Beta read by megaman1549 Rasif2003 Juvn_D_Snok Lord_Hax
Hey, thanks for reading this chapter. I've made a discord for people to come in and talk about either this story or future projects I have. You can even make recommendations or even offer suggestions for current and future fics. /Hs5xdXH
Hands clasped ears, as her head fell to her knees and she found herself half sitting onto the floor. The waves of rings consumed her hearing, she couldn't open her eyes as the flashes of explosives filled the street so she was stuck there, mind battered by her flooded senses. She was only there for a few moments, cuddled into herself like a fetus locked in its womb.
The ringing of an alarm turned into that of a clock tower, with the temporary slowing yet sounding more monstrous with every tick. Her eyes settled as the white flashes fell into the darkness of her eyelids. She forced her eyes open, crusty from debris and dry to the air, it took a few quick flaps of her lids and she could make out the hazy daze of a battlefield.
Cars broken from the weight of debris as green sludge littered the sidewalk, the sounds of bombs detonating just a few blocks away. Her throat hurt from the Ash that had seeped into her lungs and her nose became useless with the pungent smell of charred flesh.
Rising on buckling knees, her neck whipped around for the sight of Sebastian, knowing he was next to her just moments ago. She checked the few bodies nearby, seeing on casual clothing covered in a slimy red. Stepping forward to see better she tripped, knees unable to support her leaning weight she fell to the ground.
Not caring for the pain in her legs, Momo tried to stand, her arms buckling under her upper body weight despite its surprising muscle. Looking backwards towards the object she had just tripped on, Momo met the open eyed, gaping face of sebastian. Crawling back in fear, hands slightly cut on the clutter of broken specks of glass that lined the street. Far too fearful for even pain to remain present she pushed herself onto her boots, shaky in her steps and rushed to the sidewalk hoping to use the buildings as a latch for balance.
The sounds of police cars meshed with the still booming ringing, it was only offset by the audia palpation of her heart to her chest, each beat a melody to calm her. The smell of bodies never waved however and was a constant reminder of what situation she was in, using the wall of a still standing building as a brace. Momo limped across the sidewalk, her left knee barely holding her weight as her right pulled her along, her shoulder slightly scratching the brick as she passed.
Momo's clothes had seen little action, only suffering from dust and the hole that was opening on her left shoulder. Boots with soles that carried glass and knee length tights that had gained a few slashes but nothing that required immediate fixing. Hands slipping into her skirt, she pulled out her phone and despite its normally unnecessary protection, the screen itself seemed to be what she landed on as it was now more reminiscent of a church's mosaic instead of an actual phone. Pushing the device back into her pocket, Momo decided to find a safer space to sit down till the heroes dealt with whatever was churning up the street just two blocks away.
Eyeing the same alley way the car had stopped at, she limped onward, hoping that the living sewage thing would be dealt with sooner than later. Turning the corner and thankful to be smelling dumpsters instead of burnt flesh, she leaned against the only dry part of the wall, legs succumbed to gravity and she found herself dropping to the ground for the last few inches. Rubbing her hips as her knees wound inwards and her ankles met her shirt, Momo curled into a fetal position yet again, hoping for the local heroes to turn up.
Death arms walked past the civilian line, legs and stance wide as he made contact with the few police officers not currently engaged in a border dispute with the general public. He waved to one of the men standing to the side, who seemed to be watching as kamui woods grabbed theown debris.
"Officer, why would you call me out here? The villain is obviously immune to my attacks, why didn't you call a more suitable hero with a more usable quirk?" The loud voice carried over towards the officers, their shoulders quickly jumping at the sudden noise. Swinging round, they came face to chest with death arms, wearing his usual disgruntled face as the battle continued to rage on.
"You're the only other hero active in this area at the moment, the villain has a hostage and we were hoping you could rip him out of the sludge. It's the hostages quirk that is causing the destruction, not the villains so with you saving the hostage, we can better secure the villain." The man held his position, eyes trained onto the hero like a cat to a laser. They stood in each other's way, each refusing to move.
