S1 - Ep 12: The Hunt Begins - Part 2
Under the influence of All For One, Luz goes on a rampage on her friends killers to avenge her fallen team. However, strain soon takes its toll on her body.
This chapter contains examples of:
- Ability Mixing: Luz uses "Flame" and "Vines" to create flaming whips. And then there's her Finishing move.
- Adults Are Useless: Luz seems to have gained this opinion that anyone who was over the age of 18 is untrustworthy to her. Luckily, its Subverted as the three adults she comes into contact with have come to save her and her friends.
- Agony of the Feet: At the climax of the chapter, Luz proceeds to stab Kennedy in the ankles with "Spear Fingers" to prevent him from escaping her wrath.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Emilia does this to Luz during her Roaring Rampage of Revenge claiming she didn't personally kill anyone and was never on board with the slaughter of Luz's team in the first place. Fortunately for the former leader, Luz believes her and lets her escape with her life.
- All for Nothing:
- The Heaven's Devils and Foxtrot are wiped by a rampaging Luz (sans Emilia), the one they were promised $15 billion if they killed. Even if Kennedy and his alliance did manage to defeat her, the governor was never gonna pay up, he'd just have them killed too. In fact, he wanted this outcome to happen.
- Subverted for Luz. Just as she hits her Heroic RRoD and is mortally wounded in front the governor's armed men, its revealed they're the army sent to save her, her friends and have just arrested the Arc Villain.
Good… then all of what she did wasn’t for nothing… - And Show It to You: Luz kills Daniel by ripping out his still beating heart and crushes it with her bare hands, then she steals his Quirk.
- Authority in Name Only: Emilia admits she became this after a coup happened in her own team as they wanted to go along with Kennedy's plan to wipe out The Alpha Squadron.
- Avenging the Villain: Luz mocking asks the enemy teams if they want to avenge the two teammates she just killed. Daniel and Darelene try. Try being the keyword.
- Awesome, but Impractical: By the end of Chapter 12, Luz had 28 different Quirks she could use for Mass Quirk combinations similar to Shigaraki's 'ultimate combination of Quirks'. However, this far more than her body could handle and ends up suffering a bloody Heroic RRoD.
- Ax-Crazy: Luz is very much this in this chapter.Luz: (Quizzical Tilt) Oh, Kennedy~! Where the fuck do you think you’re going!
- Battle Amongst the Flames: A forest fire breaks out due Luz's fire Quirk and doesn't die down even after the "battle" is over.
- Blood from the Mouth: Luz spews blood as she experiences "Quirk Overload".
- Body Horror It gets pretty graphic describing the injuries Luz takes and fatal ones she dishes out.
- Casting a Shadow: Luz's signature "All For One" Quirk manifests as black lightning when in use.
- The Cavalry: The three soldiers that Luz encounters at the end of the chapter are part of the military that came here to rescue her and her surviving friends, as well as have Governor Rodger Maxwell in their custody to answer for his crimes.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late: Had only the army arrived 2 days earlier, perhaps all 33 lives of the Death Camp could've been spared a grisly fate.
- Content Warnings: The author gives one before the chapter starts.Deathly Jazz Hands 55: A-hem, anywho, before I get too sappy, I want to give everyone a heads-up, plus maybe a content warning…? I mean, if you don’t like excessive violence then this chapter isn’t gonna be for you. ‘Cause, let me tell you… if you’ve ever heard of the term: “Black Air Force Activity”, then you may or may not know what is gonna happen in this chapter.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Throughout the chapter , the "fight" between Luz and the 20 other Quirk users of the enemy teams is very one-sided in the former's favor with only one escaping with her life because Luz let her. No wonder it would be called "The Massacre Of Fools"To call what happened next a “battle” would be like calling the initial beginnings of D-Day to be a siege.
