Each punch was enough to decimate steel and each one shook the very air around them.
Endo was glad the islanders had gotten a somewhat safe distance away, because otherwise, he wasn't sure any of them would've survived the shockwaves.
The clone man, who had introduced himself as Exponential, wasn't giving Endo any openings to retaliate, but then again, Endo wasn't letting up either. "Right leg! Grasshopper!" His right legs expanded with even more muscle and he viciously kicked out at Exponetial's left knee, but the man deftly raised his own leg and deflected the kick by pushing it to the side.
By the time Endo's leg slammed back into the ground, it had transitioned back to the bullet ant/cockroach fusion. Third DNA fusions were extremely painful and could only be incorporated sparsely into individual limbs.
Despite the attack's apparent ineffectiveness, it distracted Exponential just enough for Endo to throw a powerful punch at his gut. It sent the man skidding back, his boots digging into the sand in an attempt to steady himself. Endo was in his face before he could fully recover however and he drove a punch right into Exponential's face, throwing him to the floor, where he was pinned.
"Seriously! What do you want?!"
"Truthfully?" The man grunted, "I'm here to kill as many as possible."
Suddenly, his body began to vibrate, hosts of clones escaping and rushing towards the fleeing beach goers.
Seeing this, Endo was beset with a choice, try and kill the man right now to disperse the clones, which considering Exponential's strength and durability, seemed like a fever dream. Or the second option, give up his advantage to destroy the clones.
Being given no choice, Endo's grip loosened for just a moment, prepared to chase down the fakes. Thankfully, a monsterous shape came tearing through the trees lining the beach's edge. With its claws and talons, Karkinos immediately tore through five in one fell swoop. Its inhuman growl didn't even faze the clones though and they simultaneously charged the beast.
At the same time, Endo began noticing significantly increased resistance from the man beneath him. "...wait… are you… getting stronger?!" Endo pushed down harder, but with each passing second, it became more and more difficult to maintain his foothold. It finally clicked when Exponential threw him off with a great push. It had happened just as Karkinos destroyed another clone.
Endo's cockroach wings snapped out, arresting his fall next to Karkinos, "Stop destroying them! They only make him stronger!"
Karkinos replied calmly, "What about the people behind me?"
Endo cursed as he looked back. There were still a couple dozen people or so stuck thanks to the insane crowd of fleeing civilians. "Well… I guess we have no choice."
MHA: 1-C
Daidoji dove at Garotta, her armor growing thicker and more durable as Tannin boosted the whole class.
Nayuki slunk over to Kaito and the two formed a symbiosis.
The swordsman smiled, "Now we're talking!" Sprinting for Garotta's left leg he shouted, "Sen! Right leg!" Upon hearing the fairy girl's name, Garotta became distracted, turning all his attention to her.
Condensing the rest of her dust into one place, Sen shot out an energy blast of sorts. It did no visible damage, but it was enough to buckle one of his knees, with Kaito and Nayuki dead legging his other leg.
Aika came to a stop right in front of him. Ryouji was giving her enough flame resistance to stand next to him and activate her chess board, freezing him in place. Almost immediately, there was intense resistance, but it didn't matter. With perfect timing, both Okami and Daidoji delivered a powerful uppercut, knocking the possessed man into unconsciousness.
As he fell to the ground, blue, black, green, and red flame-like beings escaped his body, fleeing into the sky, and he shrunk back to his normal size.
"He's gonna feel that when he wakes up."
MHA: 1-C
"Huh? Seriously?" Exponential sighed heavily upon receiving some form of telepathic message, "You sure you don't want me to crush these two first? My time limit? Fine."
Karkinos and Endo were both breathing heavily. Karkinos had assumed its bulkier, more monstrous form and a lot of its armor was torn off. Endo meanwhile, was clutching his slowly regenerating stump of an arm.
"Well, you brats got off lucky for now! You won't get the same mercy next time!" With an intense shockwave, Exponential dashed away from the two, darting into the trees and disappearing.
Growling, Karkinos grew wings, but Endo grabbed it with his bloodied left hand, "Let him go for now. I'm injured, and we need to get these guys someplace safe." His head tilted back to gesture at the swimmers and sunbathers.
