16
The three stood quietly in front of the building they'd soon be assaulting. The final seconds of their five-minute prep time was quickly running out, and soon they'd be put to the test. Taking a look to his right, Earphone Jack stood, one hand on her hip, the other twirling her ear jack around her finger. Her hero costume was simple; a leather half-jacket hung loosely to her frame with a light pink t-shirt underneath. The most complex thing on her would have to be her boots. Rectangular stereos were built into the shafts, protected by lightweight steel mesh painted black.
To his left sat Froppy in a low crouch. Her skintight bodysuit hugged her slender frame tight to herself as she scanned the building in front of her. Like Jiro, she had a straightforward costume with one complex part, hers being a pair of goggles. He wasn't quite sure what they were capable of but figured they were likely some form of night vision.
Looking back to himself, he bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. He was anxious and admittedly a bit nervous at the competition they'd be facing. Allowing creati and Kaminari to dig in and fortify guaranteed there'd be an electric hell waiting for them. Calming himself, Cottonmouth watched the timer countdown the last minute.
"Before we start, should we have a team name?" He asked, his mouth talking before his mind could shut it down.
Earphone Jack looked over at him in confusion while Froppy simply croaked.
Finally finding her voice, the rocker said, "Does it really matter?"
"Nah. Just saying what came to mind, how'd this go for y'all the first time you did it?"
" I was paired with Tokoyami against Sero and Kirishima and did pretty good after managing to get Kirishima wrapped up in Sero's tape." Tsuyu said.
"I got stuck with Kaminari… Against Momo and that little pervert. It was pretty bad, but at least it didn't go as bad as Midoriya and Bakugo."
"Iida mentioned that earlier. What was the big deal with that?" Michael asked the girls beside him.
"The two had a grudge match that ended with Bakugo nearly killing Midoriya… Ribbit."
"Didn't matter much in the end, considering Uraraka managed to snag the win for her and Midoriya."
Michael absorbed the information and made a note to himself. He'd need to dig a little deeper into the green-haired boy's relationship with the blonde. Who knows how the info could help him later on.
The three sat quietly as the buzzer sounded and started the 15 minutes to accomplish their goal. Before they all took off, Cottonmouth decided to shake things up. He knew Jiro was more than capable of being more than what he originally planned out. Tsuyu was still fairly new to him, but he figured there was no time like the present to learn what his new teammates could do. Shouting to Jiro, he pointed to the rocker and said, "Change of plans… You'll be going with Froppy and me to assault and harass Creati and Chargebolt. Keep the strategy of blasting them with sound, but stick close to Froppy and occasionally tap in to relocate me. Do what you can to get them close, and I'll shut them down. Got it?"
With a nod, Froppy and Earphone Jack took off beside him as they charged inside. Once inside, Cottonmouth stopped the group with a hand signal and signaled for Jack to plug in. The three sat quietly as she focused and only began to move when she looked up and said, "They're up high. One is further away than the other, but we should be good for at least five floors."
The group nodded in understanding before quickly and quietly moving up the stairwell. Stopping at the sixth floor, they repeated the process and waited for Jack to report. "One is definitely on the next floor. The other is one or two floors above that. What's the game plan?" She asked.
"Froppy, I'll need the two of you to burst in there and get his attention on you. Keep him busy, and I'll get in there to try and finish him before he can do anything to us. Jack… Things need to get loud now." He said as they came to a stop at the top of the next floor.
Looking at both of the girls, he put up three fingers, Jack's plugs clicking into her boots. Two fingers, Froppy's stance getting ready to pounce. One finger was left as Cottonmouth's leg was brought to his chest and shot forward, kicking the door off its hinges.
The once quiet building exploded into a storm of noise and chaos, the girls bursting through the entrance while Michael broke away and flanked the target. Kaminari stood in the open, the shock and awe still freezing him in place as his senses were immediately overloaded. The electric teen desperately swapped between covering his ears to stop being permanently deafened and popping enough lightning to keep Froppy from overwhelming him.
The frog girl was doing her best to knock him off balance and land a solid kick. So far, she'd only managed to graze him or risk being shocked and possibly become a liability. Anytime Kaminari began to look around for Cottonmouth or raised his hands to block off Earphone Jack was just another opportunity for her to try to put him down.