- Cynicism Catalyst: As Luz is about to kill Kennedy, the last victim of her carnage, she tells the boy that because him she's lost her faith in other people and would've preferred it if they all worked together to take down the Arc Villain instead.Luz: And here I thought diplomacy would’ve worked… My faith in humanity plummeted when I got here, but maybe, just maybe you and the other team would’ve been more humane than the bastard running this cruel joke. Guess I was wrong.
- Dark Action Girl: Luz... You really are an otter with a darkside...
- Death Cry Echo: Kennedy does this before he is killed by Luz.
- Death Glare: Luz's default look through much of the chapter is a scathing glare.
- Deer in the Headlights: Kennedy mentally berates his colleagues for doing this.
- Dirty Coward: When the Heaven's Devils and Foxtrot realize Luz, their target, is more powerful than expected, most try to pull a Screw This, I'm Outta Here. They don't get far.
- Dissonant Serenity: Luz is only mildly grossed out after ripping out Daniels's heart and crushing it, before taunting his comrades like a Giggling Villain.
- Drunk on the Dark Side: Luz does when she steals more Quirks and goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge of the 2 teams that killed her new friends, constantly giving a Psychotic Smirk.
- Everyone Has Standards: Emilia claims to be the only one out the 2 enemy teams that wanted nothing to do with billions offered by the Antagonistic Governor.
- Facepalm Of Doom: Luz does this a lot with lethal results.
- Finishing Move: She does one against Kennedy, combining Springlike Limbs, Kinetic Force, Super-Strength, Force Multiplier, Shock Absorption, Sword and Vines into her right arm for a devastating blow to crush Kennedy.
- Finishing Stomp: Luz has used her Super-Strength to kill Jacob after stealing his Quirk.
- Foreshadowing: Before she kills her last victim, Luz's body writhed in pain as blood leaks out of her head, spits out blood and starts coughing on her hands and knees in pain. Its a sign that the amount she has is more than her body is capable of handling.
- Freudian Excuse: Kennedy claims his family is dirt-poor, barely surviving off of scraps, and killing Luz for the governor was the perfect opportunity for a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme. This doesn't justify his actions at all.
- Friend or Foe?: Luz would've attacked the three men, believing them to be working for the governor, if her body hadn't given out, due to "Quirk Overload". Fortunately, they're on Luz's side and are going to save her and the rest of the teens.
- Gone Horribly Right: Luz finally succeeds in avenging her friends' murders, but she suffers an Heroic RRoD as a result of stealing most of their powers.
- Head Crushing: Nearly all of Luz's kills involve doing this with her Super-Strength, they're quick but brutal ends.
- Heroic RRoD: Luz has at the climax has gained immense strength and power of 28 Quirks but this amount is more than her body is capable of handling. As she starts to fight some soldiers suddenly a gory stream of blood appears over her diagonally chest. Fortunately for Luz, she has a strong enough Healing Factor to survive and the soldiers that arrived are there to rescue her.As she went to use the power, however, for a split second, her body writhed in pain.
- Hidden Eyes: Luz has these right before goes on a killing spree.
- The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: The 2 teams at the Death Camp target Luz after being promises billions to kill her... she quickly turns the tables on them.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Downplayed. Luz admits right know the only person she trusts now, besides herself, is Shigaraki, but not that much.
- Hypocrite: Kennedy believes that having half of Luz's team killed on his orders was just playing the rules of the Deadly Game that they were in, even if he admits it was overboard. Yet, he Ain't Too Proud to Beg in he's at Luz's mercy. He also mentally berates his comrades for being too scared to fight Luz, despite the fact he doesn't either.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Darlene does this to Luz but fails to kill her as it misses her vitals and she can Heal Thyself. After stealing her Quirk, Luz does this to one of her teammates, the one with "Forcefield Projection" through the brain.
- It Gets Easier: It becomes more jarring as Luz finds it to be easy when it comes to killing, to the point with a Slasher Smile she enjoys the act of taking their lives.
