Here we go! Part 2 baby! My god, I barely finished this last night so if there are a number of spelling mistakes then I'm sorry. It is what it is. Now let's get to it! Wooo!
*SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* There is a special announcement at the end of this chapter.
*Also, I wanted to reiterate that you were all warned back in Ch.1 that I would be changing some of the aliens' powers, abilities, and weaknesses for my story's sake. Just keep this in mind for the future. Thank you for understanding.
*This story has a TV Tropes page.
*Please check out the side story "Heroes Never Die; It's Hero Time, Anytime."
A draft, creeps through cracked walls of the warehouse, stirring up dust as moonlight slips through the sunken roof above.
The heavy set of doors slides open with a loud creak as a teen with pale, dirty ash-blonde hair skips her way inside.
"Hey, hey! Special delivery from Tomura!" Himiko Toga cheerfully announces after leaving a stack of boxes behind her. "He wants us to bring these along when we go, so I'm guessing there's enough for everyone."
"There's enough." Charmcaster clarifies while leaning against the opposite wall. "Giran isn't some slouch. Whatever you need he can and will get it for you." She caresses her smile-embroidered purse, letting a heavy amount of materials inside to weigh her hand down. "No matter how bizarre."
"Kehehehe, gosh you're so darn cool!"
Charmcaster rolls her eyes in annoyance, but she doesn't say anything.
"C'mon. I'm ready." A massive, cloaked figure growls in frustration, his huge fist clenching at his side. "Let's hurry up and do this."
"It's still too early." A boy no older than fifteen comments. "Besides, don't forget, he said we shouldn't do anything flashy."
"Yeah." Dabi roughly hums from atop a stack of crates. "He acted like a spoiled little brat when we first met. But suddenly, he's begun to take charge." With his hands in his pockets, he swings onto his feet while looking down at the others, and a small grin lurks onto his face. "This is gonna be nothing more than a warning shot. We'll pull those false heroes down from their shining pedestals. And in doing so, we'll create a bright new future for this world."
The heavy doors slide open again, and this time a person decked out in shiny purple armor steps forth while carrying a strange device.
"Htne i pohe uor'ye adery." SevenSeven greets before tossing the little device over to Dabi.
Without even trying, Dabi catches it with one hand and takes a moment to stare at it: it's a tiny device, nothing too special. It's hexagonal with a metal frame that surrounds a holo-screen. The screen lights up and a holographic map of Japan appears in his hand.
"What is this?" Dabi questions while staring at the blinking green lights that seem to be clustered together in a mountain forest.
"A rrakcet ttas'h eenb tepsu icens het Step Torlnoc hapcert."
Everyone stares, confused, and unclear.
The boy looks over, wondering if anyone got that. "Anyone have a clue what he just said?"
"Nope." Charmcaster shrugs, not really caring one way or another.
"Who cares as long as he doesn't get in my way." Dabi goes back to staring at the map.
As he looks closer, he notices that the blinking lights are symbols, the same symbol in fact. One of a green hourglass in a black circle.
Dabi chuckles, his Turquoise eyes ablaze with venom. "Get some rest little heroes. It might be the last peaceful night you ever receive."
Ch.69 Trails and Tribulations Part II
(The Beast's Forest)
"That was stupid." Katsuki Bakugou grumbles, finding the log he's sitting on uncomfortable.
They might have ditched Tiger nearly an hour ago but they're still nowhere near exiting the Beast's Forest. The forest is just such a maze and so dense that it's been taking them a lot longer to get out than they first thought. And so, after a while they decided to sit down, eat something, and lick their wounds, sort-of speak.
"OW!" Bakugou hisses in pain, nearly yanking his arm away from Ochaco. "Damnit, woman! Are you trying to help me or hurt me?!"
"S-sorry!" Ochaco apologizes.
She was only trying to help apply the bandages to him since he could wrap it around his arm all that well with one hand, but she may have put it on a little too tight.
And even though she feels bad for hurting him, she doesn't appreciate his tone. "But you know if you don't like it, I could always have Deku bandage you up."
They look over to see Izuku Midoriya holding a granola bar in his mouth, leaving his hands free to check the packs Aizawa prepared for them. He notices them staring and waves.
"Oh, hell no!" Bakugou barks. "I'd rather bleed out!"
"You don't mean that." Ochaco pouts.
"Yes, I do!"
Her cheeks puff out as she glowers at him.
Izuku, on his part, laughs it off. "It's fine."
He goes right back to taking the inventory noting what they have left. They only have one rope left, having used the rest to tie up Tiger, all their trail mix is gone now, their first aid kits are half-empty and so are their water bottles. But they still have matches, a compass and map, emergency blankets, and three flare guns, one for each of them.
"We're going to have to be more careful." Izuku starts putting away the degree, dividing it all up evenly between their three packs. "That was just the first trial. Who knows what else they have planned for us?"
"What?" Bakugou snickers. "Telling me you're scared, Deku?"
"S-scared?" Izuku breaks into a nervous smile that borders on fear and thrill. "I'm excited."
And so is Ochaco, apparently. "Sounds to me that we're ready to go!" She leaps to her feet, accidentally bumping Bakugou's arm causing him to hiss in pain. But she misses it as she's too busy trying to make sure they get as pumped up as she is. "Let's do it guys! Let's beat everything they throw at us! Because if we don't-..." She turns away, hiding the haunted look of despair written on her face. "Mr. Aizawa's going to make sure we live to regret it…"
A shiver of dread crawls up the boys' spines.
Ochaco shakes off the dread, bouncing back quickly while shouting. "On ward!"
"Y-yeah…" The two boys answer rather meagerly, not quite sure if they should be this hyped up.
"I'm so bored…!" Ochaco whines, laying back on top of the cart as it's pulled along.
"WE'VE ONLY BEEN HIKING FOR AN HOUR!" Bakugou snaps while seated right beside her. "HELL, WE'RE NOT EVEN WALKING!"
"Ragh?" Wildmutt pauses and turns back at them. But seeing that he wasn't called, he turns back and pulls the cart along again with the last of the rope tied around like reins for him to grab with his teeth.
"I know! But still!" They've been hiking through the woods for another hour already and there's still been no signs of another trial or the Wild Wild Pussy Cats.
"Ragh." Wildmutt suddenly stops dead in his tracks, his head snapping up while his gills flare, having picked up on a peculiar scent.
Ochaco and Bakugou are instantly alerted with them both getting ready for some kind of surprise attack.
"What is it boy? Do you smell something?" Ochaco asks, acting as if the Vulpimancer was a real dog.
"Grr. Raagh!" Wildmutt suddenly lunges forward, yanking the cart behind him and nearly throwing his passengers off as he sprints through the woods.
"Did you find something?!" Ochaco shouts while holding on to the shaking and bouncing wagon.
Bakugou, however, is grinning with excitement. "I bet he sniffed out one of those damned cats!"
"Rggh!" With one last jump, Wildmutt slides to a stop, his claws digging in the dirt and roots.
"Alright, where are they?!" Overexcited, Bakugou leaps off the wagon, his palms sparking with fiery rage,
Ochaco has herself a look around. "I don't think any of them are here." She gestures for Bakugou to look forward.
He looks and finally realizes what Wildmutt was sensing: flowers.
For real, it looks like they made it to the Valley of Peace and it's nothing more than a serene and pristine grassland. With shimmering waves of tall grass that bounce with the wind like soft ocean waves. Fields of colorful flowers adorning soft rolling hills. While songbirds of all kind bounce from here and there while singing to their hearts' content.
"Why didn't we eat our lunch here?!" Ochaco yells out, wishing that they never stopped hiking until now. "I don't like it." Bakugou admits, eyeing the prairie suspiciously. "We better watch our asses out there. Come on, mush! Giddy up, Deku!" He shouts, pointing forward like he's leading a powerful legion. "Show them exactly why dogs are superior!"
But he gets no response, not even a little growl from Wildmutt.
"Deku?" Bakugou spins around, ready to piss off at the mutt. "Where in the hell-"
"Awww!" Ochaco gushes, her cheeks going pink. "Adorable!"
Wildmutt is in absolute heaven, rubbing his back against the soft grass and flowers, his tongue hanging out as he just loses himself to all the pleasurable fragrances and mind-numbing sensations.
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!?" Bakugou screams.
But Wildmutt continues to roll around in the grass, acting like the giant dog that he really is while Ochaco gushes and fights the urge to give him a belly rub and ask who's a good boy.
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*
Well looks like Wildmutt's fun is over, leaving Izuku to deal with all the grass stains on his gym uniform and bits of grass stuck in his hair. "S-sorry! W-Wildmutt just really likes grass." Izuku apologizes, his face turning red with embarrassment.
'But aren't you technically Wildmutt?' Ochaco ponders to herself.
"But in any case, we better keep our wits about us." Izuku suddenly goes all serious, staring out over the valley like it's a hidden hellscape just waiting to be explored. "There's no telling what kind of sick twisted horrors lie ahead of us."
(The Valley of Peace)
Izuku takes a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling, and just taking in the scent of fresh mountain air just as a light soothing breeze gently brushes his hair.
Ochaco too has lost herself to the serene scenery, having started to pick up wildflowers here and there and taking a moment to admire each and every one.
And Bakugou…is absolutely done with this shit. "I hate it here."
"It's not so bad." Izuku inhales again, allowing himself to relax.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO KEEPING OUR WITS!?"
{"Oh, boy. Sounds like some people don't know when to stop and smell the roses."}
The teens are instantly put on guard the moment Mandalay's message breaks through into their minds.
"Mandalay?" Ochaco asks, scanning the nearly five-foot tall grass.
Izuku doesn't see her either. "How does she keep hearing us? I thought her Telepathy worked one way."
{"It does work one way."} She replies through her Telepathy. {"But I'm cheating; there's a little microphone in your cargo."}
Ochaco quickly steps away from the wagon. 'How much did she hear then?!'
{"In any case I wanted to welcome you to the Valley of Peace! And I am happy to see that you kittens are already enjoying yourselves here."}
"As if." Bakugou scoffs.
{"Well then maybe you'll like this. Your next task, coincidentally, is called the TRIAL OF WITS! And for this trial all you have to do is make it across this valley unscathed."}
Izuku knows there's got to be more than that. "What's the catch?"
{"Oh, trust me when I say that the catch is a real doozy. In fact, I guess you can say it's a real bombshell."}
Before any of them could ask what that means the faint sound of something zooming down their way can be heard and then…*BOOOOOM!*
A massive pink explosion blasts out from nearby, shaking the earth, and nearly throwing the teens off their feet.
"SHE MEANT THAT LITERALLY!?" The teens gasp.
{"Yeah, I meant that literally. Good luck!"}
They panic, trying to figure out if the Explosion came from above or below. And then they hear it, the sound of a bomb dropping in from above before *BOOOOOM!*
They dive away as pink smoke and dirt are flung in every direction followed by another series of bombs landing nearby, forcing them to flatten themselves against the ground.
"Where are these coming from?!" Izuku screams over the sound of incoming bombs.
"Tehehehehe!" Ragdoll is a giggling mess from atop her mounted cannon. "Look at them panic! It's hilarious!"
The mechanical cannon is mounted atop a cliff that's overlooking the Valley of Peace. She sits on the controls which are attached to the cannon's sides, allowing her to rotate with the cannon as it's posted on a revolving mount allowing her to point in any direction she needs.
Mandalay stands off to the side, watching as she fires the cannon away, launching pink pod-like bombs at the teens which are just little tiny specs in the distance.
"Yeah, they're definitely panicking." Mandalay comments while listening to their screams though her earpiece. "This might have been too much."
"No way! I'm having a blast! Tehehehe!"
"That's what I'm worried about."
"It's fine!" Ragdoll ensures while still firing away. "Eraser said we could use this! I mean U.A. did give it to us just so we could use it for this exam! And these are the same kinds of explosives they used during their Sports Festival!"
So, they're enough to blast someone off their feet but not cause any real damage to them. Although given enough force it will certainly leave a dent on their cargo.
A wicked grin stretches across Ragdoll's face. "Although I did add my own special surprise to them, Tehehehe!"
Not sure what else she can do Mandalay goes ahead and heads out. "Just promise me you won't tear apart the valley too much, kay?"
