Quirks and Magic

"What the?" CC didn't know where he was anymore; he was engulfed in a blue flash at the same time the environment changed around him. 

"Elle!" He knew exactly who was behind this; she had a poor sense of fun and a really annoying habit of following orders and rules. "Return me this instant, I wanna fight more!"

[CC, English please.] All she got were small grunts from him. [And please learn some manners; asking nicely wouldn't hurt you.]

[And you stop being an asshole; I know you speak Japanese.]

[Maybe, but we are prohibited from using languages other than English on mission.] Elle uttered with her ear-ringing voice while at the same time whispering some spells to teleport a darker-toned man among them.

"Asshole."

[I still understand you.]

"What stick do you have up your ass today?" CC spat, reaching with his hand towards Quanny, who by the looks of it, was also teleported in an interesting moment.

"You are up my ass!" Elle shouted, teleporting another woman next to them. This time it was Esna, and of course she looked bored as usual.

"You wish I was."

[Enough.] After the flash revealed Mon as the last one she decided to bring into this meeting, CC wondered where the others were.

[What about twins and JJ?]

[We'll need distractions!]

[For what?] Mon decided to add himself to the conversation with yawns before and after every word, while his man bun got undone, letting black-white hair cover his green eyes. 

The vein bulged on her forehead, and her voice became shaky. [do any of you stick to the actual plan at least once in your life?]

[Depends, what's the plan this time?] Esna asked her, looking somewhere in the distance, her back turned to others.

[Scout out the targets and then kill them together, did any of you buffoons see at least one target?]

[Target 1: I just fought with her son a moment ago.]

[Is he worth fighting-] Quanny was cut off by another one of Elle's screams. [Do you remember the clear order that you got before we took off?]

[No, I didn't listen.]

[Do not engage with Heroes and Izuku Midoriya! Both are labeled with red capital letters!]

[He picked a fight with me.]

[Then you should've run.]

[No way, I don't do that!]

[I agree with CC on this one-] Quanny wanted to butt in, but by the time he uttered the first word, he knew he had screwed something up so he joined the poker round that Esna and Mon started.

[For fucks sake!] Elle smashed the table they constructed from magic, making the card drop to the floor wherever they were. [You three, did you meet any of the targets?]

[Yeah, I met Suzune M. but that bitch escaped. I mean, all her techniques are made for escape.] Quanny spoke, mumbling over his words from sheer annoyance.

[Of course, she is a freewing! What did you expect?] He shrugged with no words to say. [You two, anything?] Their blank expressions told her everything. [Ya'know, I am not taking blame on this one; you'll report to the boss your parts of the mission, to be clear right now.]

[Ok.] All of them answered in unison, creating another table and deck of cards, while CC decided to torment a cricket he found on the floor.

'God, I am surrounded by toddlers.' Elle's facepalm was loud enough to get everybody's attention but not to keep it; they came back to their "hobbies" right after.

[We are going to kill Inko in five minutes; prepare yourself and stick to the plan.]

[Oi, CC you wanna fight?] Quanny asked, making the other man drop the small cricket he had been taking apart. [Yeah, why not?]

[No way.] Elle protested. [You are to rest and do nothing else! Are we clear?]

[Yeah mom…]

**********

"Are we close?" Izuku wondered, his eyes carefully tracking Inko's movement as she delicately instructed the five arrays of rune. They were placed parallel, one next to each other.hen Izuku was done writing the runes, she finally merged the runes into something new.

He could say that the mana trail bore the runes but they were something he had never seen before. The lone guess about what they could do is just beyond him.

"Yes, we are; we just need the modifiers." She placed the mana trail vertically in front of her face as she moved towards the edge. "Do you mind?" She waved her head, signaling Izuku to the lack of the floor in front of her.

"Sure." He took the debris he could find around to form a small bridge, forced to stop by the barrier, indicating to them exactly where it was.

"Izuku, create me the 7th, 11th, and 29th rune arry and send them to me."

"Are those the modifiers?"

"Yes." He wasted no time and started to draw curly letters in the air. Well, he wasted a little time. "What do you need for buffing, redirection, and connection rune sets?"

"There is no explanation; you just need the specific runes for a specific effect, even if there is no compatibility." Inko duly answered, wondering about her son's curiosity about this topic. "You learned about runes with Agatha. Two same runes can cause two different effects if not arranged in the same order."

"Yes, I understand that part but it seems a little wonky when you are talking about already-done rune arrays."

"Don't ask questions about something you can't know the answer to. Ask only important questions now and here."

"Y-yes."

"And hurry up a little!"

"A bit of patience; I am about to finish the 7th and 11th in a sec." Izuku announced as he sent the two rune arrys towards his mother. "And the 29th shouldn't take more than just a minute."

