Musutafu Nature Park.
Southwest Outer Section.
Bakugo's Training Grounds.
"Die!"
Katsuki Bakugo, who never took his eyes off the humanoid crustacean for even a second, quickly ignited the sweat covering his palms, generating enough explosive force to propel him skywards. Upon reaching a respectable altitude, the ill-tempered blonde wasted no time unleashing a deadly barrage of explosive blasts, which hurriedly began raining down towards the earth. Those explosions could cause a lot of damage to the surrounding environment if they're allowed to make an impact on the training ground.
However, Nami ga Oshiyoseru wasn't intimidated by the hailstorm of explosives screaming towards him. In fact, the humanoid crustacean calmly raised his skeletal palms upwards while seawater flooded outwards between the gaps of his carapace.
"Ocean Shield!"
Utilising his ability to manipulate seawater, Nami conjured into existence a shield comprised of pressurised seawater to absorb the wannabe hero's explosive assault. Yet, while the technique protected the squad captain from harm, other sections of the training area not underneath the shield were forced to suffer the whole barrage. Smoke, dirt and large chunks of stone were sent flying towards the sky, thus causing a smokescreen to be created from the aftermath of the explosions impacting the earth.
Multiple black eyes narrowed with suspicion as the explosive barrage continued to rain destruction upon the surrounding environment. Nami felt like something was off with the current situation, given that Bakugo had already seen how the ocean shield neutralised his quirk by absorbing the heat and kinetic energy contained within every explosive blast. This made the Chimera Crab question the motive behind the seemingly endless barrage of explosives that caused more environmental damage as time progressed.
The answer to the Chimera Crab's questions would soon appear as Bakugo used the heavy smoke cover to sneak around his opponent in order to launch another barrage of explosives where the Ocean Shield's protection was at its weakest. A pain-filled hiss escaped Nami's maw when more than a dozen blasts violently connected with his skeletal carapace. The Chimera Ant captain hurriedly deactivated the Ocean Shield and then angrily swiped his razor claws towards Bakugo, who swiftly blasted backwards to a safe distance.
"The initial attack was simply a diversion," Nami's crimson claws twitched slightly in irritation whilst the realisation of Bakugo's little plot settled within his brain. "And like a naive fool, I allowed myself to be distracted while the human sneaked past my defence." The Crab Ant retaliated to Bakugo's sneak attack by snapping open his pincers, thus allowing several waves of Hydro Cannon to come screaming into reality. The thuggish hero wannabe evaded the destructive waves of seawater by constantly weaving between the boulders that littered the area.
"Ha, what's the matter, Crabby?" Bakugo's tone was smug as he sailed across the training field via explosive propulsion. "Finally realising how outclassed, you are when compared to the future No.1 hero!" The spiky-haired blonde taunted his opponent while returning fire with carefully aimed explosions. Nami immediately reacted by cancelling the Hydro Cannons and then unleashed his own barrage, consisting of countless Aqua Slicers, the two projectiles met midway to their targets, causing steam to erupt from the violent collision.
Bakugo clicked his tongue as the steam slowly spread outwards, thus giving birth to a new smokescreen. "Tch, I won't fall for my own trick, ya overgrown crab!" The blonde's crimson eyes watched the steamy mist like a hawk waiting for prey. However, his surveillance was short-lived since a decently sized boulder came sailing out of the fog. A curse escaped the thuggish boy's lips while igniting the nitroglycerin-like sweat that covered his palms to send himself soaring upwards to avoid the enormous chunk of earth.
"Okay, now you're just pissing me off!" Bakugo roared with righteous fury as the explosion quirk user didn't like how his own tactics were being employed against him. The thuggish teen raised his sweaty palms towards where the boulder was launched from with the full intention to rain down an explosive hell upon the Chimera Ant. Yet, the idea was halted when an Aqua Slicer came out of the mist, and within mere seconds the pressurised blade of seawater slashed across Bakugo's inner right thigh, causing blood to gush from the fresh wound.
"Fuck!" The explosive teen winced as crimson liquid spilt from the injury whilst pain flooded his nervous system. It slowly got worse since the seawater left enough salt in the wound to cause a slight stinging sensation whenever Bakugo attempted to move the muscles within his right leg.