"No promises! Tehehehe!"
"This is insane!" Ochaco screams over the sounds of bombs exploding all around them. It feels like a warzone with bombs exploding from every which way, landing so close they're causing her ears to ring. "They're borderline psycho!"
"Dammit!" Bakugou screams, pressed against the ground beside her. "We're too exposed out here!"
Ochaco gasps and turns back towards the cart. "Guys the cart!"
"I've got it!" Izuku rushes through the field over to the wagon despite the incoming fire. "Cannonbolt will shield it!"
With a flash of green, he transforms while grabbing onto the cart. But before the transformation sequence can finish an explosion swallows up Izuku and the cargo!
"DEKU!" Ochaco and Bakugou cry out as he's swallowed up in a giant dust cloud.
"I'm okay" Terraspin calls out as the dust clears away. He has his flippers holding onto the container's sides while having his back towards the explosion, shielding it. "It's like I said, Terraspin will shield it!"
"You said Cannonbolt earlier!" Ochaco is quick to point out.
"N-no, I-I'm pretty sure I said Terraspin." Terraspin turns away and scowls down at the Omnitrix in annoyance for giving him the wrong transformation.
'You liar.' Ochaco thinks.
"Shut up!" Bakugou gets up, waving his arm widely to get Terraspin to take the cart and run. "We gotta move!"
Terraspin remains in place. "I-I can't!"
Bakugou instantly gets annoyed. "Move it Deku or I'll move ya myself!"
"You might have to." Terraspin tries to move but he can't. "I'm stuck!"
They all peer down to find a pink glue-like substance slathered all over Terraspin's back and legs, keeping him in place.
"What is this?" Ochaco asks, gliding her hand over the substance. "Is this…gum?"
"Take cover!" Bakugou shouts hearing another pink bomb incoming!
Ochaco acts quickly, swinging around and throwing a Ryou Sphere to meet it. The two projectiles explode in midair in a pink dust cloud of pink energy and pink gum.
Seeing how effective that was, Bakugou begins to shout out orders while he examines the gum keeping Terraspin in place. "Uraraka! Keep covering us!"
"I-I'll try!" She gets up and fires another Ryou Sphere, deflecting away another incoming bomb.
Bakugou leans in closer to examine the gum. "Hold still."
Terraspin is almost afraid to ask. "Why?"
Bakugou's hands begin to spark.
"Wait! Now, let's hang on a second-Aah!" There's a flash of fire and heat but it ends in a blink of an eye. And when he opens his eyes, he finds that the gum has been burned away. "Oh, hey would you look at that."
Bakugou then climbs onto Terraspin's back. "Now fly, Deku!"
The turtle glares back at him expectedly.
"Are you serious?!"
"Yes."
"Fly-..." Bakugou growls in frustration before giving in to Deku's demands. "Terraspin."
Terraspin breaks out into a wide grin. "We will begin boarding now, please place all carrions in the overhead bins." He hands Bakugou the rope that's attached to the cart.
He grabs it while shouting back at Ochaco. "Uraraka! We're leaving!"
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" With one last Ryou Sphere thrown, Ochaco rushes over, touching the container and making it float as she jumps onto Terraspin's back.
With all passengers aboard Terraspin tucks into his shell while his limbs propel them off the ground. "Fasten your seatbelts and in case of emergency your seats can be used as flotation deVICES!" He screams the last part as an explosion goes off behind them, blasting them forward.
"Idiot!" Bakugou shouts as Terraspin finally begins to fly away. "Quit it with the quips already!"
"They help me stay sane in these insane situations!" Terraspin shouts back.
He hovers froward, limbs spinning like a fan, moving like a U.F.O. Weaving this way and that avoiding incoming bombs as his passengers hold on and the cart floats along behind them, pulled by the rope.
"Just where is she firing from?!" Ochaco screams between nearby explosions.
"You know which one is attacking us?!" Terraspin ask.
"Well, no but we already fought Tiger so there you go."
Bakugou cuts in, annoyed. "Is this really important?!"
Suddenly Terraspin dives down allowing a bomb to zoom right past. "Hey, guys I'm not built for speed in case you haven't noticed."
"Yeah, we noticed!" Bakugou pokes his head up, trying to see if he can spot where the bombs are coming from.
There in the distance, upon a cliff face overlooking the valley, he can see the glistening of metal followed by a distant bang of a bomb being fired at them.
"There she is!" Bakugou shouts.
"Where?!" Both Terraspin and Ochaco ask, having not seen the glint.
Bakugou is about to answer before he spots an incoming bomb. "Down!"
"She's under us?!" Terraspin gasps.
"No, dive down-AAAAHHHH!"
They're hit, an explosion rings out behind them, throwing Terraspin off balance and causing him to spin out of control. "Mayday! Mayday! Turtle-1 has been hit! Deploying chute!"
"You have a parachute?!" Ochaco asks as they continue to plummet.
Terraspin spins himself around and grabs onto his teammates, aiming his back towards the ground as he shouts back. "No!"
BAM! They crash into the ground, skidding against it like a skipping stone.
"Not my best landing…" Terraspin groans.
BLAM! The floating container hits and bounces off the ground, landing on its side nearby.
"The container!" Ochaco screams, releasing her Quirk so that it'll stop bouncing.
She checks it for damages and finds a dent in its side, panicked; she floats it right side up while Bakugou shoves Terraspin onto his feet.
"Oh, no! It's damaged!" Ochaco cries, finding another dent.
"It's not too bad. We can still pass." Terraspin assures.
But then a barrage of explosions begin to rain down around them.
"Fuck! We're too exposed!" Bakugou shouts, covering his face from flying debris and bits of gum.
"I'll cover us!" Terraspin hovers in place and moves forward before leaning down and allowing his spinning limbs to tear into the ground like a buzzsaw.
He spins and spins, throwing up tons of dirt and rocks up onto a pile until he's made a decent sized dugout with a nice big barricade of dirt to shield them.
He lands behind the pile and inside the dugout before bowing. "Ask and you shall receive." Bakugou and Ochaco hurry down with the cart.
"Why didn't you start with that?!" Bakugou barks.
"Because I thought we could just fly out of here!" Terraspin argues back.
"Boys!" Ochaco snaps, folding her arms and glaring at them.
They both throw each other a nasty look before simmering down.
More bombs and explosions rain down upon them, but Terraspin's dugout seems to work as the explosions are blocked by the giant mound of dirt or they just miss the dugout out right.
The trio press themselves against the side of the dugout, trying to make themselves as small as possible as the pink-glue is splattered across the field.
Terraspin tucks his head into his shell in an attempt to protect himself from the blasts
"We're in a sticky situation here."
"At least now we know where the coward is hiding." Bakugou adds.
Ochaco, however, can't see the bright side. "Yeah, but what good does that do us?"
Bakugou's only response is to grin maniacally, one that Ochaco instantly knows what it means.
"You can't be serious?"
Terraspin laughs nervously behind her. "Oh, he's serious alright. And I'm Terraspin."
She jabs him with her elbow for making such a lame joke.
"Sorry." He bows his head in shame. "Like I said, it helps me stay calm." Even so he needs to focus on the situation at hand and readdresses Bakugou. "But it's not a good idea."
"Why not?" Bakugou questions. "If we take her out then we win!"
"Or we can just run away." Ochaco offers. "I mean she's like miles away! There's no way we can just run up on her!"
He raises an eyebrow at her. "Are you really okay with that?"
She's not and she knows it. She wouldn't be very satisfied with that.
Bakugou peers up at Terraspin. "Are you?"
He shakes his head as well.
"It's unanimous." The mad bomber gets ready to make a sprint for it. "We move on my mark. And try not to get blown up."
Terraspin grabs him by the shoulder. "Hang on sec. Or rather, wait for ten more minutes." He explains while peering down at the Omnitrix. "Quickly grab your packs."
Bakugou and Ochaco frown but do so.
"This is so boring!" Ragdoll whines while hanging her body over the edge of her mounted seat. "When are they gonna make a move?!" She looks across the valley to where the kids were hunkered down and activates her Quirk, Search. Upon doing so she can spot two stars shining in the distance within the dugout. "Huh? HUH!? One's missing! Wait-" A third star, brighter than the other two, shines like a galaxy. "Oh, there it is! Oow, just what are they up to?"
In a blink of an eye the stars are gone from the dugout.
"Huh?! Where'd they-" She spots them again and they're moving like shining meteors zooming across the prairie at high speed. "SO FAST!" She grins, getting excited as she leans back into the cockpit. "Tehehehe, so you wanna rumble? Fine! Let's rumble! Tehehehehe!" She aims and fires, launching another bomb with a BANG.
The pink-explosive flies through the air, spinning like a football, before arching down and coming in for a landing right in the zooming teens' path.
*BOOOOOM!* The bomb explodes, the dust cloud reaching high into the sky as debris and gum shoot out in all directions.
Ragdoll grins, thinking she got them, but her hopes are dashed as a blue blur zooms right through the dust cloud, unscathed.
XLR8 speeds forward, moving swiftly through the tall grass as if it were an ice rink while a floating Ochaco and Bakugou cling to his back like a pair of balloons.
"Wo-woah! That was close!" XLR8 quickly runs to the side as another bomb lands and goes off. "Too close!" He cries out as the explosion nearly gets them.
"Just get us close, Deku!" Bakugou screams over the rushing wind and incoming blasts.
"Call. Me. XLR8!" He accelerates forward, moving far faster than any of the bombs.
But their blasts still manage to get close forcing him to zig-zag across the valley as he attempts to close the gap.
"She's too precise!" Ochaco screams. "She's gonna hit us!"
"Then let's make sure she can't hit us!" As per Deku's plan, Bakugou pulls out his flare gun, aims towards the air, and fires.
The flare rockets into the sky and with a huge bang it explodes firing off an array of blinding lights.
"My eyes! Ow!" Ragdoll goes blind from the flares, noting that Eraser must have packed them a non-issued brand.
She rubs at her eyes, blinking furiously before her sight and Quirk return. "Ooh, you've done it now! No more misses nice kitty cat!" And she continues to fire!
XLR8 snakes his way through the incoming bombs, post haste. "I think we just made her angrier!"
"Uraraka!" Bakugou shouts while tossing his flare gun aside.
Ochaco takes aim and fires her one and only shot.
The highly powerful flare shoots up and explodes into a barrage of dazzling lights, much like a flashbang.
The bombs seem to stop for a moment indicting that Ragdoll was blinded again.
Which Bakugou instantly takes advantage of. "FLOOR IT!"
XLR8 does just that and zips forward at blinding speed.
Ragdoll regains her sight and prepares to fire. She homes in on XLR8's path aiming to cut him off with one final shot.
"Last one!" Bakugou warns as he takes their last flare gun and fires.
The flare erupts blinding Ragdoll just as she pulls the trigger.
The final bomb goes off course just a smidge but it's enough for XLR8 to slide right on by before it explodes.
"DEKU/XLR8!"
On their que XLR8 grabs his friends and spins before throwing them into the air with all his momentum behind them.
Ragdoll once again regains her sight and fires.
And this time since XLR8 was too busy sliding to a stop, it hits, exploding on impact and encasing him a mess of pink goo.
"Ha! Got ya!" Ragdoll cheers. "Wait! Where are-"
"Hey, Ragdoll!"
Her head snaps up to see Ochaco and Bakugou floating up high above her. "Didn't ya know?!" With One For All charging her arms Ochaco throws Bakugou like he was a baseball down towards Ragdoll. "BITCHES LOVE CANNONS!"
Bakugou spins his Exploding propelling down as he roars. "HOWITZER IMPACT!"
Ragdoll can only watch in horror as the attack crashes right into the mounted cannon blowing it up in one fell swoop!
XLR8 smiles from below the cliff face as rubble and pink goo fly across the sky like fireworks and a huge dust cloud blocks the sun. Knowing they won he quickly gets to work on freeing himself by moving his limbs around as fast as he can, hoping to wiggle himself free.
Meanwhile, from atop the cliff. Bakugou is reveling in the destruction he wrought. Breathing heavily, he scans the cliff top, seeing the cannon life in pieces and melted away from his Explosion combined with the bombs inside. "We Fucking Did It!" He howls with laughter as Ragdoll picks herself up, having dove out of the way at the last possible second.
