ProfSpacecakes

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

And, just like that, the time for talk had come to an abrupt end as fire began to rain down from above. All Might’s first instinct was to protect the civilians in the path of the flamethrower, but said task was already well in hand, Hershel’s shields protecting most of the injured at the camp. In the chaos that followed, it became quite clear that what they needed in this moment wasn’t a strategist, or someone to dig the truth out of Lex Luthor’s web of lies.

What they needed was a hero.



Shifting back into his formidable muscle form, All Might watched for a tense moment at all that was going on in the air above. The fight was an absolute clusterfuck with everyone firing off weapons and abilities with no rhyme or reason, just a desire to bring Firefly down without much thought to possible friendly fire. He grit his teeth in frustration as he watched, knowing he couldn’t jump into the fray without making matters even more disordered and chaotic. Not yet, at least. Not until he could find an opening.

Then, he saw it. After sustaining heavy damage to his jet pack, Firefly panicked and threw down as many of his bombs as he could. All Might had barely pulled back a fist before he spotted the hero clad in red and blue, Spider-Man, skillfully capture the bombs in his webs before tossing the bundle into the air, likely fully aware he couldn’t get out of the blast radius in time. Likely acting to save innocent lives before he even had time to think of his own. It was an admirable show of sacrifice, but perhaps another hero could help him avoid paying that ultimate price for his bravery.

”Texas Smash!!”

With that warcry-like call, All Might aimed a punch into the air with such insane force that the air pressure alone would impact like a freight train. That force was directed at the cluster of bombs, launching the deadly bundle higher into the air to where it wouldn’t cause any injury or damage when it inevitably exploded however many seconds later.

But that wasn’t all. Such a punch would serve to dramatically lower the atmospheric pressure in the area, dark clouds rapidly forming in the previously clear skies, thunder rumbling through the battle-torn streets. And then, approximately ten seconds after the detonation, it began to rain.

”You’ll be facing me now, villain!” the legendary hero announced as he crouched down low, potential energy building rapidly in powerful legs. When the switch was flipped from potential to kinetic, All Might was launched up into the air as fast as any bullet, the loud boom of the shattered sound barrier trailing in his wake as he aimed another devastating punch squarely at Firefly’s head.

Interactions - @RirisStride1 @Thatguyinastore @SomeMekBoy @whoever else is fighting

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

It was strange. All Might had spent the better part of the past year as a teacher to a class of twenty super-powered fifteen year olds, yet he couldn’t remember a time when he’d been this quickly exasperated by such childish behavior. Eric’s response was entirely too flippant for the given situation, but at least he seemed to be competent enough with first aid to not do much harm, especially now that he was left with only the proper supplies to use. He also seemed more than happy to take care of that strange puppet… thing…

Negan, surprisingly enough, seemed to have the most reasonable of all responses from the group. He was a bit patronizing, sure, but at least he was easily convinced to take up a more appropriate role as a sentry of sorts. All Might would just leave him to it without further complaint.

Now Voss, on the other hand…

All Might could tell that even the relatively mild threats he’d made, as well as the much more clear and present ones delivered by Hershel, had a definite effect on the old sea captain… though not so much that it deterred him from twirling his remaining pistol around his finger. And then the fool dropped it. The retired hero’s eyes widened when he saw the pistol start to tumble to the ground, but Voss somehow managed to catch it before it could fall all the way.

Once Voss straightened up again following Hershel’s departure, he would find the hand that held his pistol suddenly caught in the vice grip of one almost twice its size, his aim redirected skyward with a sharp tug. Should the pirate care to look up at the owner of the offending grip in that moment, he would find not the thin, frail-looking man from before, but a looming titan of solid muscle that cut a significantly more formidable silhouette, though the piercing blue glare from earlier was unmistakably the same.

”I think your skills would be better served standing guard with that gentleman over there,” All Might began, making the slightest nod over towards Negan, his tone much quieter than before, almost so low that few others aside from Voss himself could hear. What his voice lacked in volume it made up for in intensity, speaking in such a way that it might have been less scary if he was still yelling. ”But, make no mistake: if any innocent person comes to harm by your hand, be it by bullet, blade, or otherwise, whether purposeful or ‘accidental,’ I will be very… upset. I can’t say what I might do to express that sentiment, but I trust you’re smart enough to imagine for yourself.”