Down below, the mist soon dissipated, revealing Nami ga Oshiyoseru standing in the middle of the training ground while seawater gently spilled out from the gaps of his crimson carapace. "It appears first blood goes to me, human." The humanoid crustacean felt immense satisfaction at delivering a severe wound upon the foulmouthed Bakugo. The Squad Captain stabbed his left hand into the earth that had loosened during the fight and, with some effort, pulled out a chunk of stone around the size of a baseball.
Nami threw the baseball-sized stone at the ill-tempered teen, who immediately blasted the makeshift projectile into harmless fragments. Yet, the assault wasn't over since the Chimera Crab had fired off a new barrage of Aqua Slicers mere moments after launching the stone at the wannabe hero. Bakugo used his explosion quirk to manoeuvre around the pressurised blades. Unfortunately, there were far too many seawater blades for the spiky-haired blonde to dodge, thus resulting in him receiving multiple cuts across his entire body.
Bakugo grimaced as blood gently flowed from the minor wounds he'd just received from the Aqua Slicers. He knew staying in the air while Nami had a clear line of sight on his location was just asking to receive more injuries. Bakugo blasted away from the hailstorm of seawater blades and soared downwards until he landed behind a boulder. The Aqua Slicers violently slammed into the rocky surface mere seconds after the thuggish teenager's arrival. However, the blades lacked the penetration power necessary to slice through the stone.
"That boulder shall not withstand my attacks forever, human!" The Squad Captain yelled over the noise generated from the seawater, slowly cutting away at Bakugo's cover. "Nor will I be tricked into harming myself by unleashing Hydro Cannons upon the boulders that litter this field!" The spiky-haired blonde cursed violently since his initial plan to have the overgrown crustacean blasted apart the boulders, which would cause the fragments to get sent flying across the area like shrapnel, just got shot to hell.
"Dammit, Crabby's way smarter than I give him credit for!" The boulder was starting to crumble from the relentless barrage of seawater blades. Yet, the determined teen paid no mind to the state of his current protection as his thoughts were hyper-focused on finding a way to defeat his enemy.
Staying behind the cover wasn't an option, nor was returning to the sky since either move would result in Nami getting the opportunity to cause further damage with his seawater-based projectiles. The thuggish wannabe hero realised close-quarters combat was the only real option he had at the moment since his preferred long-range techniques weren't going to help in this battle, especially when the enemy had the perfect counter to it.
Bakugo, while roaring with determination, blasted through the crumbling boulder and sailed towards Nami ga Oshiyoseru. The Chimera Ant was caught off guard by the wannabe hero's sudden frontal assault and couldn't react in time to stop the explosions that impacted the carapace that protected the central area of his body. However, Nami fought through the pain caused by those explosions and hurriedly conjured an Ocean Shield with his right arm whilst unleashing a devastating haymaker with his other arm.
"I don't like the idea of fighting this guy in close quarters," Bakugo dodged the haymaker by employing his explosive quirk to skate across the damaged earth like an ice rink. "But I'm not going to allow a slight physical disadvantage to stop me from kicking this crustacean's ass!" A savage smile soon appeared on Bakugo's face while relentlessly firing explosions at his inhuman opponent, who defended with the Ocean Shield and retaliated with its skeletal hand whenever possible. The duo exchanged attacks for a few minutes before breaking away from each other.
Bakugo breathed heavily while a significant amount of sweat began pooling within his hands which was good since that meant he'll have more explosive power to unleash in the next clash. However, he couldn't rest for long since Nami was rushing towards the thuggish future hero with the Ocean Shield held at the ready to absorb any explosive attacks he might try unleashing upon the Chimera Crab. Bakugo propelled forwards with his quirk, fully intending to win this fight, and upon closing the distance, he screamed directly into Nami's face.
"Go to hell!"
Meanwhile, At Izuku's Temporary Nest.
"I'm not going into the horror movie hole!"
Midnight, currently examining the cave entrance with All Might's assistance, wore a deadpan expression while Present Mic shakily pointed his finger at what he dubbed the horror movie hole. The pro heroes discovered the Chimera Ant nest after countless hours of carefully searching through the foliage. The cave had admittedly been well hidden from view. Still, the suspicious lack of bones in this general part of the forest and the unusual behaviour of the local wildlife had unintentionally given away the nest's existence.
