Acid Smash
Part 6: Caught
Earlier-
As the chaos at Esupa City continues to unfold, Mina slowly picks herself off of the ground after she had been knocked down by the villain Twice.
She looks around and takes in her surroundings but her opponent is nowhere to be seen. Instead, a little boy standing in the middle of the shopping centre and crying catches her attention.
Mina approaches the kid with concern.
Mina: Hey little guy, are you lost?
The boy sniffles before lightly nodding his head.
Boy: Uh-huh. I can't find my Momma!
She takes the little boy's hand and gives it a comforting squeeze.
Mina: Well let's go see if we can find her together, okay?
The boy stops crying and giggles.
And so Mina leads him along in the now deserted mall. Eventually, she comes across a woman frantically pacing around.
Mina calls out to her.
Mina: Excuse me ma'am, is this your son?
The woman turns to look at the pair and cries out ecstatically.
Mother: My boy! You found him!
She falls down and scoops the boy into her arms.
Mother: Thank you! Thank you so-
Boy: Momma?
The voice did not come from the boy being held but from someplace else. Off in the distance, a small little boy very much like the first begins running towards them.
Boy: Momma! I couldn't find you! I was so scared!
Mina looks at the mother with surprise.
Mina: Oh, you have twins?
Mother: No… He's an only child…
The mother slowly looks down at the boy she is holding. Dread creeps onto her face as she sees the boy staring wickedly back at her.
The boy then begins to laugh as it disintegrates into a mud-like substance, much to the mother's horror.
Mother: W-Wha-? What's going on!?
Mina: He's not real! It's a decoy!
Mina stares at the remaining residue in shock.
Mina: He was standing out in the middle of the street, right where I could find him. But if he's a clone, was this all a plan to keep me and Izuku separate?
Before Mina can complete her thoughts she feels a hand on her shoulder.
Mina: Who?
Shocked, Mina turns around only to find a familiar face.
Now-
Izuku remains in a stand-off with Mr Compress and Twice, who appears to have Mina as a hostage and has a knife up against her throat. His green eyes cautiously assess the situation but he remains still.
Twice: Stay back! Come on, fight me!
Twice presses the knife further into Mina's neck, nearly slicing at the pink-skin.
Twice: I won't hurt her! I'll kill her!
Izuku clenches his fist in frustration.
Izuku: This is bad. The knife's too close to Mina. If she manages to free herself, she won't be able to get away in time. She'll get hurt.
Mr Compress kneels down to look at Mina. He chuckles with sinister glee as he stares into frightened golden eyes.
Mr Compress: My, my. This is quite the predicament isn't it? Did you know that my friend could produce clones of such good quality? Of course, there's no way to tell is there?
Mr Compress then stands back up but Izuku still does not move.
Mr Compress: So go on, take a chance. You could stop us both by the time she bleeds out. But if she's a clone, who cares if she gets her throat cut? You better hurry up though; this is really dragging out the performance!
Izuku: He's right, if I don't act quickly who knows what they'll do. And I won't know whether Mina's real until I do something but even if she is a clone, I can't take that risk! I need to do something, but what?
As if by reading Izuku's thoughts Mr Compress shrugs his shoulders.
Mr Compress: Still undecided? How about this, we'll let the girl go if you agree to take her place in the show. I know Shigiraki will be very thrilled to speak to you again.
Izuku relaxes his hand in defeat.
Izuku: I have to do help her… There has to be a way.
Mr Compress and Twice watch Izuku intently.
Mr Compress: Well? What will it be?
Izuku lowers his head and shouts.
Izuku: Alright, I'll come with you! Just don't hurt her!
Mr Compress claps his hands together.
Mr Compress: Very good! I knew we could come to a deal!
He then extends an open hand towards Izuku.
Mr Compress: So let's shake on it, shall we?
The boy reaches to take it. Their fingers are almost touching each other when Izuku hear's Mina's voice cry out in panic.
Mina: Don't do it Izuku!
Izuku and Mr Compress turn their heads to see the real Mina leaping towards them.
Mina: I'm okay!
She throws a glob of acid at the clone, melting her away. Meanwhile, Twice scrambles to avoid the splashback of acid.
SHZZ.
Twice: No! No! I'm melting!
Within seconds, Mr Compress attempts to grab Izuku, who moves his body out of reach. He then pulls his fist back before giving Mr Compress a powerful punch to the chest. The attack sends him flying back.
WHAKOM.
Mr Compress: Oof!
Mina touches down on the ground next to Izuku and the two are now standing side-by-side.
The pink-skinned girl turns to her green-haired boyfriend and smiles energetically.
Mina: I even brought some help!
As Mr Compress and Twice start to recover, a swarm of tentacles wrap themselves around the two villains and hoists them into the air.
WRIGGLE.
Izuku turns to see the source of the tentacles and finds them coming from Tamaki Amajiki, their upperclassman at UA.
Izuku: Amajiki!
Amajiki looks at Izuku with the corner of his eye, remaining focused on containing the villains.