- Killing Intent: Luz seems to have this during the Massacre of Fools causing all her enemies to be paralysed with fear before running for their lives.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Darlene gets her wrists broken by Luz when using Vines, which was originally Julia's Quirk, who she killed.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Daniel tries to do this on Luz after witnessing her kill Thomas... Unfortunately for him, the leader of The Alpha Squadron is able to No-Sell it with her Super-Toughness.
- Lovecraftian Superpower: When killing Kennedy to avenge Julia's murder, Luz uses a mass combination of Quirks to transform her entire right arm into an elephant leg-sized grotesque sight of hypertrophied flesh, wrapped with thorny vines with blades sticking out, almost similar to what All For One uses to fight All Might in their Final Battle in the anime.
- Madness Mantra: Emilia keeps saying "I'm sorry" over and over, while cowering to Luz to get her to spare her life. The All For One user let's her live to successfully pull a Screw This, I'm Outta Here.
- Magic Enhancement: Daniel's power "Force Multiplier" triples the impact of whatever it was he touched or ran into.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The Heaven's Devils and Foxtrot quickly become terrified of the now murderous Luz. They soon regret their previous actions.
- Militaries Are Useless: Averted. The soldiers that arrive have arrested the Arc Villain and come to rescue the surviving children of the Death Camp.
- Mirthless Laughter: Luz's bitter laugh fills the air after she killed Thomas in the beginning.
- Mook Horror Show: Luz puts the Heaven's Devils and Foxtrot alliance through this.
- Narrator: Catch, kill, steal, repeat. Ignore their pain, ignore their suffering. It was not worth her time to hear it. They brought this unto themselves. She knew it, they knew it, so why bother trying to change it? This was their fate, to die by her hand, and she was damn well gonna follow through with it. No more begging, no more pleading, none of it. This was her playground, and everyone else was fodder.
- Mugging the Monster: Kennedy believed with 20 other powered kids backing him up that Luz would be easy pickings. They're all proven to be very wrong.
- Mythology Gag:
- Luz's final move is very similar to the attack All For One used on All Might in their Final Battle in Kamino Ward, albeit not as powerful. Unlike Shigaraki, this proves successful in killing her target.
- After pushing her body past its limits from "Quirk Overload", Luz's body starts to break down, leaving her with a huge gash across her chest much like Tomura in the anime did after due to him prematurely awakening from his medical procedure.
- Near-Villain Victory: With nearly all the superpowered teens dead and Luz suffering from a Heroic RRoD, Governor Maxwell would've got exactly what he wanted had the military not pulled a Big Damn Heroes and arrest him, while saving the survivors.
- No Body Left Behind: Luz uses her Flame Quirk to reduce Thomas's corpse to ashes.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: An Anti-Hero example. Luz prefers to win fights as quickly as possible, going for the kill when seeing her chance to do so, as well as stealing their Quirk.
- No Sympathy: Luz tells the opposing team she has no pity for them after killing her friends.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Kennedy is the first to notice there was something… off about The Leader of The Alpha Squadron Gaining the Will to Kill. He didn’t know what, and he did not want to find out.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Luz does this to the groups that murdered her new friends.
- Pet the Dog: In a brief moment of lucidity, Luz let's Emilia live.
- Prematurely Grey-Haired: Parts of Luz's hair starts to turn white.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Luz gives a chilling one before she goes on her Roaring Rampage of Revenge.Luz: (Red Eyes, Take Warning) I have no sympathy for cruel, heartless monsters such as yourselves. (Power Echoes) The moment you came here and needlessly slaughtered my friends… Your powers…. Your lives… they became forfeit.
- Psychotic Smirk: Luz tends to give small, malice-filled grins, similar to Shigaraki.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Kennedy notices Luz's normal brown now gleamed with a bright, violent crimson.
- Revenge Before Reason: Part of herself realises she could stop her rampage and try escape the Death Camp with all her new Quirks. Instead Luz carries on with her Mook Horror Show until all but one is dead and she suffers a Heroic RRoD, nearly killing her.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The entire chapter is Luz going on this.
- Sanity Slippage: If it couldn't be any clearer, Luz is definitely going insane due to everything happening in this chapter alone.