"Yay-bleh-yay!" Ochaco floats down, landing on her butt as her face turns green. Combined with her Zero-Gravity and the fact they were spinning at such a high speed did nothing to help her motion sickness.
"Now." Bakugou turns his devilish gaze over to Ragdoll. "Time for some payback."
Cracking his knuckles, he approaches the downed hero.
"Stop!" XLR8 slides in, cutting off his path. "You don't need to do this!"
"Move it, Deku!" Bakugou growls dangerously. "Or I'll turn you into boots."
"Tehehehe! So violent! Hahahaha!" Despite just being threatened and nearly blown-up Ragdoll is in very high spirits, laughing away like this all-good fun
Unfortunately, Bakugou seems to have misplaced his sense of humor. "You think this is a joke?!"
"So serious!" She snickers. "Just relax little kitties! Believe it or not but I'm not really a fighter. That's more Tiger's thing after all. And besides it'd be a waste of time to fight me! After all, you all passed the Trial of Wits!"
XLR8 and Ochaco gasp. "We did?!"
"Sure did! The point was to survive against incoming fire. And you did; by blowing it to smithereens! KA-BOOM! Tehehehehe!"
"Sorry bout that." XLR8 bows and apologizes.
"Hahahaha! Don't worry about it! Eraser loaned it to us!"
'Then we really should worry.' XLR8 and Ochaco dreadfully think.
{"Did I hear that right?"}
The teens jump at the sound of Mandalay's voice in their heads.
But Ragdoll doesn't seem perturbed one bit and instead leans in close to the little microphone on her shirt. "Yup! They passed!"
{"Wow, that was way faster than we anticipated. Good job, kittens. You're halfway there!"}
"Just halfway?" Ochaco moans.
{"Hahahaha! Don't worry, the next one's a good one. I promise. Get yourselves over here quickly. It's finally my turn to take a shot at you."}
Taking that as their que to leave Bakugou turns about-face, back over to the valley. "Well back we go." They gotta get the wagon which they left miles away in the dugout.
"That's so far." Ochaco whines, she can barely make out the dugout from here.
"Don't worry." XLR8 assures. "I'll run you guys over there."
Ochaco smiles at that before she and Bakugou float their way down the cliff.
XLR8 is about to run off and join them but then notices Ragdoll smiling up at him, like she's examining a bright and precious gem. Can I help you?"
"Nope!" She giggles. "It's just nice to meet someone with a special Quirk like yours."
"Um, thanks?"
She doesn't say anything else after that for a while, making things very awkward as she just continues to stare.
Um, I'm gonna go now. Bye!" He zips away, vanishing in a blink of an eye.
But even so Ragdoll is able to follow along and watch him zip away across the prairie. "So, bright."
(Anavros River)
Izuku follows behind as it's Bakugou's turn to pull the wagon. His mind wandering about Ragdoll's reaction. 'I have a special Quirk? She must mean One Man Army. Yeah…but One Man Army isn't a Quirk?'
And then it hits him; her Quirk, Search, can visualize people through their Quirks!
'Does that mean-she knows?!' Izuku begins to panic, not once did it occur to him that her Quirk could expose him! 'Wait, but she said my Quirk was bright. Does-does that mean that Search can see me? Or-or does she know about-about me? Does she know about-everything?! She can't be a Plumber, Thirteen would have mentioned it. God! What did she mean?! Was she just messing with me, maybe?!'
"What do you think, Deku?" Ochaco asks from up ahead.
"I think I'll just ask her later." Izuku replies while lost in his own muttering.
"Ask who now?!" Ochaco gasps, not sure what Izuku was implying.
"What?!" Izuku stops and finally realizes that Ochaco and Bakugou were talking, and he definitely wasn't listening. "Oh, sorry! My mind was thinking about…other things."
Bakugou throws him a smug smirk. "Don't tell me that cat maids are your thing."
"They are not!" Izuku is quick to deny while blushing furiously.
"Whatever you say." The ash blonde snickers.
"Hahahaha!" Ochaco giggles too, betraying Izuku. "I asked, what do you think the next trial's gonna be?"
"Good question. It's on a river I think so it could literally be anything. Maybe we have to swim upstream. Or fight off giant mutated piranhas from eating us alive."
"I regret asking you." Ochaco admits, terrified of what's to come.
"How about I just tell you?"
The teens stop dead in their tracks because at the end of the trail is the leader of the Wild Wild Pussy Cats herself.
Looks like her trial is next and like they were told it's going to take place over the Anavros River.
The river is wide, too wide for a Quirkless human to even think that jumping over is a good idea. Not to mention the crazy rapids crashing against the rocks and fallen trees left to suffer the river's wake. With only a single narrow bridge allowing any passage from one side of the river to the other where their final destination, Witch Mountain lies.
And guarding that bridge, standing right in the middle of it, is Mandalay.
"It's your turn then." Izuku stats as the trio make it to the start of the bridge.
"It is." She confirms with a nod.
"So," He peers up towards the mountain that hangs over them on the other side. "that means Pixie-Bob will test us on the mountain."
"Only if you can get past my trial."
"And that would be?"
That's her que, and with a flourish she spins and posses allowing them to take in the scene. "Welcome students to the TRIAL OF TRUTH! The water here shall purify each of you of your deepest and darkest truths. Those that you've hidden and locked away, never allowing anyone a peek! But for today each and every one of them will be exposed!"
…
The teens are rightfully confused.
"Whaaat?"
"I don't get it!"
"Sounds like you're just a gossip to me."
"That's beside the point!" Mandalay denies Bakugou's accusation with a smile, a telltale sign that it is in fact true. "So, students. Do you think you can handle the truth?! Answer my questions truthfully and I'll let you pass unscathed! Fail to do so and you'll learn first-hand why cats hate water!"
The teens just stare at her like she's grown a second head. Their eyes then eye the water before they each stare back at each other while mischievous smiles stretch across their face.
Ochaco answers for them as Izuku goes through his Omnitrix. "Sorry, we chose option C."
"Option C?"
"Yup!"
In a flash of green, Stinkfly rises up and grabs the container from above while Ochaco makes herself, Bakugou, and the container weightless while they grab onto the bug's legs.
"We're flying right over!" Stinkfly takes off his wings buzzing in their ears as he shoots up into the air and whizzes across the water.
"Sorry, kids, but that's not an option." Mandalay isn't bothered by this at all and instead looks oh-so-happy as she pulls out a little detonator from her pocket and gives it a press.
And then from beneath the surface of the water giant plumes of gushing water erupt into the sky like geysers along the entire riverbank. It's a cascade of exploding geysers, each of them reaching high into the sky and raining down buckets of water.
Stinkfly and his passengers are shaken, nearly getting blasted by the geysers.
"What's happening?!" Ochaco screams.
And then it happens after the first geysers subside a second eruption follows suit and this time Stinkfly is hit from below by a sudden rush of water.
"My wings!" He instantly loses height as his wings try and fail to keep them airborne. "Oh, not again!"
As they plummet Bakugou aims his hand out and using an Explosion he blasts them away from the geysers and back over dry land.
They hit the ground hard, landing back where they started.
"How fitting!" Mandalay laughs as the underwater eruptions subside. "You were swatted right out of the air like flies!"
"That was cheating!" Ochaco whines as Bakugou and Stinkfly check the container.
"Sweety, please don't be a hypocrite, it really doesn't look good." She then flashes the detonator, holding it in her hand like it was a flag. "I did say the only way across was by answering my questions."
The teens throw her some nasty scowls, annoyed that their plan was ruined in a humiliating way.
"And if you don't then I'm not responsible for what happens next." Mandalay teases while gesturing to the mountain on the other side. "If you do cross the river then how do you know if there's more bombs or cannons all set to attack you. Not to mention since I wouldn't call that as passing the trial means I'll be coming after you. And I'm sure by now you realized who's waiting for you on the mountain, right?" She waves a hand at the weirdly arched-peaked mountain. "Now you've already seen Pixie-Bob's Quirk go up against 21 of you. Now what could she do when there's only three of you, on top of that you'll have me on your heels?"
They don't need to wonder. That mountain is like Pixie-Bob's personal sandbox where she can manipulate every rock and stone to her will. That's already gonna be tough as it is but adding another pro into the mix. Yeah, their wagon will be as good as destroyed. They might as well start walking back to camp and joining the others in Mr. Aizawa's extra lessons.
"So, really students, I'm giving you the best option right here." Mandalay explains. "Play long and answer me truthfully and I'll let you pass without a fuss. What do you say?"
Stinkfly turns to his teammates, not wanting to speak for all of them. "What are we thinking?"
"She's bluffing." Bakugou responds with a huff. "Let's just destroy the bridge, toss her in the water, and get the hell out of here."
"We're…not doing that." Ochaco shakes her head. "I say we go ahead and answer her questions. I mean how bad can they be? Also, you said it yourself Dek-Stinkfly she can't read our minds."
Stinkfly smiles. "I did say that didn't I?"
And so, with their decision made, they turn back to face the Trial of Truth.
Mandalay is more than happy that they'll play along. "I see you made up your minds. So, which of you's going first?"
The three didn't think that far ahead and are now standing around awkwardly waiting for someone else to volunteer.
Stinkfly, however, is the first to offer up a suggestion. "Ladies first?"
"Yeah." Bakugou nods, fully agreeing with his logic. "Beauty before age, right?"
"Exactly!"
Ochaco deadpan glares at the two. "Such gentlemen. Who says chivalry is dead?"
Having been quote-on-quote volunteered, she steps up to face the challenge first.
With her first victim chosen, Mandalay explains exactly how this is going to work. "I'm going to ask you a series of three questions. Answer each of them truthfully and we won't have any problems. Understood?"
"Yes!"
"Good!" Mandalay prepares herself, focusing in close on Ochaco's expression and mannerisms, as if waiting for the girl to make a move to strike her. But there's an air of confidence around her like she knows if Ochaco attacked it'll do nothing, her eyes locked on with such ferocity it is like watching a cat stalking a buzzing fly in order to predict where it's going to land.
And so, she begins. "What…"
Seeing how serious she is, Ochaco prepares herself for the worst.
"Isss…."
Ochaco's fists clench at her side, nervously.
"You name?!"
Ochaco nearly face faults at the unexpectedly easy question. "Um, it's…Ochaco Uraraka." This can't be right. Is that seriously one of the questions, her name?
But it doesn't appear to be a joke as Mandalay nods in approval. "What is your…favorite color?"
It's still weird but Ochaco answers anyway. "Pink."
Mandalay nods again, approving of the answer.
"BwaHahaha!" Bakugou can't hold it anymore and bursts out into laughter, startling Stinkfly. "That's it?! What a joke! I thought this was gonna expose our deepest and darkest truths, but this is nothing! Hahahaha!"
Despite his insults, Mandalay doesn't seem insulted at all, and steads seems more ready than ever before, making Ochaco nervous. "Now for the last question, Ochaco Uraraka-"
Ochaco braces herself, but then again maybe this is all a joke? Maybe Mandalay doesn't really have dirt on them?
"-have you been using your Quirk to steal extra snacks from U.A.'s vending machines?!"
The boys pause, staring on in confusion, while Ochaco goes pale.
Ochaco shrinks back on herself, her face going red with embarrassment, before she realizes her mistake of hesitating for too long and panics. "N-no! N-never! I'd never do something like-AAaaaahh!"
In a blink of an eye Mandalay rushes the poor girl and tosses her right off the bridge and into the rushing water.
"URARAKA!" Bakugou and Stinkfly scream while the latter buzzes off after her.
Ochaco is getting swept away with the crashing current but thankfully Stinkfly plucks her right out of the water and carries her back to the bridge.
Once he drops her, she coughs up water as the cold water causes her to shiver.
"What was that?!" Bakugou yells, not sure what to make of it.
"I-I don't know!" Ochaco gets all flustered, embarrassed, and panicked while quickly trying to deny everything. "She-she's just making up stories!"
"Oh, I am. Am I?" Mandalay smirks, glad to finally reveal what torment they're truly in for. "I'm afraid not, little kitty. No, each and everything I'm going to ask you about has been confirmed firsthand by your dear old homeroom teacher."