"I can't retrieve the hostage, the areas too dangerous for me to retrieve him safely."
"Your a hero, your job is to do the unsafe stuff when us policemen can't or die trying"
His face became red, ears heating up as he pushed and outstretched hand into the officer's jacket, allowing some of his strength to flicker. The other stepped back at his touch, his hand rising to the point of impact as his face mirrored death arms'.
"You're meant to be a hero, go do your job. There's a hostage with that villian, and because of your lack of courage, they might die. What are you gonna say to their family if they do?" The officer's voice had raised over the crowd at this point, multiple of the closer civilians watching death arms, eyes slitted and hands closed. It didn't take long for their voices to reach out.
"Get in there and stop that thing."
"He's right, you're a hero this is what you get paid to do."
"I'm telling the news about this, I can't believe you made the top 100 this season."
Death arms re-approached the officer, hands closed into fists, eyes ablaze. He reached round the frozen man's neck with his arm, hand catching the officer's shoulder as he pulled the man into a side hug, turning to face the crowd.
"Don't worry, he was mistaken, I'm just worried about his safety. Since when saving the poor hostage, we don't know if that sludge is poisonous. Don't worry civilians I'm right on it." Mouth pulled wide into a smile, his free hand turning into a thumbs up and aimed at the few phones already raised into the air.
He soon turned towards the mess that had become of the sludge villains rampage. Walking slowly Death arms found himself next to kamui woods and what seemed like a living fire hydrant, seemed more inclined with rescue than actual capture work so he didn't bother with his name.
"Kamui, what have you got in this guy and anyway I can safely get the hostage out?"
A piece of debris came flying towards him, barely reacting he caught the barrel. Feet slipping under the pressure of the throw, Deatharms threw the container to a nearby wall hoping to remove the debris from his path...only to have the barrel explode on impact and block a large portion of their exit with the fallen remains of a noodle shop.
"Did you just...ugh why did they even bring you here?!" Kamui swung round, arms sticking out like a wooden web, ready to stop any incoming projectiles as backdraft continued to suppress the flames as best as he could.
"You're a muscle head with no backbone, not an ounce of humility or a shred of heroic essence. I swear if a boy's life wasn't in danger right now I would be fighting you myself." Sighing he turned back towards the sludge villain, still in a battle to control the boy as flames spew from its body in explosive fashion, littering the sidewalk in sparks.
Momo, pulled down the fabric of her tights down to the top of her boots, exposing her thigh. Sighing, she decided she would rather explain illegal quirk use than leave her knees out untreated, only to get infected.
A blue glow illuminated the alleyway, contained by brick and dumpsters, a white roll of material fell from her thigh into her right hand. Stretching it outward she prepared to roll it around her knees, lining it up, a translucent liquid dripped from her wrist, and onto her exposed knees. With a hiss from each drop, she covered the open wounds in the liquid before forcing the bandage to cover it, white turning a shade of pink before being smothered in more material.
The sounds of sirens reverberated in the thin alley, mocking her, so close yet a sludge villain too far. Flames engulfed the other side of the alley, the orange light crossing over to mesh with her blue radiating glow.
"Yeah yeah, don't worry. Greeny is too busy handling the heroes to notice us and they'll probably assume he broke this shit anyway, so they really were protecting this stuff." Gruff, and loud, a voice laced with years of beer and smoke. Surfing over the waves of sirens and flames. Momo stopped her creation, allowing for the bandage to cut off as the blue glow faded and gave way to the orange that had bordered it.
Glass shattered, the sound only filling hers ears for a moment before it was swallowed by the drowning noise of the droning battle. Another explosion of fire sheathing a road in a litter of rubble. Metal clashing, echoing through the brick wall, sounds of laughter soon enveloping the building.
"Gin, your a FUCKING GENIUS!" It was far from the deep commanding voice she had heard before, this one sounding like the owner had been plucked at a desk from her very own company.
"Shhh, what did I fucking say, no names! What are you gonna do if someone hears you?" The sound wracked the walls, like a shadow stretched along a road it became louder with each word.
