed.

“Yes… One of them greedy. Hungry for power He claimed the milk from his mother's corpse and saw the younger brother as property. So I chose him as my vessel. He didn’t even know. Everything he did… was according to my design.”

Shadow tensed.

“The boy I chose never noticed. Like I said Everything he did, his "empire," his battles, his search for power, it was all by my design. Even that little Quirk transfer system he’s so proud of, The plan to transfer his mind into... Tomura Shigaraki was mine. But if I must admit Shigaraki would make a great warrior of the black arms."

"So that man was just a pawn?" Shadow asked

Black Doom continued, “Yes. And I also left just a sliver of myself in the other brother. A shard of potential. His power could be passed on.”

He grinned to the best of his ability

“And wouldn’t you know it… the new wielder is that green-haired boy who keeps chasing you. He unknowningly follows the scent of my design with little nudging of course. How poetic.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed

“So this… all of this… was you?”

Eri gasped behind him. Omega raised an arm gun at the ready .

"Yes even your new abilities are to my grand design." Black doom said "And you are now complete."

Black Doom extended a clawed hand toward Shadow.

“Now join me, Shadow. Together, we can perfect this world. End human failure. Bring order. And revive the black arms!"

Shadow’s voice was quiet.

“I refuse.”

Black Doom’s eyes blazed. “I figured you'd say that. these humans made you soft!

Black doom's chaos energy spiked

"You cannot deny me, Shadow. You are finally complete. Come. Face me. I shall claim you in mind, body and soul to become the perfect being!"

The sky cracked and turned red.

The earth rumbled.

Buildings began to rip apart, floating into the air like broken toys.

Doom’s Eye spiraled overhead, unleashing pulses of chaotic force that split concrete and twisted metal.

Eri screamed as Omega shielded her.

“PROTECTIVE FIELD ACTIVATED,” Omega boomed, covering the girl with his full chassis.

Shadow stood firm, chaos energy rising around his limbs.

Black Doom floated higher, spreading his arms. “Let’s see how far you’ve come, Shadow…”

And with a final smirk (if you can tell with that mouth of his), he vanished in a streak of violet-black energy, warping skyward like a meteor launched in reverse.

Doom’s Eye hovered a moment longer, staring directly at Shadow.

Then it, too, vanished in a ripple of shadows.

Shadow turned to Omega and Eri.

“Stay here.”

He vanished with a boom, chasing the destruction through the city.

A moment passed.

Omega turned to Eri.

“WANT TO FOLLOW?”

Eri smiled and tugged his hand.

“Yes I do, Uncle Omega.”

So they did.


With shadow

The city was unraveling.

Streets buckled. Craters tore through intersections like claw marks. Buildings floated briefly in the air before snapping in half and crashing down with seismic weight. Streetlights warped into spirals. Time itself seemed to shudder in the presence of Black Doom’s influence.

And in the middle of it all...

Shadow ran.

Through the chaos, his air shoes hissed with power. He dodged a chunk of falling debris, flipped off a tilting rooftop, and teleported mid-leap with Chaos Control, appearing just ahead of a collapsed building.

“Dammit,” he muttered, skidding beneath a spiraling bus flung like a toy.

WHIRR-THUNK.

A twisted spire of metal pierced the pavement in front of him, nearly slicing his leg.

He stopped short, only to leap sideways as energy tendrils rose from the sewers like black vines. One brushed his arm—burning.

Shadow spun mid-air, letting out a growl, and extended both hands.

“Doom Spears!”

A barrage of crimson-black projectiles fired from his palms, disintegrating the tentacles before they could latch.

He landed, slid, and ducked under a warped traffic light, then flung himself forward again.

“Doom Blast!”

Shadow’s body blurred through a rapid series of strikes, warping through space to avoid chunks of twisted matter falling around him. The final kick sent him hurtling upward above the storm, gaining a clear view of the destruction below.

He saw it now.

At the eye of the chaos, floating just above the fractured city square, hovered Black Doom, calm, glowing, directing the chaos like a conductor.

“You’re not getting away,” Shadow growled.

And he dove.

Black Doom teleported away again

"Good. Very good Shadow." Black doom said "Soon we shall test your strength."

Shadow grit his teeth

"And I'll crush you to dust." He said before giving chase once more


The HPSC emergency command bunker was chaos incarnate.

Screens flickered with footage, fuzzy, distorted feeds from city drones, satellites, and pro hero body cams. The being floating above the city was not Shadow.