Ochaco gasps. "Mr. Aizawa?! But-but how? I mean, I'd wouldn't-"
"Please, don't act so naive. You're in high school! You all get into trouble. You all misbehave and do things you shouldn't. It's normal! But none of you are actually as clever or subtle as you think! Your teachers see and hear everything! They just don't say anything until they need to."
That's when the reality of the situation hits them all. "Are you saying-"
"Yes! Your teachers have armed me with every little piece of gossip and embarrassing story about each of you! Each of them having overheard you talking, saw something that they shouldn't, and more! And if that's not all I've specifically trained myself to detect when people are lying."
That last part can't be right to which Stinkfly is quick to point out. "But your Quirk doesn't allow you to do that!"
"You're right. It doesn't. It's a skill I had to pick up. I've learned how to read people especially when they're lying."
The puzzle finally fits together in Stinkfly's head. "That's why you asked those two questions! It was like when they do a polygraph test! You're gauging how we react when we tell the truth!"
"Wow, impressive! Eraser warned us that you were the observant."
"But if you know the truth then that means-..." Both boys go pale and turn back to look at a mortified Ochaco.
Stinkfly shakes his head in disappointment. "Oh, Uraraka…"
"It's not what you think!" Ochaco continues to deny. "I just…take a little bit extra, okay?" A.K.A. She'll pay for one snack but then use Zero-Gravity to shake the vending machine some more until a few more items come loose. "I-I need to save money on lunch! That's all!" But it looks like Mr. Aizawa or someone saw her do it one too many times.
Stinkfly is still disappointed and even Bakugou looks embarrassed for her. "Uraraka…"
"I'm…I'm sorry." Ochaco tears up, bowing her head down in shame.
"Hahahaha!" Mandalay cries out in laughter, enjoying her agony oh so very much!
"This is stupid!" Upset and annoyed by how ridiculous this all is, Bakugou steps up to the plate next. "I've got nothing to hide! There's no way I'm going to be humiliated like this!"
Mandalay accepts the challenge. "You think so? Alright, what is your name?"
"Katsuki Fucking Bakugou!"
"What is your favorite color?"
"Red! Because it's just like blood!"
Stinkfly gives him a deadpan stare. "You know that makes sense."
Even Ochaco was surprised by the answer. "I honestly thought it'd be orange."
Mandalay's grin stretches across her face making her look like a Cheshire cat. "Now the final question."
"Bring it!"
"Did you…secretly enjoy the Maid Cafe, Sero took you to that one time?!"
"Hell No!"
Mandalay pauses, stares at him with a judgmental scowl. And just when Bakugou thinks he's won she throws him into the water with a single slap of her paw.
"NO WAY!" Ochaco and Stinkfly scream, they just assumed he was telling the truth!
After Stinkfly plucks Bakugou out of the water the ash blond is keeled over, gasping for air after being thrown into the water headfirst.
"I don't believe it." Stinkfly is dumbfounded, staring at Bakugou like he's seeing him for the first time. "Bakugou…has a fetish."
"OH, FUCK OFF!"
"Guys, this is getting sad." Stinkfly ignores him while rubbing his head in frustration. "Like really really sad. I mean what's so hard about admitting the truth? Those are just harmless secrets. They don't mean much."
"Maybe not to you…" Ochaco grumbles.
"Shut up, Deku!" Bakugou barks. "Also, that bitch was wrong! I didn't like that cafe at all! And I especially hated how they casted a delicious spell on my Omurice!"
'That was oddly specific.' Ochaco thinks not daring to say that aloud.
Stinkfly claps his hands, he needs them to focus. "Listen guys I know it's embarrassing but if we want to have a chance of completing this exam on time! Then we need to be honest with each other." He gestures to the sky, specially to the sun indicating it's already 3 o clock or so. "Look, let's just agree that we'll never talk about anything we hear today. As long as we're all going to answer her questions truthfully. Are we clear?"
They don't respond, not right away at least.
But Ochaco does see his point, but even so she is still hesitant. "We don't really have a choice, do we?"
"Nope."
"Fine. Let's try this again." Sucking it up Ochaco wills herself to try again.
"Back so soon?" Mandalay teases.
Ochaco remains silent and awaits the trial.
"Let it not be said that I'm merciless, so we'll get right to the juicy part. Ochaco Uraraka-..."
Ochaco braces herself for the embarrassment.
"Have you -"
She swallows back some spit while her heart beats so fast it feels like a drum being struck in her chest.
"-been watching WWE Matches Live during Ectoplasm's Math lessons?!"
Ochaco freezes but soon realizes there's no use in denying it. "Y-y-yes!" She breaks down, horrified that people know about that. "I can't help it! Math is so boring!" She weeps, embarrassed and appalled that a teacher knew this whole time and not once stopped her.
"There there." Mandalay rubs her head in an attempt to comfort the poor girl. "It's okay. Doesn't it feel like a weight's been taken off your chest?"
"N-Nn–no!" Ochaco weeps as Mandalay sees her across the bridge.
After sitting Ochaco down to wait for the others, Mandalay returns to the center of the bridge to await the next victim. "Alright, who's next?!"
Bakugou is.
"And the next challenger has stepped forward! Are you ready?"
"Hell, ya!"
"Good! Katsuki Bakugou-"
Bakugou braces himself, ready to admit whatever bullshit she throws his way.
"-do you respect your teammates?!"
Everyone, even Bakugou freezes, not expecting that question of all things to appear. He seems thrown off and his teammates notice, now listening in very closely; curious as to what he'll say.
Bakugou hides his face underneath his spiky ash blonde hair, his fists clenched at his side as he grinds his teeth together in frustration.
Mandalay patiently waits for him to answer, but her claws are bared, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
He doesn't move but he does speak, but whatever he says he mumbles it. His teammates try to lean in over the bridge to hear but the rushing water below makes it impossible.
But whatever he said was the truth as Mandalay smiles and nods, before stepping aside to let him through. "You may pass!"
He goes, never looking up from his feet.
The moment he crosses Ochaco is there, demanding answers. "Hey, Bakugou what-what did you tell her?"
"Nothing!" He snaps, his face clammy a clear indication that he was blushing. "I told her that there's no way I'd respect either of you, morons!"
"Y-yeah, I kinda figured."
Mandalay snickers, after all she knows the real truth. "Alright, it's finally your turn."
Stinkfly marches forth with as much gusto that an insect can have. "I'm ready."
"What is your name?"
"Stinkfly!"
Mandalay freezes, not expecting that response. "I, uh, meant your real name." Although it wasn't a lie when he said it.
"Oh, woops. My name's Izuku Midoriya."
"What is your favorite color?"
"Green!"
Mandalay gives him a deadpan stare. "Really?" That's so cliche, isn't it?
But Stinkfly doesn't seem to see it that way. "What?"
"Nothing. Moving on, time for your final question!"
"I'm ready! No matter what it is, I'll be honest with my answer!"
"Are you-"
He's suddenly nervous wondering if she'll ask about aliens.
"The one-"
Is she gonna ask about the Omnitrix?
She raises an accusing finger at him and shouts. "-that's been pranking Neito Monoma this whole school year?!"
His teammates stare on in total and absolute confusion.
"What is she talking about?" Bakugou asks.
Ochaco shakes her head, still processing it herself. "Well, either way that's clearly not true. Man, Deku got it easy all he has to do is say no"
And yet he still hasn't answered.
"Deku?" Ochaco peers back up, wondering what the holdup is.
And that's when they both see the total hypocrisy and guilt written all over Stinkfly's face as he's actually struggling to answer.
"D-Deku…? That's not true…is it?"
Turning red with embarrassment, Stinkfly turns right around and runs for it! Flying off into the air in an attempt to escape! Only to be swatted right down into the water when Mandalay leaps up and flings him in with one swift kick.
"DEKU!?" Ochaco screams, mortified. "Just what did you do?!"
##########(Flashback)#########
Not much, just a few things…just mostly harmless pranks.
Like using Lodestar to weigh down Monoma's weights while he's working out. Watching him run out of breath at just 50 pounds was hilarious.
Then there was the time he used Buzzshock to speed up the treadmill Monoma was using while his classmates were working out nearby. Actually, Monoma was able to keep up with the treadmill to the point Buzzshock was ready to give up. But then got the idea to stop the treadmill and watch on as Monoma was running so fast that he hit the board and flew right over the control panel.
There have been a few times he ran in as XRL8 and drew stuff on his face.
Or the time Terraspin blew away his umbrella while it was raining.
And Stinkfly spraying goop into Monoma's shoes.
And so much more. BUT HE HAD A GOOD REASON! HE SWEARS IT.
########(End Flashback)#######
Izuku, exhausted and soaked to the bone, is keeled over on the other side of the bridge, his face red from embarrassment but pale from the shivering cold and mortification. "I-I was just trying to make things even!" He cries, tears mixing with his drenched cheeks. "He keeps picking on everyone in Class all the time! Soooo, I thought I could…get some justice this way." He shrinks, quivering away knowing exactly how guilty he sounds, but well can you blame him? Monoma picks picking on everyone from Hagakure to Kirishima, someone had to do something!
That may be his case, but Ochaco is just appalled he would even try. "I'm ashamed of you. And after you lectured us!"
"I never thought you had it in you to be nasty." Bakugou snickers, actually having a little respect for Deku. But then an old memory pops into his mind, pissing him off. "Hey, wait does that mean you played a part in the prank spree Uuichi did back in junior high?!"
Izuku doesn't look him in the eyes. "Um…no."
"LIAR!" Bakugou hoists him up by his collar so he can shout right in his face. "I was scraping gum out of my locker for weeks!"
"Aaaah! H-Henzu made me do it!" Izuku cries, begging for mercy.
"That excuse isn't gonna save you!"
"Eeeeekk!"
"Okay, fine!" Ochaco squeezes herself between them, effectively separating them. "You're ashamed of it. But then why couldn't you answer any of the other questions?!" She jabs an accusing finger into the guilty greenette's chest. "I mean, have you ever cross-dressed?! You did! We were all there for it! Me and the girls made you do it as payback for the Sports Festival! It was a Sensory Overload."
Izuku covers his face in shame and cries. "Please don't ever bring that back up!" It was so mortifying and probably the most embarrassing thing he's ever been forced to do! And Henzu made him do a lot!
"That was painful." Even Mandalay feels embarrassed for him. "I mean who can't admit to ever calling their teacher Dad?"
"It was one time!" Izuku weeps, falling over to the ground, wishing it would swallow him up. "And I think Mr. Aizawa was just as embarrassed as I was!"
Sheesh is this sad, even Izuku has to admit it. But then again maybe this is the result of lying literally to everyone he's met this last year. From All Might to his own classmates, he's lied to in one way or another. Then again, he's always been this way, lying to cover up how he really feels and what's really bothering him. Maybe…maybe this is just how he is now? Maybe being honest…is an actual challenge for him now?
That's a hard pill to swallow but maybe…maybe he's just too shy and nervous to really admit to any of those EMBARRASSING things!"
Mandalay sighs, feeling sad for the kid. "Well in any case you all, technically, passed the Trial of Truth!" Albeit clumsily. "Congrats, kids! Now there's only one final trial for you to complete before you pass your Exam! The TRIAL OF COOPERATION!" With a flourish and a wave Mandalay gestures to the towering Witch Mountain before them, one with a massive arched peak scaling high above their heads like that of a witch's hat. "All you have to do is navigate your way up the mountain before time runs out! Any questions?"
Bakugou doesn't even hesitate to ask. "Yeah, just what kind of sick twisted game do you have set up for us?"
"Oh, come now. Why would I spoil the fun?" Mandalay teases.
Figuring that was all they were going to get anyway, the teens set out, Ochaco grabbing the cart this time as they made their way up the mountain path.
Mandalay waves them off with a cheer. "Good luck kids! I'm rooting for you!" She stops waving and watches as they disappear up the rocky trail. "Gosh, I really hope they make it." She admits, feeling worried for them. "Eraser came up with these questions himself. So, there's no telling what he'll have them do if they fail."
(Witch Mountain)
"We finally made it." Bakugou huffs while looking up.
"The last trial." Ochaco adds her gaze following his own.
"Witch Mountain." Izuku states while taking in said mountain.