"Well we just scare 'em and get them to stay quiet?" Higher pitched than his previous tone, a moan cutting through the followed silence as metal scraped against metal.
"Nah, with how much this shit is worth...I'd probably kill em. Heroes will be too lazy to actually look into it and probably just pin it on slimy." A gruff laugh echoed out into the alley, a shadow carved into the walls yet still smothered in an orange hue.
Momo raised a hand to her mouth, eyes wide and wet, tears exposing the ash latched to her skin as it cut down her cheek. Hiccups hidden in hand and breathing becoming an unfocused beat against her chest, rising in tempo as seconds passed. Her throat became increasingly dry, the sobs only adding to the scratching feeling she received with each shaky breath.
Pulling her head into her knees, feet winding further into her skirt. A rusted dumpster blocking her immediate vision, luckily acting as a shield from whoever passed. Watching as shadows grew and faded, smothered in an orange glow as sounds of violence echoed through the passage. The sounds of conversation becoming quieter with each passing moment. Just when Momo lowered her rattling hand, a sigh thrust from her lips. A creature shrouded in black emerged from the adjacent dumpster, squeaks of fear trailing with it as it crawled onto the rusting tin lid.
She shrieked. Hands flew to the wall behind her, her back gripping its surface in an weak attempt to escape. Her boots slipping in the filth mixed liquid layered on the floor as she fell back onto the ground, a groan leaving her lungs, her hair now thoroughly matching her state of dress. The fading echoing sounds of the rodents retreat being the only comfort to her situation. Gathering breath, becoming increasingly difficult with the lack of fresh air to utilize, she once again sluggishly climbed the wall, using it as a source of balance.
Momo was given little time to rest however as a hand clutched onto her throat, tightening with each moment, limiting the already low source of air to her lungs and adding even more to the strain on her throat.
The hand had no noticeable body attached, only a thick white chain linking the wrist to something just outside her now decreasing vision. Her own hands raised, she gripped the chain with the miniscule amount of strength her body could offer, sight blackening, she tugged on the chain, only to have her body flung forward. Her throat being forcibly closed off by the weight of her body impacting with the now connected limb. Looking upward she saw the fist now connected to a body, stocky and tall she had to painfully raise her eyes to view the bearded face of her aggressor. Vision flashing a mix of colours followed a long shroud of darkness.
"-going to do with her?" Her eyes too heavy to raise, she settled for watching the reflection of two murky figures in the pool of orange-green cesspool on the ground.
"I'm go- kill -er obvi-" Finding herself losing the slither of consciousness she had somehow obtained, the world returned to black, the sound of metal clanging against the ground becoming the deafening silence.
Sirens rang through her skull, her vision returning in shutters. The sight of a boy, no older than herself, sprung along the floor, his green hair horribly pressed into the coloured water as his body was wrapped in deep red rags. She tried raising her own head, sight flickering into the darkness as she did, lowering her head once more she settled for the meek vision her left eye gave her.
The smoke seemingly vanished, her lungs thankful for some fresh air, sounds of sirens and movement faded in the background as the absence of explosions flushed her mind. Deciding that she could wait before freaking out about whatever she was currently laying in, Momo took to staring at the boy beside her.
His hair was a mix of forest green and a shade of black much like her own, cheeks sunken and his complexion ghostly pale with his skin becoming more flush the further down it was to the ground….wait. Straining her eye, she focused on the ground below his face, her eyes widening as pupils shrunk. It wasn't that his skin was more flush. His skin was so white it became reflective enough to...reflect the blood.
It was everywhere. She hadn't noticed because of how she was literally parallel to the floor. But just looking at the walls and she could see it, everywhere. Honestly it was more terrifying than the night before, how did an entire alley way get painted red in what couldn't have been more than an hour?