"Mic, it's just an ordinary cave in the middle of the forest," Midnight gestured to the darkness that enveloped the cave's maw. "There's nothing scary or horror related about it." Granted, an out-of-control quirk user was no doubt waiting inside the cave, but with their combined combat experience, it shouldn't take much time to subdue Midoriya. With any luck, the capture should be done relatively quickly. Hopefully, by the time they've gotten back to civilisation, the pro heroes will have assisted with returning Izuku to her normal state of mind.
Sadly, Present Mic wasn't easily swayed on the subject. "Ha, that's what the cave wants you to think!" All Might sweat dropped at the English teacher's antics, who glared at the cave as if it was his worst enemy. "I'm telling ya when we go inside, our lost listener will pull some horror movie bullshit that'll immediately remove a teammate from the fight!" While overly dramatic, the No.1 Hero had to admit his teammate had a point; their target was hiding within a cave, so the heroes' more destructive techniques would've to remain unused for the duration of this mission.
Midnight groaned at her friend's stubbornness. "Mic, the girl's running on instinct at the moment, so there's zero chance she's planning something even remotely resembling an ambush." The R-rated heroine was pretty sure the poor moth girl wasn't even aware they were hunting her. The fact Miss Midoriya hadn't exited her den to personally confront them, even while Mic was making a great deal of noise, indicated that the Chimera Ant Queen still wasn't aware of their presence at the cave's maw.
"Midnight is correct, my heroic colleague!" All Might joyfully say while entering his muscular form. "Young Midoriya, in her current mental state, is more akin to an animal than a normal citizen," He heroically posed whilst dramatically pointing a finger at the Chimera Ant Nest. "In other words, she'll be more interested in surviving to see the next day rather than actively plotting our painful and hours-long demise!" It was now Midnight's turn to sweat drop since she wouldn't have quit worded the situation like the No.1 had done.
"Besides," Midnight smiled reassuringly while gesturing for All Might to stay quiet and allow her to handle Present Mic. "Do you want to stay alone in the bug-infested forest? Where anything monstrous might attempt a sneak attack whilst All Might, and I are busy with Miss Midoriya." The UA English teacher's brain took a moment to analyse the R-rated heroine's words, and upon weighing the given options, he dashed over to the natural entrance leading down into the depths of the earth.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go down the horror motive hole!" The blonde pro hero faked a cheery tone as he walked into the darkness. Midnight smiled amusedly with All Might before they followed Present Mic into the cave.
Time Skip.
Cave Tunnel.
"Okay, remind me again why we're not using flashlights?" Present Mic quietly whispered to his colleagues as their group walked further down the tunnel. The natural rock formation was pleasantly dry and held an insulated warmth that would make any forest inhabitant want to claim the cave as their home.
All Might, leading at the front of their party, whispered back an answer. "We don't want to give away our position to young Midoriya," he explained while keeping an ear open for any unusual sounds that might indicate the Chimera Queen was present within this cave section. "Plus, the light from our torches might scare her away, which we must avoid since we've no clue how complex this cave system truly is." The place was unmapped, so Izuku fleeing into these unexplored tunnels could cause many headaches for the pro heroes.
Present Mic, even though the others couldn't see him in the darkness of the cave, nodded in acceptance whilst carefully ensuring not to step into any bones or animal remains that the instinct-controlled Chimera Ant Queen might've left on the hard floor. The Voice Hero inquired if they could employ their torches after locating Midoriya. The No.1 gave a positive answer since discretion wouldn't be necessary after engaging the bone-white Ant in combat.
Midnight, who was guarding the team's rear, commented that she was ready to switch on her flashlight at the first sign of hostility which explained why the aforementioned torch was held in her right hand while the R-rated heroine's signature whip was in the other. The two blonde heroes commented on Midnight's preparedness as they descended further into the earth. After a couple of minutes passed without incident, the trio found themselves within a massive antechamber holding multiple tunnel exits that lead to deeper parts of the cave.