The mountain seems to stretch on forever, they can see most of the mountain just from where they are and what they see is certainly a strange sight. Deep cliffs and crevices line the entire mountain like a web of canyons and exposed caves. All while a giant half-moon arch stretches across the sky halfway up the mountain making it look like a giant witch's hat when far away. The true peak lies behind the arch, the arch being so large it's hiding it from view.
"Witch Mountain." Ochaco restates, while staring at the oddly shaped mountain. "I wonder why they named it that?"
Izuku and Bakugou's head swivel and they stare at her for a few seconds wondering if she was kidding.
"Let's just get this over with already." Bakugou shrugs, just wanting to get this done.
And so they begin their hike up the mountain, each one taking a turn to pull the cart and container. Deciding it was best to pace themselves rather than exhaust themselves later. And up they go, working together to move the cart up the steep terrain and over massive boulders that dare to block their way. They either lift the cart over, get Bakugou to blast it apart, or for Four Arms to up and toss the boulders aside. Either way they make great progress for the next two hours until they reach a clearing set before large cliffs and crevices that stretch far over their heads.
The clearing is small with soft grass and a few logs to sit on while an empty fire pit sits in the middle of the clearing. And at the ends of the clearings, engraved into the sides of the cliffs, dividing them apart like the red sea are several paths leading their way up the mountain.
The trio stare at the paths, their eyes trailing up the side of the mountain to the veins of deep crevices, caves, and cliffs.
Without even looking at his comrades, Bakugou asks the obvious. "Are you both thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That it's a trap?" Izuku confirms while staring up at the mountain.
"Yup."
Ochaco stares up at it as well. "Should we try…flying over it?"
That question gives Izuku pause. "Probably not a good idea seeing how Mandalay was ready for that earlier. I bet if we did that here Pixie-Bob would make us pay for it one way or another."
"So, that leaves only one option, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, we'll have to play by her rules."
Bakugou sighs, annoyed by what that means. "Which means walking right into her trap."
Izuku smirks at him playfully. "But don't you know that a trapper's trap can trap the trapper?"
Ochaco gives him a cold judgmental stare. "Stop saying that, it makes you sound deranged…like Bakugou."
"Hey!" Bakugou snaps, offended.
"Which way do we go?" Ochaco asks effectively changing the subject. "We can't just test them all or we'll never make it in time!"
"No sweat!" Izuku assures while giving the Omnitrix a turn. "I'll just use Big Chill to walk right through the walls and find us the way out. Heck, I can even fly over and have myself a look before Pixie-Bob even knows what's what."
"Good idea, Deku!"
Big Chill's silhouette appears on the Omnitrix. "Alright, here we go!"
In a blinding flash Izuku vanishes from sight and at first his teammates think he phased away through the wall only to realize that if they just look down, they'll find a mirthed Ditto stomping his foot.
"No. No. No! No! No! NO!" Ditto cries, falling over and throwing a tantrum. "Why?! Omnitrix?! Why?! Why can't you give me the right transformation?!"
"Quit your whining." Bakugou scolds.
"I'm not whining!" Ditto shouts back and while he does a clone peels off of him.
"Yes, you were." Ditto (2) sasses.
Ditto (1) angry turns his attention onto his clone. "I was not!"
"Were too!"
"You calling me a liar?!"
"Well, I ain't calling you a truther!"
"Shut it!" Bakugou slaps Ditto (1) on the back of the head causing both to yelp in pain.
"OW!"
They both rub the back of their heads despite only one of them actually being slapped.
"What was that for?!" Ditto (1) demands.
"You were being an idiot."
"I'm not the idiot. He is!" Ditto (1) points an accusing finger at his clone who glares right back.
But Bakugou isn't having any of this shit and gives them a deadly glare. "You wanna another fresh one?"
The two Ditto's jolt up and shake their heads in fear. "No!"
"Good. Now make yourself useful and scout ahead. You'll use your clones to find which paths are good and which ones are ass. Got it?"
They both nod frantically before hurrying away both taking a different path while creating more clones to test the other options.
Ochaco watches them go before staring at Bakugou, impressed. "Wow, that was really…smart."
"ARE YOU CALLING ME DUMB!?"
Ochaco doesn't answer instead giving him a cheeky look as she pulls the cart after Ditto.
They soon catch up to their little friend, or at least to one of them, and begin their trek through the stony maze. At every fork Ditto splits off him going one way while a clone or two go the other. All the while they shout and call over to each other in attempt to identify dead-ends versus correct paths.
"Nope!"
"Not this way!"
"Negatory!"
"Ow! My foot!"
"This way is clear-oops! Never mind!"
"Hey, follow me! This path continues!"
Bakugou and Ochaco follow the clones' directions, finding it way easy to just follow along.
"Man, this is so easy!" And Ditto (15) seems to agree while sitting atop the container.
While pulling the wagon, Ochaco scans the sides of the cliff faces and stone walls carefully. "I feel like it's a setup. Like there's got to be more to it than this?"
"You're probably right." Bakugou admits while keeping his eye spelled.
Ditto (15), however, doesn't see the issue, however. "What's the big deal? We've cleared every trial they've thrown at us. How could they possibly make things any more difficult?"
"Hey, guess what!" They stop and see one of the clones calling them over from a forked path that makes a sharp left. "I found the exit! It's right over here!"
The trio grin in victory and hurry up the steady incline and towards the clone. The moment they turn the corner they are met with the shining rays of the sun and so they hurry to reach the exit. Once through they stop, taking a breath of fresh air before taking in their surroundings.
"WHAT!?" They shout finding themselves back at the same exact clearing from before.
Ditto jumps down from the cart while his clones gather around, all of them looking oh so confused. "Are you kidding me?! How does that even happen?!" Ditto (1) turns to his clones accusingly. "Alright, which one of you jokers is responsible for this?! Who thought this be a funny joke?!"
Ochaco can't believe it, they weren't going in a circle, were they? And if they did then how did Ditto not notice? "This doesn't make any sense though. We were walking on an incline the entire time. We weren't climbing down…were we?"
"Dekuuu." Bakugou's mad now, he's seething with steam pouring from his mouth. "Do you think this is some kind of game?"
The Dittos cower together in fear. "We'll fix it! Yeah, we'll get right on it boss! Waaaaa!"
They all scurry away like rats caught inside a kitchen, scampering back into the maze and ready to find the real exit.
With a huff Bakugou leans back against the cart, this time waiting for the Dittos to come get them after they found the right path. "I'm getting a headache."
Ochaco tries her best to calm him. "Just relax, he'll find the way soon."
On que, a clone rushes out from one of the paths and into the clearing. "What?! But…?" Upon seeing his friends, he stops, looking back while scratching his head in confusion. "Hang on!" Thinking he took a wrong turn he runs right back in, determined to do it right this time.
But the moment he's gone two more clone pop out front he same path on the other side of the clearing. "HUH?! But we just-..." They point between the clearing and the path, unsure of what happened. "I'll go his way. You got that way."
"You got it!" The spare clone hurries across the clearing and to another path only for him to run headfirst into another clown that was exciting that one. "Ow!"
And with that Bakugou finally loses it. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOIGN ON HERE!?"
"That's what we'd like to know." Ditto (4) grumbles as the rest of his clones pour back into the clearing.
Ochaco shakes her head in frustration, it doesn't make any sense. The Dittos should be perfect for this job, but they keep getting turned around. How? Why?! Just what is Pixie-Bob playing?! 'Wait!' She stops and listens, and she hears it, it's faint but it's there. "Shush! Do you hear that?"
Everyone, even the Dittos, quiets down and listens.
But after a moment, the clones become restless. "I don't hear anything."
"That's because you were talking."
"Well so are you!"
"Yeah, but only because you were!"
"Quiet!" Bakugou shouts, silencing the idiot clones.
They immediately shut up and form back together into a single being. And so Ditto motions himself, locking his lips and tossing the key.
And so, they listen. They listen carefully until they can make out the faint sound of rocks falling and crumbling over each other.
"Are those rocks?" Bakugou questions aloud.
Ditto gasps. "Is it a landslide?!"
"No." Ochaco states finally realizing exactly what's going on. "It's Pixie-Bob! She's-"
Rock walls shoot up from the ground like sprung traps, swirling around the teens and their cargo like crashing ocean waves. The living landslide crashes between them all, forcing them to dive away otherwise face being buried alive! The moment they're separated the twisting rockslide slams into them, shoving them and carrying them across the moving mountain. side
"This is why we couldn't find the way out!" Bakugou shouts over the sound of crashing rocks and boulders.
"She's moving the mountain around!" Ochaco screams, holding onto the container for dear life as the ground swallows her up like a giant maw.
In a flash of red Izuku is left to the mercy of the living mountain. "Witch Mountain is a moving Labyrinth!"
"Hahahahaha!" Like a cackling witch, Pixie-Bob watches from her perch as the teens are carried far and wide across her sandbox. "Like toying with mice in a maze! Hehehehe! You're mine now, little kittens!"
"Deku! Bakugou! What's happening?! Waah!" Ochaco screams as she slides down a smooth damp rock wall before spilling out into a dark cave. "Where am I?"
Looking around she finds herself in a massive cave network, surrounded by giant stalagmites and boulders.
"Bakugou! Deku! Where are you?!"
But there's no answer. No calls back. Nothing. She's on her own.
But she's far from alone…
"And there's the trap." Bakugou brushes himself off after being carried away into another clearing, this one being far more menacing than the welcoming clearing they had before.
The walls and rocks are all arranged in a way to resemble some twisted earth colosseum with no way out.
Hearing more rocks shift and grind together behind him Bakugou grumbles in annoyance. "I swear this is bullshit." He hates the fact that this trial might actually be more tedious if anything.
A massive chunk of the rock colosseum splits away like a door and out comes a Clay Minotaur. Much like what they faced before but this one being far more details while towering over him at a stocking twenty feet. Its horns are as big as he is and it's welding a giant rock ax with a root acting as its handle.
"Okay. Now that's bullshit!"
"MORAWWWWR!" The Clay Minotaur lets out a monstrous roar but before it can make a move Bakugou blasts it to dust in seconds.
"HA! That was nothing!" Feeling mighty confident he marches away, looking for another way out of the arena.
But while his back is turned the rumbling of rocks and earth picks back up from the pile of rubble that was the Clay Minotaur.
Wondering what it could be now, Bakugou turns around only to find the Minotaur back at full health and looking even angrier than before. "MORAWWWR!"
"Now that's some massive bullshit!"
Taking its ax, the Minotaur takes a swing for the boy's head. "MORAWWWR!"
"Go away! Don't you wanna fight Bakugou instead?!" Ochaco screams while zipping through the cave while the floating cart is pulled behind her.
A Clay Harpy slams its talons into the ground just barely missing the girl. "SKREEEE!" Its giant wings for arms swipe at the air causing a gale to rip through the cave.
"Seriously?! Fine!" Ochaco's entire body glows bright, bathing the cave in pink light. "The gloves are coming off!"
In a flash she delivers a powerful SMASH to the Clay Harpy's face. Turning it from a rock monster to a pile of rocks instead.
"Ha! That'll teach ya!"
The monster quickly reforms and retakes its former shape. "SKREEEE!"
"Or not."
"SKREEEE!" With an ear piercing shriek, it chases after her forcing Ochaco to retreat further into the mountain.
"I really hope the others are okay!"
"SKREEEE!"
"This is not okay!" Izuku cries while ducking and nearly avoiding having his head smashed in by a giant club. "This is definitely not okay!"
"GRAAAA!" A giant Clay Cyclops chases after Izuku through the maze. It swings its giant wooden club widely smashing it into the walls and boulders while chasing the poor Quirkless kid.
"This is just my luck! I have no aliens! No teammates! No weapons!" he ducks as the Cyclops takes another swing. "I'm an easy target!"
He continues through the maze running this way and that and praying he doesn't run straight into a dead-end. Because if he does then it might be a literal dead-end for him. "I thought this was a Trial of Cooperation?!"
He spots a hole in the side of one of the walls, and so as he sprints forward, he dives through the hole and the Cyclops dives after him but only; it's arm is able to squeeze through the hole just barely missing Izuku who scrambles out of the way.
"HA!"
The wall shifts and falls away without a fuss allowing the Clay Cyclops to step through.