In the center of the command room, Nezu stood with his paws folded behind his back, unusually silent.

Madam President stormed into the center of the room.

“Where is Shadow?! What is going on?!”

The main screen played a replay loop of the confrontation. From a single frame, her analysts froze the moment a red-eyed creature appeared behind All For One, his body then tearing apart from within.

“Run it again,” Best Jeanist said, stunned.

Mirko paced behind them, flexing her fists. “The hell was that thing?!”

Endeavor grunted. “Was that...All For One? What happened to him?”

Nezu finally spoke.

“No. That wasn’t All For One anymore.”

He tapped a command into the keyboard.

The screens shifted.

Data.

Old. But not Corrupted.

“After hacking into Gerald Robotnik’s private server,” Nezu said, his voice calm but grave, “I discovered references to a failed negotiation.”

"You did what-?" Madam president said before being cut iff

“With who?” Jeanist asked.

Nezu turned to face them.

“An alien species. The Black Arms.”

The room went silent.

“They arrived on Earth over 1,600 years ago aboard something called the Black Comet. Gerald made contact. He called their leader Black Doom.”

The screen shifted again, now showing old schematics of a comet, a species of biological alien weapons, and DNA code logs.

“Shadow the Hedgehog,” Nezu continued, “was created using Chaos energy manipulation, advanced genetic manipulation , and Black Arms DNA. Gerald’s goal was to use their regenerative traits to develop a cure for his granddaughter’s illness. But when the Black Arms revealed their true intention, to conquer, Gerald betrayed them.”

Mirko blinked. “So he… built Shadow to fight them?”

“Not exactly. Shadow was made before Gerald fully realized their intentions, when he did realize He built the Eclipse cannon, a massive orbital laser to destroy the comet.” Nezu said

"And you were going to tell us this when?" Madam president asked

"When you were done with all your bullshit." Nezu said "I knew you'd use his alien origins as further proof to capture him."

Nezu turned to the feed again, showing Black Doom floating above the city.

“But now Black Doom has returned. Not as an invader. But as a puppet master. He used All For One as a vessel. And Shadow…”

He paused.

“…Shadow was the original weapon for Black Doom's plans.”

Edgeshot stepped forward. “And now that he’s complete…”

“Black Doom wants his body,” Nezu confirmed."he said it himself."

A chilling silence settled.

“Then we have no choice,” Endeavor said. “We hit him with everything.”

“No,” Nezu replied sharply.

Everyone turned.

“We don’t interfere,” Nezu said. “Not yet.”

“Why?” Jeanist asked.

“Because,” Nezu said, watching the screen as Shadow flew straight toward the heart of the storm, “this is his fight.”


Back with Shadow

The storm above the city raged with chaotic thunder, glowing crimson. Lightning lashed across the clouds like the sky itself was being torn in two. Floating above it all, hovering like a dark sun, was Black Doom, wreathed in swirling energy. Shadow skidded to a halt atop a ruined skyscraper’s edge, red eyes narrowed in determination.

But something else caught his eye.

Far above.

Beyond the clouds.

Beyond even the stratosphere.

A shimmer in the dark.

Shadow’s gaze snapped upward, his Chaos-enhanced vision piercing the veil.

There it was.

The ARK.

The space station of his birth.

Still in orbit.

Still silent.

But unmistakably there.

Black Doom had mentioned six Chaos Emeralds… used by Gerald to destroy the Black Comet.

And Shadow?

He had the seventh.

A plan began to form.

But that would come later.

Now...he had unfinished business.

He turned back just as the sky exploded.

Black Doom roared with manic laughter.

“The time has come, Shadow.”

“Agreed,” Shadow answered, stepping forward. “Time to sever this bond between us… forever.”

Black Doom raised his arms to the heavens, Black Arms energy funneling into his form. The sky spiraled inward. The Doom’s Eyes orbiting him screamed as they latched onto his body.

“Heh heh heh… HA HA HA… AHH HA HA HA HA HA!”

The laughter escalated into madness.

A pulse of energy erupted outward, sending debris and cars flying.

Shadow braced, sliding back as he watched Black Doom’s body twist, contort, and mutate. Massive, sinewy wings tore from his back. Spinal growths jutted from his chest. A gargantuan frame unfurled like a demonic flower.

And then it happened.

Doom’s Eye flew overhead and slammed itself into the central eye socket of the new form, completing the grotesque transformation.