As if to emphasize that unspoken threat, All Might’s grip on him tightened — not so much that it would cause Voss any injury, but enough to communicate that the only thing that kept the bones of his hands intact was the hero’s restraint. Normally he had a personal rule not to threaten bodily harm on anyone who wasn’t a villain — that wouldn’t exactly contribute to his image as the Symbol of Peace — but this man seemed to be toeing the line of villainy already, so he would match him apace.

Feeling that he’d delivered his message as effectively as possible, he released Voss’ hand and turned now to the dominant Ultron drone, deflating instantly back to his former scrawny frame.

”I see. That’s definitely going to be an important detail, I feel,” he replied to the robot, though his gaze soon shifted over towards the restrained men from the building, followers of this ‘Firefly’ fellow. ”Especially since Superman’s disappearance and this Firefly villain arriving in this city seem to coincide. In my experience, villains don’t operate outside of their home turf without having a damn good reason, and holding some random office building hostage doesn’t seem like the type of thing that would warrant a relocation. My money’s on him being hired to pull this gig, and I’m willing to double down and bet that whoever’s hired him has something to do with Superman’s behavioral shift. Do you happen to know if the team that captured these men got any information out of them? I’d hate to have to interrogate someone a second time if they’ve already talked.”

Interactions - @RirisStride1 @ClownTown @Thatguyinastore @Yamperzzz @Attesa

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

All Might opened his mouth to reply to Ultron — and with something more important than merely pointing out that he’d already made the Jeff Bezos joke earlier, I swear — but chaos ensued before he could. The most concerning and derailing sounds were, of course, the very nearby gunshots. When he turned around to see what was going on, he was at first relieved to see that no one had been shot, but… Between Voss still holding a gun, Negan dumping what looked like liquor on a patient, and some feline creature also in possession of a gun and proceeding to… crush up berries? It all seemed a bit much for the old hero.

”Enough!”

After that shouted call to order, anyone that would care to glance All Might’s way would find them fixed in an intense angry gaze that had been known to make most lesser villains soil themselves. He focused his ire mainly on Voss, Negan, and Eric, who’d made fine work of completely terrifying the gathered survivors.

”You three! If any of you have actual first aid training, stick to the sterilized supplies gathered in these crates. If you don’t have the proper training, then you’ll likely do more harm than good by trying to treat these people. I appreciate the desire to help, but it might be better for you to either help gather information or else keep an eye on the perimeter. And you!” All Might shifted his attention to focus on Voss in particular. ”If your weapons are so prone to ‘misfires’ then either put them away or hand them over. If I hear one more gunshot from you inside this camp, you’d better have a damn good excuse or be prepared to be forcibly restrained!”

Interactions - @RirisStride1 @ClownTown @Thatguyinastore @Attesa @Yamperzzz

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

All Might knew what he was saying would probably come across as incredibly naïve to someone who hadn’t spent years in the shoes of a hero. However, the reaction he got was so annoyed and dismissive — so utterly out of character for the man based on his behavior so far — that it caused him to look over towards Hershel with an utterly bewildered expression. As soon as he caught that incongruent look on the Duke’s face, complete with a sly little wink, his confusion eased. The retired hero caught the meaning right away, a smile spreading across his lips.

”Ah, of course! It’d be a shame if these poor folks survived all this only to die from infection later,” he replied, undoing the clasp of his watch and handing it over to the cleric. He didn’t know what sort of bag that was, but given the other sort of things he had on him, he was sure it held some special features that would block out the signals.

Before he could continue on with the earlier subject, what seemed to be three(?) copies of Ultron landed at the first aid station. He was confused at first, but when one of them shifted from blue optics to red and spoke as Ultron, he figured he understood. He recalled them speaking about production facilities and drones, so these were probably the very drones that were mentioned. That also meant they didn’t have one of those LexCorp watches on, which was handy.

