Here we are with another chapter of Red Hero. I was going to update the other two first, but I already had an idea here and I was struggling with the other two. So, here.
In this chapter, we'll be introduced to four or five villains who will prove themselves to be quite frustrating to our main character. I wonder who they will be?
Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia. My Hero Academia is owned by Kohei Horikoshi and Shueisha.
The sweet embrace of sleep. It is a lovely period of time. Especially for the Red Hood. Sleeping after many late nights of finding, fighting, and exposing corrupt heroes. Izuku liked to think himself tenacious, but he was still human. It doesn't help that Kaina has upped the amount of poison he has to digest. His stamina tended to be on an all-time low. So, every afternoon, he set up his phone with a speaker with a nice, slow jazz playlist playing. He would set down a nice fluffy pillow on his couch with a nice warm blanket with the air conditioner running, keeping him both warm and cool, as well as relaxed as he reads a book, magazine, or manga until he drifts off to sleep. It was a welcome tradition from dealing with the hellish training Kaina put him through every day. But he wasn't allowed to have nice things for long it would seem.
"Helllllo!" a loud voice sang as the owner of said voice threw open his door. Izuku jerked under his blanket with a snort and groaned, his voice muffled by the magazine on his face. Said magazine was suddenly snatched off his face.
"Whatcha reading? A dirty magazine?" Setsuna asked as her upper body floated above him while her lower body walked up to him as he sat up. She flipped through the pages and made a noise of approval.
"Give that back." Izuku grumbled as he swiped at the floating girl.
"No way!" Setsuna stuck her tongue out at Izuku as she floated higher, eyes glued to the magazine. "Where did you even get this kind of magazine?"
"At where I get my guns." Izuku said before flipping off the back of his couch and snatching the magazine from Setsuna's surprised hands to land on the floor. Her two halves of her body came together and looked over his shoulder.
"So are you gonna get one?" she asked.
"Nah, too expensive." Izuku said.
"I mean, that one's cheap." she said as she pointed.
"I have enough guns anyways." he said as he tossed the magazine on his coffee table, letting it fall open to reveal different pistols with even a few rifles. "More importantly WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?!"
"Wow, you are really good at yelling."
"Shut up and leave Kelp Hair."
"Make me Broccoli!" Setsuna challenged. Izuku bent down, scooped her off her feet, carried the girl to the door, and tossed her out before slamming it shut.
"Oh yeah, he can." she remembered. She stood up before splitting into pieces before zipping around the apartment building and slipping through a window. Izuku came into his bedroom and yelled in irritation at the sight of Setsuna laying down on his bed.
"Go away!" he yelled.
"Feed me." Setsuna shot back.
"If it makes you back off then fine!" Izuku grumbled as he stomped out of the room. Setsuna grinned as she followed behind him.
"When are you going to leave me alone?" the secret villain grumbled as he pulled out a container from his refrigerator before pulling off the lid and pushing it into the microwave.
"Never." Setsuna grinned. Izuku deadpanned and groaned loudly as he slammed the door shut and punched in a number.
"You're gonna break your microwave if you keep punching it."
"Shut it." Izuku grumbled as he pulled out a can of spinach and popped it open by crushing it with his hand. He dumped the insides of it into his mouth and chewed with a disgusted face.
"I can never understand how you can eat that much spinach right from the can." Setsuna commented as her disembodied hands pulled the container out of the microwave and grabbed a fork.
"Spinach is good for you. Eat it." Izuku grumbled through his mouthful of green.
"You know, I've never seen you eat anything other than vegetables. And literal cupfuls of eggs."
"Vegetables are good for you so eat it." Izuku shot back.
"Yes dad." Setsuna sassed before stabbing her fork into some greens. Izuku sighed before throwing the crushed can into his garbage and walking away.
"Going somewhere?" Setsuna asked over her shoulder.
"Somewhere where I don't have to deal with you." Izuku shot back before walking out with his jacket slung over his shoulder.
"Have fun! I'll lock up for you!" Setsuna called back. She looked down at her food before getting up and going to the couch, grabbing the gun magazine and plopping herself down on the couch with it.
"Ooh, that's a nice one." she commented.
"EAT!" Izuku's voice boomed through the door, causing her to jump.
-Line Break-
"97… 98… 99…-" Izuku's phone suddenly went off, causing the green-haired boy to begin cursing.
"Dammit! Right before I hit a hundred." he grumbled. He straightened from his squats and began stretching out his legs.
"Oh, Midoriya." Izuku looked over his shoulder. Itsuka was standing there with a bag slung over her shoulder wearing a white gi, tied with a black belt, as expected. She walked up to him as he stood up straight.
"What, you want that overdue rematch?" Izuku asked as he stood up while rolling his shoulders.
"Right after you exercised? Yeah right." the martial artist scoffed.
"I'm not some second-rate pansy. I can take some pain." Izuku scoffed as he cracked his knuckles.
"Alright then. Bring it on." Itsuka said as she threw down her bag and took a stance. Izuku took his own stance with a cocky grin. The two teens shot forwards and slammed their fists together with a loud crack. And then they collapsed with a groan as their sore muscles tried to kill them.
"Rain check?" Itsuka groaned.
"Hrngh." Izuku growled back. The two picked themselves up and brushed themselves off.
"I heard that Setsuna comes over to your house now-a-days." Itsuka said nonchalantly as Izuku scooped up his phone.
"Yeah. Is she always so annoying?" he asked with a hint of irritation in his voice. Itsuka frowned.
"Hey, watch it." she warned.
"I'd watch it if she hasn't been bugging me for the last week."
"She's just trying to distract herself."
"From what?"
"From- None of your business."
"I think it is my business, considering it's making her come to my house and eat my food."
"You gave her a key."
"So that she'd stop trying to break in."
"Cause you're too nice to just let her get arrested."
"Well if she's gonna be a hero, she shouldn't be trying so hard to be arrested all the time."
"Look, if you want to know about Sets, you should just befriend her properly instead of yelling at her."
"What do you want from me? I was raised by the Bakugous."
"The who?"
"Forget it." Izuku walked away, though his intrigue in his fellow green-hair had increased. For a second, he considered asking Giran or Kaina, but reasoned that this probably wasn't worth the yen. It was probably gonna be something stupid.
'Speaking of which, Kaina did say that she wants me to hold off on spending money. Something about an upgrade to our weapon's locker.' the teen thought. A chill suddenly ran down his back, causing the villain's eyes to widen. He whirled around into his stance, scanning the area with his green eyes. There were a couple of kids, a couple of adults, a police cruiser on the other side with a cop eating donuts while sitting on the hood, but nothing out of the ordinary. Izuku looked around some more, but didn't see anything weird. He grunted and relaxed.
"I need more sleep." he groaned as he walked off with a hand scratching his fluffy hair. He didn't notice a pair of sharp eyes watching him with a small grin.
-Line Break-
The next day found the boy and two girls at school once again. Izuku continued to backtalk teachers and get angry when they brought up his Quirklessness to talk down on him. Setsuna didn't bother him while school was in session though, so that was a plus. Unfortunately, he ended up in detention after knocking out the teeth of another Quirkist. And Setsuna ended up meeting him after school thanks to a club meeting she had.
"Why do you insist on following and bugging me?" Izuku growled as he and Setsuna walked out of the school grounds.
"Cause you give a reaction." she said with a shrug.
"So what, if I didn't give a reaction, you'd leave me alone?"
"Well not at this point. If you start ignoring me, I'm gonna take it as a challenge."
"Uuuuuuuggggghhhh…"
"There we go." The two greenheads continued to walk down the sidewalk, dodging around people in their way.
'Huh. He walks pretty fluidly.' she noted as she watched Izuku practically slither through the crowd.
'Why is she still following me…' he grumbled as he spotted Setsuna in the reflection of a window.
"Well if you're gonna keep bugging me then answer me this."
"What's up?"
"I heard that you're trying to distract yourself from something by bugging me. So what's up?" he asked. Setsuna blinked.
"Oh, nothing. Just, just some family troubles."