Earphone Jack was having the time of her life. Between being given full reign to pummel the blonde pervert and getting a chance to really shine in a more active role, she was rather glad to be on this team. Seeing him let go of his ears to fight back against her froggy friend only made her happier to push how loud she could get.
Cottonmouth had been in position for a minute now. At this point, he was just letting the girls have a bit of fun as they worked the blonde for everything he was worth. Remembering they still had another, more dangerous target, he decided to end this scrap. "Froppy! You hit 'em high, and I hit 'em low!" He shouted as he dropped his camouflage a few meters behind Chargebolt and rushed him.
Kaminari could barely make out Michael's voice in his deafened state and quickly turned to see him bearing down on him. The black shaded lenses may have hidden Farron's eyes from view, but Kaminari knew full well that they were staring into his soul. At the last moment, the sight of Cottonmouth's gas mask dropped low, and Chargebolt could feel two pairs of feet on his body. One belonged to Michael and was currently sweeping his legs out from under him. The other pair was slamming into his upper back and driving the air out of him as Froppy executed a perfect dropkick. The two kicks sent Chargebolt into a spin, headfirst into the ground with a heavy thud and barely conscious.
Cottonmouth transitioned from his slide back into a silent, threatening walk. A quiet hiss was barely audible from his mask filters as he circled back to where Kaminari lay dazed on the floor. "What does Creati have planned for us up there?" Cottonmouth asked the downed hero student.
When confused muttering and complaints were the only things he could hear, Michael lost his patience. One boot was raised high before slamming down onto Kaminari's chest, pinning him down and forcing the blonde to focus on the empty, glossy black of Michael's visor. Remaining defiant, Chargebolt ripped his gaze away from the empty black glare, only to have a nightstick waved in his face. "Tell me, or I'm breaking something for every ten seconds of my time you waste."
"Michael! We can't do that!" Froppy protested.
"Why not? We are villains for this exercise, and any villain out there wouldn't hesitate to do worse." Cottonmouth said, his mask distorting and giving his voice a deep, menacing hiss.
"This still isn't right! We don't have the right to interrogate villains."
"None of it is, Tsu. Ask Momo and Kyoka when you get a chance sometime. We don't have time to play nice and to hell with going in completely blind against Creati." He said as Earphone Jack looked at the scene in quiet acceptance.
Looking back down to Kaminari, Michael brought the nightstick up and began his swing when Kaminari screamed, "OKAY LOOK!"
Stopping, Farron bent down close and signaled for him to continue. "Creati is on the next floor up, she's got all kinds of electric traps, noisemakers, and some kind of riot control stuff, but I don't know where or how much. She told me to distract the three of y'all and sent me here."
"She used you as bait? Momo Yaoyorozu used you as a decoy so that she could have a heads up on us?…. Clever girl."Cottonmouth remarked with a laugh.
Stepping off his chest, Michael bent down low and flipped Kaminari onto his stomach before pinning his arms behind his back and restraining him. Sliding his gas mask up above his face, he leaned in close and began whispering to the blonde. "Congrats… You are once again a hostage for whatever a villain may use you for. First the USJ and now here… Kaminari, I'm gonna need you to stop dicking around with the little purple fucker and get your head on straight. I'm gonna look past the cheerleader thing, but I need you to take this seriously from here on."
Sliding his mask back down into place, Michael stood up and looked to the girls at his side. "Jack, can you get a bead on Creati's location?"
The rock hero plugged her jacks into the ceiling above and just as quickly ripped them out as she grabbed her head in pain. "She's got some kind of really high-pitched sound going on all over the place up there… I can't hear a thing."
"Fuck… Okay. This time, I'll take point, and we'll do this as a seek and destroy kind of thing. If at all possible, make contact with the VIP dummy. If that's not an option, then do your best to overwhelm her. Keep your head on a swivel and remember… Speed, stealth, and violence of action." He explained as they headed up to the door, leaving Kaminari bound and dazed.
Getting the go-ahead from his team, Cottonmouth crashed through the door to see a room of pitch-black staring back at the three of them. "What was that?" Earphone Jack asked.
"What do you mean?" Froppy asked.