"Great." Inko's voice ranged. After catching the two magical lines, she stuck to the trail slowly but precisely.

"And when were you planning to tell me about the complexes you mentioned before?"

"You heard?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry about it; it isn't a big deal."

"A big deal? You heard me describe that man with no exaggeration."

"There are some Heroes that can achieve the same feat with just their quirks alone."

"You heard me, right? A costless power!" Izuku raised his voice, almost reaching the pitch only dogs could hear, somehow without throwing a fit and intended shouting. "You expect me to believe that something like, like, whatever I saw there is similar to quirks?"

"I am now suggesting I am telling you to believe it and stop questioning me!"

"Bullshit!"

"Don't talk to me like that; I am your mother!"

"You are my mother, the one who considered me an equal when I was needed around the house, but you can't bring yourself to tell me something about the man that almost killed me!"

"What are you talking about? I never considered you an equal."

"You were a broken mess watching over six children until Enomoto decided to disappear without a word, until you forced Naoko to marry and leave, until Rei decided she was better off without us, and until Sone emptied your wallet without thinking about anyone else."

Inko was stunted for words.

"I was ten, washing our clothes, making us food, and going over the bills and expenses. I used magic to pretend to be you so I could get Sone out of trouble. I busted my ass watching over Izuna. I was the only one Rei talked to. I was there with all of it to help you but why do you always undermine me?" A tear dropped from Izuku's left eye.

"Was I a bad mother?" Inko's tear mirrored that of her son's.

"Who gives a shit? We are alive and well and now smarten the hell up and tell me about the complexes and what they are all about!"

"No, Izuku, I can't; you are not ready yet for them."

"Fuck this." He walked away. He had done his part of the rune drawing; the only thing left was for Inko to connect and initiate runes.

"Where are you going?" Her shout cracked a bit too much. "I am done in five minutes; stay together if someone comes after the barrier is done."

"Deal with it yourself; I am not on that level yet. " Pre spatium permoves. " He was gone in no longer than a whisper.

Somewhat the destination to teleport was the staircase between the ground and first floor. He was looking for Momo; he wanted to talk to her.

**********

"And this is what you needed me for?" Akito squealed, pointing out the phone on the ground. "And how stupid can you two be?"

"Excuse me." Izuna added.

"How do you expect me to hack a phone without anything? And to add to that, it is unlocked."

"How are we supposed to know?" Katsuki grumbled.

"By using common sense."

"We tried that."

"I doubt that."

"Okay, we got over that. Can you do it? Can you get Agathta, Miya-san?" Izuna said, placing the phone in Akito's pocket. "And can you look into the phone for any info about the police?"

"You plan on getting me into trouble like Bakugo here?" Akito whispered, pointing a finger at Katsuki underneath his jacket.

"..." Katsuki's stare spoke more than any of his curses could.

"You can turn into a bird; no one would know that is you. You have the means; you just need to make a choice."

"And how the heck do you expect me to give you a report about the phone?"

"Agatha will bring you back here with you! Are you in?" Izuna pleaded, her eyes getting deeper as she asked him for more.

"You owe me!" Akito exclaimed, pointing a finger at her.

"Even me?"

"Even you."

"Sounds great." A smile climbed onto her face.

"And what the heck is with searching for me rather than going to Agtahta from the beginning? You could've saved thirty minutes."

"Don't ask questions! Please." This is the first time Akito head Katuski has used 'please' or any similar words. He switched to a different topic; it's safer. "You just need-"

"To find you a bird." Izuna finished his sentence, picking up a white pigeon tied to a rubber band, probably with a broken wing.

"You didn't need to hurt the animal." Akito gently taped the pigeon's head lightly.

"Does that affect your quirk?" Katsuki asked.

"No, but this is animal cruelty."

"Who cares? Just do your job!"

"I am sorry!" Izuna whispered, lightly hugging him from his right. "Just do this for me, please."

"What do I need to say again?" Akito asked softly, pushing his body so Izuna could hug him. Without noticing it, Izuna moved away, speaking. "Pink-red. Just tell her that."

"O-ok:" Akito answered before he activated his quirk. The white feathers spread over his arms, and his chest became more round as each arm now bore five bones, recreating the bird wings. After his mouth turned to beak and his body shrank, he was almost no different than the white pigeon he held in his arms moments before.

With nothing else to do, the new bird next to two teens started flying away.

"What's the plan?"

"Go save some people." She tied her hair into a tight ponytail. You could clearly see how the green colour faded over time as she grew older; half of her scalp had brown hair.