"Oh. Alright then." Izuku fell into silence. He had a feeling that it was more than just that, but the Bakugous had a little bit more tact than to ask. Mitsuki and Masaru did at least. Setsuna looked at him in slight curiosity, but her attention was grabbed by her phone vibrating. She checked the screen and scowled, something Izuku caught when he peeked at her in a window reflection again.
"Well since you seem to be so insistent on not being bugged, I better get going. You get one pass and you just used it!" Setsuna said quickly as she hurried away. Izuku watched her go.
"Well. Guess I can finally take that nap." he shrugged. He turned around, walked, stopped, turned back in the direction Setsuna went.
"Guess I can finally take that nap…" he growled. "I don't want to check on her. She's not my business."
He stood there in the street before finally letting out one, very long groan of annoyance.
"Darn it." he ran off in another direction. Thirty minutes later, Red Hood was leaping over roof-tops in the same direction that Setsuna took, silently cursing himself as he did. So busy was he, that he didn't notice someone was watching him through red lenses.
-Line Break-
There was a reason why crime occurred at night. Not only were more people asleep after being awake for a day, but there wasn't as much light. No sun, and the street lights only cover so much of the area. So it's rather easy for people to miss the sight of someone sneaking through an area, trying not to be seen. It would be more difficult, if it weren't for the fact that the person was currently in eighteen different pieces, slowly floating along a building while her feet stayed on the ground.
"Sorry 'bout this." Setsuna whispered as her hands began working on a window, trying to get it to unlock. Suddenly, a shadow blurred across the wall, startling Setsuna. She quickly flew away from the window and reassembled herself, taking a stance with one hand on the ground. A loud clang caught her attention and caused her to whirled around with a hand going to her waist. What she saw made her freeze. Red Hood stood up slowly, towering over her from on top of a car.
"Hm. Didn't think I'd find someone here." he mused, his voice deeper and raspy than usual. He studied his classmate, taking in her appearance. She was wearing a black cloak, which hid most of her. The hood was up, and there was a cat mask covering her upper face, but it was definitely her. He could tell not only from her Quirk, but the bit of hair which he could see under the hood.
"Hey, I'm not some hero, okay?" Setsuna tried. "Just leave me alone."
"Hey now, I'm not just some guy who hunts random heroes just because they appear on TV. I'm exposing fakes, who are really villains. So, I'm just a villain who happens to go after bigger game than regular robbers. Doesn't mean Ima ignore a little girl tryna get into an apartment in such shady clothes." Red Hood said as he jumped down. Setsuna bit her lip as she backed away and swung her cloak around, hiding her slightly from eye-sight.
"You tryna ninja van- WOAH!" Red Hood dropped to the ground as several small things shot through the cloak and over him. Setsuna's cloak dropped back into place and revealed a pistol with a silencer on the end.
'Why did I teach her to shoot?' Red Hood groaned as he back-flipped repeatedly to dodge Setsuna's shots before somersaulting onto the car. Setsuna shot again when he landed, but the villain blocked the shots with the armor on his forearms. He pulled out his own pistols and fired back, forcing the girl to dodge. Setsuna ran away as fast as she could while Red Hood jumped down. He looked at the ammo she shot and grimaced slightly when he saw they were actual bullets.
'Wait, why am I so worried? There's no way she can beat me.' he scoffed as he turned back around. A pipe smashed onto his helmet, staggering him enough for Setsuna to use her makeshift weapon to sweep his feet out from under him and send him sprawling on his back.
"Rookie." Kaina said over the radio.
"You're here?" Red Hood grunted.
"Duh." his mentor said back. Red Hood flipped Kaina a mental bird before flipping to his feet, not surprised that she was watching. Setsuna swung her pipe again, only for Red Hood to dodge and counter with a kick to her stomach. She gasped as she fell to her knees, arms around her gut as Red Hood walked behind her.
"Give up?" he taunted with a pistol against her head. The bullets were rubber, but she didn't need to know that.
"Hey… You know what's my favorite movie?" Setsuna groaned. Red Hood blinked at the unexpected question.
"Uh…"
"Spaceballs." was her answer before she spun around with her Quirk and slammed her fist into his balls. A bell rang in his head before he collapsed, holding his junk.
"Shawn Sharon's shabby shoes! My balls!" he cursed before punching Setsuna in the privates as she stood up. A bell rang in her head as she collapsed as well, cursing.
"Dude! You don't punch a girl there!"
"Shut up! You did it first!" Red Hood yelled back. The two teens rolled around in the alley, cursing each other before getting to their feet shakingly. They still groaned as the pain eventually disappeared before Setsuna suddenly swung the pipe again. But this time, Red Hood caught it and yanked it from her hand to throw behind him. The girl swung only for Red Hood to spin and kick her hand away. Or off, as her fist popped off her wrist to fly towards the wall. It stopped and shot back to back-hand the villain, knocking him back.
Setsuna's fists detached and orbited around her as she ran forwards as Red Hood took his own stance. He tried to kick her, but her torso split before impact, making him wiff. Her fists slammed against his chest to knock him down as Red Hood tried to catch his balance. The teen rolled with the landing and kicked away a fist before blocking another. Setsuna dashed past him as her hands picked up some bricks and flung them before following her. Red Hood smashed the bricks with a roundhouse but clicked his tongue in annoyance when he saw her gone.
"You seriously lost to a common thief?" Kaina deadpanned.
"Shut it! I just went easy on her!" Red Hood snapped as he hurled a grappling hook onto the edge of a building and began climbing up it. He quickly scaled the rope and began jumping over the top of the buildings. Soon, he caught sight of Setsuna and landed on the corner of a building to catch his breath, watching as Setsuna also stopped to catch her breath.
"Okay, I think I lost him." she panted.
'Did you now?' Red Hood thought. Setsuna looked around before knocking a pattern into a nearby door while taking out a small bag he didn't notice earlier from under the cloak. A pale white hand reached out and grabbed the bag greedily before yanking it inside. A little while later, the hand extended with a bundle of yen, which Setsuna snatched before running away. Red Hood watched her run, soon followed by a familiar purple and pink-haired blur. The villain dropped down to the ground and pressed himself against the wall before knocking in the same pattern he saw Setsuna did. The door opened, and a pale wide-eyed face stared at him creepily.
"So… she was followed." the face said.
"I'm not here for trouble." Red Hood said.
"Then you are here for… profit."
"I guess. So, what can ya tell me about the girl?"
"My information… isn't free." Red Hood grunted and pulled out his wallet. The hand snatched it from his hands before shoving it back into them, empty of bills. Red Hood stared at him in annoyance.
"That girl… has been coming here for… two years. She has been giving me her… collections… for as long."
"You know why?"
"She has… need of my wealth. I hear that she has been forced to dance with a man dressed in light and dark."
"Are you always pausing and trying to speak in riddles?"
"Hey, it makes me feel cool, back off kid." the white face said in annoyance. Red Hood scoffed.
"So, who's the man dressed in light and dark?"
"Someone you don't want to mess with. That's all your money buys, so scram." The face slammed the door shut, and Red Hood took that as his sign to leave. After leaving a dent in the door.
-Line Break-
Setsuna paced the kitchen with a nervous demeanor. The Red Hood was a dangerous criminal. Defeating multiple pro-heroes, even going as far as to kill one? And she punched him in the balls! She was half-expecting the red cowled villain to burst through the walls like the Kool-Aid man and start whaling on her. Someone knocked on the window, and suddenly Setsuna wished that he did bust through the walls.
"Hello little lizard." the gangster from Penguin's group said as he came in. Setsuna growled slightly, wanting nothing more than to take her pistol and shoot him in the head. Unfortunately, that would make some people pretty upset with her. Itsuka, who was her best friend, her family, who took her in, and a Quirkless classmate that honestly would kick her ass with how often he stressed aiming for non-lethal areas.
"So, you got the money?" the man said nonchalantly as he sat down at the kitchen table, grabbing an apple and taking a bite out of it. Setsuna glared but walked out of the kitchen, soon returning with a bundle of yen that she threw at him. The man caught the bundle easily.