"Wow, our lost listener sure knows how to pick a secret lair." Mic, whose eyes have adjusted to the darkness after spending minutes wandering the cave tunnel with his colleagues, says while releasing a low whistle. The area was slightly brighter than the tunnel they'd just walked through, thanks to some strange green glow that faintly covered the cave walls. However, the heroes couldn't allow themselves to relax in this environment since plenty of shadows, and rock formations could be used for an ambush.
"This place does appear to be an excellent lair for either villains or heroes," Midnight agreed while carefully activating her torch in order to better investigate the antechamber for any signs of Izuku Midoriya. "Although I must admit, the green glow is a little off-putting." The R-rated heroine's eyes glanced at the green cave walls for a second before returning to her search for the missing civilian. All Might, investigating a pile of large boulders, replied that the luminous light was probably caused by cave moss or another natural phenomenon.
Minutes swiftly passed as the UA teachers looked through the antechamber for clues. The sole item they found linking the Chimera Ant quirk user to this location was her school bag, which had been hidden behind the boulders All Might had investigated during the search. They weren't surprised to find that the bag's contents comprised chiefly of its owner's clothes, hero notebooks and school supplies. The pro heroes had been chasing Midoriya long enough to realise that she'd hunted in the forest while naked.
The school bag was shortly returned to its previous hiding spot since they'll retrieve the item once they've rescued the Chimera Ant. A moment later, Present Mic, who had continued the search while his colleagues investigated the school bag, found a half-devoured wolf carcass with its rotting skull smashed open. The English teacher figured the poor creature must've wandered into the cave searching for either shelter or an easy meal, only to discover that a much greater predator had claimed this place as her nest.
"Damn, our listener doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word restraint." The Voice Hero quietly noted while flashing a light into the scattered skull, revealing that the wolf's brain had been completely devoured by the moth/ant/human hybrid. He was about to call Midnight and All Might over to look at the corpse. However, that idea soon died in its infancy when a thin silvery, and crimson liquid gently landed on the radio host's leather jacket. Present Mic shivered as the liquid possessed a mixed scent of blood and saliva.
Present Mic shakily glanced at the cave's ceiling, thus revealing a pair of emerald orbs that stared back with inhuman hunger. However, the most significant cause for concern in the hero's point of view was the massive Chimera Ant eggs which pulsated with an ominous green glow. A hurried count of the eggs' numbers told the heroic English teacher that around a hundred and thirty unborn Chimera Ants were simply waiting for their bodies to finish gestating. Mic shivered at the mere thought of fighting a monster army of giant bugs.
The Voice Hero released a girly scream when Izuku blasted downwards from the ceiling with her poison-tipped claws outstretched, ready to ensnare her latest prey. Yet, Midnight intervened at the last second by employing Whip of love to snare Present Mic's arm and, without delay, pulled her friend out of the Chimera Queen's reach. The instinct-driven Midoriya twisted in mid-air, so her raptor-like legs impacted with the rocky floor, and before the heroes could process what was happening, she rocketed back to the ceiling.
"Mic, are you alright?" Midnight worriedly inquired while All Might tried to locate young Midoriya, which was proving difficult thanks to the shadows bathing most of the ceiling. The No.1 would've gone after the Chimera Ant, but given the situation, it was better if they stuck together rather than split apart and become easier targets.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Present Mic said after catching his breath. "And for the record, this whole bug monster nest is entirely your fault!" The leather-clothed blonde pointed at the R-rated heroine, who blinked in surprise at the accusation before slapping her friend upside the head.
"How is this mess my fault?!" Midnight demanded with an annoyed tone whilst UA's English teacher nursed his head.
Present Mic groaned in pain. "Because you had to make that stupid joke about our listener breeding a monster bug army," the R-rated heroine flinched since it did appear that her joke literally came to life. "Added the fact you ignored my warnings on this place being a horror movie deathtrap which almost resulted in me getting introduced to our listener's digestive tract!" The Voice Hero knew that if Midnight hadn't pulled him out of the way, the Chimera Ant Queen would've devoured his flesh much like she'd done to the wolf.
