Let's Talk It Out.
The Phantom Thieves, a group of Persona Users. Sick of the deception, hypocrisy and corruption around them, the Phantom Thieves are devoted to "stealing" the corrupt hearts of "evil" adults in order to change and reform society for the better. After their first heist, their leader named the group and they would continue to fight for what is right. While some view them as heroes who fight criminals and save the day, some deems them to be criminals themselves who have no right to forcefully change the hearts of people. With the increasing numbers of their target's hearts changed, the Phantom Thieves begin to struggle with the question of whether the end justifies the means, questioning the morality of their justice, and their determination to reform society often wavers as a result. This is especially true after the death of a close friend and father of one of the members, Kunikazu. This caused The Phantom Thieves to be labeled violent murderers by society and become despised by many.
Despite this, they do manage to power through and keep going. After arriving in this strange new realm, they tried to spy on the heroes to learn what they could. But their leader, Joker, was detected and captured, leaving the rest of the team to wonder what to do.
"Well, I don't think that simple mission could've gone any more wrong. How did those guys manage to capture Joker so easily?" Ryuji asked.
"Well, clearly they were a lot more skilled than we expected" Futaba answered.
"But what do we do now? We can't just bust in there to save him. If only two of them were able to take down Joker that easily, I don't think out chances of fighting all of them will end well for us" Makoto said.
"You are very right about that, little girl. So instead of fighting us, how about you just talk to us?" Everyone looked and saw Captain America walking towards them.
"How did you find us?" Yusuke demanded.
"I told him" Came an very familiar voice.
"Joker!?" All the thieves said at the same time.
Joker smiled at them "It alright everyone, me and them talked it out. They are the good guys".
Haru looked suspicious "How can you be sure of that?".
"Well the fact they were a lot more gentle in their interrogation than the people from our world. Other than my bruised ribs from the kick that lady gave me, and the bump on my head from when the Armor guy knocked me out, they haven't caused me any pain" Joker explained.
The thieves looked at each other before Ryuji spoke "Well... if he says they are cool, I believe him".
"No one wants a fight here. Just come with us back to our base and we will talk it out" Cap offered.
"It's alright guys, I promise" Joker said.
The thieves hesitated but decided to trust their friend on this and followed them back to the Heroes' base. Once there, they were all given some food, which they gladly accepted since they haven't eaten for a while now.
"Sorry about the trouble we caused you. We just wasn't sure who to trust in this place" Haru said.
"Don't worry, we understand. Everyone around you were not very trusting of each other at first. Took several days before everyone had warmed up enough to each other to work together" Tony said, having joined in to speak to the group after he learned that they had agreed to come in and talk.
"Your armor is so cool! It looks like one of those American comic book heroes! Where did you get it? Can I have one?" Ryuji asked in excitement.
"I made it myself, perks of being a billionaire. But sorry, I don't just hand out armors" Tony said.
"Ah man" Ryuji said as he slumped down in his seat.
"Thank you for being so friendly to us. It's a welcoming break after having dealt with so many bad people and monsters" Makoto said.
"Well, we couldn't just let a group of teenagers fend for themselves" Cap said.
"We can take care of each other quite well, but thank you anyway" Haru said.
"We are indeed grateful for your hospitality, but would you mind explaining what all this is?" Yusuke asked.
"I fear we don't understand everything ourselves. But the short version is that something, or someone caused parts from multiple worlds to merge in this realm" Tony explained.
"What for?" Futaba asked.
"So far, we think it's because whoever caused this just wants us to fight. We are not the only ones to be brought here. Villains from our worlds have been brought here too, and many of them are dangerous to threaten an entire planet on their own" Cap answered.
"If that is the case... could some of the bad guys from out world be here too?" Ryuji asked.
"From what we've been told, that is a very big possibility" Joker answered.
"Great, hope it isn't someone we've just gotten rid of" Haru said.
"Well, now that we know we should be working together. Think you guys could help us find our missing friend?" Joker asked.
"Of course, who is it?" Cap asked.
"His name is Morgana, our cat" Ann answered "And before you say anything, he is not a normal cat. He can turn in to a Van and he helps us get around quickly".
"A cat that can turn in to a Van... well, it's not the strangest thing I've heard" Tony said.
"Of course we'll help. If he's still alive we will find her" Cap assured.
Ann smiled "Thank you... now I really feel bad about not simply talking to you earlier".
"It's alright, most would've done the same in your situation. While we send out some drones to help locate your friend, we can show you all where you'll be staying. We don't have a lot of space, so you will need to share some rooms" Cap said.
