CHAPTER 6:
The Calm
How much of this conversation do I really need to listen to? Saitama fumed with himself endlessly. No wonder Bang and Bomb ditched us at the first fork.
Up ahead, the Blizzard Gang laughed about the last scuffle. A horde of twenty four-foot imps versus about thirteen superpowered people, and they were acting like the Monster Association was taken out already.
Why didn't I think to bring headphones? Though, to be fair, I didn't think Fubuki would bring the whole kindergarten class. Saitama sighed with a shrug. Maybe I'm being too harsh. I mean, I'm not even excited about this excursion, to be honest. Suppose I do meet the hero hunter, and he's just as easy to defeat as everyone else. What would that mean for all this time I've put in finding him?
A crash from up above nearly brought down the whole tunnel.
"What the hell?" cried Eyelashes. The entire Blizzard Group rallied together, taking refuge underneath Fubuki's force field.
"What on earth?" Fubuki herself struggled to see through the dust.
When it finally cleared, Genos stood between them and Saitama, holding three paper coffee cups.
"One hazelnut latte," he said. "Master."
"Thank you," said Saitama sincerely.
Demon Cyborg turned to Fubuki. "Master told me to get one for you, too."
"Um," Hell Blizzard blinked, trying to navigate confusion. "Thanks?"
"Next time," Saitama assured them. "I'll get one before we start out."
"You said you wanted to cut back," Genos told him.
"Yeah," acknowledged Saitama. "But I wasn't expecting such a long, boring walk."
"Indeed," nodded Demon Cyborg. He sipped his own coffee, staring down what's left of the tunnel. "I thought we would have encountered more enemies."
"Are you serious?" shouted Eyelashes. "You're going to give away our position! Over lattes?"
Genos and Saitama locked eyes with him and sipped, loudly.
Eyelashes grumbled dramatically. "Why," he asked Hell Blizzard. "Are we letting these guys tag along?"
"Demon Cyborg is S-Class," Fubuki reminded him. "So I hardly call his company 'tagging along.' And Saitama is rapidly rising through B-Class-"
"You mean Caped Baldy?" snarked Lily. The rest of the Blizzard Group giggled.
"I refuse to call him that," snapped Fubuki. "I respect what he can do, and that should be enough for you."
The group's laughter quickly vanished. A blush rose to Saitama's cheeks and his lips curled up in a slight smile.
"Now that you got the kids to calm down," he said. "What do you make of this quiet walk?"
"It's unsettling," said Fubuki. "I thought Z-City was supposed to be the gathering place of these monsters? We should have encountered more than just one lousy horde by now."
"They must be planning an ambush," said Saitama. "Once we're too deep to turn back."
"We could blast all the way down," Genos pointed out. "Attack them from above in a way they least expect."
"There are other heroes down there," piped in Lily. "You'd crush them too!"
"Then," Demon Cyborg matched her eyes meaningfully, threateningly. "Maybe crushable 'heroes' should get out of my way."
Lily met his dark gaze with a scowl.
"We'll find their ambush eventually," shrugged Saitama. "Then we'll just take them out. No big deal." He resumed walking ahead of the group, his strong, flavored espresso giving him a new spring in his step.
Fubuki chuckled, sipping her own concoction. She followed closely behind him, choosing to walk instead of fly.
Genos met their stride, and the Blizzard Group watched the three of them with confused astonishment.
"What," asked Mountain Ape. "Does she see in him?"
"I don't know," answered Lily.
Eyelashes fumed, his hands curled into fists. "Shit."
A crash sounded from close ahead, then a rumble, followed by intense silence.
"Boss!"
The Blizzard Group sprinted ahead, turned a corner, and came upon Fubuki, Saitama, and Genos.
Before them was a fresh plume of dust, clearing to reveal chunks of insect-like creatures strewn across a blood-ridden tunnel.
"Well," sighed Hell Blizzard, drinking her latte. "There goes our ambush."