"Ah, good cash." he said as he flipped through the bills. Setsuna sat at the table with a nasty scowl, but her face just made the man laugh as he leaned back and slammed his feet on the table.
"What's with that look? I'm not the one who died and left me with all their debt."
"Shut it. You don't know anything about them."
"I know that they died, so the Penguin decided to put the debt on you. Honestly, I'm not too sure about working for a guy like him."
"Then-"
"Cause he pays, and I get to do illegal stuff for it." The man cut her off. Setsuna's scowl grew, the look foreign on the usually smiling girl. But her housemates were due to be home soon, so she was hoping this man would just leave.
"So are you done here? Or do you want to take anything else?"
"Nah, bit too risky for me to do that. Last time I did, I ended up knocking over that fancy urn you had. By the way, did you ever manage to find all the ashes?" the man asked with a grin. Setsuna gritted her teeth, the edges grinding against each other.
"...Just who are you? You show up to tell me that the Penguin is putting my parents' debt on me and my sister, tell me to steal stuff while doing the jobs he wants me to do for two years to pay off the Penguin, but you won't even tell me your name? Where's your manners?"
"You make a point kid. I do like to be a man of manners." the man shrugged. "My name is Piero."
"Piero." Setsuna repeated. The newly named Piero nodded. He looked down at a watch before standing with a devilish grin.
"Well, I'd like to hang, but I'm afraid I don't have time to clown about. Toodles." Setsuna blinked, and he was gone, leaving only a bitten apple on the table. She scowled, but masked her frustration with a toothy grin when she heard a door open. The teen walked around the table and kicked the chair the man was sitting in into place. The apple jumped on the impact and was caught and tossed into the trash can. Walking into the hallway had her greeted with the sight of a family who, contrasting her favorite lizard theme, were more froggy in appearance.
-Line Break-
"GAH!" Izuku yelped as he was thrown across the room and skidded on the ground. The green haired teen was quick to jump to his feet and block a drop-kick from his opponent, but was still knocked onto his back from the force. Kaina raised her leg and slammed her foot on his head as he rose, slamming his face into the ground. Izuku was pretty sure something in his face broke when he sat up and rubbed it.
"So, why exactly are you trying to smash my bones?" Izuku groaned as he stood up and staggered back slightly.
"You haven't been improving that much. I know that I gave you a less severe training schedule since school started, but I think we should up the level a little." Kaina said before charging forwards. She jumped and kicked him several times, but the teen blocked the strikes and tried to counter with a punch, only for Kaina to grab and put his arm in a lock.
"You sadist. So, where did Setsuna go?" Izuku grunted as he broke free only to be socked in the face and sent tumbling back again.
"Probably her home. She had a key, and it wasn't your house."
"That isn't a lot of evidence." he said as he got to his feet, only to get swept off them and land on the ground again.
"Life isn't some mystery game, and the court only needs so much evidence. Sometimes, all people need to accuse you is a hunch." Kaina said.
"By the way, I told you that we're trying to save money, right?"
"Yeah?"
"So why is it that we're missing eighty thousand yen?" the former assassin asked with narrowing eyes. Izuku looked away, whistling slightly. A swift kick sent him flying across the room with a scream. A few minutes later, the two were sitting on the floor of the bunker, Izuku having explained the situation.
"So, your classmate's in trouble with some shady business."
"Yep."
"So you asked Giran to get you some information."
"Yep."
"And he charged eighty thousand."
"...Yep."
"I guess the next training session will focus on proper dealings. This kind of information is supposed to be half the price."
"Half?!"
"Yes."
"Billions of blue blistering barnacles!"
"Ooh, I loved that movie last month."
"Yeah, we should have another movie night."
"Anyways, while you failed miserably at buying information-"
"Oi."
"-Giran always comes through finding things. He should contact you right about… now."
Right on cue, the base's phone began ringing. Kaina walked over to the phone and picked up. Sure enough, Giran's voice sounded out over the speaker, letting Red Hood cue into the info.
"So, the guy with the pale face and the door said that your target is dancing with a man dressed in light and dark. Considering how secretive he's being, he might be the Penguin."
"The Penguin?" Izuku repeated with a furrowed brow.
"A gang leader with a history of causing trouble for a bunch of underground heroes and common folk. He's the head of multiple companies, and is a pretty big guy in the black market."
"Sounds serious."
"He is."
"What else you got on him?"
"He's got like twelve different people who owe him some pretty big cash. And a bounty with five hundred thousand yen, so take him down and you get some good money. Speaking of which, that's all your money gets."
"You kidding? I paid twice more than I was supposed to."
"That's your fault kid." Giran hung up, leaving Izuku to curse at the dial tone. Kaina shook her head as she walked over to the back of the bunker, where several weapon racks sat. There was a chest sitting under them, and this was what Kaina opened.
"So what in the world are you even doing this for anyways? You're always complaining about her. And you haven't even known her for a month." she asked as she dug through the contents. Izuku shrugged as he pulled on his jacket and clipped on his belt, his pistols and shurikens jingling slightly.
"I dunno. I guess I just don't like that someone I know has to deal with this." he said.
"It's not really your business."
"I just need to do this."
"Why? She's barely your friend. And the Penguin himself is someone pretty dangerous."
"How dangerous?"
"Well, in terms of pure hand-to-hand combat, you might not be able to beat him. Might be because of his Quirk. Not to mention that he has a lot of guards. Besides, you should just focus on the bigger picture. We have at least three heroes we got info on." Kaina said as she held up the different files.
"Sounds like a party. And the heroes can wait for now." Red Hood said as he slid on his cowl. Kaina frowned and shot across the bunker, appearing in front of the villain as he turned as soon as he turned to the exit, making the teen stumble back in shock.
"We set out to change the current society. Expose villains disguised as heroes. Be cures to the disease. Tear down the veil. This is something you have to focus on. If you want to do this, you need to give me a good reason. Otherwise, you're wasting time playing hero." she said. Red Hood grumbled as he crossed his arms.
"Look, I… I dunno. Do I really need a reason to help someone? This kind of stuff is just instinct." he said. The last word made her pause. Kaina studied her student, completely silent, before nodding. She opened her mouth to say something, paused, and then talked.
"Alright then. Then you're going to do this properly. First, this." She pulled something from behind her back and held it out. Red Hood looked at it in confusion. It was another cowl. He had plenty of spares, but this wasn't a spare. It wasn't as shiny in the light, the eye slots were more linear than circular, and it was more armor in design.
"The one you're wearing right now is a regular motorcycle helmet. This one is custom-made and more military in design. Much more durable, and comes with infrared vision." she said as Red Hood took the cowl. He pulled off his current helmet and slid on the new one. It felt slightly heavier, but it felt comfortable. Kaina touched the side of the cowl and suddenly things were in red, green, and orange. When looking at the eye slots, people can see that it's glowing green.
"Wow."
"Yep. It also disguises your voice, so you don't need to hide it. Next, smoke bombs." she pressed some of the canisters in his gloved hands. "They're a mix of tear gas and MACE, so keep your cowl on. It'll protect your eyes and lungs."
"Awesome."
"Yep. Now, if you want to take out the Penguin, you'd better do it properly." Kaina said.
-Line Break-
Doing it properly apparently meant attacking the Penguin's gang and trying to dismantle it bit by bit. Up the intensity of the attacks until the Penguin himself tries to take care of business. Start with a few thugs, then eventually attack warehouses. Red Hood soon found himself battling several thugs at once, much to his disgruntlement.
"Guh!" the villain grunted as he was drop-kicked and was sent tumbling backwards, his pistols having been knocked away earlier. He rolled to his feet and took his stance as the three grunts all charged.
"Hm. I should've seen this coming. Then again, I was expecting you to only be fighting one-on-one for a while." Kaina mused while Red Hood was put in a headlock for another thug to just punch his stomach over and over again before another thug kicked him away. The villain landed on the ground, groaning as he got to his feet.
"Seen what?" he growled through gritted teeth.
