Fractured Wings

Sir Nighteye was apart from the chaos of the raid. He had already pieced together that Centipeder was the one to leak the news of Overhaul and mainly, Sōryū. Nighteye had planned to reprimand him after the raid. But now, his mind had dulled. 

He leaned against the side of a police van, one hand gripping the edge of the door for support. His head bowed, and his eyes, usually alight with focus, were clouded with something dark. 

His voice was quiet, barely audible as a tremor escaped his lips... "This future...? It's too grim." 

The future was set in stone. That was his belief, his quirk hadn't been wrong yet. But what he had just seen, it was enough for him to do a double take on that just so he could carry on with the rest of his day. The future was set in stone. But he needs to find a way to change it. 

A voice interrupted his thoughts. "Sir. Overhaul has leapt for Sōryū. What's our next step?" It was Mirio... Lemillion. 

Nighteye straightened, adjusting his glasses, masking the turmoil with his usual stern demeanour. His mind latched on to one certainty: Sōryū, he will be a variable in the future chaos. Capturing him is non-negotiable. 

"Secure Sōryū," he said firmly, though his heart clenched. "Whatever the cost, we cannot allow him to escape." 

___

The flush of blue in the sky turned grey from the dust of the compound even though I was further out. As soon as I spotted Overhaul jumping through the sky with barriers I turned and soared higher and further with Eri attached to me. 

A second guttural roar shattered the air behind me, seething with hatred. I turned and my breath hitched. Overhaul was no longer the same well built individual I had first met in the underground fighting ring. His form was grotesque, a twisted amalgamation of muscle, armour and grotesque appendages that pulsated with life. It took a second for me to process. 

He's merged. What he had done to animals and insubordination, he had now done to himself and his own loyal bullets. 

'Who would have thought...' 

The barriers were from Tengai, and those appendages and huge strength boost was most probably from Rikiya. I kind of wondered if they had let him do that to them willingly. Seeing how loyal some of them were, like Mimic, I wouldn't be surprised. 

I cursed under my breath, adjusting Eri in my arms. There was no way I could outrun him, he would keep chasing. Maybe it was pride fuelling him. So I couldn't outrun him, or outfly him, not like this. 

My wings unfurled, paper shifting and folding into massive shapes that caught the wind as I picked up more speed in the air. 

"Stop!" 

This voice wasn't Overhaul's, it was Yuki's, sharp and commanding. I didn't look back, but I felt her presence looming, 'those wings of her's give her some tremendous speed.' I surely wasn't expecting her to be able to keep up. 

Nejire wasn't far behind either, her spirals lit up the sky like fireworks. 

Above, Ryukyu's dragon form tore through the air, with Mirio perched on her back like a missile ready to be launched. 

It was a desperate chase now. 

"Eri hold on." She didn't respond but her face buried against my chest. 

Overhaul surged upward with terrifying speeds and force, his barrier enforced limbs slamming into the ground and propelling him towards us like a cannonball. I swerved hard, twisting midair as a massive hand swiped where I had been a second earlier. The shockwave rattled my bones but I couldn't stop. Even with my breath picking up as I felt my energy depleting. 

"Kobe!" Yuki's voice again, this time sounding a little concerned. 

I ignored her again. I couldn't stop. 

Ryukyu roared as she dove toward Overhaul, her claws aimed to intercept. He twisted midair, barriers shimmering into existence just as her strike connected. The impact sent out a thunderous boom, the ground splitting beneath them as they collided. 

"Keep them occupied!" Mirio shouted as he launched himself from Ryukyu's back. He phased through Overhaul's barrier, his fist colliding with the villains exposed chest. Overhaul grunted, but his retaliation was instant—a massive arm sweeping upward to swat Mirio away. 

Nejire's spirals struck next, crashing into Overhaul's side and sending shards of debris flying. Genesis joined the fray, she had a spear on her back which she broke of into two weapons, animating them and hurled them at OVerhaul. 

But the man was relentless, his barriers absorbing most of the impact.

I used the chaos to gain altitude, my mind racing. Overhaul wasn't just fast, he was smart, even in this monstrous state. Every strike was calculated and aimed to kill. 

But Overhaul's intelligence wasn't just his strikes, it was his timing. As Mirio phased through the battlefield again, aiming for another crushing blow. Overhaul's barriers shifted. His arms lashed out with surgical precision, connecting with Mirio just as he got out of the ground after phasing. The blow landed directly on his torso, a sickening crush echoed across the battlefield. 