"Oh, come on!" With the roaring monster on his heels Izuku takes off into the maze. "Cooperation? Wait, is that why she separated us? Is she trying to prevent us from working together?! That has to be it! Which means the only way to win is to find the others!"
"GRAAAA!" The Cyclops grabs a boulder and throws it.
Izuku falls to his side and slides to a stop, it works, and the boulder lands just inches from his feet. "If I survive that is!"
"GRAAAA!" The Cyclops stomps after him.
And so Izuku springs to his feet and takes off down the nearest pathway. As he turns and follows every path and fork, he tries to pry the Omnitrix to work but it's still recharging. And then just as he thinks his luck can't get any worse, he runs right into a dead-end.
"No! No! No!" He turns to run back the way he came but the Cyclops' head peers over the wall and spots him.
"I'm out of options!" Izuku gasps, finding himself cornered and without any way to defend himself or escape.
But his luck finally changes as the Omnitrix springs to life, glowing green with renewed energy.
A grateful smirk stretches across his freckled face, and he immediately dials up the perfect alien for the job. "Actually, I have four options! As in Four Arms!" He slams the Omnitrix just as the Cyclops swings down at him with its club.
The club never connects but is instead caught in midair.
"Hey, don't ya know it's not polite to attack when people are transforming? People might think badly of ya, don't ya know?" Shocksquatch gives the club a hard shove, throwing back at the Cyclops' face, smashing it and causing the behemoth to fall over and crumble.
And now with it gone, Shocksquatch turns away so he can complain to the Omnitrix. "Uughh! What is with you today?! Did I offend? Do you want a polish or something or other? Just tell me what's wrong, Eh?!"
While he's distracted the Clay Cyclops has reformed and is ready to take its anger out on him. And so, without warning it takes a swing for the back of the yellow Bigfoot's head.
But he's not as defenseless as one would think, static electricity dances off Shocksquatch's fur, making it stand on end in the direction of the oncoming swing.
Sensing danger, Shocksquatch's instincts force him to jump high as he can into the air.
The club swings right under his feet, missing him.
Now in the air he grabs the Cyclops by the head, flips himself over while throwing it up and over and into a nearby wall, smashing it apart and clearing the way.
Shocksquatch lands and turns to the down Cyclops with a look of confusion but pleasant surprise. "Mighty kind of ya."
He jumps through the hole and makes his way through the maze just as the monster reforms.
"What was that back there?" He wonders while staring at the fur around his arms. "Did I…sense it coming? Now that's just weird, Eh."
More static dances off his fur from the front, an early warning for him to slam his feet into the ground and bring himself to a stop just as a rockwall slams closed in front of him. If he had keep going it would have flattened him.
"What?!" He stares down at his thick yellow matted fur as more static dances off of it here and there. "Now ain't that peculiar?" He grins, having a small inclination as to what's going on.
And so, he takes off into the dangerous maze at a full sprint.
The walls and path shift and close every way he goes. Even creating obstacles like pitfalls and flying rocks to slow him down. But they all fail as static electricity dances off his body, his fur and senses picking up on every movement in the air around him. Allowing him to leap, dive, and parkour over every obstacle and wall like it were his personal jungle gym.
With a swing up he lands on the other side of a massive wall that shot out from the ground at the last second, but his senses picked up on it allowing him to predict its movement. "Now this I like!" This ability must work similarly to how alligators sense movement in water. His fur and body must be able to sense minute changes and movements in the air, warning him of incoming dangers and changes to his environment. "I've got myself some kind of…Static Sense! … Shock Tingle? Spark Warning? You know what, I'll workshop it later, Eh!"
*BOOOOOM!*
He doesn't need his Static Sense…Shock Tingle…Electric Alarm-whatever! He doesn't need an early warning system to tell him that one of his fellow examinees is close by. The smoke and fire will do that for him.
Bakugou spins through the air and slides to a stop along the ground as smoke rises from the scorch marks painted against the colosseum's floor and walls. "God damn, you're annoying."
He growls up at the Clay Minotaur as it rises from one of the smoke plumes.
"I'm gonna turn you into Barbecue and serve you on white bread!"
"MORAWWWWR!" Angered, the Clay Minotaur takes a swing with its ax.
Bakugou blasts the weapon aside but then leaves himself open to the beat's fist.
Tossed aside like he weighs nothing Bakugou hits the wall hard. "Now you've done it, Ferdinand, when I'm done with you, I'm gonna rip your skull out from its socket and hang it on my wall!"
"MORAWWWWR!"
As the Minotaur lets loose a monstrous roar a yellow furball appears above the stadium and jumps up onto the Minotaur's head. "Howdy, partner!" Shocksquatch howls in glee while grabbing the Minotaur's horns. "Let me show ya how we wrangle these bovines back home! Yeehaw!"
"MORAWWWWR!" Enraged the Minotaur bucks and thrashes, swinging its fists and ax wildly in protest.
"Yippee-ki-yay!" Shocksquatch howls. "You can't shake me! I'm gonna stick to you like stink on a Lepidopterran!"
And he does. He holds on with all his might, moving with the bucking bull even as it slams itself into the walls attempting to crush its rider.
With its attention fully on him, the yellow ape-man calls over to his teammate. "Bakugou! I think it's time we put this longhorn out to pasture!"
Bakugou grins, more than willing to put the beast down. "I. Fucking. Hate. This. EXAM!" He unleashes a massive Explosion straight into the Minotaur, blasting it back and blowing it up to smithereens all the while crashing into the wall and smashing it open.
Having sensed the attack coming, Shocksquatch was able to jump away and land nearby. Dusting himself off he whistles while looking around at all the damage littering the arena. "And I thought I was pumped up with a lot of energy. Heh, go figure, Eh."
"How'd you know where to find me?" Bakugou asks.
"Oh, I had a feeling." Shocksquatch cheekily remarks as static briefly runs off his furry shoulders.
"What?"
"Yeah, it's this thing I do now. I can use my static electricity to sense movement! Like an alligator! I call it…Thunder Itch!"
Bakugou stares at him like he just said something profound.
"I'm still workshopping the name."
Rolling his eyes, Bakugou moves the conversation along. "Then can you use it to find Uraraka? Preferably before that thing comes back?" He gestures to the rubble that's already starting to reform.
The discolored yeti pauses and tries to feel for any signs of movements or disturbances. He allows his feet to relax and dig into the soil as his fur moves with the wind.
And like an elephant he picks up on faint tremors, echoing through the rock like the tiniest of earthquakes. "She's…below us?"
Their heads snap down to their feet before they look back up and share a pair of wicked grins.
Another Ryou Sphere explodes against the cave's wall as the giant Clay Harpy glides on by having dodged the incoming strike.
"Why won't you hold still?!" Ochaco is seething, holding her ground.
This cave is impossible to maneuver on her own especially with how dark it is and the fact she's got to project the container. And this screaming bird lady is making it even worse because even with its size it's still able to glide around swiftly.
"Just stay down already!"
"SKREEEE!" The Clay Harpy kicks off the wall, glides through the stalagmites, and holds its talons out in front as it swoops down at her.
*BOOM!*
The ceiling shakes and cracks before breaking away, the ceiling collapses onto the Harpy as sunlight rushes in.
"Finally!" Ochaco smiles up at the new skylight. "Thanks guys! How'd you find me?!"
Shocksquatch smiles down at her before he and Bakugou jump down to join her. "I had a feeling. A Spark if you will." He chuckles at his little joke.
But Ochaco just stares at him in confusion before looking to Bakugou for an answer.
Bakugou shakes his head in annoyance before begrudgingly answering her. "He can sense movement. So, he's workshopping a name."
"Ah, got ya."
"MORAWWWWR!/GRAAAA!" The Minotaur and Cyclops are back, having reformed and are now peering down into the cave.
Shocksquatch backs away and grabs the cart. "Time to hit the road, Eh?"
"Yeah." Ochaco nods before they all take off running.
"GRAAAA!" The Cyclops and Minotaur crash down into the cave just as the Clay Harpy drags itself out from the rubble.
Bakugou leads the way, creating small Explosions in his hands to light the way. "Which way is out?!"
"I don't know!" Ochaco panics. "I can't tell!"
"Hm…" As they Shocksquatch tries whatever he can to sense the way. He sniffs the air, calls up on his new sensory thing again and allows for his instincts to lead him; in doing so the horn on his head sparks, making his head snap to the right. "It's this way!" He takes off into the dark and straight into another tunnel.
They others quickly follow, catching up to him as he reaches another fork. Once there he doesn't hesitate to go left, then right, and so on, all ways moving in the same cardinal direction.
"How do you know which way you're going?!" Ochaco calls as she and Bakugou try to keep up.
"Don't you feel it? There's a breeze coming from this direction!" He takes a big whiff of fresh air. "I can smell it!"
"You can?!" Ochaco gags.
"He is a Wildman." Bakugou explains. "Guess it makes sense."
The yeti makes another random turn while still heading in the same general direction. "It's coming from the north!"
Okay it was ridiculous before but now it's really becoming contrived. "You can tell which direction we're going?!" Ochaco can't believe it, this place is a maze, and they have no window to the sun.
"My horn. I think…it works like a compass."
"Huh. Neat."
They continue their sprint through the caves, following the ape-man's lead until they reach a part of the cave where they no longer need their own light.
"There it is!" Ochaco cheers, spotting the exit.
As they stop and smile, the tunnel behind them is smashed apart as the trio of monsters crash their way onto the scene.
"And there they are!" Shocksquatch yells with the container tucked under his arm he takes off for the exit.
Ochaco runs after him. "Run for it!"
Bakugou sprints after them and quickly catches up as the monster pursues them.
They make a beeline for the exit, but the cave entrance begins to close from above, slowly crawling its way down like some cliche action movie.
"The walls are closing!"
"Keep going!"
They sprint for it, giving it all they got as the cave slowly seals itself.
Worried for the cargo Shocksquatch chucks it forward and through the exit. Not wanting it to be left unguarded, Bakugou rockets himself forward with a single Explosion.
The door's halfway down, seeing this Ochaco signals Shocksquatch to give her a boost.
As she makes herself weightless, he grabs her, spins and throws her as hard as she can making her fly through the air like a highspeed dart.
And then it's his turn. The door's nearly closed, if he slips up, he'll be trapped! "Yaaaaahh!" With a roar he throws himself forward, dives across the ground and just barely slides right under the door, the bottom skidding against his horn, before it slams down.
Ochaco's relieved that he made it. "Phew, that was a close one."
"Yeah." Shocksquatch brushes himself off, noting that some of his fur got caught under the door. "It was a real close shave."
"At least we lost them."
The cave door immediately shoots back open allowing the Clay monsters to come marching out.
"Pixie-Bob!" Ochaco screams into the air. "Can't you give us one minute to catch our breath?!"
Shocksquatch grabs the cart and runs off into the rocky maze again with Ochaco close behind.
But Bakugou has the opposite idea. "Where are you cowards going?! "I'll show these-HEY!" He gets yanked off his feet by his collar and dragged away to a set of giant grey fingers.
"No time! Look!" Shocksquatch turns Bakugou around and makes him look up, letting him note how far down the sun's already gotten. In another hour or so it's gonna reach sundown.
Seeing this, Bakugou shoves the yeti's hand away and makes a point that he can run on his own. "Which way's the exit?!"
The shiny Bigfoot shrugs. "How should I know?!"
"You were just pointing the way!"
"The way out from the cave! I don't magically have all the answers ya know!" He flicks his horn. "I can only tell where north is, that's all!"
"RAH! We'll never get out at this rate!"
Ochaco looks around for an exit but instead spots something else hanging far above the labyrinth. "Oh, yes we will! Remember when we got here? To camp? When Pixie-Bob controlled all those monsters?!"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"She did it from a vantage point meaning she's doing the same thing now!"
Shocksquatch is beginning to see her logic. "And if she is, there can only be one place she can be!"
They all stop and stare up at the arched peak and sure enough they can spot the tiniest bit of movement of someone flailing their hands about on top.
Bakugou smirks, knowing exactly where this is going. "Think you can lead us there, Fuzzball?"
Shocksquatch pounds his electrified fist into his palm. "Oh, yeah! Also don't call me Fuzzball."