"You don't know how to fight multiple people at once." Kaina pointed out. Red Hood took a stance as the three thugs charged again.
"When fighting different people, you use different moves, different tactics. You also have to keep your eyes on different people at once, and have to respond to different things in different ways." Kaina said over the radio as she watched Red Hood get knocked onto the ground and kicked over and over again. "You, uh, you wanna get out of there?"
"No duh!" the villain grunted before throwing both fists up and clocking two of the grunts in the nards and causing them to collapse. The final grunt kicked Red Hood until he eventually rolled back to his feet. The grunt charged again, but Red Hood shot up and slammed his cowled head against the grunt's face, knocking them and some teeth out. They collapsed to the ground while Red Hood knocked the other two grunts out before collapsing against the wall and falling to the floor.
"Oooooooooh…" he moaned in pain. Kaina landed nearby and began looking over the truck the grunts were loading up.
"Hm. Looking at these, they're probably loading up some fresh trade. There's a good amount of weapons here. Hm, not a fan of the drugs though. Gonna have to get rid of those." Kaina said to herself. Red Hood pushed himself up to his feet against the building next to him, only to slip and fall down with a pained grunt. Kaina gave him a glance before continuing to look through the contents of the truck.
"Walk it off. I'll call your school tomorrow to get you a day off to recover. Then we hit another target tomorrow night." she said.
"You sadist…" the villain groaned.
-Line Break-
"Dum dee dum." Piero hummed to himself as he glanced at his watch, tapping his foot as he leaned back in a chair. He glanced around the icy blue room before looking at his watch again. A ding from the elevator caught his attention. The thug gave a toothy grin as he stood up and faced the metal pair of doors as they slid open, revealing two of his fellow thugs under the Penguin's hire. One was a tall, scrawny man in ragged green clothes, carrying a box on his belt. The other was a fellow hooded thug, but had a pair of red glasses.
"Hey hey! If it isn't Tori and Tai!" Piero greeted.
"Do not refer to us as though we are friends." the scrawny man rasped as he pointed a thin finger at Piero. Piero simply grinned in amusement as he waved it off.
"Oh Tori, how can you treat me so? We've been working together for so long!" he laughed.
"You, child, have been working here for 2 years."
"Hey, I'm 21."
"Knock it off you two. Sagishi, why ya call us here?" the hooded thug questioned. Piero grinned as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder. Behind him were a pair of large wooden doors.
"You're gonna have to talk to the boss Tai. But, well, I think Tori and I have a pretty good idea." Tori scowled deeply, indicating that he does. The three men walked to the doors and Piero pushed them open. The three walked into the office, their breaths immediately becoming visible. The room was an icy blue, much like the rest of the building, but it was much colder. There were icicles hanging from the ceiling and decorating the window which overlooked the city. In between the three men and the window, there was a mahogany desk with a large blue chair facing away from them. The desk had a large plate of what looked to be raw fish. A stream of smoke was coming from the chair.
"Dang boss, you always keep this room so cold. I get you're the Penguin, but seriously." Piero complained as he rubbed his arms.
"Ah, shut it." a gruff voice said in a southern accent. The chair spun and revealed a beak-nosed and round man. He was pale and dressed in a classy tuxedo. He had a nasty scowl, glaring at the three through a single monocle with a cigar at the corner of his mouth. He grabbed the cigar and crushed it against his desk, putting it out before standing up.
"Gentlemen, for the past 10 years, I've been building my gang up. I've been building it through careful spending of my money, careful placement of my members, and careful elimination of certain obstacles. Sagishi." Piero stood up straight.
"Yer in charge of arm dealing. Youse been proving pretty decent for a kid working for only 2 years."
"I'm 21." Piero muttered.
"Osore. Yer in charge of drug dealings. Youse been selling custom drugs, one that only we have, so we have some guaranteed customers."
"Indeed." Tori nodded.
"And Jisatsu."
"You point, I shoot." Tai nodded.
"Correct!" the Penguin shouted as he slammed his hands on his desk and got to his feet. He walked around the desk with an umbrella "I have a pretty dang good foundation. But that doesn't mean that the rest of the building doesn't matter! Can ya guess what I'm going to talk about next?"
"That new vigilante in town." Piero guessed.
"The Red Hood…" Tori scowled.
"An annoying bug, buzzing around our heads." the Penguin growled.
"Come on boss, you can't be serious. This "bug" hits a few of the cheap grunts you hired. So what?" Piero scoffed.
"This bug is also someone who decided to make a living fighting heroes and exposing them online. Was it just luck? Was it all set up? Maybe. But I'm not gambling with maybe!" the Penguin growled as he grabbed a fish and bit off its head. He chewed his food before swallowing as he turned around.
"I want the two of youse to recall all your men and be located inside of their respective warehouses. If this bug shows up, he'll show up to a warehouse filled to the brim with mobsters." The Penguin ordered Piero and Tori. Piero saluted while Tori nodded.
"What about the debtors?" Piero asked.
"Forget 'em. We'll collect after we deal with this vigilante." Penguin growled as he finished off his fish.
"And me?" Tai spoke up.
"You'll be making sure that our competitors don't get ahead of us while our workers are busy." The Penguin said. Tai nodded.
"You got it boss." The three walked out and closed the doors behind them with a heavy thud. The Penguin took another cigar out and lit it. He inhaled before breathing out a stream of smoke as he walked around his desk and sat down. He studied the city behind him and scoffed.
"Such an annoying bug. Why is a vigilante going after a mobster instead of his usual victims? No matter. He made a mistake going for me. I'm the Penguin!" The Penguin got up and picked up an umbrella leaning against his desk before walking out as well.
-Line Break-
"So yeah, you're gonna get a pass." Piero said nonchalantly as he examined a large serrated knife. A heavy sigh filled Setsuna's room as she walked up to a mirror. She had once again donned her dark outfit and glared at her reflection in front of her. Under the cloak, there was a skin tight leather outfit with multiple zippers over her body, which she could use to allow the usage of her Quirk. Her mask was a cheap Halloween one, the shape of a cat, to her annoyance, as she wanted a lizard.
'That damn bird…' she growled in her head. 'Swooping onto the daughter of a dead family, and making her work for him.'
"So why the hell are you telling me this?" she asked in annoyance.
"Well aside from the fact that you're technically one of the debtors we'll be forgetting for now, I heard you had an encounter with a certain, red cowled vigilante?" Setsuna passed as she looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"How?"
"I have my ways. Anyways, you don't have to worry about him for much longer." Piero shrugged. He held up a weird bullet, with a green tip. Setsuna looked it over with a furrowed brow.
"Uh, what is that?"
"Something another client of mine asked. I'm not as good as one of my co-workers, but I can definitely shoot well."
"You've been hired to assassinate Red Hood?!" Setsuna gasped.
"Ooh, be quiet. You don't want your foster family to hear you, do you?" Piero grinned. "But yeah, someone asked me to shoot 'em with this bullet. Just gotta wait for when he takes off that little cowl of his. Or at least, an opening."
"..." Setsuna was silent.
"Oh what, don't tell me that you don't want him to die." Piero scoffed. Setsuna gave him a glare.
"I can't help being a decent human." she snapped. Piero laughed, a cold laugh which sent shivers down her spine. He slammed the knife into the window frame as he jumped down, leaving the blade behind. Setsuna gritted her teeth slightly before taking off her suit and putting on a casual outfit. She looked out the window with a furrowed brow before sighing. She redonned her suit and leapt out the window.
-Line Break-
"Alright Red Hood, this is the next area. The first base we'll be attacking. Not that we have a choice, we're going ahead of time since no one in Penguin's gang is out in the open." Lady Nagant mumbled as she stood on the edge of a rooftop, Red Hood crouching nearby. They were overlooking a large building, which looked to be an abandoned factory. But despite the abandoned look, there was light, and there were people moving around inside.
"Hm… I get the feeling that this isn't gonna be just a hit and run." the younger villain said.
"It's likely that there's more grunts than usual. Usually I let you handle things since you need the experience to grow stronger, but for this, I'm gonna have to provide some real support." Lady Nagant said.