Pulling her arms towards her sides, ignoring the sensation of her palms being pricked by the pavement, she pushed herself upwards, her vision staying strong as she pulled herself into a kneeling position right next to the boy. Pushing him over, eyes slightly widening at the ease of it, she watched as red cloth covered his torso, holes and scrapes littering its chassis and his breathing shallow. Reaching for her phone she pulled the fractured glass of her device into view.
"Please be just the glass, please be just the glass." Her voice barely pushing past a whisper, Arms sparking blue, tools dropped to the floor, splashes of crimson reaching her dress and the boy's skin. Reaching for the screw she grabbed the metallic object, pushing the tip between the metal enclosure and the mosaic of a screen, gently pushing the glass out of its enclosure. From then her mind almost went on auto-pilot, her hands moving without a second thought as she dismantled the few wires connecting screen and phone. Coming too, she was already placing the new screen into its socket tapping repeatedly at the power button on its side in a futile effort to make the machine boot faster.
Once a cyan glow lightly dusted her cheeks she shot up, arms raised and a smile expanding her cheeks. Raising the device to her ear, shoulders slumping at the cool glass flattening her cheek. An relaxed sigh later and she soon found herself tapping her foot in beat with the buzz of her phone.
"MOMO are you ok?! Where are you?! Tell him I sent the shipment on time!" The cool metal was pulled from her ear, a wince accompanying the gesture.
"I'm fine father, I was caught up in this weird villain attack. Me and sebastian..." Sight focusing, she looked towards the street, just out of view from the alleyway. Focused vision soon becoming blurry, Momo pulled a hand to the corner of her eyes, uncaring for the crimson she left behind.
"What is it Momo? Are you ok? I can barely hear you. Where are you and Sebastian? I'll come and get you both now." His voice was soothing, rushed as it was, she couldn't stop herself from calming her at father's worry. But her throat tightened at the thought of her next words, eyes clamping shut.
"Dad. Sebastian, he...he."
"Oh Momo. You don't have to say it."
"But..but. It's my fault, w-we wouldn't have been part of the a-attack if."
"Momo Yaoyorozu, did you pay for a villain to attack you?"
A closed hand pushed into the skin of her chest, her eyes shut and throat whimpering. Momo knew what her father was trying to do, she had done it so much to herself. But it really was her fault, she knew it, if they had just stayed in the car…
"Momo, honey." Her head shook, eyes slitted open as she turned to face her phone. Pulling it back to her ear, and finding herself on her feet.
"Mum?"
"Dear listen to me. It's not. Your. Fault. Where are you? We're going to pick you up now, are you still at the villian attack?" It was soothing, calm but still filled with the sternness she was used to.
"I'm uhh, by Rishi corner. I think police have the area taped off...that doesn't matter right now. You need to bring Dr. Shuzenji.-". Momo turned to the entrance of the alleyway, shadows lining the exit. "- I have to go, just bring Dr. Shuzenji to the site. Please."
"Momo don't you dar-" Slipping the device into her pocket, turning to the boy she quickly knelt down to his side.
"-Else is going to be around? They all should have come over already." A woman's voice, brash and monotone. Momo could see her silhouette land onto the left wall of the alley, she was taller and far more slender than her companion.
"Cmon now, someone might be stuck under some rubble. We don't even know how many peop-" Nasally and high pitched, sounding like he was speaking with a lack of a nose. Half of his torso patched onto the wall, their shadows causing a comical show of their physical attributes.
"Officer!" Her throat throbbed at the continued use, her hand instinctively covering the purple marks left behind. She looked forward, the entrance of the alley, just as the two officers passed by, the silhouettes creating poles of darkness, piercing the previously lit ground all the way up to her feet. And a moment later they were gone, their shadows with them leaving no trace that the officers had even looked for her. Feeling her stomach drop for easily the fifth time that day, Momo opened the front of her shirt, buttons ripping off with each tug. Her face red, eyes piercing the empty air of the entrance. Not even caring for her modesty anymore she pushed her quirk to work, a large cannon ball made of pure iron forming at her chest.
The only sound made in the next few seconds was that of a single bell. Reverberating throughout the labyrinth of alleys and pathways of rishi corner.