"I am not sharing room with any of the boys" Haru declared.
Cap chuckled. To be a teen again.
A couple of hours later, Cloud and Tifa were on patrol outside the base. It was a good way to stay busy and get a break from the rather cramped base they were staying at. Sure they were grateful that Tony helped them out and gave them a place to stay, but they needed some space.
"So, Cloud. What do you think of our new friends?" Tifa asked.
"I don't really know what I think of them. But they've proven to be useful allies, and they promised they would help us get home as long as we help them stop the villains. So I say it's a fair trade" Cloud said.
"Of course you would say that... still, I am a little worried that... you know who, is here" Tifa said.
Cloud nodded with a grim look in his eyes, having learned by now that Sephiroth is in this realm to "With any luck, we can kill him for good this time".
"One can hope so. But knowing him, he always finds a way back" Tifa said with a sigh. They had killed Sephiroth more than once, and he always comes back.
Cloud didn't have anything to say to that. He knew better than most how hard it is to kill Sephiroth. Still, Sephiroth needed to be stopped, no matter how many times he came back. No one was every safe when he was around.
"Well well, looks like we finally found some punching bags" Came a rough voice.
"Well, we were told to give these new toys a test. These two should do" Came a more elegant voice.
Tifa and Cloud looked up to see two men. One of them was a large man with boxing gloves. This was Balrog, a former champion boxer that was banned permanently from boxing for illegal moves, so he joined Shadoloo and became Bison's enforcer. Whenever something needed punching, he would punch it. But he is also very motivated by money, and seeks to get filthy rich.
The other man was more slim and was wearing a mask. This was Vega, a narcissistic and psychotic matador ninja who is Shadoloo's top assassin. He believes that only those who are as beautiful as himself are worthy to live in their world. A mind set created after he saw his hideous father murder his beautiful mother, an event that would effect him for the rest of his life As a result he hates ugly and filthy people.
Despite both getting on each other's nerves by simply being near each other, they surprisingly work rather well together and often partners up for missions.
"Who are you?" Tifa demanded.
"Who we are is not important to you, my beauty" Vega said.
"Because you two will not be alive long enough to worry about it" Balrog said as he pounded his gloves together.
"If you don't wish to talk, then fine. But if you think you can beat us, you are both delusional. I can tell just by looking at you that you are not even close to our level" Cloud said as he pulled out his buster sword.
Vega chuckled "Even if that was true, we did not come here un prepared".
"Yeah, we got something that can even out the odds a bit. In fact, I say it puts the odds in our favor" Balrog said with a smirk.
Both men activated some device they were wearing and a small amount of cosmic energy began to flow through their bodies, making the glow. Tifa and Cloud had been told about the cosmic power by their new friends, and they knew it was very dangerous.
"Oh hell yeah! This is what I'm talking about!" Balrog said before dashing forward at a much greater speed than he normally possessed.
Cloud held up his sword and blocked the incoming punch. However, the impact still sent him flying back, and the resulting shock wave made Tifa fly back as well, separating them from each other. Tifa rubbed her head and gasped as she saw Balrog chase after Cloud.
"Cloud!" She yelled as she was about to go help him, only for Vega to appear in front of her.
Vega looked her over carefully "I must say, you are one of the most beautiful creatures I've ever laid my eyes on. It would be a real shame to kill such a beauty like yourself. So how about you surrender? I can promise I will do my best to make sure your beauty is preserved".
"Could you be any more of a creep? No way I will surrender to you!" Tifa said as she got in to her fighting stance.
"What a shame. Very well then" Vega said as he got ready.
With Cloud he was struggling with Balrog's relentless punching. Normally, Cloud wouldn't have any real trouble with the Crazy Buffalo, and a good swing from his blade should've been able to end the fight quickly. But thanks to the boost in power Balrog had received, it did not just make him stronger, but also acted like some kind of shield that was strong enough to block the Buster Sword. Balrog is a slugger boxer, known for being able to take a beating, so the enhancements he got made perfect sense.
Balrog laughed as he broke Cloud's guard before delivering several strong punches before charging up his fist and punched Cloud hard enough to sent him flying clean through a boulder. Cloud groans a little before he saw Balrog charging at him again. Thinking twice, Cloud shot a fire ball at him. Balrog shielded his eyes from the blast, giving Cloud the opening he needed to strike him with his Buster Sword. While the cosmic power protected Balrog from any fatal hits, the impact was still enough to send him back. He may be protected from being cut, but the force of Cloud's blows still hurt a little. He growls and threw another punch, which Cloud manged to black more successfully before kicking Balorg back and began pressing his own offense.