"Real support?" Lady Nagant's arm bent and her rifle popped out the elbow. Red Hood made a sound of understanding and stood up straight.
"Whelp. Time to get down to business." he said. He tugged on the rope he was tying to a pipe and began making his way down the side of the building. Lady Nagant watched him reach the bottom and run towards the warehouse before scaling up the side.
'Hm. He's getting better.' she thought as she watched him climb up using the cracks in the wall. He suddenly slipped slightly and nearly fell, but managed to regain his grip and continued climbing after a pause. 'Still needs some work though.'
Red Hood's gloved hands grabbed the factory's roof, and he quickly tossed himself over the edge. He rolled over to the window roof and looked inside.
"Oh geez. There's, what, sixteen of them?" Red Hood grumbled.
"It's likely that we haven't found one of their main bases, so that's a plus. Otherwise there would be a lot more." Lady Nagant said.
"Looks like life is finally tossing me a bone." Red Hood said. He looked again. "Just what are they doing anyways?"
"Press the button next to the vision option." Lady Nagant said. Red Hood quickly obeyed, and his eyes flashed. Lady Nagant looked at a picture appearing on her phone and grimaced.
"Oh, just classic. They're manufacturing drugs."
"Seriously? What kind?"
"Why?"
"Uh…"
"They're making cocaine. Or at least something similar to it. I saw a lot of similar factories when I was working with the HPSC." Lady Nagant said. She frowned deeply when she said this.
'The HPSC. I haven't heard anything other than them trying to take down Red Hood's info leaks. Considering the fact that I was their number one for a while, it's only a matter of time before they come after me for real.' she thought. She looked at Red Hood, her well-trained eyes seeing him analyze his gear, just as she trained him to do.
'Hopefully he can handle it.' she thought.
"I got two pistols with full tranq clips, two extra cartridges each, a few of the special bombs Kaina gave me, some shurikens, why do I have those when I just have guns, some mines for a light explosion, a knife, and these boots." Red Hood counted off, finishing off by knocking his boots, which made a metallic sound when they were hit. He paused and knocked his helmet as well.
"Almost forgot about this." he chuckled. He looked through the window again with a serious face in his cowl.
"Time for business." he said. The villain backed up before charging forwards. A grappling hook flew back and hooked on the edge of the building as he jumped up and smashed through the window. The grunts inside looked up in shock as glass and a teen villain fell down with a rope attached to him.
"It's the Hood! Red Hood!" the grunts yelled as they ran away from the falling shards of glass. The rope snapped taunt and yanked Red Hood into an arc, where he landed against the wall. He quickly slashed it with his knife and fell down to land on the concrete floor.
'Ow…' he groaned as he hit his back a few times. The grunts' yelling caught his attention as they all charged towards him with guns. Red Hood yelped as he ran around as they fired, eventually diving behind a machine that was pumping out white powder. He glanced at it before rummaging through his belt's contents. Bullets clanged against his cover, causing him to flinch. He glared under the machine's belt before taking out his guns and firing around the machine.
"You need sniper support?"
"I'm good." Red Hood said stubbornly. One of the grunts took out an RPG and took aim at the machine.
"Take this!" he yelled as he fired. The rocket shot towards the villain's hiding spot. Suddenly, the window shattered as a bullet pierced the air and struck the rocket. An explosion shook the factory as a shockwave blasted the two sides. Red Hood grunted as he fell over while the grunts each took cover as well. The teen grunted as he pushed himself up, dusted slightly with white powder.
"A. The heck kind of rockets are they firing?! B. Thanks."
"No problem."
"Now. My turn!" Red Hood quickly slapped a few mines onto the powder making machine. A lot of the powder flew off, but the machine was still making more drugs. Just as planned. Red Hood piled up the powder and stuck a few smoke bombs into the pile before dashing away.
"Fire in the hole!" he called before pushing a button. The mines exploded, destroying the machine and the smoke bombs with a ear-splitting boom. Powder and smoky gas filled the factory, causing the grunts to begin coughing and crying out in pain as they felt their eyes, throat, and nose burn intensely. Others began acting up as they felt the effect of the cocaine-like drugs.
"Ugh, this is what we get for making drugs." one of the grunts groaned as he staggered. A booted foot slammed into his face, knocking him backwards. Red Hood dashed around him, his cowl's eyes glowing green to show his infrared vision. He kicked the grunt repeatedly, knocking him around relentlessly before slamming his face into the ground, knocking him out.
"One down!" he said. He looked up and dodged back as another grunt attacked him with a pair of glowing fingers. The two danced around each other as they fought before Red Hood managed to land a powerful uppercut that knocked the grunt back. He took out one of his pistols and shot the grunt repeatedly before she finally fell down onto her back.
"I should get stronger tranqs." he muttered. A bullet whizzed by him, shooting down a grunt sneaking up to him and taking them out. Red Hood flinched to the side.
"Stop analyzing if it means you're going to stand still. Dummy." Lady Nagant scolded.
"Sorry." Red Hood said. He hurled himself towards another grunt and began fighting her as well. The grunt was knocked around but managed to block a strike. She slapped a palm against his chest, and Red Hood experienced a powerful shock that knocked him back. He groaned in pain as he rolled over to his front and pushed himself back up.
"Alright, ow." he grunted.
"He's over here!" the grunt screamed before coughing. Red Hood's fist crashed across her face and his foot into her stomach, knocking her down and out. She was knocked out, but the damage was done. More grunts charged towards Red Hood, and the villain groaned as he got ready to fight. This was gonna take a while.
-Line Break-
"Boss! Boss!" the Penguin turned to his radio. The fat mobster pressed a button and grunted.
"The Red Hood is here!"
"Are ya sure? How do ya know?" he asked cautiously.
-Line Break-
"Well…" the grunt looked behind him through a pair of goggles with glowing purple eyes. Red Hood quickly grabbed the end of a rifle and forced it away from him as it fired with a bang. His other hand began punching the grunt relentlessly until they let go of the rifle. Red Hood gripped the rifle and used it to smash the grunt into the ground, knocked out. A rocket narrowly missed him and impacted a machine, sending him flying as the shockwave slammed into the villain.
"He's got a red helmet, and is beating up a few of our grunts pretty good," he said.
-Line Break-
"Alright. Just hang out until we get there." the Penguin ordered before hanging up.
"We?" Piero's voice said over the radio.
"I'm going to teach this runt a lesson myself." the Penguin grunted. "You two get there as soon as you can."
"Understood." Tori rasped.
"You got it boss." Piero said. The Penguin made his way out of his ice cold office, umbrella in hand.
-Line Break-
"Hurry up and go to sleep you big jerk!" Red Hood groaned as he was tossed around by a giant, who he had a tight choke-hold on. The giant gasped for breath before finally collapsing. Red Hood rolled off his back and onto the ground, breathing heavily.
"Status report. Now."
"No more bullets… No more smoke bombs… Still got my knife and shurikens though… And like, two more explosives." Red Hood grunted as he pushed himself up.
"Well, you did a good job this time. Take ten, and then get back to base." Lady Nagant ordered.
"Yes ma'am…" Red Hood groaned as he staggered over to the side. Outside, Lady Nagant sighed as she stood up.
'The kid took down a few, and I helped with a few others. It might just take a few more years before he's ready.' Lady Nagant thought. She looked around, and paused.
"Hey Red Hood, you might need to hurry up. Someone is coming." she warned. Red Hood groaned as he staggered around.
"Dang it." he growled as he moved, ignoring a ringing phone.
Lady Nagant watched as a car pulled up to the factory. She frowned as the doors opened, and the Penguin came out, along with a hooded figure. The Penguin barked something as he waved his umbrella around angrily, to which the hooded figure simply shrugged as he took a phone away from his ear. Her rifle popped out again from her elbow, and she took aim at the mobster.
'Better take this guy out quickly.' she thought to herself. Her rifle fired a bullet, and it flew straight towards the Penguin.
"Hm?" the Penguin hummed. His umbrella suddenly shot up and blocked the bullet with ease. Lady Nagant's eyes widened in shock as she watched the bullet clatter to the ground uselessly.