”We’d really appreciate the help, thank you,” he replied with a friendly smile, going back to wrapping wounds as he continued speaking. ”I assume you’re pretty good at multitasking, being an AI. I don’t suppose you’ve been mining this world’s internet for information on Superman? If so, I’d like to know if you found anything that may have been a video or a firsthand account of what happened just before or the moment of his apparent heel turn. I have my suspicions that Lex Luthor is using us more than he initially let on. The fact that he not only knew about Superman’s weakness to this Kryptonite element, but has admitted to using it against him so often before that he’s run out of his supply of it — it’s all very suspicious.”

“That aside, I have my suspicions that Superman may not be in his right mind, whether he’s being controlled or something else. If you can find any hints of what’s so drastically changed his personality, it could be useful. We may even be able to end this without having to take his life.”

Interactions - @RirisStride1 @ClownTown

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

Chaos erupted before All Might had the chance to respond to either Joel or Ultron, a nearby building practically exploding into flames just down the street. He looked over just in time to see the tail ends of a red cape flutter by, it’s owner clearly flying away from the disaster. All Might couldn’t help but clench his jaw in clear anger. What kind of hero would ever dream of causing such terror and destruction?

Once on the ground, an all too familiar scene unfolded, rubble strewn about the once-peaceful city street, the sounds of distant cries for help and screams of pain echoing in his ears. It was an almost impossible task to hold himself back from jumping headlong into that building, but he knew it would mean he’d have less time against the main threat if he went ham on the rescue effort the way he used to. No, he wasn’t the headliner here, he was the pinch hitter. He had to save as much of his stamina as he could for when they faced Superman head on.

That didn’t mean he was completely useless, of course. First aid in disaster zones was the sort of skill heroes in his world had to be thoroughly trained in and kept up to date on, or else they risked losing their hero license. All Might had always taken such training very seriously, to the point that he could easily be considered a combat medic if he wanted to, and that seemed to come in handy now. He made quick work of leading those that had jumped into Otto’s safety net towards the first aid camp, using his muscle form in brief bursts to carry those who had broken legs or otherwise couldn’t make it on their own.

Once most of those who were immobile had been brought back, he set to work on the task of triage, treating those with life-threatening injuries first. He would mostly make sure that major bleeds were at least staunched by thick gauze pads, giving the victims more time to be properly treated by Hershel or whatever paramedics could show up through the ruined street. Once the worst were attended to, All Might was kept busy treating things like burns, setting and binding broken bones, and stitching up lacerations as best he could, leaving the more complicated cases for the cleric to handle with his superior abilities in that field.

”Hey, listen — er, sorry, I don’t think I ever caught your name,” All Might began once he’d found a good enough pace to talk while treating the injured, directing his conversation towards Hershel nearby. ”This probably isn’t the best time to bring this up, but I never got a chance to talk to everyone without Lex Luthor looming over our shoulders.”

All Might’s eyes darted down briefly towards the watch on his wrist, the one Lex had put on each of them. They’d been told they were communication devices, but the retired hero was sure that wasn’t all. There was no doubt in his mind that Mr. Luthor was using them, tracking each of their locations and possibly listening in for any hint of dissent or double crossing. He would have preferred to have this conversation somewhere that he could utilize the audio jammer built into his phone, but he knew better than to expect the ideal situation for such things, so he’d just have to live with the likely eavesdropping.

”None of this feels right to me. There’s no way I can imagine a hero completely turning his back on his principles and ethics out of the blue like this, and I don’t trust that Jeff Bezos lookalike to tell us the full story. I can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t the real Superman, and he knows it. It’s probably not some imposter; I’m pretty sure it’s the real deal physically, at least, but… I can’t help but feel that maybe he’s being controlled, or he’s been brainwashed, or something.”

Interactions - @RirisStride1

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

"I'm not telling anyone to do anything." All Might replied to Ultron as calm as ever, attempting to bring down the heated energy of the room as several others seemed to jump down the robot's metaphorical throat or cajole him into cooperating. "As much as I appreciate this fellow's endorsement, I'm not anyone's leader and I don't hold authority over any of you. For that reason, you can consider anything I ask if you to be just that; a humble request. Given your impressive abilities, I would very much like your cooperation, but I do not demand it."

"However—!"

All Might raised his voice just enough to get as many people that cared to listen to him to focus on him, feeling the next bit to be important enough to warrant putting a commanding tone in his voice.