"Sounded like someone just flicked a small metal switch." Jiro answered, looking around.
The silence was interrupted by a deafening boom and Cottonmouth being shot back against the door they'd come through. The air had been knocked out of him, and the impact had put him on his ass, bracing himself against the wall. The room instantly erupted into chaos as strobe lights rendered Froppy's goggles useless. Speakers blasted loud music that cut off Earphone Jack's hearing and any real communication between the three. Seeing the mess about to unfold, Michael frantically waved away his teammates and crawled away into the darkness.
Finding his way under a nice desk to hide under, Cottonmouth slid a hand up his shirt and felt around for the wound. A few seconds of prodding led his hand to an extremely sore area in the middle of his chest; a bruise the size of a dinner plate would surely be there tomorrow. "That fucking bitch shot me. She fucking shot me... Good for her… Good for her." He groaned before lying down and struggling to breathe, his vision fading until all he saw was black.
As air and vision gradually returned to him, Michael slowly propped himself up to peek at the battlefield. Deciding not to even bother with normal color vision, he popped his thermals and took a look at his surroundings.
His thermals lit the room up in blues, reds, and greens as his eyes scanned the scene. A few meters away from him lay an unconscious figure. A quick swap back to color revealed just enough purple in the strobing lights for him to know that Earphone Jack had been knocked unconscious. Over the noise, he could barely make out the sound of a struggle in the distance. One bright green figure was fighting a much cooler blue figure off with a dark blue staff. Getting to his feet, Michael shuffled over to Kyoka and ran through a quick health check. "No blood loss, breathing is normal, I'm sure her costume isn't restricting any blood or air, nice pole shaped bruise is already starting to form on her cheek… Momo isn't fucking around today, is she? Anyways, I'm gonna need you to wake up and help us." He muttered as he began to shake her shoulder gently.
A few seconds of shaking had finally managed to bring Jiro back to the waking world with a couple of groans of pain. "Fucking hell that stung. Mich-... Cottonmouth?"
Cottonmouth crouched over her with one finger in front of his mask to silence her. The room had gone silent, and the strobe had cut off, leaving the room in bright white light as footsteps made their way ever closer. Sliding his mask up and as quiet as he could manage, he whispered, "Stay down and don't move. She thinks you're still knocked out, and she'll be looking for me. Take this… If you see an opportunity, you fucking take it"
He handed off one of his nightsticks to her before sliding his mask back down and stalking off. A minute had passed in what felt like an hour to Kyoka. The sting from where Yaoyorozu had introduced her to her staff kept her alert and tracking Michael's heartbeat only a few feet away. Soon enough, Creati made her way to where Earphone Jack lay, feigning unconsciousness.
Under his mask, Michael watched the creation user check her surroundings before kneeling and taking out a capture tape. "Fuck, this is gonna hurt." He muttered to himself before activating his camouflage and stepping out.
He'd managed to get mere feet behind her before purposefully shifting his foot ever so slightly, nudging some debris into making a faint noise. Creati's staff swung out violently, forcing Cottonmouth to jerk back and break camouflage. The girl didn't relent in her assault and kept her staff spinning as she struck again. Seeing her next move, Michael used his secondary nightstick as a brace against his forearm and blocked her staff from its target. He grabbed the staff with his free hand, and the two began a brutal tug of war that lasted until Creati let one hand go from the struggle. Michael could barely register the sight of the taser forming out of her hand before it was driven into his neck. Momo winced at the sound of muffled screams coming from under his gas mask and did her best to ignore the violent popping of his costume as it short-circuited. White-hot pain blossomed throughout his entire body, his grip finally loosening enough for Momo to wrench her staff away and swing again. This time it shattered half of Michael's black lense and dropped him to the floor. Barely conscious, he looked up to see Creati's pole resting on his chest and gently prodding. "Give up, Michael. I don't want to hurt you anymore."
"Wow, maybe I was a dick to Kaminari. This does kinda suck." He said to nobody in particular.
"What are you talking about? Look, just surrender, so I don't have to hit you again." She pleaded as she readied her staff.
"You know I'm not gonna surrender, Momo."
Creati processed his words for a moment before sighing in defeat. "I know." She said as she began to wind up.