"Take care of that bug." the mobster ordered.
"Got it boss." Piero grinned. He dashed towards the building and suddenly jumped up to the top in one fluid motion. Lady Nagant's rifle pulled back into her elbow as she got ready.
"Well! Lady Nagant! I wasn't expecting to see you here!" Piero said, clearly pleased with who he found.
"Who in the world are you?"
"Name's Piero. One of the Penguin's top goons and the boss of his arms dealing. Not a big fan of how you've been taking all our guns by the way." Piero wagged his finger as though he was scolding Lady Nagant, but she wasn't amused. She aimed her rifle at him with a scowl.
"Back off."
"Can't do. I got a job to do!" Piero shrugged as he reached into his pockets and pulled out, a deck of cards?
"Cards? Related to your Quirk?" Lady Nagant guessed.
"Close." Piero grinned before suddenly flinging the cards at high speeds. Lady Nagant ducked under them and jumped over a follow up throw. The card embedded itself into the roof and began burning.
'Yikes, that's dangerous.' she thought. She landed and back flipped as more cards impacted the roof. Piero laughed as he hurled more razor sharp cards. Lady Nagant dodged them all before firing back a precise shot that flew towards his forehead. But Piero instantly blocked by holding up a card that sliced the bullet in half.
"Ooh! Right for the kill? I like it!" he grinned. Lady Nagant grimaced as she got ready and fired some more shots. Piero dashed forwards, slashing the bullets out of mid-air and hurling more cards. Lady Nagant jumped over the cards and used the recoil of her rifle to boost her to the next rooftop. Piero leapt high into the air after her and hurled more cards that she dodged by rolling to the side. They embedded themselves into the roof once again as she rolled to her feet and took aim as Piero landed.
"You're fast!" he said.
"So are you."
"Let's see how long you can run!" Piero cackled as he whipped out and hurled more cards.
-Line Break-
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" a gruff voice grunted as the Penguin walked in. Red Hood stood in the middle of the factory with crossed arms, surrounded by piles of drug powder.
"Hey there. Considering that outdated suit, I'm guessing you're the Pen- what are you doing?" Red Hood cut himself off as the Penguin walked over to the side and began jabbing at what looked to be a thermostat. Sure enough, the factory was filled with the sound of air conditioners as the building slowly became colder and colder.
"Eh. Just prefer colder temps. Anyways, yer the Red Hood brat, aren't ya?" the Penguin said as he slammed the end of his umbrella down.
"Yep. And I'm here to kick your birdbrain butt!"
"So why is some random vigilante tryna take me down? I ain't a no good hero."
"Well, neither are the guys I take down. They're just a bunch of fakes." Red Hood dismissed.
"Ah, so yer a hero killer like Stain." The Penguin guessed. Red Hood paused, blinking behind his cowl.
"Uh, who?"
"The Hero Killer Stain. He's been going around killing heroes."
"Wha- who did he kill?!"
"Eh, Dig-Dug-Leo, Bomberboy, Kai-Guy…"
"Those guys aren't fakes! The biggest crime they did was a diss battle with each other in public. What, did he kill 'em for being on TV?!"
"From what I can tell, yea."
"... I'm gonna take you down now. Then I'll take down that Hero Killer." Red Hood groaned as he rolled his arm.
"Alright then…" The Penguin grinned as he swiped the rim of his top hat before tossing up his umbrella and holding it at the ready. "Let's see what you can do brat!"
Red Hood's response was to take out a detonator and press the red button. The piles of powders exploded, sending a wave of powder over the two of them as a smokescreen.
-Line Break-
"Hrrgh…" Lady Nagant grunted as blood dripped down her arm. Numerous cuts covered her body, and a few sharp cards were sticking out of her shoulders and arm. Piero wasn't in peak condition either, as there were multiple bruises and bullet holes on him.
"Hah. Taking me on in hand-to-hand really surprised me." Piero chuckled, not caring about his wounds as though they weren't even there.
"Next time, I'll take your head off." Lady Nagant grunted as she pulled out the cards in her shoulders and arms.
"Sure, sure. But, well, I got a second job, and I should probably wrap this up here." Piero shrugged as he took out some more cards.
"I'll wrap this up for you. Then I'll go after your boss." Lady Nagant growled as she held the bloodied cards pulled from her flesh. With a flick of her wrist, they were sent flying towards Piero. He grinned and quickly blocked the cards by throwing his own cards. Lady Nagant quirked a brow when she spotted the green pictures opposing the red ones on the ones she threw.
"What the-" the cards suddenly exploded into green gas that covered the rooftop. Lady Nagant covered her face with her arm as the gas washed over her with a scowl.
"A smoke screen?!" she grunted.
"Oh dear, someone just broke wind!" Piero joked before cackling.
'Seriously?' Lady Nagant thought with a chuckle. She paused.
'Why did I- why am I laughing?!' she thought in a panic as she continued to laugh, with her laughter growing harder and louder.
"Hahaha HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lady Nagant howled with never-ending laughter, stumbling and falling to her knees as she tried to cover her mouth, which was curling into a ghastly grin.
'I can't stop!' she thought in a panic.
"Oh ho ho ho ho! Yeah, that's right! What's life without some good laughs!" Piero laughed with just as much energy as Lady Nagant had.
"HAHA- What- AHAHA- WHAT WAS THAT GAS?!" Lady Nagant screamed through her laughter.
"My favorite weapon! But that's not here or there. Just let it all out, along with your oxygen." Piero grinned as he turned away, taking out a large pistol with a laser pointer attached to the top.
"ST- HAHA- STOP!" Lady Nagant roared as she hurled herself towards the goon, who fired right before being tackled.
-Line Break-
While all this was going on, the fight between the Penguin and Red Hood was going on as well. The smokescreen unfortunately proved itself to be useless as Red Hood's first kick was easily blocked by the Penguin's umbrella. The mobster roared with laughter as he easily blocked the different kicks and punches that the Red Hood hurled before smacking his cowl with the end of his weapon, knocking him around slightly. The curve of the handle hooked onto Red Hood's foot and threw him, sending him spinning through the air. He grunted as he slammed against the ground while the Penguin laughed.
"Hah! Is that all little guy?" he taunted. Red Hood grunted as he rolled over and got to his feet.
'Damn! If only I was fighting this guy when I'm not tired from fighting a bunch of grunts.' he thought in anger. He slid slowly into his stance, studying the Penguin as the powder fully settled.
'Not to mention how easy it is for this guy to block me, even with a powder screen up. I bet it's his Quirk. His eyes? No, they don't look different in any way. His nose? It's hideous, so that's a maybe. But if he inhaled through his nose, then how the heck did he not get high from the cocaine?' Red Hood studied his opponent.
"Take this!" Red Hood yelled as he pulled out his shurikens and hurled them. The razor sharp circular blades hurtled towards the Penguin, but he easily blocked them with his umbrella. Red Hood suddenly appeared behind him, knife in hand. He quickly swung it, but the Penguin suddenly opened his umbrella behind him. The knife bounced off and the umbrella shoved Red Hood back.
"En garde!" the Penguin laughed as he jabbed Red Hood's shoulder with the end of his umbrella. Red Hood roared as he fell back, red drops staining the powder on the ground. The Penguin grinned wickedly as he shook his umbrella, the hidden blade at the end covered with the young villain's blood.
"You fat blob of fat!" Red Hood yelled as he tossed his knife into his other hand.
"Hah! Is that all you got?"
The two charged towards each other. Red Hood swung his knife with high speed and kicked ferociously, but the Penguin easily blocked all the hits just by moving his umbrella around to intercept the attacks. He swung the umbrella fast enough to make it whistle, constantly hitting the villain around until he fell down. The blade popped out and pierced the ground as Red Hood rolled away and tried to kick the Penguin's leg, but the mobster easily jumped over the leg and tried to stomp down on it, missing as Red Hood managed to pull it back. He swung his knife up, but the Penguin simply leaned out of the way and smacked the knife into the air. He swung the umbrella and knocked Red Hood through the air, letting him land on the floor with a grunt. He groaned as he rolled over and got to his feet, pink powder sticking to his jacket and the ground.