Amajiki: Fatgum and I got a call about a disturbance at the Shopping Mall. He went to handle the crowds while I was going to go after the villains responsible. That's where I found Ashido and she explained the situation!
Mina: We flew around the place looking for you, luckily we found you just in time!
Meanwhile, the villains continue to struggle against their tentacle restraints.
WRIGGLE. WRIGGLE.
Mr Compress: Dammit, we've had too many people crash the show!
A blue marble rolls out of his sleeve and into his hand. He then flicks his wrist forward, throwing the sphere towards the three heroes.
Mr Compress: I think it's about time for an intermission!
The marble explodes. Without hesitation, Amajiki loosens his grip and instantly changes his hands into clam shells to shield Izuku and Mina from the blast.
BOOOOM!
As the smoke clears, Amajiki lowers his defences. He along with Izuku and Mina look around for Mr Compress and Twice but they are nowhere to be seen.
Sometime later, Izuku and Mina have finally returned to the UA dorms, accompanied by Mr Aizawa and All Might.
Their classmates gather around them, eagerly bombarding them with questions.
Sero: You guys got caught up in another villain attack, that's crazy!
Kirishima: Yeah, what happened!?
Mineta: What is with these guys?! Why won't they quit!?
Toru: Are you okay? Were you scared?
Iida: What about the villains, were they apprehended.
Aizawa clears his throat, silencing the class.
Aizawa: You can ask your questions later. For now, we'd like to have a private discussion with Ashido and Midoriya so they can give us their accounts of today's events. All Might, if you could help me make sure everyone returns to their rooms.
All Might nods as he begins to usher some of the students away.
All Might: Right. Come along everyone, it's best to give young Midoriya and Ashido some space.
Guided by their teacher, the students disperse still murmuring about the situation, but eventually Izuku and Mina sit alone in the common room.
Soon afterwards, the pair are watching television by themselves as a news presenter gives a report of the incident.
Reporter: There was chaos today at the Esupa City Shopping Mall when two members of the League of Villains commenced an attack in the early afternoon. Fortunately, the attack was foiled by a pair of UA high-school students and no injuries have been reported. The perpetrators, the villains Mr Compress and Twice, real identities unknown, were able to evade capture by the members of the Fatgum Hero Agency though the search for them still continues.
Mina glances over at Izuku.
Mina: Do you think you could turn that off?
Izuku: S-sure.
Izuku picks up the control and switches the programme off.
Reporter: The authorities have insisted that there is no need for public concern but request that people remain vigilant for any villain activity and that they contact their nearest Hero Agency if-
CLICK.
Izuku turns to face Mina but he struggles to make eye contact.
Izuku: So… Are you alright?
She raises her eyebrows in concern.
Mina: I should be asking you that Izuku. You almost got taken.
Izuku grabs at his trousers with his hands, clenching them tightly. His face becomes overcome with anguish and his eyes begin to well up with tears.
Izuku: I didn't have a choice… That one villain, Twice, he had a knife… I was so scared he was going to hurt you! And there was nothing else I could do! I had to play along! If I hadn't agreed to it, I could've lost you…
Mina takes Izuku's hand and leans forward into him. His eyes soften as he sees the same look of distress on her face.
Mina: And if I hadn't found Amajiki or if we hadn't gotten there in time, I could have lost you too.
Mina leans in closer to Izuku, their faces inches apart. Izuku is uncertain for a moment.
Mina: Kiss me…
Izuku: H-here? M-Mina… Are you sure we should-
Mina: I don't care… I'm just glad you're okay.
Lips crash into each other as Izuku pulls Mina in for a kiss.
As this is going on, Uraraka has made her way down to the kitchen. She is as unaware to Izuku and Mina's presence as they are to hers.
Uraraka: Mr Aizawa said it would be fine for us to leave our rooms now but the dorms still feel quiet. I guess everyone's still on edge.
She opens a cupboard and pulls out a glass.
Uraraka: I can't imagine what Deku and Mina went through today. From what the news said, it sounded serious. What if they had gotten hurt, or worse? Deku seemed really shaken up about it, like last time.
She then walks over to the nearby tap and fills the glass with water.
Uraraka: But I can't help but wonder what they were doing together at Esupa City… No, you shouldn't be thinking like that right now. Your friends were attacked today, that's what's important.
Uraraka then makes her way out of the kitchen.
Uraraka: Still, I should go talk to Deku, make sure he's alright…
Back on the sofa, Izuku and Mina show no signs of stopping.
He grabs hold of her face and passionately caresses it. Their lips then break apart, the kisses become shorter as they take rapid breathes in-between.
Things then intensify further when she climbs onto his lap.
Now straddling him, Mina brings Izuku in for another long kiss.
Suddenly, they hear the sound of glass shattering behind them.
CRASH.
Izuku and Mina break apart. They then slowly and anxiously turn their heads towards the origin of the sound. Watching them from the doorway is a wide-eyed Uraraka.
Another cliff-hanger? Oh well. Stay tuned to see how messier things are gonna get!
Thanks to everyone for sticking with this story so far. I know my style isn't the most popular way of doing things but I'm glad that some are enjoying it and it means a lot.