Before him stood a beast of nightmare:

Devil Doom.

Twice as tall as any building, fused to a floating mass of rock, its body a tangle of claws, horns, and black-red scales.

From the shadows of its bulk, cells spawned, living Black Arms extensions, writhing with laser cannons, crawling across reality like tumors.

Devil Doom raised both arms.

“Embrace your fate!”

His bellow shattered the world.

And then-

The world shifted shifted.

The sky broke like glass.

The crumbling city faded away.

Shadow blinked, suddenly finding himself standing atop an impossible, surreal landscape.

A reimagined, weaponized version of Musutafu twisted around them in mid-air, part city, part battlefield, warped by Black Doom’s psychic domain.

Shadow flared Chaos Energy behind him, boots igniting.

He flew.

Devil Doom unleashed a roar and fired cells, laser beams raining down like divine wrath.

Shadow twisted between the beams with split-second precision, air shoes screaming against gravity.

He dove downward, into water.

But not just any water.

A shimmering ripple revealed his manta-like construct forming beneath him

Doom Surf.

His expression hardened.

He wasn’t just fleeing.

He was hunting.

And this time,

He intended to finish it to do what Gerald couldn't.

The distorted air warped around Devil Doom, the monstrosity’s hulking body looming like a living mountain over the fragmented highway of Black Arms psychic reality. The twisted Musutafu bent impossibly across the sky, its metal platforms floating without gravity, curling into spirals of steel and shattered neon.

Below, a shimmering ocean wove through the surreal battlefield, a winding river of Chaos-infused liquid cutting through the madness.

Riding across it, a black streak surged forward at blinding speed.

Shadow the Hedgehog, arms tucked in tight, tore across the watery terrain on his conjured Doom Surf, trailing blue mist and arcs of red energy. His gaze was locked above, where Devil Doom ascended higher into the blood-red sky.

Devil Doom twisted in the air, massive wings unfolding like drapes of death. His head turned

The creature let out a thunderous roar, one that shattered floating platforms and sent cells scattering across the domain. Each cell crackled with energy, twitching in anticipation for commands.

“You were made to serve my will,” Devil Doom’s booming voice echoed across the area, the words vibrating through the distorted air. “Now join with me, as you were meant to.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed as he wove through falling debris, ducking laser bursts fired from Doom’s shoulder cannons.

“I’ve served no one,” he growled, voice low but resolute. “I choose who I fight for.”

He leaned forward, kicking off the surface of the liquid terrain, Doom Surf vanishing in a burst of vapor.

He launched upward toward Devil Doom’s chest, teleporting mid-arc.

“I’ve surpassed you.”

Devil Doom’s clawed hand swung toward him.

Shadow vanished again.

Chaos Control.

He reappeared directly beneath Devil Doom’s center mass, red energy gathering around his limbs.

“Doom… Blast!”

A flurry of strikes struck the abomination, blurring punches and kicks, each empowered by teleportation bursts. Devil Doom recoiled, screeching as Shadow landed one final empowered kick into his armored gut, launching himself off the impact.

The hedgehog flew backward, twisting mid-air before diving back toward the watery terrain.

The Doom Surf reformed under his feet like an extension of his will. Water hissed beneath him as he rode the waves, zipping between shattered sections of the floating highway.

Behind him, Devil Doom gathered energy, his central eye glowing with blinding crimson light. Hundreds of cells detached from his lower body, spiraling toward Shadow.

But the hedgehog didn’t flinch.

He banked sharply to the left, using the terrain’s flow to arc around a tumbling fragment of roadway. Lasers carved through the air behind him, close, but never close enough.

Devil Doom bellowed in rage.

“You dare defy your purpose? You dare defy your creator?”

Shadow’s voice cut through the storm.

“I defy you.”

The two forces crashed again, light against shadow, flesh against fury, as the fate of more than one world began to shift.

The corrupted Musutafu twisted and crumbled behind them as Devil Doom rose higher into the broken sky, his grotesque wings fanning out across the area like a shadowy eclipse. Black lightning arced around him, connecting with fractured pieces of floating debris and malformed platforms dripping with oily, corrupted matter.

Then, with a deep snarl, the beast extended one clawed hand and tore a hole in reality.

A swirling rift of purple energy opened like a wound, pulsing and stretching, revealing a new battlefield: a corrupted bog of decaying platforms, festering puddles of toxic sludge, and strange growths of Black Arms flesh embedded into the steel.