'Ugh, I'm leaving too much DNA behind.' he grumbled in his head. He looked at the Penguin who grinned back at him. Suddenly, Red Hood's knife fell down from being knocked up before. Red Hood's eyes widened, and widened further when the Penguin knocked the knife away without even looking up!
"Your Quirk… It's Reflexes!" he exclaimed. The Penguin paused.
"How'd ya get that answer?"
"You obviously never trained, considering how many openings you leave, which is the clear sign of someone who wasn't taught. Yet you were able to keep up with me by predicting my movements without even thinking. Not to mention how easy it is for you to block things that you don't even see." Red Hood listed out.
"Hah! Shame I'm gonna kill ya, otherwise I would've hired ya. Well, yer reasoning is flimsy, but you got it!" the Penguin grinned as he tugged on the rim of his hat.
THE PENGUIN!
Quirk: Reflex!
His senses are enhanced, letting him absorb a lot of information quickly! His body is able to instantly react to this information, letting him move and react in the right way. This lets him keep up and block things he really shouldn't be able to normally!
"So you answered one question. Here's the next one. How is you gonna counter it?" the Penguin said challengingly.
'Two ways. I disorient his senses, since reflexes are a response to what information those senses get. But I don't have any flashbangs, so I have to go with option B. Attack when he's mid-motion, and can't respond fast enough. The problem is, ugh…' Red Hood swayed slightly as he took his stance.
"Ya lost too much blood, and ya just finished fighting all my goons. And by the way…" The Penguin gestured around him. The grunts were slowly getting up, having recovered from the beatdown they had received earlier. Some instantly saw the teen, and looked like they wanted revenge.
"Ah, crap baskets." Red Hood groaned.
"Amatuer." The Penguin said from behind. Red Hood whirled around, and there was a BANG! The teen found himself on the ground, head pounding and blood beginning to stroll down the side of his face inside his cowl. The cowl's eye slots were cracked, one of them shattered to where Izuku's green eye was able to see through. The teen felt nauseous, and he struggled to get to his feet without falling down.
"My my! Your helmet was able to block that!" the Penguin said as he held his umbrella, the end still smoking. "Not bad. That was a shell to the face. Though, it looks like your cowl isn't gonna block another one."
Red Hood's cowl was heavily damaged, and there were several cracks running over the top of it. It was fractured, and there were even bits of Izuku's hair sticking out.
"You… you…" Red Hood's voice was staticy, as the voice modulator inside the cowl was broken. Some of the goons were surprised at the young-sounding voice.
"Is that just a kid?" one of them asked.
"Wow. Didn't expect that." the Penguin said in surprise as he looked Red Hood over. He shrugged and the blade of his umbrella popped out again. "Well then, I was gonna kill ya, but since youse a boy, Ima let ya live. After giving you one last poke."
"STOP!" Lady Nagant's voice echoed, catching everyone's attention. They looked at the window that was in the same direction of the voice, just in time to see the bullet pierce the glass and dart over the Penguin. The mobster looked in shock as the bullet struck Red Hood right at the base of his neck. Red Hood's eyes widened inside his cowl, before the young villain fell to the ground.
-Line Break-
"My my! Now this is a surprise!" Piero chuckled. Lady Nagant glared at him while sucking entire lungfuls of air, drool running down her chin. "You must've done some poison resistance training."
"You… you…"
"I… I…? Piero repeated mockingly. "I didn't know an ice queen like you could care about someone."
"Piero! Was that you?"
"Yep! Sorry for stealing your kill boss."
"That was a child."
"Oh. Yikes."
"Ah, whatever. Let's pack it up and go home."
"You got it boss!" Piero saluted no one. He grinned at Lady Nagant, who was still on her knees from the gas.
"We should do this again sometime!" he said. He laughed at Lady Nagant's glare and looked at the corpse of the Red Hood. And stopped.
"Uh, boss?"
"What, what is it?" the Penguin snapped.
"You might wanna double-tap."
-Line Break-
"Wha?" The Penguin and the goons around him turned around and their eyes widened in shock. Red Hood was convulsing on the ground, thrashing around before he was suddenly hurled into the air by an invisible force.
"What did you shoot him with?!" the Penguin yelled.
"I dunno." Piero said nonchalantly. Unknowingly to the mob boss, Piero was grinning at the sight as Red Hood landed on his feet.
'Well there's a plot twist for ya!' he thought.
Red Hood breathed heavily as he stood tall, little sign of the injuries he had before. The Penguin watched in shock as the teen's body continued to convulse, loud cracking sounds filling the air. As well as the sound of ripping clothes, as Red Hood began to grow.
"Krr… Argh… GRAAAAAHHH! Gruah…" Red Hood growled as he finally stopped thrashing about, now almost twice as big as before.
"This, doesn't seem good." the Penguin sweated.
"RROOOOAAARRR!" Red Hood charged forwards. The grunts before tried to rush the enlarged villain, only to get grabbed and thrown through the air, screaming as they slammed against the wall of the factory, leaving cracks as they fell to the ground.
"WHAT?!" The Penguin freaked out and opened fire with his remaining grunts, but Red Hood leapt high into the air over the bullets. The gang members scrambled out of the way as Red Hood slammed into the ground, cracking it heavily. One grunt was too close and was picked up and thrown into another, taking them both out. The last three could only scream in terror as the Red Hood charged and threw them as well with a swing of his arms.
"YOU'RE DEAD!" Red Hood roared at the Penguin. He charged again, and this time the Penguin found himself being overwhelmed as the villain was much faster and stronger than before. The mobster blocked one punch, but gasped as his umbrella bent and he was seized and lifted high into the air. Red Hood slammed the mobster down over and over again before throwing him against the wall, cracking it. The Penguin coughed up blood as he landed on the ground, struggling to get to his feet. Red Hood's footsteps thundered as he charged towards the mobster again.
"Stay away, stay away!" the Penguin screamed as he scrambled.
"KID!" Lady Nagant dashed into the factory and landed in front of the Penguin before taking a wide stance with her arms extended to the sides. Red Hood skidded to a stop just a few feet away from her. He was originally shorter than her as a second-year in middle school, but now he towered a full ten centimeters above her.
'Just what did that jerkbag shoot him with?' she thought.
"It's a bit much, kid. You already won, so stop." she said firmly. Red Hood stared at his mentor before backing off.
"Sorry… I just went a little crazy there." he rumbled. He looked at himself, clenching and unclenching his hands.
"Who shot me? And what the heck did they shoot me with?"
"I dunno. But he's gone." Lady Nagant sighed as she glared out the shot window.
"What do we do with that guy now?" Red Hood gestured to the Penguin, who had clocked out.
"I'll take him in for the bounty. Clean up, and rendezvous at the hideout. I'll check you over to see if I can figure out what happened to you." Lady Nagant instructed as she picked up the Penguin and flung him over her shoulder with ease. She walked away before stopping, and turning to look at her partner.
"What?"
"...You need more training." she said before leaving. Red Hood watched as she stole the Penguin's car and drove off. He looked around and quickly got to work to clean up the bright red and pink spots of powder, tossing them into a bathroom he found at the end of the factory.
"Alright, all done. Now I gotta get out of here." Red Hood grunted. He paused and looked himself over, poking his arms and chest. He picked up a piece of machinery and tossed it over to the wall with ease.
"Huh. Is this what having a Quirk feels like?" he wondered. He looked around before dashing towards and jumping almost two dozen feet to grab the windowsill close to him. He hurled himself out and landed with an impact that cracked the concrete below him.
"Heh… heheheheh! YEEEAAAAHHHH!" Red Hood whooped as he dashed around and jumped onto the side of the building. He hurled himself up, carving out chunks of brick with just his bare hands before landing on the roof. Setsuna stared at him, dressed in her black outfit. The two paused, standing there in silence.
"...Hey."
"...Hey."
"You, uh, you good?"