"Mirio!" Nejire's voice broke through the brief silence as Mirio hit the ground hard, unconscious and bleeding. 

Overhaul took to the skies again. He was even quicker this time. His figure was a blur as he closed in on me. But he didn't stop there, he went for someone also closing in on me—Yuki. 

Overhaul's massive arm collided with her, sending her spiralling downward. Her animated wings, flailed and flickered as she plummeted towards the ground. 

I dove without hesitation. With Overhaul dropping the heroes like flies, he was free reign on me. So I needed to find a way to sort him out now otherwise I'm in danger. Paper formed into a streamlined net as I caught Yuki, pulling her to a slow descent. 

"Can you move?" the words came out taut with annoyance, I didn't even mean it. Yuki gave a weak nod and even weaker breaths. 

"Eri," I said, my tone was softer again like I intended. I shifted her towards my sister. "Stay with her while I take care of the rest, okay?" 

She hesitated for a moment before nodding, her tiny hands then clutched Yuki's arms. I rose again with a new focus on Overhaul. 

With a sharp breath, I propelled myself into the fray. My wings folded into a massive crescent blade, paper edges honed to a molecular sharpness, slicing through the air. Overhaul's barriers shimmered, shifting to block my assault, but I didn't stop. 

I pushed harder, twisting mid-flight to create a vortex of serrated edges that ground against his defenses like a saw. The barrier cracked, but Overhaul swiped with a grotesque limb, a bone-bladed arm shooting towards me, 

I split apart. Literally. It was hard to do, and daunting. But I turned to my 2-d shape and split in half, letting the strike miss me by a hair before reforming. I shot behind him in a burst of speed, forming an array of tendrils that shot towards his back. Each tendril sought to constrict, to crush, to cut. 

Overhaul countered, barriers sprouting out of his form like jagged blossoms to intercept my attack. 

"Persistent." I muttered. A large sheet of paper unfurled from my hand, folding into an intricate spinning orb—a drill like construct. I launched it with precision, aiming for his right arm. The drill met his barrier with a resounding crack, piercing through and striking flesh. Overhaul roared, twisting to retaliate, but the momentary opening was all the Dragon hero needed. 

The dragon surged forward, her jaw clamping around his other arm. She twisted it violently, tearing him off balance. I took advantage of his stumble, shaping a piece of paper into a network of weighted chains that lashed around his legs, binding him to the ground. His barriers flickered, struggling to keep up with the onslaught. 

Nejire attacked from above, her spirals now a relentless torrent of energy that rained down on Overhaul. His grotesque form shuddered, his barriers barely holding. But his counterattack was brutal—bone spikes erupted from his back, shooting outward in every direction. One grazed Ryukyu's flank, drawing blood. 

'What the hell is that?' 

That wasn't his quirk... at least to the best of my knowledge. But maybe it is something to do with it. 

I ignored it for now and from ripped up paper I intentionally left out, I formed them to be sharp and swift, directing them to his exposed side. They tore through his barriers like needles through cloth, embedding themselves into his flesh. Overhaul bellowed in rage. 

I evaded his flailed arm as he tried to attack me, as I attacked him again. Every move was built up to push him into an even deeper hole. 

Ryukyu and Nejire worked in tandem, their attacks coordinated like clockwork. Ryukyu's strength kept Overhaul grounded, while Nejire's energy spirals chipped away at his barriers. I exploited every gap, every distraction. 

But Overhaul could take a hit. He was relentless. His form pulsed, barriers reforming faster than we could tear them down. He roared, leaping into the air with a force that sent shockwaves through the battlefield. His massive arm swung toward Nejire, the bone strikes glinting with lethal intent. 

"Nejire. Move!" Ryukyu shouted out. A massive paper wall intercepted the blow. The spikes tore through like butter, but it slowed him down enough for Nejire to veer away. Ryukyu lunged from below, her claws raking across his side, leaving deep gashed. 

I could hear the propellors of a helicopter. I ignored it. 

The battlefield trembled as Mt. Lady entered the fray, her colossal form casting a shadow over the chaos. She didn't wait for an opening. Her massive fist came down like a meteor, the force shattering the ground and sending Overhaul reeling. 

And... Rikiya and Tengai split apart from him. With that one hit that sent waves of dust upward and shook the air. They split apart like the pieces of a collapsing puzzle. 

I landed on the ground, breathing hard but focused. 