Devil Doom hovered through it effortlessly.

Shadow, chasing close behind on his sleek Doom Surf, narrowed his eyes as he approached the portal. The watery trail hissed beneath his feet, catching the turbulence of the rift.

“No running this time,” Shadow growled, voice low and sharp.

He surged forward, straight into the portal.

The dimension folded around him, warping his vision, sounds twisting into echoes of whispers and screams. He emerged into the new battlefield mid-air, Doom Surf carrying him over the bubbling bogs and pulsing veins of alien tissue.

Corruption hung in the air like fog.

Devil Doom twisted mid-flight, and with a flick of his hand, the Doom's eyedetached from his heads and slotted itself back in upside down. His head twisted, shrieked, and activated, its jaw opening to unleash a sonic pulse that turned sections of the bog into volatile explosions.

Shadow grunted as the shockwave struck near him. The Doom Surf cracked from beneath him, shattering under the force.

Mid-air, Shadow twisted into a dive.

“…Thanks for the ride,” he muttered to the dissolving manta-ray construct below. “Farewell, Doom Surf.”

He reached out mid-fall and slammed his palm into a glowing purple orb embedded in one of the elevated platforms.

Instantly, black tendrils wrapped around his arms.

His body warped.

His form twisted.

Doom Morph.

Tentacles and clawed extensions surged from his limbs, giving him increased reach and heightened flexibility. With a lash of his right arm, he hooked onto the nearest platform and swung himself forward like a living grappling hook.

He landed hard, crouched and balanced, ready to strike.

Above him, Devil Doom hovered silently for a moment.

Then he chuckled.

“Perhaps I’ve underestimated your power,” the monster rumbled. “Perhaps… I should actually start trying!”

Shadow’s claws extended, his stance never wavering.

“Hollow threats… from a hollow monster!” he snapped. His gaze scanned the battlefield. “This isn’t good… So that’s what it can do, huh?”

Devil Doom laughed. “Thanks to all the quirks my vessel gathered, each of them amplified by the Chaos energy running through my very cells, I am transcendent! Power unimaginable! The sins of mankind made divine!”

The area vibrated with power.

In the distance, across the flickering sky-paths, two new figures entered the outer edge of the corrupted battlefield.

Omega, sensors scanning wildly, marched forward with precision.

Beside him, Eri held tightly to the remnants of her drawing pad "Team Dark” still sketched proudly on the page.

She looked up at the battle raging above and whispered, “Papa…”

Omega’s red optics flared.

“TARGET LOCKED: BLACK DOOM.”

The cavalry was on its way.


The corrupted city trembled.

Shadow danced across the unstable platforms, his Doom Morph slicing through tentacle-born cells and ripping through Doom’s shielding flesh. With every impact, more of Devil Doom’s massive body buckled under the sheer force of the onslaught.

Explosions of Chaos-empowered energy ruptured the corrupted bog. The creature roared, wings flaring as gouts of flame burst from its gargoyle mouths. The platform beneath Shadow cracked, launching him mid-air as Doom’s shriek rattled reality itself.

Shadow surged forward again, spinning in mid-air with a vicious kick to Devil Doom’s midsection. Gore and darkness spilled, but the monster didn’t fall.

And then...

From the rear of the battlefield came a familiar voice.

“PAPA!!”

Shadow’s heart stopped for a split second.

His red eyes flicked sideways, dangerously fast, locking onto the figures approaching across the shattered terrain.

Omega, weapons blazing, marched through the muck, blasting away corrupt cells left and right. His voice boomed:

“THREAT LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC. INITIATING MAXIMUM SUPPORT.”

Clinging to Omega’s shoulder, Eri waved wildly.

“YOU CAN DO IT, PAPA!!!”

Shadow’s body twitched.

That wasn’t fear of the enemy. That was something worse.

Something deeper.

If they’re here… then if I fail...

Devil Doom noticed too.

He grinned.

“Oh… so the child returns… and the robot as well. How touching.”

A pulse of energy burst from his core, debris launched in every direction. Shadow leapt back, catching Omega mid-jump and tossing him clear of a collapsing platform.

Eri screamed, but Omega shielded her.

Shadow landed, Doom Morph melting away as the pressure spiked.

“Not now,” he muttered.

He clutched his head, eyes flaring red as black veins pulsed through his arms.

Devil Doom’s body swelled, his eye socket erupting light.

A transformation began.