A crack was heard before a loud thud sounded throughout the room. Standing in front of Michael's prone form was Earphone Jack, nightstick in hand as she looked down at her battered teammate.
Michael had taken a serious beating against Momo. Looking down at the sight of him was all the proof she needed that they had very nearly lost. His lens had been partially shattered, exposing one of his grey snake eyes looking up at her. She saw him look over to where Momo lay unconscious next to him. "Holy fuck… Got a damn arm on you, don't ya? Alright, let's restrain her, and that should be enough to qualify for the win." He said, shakily getting back to his feet.
The two restrained Creati with a capture tape and a loud buzzer signaled the end of the exercise. "THE VILLAIN TEAM WINS!" shouted over the built-in loudspeakers, making Jiro flinch.
"You okay?" Michael asked, taking his gas mask off and breaking into a coughing fit.
"I'm fine… Are you?" She said, pointing to the flecks of blood he'd hacked up.
"I'll live. For now, let's find Tsu. We'll come back and pick Momo up on the way out."
The two got to work in relative silence, freeing Tsuyu and helping Momo awake. The four picked Kaminari up on the way out, with Micheal telling him to meet him after they get dismissed.
The five hobbled back into the starting room, each person in various states of health. Michael being the most injured.
The rest of the students watched in shock at their newest classmate, Bakugo and Todoroki, being the only two unshaken by his performance. "Well, class! Let's discuss their performance and talk about things that you may have done differently while we get them looked at" All-Might said, medical bots wheeling in with Recovery Girl sitting on a stretcher. Her eyes took their time on the physical state of each student before coming to a stop on Farron. "What did you manage to do to yourself this time?"
A gloved finger pointed to Momo before he answered. "She fucking shot me."
"With a rubber bullet." The creation user clarified to the shocked faces of the class.
"Well, let's see it. Off with your shirt." The elderly heroine ordered as she had her robots scan the others.
His jacket was the first to hit the food, followed by a black compression shirt to reveal an unsightly black and purple bruise, among other various injuries.
"You look like a modern art masterpiece." She said, gesturing to the number of scars, bruises, and burns that decorated his otherwise tan skin.
"I'll pretend that was a compliment."
The nurse laughed before having the teen bend down, kissing his forehead and activating her quirk. "That should take care of any pain and whatever else I couldn't see. Now move along so I can take care of your friends."
All-Might was the next to speak, letting the nurse do her rounds. "Okay, kids! Who do we think was the MVP for that match and why?"
Midoriya was the first to raise his hand and said, "I believe it was Yaoyorozu. She actively played on her opponents' weaknesses and did what she could to separate them, taking them down one by one. Her main mistake would probably be letting Michael slip away to recover with Jiro."
The class thought on the words until Sero was the next to offer his opinion. "I think Farron would be the top dog here. He led his team with a clear plan and was able to recover from a near loss, totally leading Yaoyorozu into that trap."
The class had gone back and forth on whether they thought Michael or Momo had a bigger impact on the battle, only being silenced by Farron's deep voice.
"Kyoka was our MVP." Michael said, to Jiro's surprise as he slipped his shirt back on.
Care to explain your opinion, young Farron?" All-Might asked, curious as to what reasoning was behind his statement.
Sliding his jacket back on his shoulders, he looked up at the class. "When we got back here, I took a look at the time we had left. We had just over a minute and thirty seconds. Without her, we would've spent the entire time limit trying to search the entire building and keeping it hidden. She led us right to them and made sure Kaminari was too busy to fight back against Tsuyu and me."
"It's Tsu." The frog girl corrected him.
"Tsu... Anyways, she was able to shake off whatever Momo did to her and then saved my ass from the beatdown I had coming. So yeah, Kyoka is my pick for MVP of the match." He explained as he took the shattered lens out of his mask and threw it away.
"That is an excellent observation, Farron. Good on you for recognizing your teammate's effort. Now class, what did we see that we may or may not agree with?" All-Might asked.
"Besides Farron threatening to torture information out of Kaminari?" Mineta's nasal voice complained.
"I did what was necessary to win… As any villain or hero should." Farron's deep voice explained, his snake eyes narrowed at the purple midget.