"Sorry," said Saitama, sheepishly rubbing his neck. "I didn't realize how restless I'd gotten, I just couldn't resist."
"Just remember to leave some for us next time, Master." Genos beamed, voice brimmed with pride.
The Blizzard Group stared in disbelief.
"Caped Baldy did this?" asked Eyelashes. "I don't believe it."
"I don't remember asking you." This time, Fubuki delivered the snark, much to the bewilderment of her followers. "Either stay close or go home."
"Yes, ma'am," said Eyelashes contritely.
"Sorry, ma'am," concurred Lily.
Saitama smiled. "I do feel much better already." He held out his arm to Fubuki. "Shall we?"
Hell Blizzard accepted, and the party continued forward in latte-sipping silence.
"HARDER!" Gyoro-Gyoro's voice was unusually harsh. He didn't normally shout. But Madam S had been beating Garou with her whip for over thirty minutes, and he still showed no signs of being under her control spell. "HIT HIM HARDER!"
"Ee-yah!" Madam S swung her arm back, and propelled the whip forward with tremendous, rock-smashing force.
The spiked weapon ripped Garou's skin through his clothes. He cried out in pain, laughed, then breathed his way out of Madam S's mind control. Short, labored gasps enabled him to keep his senses, but made his body feel dizzy.
Panting, he shouted, "All of you, can kiss my tight ass!"
"Don't make promises you can't keep," retorted Madam S.
She struck him again, but Gyoro-Gyoro could already tell the result.
"Enough," he said impatiently, cradling his temple. "Maybe a more direct approach will suffice-"
Just then, one of his sentry eyes flew in from the cavernous opening above them. Gyoro-Gyoro looked at it, receiving the message silently, then sighed.
"The heroes have begun to advance already," he told Madam S. "There's a team at each entrance."
"Which one has the most?" asked S, cradling her whip. "For me to collect?"
"The main entrance, by City Z," Gyoro-Gyoro told her. "And hurry, they're advancing quickly. Take the inner tunnel, I'll send an undercover agent to the surface."
Madam S blew a kiss at Garou. "Until next time," she said.
"You won't have as much fun then," threatened Garou. The chain around his neck, binding him to the rock wall, served as a support for getting himself back to his feet.
"Nonsense," she quipped. "You're always a good time!"
She leapt from Garou's pit up to where Gyoro-Gyoro stood. "Please don't kill him," she pleaded. "Before I get to."
"That's entirely up to him," answered Gyoro-Gyoro.
Madam S left with a sigh.
Gyoro-Gyoro looked back down at Garou. "We need your cooperation," he said. "Now, more than ever. Sooner, rather than later."
"Go to hell," retorted Garou.
"How droll," critiqued Gyoro-Gyoro. "How unoriginal. I think some of Madam S's serum has clouded your mind. But not enough."
The psychic monster entered Garou's head himself, sending fierce whistles and siren sounds to overwhelm the hero hunter's consciousness.
"Aah!" Garou clutched his head, the pain compounded by voices and visions of juxtaposing memories. Children on the playground, that was really in the dojo, that was also the principal's office. Shadow, faceless schoolmates stood amongst clearer, uniformed disciples, making fun of him as he cried. His older self fucked Aiko in the corner, then they stood and started fighting. She was speaking like Bang, saying things only Bang would say:
"Root your stance, feel the earth under your heels and let its water roll through you. Roll through you!"
While Garou himself spoke like Tat-chan: "I'm Justice Man! Coming in for a Justice Man kick!"
He landed the kick, but Aiko was no longer his opponent.
"You started fighting! You just can't behave!"
His old headmaster, an oblong shadow with eyes swirling red stretched over the scene like a night sky.
"Can't you tell fiction from reality?"
Garou could see his psyche crack; rays of white nothing broke through whatever he could remember about himself. He turned away, crying, crouching.