The battlefield was silent, save for the breaths of those still standing. It was over. Overhaul had lost. He was defeated and unconscious, limbs still intact but torn and broken in a way I hadn't envisioned seeing before. 

'We won...' 

The thought barely settled in my mind when the air shifted. It was oppressive and suffocating, the kind of feeling that sank it's claws into your very soul. The air turned cold—unnaturally so—and a pressure descended that shook my knees. 

A dark portal began forming under Overhaul's subordinates, swirling like a malevolent void. The figures unconscious body slid toward it, swallowed without resistance. 

"No," Ryukyu growled in her human form, staggering toward the figure being swallowed by the dark mist. Her hand reached out and the portal snapped shut before she could grab them. 

Another portal formed, then another. Each one engulfed another member. Their forms were devoured by the darkness, disappearing as though they were being erased from existence. 

I took a step back, breathing sharp... This wasn't Overhaul's doing. 

"That's Kurogiri." 

Oh, from the League of Villains. But why? And what is this bloodlust? 

A malice so tangible it felt like an invisible knife pressing against your throat. It was suffocating, like drowning in pith-black water while a predator circled, unseen but felt. 

The last portal appeared beneath Overhaul himself. His limp form fell to it. But before he vanished, the portal paused and a voice resonated from it's depths, dark and deep, carrying a weight. It wasn't a voice meant for ears—it was meant for hearts, meant to twist them into knots of fear. 

"You scurry like insects, fighting for scraps of justice. But this is only a testing phase. So, fail and fail again. All of you will crumble beneath the weight of what is to come." 

The portal seemed to shiver with the resonance of it's words, Overhaul's body jerked as if some unseen force yanked him in faster. 

The portal closed with a deafening silence, leaving behind only the broken landscape and the weight of it's promise. 

For a moment, no one moved. The battlefield, once alive with chaos and fury, now felt like a graveyard. 

"Where did Kobe go?" Nejire asked as she looked around. 

I was back in the skies, flying low, my body cutting through the thick atmosphere of lingering dread. I flew low, scanning the crumbled terrain until I found her—Yuki. She was cradling Eri against her chest, her expression unreadable. The sight tugged at something buried deep in me. 

I landed softly, my steps slow and deliberate. Yuki looked up, her violet eyes narrowing. 

"You're back," she said, her tone was neutral. She didn't move to attack, but her grip on Eri tightened protectively. 

"I'm taking her," I replied flatly. 

Yuki rose to her feet, keeping Eri close. "After everything? You know she's safe with us." 

"Yeah, I wonder about that," I shot back. 

Yuki's expression twisted, confused. "What do you mean? The fighting has stopped, Overhaul is arrested right?" 

"We ran into some complications, you can ask your friends later." 

I walked forward to grab Eri, she also reached out but Yuki held onto her. 

I sighed. 

"Kobe. If you run now it doesn't matter what happens later. You'll be labelled a villain. Do you really think you're the better option?" 

No. I know I'm not the better option. So why was I still trying to take her. 

I sighed again, the tension in my shoulders easing as I lowed my hand. "You're right," I said, surprising even myself. "I am not her saviour. I just wanted her out of that hellhole and away from Overhaul." 

Yuki's gaze softened ever so slightly. "Then leave her with me, and the other heroes." She said in a quieter voice. "I'll make sure she's safe. I'll make sure she has a chance to heal." 

Eri looked at me, her small hand still reaching out. I knelt down to meet her at eye level, brushing a stray strand of white hair from her face. "You'll be okay." I said softly. "Overhaul will never reach you again. Your nightmare has been defeated." 

Her lips quivered and there were even tears flowing down her face. But she nodded, slowly. 

I stood, stepping back as Yuki adjusted her grip on Eri, holding her protectively. 

"Where will you go?" Yuki asked, her voice steadier though tinged with something resembling concern. 

"Nowhere you need to follow." I replied, summoning wings of paper. They unfolded with a rustle. 

"You don't have to run Kobe." Yuki said, her words carried less force this time. 

Truthfully, she probably does still care, even if she acts as she doesn't most of the time. She is still my sister, my one and only sister. But I still had my own thing to do. 

I shook my head at her and gave one last reassuring look to Eri. I launched into the sky leaving them behind. The wind rushed past me, carrying with it the weight of the day. 

Eri was saved. That was good. But my fight was not over. 

I need to keep moving forward. Uncover the truth about the Eden Project. Expose it's creators, it's victims, and it's legacy. And to deliver swift justice to those who turned lives into experiments.