With a roar of such force the void itself recoiled, Devil Doom’s skin peeled and reformed, wings doubling in size, his horns growing like tusks from a nightmarish skull.

More arms exploded from his shoulders, six total now, each ending in serrated claws. His ribcage tore through his chest like a prison made of bones, pulsing like an exposed heart. From beneath, a massive bulbous organ bloomed like a flower, revealing a twitching eyeball, wrapped in black tendrils.

The Doom's popped free once more and rotatwd again popping back in

Shadow took a slow step back.

“…No way..."

The monstrosity roared with laughter.

Neo Devil Doom had risen.

“Splendid, Shadow! Truly splendid!” the beast proclaimed. “You are my finest instrument, a testament to my bloodline! See yourself as who you truly are!”

Shadow gritted his teeth.

“I am nothing like you,” he growled, stepping forward as Doom Wing erupted from his back with a cry of Chaos-born fury. “I have surpassed you!”

The wings flared with red lightning.

“Time to finish this… once and for all!”

Shadow took to the sky, energy gathering at his fists.

But then...

He vanished.

Chaos Control.

For a few moments Neo Devil Doom hesitated, rearing back in confusion.

"Where did he-!?"

Then-

CRACK!

Shadow reappeared in mid-air, slamming a high-speed chaos-enhanced kick directly into the face of one of Doom’s heads.

The monster reeled, shrieking as the impact fractured a portion of its skull.

Shadow landed hard, wings extended.

Neo Devil Doom snarled.

“Resistance is futile… We will be reborn!”

But Shadow stood tall, unwavering.

“You’ll have to go through me.”

And now…

He wasn’t alone.

Neo Devil Doom’s bulk hovered menacingly in the corrupted sky, black tendrils writhing from his bloated frame, and Chaos-fueled energy leaking like ichor from his fractured jaws. His grotesque head snarled in rage, eye glowing with ancient hatred. The monstrous eyeball beneath him twitched with every pulse.

And above it all, Shadow the Hedgehog soared with unwavering focus, red eyes narrowed, Doom Wings flared and pulsing.

Omega kept on firing missle from below with Eri cheering him on

Neo Devil Doom reeled backward, massive ribs grinding and cracking. Shadow’s last kick had struck true.

The tide was turning.

Shadow prepared his next strike.

But...

Neo Devil Doom raised a clawed hand and bellowed:

“CHAOS CONTROL!”

In an instant, time snapped.

Shadow froze mid-flight, locked in place by the same force he had mastered. The air shuddered. Everything around him slowed to a crawl.

The warlord’s heads chuckled in grotesque unison.

“Your future is already decided!” Neo Devil Doom sneered, approaching the frozen hedgehog with claws twitching. “We will be one!”

The monstrous hand reached forward-

But then Shadow’s body shimmered.

His eyes snapped open.

He broke free.

With a fierce growl, he kicked backward out of the warlord’s grip, twisting through the air as lasers erupted from Doom’s claws.

Shadow dodged each one, skimming inches past beams that scorched the sky behind him. He hit the platform, skidding, then rocketed forward again.

“You are blinded by your ambition!” he yelled. “I will not be stopped!”

He launched himself upward, his air shoes igniting at his heels.

A streak of energy.

A living missile.

WHAM!

The missile kick smashed into Neo Devil Doom’s central torso, caving in one of his rib-like protrusions.

The monster howled in pain.

Still, he rose.

Desperate.

Nearing defeat.

With a scream, Neo Devil Doom hurled debris from the battlefield, twisting girders and broken platforms aimed like daggers.

Shadow weaved through them, flipping mid-air, blasting through the wreckage with Chaos-enhanced strikes.

But even his perfect form couldn’t see the next trick.

Neo Devil Doom vanished

Then reappeared directly behind him.

Before Shadow could react...

CLAMP.

Six clawed hands seized him, binding his arms and wings.

“You cannot deny what you are!” the monster growled. “We are one and the same!”

Shadow gritted his teeth.

Energy crackled.

BOOM!

With a surge of force, he broke free, flipping backward through the air as a glowing yellow aura began to rise around him.

He landed in midair, now floating.

Power pulsed around him like solar winds.

His eyes flared.

His stance widened.

“I am Shadow the Hedgehog,” he said. “This is the destiny I choose.”

Neo Devil Doom hissed, furious.

“THEN I’LL KILL THE GIRL, JUST LIKE THE HUMANS DID TO YOUR PATHETIC FRIEND!”

Everything stopped.