And so with their target set they brave the maze once again. This time they're ready with Shocksquatch pulling double duty on leading the way and carrying the weightless wagon. They jump, dive, and sprint through the ever-changing maze. Pixie-Bob throws traps and obstacles in their way from rockslides, closing walls, pitfalls, and more but they avoid every one or in Bakugou's case blast through every one, literally.
As they jump, float, and blast their way closer and closer to the towering arch the labyrinth's traps and obstacles become more and more complex and erratic. From gushing geysers of sand, flying boulders, and swirling mud pits.
Using One For All, Ochaco zips through the sand geysers with relative ease even as more of them erupt from under her. "She really doesn't want us to get any closer, does she?!"
The leaping Shocksquatch used the metal container to block the erupting sand. "I think she's onto us!"
"Good!" Bakugou grins as he rockets his way past. "Then she knows to be scared!"
They make it across the sand geysers and come to a stop before a large open corridor lined with massive columns. And at t's end sits the base of the arched peak.
Ochaco backs away nervously wondering if it's better to jump back into the sand geysers. "I think it's us who should be scared!"
She points and from behind the giant columns arise their monstrous foes but this time their numbers have quadrupled. They stomp and claw at the floor and pillars, each one wanting to be the first to sink their fangs into their savory human, and non-human, flesh.
Ochaco stares into the waiting horde with a look of annoyance. "When we're done with this Exam, am I so emailing Principal Nezu about Mr. Aizawa's methods."
Bakugou shakes his head in exhaustion, rubbing his eyes before addressing his teammates. "I for one have had too much shit to deal with today," A devilish grin stretches across his deranged face as sparks fly from his palms. "Guys let's Fuck these Fuckers up!"
Ochaco and Shocksquatch can't stop the menacing grins from stretching across their faces.
Knowing they have his back, Bakugou leaps into action. Blasting himself at the incoming horde like a missile!
His Explosion rips through the first wave of clay monsters, destroying them in seconds as a huge dust cloud rises into the air and blocks the horde's view.
But then Ochaco rushes out from the smoke and runs straight into the horde, pressing her hands against as many of the monsters as she can.
With a number of them weightless and floating in the air, Shocksquatch takes over grabbing a weightless Minotaur by its horn and the Cyclops by its leg before smashing them into their own comrades like they were his personal clubs. All the while he screeches and howls like a battle raging gorilla.
"Yeah!" Bakugou cheers after blasting a Clay Harpy in the face. "Go Shocksquatch!"
The ape alien lets out a shocked gasp. "He said my name? He said my name! Woo!"
While he cheers, a Clay Minotaur charges at him from behind.
His Electrical Alarm or whatever goes off, warning him of the movement behind him, he jumps right over the charging bull without even looking. As the Minotaur runs past, he latches onto its horns and pulls, redirecting the beast and forcing it to charge headfirst into a Cyclops.
Meanwhile, Ochaco zips by from above, while weightless and powered by one For All she kicks herself off the pillars allowing her to zip across the battlefield as a patrol of Clay Harpies chase her down.
"Sorry ladies!" Her fists glow, preparing a set of Ryou Spheres. "But no one can fly higher than me!"
She lets the Ryou Spheres loose, blasting the Harpies right out of the sky and causing their parts to come raining down on the arena below.
As the chunks rain down, Bakugou rockets through the air like a crazy missile, blasting his way through three Cyclops' guts; leaving gaping holes in their middles before they collapse in on themselves. "Hahahahahaha! Deku! Uraraka! The arch!"
They immediately turn their attention to the arch and make a beeline for it and begin their climb up. With Ochaco floating her way up while Bakugou rockets up ahead and Shocksquatch takes the rear, scaling the wall while the floating wagon is pulled along behind him like a balloon.
The remaining monsters all scramble after them but are unable to climb or get blasted out of the air by Ryou Spheres.
Seeing it's useless they all crumble away in piles of rubble. But then the earth itself rumbles and stirs like boiling water around the base of the half-moon arch.
Sensing the ground move underneath his feet and hands, Shocksquatch spots the rumbling patches of earth. "Heads-up!"
Upon his warning, massive Hydra heads sprout out from the ground, their endlessly long necks allowing them to snake their way up around the arch like monstrous serpents. "REEEEE!"
Shocksquatch climbs a bit faster upon seeing them. "Or I guess three heads up, Eh?!"
"REEEEE!" One of the Hydra-heads aims for the alien and tries to make him a midday snake.
Sensing the strike coming, Shocksquatch is able to jump and dodge the incoming strike: the Hydra-head's jaws digging into the arch instead.
The yeti lands on the monster's head just as it un-prys its jaws.
"REEEEE!" It shakes its head wildly, swinging it all around in all directions while Shocksquatch holds on for dear life.
The others are in no better situation as the other heads went straight for them as well. Ochaco tries to fend off the incoming jaws with Ryou Spheres but was instead forced to kick her leg so hard that she generates a strong enough whirlwind to boost herself higher into the air.
All the while Bakugou is ricocheting through the sky with his Explosion as the last Hydra-head slithers through the air after him.
While rocketing himself around he circles the arch only to find Shocksquatch and another Hydra-head in his way. "Die you bastard!"
His palm slams into the monster's head before a fiery eruption completely decimates it. Smoke and soot fly everywhere as Shocksquatch is blasts right into the air. "Aaaah!"
"Got ya!" Ochaco swoops in and grabs him, making them both float in the process.
As the two hover in place, Bakugou swiftly rockets his way over, grabs Ochaco by the scruff of her shirt and rockets them all away into the air. "And I got you both!
"But who's got them?" Shocksquatch points down as the Hydra-heads regroup and launch themselves after them.
They snake and spiral around each other, using each other to gain momentum as they climb straight up. At the rate they're going they're gonna be having the trio for dinner.
Not unless Shocksquatch can stop them. "Let me go."
"What?!" Ochaco gaps, holding onto the yeti even tighter. "No! I'm not dropping you!"
"You have to! Trust me."
"What are you gonna do?!"
"Buy you time!"
She hesitates but she can't see another way out of this. But if Deku can then she has no reason to doubt him. And so, she Releases him allowing him to plummet as she and Bakugou speed upward.
Jolts of static electricity dances off his fur as he spins around to face the incoming Hydra-heads. "All right you big palookas. Get ready to face the thunder!" His electricity surges inward, causing a storm of power to circulate throughout his entire being before being released all at once from within his maw. "THUNDERBOLT DEVASTATION!"
An eruption of pure thunder and lightning is unleashed upon the mountain, with bolts of lightning rising into the sky like a pillar of thunder sign light. The Hydras' don't stand a chance as they're completely overtaken by the surge as they're ripped apart molecule by molecule. Until only the echoes of their horrific roars remain.
The lightning cracks and shakes the mountain, shocking Pixie-Bob who falls back and watches as the tower of lighting shoots past her perch causing her to freak out. "Wh-What the h-heck? Just what are they feeding these kids! They're-" Before the pillar of the thunder, two devils immerge: one of pink and one of orange. "-MONSTERS!"
And then a brilliant Explosion of orange fire and pink energy detonates across the top of the arched peak causing the entire structure to crumble under the sheer power of all the attacks combined.
The arch falls away, it comes crashing down to the ground as it does the maze falls away as well. Crumbling to nothing and eventually lying still as the mountain side reshapes itself back to a regular form. Almost as if a giant labyrinth of crevices, canyons, and caves had never even existed there in the first place.
All that remains of the once great labyrinth is a giant scorch mark in the earth left behind by Shocksquatch's thunderous blast.
Speaking of whom, the very same alien lies in the middle of the scorch mark, exhausted but satisfied. "And that's all she wrote…" The Omnitrix times out, leaving a moaning Izuku to finish his statement. "Eh."
"Great, we lost the fun fuzzball for this fuzzball." Bakugou bemoans as he lands nearby, standing over Izuku like he was looking down at a pile of shit.
Izuku shoots up in surprise. "Bakugou! What happened to Pixie-Bob?"
"I'm right here."
He spins around to find her and Ochaco standing behind him. She appears to be all right even after that explosion. "Oh, boy. You kittens sure were something. I totally underestimated you."
"Pixie-Bob?! You're okay!"
"Duh." Ochaco huffs. "We were aiming for the pillar, not her."
"Speak for yourself.!" Bakugou snaps.
Ochaco rolls her eyes. But she's still glad that she ordered him to blast the arch itself rather than the pro hero. "Well, I thought that if we brought her down to Earth then she couldn't control the maze that well anymore."
"And you were right." Pixie-Bob confirms with a wave of her hand towards the evenly sloped mountain. "Even though you didn't escape it you did technically clear the maze. So, that's a pass in my book."
Ochaco suddenly gets very excited. "Does that mean?!"
"Yup. You guys passed the Trial of Cooperation!"
"Yeaaahhh! We did it!" Ochaco cries in a fit of joy as Izuku celebrates along with her. "Wooo!"
They're so happy pixie-Bob feels kinda bad for ruining it. "I wouldn't celebrate yet. You still need to reach the top of the mountain and you're almost out of time."
They pause, and have a look, the sun is just about to touch the horizon.
Izuku screams. "We better go!"
Ochaco turns to Izuku in a panic. "Quick! Deku! Where's the container?!"
"It's right over-" He gasps, holding his hands over his mouth in shock.
Bakugou and Ochaco join him, their eyes like saucers as they stare down at the wagon.
Bakugou clenches his teeth and actually tries not to sock the nerd in the face. "Deku."
"I-I'm sorry…"
"Hey, it's okay." Ochaco assures while forcing a fake smile. "Maybe he won't notice."
A soft amber hue showers over the mountain top, casting a warm comfortable light as the cold mountain air gently passes through while humming a soft whistle. The evening birds have already settled for the night, having finished their songs, and the crickets and owls prepare their instruments for their nightly orchestral.
And then there's Shota Aizawa, standing atop the peak like a patient conductor who's mentally preparing himself for said nightly performance. But he is no conductor of a mighty orchestra, but a master awaiting his apprentices' humble arrival.
Said students march up to the peak with pride and trepidation, standing in a row and awaiting for his command.
But it does not come, not right away, as he loses himself to the beauty of the valley and the warmth of the setting sun. "You made it. I was starting to think you had gotten lost or worse you all turned on each other." He turns to face them and quickly draws note of their scars, burns, and bruises. And yet they stand firm and tall, like those that have earned their place in the world and have completed an impossible task. And Aizawa can respect that. "But I'm glad to see that I was wrong."
The trio's postures soften, relief washed over them like a relaxing shower and warm meal.
Well until Aizawa decides to pull the rug from under them. "Well barley that is."
The teens instantly jolt up, even going as far to start sweating buckets a while Izuku tries to play dumb. "Wh-why's that, s-sir?"
"Because…" He gives them an incriminating glare. "you practically failed to protect your cargo!"
He points over to said wagon that they were purposely trying to block from view by standing in a row. But he can see it even in this dimming light. The wagon is in shambles! Granted it's not falling apart, and it is technically in one piece, but it is far from undamaged. It's charred and dented, it's barely even standing with its twisted and crooked wheels. And did they use Stinkfly's goop to try and hold it together?!
"What the heck were you doing with it?! Using it as a battering ram?!"
They shrink back, assuming it'd be best not to admit anything.
Aizawa sighs, dragging a hand down his face in exasperation. "It's fine. It's still technically in one piece so it counts. As far as I'm concerned you all passed. Albeit barely."
The teens hesitate to cheer, thinking he'll try to pull a last-minute twist on them.
But then the Wild Wild Pussy cats emerge from behind Aizawa, climbing up the last few steps and onto the peak.
Tiger greets them first. "Good job, brats. You really showed us what for."
Ragdoll let's out a crazed giggle. "Tehehehe! And gave us a show!"
"Yes." Mandalay nods in approval. "You were all amazing."
"Amazing indeed." Pixie-Bob leers, licking her lips and sending a creepy shiver down Izuku and Bakugou's spines.
The four trot past the teens, gathering up the wagon from them.
"We'll take it from here." Tiger explains as he hauls it away with Ragdoll juvenile sitting atop. "We'll be seeing ya real soon."
Confused, the teens watch as the four lead the wagon away down the opposite side of the mountain. They soon disappear into the mountain forest lining the mountain's side.