"I don't want anyone to agree to participate if you aren't prepared to give this task your all. This isn't a game, and we have neither the time nor the resources to entertain a half-assed effort from anyone. There are lives at stake here, including your own. If you don't want to do this, then I beg you – don't come. I don't care what your reasons are, and you don't have to explain yourself to anyone. You may be afraid of death, you may prefer this world to your own. Hell, you may simply prefer to sit here with your thumbs up your exhaust port and do nothing. Whatever your reasons, you'll lose no respect from me, just so long as you're honest about whether or not you're truly prepared to risk your life for this."

Interactions -@ClownTown @RirisStride1 @Everyone

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

All Might listened carefully to each person that stepped forward to state what they could do and what team they’d prefer to be on, giving most a smile and nod of acknowledgment. He did take the time to respond to Hershel specifically, though, as he had some suggestions of his own to make.

”All of that sounds like a good idea to me. For further splitting up the teams, I think we should leave that for the individual teams to sort out once we know where everyone is going. It seems Strike Team is already on its way to being the largest of the three, which makes sense, given what we’re going up against. As for me…”

All Might seemed to hesitate a moment when he was about to share what he could contribute. Honestly, that was a good question — what could he contribute? He was retired, Quirkless, and he couldn’t even stay in his muscle form for longer than a second before—

Wait a minute…

His entire train of thought came to a screeching halt when he finally noticed it: he’d been in his muscle form for several minutes now without so much as breaking a sweat! But how was that possible? Ever since his final fight with All for One, he’d been… Actually, that wasn’t all. Thinking back to when he’d dashed over to try to save Sarah from being taken, he couldn’t deny that he’d moved faster than was possible for a normal human, or even an athlete. That had been a little bit of his old super speed!

It almost seemed impossible, but now that he thought on it and felt deep within himself, he couldn’t deny it: there were some dormant dead embers of One for All in him that had somehow reignited since he’d come to this world. Could it be that he’d been cut off from Midoriya, and somehow the last traces of his old Quirk took that to mean the transfer had failed? If that were so, he’d likely lose it all over again once he returned home, but that would be an issue to worry about then. For now…

”Before I retired, I was considered the strongest superhero my world had ever had. My powers include super strength, super speed, high durability and endurance. True, I may not be able to fly like Superman, but both of my old masters could, which forced me to get creative to keep up. As long as he doesn’t go suborbital, I shouldn’t have too much trouble meeting him in the air. But all of that’s the good news…”



In the next moment, All Might let his body fully relax, at which point he seemed to deflate instantly back to his scrawny, sickly form from before. He tried his best to stifle the small coughing fit it left him in, making sure to cover his mouth so the blood wouldn’t be too terribly obvious.

”As for the bad news…” he continued on once his coughing subsided, his voice a tad more ragged than before. ”I am unfortunately retired for a reason. A few of the fights I’ve been in have taken their toll on me. I’ve had some pretty severe injuries in the past — severe enough that I lost my stomach and one of my lungs. I can still fight, but I can’t last as long as I used to. Since my stamina is an issue, I think it would be best for me to assist the Tactical Team. My experience and knowledge of combat between super powered individuals, as well as hero society in general, would better serve in crafting effective strategies to take out this threat. I’ll also stand by to act as a backup of sorts to the Strike Team. If things start going south, I can be out there within minutes to help shore up our attacking forces.”

Interactions - @RirisStride1 @Everyone

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

The tension in All Might’s body seemed to ease slightly at seeing that Sarah was safe, though he did cast a glance back towards Joel where Doomguy had him restrained, curious to see if he was satisfied. Whatever the answer would be, the retired hero felt it best to move onto the subject at hand: Superman.

But he was beat to the punch this time, and by what appeared to be a fellow hero. He listened quietly as Spider-Man proposed his plan, giving an approving nod towards the end.