Karkinos was about to relent, but without warning, the sand in front of them exploded outwards. The two readied once more for a fight, only to relax visibly as Hirose stumbled out of the cloud of dust, "You guys… okay?"
MHA: 1-C
"No power, no comms, and no boats." Okami stood over a map of the island, surrounded by the class. Shortly after regrouping, they had led the islanders to a giant warehouse, where they could regroup and recover. "And we still don't know what they want."
"Exponential said he was just there to kill as many as possible. Is it possible this is just some murder party with no purpose?" Kenichi asked.
"No vay. My aunt is not somevon who vould team up vith such vile men."
"Well… she did try to kill us," Daidoji pointed out.
"Ze are here to kill for a very specific reazon. Her and my family are here to kill me and make zure zere are no witnesses."
"What?"
"Jesus… is there anyone else here who would like to announce their family issues before it gets one of us killed?!" Kaito practically yelled.
"It's you mother and father's fortune they're after… isn't it?" Endo asked.
"Ze status as vell." Wilhelm tilted his head, "But, how did you know?"
Endo paused, his eyebrows imperceptibly furrowing, "Well… after Vincent, I may have done a serious background check on everyone."
"For real?"
"You could've just asked!"
"It's not like my life is interesting enough for you to investigate anyways," Ashira finished off.
Endo sighed, "If I have the story right, Wilhelm's uncle assassinated his parents. But, just before the incident, Wilhelm's parents sent him away, suspecting something was up in the family." Upon receiving a nod from Wilhelm he continued, "My real question here, however, is why is your mom here Sen?"
"W-What?"
"The way Garotta was acting and changing was the same as other victims of your mother's partners."
"Not to mention he Garotta reacted strangely when he heard your name."
"I-I never saw their Quirks in effect… I had no idea…"
Shinso shook his head, "Right now, that doesn't matter, we need to figure out a plan."
"Right. Well, now we know that they're here to kill Wilhelm and kidnap Sen," Okami started, "Now we just need to figure out how we're going to use that to our advantage."
"What about the civies?" Vincent asked, "You heard Endo, the only reason that Exponential got so strong was because he sent the clones to attack them, we need something better than this rickety old warehouse."
"If I may. I think I have an idea."
The class turned to the entrance of the small room, surprised to see Garotta, Tannin and Ryouji.
"Mr. Garotta? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine thanks to these two, but gosh, you kids sure did a number on me." His wiry smirk and sharp eyes made the class squirm. They weren't sure if he was about to chew them out or help them. "There's a small peninsula on the east side of the island. You could use the cave that's on it to keep the rest of us safe while you fight the villains."
Okami and Shinso exchanged glances, "It could work. If there's only one path to it then it would be even better."
"Then we can have Sen and Wilhelm guard the cave while the rest of us fight," The brainwasher finished.
"What?! No way!" Sen shouted, "As if I'd just sit back and let you guys fight without me!"
"She's right, ze are going to kill us eizer vay."
"Well… we still need someone to guard them. A last line of defense."
Endo nodded, "I can take that role."
Aika scoffed, "Did the villain scare you?"
"You are one of the strongest in terms of head on combat Endo, we're gonna need all the help we can get."
But Endo still refused, "In case you forgot, I'm Quirkless. As soon as Tannin activates his boost, almost all of you will be stronger than me."
Okami seemed unsatisfied with the decision, but brushed it off for the time being, "Let's get to work, we have lots to do."
And so, as the sun began setting that night, class C enacted their plans and began ushering everyone towards the peninsula. Sen and Endo were flying reconnaissance just in case, while the rest of the class covered the rear of the retreating citizens.
Endo looked down on the display at his wrist, he was depleting the remainder of his dragonfly serum at an alarming rate.
"You really think my mother is on the island?!" Sen shouted to Endo over the rushing winds.
"There's a good- UH!" A dark figure slammed into Endo and wrapped their arms around his torso, pushing him closer to the ground.
Endo looked into the crazed eyes of the man attacking him. "It begins now little heroes!"
MHA: 1-C
Alright! Author's note time. I'm sure some of you have noticed, but the rate of chapters releasing has been greatly slowed as of late. In the situation we're in now, you'd think that wouldn't be the case, but unfortunately, some of my own personal projects have kept me distracted. It remains to be seen if this will change anytime soon, so for now, everyone be safe, wash your hands, and we will see you next time!