Shadow’s face twisted with shock.

“What… are you talking about…?” he murmured. “Are you… talking about Maria!?”

In that moment, the roar of battle faded.

In Shadow’s mind, a single voice whispered through the echoes of memory:

“Sayonara… Shadow… the Hedgehog.”

Then

A soft hum.

Followed by seven pulses of light.

From Shadow's body, the Chaos Emeralds surged

One by one, they surrounded Shadow, glowing, spinning, resonating.

He raised his head.

A roar of pure emotion tore from his chest.

“DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MARIA!!!”

And in a blinding flash, Shadow erupted.

Super Shadow had awakened.

His black quils turned radiant gold.

His aura shimmered like a star in motion.

His now golden doom wings spread behind him.

Neo Devil Doom recoiled.

“How did you-!?”

Shadow smirked. “When I used Chaos Control earlier…”

He vanished and reappeared above Doom in an instant.

“…I warped to the ARK to grab the remaining Chaos Emeralds.”

Raising his hand, Doom Spears began to form dozens of them, each swirling with Chaos energy.

Shadow’s voice boomed across the void:

“Now… TO END THIS!”

He flung the spears.

They shot like meteorites piercing Neo Devil Doom’s body.

The monster screamed as dark fluid sprayed from his wounds.

More spears came.

Three larger ones followed slamming into his torso.

“GRAAAAGH!!!”

Neo Devil Doom staggered, falling back in the air.

“I crafted everything up till now!” the monster howled. “And yet… YOU DENY ME?!”

Shadow didn’t answer.

Instead, he shot forward like a golden comet, spinning into a final drill.

He dove straight toward Doom’s eye.

“THIS ENDS NOW!!!”

The impact tore through flesh, bone, and black matter.

Shadow punched clean through.

Neo Devil Doom’s body convulsed.

“Shadow…! You…! GRAHHHHHHHH!!!”

The abomination burst apart in a final, blinding explosion of black light and chaos flame.

And as the smoke cleared..

Only Shadow floated there.

Alone.

Victorious.

The sky cleared Black Doom's many illusion quirks ended when he waa killed

The City returning to normal

"PAPA WON!" Eri said

"BLACK DOOM IS NO MORE." Omega said

Shadow landed doom wings retracting as the chaos emeralds split up once more and he turned back to normal

"Yes I did." Shadow said

He then he hugged Eri

"You're the strongest papa!" Eri said

"Yes I am but let's leave before I get blamed for this mess." Shadow said

Notes:

Yes I know this basically the Shadow generations boss fight but come on it’s cool

Chapter 22: Ceremony

Chapter Text

In the deep interior conference chamber, Nezu leaned over his private terminal. The other Pro Heroes had dispersed after the immediate crisis reports, but Nezu remained behind.

On his screen, high-security files played on a loop.

Footage of the HPSC black site. Footage of Eri screaming while strapped to a table . Footage of Shadow breaking free, Of hawks trying to get Eri back for the HPSC

And then,

The moment Shadow carried Eri out of that horror.

Nezu leaned back in his chair, expression grim but satisfied.

Madam President’s voice came through on a secured channel.

“The media is demanding a statement. The world wants to understand what just happened,” she said, tone clipped and fatigued.

“Oh, I have a statement prepared,” Nezu replied calmly, tail swishing. “There’s going to be a ceremony, yes?”

“Of course,” she replied. “Shadow defeated something even more powerful than all dor one. The Pro Heroes have already agreed, he’s a savior now.”

Nezu’s smile widened.

“Good. Because at the ceremony, I will be broadcasting the full, unedited footage of everything the HPSC did, including the Eri experiments, the fact you trued painting Shadow as a villain to get her back, the fact Hawks died doing your dirty work.”

There was a beat of dead silence.

“…You can’t be serious—”

“Oh, I’m very serious,” Nezu said cheerfully. “If we’re going to honor him properly, we’re going to give him the truth back as well.”

Madam President’s muttered curses echoed faintly through the line.

Nezu closed his laptop with a satisfied click.

“Time to burn the rot out… publicly.”


Within the dormant depths of the One For All quirk, in the place few ever glimpsed, the Vestige Realm stirred with violent disruption.

The colorless world rippled, swirling like oil over water. The shadowy forms of past wielders stood firm, their translucent bodies anchored in the void, watching with narrowed eyes.

For the first time since Izuku Midoriya inherited One For All, the familiar serenity of the realm was replaced with rot.