"Okay, I'd admit the joke was made in bad taste," Midnight replied apologetically after taking a few seconds to reorganise her mind. "And we should've been more cautious during our investigation in this cave, but that doesn't mean you can freak out or place blame for what just happened." Hell, the whole mission has gone pear-shaped after discovering that Izuku Midoriya apparently laid over a hundred eggs. The creatures inside those sacs appeared to be already reaching the adult stage of their gestation certainly didn't help their situation.
Present Mic sighed in resignation. "You're right," the Voice Hero smiled apologetically at his friend. "And I'm sorry, just being trapped in a cave with the ultimate manifestation of my phobia is messing with my head." Midnight accepted the apology since she knew how hard it must be for Present Mic to stay within a place that housed his greatest fear. All Might, still watching out for Izuku, lurking somewhere within this antechamber, happily laughed since his fellow heroes dealt with their argument without him intervening.
"Well, I'm glad that arguments sorted!" His cheerful voice boomed throughout the cave. However, his tone soon shifted to a more serious one when his eyes momentarily caught sight of bone white carapace dashing between the Ant eggs hanging on the ceiling. "However, I suggest the both of you prepare to fight because here she comes!" Almost as if she'd been waiting for the No.1 to say those words, Midoriya rushed out of the shadows with her moth wings fully open, allowing her to fly freely around the antechamber.
Present Mic immediately reacted to the threat by sending a low-powered sonic scream at the instinct-controlled Izuku, who elegantly danced around the amplified sound waves thanks to her antenna picking up the slight changes in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, All Might jumped towards the Chimera Ant with his arms outstretched as he fully intended to pull her into a bear hug. Yet, Izuku countered that strategy by folding her Madagascan sunset moth wings back into their poncho form and allowing gravity to pull her body just below All Might's reach.
Midoriya's inhuman legs touched the antechamber's rocky surface a couple of heartbeats later, and without wasting any time, she dashed towards Present Mic. The Voice Hero unleashed more sonic screams in the hopes of slowing down Izuku's advance long enough for All Might to race back and subdue the out-of-control Chimera Ant. Unfortunately, Izuku dodged the sonic waves, much like she'd done previously. Once the sole daughter of the Midoriya family was within striking distance, she leapt at UA's English teacher with a ravenous expression etched upon her bone-white face.
However, Izuku's focus on Present Mic was a mistake as Midnight was still relatively close to her friend's position. The R-rated heroine deployed her Whip of love against the Chimera Ant Queen's exposed back, causing a pain-filled hiss to escape her pale lips as leather impacted against the carapace. The momentary distraction was all Present Mic needed to grab ahold of Izuku's wrists. All Might materialised a second later and bear-hugged the struggling Chimera Ant, thus further restricting her movements.
"Midnight get the heavy-duty cuffs on her now!" All Might urgently ordered the R-rated heroine as their target continued to struggle against the two male heroes. The No.1 had no problem restraining the Chimera Ant. Still, Present Mic was nowhere near his level of physical strength, and it was showing since young Midoriya was slowly pushing her poison-tipped claws closer to the radio host's face as the seconds passed.
Midnight nodded while pulling out the cuffs meant to contain those with strength-enhancing quirks; Midoriya must've noticed the cuffs since she increased her efforts to escape the make duos hold. UA's modern hero art history teacher rushed over to put the cuffs on Izuku's wrists. However, the Chimera Ant quirk user still had a trick up her non-existent selves. Puffing up her cheeks like a squirrel, she released a high-pitched screech which, instead of hurting the heroic trio's ears the sound caused them to experience a disorienting state of vertigo.
The blonde duo released Izuku as they suffered from her disorienting screech. She wasted little time to blasted away from her wannabe captors. However, instead of retreating to the safety of the ceiling, Midoriya ran towards Midnight, who was equally affected by the vertigo-inducing scream. The R-rated heroine didn't understand what was happening until the Chimera Ant Queen dug her razor-like teeth directly into the side of her slender waist. A scream of agony thundered from Midnight's lips as her blood pooled into Midoriya's maw.