- Slasher Smile: Luz does this a lot during her rampage when killing the others teams.
- Smug Snake: Kennedy acts cocky and tough when things seem to be going his way, with his team backing him up outnumbering Luz and barking orders at them. However, he gets easily angry and scared when things start to go south for him. When Luz starts wiping out his 22 strong team one-by-one in her Blood Lust fuelled Roaring Rampage of Revenge while stealing their Quirks for herself, he has a complete Villainous Breakdown and tries to abandon his comrades to try and save himself. He spends his last moments begging for his life, as Luz finishes him off.
- Sole Survivor: Emilia's the only one to survive Luz's Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- Talking to Themself: Luz does during her Roaring Rampage of Revenge: A moral, rational side and an angry, vengeful side. The latter wins out in the end.Rational!Luz: Look at what you’re doing!? You’re killing people! T-This isn’t right! N-None of this is right!Angry!Luz: Who cares if it’s wrong! I know exactly what I am doing, and that’s giving these monsters a taste of their own medicine!Rational!Luz: B-But… their families, w-what about-Angry!Luz: They should’ve thought about that when they killed our friends. When they killed Julia. When they butchered everyone else.Rational!Luz: That still doesn’t make it right!Angry!Luz: It makes it right to us, they were willing to kill us. And besides, we said that this would happen if they did something similar. We’re keeping to the rules we made for our group. Why the sudden change of heart?Rational!Luz: Two wrongs don’t make a right! Didn’t our mother tell us that!?Angry!Luz: I don’t give a shit what that bitch taught us. She spat in our faces, betrayed us, kicked us to the curb and left for us to fend for ourselves in this hell hole! NOW BE QUIET!
- There's No Kill like Overkill: Kennedy admits to himself that killing off half of Alpha Squadron was overboard. Luz's Finishing Move on the boy can be considered this.
- This Cannot Be!: The enemy alliance has this reaction when Luz starts killing off their teams one-by-one.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Luz sees the slaughter of new friends as this.
- Token Good Teammate: Emilia was never on board with killing anyone in the first place unlike her teammates.
- Total Party Kill: Not a single member of Heaven's Devils is left alive after Luz is through with them.
- Underestimating Badassery: Kennedy honestly thought he and his entire team could still take down Luz when she revealed herself to be a Power Parasite that has been Gaining the Will to Kill. The Curb-Stomp Battle ends in a near Total Party Kill with him not being the Sole Survivor.
- Unwitting Pawn: Killing and stealing the Quirks of the other team was exactly what the governor wanted Luz to do.
- Villainous Face Hold: A rare Anti-Hero version, done by Luz to Emilia enquiring on why she should let her live.
- Villainous Rescue: The boy with "Springlike Limbs" sucker punches Luz to get her to release her hold on Darlene who was about to be burned alive. However, it ultimately proves to a Senseless Sacrifice as they both die in the end to Luz's hands, literally.
- Villains Want Mercy: Kennedy, the ringleader of the Alpha Squadron massacre, does this when he's when Luz is about to kill him in chapter 12. He gets no mercy what so ever.Kennedy: N-No! P-Please! I-I-I’ll do anything! Anything at all! J-Just please, please don’t kill me!Luz: Funny… I bet that’s what Julia said, too. Then you killed her and desecrated her corpse with that power of yours. A power you don’t deserve… And while I’d normally take it like I did everyone else's, yours revolts me. So, keep your power… it’s not like you’ll be using it for much longer, anyway.
- Vocal Dissonance: Kennedy notices Luz's voice sound, well, not human anymore under All For One's influence.
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Jacob's "Forced Power Activation" Quirk is useless for combative situations, but perfect for times when others refused to use their powers.
- You Will Be Spared: After hearing her apologise over and over, as well as seeing no falsehood in her words, Luz decides to leave Emilia as the Sole Survivor of her carnage.
- Your Head Asplode: The ultimate fate of many foes at Luz's literal hands.