"It was hardly a win if you had to resort to tricks like what you pulled at the end, Newbie" Taunted, Bakugo.
"It was more of a win than your first time doing this, and I didn't resort to attempted homicide either." Michael shot back at the furious bomber.
"The fuck did you just say to me, you bastard?" Bakugo challenged.
Not backing down, Michael stared calmly back into the blonde's rage-filled eyes. "I said… At least I didn't try to kill anyone… AND STILL FUCKING LOSE!"
Bakugo's face twisted in anger as he tried and failed to think of a reply, instead of settling on turning away and storming off, muttering curses and unleashing small blasts from his palms.
Unsure of how to exactly go on, All-Might began, "Well… Anyways, kids… Let's remember this lesson for our future Hero Ethics class. For now, we have one team left to watch, and then we'll dismiss for the day."
Taking different spots amongst the room, the students watched as the next team began their battle drill. It was long until Jiro had approached Michael, holding out the nightstick he'd given to her earlier. "Hey, I believe this is yours."
He looked down at the weapon in her hands, the weight of its twin hanging on his hip. Slowly, he reached out and pushed the nightstick away and back to her. "You hold onto it. You could probably make better use of it than I could anyways."
The girl turned the weapon over in her hands for a few moments, taking a second to get a better feel for its weight in her hand. Looking up to him, she asked. "You sure?"
"Positive. If you don't believe me, then go ask Momo how her head feels." He said with a laugh.
A smile crept on her face before she said, "Thank you for what you said earlier… That, and for making me more than just a scanner."
"Don't sweat it. If anything, thank you for getting Momo off me… Speak of the devil." He said as they turned to see Yaoyorozu approaching them.
"Hey, Momo. Kyoka and I were just talking about you."
"Hey, guys. I just wanted to say congratulations and that I'm glad that if I had to lose, it would be to the three of you. I guess I just wasn't good enough."
Michael held up a hand and shook his head, giggling to himself all the while. The two girls looked at each other in confusion before the taller girl asked, "Did I say something?"
"Momo, I don't know what happened out there, but you were fucking awesome. I'm not sure what exactly happened after you shot me, but I know you'd taken care of Tsu and Kyoka. We only won because Kyoka here plays baseball or some shit in her free time." He said, pointing to the nightstick that Jiro was holding at her side.
Continuing, he said, "Hell, I fucked up myself by not taking you more seriously when we fought over the staff. I honestly didn't expect the taser, so I can confidently say that you beat my ass in a fight. I don't know what you've been doing in your free time, but keep doing it."
Momo looked away in embarrassment before mumbling, "I've been watching American action movies."
"Bullshit! Name your favorite three."
"Die Hard, John Wick and Gladiator." She said quickly.
"What the fuck? I didn't know they had those in Japanese."
"Only John Wick. The other two I watched in English."
"Oh fuck… You want me to translate that shit for you sometime?" Michael asked, only wondering how much she may or may not have understood about the actual plot.
"That would be nice. We might have to invite the others and make it a study session of sorts... Oh! One more thing. I've been thinking about your offer on the firearms class. I think I'll take you up on that."
"Hell yeah, Momo! We'll have you sending rounds downrange yet. I'll let Aizawa know that you are a go for it."
"Thank you, Michael. I look forward to it." She said as the final battle came to an end.
All-Might began going over the after-action report for the four students and allowed the class to give their opinions. Once the battle had been reviewed thoroughly by the students, the Number One hero reminded the class to hurry up and choose their internships before the weekend. "With that, kids, you are dismissed. Be safe going home and have a goodnight." He said, waving his goodbyes and hurrying out of the classroom.
The students took their time heading back to the locker rooms, exciting conversations about their battles heard along the way. It took Michael only a couple of minutes to change over, his costume being rather simple and easy to modify on the fly. He figured it could use a few tweaks, but for now, it would suffice. A lookup to his right, he saw Kaminari standing quietly, an unsure look on his face as he waited for Micheal to address him. "Sit. This shouldn't take too long." Michael's deep voice said.
Kaminari quickly took a seat and started, "Look, Farron, I'm really sorry about that whole cheerleader prank."