A gaping wound in the space pulsed black and red, leaking corruption that dripped down like foul ichor.

Through it, something monstrous clawed its way in, foreign, invasive, yet intertwined with the power’s deepest root.

It took the shape of an orb at first, a single, massive eye, surrounded by squirming tentacles, radiating an ancient, malevolent hunger.

“Wh-what is that?” Daigoro Banjo muttered, tendrils of Blackwhip twitching in agitation.

“It’s not All For One…” Nana Shimura frowned, floating forward. “But it’s definitely tied to him somehow.”

The corrupted eye twisted into a familiar, sinister visage, a broken echo of the monstrosity that once plagued Shadow the Hedgehog.

Black Doom.

His voice crackled, distorted through layers of memory and alien will.

“Ahhh… the vessel’s shell is weak… ripe for occupation…” he hissed, tendrils wrapping along invisible walls. “With the One For All lineage, I will reclaim what belongs to me… Shadow, This planet and then the rest of the UNIVERSE!"

“Not happening,” growled Kudo, the Second User, stepping forward with his arms crossed, his scarred face taut with fury.

Beside him, Bruce, the Third User, narrowed his eyes, shoulders flexing. “I don’t know what the hell you are, but you’re in the wrong neighborhood, pal.”

Yoichi Shigaraki, the First, stood at the center, his presence pulsing with determination.

“Identify yourself,” Yoichi demanded. “No one outside of the inheritors of One For All should be able to penetrate this space.”

Black Doom’s laughter echoed, nauseating in its resonance.

“I am beyond your understanding, little mortals… a shadow buried in the genes of you," Black doom said pointing at Yoichi "… placed there by conquest… sustained by ambition… strengthened through centuries of corruption…”

Yoichi is caught off guard

"W-What?" Yoichi

“Corruption?” Hikage Shinomori said coldly, Danger Sense pulsing violently around him. “Your presence stinks. I’ve never sensed such a disgusting threat.”

“Because I have always been here,” Black Doom growled. “That pathetic creature you call All For One… he was mine from the beginning… my vessel… my pawn. His obsession, his ambition, even his legacy… all mine and I places a little bit in myself in you.”

"Zen..." Yoichi said quietly

The vestiges shared brief, grim looks.

Nana’s fists clenched. “He’s not lying… I can feel it… it’s tainting the root of the power…”

Daigoro flared up, Blackwhip bursting from his arms. “And now this freak wants to possess Ninth?! Over our dead bodies!”

Black Doom’s eye blinked lazily.

“That can be arranged…”


Outside, Midoriya stirred faintly in his hospital bed, unaware of the war raging within the deepest corner of his soul.


The vestiges surrounded the corruption, forming a protective circle.

“Quirk remnants or not, we control this realm,” Bruce said fiercely. “You’re not getting anything.”

“You may have latched on through the generations, but your ambition ends here.” Yoichi said, his expression soft but firm.

Black Doom’s eyes flared. “You cannot stop the Black Arms… where one fragment exists, more will be born… we are eternal…”

Yoichi smiled faintly.

“Maybe you are eternal…”

Then his eyes sharpened like a blade.

“But so is hope

“Let’s crush this leech!” Daigoro shouted.

The past wielders converged.

Yoichi raised his hands, pure white energy streaming from his core.

Kudo, Bruce, Hikage, Daigoro, En, Nana, they added their strength, their unique quirks igniting, forming chains, tendrils, barriers, and waves of force that wrapped around Black Doom’s thrashing form.

“YOU DARE BIND ME?!” Black Doom shrieked.

“Yes,” Nana answered simply, voice cool and unwavering. “You tried to break our successor from within… but now you’ll rot here, in the graveyard of the past.”

Chains coiled around the eye, locking it in place.

Tendrils of black energy cut into its surface.

A cage of One For All’s will sealed around the corruption.

Yoichi’s voice rang loud, final.

“This power exists to resist tyranny, no matter the origin. You don’t belong here.”

“I AM BLACK DOOM—”

“—And you’re finished,” Bruce finished with a sneer.

With a final pulse, the vestiges tightened the seal, banishing the corrupted mass into a shrinking void of pure energy, trapping it beyond the borders of the realm.

The swirling wound closed.

Silence returned.

Daigoro wiped his brow theatrically. “Whoever this kid pisses off next, I swear…”

Yoichi allowed himself a soft chuckle.

“We protect him… that’s our purpose,” Yoichi said.