"Yeah… Ima, I'm good. Just, uh, snorted some coke?"
"Snorted some coke?"
"Snorted some coke."
"Right…" the two teens were silent.
"...So what are ya doing here?"
"I heard you had beef with the jerk extorting me." Setsuna said with a hand on her hip.
"You were being extorted? That explains the other night."
"Yeah… that night."
"...You want his bounty?"
"What?"
"Well, it's just you were dealing with a lot considering who we're talking about."
"Yeah, no. I appreciate you taking down the fatso, but I don't trust you. You're a villain, and I barely know you."
"Well, at least you're smart enough to recognize that." Red Hood nodded. He looked her over.
"So, you got a name?"
"A name?" Setsuna blinked.
"Yeah. Or what, you wanna just call me Catwoman?" Red Hood gestured to her mask.
"Yeah! Just, uh, just call me… Catwoman…" Setsuna trailed off. They stood in silence before Red Hood turned and walked away.
"See ya then Catwoman." he said.
"Yeah, sure…" Setsuna said awkwardly. Red Hood dashed away and jumped across the rooftops, eventually disappearing.
'...Catwoman. I seriously just called myself Catwoman.' Setsuna groaned. She looked after the Red Hood, thinking.
'Well, he doesn't seem like a bad guy.' she thought.
-Line Break-
"Seriously?! That's great, Setsuna!" was what greeted Izuku as he walked in. Itsuka and Setsuna were sitting together at their desks. Setsuna was grinning wide.
"What the heck are you two screeching about?" Izuku grumbled as he walked up to them, rubbing his shoulder. Whatever was in that strange bullet, it gave him an enhanced body and helped heal him, but wore off in just ten minutes, much to his disappointment.
"Well, I just got the news that someone bothering me for a long time isn't gonna bother me any more."
"...that's a bit sus."
"Yeah, it is." Setsuna shrugged. Izuku studied her for a bit.
"Well since you're in such a good mood, I don't suppose I can hire you for something?" he suddenly said. Setsuna looked at him in surprise, as did Itsuka.
"What?"
"Well, I've been busy with some stuff recently, and I missed my homework. So, uh, could you do it for me? I'll pay ya." Izuku said dismissively. Setsuna blinked.
"Uh, what have you been doing?"
"Some noon yer stuff."
"Noon yer?"
"Noon yer business."
"Isn't it nun yuh?"
"Whatever. We have a deal?" Izuku asked irritably.
"Alright then, how much?"
"How about, five hundred?"
"Eh… double or nothing."
"You want a thousand."
"Five hundred to do it, five hundred to not do anything to it."
"...Fine."
"Great!" Setsuna grinned as she held out a hand. Izuku looked at it before grabbing and shaking it.
"Pleasure doing business- wow your hand is rough."
"Weight lifting." Izuku said simply as he went to his seat. Setsuna grinned after her fellow green-head.
"That's kinda lazy." Itsuka remarked.
"Eh. I need cash." Setsuna dismissed.
-Line Break-
"You hired her?"
"Yep." Izuku grunted as he reclined on his couch, watching the evening news. Setsuna had already picked up his homework and gone home, saying that she needed to celebrate with her family. Kaina grunted as well as she sat down, slamming a bowl of salad on the table in front of him. She glanced over and frowned at the sight of the ice cream sticking between his lips.
"Ice cream before dinner?"
"I just took down a mob boss. I think I deserve to have ice cream before dinner." Izuku said dismissively. Kaina looked over at him before falling back against the back of the couch.
"So you did. How does it feel? Helping someone instead of ruining them?" she asked.
"Eh, feels good to do good." he shrugged. Kaina smirked before ruffling Izuku's fluffy hair, much to his annoyance.
"I guess you being a vigilante can help out with training, so we can do a few vigilante stuff here and there." she said nonchalantly.
"Hopefully we don't have to deal with someone like the Penguin again." Izuku shrugged.
"In other news, the Penguin, while captured by the infamous Red Hood the other night, has recently escaped." the news lady on the screen said. The two stared at the TV in silence.
"It appears that the people responsible for helping the Penguin's escape possess an incredible level of physical strength, likely in the form of a powerful Quirk. They were able to essentially rip through the metal armor of the containment truck transporting the Penguin. What's interesting is that the truck was outfitted with special anti-Quirk technology, implying that the one responsible was a Mutant-Type-"
"MOOOOOOOOOTHERFUUUUUUUUCKER!" Izuku's roar interrupted the newscast. Kaina sat with her hands over her ears as she was nearly tilted over by the sheer force of his scream.
'Huh. The first uncensored cuss.' she thought.
-Line Break-
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"You seem troubled. Is there something you wish to say to me, old friend?" a large hulking man said as he fiddled with something on the table in front of him. He held it up, revealing it to be a bright green liquid in a vial.
"Yer the one who gave my good for nothing goon that bullet." the Penguin growled. The mobster was back in his tuxedo, but his top hat and umbrella were gone.
"Apologies old friend, I just had something else in mind for the boy, other than an execution." the giant man said as he corked the vial and placed it down.
"Mind explaining just what yer planning?" the Penguin grunted as he got up. "I swear Bane, you're worse than me."
The now named Bane stood straight and turned around. He was wearing a skull-designed mask, with red lenses. There was a thick hose going from the back of his head and going to a device on his back, which had multiple large containers attached. More hoses were attached to devices on his arms, which had a pair of controllers outfitted for his wrists. He was dressed in a black tank-top, and a pair of large blue jeans, with a heavy pair of boots. His outfit didn't seem big enough for him though, as his muscles were so large, they were nearly bursting out of his clothes.
"Sorry old friend. It's just that our resident vigilante is more useful to, my, personal plan, right now than he is dead."
"Your plan?"
"Indeed. I have one for the future. One which would overthrow the society we live in right now."
"Oh?"
"But I am but one man. I would like to ask for your help. I need to call on your connections. Are you willing?" Bane asked respectfully. "I will do what I can to help you rebuild your lost empire of course."
"Tsk. If you weren't an old friend of mine, then I wouldn't even consider it. But fine. I have a few people in mind." the Penguin scoffed.
"I thank you. Should we cross paths with Red Hood, I shall personally deal with the boy." Bane promised.
"Sounds like a plan. Now, where's my phone?"
-Line Break-
Muffled screams filled a dark room, where the only light was a green light. The scrawny and lanky form of Tori was next to the light, pumping something vigorously. His computer pinged, catching his attention. He stood up and walked over to it after pressing a button. The former gangster looked through the email as green gas began to fill another room separated by a glass wall. The room being filled had a single man, blindfolded, gagged, and strapped to a table. The gas covered him, and soon the man began screaming bloody murder as he thrashed violently.
-Line Break-
Yells and gunshots filled the night as someone was gunned down by a barrage of bullets, blood being sprayed all over. Tai grunted as he held up his hand, a special gun cocking and ejecting an empty clip. His phone dinged, catching his attention. He pulled out the device to look it over.
"Huh. That sounds interesting." he said after reading the email before pointing his other hand and shooting another man rushing towards him. The man screamed as he was filled with lead, sending blood spraying everywhere as he collapsed.
-Line Break-
"Ah… So the former boss is still around? And he has a new game for me? Ha… hahaha… hahahaHAHA!" Piero roared with laughter as he fell back on his couch, his phone falling out of his hand. A car drove by his apartment, briefly filling the apartment with light. Revealing the hoodless Piero, and his head of dark green hair, pale white skin, and ghastly smile.
So, there's the cast of the future. I gave the members of the Penguin's gang specific names, but since they were obtained using Google Translate, they might not be the best in the world. So yeah, Tori is, as you can probably guess, the Scarecrow. Tai is, if it's not obvious, Deadshot. And Piero is the big man himself, the Joker. Though, slight spoiler, Joker isn't going to be that important until later. He's the biggest boss of the group, but Bane is the one to focus on right now. But this isn't the end of the new introductions, as there will be another in the next chapter. Hopefully the character introductions will be slowed down a bit. As per the usual, leave a review! Azure out!