"Nah," Katsuki exhaled. " I wanna beat someone to pulp. Good luck with that shit tho." He bends his knees, his palms flaming and the cracking sounds of the explosions. 

"No way! Come back here!" She shouted, using her quirk to pin him to the ground. "You are still with me."

"Can't this wait a minute or so? You can get a head start and save some of the extras. Let me do some of the fighting." He spat, staring into two glassy green emeralds (on Izuna's face.)

"We are going to get my mother." She pressed a foot on his stomach. "Did you notice even for a moment that she was gone?" 

Kastuki's voice calmed as his body got limp and numb. "No, I didn't think-"

"You never think! The hell was that with staff in tent."

"You ain't gonna fucking blame me for that."

"The fuck I will." Her body became weak, the occasional twitching made it worse. "I stayed quiet for thirty damned minutes, waiting for you to ask about my brother or mother, my family."

"And what? I am supposed to be your slave so you can feel better."

"No! Just help me a little and stop being self-absorbed; I don't want to get you out of every possible situation just because you didn't think for a moment."

"I am not a coward to not let shit happen!"

"Forget it. do whatever you want." With a simple gesture of her hand, she made Katsuki fly up and slam into the cement below.

Once he was done getting up, releasing all sorts of grunts due to pain, Izuna was already gone. He is faster than her by a landslide, but a ten-minute head start is a significant distance to cross. "I give up." He let out a deep breath, dropping back to lay down on the ground. He knew where she was going and he was in no state to haste towards it at full speed. "I'm just gonna rest up a little."

**********

"Come on, can't I lick it just a little?" Marise begged on her knees. "He is dead their way and his blood seems tasty." She pointed to a dead man with a gushing wound; the blood that left his body was so dark that for a moment, you would think that it was black instead of crimson red.

Except for a moral reason Momo didn't know any other excuse to advise Mirase differently. And after telling her hundreds of times why she can't lick a dead man, she was sure that common sense and morals are unfamiliar concepts.

"I forbid you." She sipped mana into a rune Izuku made her on the back of her hand. In response, one of the same runes disappeared from Marise's arm. This is the third time she has done that, and hesitenin and anxiety grew by every time.

"Ahhh," Marise yawped, but there was still a creepy smile on her face. "What to do now?" Marise's voice rang loudly in Momo's ears as she made circles around her. "We saved them all. Can't we have some fun?"

"No, we just wait." Momo's answer was simple, dull, and not enough.

"That's boring."

"Then entertain yourself." She took a breath, remembering that she needed to say more for the sake of the others around her. "Like a normal person."

"You are normal; show me how to have fun!"

"I don't care; just don't do anything involving dead bodies and crushing this building."

"So I can fight you."

"I rather not; I beat you already so that bears no worth."

"So I request a rematch."

"And I refuse."

Momo was too bothered and tired to give attention to Marise's crys and pleads. Momo knew that she is far from childish, Marise's attempts to grab her by arms or to drag her along probably had a lot of different motives.

"What's that?" Marise's thin finger pointed to the small paper butterfly flapping its wings slowly. Momo opened her palm offering the butterfly a place to land. The moment its six legs lightly touched Momo's hands the paper craft twisted and transformed into a paper note.

"Is it clear?" Momo quietly read the squirly kanji on the note. Marise was also curious about what it said, so much so that she peaked at it, placing her head on Momo's shoulder.

"Izuku." Momo muttered, "Izuku!" A scream followed, her head moved erratically around, looking for traces of Izuku.

Still, Marise didn't move; she stood there and dully observed Momo's frantic movement. "Who? That green, sketchy boy. Is he your boyfriend?"

"It is not your business." Momo's face gained a pink colour, and her feet slowed down, looking around for Izuku. Her face got deeper shades of red and her feet gave up once she saw Izuku walking slowly with a broken stance.

"Thank God you are fine!"

Her mind went blank and body started acting on its own. Before she knew it, she was already chinking him with her hug. But something felt different; it felt wrong that Izuku didn't bother to return a hug or to say something.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I guess it is." His voice was quiet, somewhat a whisper. He finally put his hands on her back with hesitation.

"It doesn't look like it." Momo murmured in his ear. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

"Nothing big, just my mother being delusional like usual."

"So you don't wanna talk about it? Noted!" Momo let go of her hug, letting him breathe a little. She didn't try to get a look at his eyes, she knew they were dead blank. He is always like this when someone doesn't trust him or needs him. He dies a little.

"So, what's the plan?" Momo recalled all the times that had happened since she met Izuku. This is far from new and by giving him a purpose Izuku gains the light in his eyes.

"Nothing," He sat, not moving an inch, his head hanging down, looking dead at the ground.