Nana nodded.

“And we just ensured his path stayed his own.”


Meanwhile, outside the vestige world…

Midoriya yawned, blinked, and scratched his head, still strapped in his hospital bed.

“Why do I feel like… I slept through something important…?”

Aizawa walked by, sipping his coffee.

“You definitely did. Because Shadow took out an alien war lord."

"HE DID WHAT!??" Midoriya asked


The capital was alive with motion, but not with fear, today it was with reverence.

A sea of civilians packed the square, Pro Heroes lined the grand stage, cameras flashed from every direction. The banners above read “Defender of the People, Ceremony of Honor”, and front and center stood the unlikely champion who had shaken the nation.

Shadow the Hedgehog, cloaked in his trademark black and red quills, stood tall beneath the rising sun. Omega stood proudly behind him, gleaming from recent maintenance (thanks Mei Hatume Omega is slightly traumatized), while Eri sat on Shadow’s shoulders, her tiny hands clutching his quills like reins.

The crowd roared as Shadow stepped forward, accepting a medal from a Pro Hero, though his expression didn’t shift.

It wasn’t the medal that mattered.

It was the moment.

Nezu approached the podium, taking center stage with a satisfied gleam in his eye.

“Today,” Nezu began, “we celebrate truth overcoming lies. We honor a being who stood against corruption when many stood by. A protector not bound by titles, but by action.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd as screens behind the stage suddenly blinked alive, showing unedited, raw footage.

Eri Strapped to a table, Shadow escaping, tearing his way through guards,

His encounter with Hawks and Hawks's death

And Shadow apologizing to Eri (Calling her Maria at the time) about having to kill him

Nezu’s voice echoed, calm but ironclad.

“For too long, we allowed fear to dictate our actions. But today, the truth shines brighter.”


The crowd erupted, some in shock, others in anger, but most in roaring applause.

From the stage’s edge, Madam President bolted through a back entrance, face pale, clutching a purse far too heavy to be just accessories.

Omega’s targeting sensors blinked. “ESCAPE ATTEMPT DETECTED.”

Eri watched, kicking her little legs excitedly from Shadow’s shoulders.

“Papa? Are you gonna chase her?”

Shadow’s mouth curled into a rare, satisfied smirk.

“Give her a two-minute head start.”

Eri giggled.

From the shadows behind the curtains, Pro Heroes stood down, hands off their weapons. Today was justice. No false heroes. No compromise.

As the city roared, as the truth finally echoed loud and clear, Shadow leaned into the microphone.

“I am Shadow the Hedgehog.”

The wind picked up around him, swirling softly.

“I was made to protect humanity and years ago I made a promise to give humanity a chance to be happy. And i will uphold that promise."

Omega’s cannons clicked into standby mode.

Eri hugged his head tighter.

And Madam President?

She was running.

But not for long.

AND WE ARE DONE!

this should tie up all loose ends

now then some questions 

Why didn't rouge appear 

Listen as much as i wouldve liked to it doesn't make sense timeline wise

because If Shadow is sealed way longer then rouge would be long dead

Why didn't silver appear 

couldn't figure out away to fit him in

trust me I wanted to I even considered a bit where canon silver kept showing up and being confused about this shadow but it just didn't work

What happened to the league 

Disbanded 

and since all for one died and when black doom was destroyed the orginal all for one quirk got atomazied with him

why were they able to seal black doom in the vestige realm?

the black doom bit in one for all is an extremely tiny fragment if it was bigger midoriya's body would be his 

why didnt Eri become a mobian

like with silver couldn't figure it out 

We just have to settle with rouge being Eri's fursona

what am i going to do next? 

Well naturally my best stuff is eri releated so it's gonna be that but with with a certain game being released i got just the thing

He's the leader of the bunch you know him well

and now he's back to kick some tail!

His Coconut Gun can fire in spurts

If he shoots ya, it's gonna hurt!

He's bigger, faster, and stronger too

He's the first member of the D.K. crew!

Huh!

DK! Donkey Kong!

(sorry had to do the full song part)

Yes the next fic is gonna be Donkey Kong Banaza!

I know it's a bit early but who gives a shit!

Listen Ive had this idea for like since it was revealed the pauline was in that rock and her singing gave Dk powers

And Eri grew up to be a musician 

Do the math

(After I beat the game (I'm getting it today hence why I'm posting this the day after the last chapter instead of two days) i will start writing 

Anyway sorry for the rambling 

see ya!