Before he could continue, Michael interrupted him and said, "Calm down. I'm not really tripping over that anymore. I didn't appreciate the fact that it happened, but I can't lie and say that I didn't like seeing Mina wear that either. Just make sure that if anything like that happens again, you aren't a part of it. Cool?"
"Yeah, man, no problem." The electric blonde answered.
"Dope. Now, look. The reason I wanted to talk to you now is that what I did back there was not cool of me. I shouldn't have threatened you quite the way I did, even if it was mostly just a threat."
"Mostly?"
"Anyways, I hope you aren't holding any kind of grudge against me, and if you are, then just know that Momo had me in the same position not ten minutes later. I just wanted to apologize to you in person and let you know that I am actually sorry."
Kaminari shook his head before smiling and offering his fist. The two boys shared a fist bump before the blond said, "Don't even worry about it, dude. I know you didn't mean anything by it. Hell, if anything, I wanna know how you do it."
A small smile crept across Michael's face as he answered, "The gas mask. It doesn't let you see my eyes or mouth. It makes my breathing sound like a raspy hiss, and the lens is reflective, so it just shows you exactly how scared you are. I specifically requested it to be like that so the shock factor would only multiply after I spring the ambush."
"That's so friggin' cool. Wait… What about civilians? Won't they be scared of you or anything?"
"I mean… Maybe? I don't know."
"Alright, man. Well, I gotta go, but I seriously appreciate this talk, man… Are you sure you're cool about the whole cheerleader thing?" Kaminari asked.
"Yeah, dude. Don't even worry about it, but hey… Call me, Michael. Farron gets old as shit."
"Sweet! Well then, don't hesitate to call me Denki!"
"Have a goodnight, Denki."
Michael's smile only widened at the sight of the blonde fist-pumping at the small victory. Looking around, he realized that he was the last in the locker room. Mina was most likely waiting outside, preparing herself for what he had decided to reveal to her. She had no idea who and what laid in wait for her, and he had no idea how she'd take it. If she exposed him, he'd have to explain to Shigaraki how his cover was blown. If she left him, then he had no idea what he'd do. Scenarios of absolute disaster ran through his head, ranging from the most reasonable to the most outlandish and impossible outcomes. Doubt and anxiety threatened to consume him, his mind whispering to him to try to lie his way out of this. Fear was on the verge of overtaking him, his only salvation being the sound of a knock and Mina's voice calling out to him. "Mikey? Are you still in there?"
Taking a second to steady his nerves and find his voice, he stood up and walked out the door. "Yeah, sorry, hon. Got distracted."
Taking his hand in hers, the two began the walk home in silence, holding each other's hands each step of the way. The two had made it out of the main city and into the suburbs where they lived before Mina broke the silence. "Were you actually going to beat Kaminari for information?"
Michael looked at her and immediately answered, "No. I would've stopped at the last moment. The situation wasn't serious enough for me to actually do that."
"But if it were, you'd go to that level?"
"If it came down to it… Yeah."
"How far would you go? Where do you draw the line?" She asked, her eyes looking up to him in worry.
"I draw the line wherever I need it." He answered solemnly.
The two came to a stop in front of his door, and he turned to her, fear evident on his face. "I need you to promise me two things."
"What are they?"
"One. Listen until everything is explained. I don't care if you ask questions but just know that I'm doing this because I trust you, and I need you to trust me. No more secrets… Two. Remember that I love you. This is going to hurt, but I need you to remember that I'm only doing this because I can't force myself to lie to you anymore. No matter how bad it turns out for me in the end. Do you promise?"
Mina thought over his terms for only a moment before lifting her hand and stretching out her pinky finger. "Pinky promise."
Wrapping his finger around hers, Farron repeated the words. "Pinky promise."
With a deep sigh, his hand wrapped around the doorknob and twisted. "For what it's worth… I'm sorry."
Opening the door, the couple stepped inside, and Michael shut the door behind them. He could already hear Toga's footsteps coming down his hall and approaching him. The blonde girl walked in, eyes closed and arms outstretched, a yawn escaping her lips as she opened her eyes. The golden cat eyes immediately locked onto the gold and black orbs Mina wore, and both girl's eyes widened in shock. "Mina Ashido… Meet Himiko Toga."