Gyoro-Gyoro laughed at the scene. "You can stop all of this," he taunted, projecting his voice over everything else. "You know how; you feel it."
The rage in Garou's chest broke open. With a dramatic shout, he tore through the people checkering his memory: the old geezer, Tat-chan, the headmaster. Ripping their limbs off with his bare hands, flowing seamlessly as a river-
Aiko stood before him, about sixteen years old. She wore his favorite band shirt, the one he gave her, and nothing else. She lifted the bottom and puckered her lips.
Garou grabbed her by the back of her neck and bottom of her ass. He gave her a deep, passionate, and thirsty kiss.
Gyoro-Gyoro tutted. The volume of it in Garou's head caused a searing, overwhelming pain.
"Pity," boomed the monster. "It seems you're not quite ready."
Reality rushed back with a literal jolt. It was as if Garou could feel the world spin, and realized just how fast, how suspended it all was. Vomit flowed from his stomach, his body unable to process so much pain from his throbbing head.
Still chained to the wall of the pit, he slumped as low as he could, shaking.
"I suppose that's all for now," Gyoro-Gyoro turned to leave. "We still have so much work to do."
Child Emperor had three computers and five monitors plugged into the ground of an abandoned street in Z-City.
"So how does this work again?" asked Zombieman over Pig God's incessant chewing.
"The ground generates electricity," explained Child Emperor. "It's very finite, and goes in a certain pattern, but my chords can also tap into the city power that already runs through here. Also I brought my solar panels."
"I meant the digging," said Zombieman. "How are we going to dig that far down without being noticed?"
"Oh, we'll probably be noticed," the boy genius responded confidently. "But I have a plan for that too."
He tapped some commands on the left computer. Momentarily, a jet engine could be heard coming closer from overhead.
The heroes looked up, and three robot eagles could be seen. Massive, each carrying another robot under their talons. One had a mechanical mole, another a groundhog, and finally a shrew. Dropped amongst the heroes, the eagles continue to perch in a circular formation on the ruined buildings around Child Emperor.
The boy typed rigorously on his keyboards. The mole, groundhog, and shrew drones bleep and flashed to life. They immediately dug holes large enough for Zombieman to jump through, and continued going deeper.
Zombieman readied his pack, complete with survival equipment, rope, harness, gun, and machete.
"Here," Child Emperor handed him an earpiece. "So we can communicate while you're down there. I can also track your movements with this body cam."
All wired up, Zombieman put a flashlight between his teeth, waved to Child Emperor and Pig God, then jumped down one of the holes.
Child Emperor watched the camera footage on his monitors. Waganma should be straight downward from their location, so the drones all went in the same direction. They faced no opposition, so far.
"Not to be cliche," said Zombieman into his earpiece. "But it's too quiet down here. Especially for Z-City."
"Be on your guard," Child Emperor told him. "My heat sensors are picking up more and more activity the deeper you go. They're probably planning an ambush."
"Been planning it since they took the kid," concurred Zombieman.
Pig God had no contribution except snacking, and keeping his eyes peeled for surface monsters.
He saw an old woman approach. Hair falling out of a messy bun, she wore a faded cotton house dress and old, ripped sneakers.
"We've got company," Pig God told Child Emperor.
The genius turned around. "It's just an old woman," he said dismissively.
"Walking alone?" asked Pig God, finally putting down his food. "In a place like this?"
The woman walked right up to them.
"Hello," she called. "Are you alright?"
"Are you alright?" retorted Pig God. "You lost?"
The woman chuckled. "No, no, I'm not lost, dear. My sister lives around here and, I'm afraid, she's too stubborn to evacuate. I've come by to check on her."
"Both of you need to leave," said Pig God. "This city needs to be empty. It's dangerous."
She reached up to pinch one of his cheeks, catching the tail end of a flabby jowl. "Thank you for your concern, young man. But we'll be fine. We've weathered worse."