With gritted teeth, Midnight fought through the pain and smashed the bottom of her Whip against the instinct-controlled girl's forehead, but much like a rabid animal Midoriya wasn't going to let go of her prey for any reason. Razor teeth dug even deeper into soft flesh and highly trained muscle, thus allowing for more sweet blood to spill forth from the wound. Izuku greedily swallowed the crimson liquid while her claws latched onto Midnight's thighs, which resulted in the Chimera Ant's analysing venom being injected into the heroine's bloodstream.
The venom quickly took effect, and Midnight felt her strength fade into oblivion within mere seconds. The heroine collapsed onto the stone flooring, powerless to stop Midoriya as she prepared to rip out a chunk of her prey's waist. Yet, the Chimera Ant wouldn't get the chance to enact her plan since All Might rushed past the duo with unbelievable speed while delivering a karate chop to the back of Midoriya's neck. The sole daughter of the Midoriya family released her hold upon the heroine as she fell unconscious onto the earth.
Present Mic, who had recovered from the vertigo-inducing screech, ran over to assist his downed friend. "Midnight, please tell me you're alright!" He desperately pleaded while picking up the R-rated heroine from the antechamber's stone floor.
Midnight coughed up a little bit of blood yet still held the energy to smile reassuringly at her colleague and longtime friend. "I'm fine, Mic," she winced as the bleeding hadn't yet stopped, which caused the Voice Hero to tear apart his leather jacket in order to create makeshift bandages for the wound. "It appears I won't be moving for a while, thanks to the girl's venom." Midnight gazed towards the unconscious form of Izuku Midoriya, who had the restraining cuffs carefully placed on her wrists by All Might.
"You're lucky she didn't bite into a major artery or any vital organ." Present Mic says with a serious tone after bandaging Midnight's wounds. Truthfully the R-rated heroine was fortunate that All Might intervened when he had; otherwise, she'd have a large chunk of flesh missing from her side.
"Well, I guess I'm just one lucky woman today," Midnight cheekily replied as Present Mic lifted her up into his arms for safe transport out of the cave. "And thanks again for the save, All Might. I owe you one." She called out to No.1, who was carrying the unconscious Izuku over his muscular shoulder. The world's greatest hero gave his colleague a thumbs up whilst happily saying that it was no problem since saving others in need was one of the core beliefs of a true hero.
"Ya know, Principal Nezu's gonna flip once he hears about this whole incident." Mic offhandedly commented as the Midoriya retrieval team headed for the antechamber's main exit. "It's going to be hell for the little guy to find a solution for these freaky eggs." The Voice Hero withheld a shiver at the idea of what might come out of those large pulsing green sacs.
"I'm sure the principal will come up with an idea for them," All Might placed a reassuring hand on the radio host's shoulder. "Besides, just be glad the situation didn't turn out a whole lot worse than it did!" The No.1 laughed heartedly. However, his joyous mood didn't last long since a ripping sound echoed throughout the chamber. Twisted around, the heroes saw ten Chimera eggs bursting open, allowing the hybrids to fall onto the ground. Unlike Nami's squad, these Ants appeared to be a mixture of various insect species.
Green embryonic fluids spilt across the earth as the newly born Chimera Ants raised themselves to a standing position. The heroes nervously watched as the newborns analysed their environment. Yet, the Ants' curious gazes soon turned hostile once they noticed their Queen Mother was being held captive by a group of intruders. Hisses, screeches, roars and other inhuman sounds that indicated rage filled the cave as the insectoid Chimera Ants charged towards the heroic team with murderous intentions shining within their eyes.
"Just for the record, I blame you for this, All Might!" Present Mic cried out fearfully as the tiny horde of angry children advanced towards their position. Midnight grimaced at the sudden turn of events since she couldn't help the others while Midoriya's venom was coursing through her bloodstream.
"Duly noted," All Might hurriedly replied, grabbing ahold of Present Mic's waist. "Now, less talking and more running for our lives!" Without waiting for a reply, the No.1, with his entire team plus Midoriya upon his shoulders, blasted past the antechamber exit in a hyper burst of speed. The Chimera Ants furiously gave chase to the Symbol of peace as they'd never allow anyone to kidnap their mother without a fight. Still, All Might zipped through the tunnel leading towards the surface and within mere moments, he reached the outside.
Where Nami ga Oshiyoseru's squad was patiently waiting for their enemies to emerge from their nest.