'This is new:' Momo thought, sitting next to him, swinging her hand on his back but not embracing him in full hug. Just enough to give him some space. "Sure, just take some rest." 

"Come on, what has broken our tough boyfriend from earlier?" Marise poked her finger at his shoulder, expecting a reaction from him.

"Do you mind?" Momo grabbed her wrist, dragging her away. "What is wrong with you?" 

"Lots of things."

"I noticed that." Momo spat. "Go somewhere; do something; just leave us alone; leave him alone."

"I don't wanna go."

"Well, that's too bad." She used the set of runes Izuku created to command her for the fourth time. "Go!" Marise listened blindly, giving Momo some quiet time with Izuku.

Momo returned, she took a seat next to Izuku again, with her hands resting on her legs crossed one over the other. "You don't need to talk at all if you don't want to, but know that if you need it, I am here, and we have some time to kill."

"No, I just need time, and my mother is seconds from breaking the barrier."

'So this is about Inko...' Momo was left without words to say. It was not the best course of action but she decided to take out the blue gem Izuku gave her. "Here, we are both safe; let's, you um-hm, you know, put them together like some... sort of trophy."

"Sure," He took out his gem from his pocket. "Reformatum figura, Soulbenda!" Two blue gems flew into the air, and with mana draining from them, they merged into a green heart. "Creas," he uttered the last spell to create the chain, passing through the top of the heart.

"Here," he said, spreading the ends of the silver chain wide, letting Momo raise her hair for him to put it on her.

"Thanks, but I ment something for both of us to never forget." Momo slid her hand over the gemstone heart, gently rubbing the ends. "And it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, thank you."

"Don't worry, I think neither of us is going to forget this with or without the pendet." He stood up, his head raised, and his eyes, still glassy covered with tears that weren't ready to flow, faked his usual emotions. "C'mon, we need to be next to my mother. It is safer for her to protect us after the barrier is undone."

"I don't get that spell at all; it wasn't there when we were on the rooftop; we saw what happened down on the streets; we hid."

"It's magic; it never makes sense."

"That's a lame excuse."

"I know."

Momo held her words carefully, letting out only the sentences that wouldn't pry too deep into his problems. "Is it smart to go next to Inko right now? Maybe calm down a little first."

"It is a stupid and shitty idea, by far." He stopped, his mout spread a little, letting out a small laugh. "But when did we ever make a smart decision?"

"True…" Momo tilted her head to the left, almost touching her shoulder. "But we can start now."

"Stop messing around!" Izuku's eyes twitched, looking at Momo and around her for a minute or so. "Go find that Marise girl; I'll catch up."

"Sure." Momo quickened her pace, shouting Marise's name every few seconds. Izuku decided not to pay much attention to them but rather to the green insect that was behind Momo.

"Just in case," Izuku whispered to himself, approaching little by little the small animal in front of him. "Vitam et aminam cludo." He extended his arm to the grasshopper in front of him, turning him into a small green marble.

"Izuku!"

"Coming!"

**********

"What the?" Izuna placed her hand in front of the window frame. Her gut was telling her that there was an invisible wall calling her to walk through it. It was even worse when her hand was glued stuck to the air and the energy of her quirk.

With struggle, she pulled her hand back. If more than just her finger touched it, she would be dragged in against all of her struggle.

"Izuna!" A raspy voice called her as the loud thud came from nowhere.

"Go away, Katsuki! Do whatever you want! Leave!"

"Don't fucking do this!"

"Do what?"

"Do this on your own."

"Fuck you!" Izuna spat, heading face first through the uniquely textured air while her stomach twisted in fear and anxiety. What she saw before she stepped through didn't match what stood in front of her now.

The sight from the outside was of a nice, usually tidy building, but stepping just a few steps in the same building is in shambles, flames dancing through cracks, with it missing a few floors on the top.

"The fuck happend here?" She wondered, standing still not moving an inch while loud banging paired with circular patterns appeared in the air behind her.

"Coming!" She heard Izuku's voice, eager to find him she rushed through the window before her until something stopped her. "Katsuki?"

She looked around, expecting for the blond boy to follow her blindly, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Weird."

Her steps were light and careful, not to step into fire, shards or exposed metal beams. "Oh, heavens." Multiple dead bodies came to her sight once she was in the main lobby. "Why is no one helping here?" She asked with floor voice, expecting a response.

A quick decision was to run out a building, but not a very successful one. Her head met an invisible wall and bounced back like a ball. "This is weird." She put her hand on to the same barrier only for the energy of her quirk to repel her back. "This is really weird."

"Izuku," her voice loud in desperation, her legs moved up the stairs quicker than her brain could think of another creepy scenario.