"I'm afraid it's not a courtesy," explained Child Emperor. "All residents are directed to leave the area, no exceptions. It's a state of emergency."
"Oh, my," the woman noticed the child for the first time, and approached with affection. "What is your name?"
"Call me Child Emperor," the boy said. "This is Pig God, and you are?"
"Abinobo," replied the woman, shaking his hand. "So what have you done to warrant being called 'emperor?'"
"You're looking at it," he indicated to the computer monitors. "We're here on behalf of the Hero Association, S-Class. I'm afraid this area is restricted and highly dangerous. You and your sister need to evacuate."
Abinobo laughed, a light sound that seemed to carry knowledge. "Oh, young man, I think you're in more danger than I am. Why don't we all evacuate together? We can hold up at my house. I am a foster mother, you'll have lots of kids to play with."
"Sorry, ma'am," said Child Emperor politely. "But we are here on a mission."
"Ooh…" As if just noticing the monitors, Abinobo stepped up to investigate their images. "Some sort of recon mission? Are those robots?"
One of the mechanical eagles cawed. Abinobo jumped, clutching her heart.
Child Emperor stood at her side. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," she replied, though breathlessly. She inhaled and exhaled, slowly, then asked, "Did you make all these?"
"Yes," said Child Emperor proudly. "They're designed to protect me against monsters."
"I see." Abinobo straightened up and adjusted her house dress. "Do you make a lot of these, these robot animals?"
"Oh yeah, that's kind of my thing."
A red light flashed over one of the monitors, then the camera feed got shaky. Child Emperor picked up his headphones and ran immediately to the computer.
Pig God put a hand on Abinobo's shoulder. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said. "But you need to go. Now."
"Fine," Abinobo took one last glance at the holes in the ground and the pictures on the monitors. Then, she raised her hands, and walked back toward Y-City. "Stay safe, you two. Good luck."
Beating all of Saitama's high scores wasn't the challenge King had wanted. Sure, he had a lot of games, but his highest scores didn't even break 100, most of the time. King was beating them, mathematically, a thousand times over.
"This is so lame," he muttered to himself. "Beats one button over and over again, and expects to win that way. What an amateur!"
"Who's an amateur?" asked Tatsumaki from behind him.
"Saitama," sighed King. "He can't fight in video games the way he can in life."
"The bald guy?" she said doubtfully. "Really?"
"He's tougher than you-"
Realization cramped his gut. His voice caught, he turned with a flourish, knocking over a bowl of popcorn and a pouch of juice.
Terrible Tornado floated above his coffee table in a sitting position. "Ugh," she grimaced. "Way to go, trashing somebody's apartment." She put everything to rights with a wave of her hand.
King trembled. "Ta-Tatsumaki! Wh-What are you doing here? How did you find me?"
"I just thought of you," she shrugged. "And teleported."
"Ah, great."
"Why didn't you come to headquarters," Tatsumaki grilled him. "When you were just going to wait for me anyway?"
Saitama, King looked out the patio door, at the collapsed garage where the gang had descended. Saitama, help me!
Tatsumaki followed his eyes, and recognized the abysmal entry. "Oh," she said. "I see, keeping watch, huh?"
Suddenly she loomed before him, almost growing in size. "How are you supposed to keep watch while playing video games?" The volume of her shrieking voice blew King's hair around.
"I-I'm sorry," he stammered. "There was no activity, and I got bored, and I only stopped to play for a minute-"
"Fine," Terrible Tornado flippantly interrupted. "Whatever, the point is, we're right here, so we can get this clean-up started."
"No!" King cried desperately. "No, I'm not ready, I-"
They vanished in a flash of green light. The bunny girl on the TV cried, from her loss due to expired time.
"Game over."
**For all my binge readers, this is a good stop for an intermission. The next chapter is the longest so far, and is the start of some intense scenes, so grab a break while you can. Thanks for following!**