”That seems as wise a plan as any. This Superman seems to be quite the foe, one we can’t hope to defeat unless we pool our resources and allocate each to the most appropriate task.” he began, stepping up to address the gathered group more out of habit than attempting to claim a leadership role. ”While I wholeheartedly disagree with Mr. Luthor’s methods, the threat — and our own personal stake in this — is quite clear. This young man has proposed three teams; Information, Tactical, and Strike. I agree with this division of skills. Those of you who are willing to take Mr. Luthor’s offer: I would like to request that you state whatever powers or skills you have to contribute to this mission, or perhaps just which team you feel best suited to be on.”

“And, of course, if you’ve got any better ideas than this, feel free to speak up.”

Interactions - @Thatguyinastore@SomeMekBoy Pretty much everyone in the room

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

All Might remained silent as Luthor began to finally explain why they were there. He watched the hologram presentation, and was struck initially with surprise. So, there were heroes in this world, too? That might make matters a little easier for him, at least. And this ‘Superman’… Part of him couldn’t help but compare him to himself. The two of them seemed similar, after all. Even their hero costumes had the same color palette.

Soon, however, the differences would make themselves disturbingly apparent. All Might watched with a horror that the rest of the group couldn’t quite muster — a horror that came from knowing the nuances of being a superhero, of being in those shoes himself — as Superman was shown destroying buildings, terrorizing citizens, and even using his great powers to slaughter those he was meant to protect. His fists clenched all the harder at his sides, his jaw tight in clear anger. This was no hero; this was a villain of the worst kind!

But he didn’t get a chance to think on it further. Joel, understandably enraged that his young daughter had been dragged into such a potentially deadly situation, rushed at Lex Luthor. He was almost immediately restrained, but that didn’t seem to be the end of it. Acting as if he were merely doing as Joel wanted, the businessman pushed a button on his desk, and poor Sarah was engulfed in smoke.



His body acted on its own, seemingly atrophied muscles suddenly bulging out to near-impossible mass, the seams of his leather jacket straining against the sudden change. This now titan of muscle dashed over to where Sarah was, moving faster than one could blink, attempting to grab her out of that smoke…



… but he was too late. She was gone.

"No!" he roared out as the last wisps of smoke passed effortlessly through his fingers. He then turned to face Luthor, fixing him in a steely blue gaze as the man explained she was merely moved to some unknown safe place.

"If she's as safe as you claim, then prove it! Show us where you have her, if for no other reason than to ease her father's worries!"

Interactions - @Thatguyinastore

ArcRift

All Might

Toshinori Yagi

All Might had barely finished his grave warning to Joel before a woman came to gather them. He’d still been unconscious when she’d come before, so he hadn’t recognized her as the others had. Her directions were brief and to the point, and soon enough, she led them away towards a massive elevator.

All Might noticed Joel’s skeptical look as he took his daughter’s hand and followed into the elevator with the others. A sliver of doubt formed in him at that. Surely a rugged survivor like Joel could sense something off here, right? Or was the old hero merely jumping at shadows? Perhaps his shock and grief couldn’t be completely dismissed as causes for his anxiety, but there just wasn’t any shaking this deep feeling that something was very wrong here.

Like many of the others, he boarded the elevator in silence, keeping to himself during the whole awkward ride. The entire time was spent questioning himself, whether his ingrained sense of danger had been skewed during the past year of his retirement, or if his worry for Midoriya roaming around as a vigilante still had him paranoid. Was he overreacting? Had he potentially frightened that sweet little girl for nothing?

Then, they arrived. The lot of them stepped out of the elevator and into a massive opulent office. All Might’s attention immediately focused in on the clear owner of such an office, and the instant he made eye contact, he could feel his blood run cold. For a split second, he could have fooled himself into thinking he was staring into the smug face of All for One. All doubt in his mind was wiped away at that, the old hero’s fists clenching at his sides, a pulse of phantom pain throbbing in the massive twisted scar that engulfed the left side of his abdomen. This was not All for One, he knew that, but… Whoever this Lex Luthor was, he had the same smile, the same air of superiority, the same manipulative look in his cold eyes.

Despite being put fully on edge by this man, All Might knew now was not the time to make hasty actions. There was still information to gather, and with any luck Luthor would provide it himself. Besides, there were already plenty of others getting up in the man’s face, posturing and making demands. He opted instead to remain standing at the edge of the room, his posture back to its previous meek slouching. Best to play the weak fool for now until he could gauge the full scope of their situation.

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