Back with Tifa, she was throwing several quick jabs at Vega, but his speed allowed him to dodge each and everyone of them. Vega's speed has always been formidable, and thanks to his enhancements he could move so fast it was almost as if he was everywhere at once. Tifa threw a kick, but Vega ducked under it before dashing behind her and sliced her across the back with his claws. Tifa hissed in pain, but thankfully the wound was not to deep. She spun around for another punch, but Vega was faster and sliced her chest, making her cry out in pain as she backed away.
Vegan removed his mask and licked the blood of his claws "You taste as sweet as you look my dear. I am not surprised that a sweet looking woman would have sweet blood as well".
Tifa growled before focusing and punched the ground, sending some rocks flying towards Vega. But with his insane speed he was able to avoid her attempt to distract him and slashed one of Tifa's breasts, making her cry out in pain again. Vega smiled before he began speed blitzing her from all directions, cutting more and more of her body. In the end, Tifa fell to her knees breathing hard and bleeding badly.
Vega removed his mask again as he walked over to Tifa and used his claws to lift her chin, forcing her to look at him "Such a waste. You should've accepted my offer".
"Go to hell" Tifa growled out.
"Oh my dear, hell is no place for me. Hopefully, you will not end up there either" Vega said before getting ready to finish her of.
But before he could Cloud jumped in, slicing at Vega with his sword, forcing him to jump back "Tifa! Can you move?".
Tifa got back up "I am not out of this fight just yet".
"Good. Because I have an idea. Let us switch opponents" Cloud said.
"Good idea" Tifa agreed as she hurried to fight Balrog and Cloud was ready to meet Vega.
"Judging the appearance of a man is trickier than women. But you are far from the ugliest person I've met" Vega said.
"Well you won't be very pretty once I'm done with you" Cloud declared.
Vega said nothing as he used the same tactic he used on Tifa. With his speed, Vega managed to blitz Cloud for a bit as well. But unlike Tifa, Cloud wasn't just a very strong human, he was enhanced and had survived far more vicious injuries than anything Vegan could cause him. So when Vega ultimately stabbed Cloud in the gut, Cloud grabbed his arm.
"Got you" Cloud declared before letting go of his sword and used his now free hand to punch Vega hard his the chest.
Vega felt the air leave his lungs as he focused most of his cosmic enhancement to boost his speed, rather than protect him. Cloud then slamed his leg in to Vega's gut, making him cough up saliva, leaving him wide open for Cloud to punch him in the face. Cloud then grabbed his sword again and with several strong slashed, he sent Vega in to a wall, with a now large slice wound across his chest.
While that was going on, Tifa was battling Balrog. Since Tifa was by far the better hand to hand fighter than Cloud, she was able to avoid Balrog's attacks. And Tifa's fighting style used a lot of faints, forcing Balrog to over extend as his cosmic power took a toll on his body, since it was naturally evolved to handle it. Balrog was growing tired, giving Tifa the opening she needed. With a battle cry she hit Balrog with a barrage of punches, quickly overwhelming the over extended boxer who had no chance to fight back. Tifa ended her barrage with a powerful kick that sent Balrog flying and crashed next to Vega.
The cosmic energy vanished as both Shadaloo agents were out cold.
"You alright Tifa?" Cloud asked, worried of Tifa's bleeding state.
Tifa sat down "I'll live... as soon as I get some medical attention. But we should inform Start about this".
Cloud nods and took out his communicator "Stark, me and Tifa ran in to two of the enemy. They are unconscious but alive, you may want to send someone over to pick us up".
"Got it, Cloud. Sit tight, help is on the way" Tony said on the other end.
The fight was harder than it should've been. Whatever cosmic energy the villains where using to power their servants, it was clear that is was going to be a problem.
Back in the villains base, Bison had been watching the whole event unfold. While he was not to pleased about his best henchmen losing, the test run did yield promising data.
"I say that was a successful test run, wouldn't you?" Came the voice of Professor Hojo, the main mastermind behind SOLDIER and the Jenova Project, and initially heads the Shinra Electric Power Company's Science Research Division. However, Hojo's goals stand apart from Shinra's, with a focus on scientific pursuits and monitoring the actions of his greatest creation, Sephiroth. Though he had made sure to remain hidden from Sephiroth, due to the risk of Sephiroth killing out of spite.
"It was indeed. This cosmic power shows a lot of promise" Bison agreed.
"Indeed, it has the potential to even surpass Meteria. The possibilities are endless" Hojo said.
Bison smirked, he would retrieve his henchmen later. For now, he had more important things to do.
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Tell me what you think.