And it becomes very awkward soon after as they're not sure if they should follow or stay here and await Mr. Aizawa to berate them some more.
Thankfully he's feeling merciful tonight. "You gave it your all out there. You survived every challenge we threw at you. You adapted and were able to turn the tables on your opponents. You kept each other honest and open. And finally, you were able to prove that you can work together efficiently as one unit… Good job."
The teens hold their heads high but they're still a little to hesitant to celebrate.
Ochaco slides in needing to hear this for herself. "So, we don't have to take the remedial lessons?"
Aizawa almost looks disappointed when he answers. "No."
"Woooooo! We did it!" The tension washes away as the Ochaco lets loose cheering so loud Aizawa has to cover his ears.
"Calm down. You're hurting my ears."
With a grin plastered to his face, Izuku approaches their homeroom teacher with a curious question. "Um, Mr. Aizawa, what was inside that container anyway?"
He considers telling him but then he has himself a better idea. "Follow me."
They all share a look of skepticism before they decide to follow him down. They don't go far, the mountain forest is only a minute hike down, but it is thick and so dark that for a second they're worried that Aizawa led them into another maze as some sort of twisted bonus trial. But it's not because after a few minutes of walking they soon leave the trees and enter a massive clearing.
Where their senses are immediately assaulted by the smell of cooking meat, the sounds of their classmates' chattering and laughing, and find themselves in an overall fun time atmosphere.
Tiger stands at a grill, flipping patties and sausages. While their classmates wait in line for the best choices. But that grill is huge and oddly shaped and then that's when they realize that it's not just a grill. It's the wagon! It was able to fold open into a grill, stocked with food and drinks to feed the entire hero course!
"It smells so good! I was starving!"
"I love barbeques! They're so manly!"
"You got that right, Bro!"
"Can someone pass the ketchup?"
"Shinso! You can't put ketchup on a hotdog! It'll be an abomination!"
"It's not for the hotdog, idiot! It's for my burger! Also, Kaminari, I don't think you can go around judging people. I mean who puts a coleslaw on their burger?!"
"Yeah, that's pretty gross."
"Jiro! Stop taking his side!"
"Hmmm! This was so worth the hike!"
"Yeah! Who knew stamina training just meant we'd go for a run? Haha!"
"Yes indeed! It was quite rejuvenating yet invigorating! Dare I say nothing can beat exercising to your heart's content in such a beautiful landscape!"
"Indeed. It's so lovely and serene. I do pray we will be granted more days like today."
As their classmates chat away and stuff their faces, Izuku's, Ochaco's, and Bakugou's jaws drop. They can't believe it.
While taking a bite of her hotdog, Mina Ashido, sensing their presence through Emote, finally notices them. "Oh, hey guys! What took you so long?!"
Izuku shakes his head in denial. "Wait, so our cargo-"
Ochaco gasps with shock. "Was nothing but-"
"A fucking picnic basket?" Bakugou growls, ready to blast the grill out of spite.
Aizawa can't lie, he kinda wishes he had a camera so he can immortalize this moment forever. "What did you think you were transporting?"
Their heads drop, Ochaco even falls to her knees in defeat. After all they went through all that, all those challenges, all those headaches and pains all so they could act as everyone's Grubhub service.
The defeat on their faces is hilarious, and Neito Monoma is not gonna let this moment pass him by. "Hohohoho! Oh, my are Class A's star students that clueless?!" He feigns a concerned gasp. "And look at them! They must have suffered so much just to bring us dinner! Don't worry, I'll leave you all a tip! How's 5% sound? Oh, yes! Looks like Class A has finally realized they're nothing more than glorified delivery boys for-BLEE!"
He falls face first into his food after Kendo chops him over the head. "I'll talk to him later. Sorry."
The trio just stare on, they're too exhausted to do anything and their brains are just done with the day.
Ochaco gently taps Izuku with her elbow. "Hey, Deku."
"Yes?"
She bows her head in understanding. "I get it now."
"G-get what?!" He gets all flustered, feigning cluelessness, while looking around worriedly, hoping no one will find out about his misdeeds.
Aizawa smiles on, laughing internally at their expression. Honestly, sometimes he's not sure if he should punish his students for their actions or if he should go full Dad and comfort them. Then again humbling them every now and again is just oh so satisfying. But no matter what he'll make sure these students grow to be their best selves. And until then he'll be sure to watch over them and make sure that they get there. After all, he is their homeroom teacher.
Toga grunts in annoyance while trying to adjust a mask over her mouth. It's a black mask with silver pipes lining its front, effectively hiding her usual fanged grin from view. the because of her "I do not like this. It's so not cute!"
But it is practical. She's weaning her usual schoolgirl outfit but with some new gadgets lining her body. Boxes of knives are strapped around her thighs, and a blue utility belt is wrapped around her waist with more little green boxes attached to it on either side. The most noticeable new feature is the loose black mask she wears around her neck, which is decorated with pieces of pale metal in the shape of a carnivorous grin. Three large silver canisters are attached to the sides of her mask, with needles poking out of their tips and wires on their bases, which connect them to the two larger cylinders strapped to the back of her belt.
"They were engineered for the black market, from what I hear." Comments some kid who is just a little shorter than Toga. Not much stands out about him but the standard gakuran school uniform but most notably is the green gas mask covering his face while a green air tank is strapped to his back. "You should be worried that they work, not that they look pretty."
Toga hates that answer, and so she flails her arms up and down as if she were an angry little bird. "Ugh! I'm just saying they could be a little more stylish. Is that too much to ask?!"
"You're worried about being flashy?" Charmcaster questions while playing with a few clay marbles engraved with purple runes. "Are you stupid or insane? Because like doesn't your Quirk rely on you being, I don't know, not flashy?"
"You don't need to be so mean about it!" Toga huffs. "Also, I'm not asking for much! Just a little more color or a redesign!"
"Dluoc eb oserw." SevenSeven comments while setting a strange high-tech device on the ground. "Uyo dluoc eb ekli em dan eb thernao noersiv fo a ccaarrthe eoppel evlo remo."
The others stare at him like he just spoke gibberish, because he did speak gibberish.
Dabi for one is completely done with it. "If you survive this you need to start carrying around a pen and paper or something."
"Hwo od i kolo kiel, Miok-nsa?!"
"Well now, aren't you all precious? Getting along, are we?"
Everyone stops what they're doing to greet the new arrivals.
The first one up is a person with quite a wide, muscular build, their hair smooth, shoulder-length, and reddish magenta color, and their rather square jaw is covered thinly with facial hair. Their lips are notably big, and they're wearing triangular, white-framed sunglasses. Along with these, they're also wearing a dark orange shirt, left unbuttoned to reveal a white V-neck, blue jeans, and plain dark brown espadrilles.
"Hi, darlings! Sorry to keep you waiting." They greet while carrying something large and narrow on their shoulders. The time is wrapped in cloth, disguising it.
And they're followed by someone that looks that should be locked up in Arkham Asylum. "Get to work. Get to work."
They can't see his face, as he's covered head to toe in black straitjacket-like restraints decorated with red spikes. All they can see are his exposed mouth and teeth as clamps from his suit keep his lips open causing him to drool.
And behind him walks in a walking reptile with bright green scales for skin and a face shaped like that of a lizard. His hair is relatively long and swept backward and is a desaturated pink-purple. And he's definitely not hiding who inspired him to be here since he's wearing his own version of Stain's own outfit. The only addition are the pair of goggles on his forehead.
Dabi scans the clifftop, taking a mental headcount. "That makes nine of us."
Their ninth member flexes his finger, his bones and muscles snapping under the tension. "I don't care. Just let me loose. I'm too pumped up to stand by." He's wearing a thick black cloak while a plain looking mask covers his entire face.
"Shut your mouth, you crazy bastard." Dabi scolds without any concern about the cloaked giant turning on him. "We wait. We're still expecting four more people to join our little party."
"And then some!" Toga cheers not at all picking up on Dabi's vibes.
But the stitched-up vandal ignores her and instead decides that the others need to hear his ultimatum. "The League of Villains made a mistake going after them with a bunch of random thugs at the U.S.J. Better to use a small group of elites." He peers out over the dark valley, over to the only source of light in the first: the Wild Wild Pussy Cats' lodge. Where their teachers sit and plan the next day while their precious students sleep soundly in their futons. "The first thing we have to do is take away their sense of peace and show them that their lives rest in our hands."
Finally, Trails and Tribulations is finally done! Man, I really wanted this to be a full chapter, not 2 parts, but it is what it is. Which means that next chapter we'll finally get the real start of this ARC!
Too bad that will have to wait.
*SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* So, yeah, sorry. But Ch.70 is gonna be…late. By how much? I don't know. Why's it going to be late? Well, you can blame your fellow readers for that one. I wasn't planning to do this but after many reviews and PMs people want another Halloween Special OVA for this year too. And I wasn't gonna do it…But then I had this awesome idea, and I cannot get it out of my head and I need to get it on paper ASAP! So, yeah, I want to have this OVA ready for Halloween which means I need to finish it first and have it ready so I can actually post on Halloween; October 31, 2022.
Once the OVA is fully written I will jump right back into our bi-weekly scheduled program. Until then I will try to make some Omakes and keep you all updated. Until then I really hope you'll check out the OVA on Halloween and tell me if it was worth the wait. I think it will be. And to give you some encouragement to check it out I will say that an Anur alien will make an appearance. Warning it will be rated M for gore and violence! Also it might end up being canon tot eh story, not sure yet, depends on whether I can figure out how to fit it into the story's timeline.
*What did you guys think of Shocksquatch's new Bigfoot Sense…Danger Sense…Shock Warning? Eh, I'm still workshopping the name. Which is why I bring it up. What name for this new power did you guys like best? I personally liked Static Sense the best, but do you guys have any suggestions or favorites?
*Also, what did you think of Shocksquatch's compass ability? I know it's odd, but I thought that this combined with sensing movement would be a fun explanation as to why Bigfoot always manages to avoid humans. Like every Bigfoot sighting was just a Shocksquatch wandering around, and they were able to avoid us because they could sense us coming and they never got lost themselves because they always knew which way to go. Also, this helps to give Shocksquatch a different use and ability when compared to the rest of the electrical aliens in Ben's/Deku's arsenal.
*Finally, if you're wondering about the Sensory Overload comment, where Izuku apparently cross-dressed. That was inspired by a comic made by "il-li-an" on Tumbler, called "Sensory Overload." There are also several comic dubs of it on you tube. It's a little MHA fan comic where the girls of Class A get revenge on the boys for the Sports Festival. But fair warning it has a little Deku/Bakugou ship near the end but otherwise it is harmless fun. Besides for my story the events of this comic were cannon adjacent meaning most of it played out the same way but not all. Instead, we'll say Deku managed to escape on his own by transforming.
Responses for "Guest" reviewers from Ch.68:
Atom king: This chapter is an amazing start for our three ua students make up test with Izuku and Bakugou having to team up along with Ochaco to deliver a wagon of supplies to witch mountain that I now just realized are reference to the race to witch mountain movies cool, though the big shock of this chapter is Izuku unlocking Shocksquatch that is great I can't wait for the other UA students see him especially Denki I wonder he would feel now that izuku has Three aliens that are electric base feedback, Buzzshock and now Shocksquatch I bet he'll feel bit redundant, still I wonder if we'll see Izuku unlocking more alien in the upcoming chapters.
though something tells that the valley of Peace is anything but peaceful.
Guardian-Sigil: Well I hope this chapter was an amazing end. Also I'll show Shocksquatch's intro to his classmates as an Omake later on.
Jakesurfboy: This is an awesome chapter, I really liked the idea of Izuku, Bakugo and Ochako having to do a deliver mission for their make up exam. Having them go up against Tiger was great and was enjoyable especially since everyone expected Rath and Tiger to fight at some point. Also I'm glad Shocksquatch is the next alien unlocked especially since it's a jungle and he's a ape it just makes sense and he's actually a cool alien just a bit underrated. I liked the kind of 4th wall break when Izuku mentions that the electric power is kind of repetitive with Feedback and Buzzshock being electric aliens as well, and technically if you were to add Shock Rock as well that's 4 electric aliens which is repetitive ( also I know you aren't putting Shock Rock in I remember you announcing that I'm just saying hypothetically). Looking forward to part 2 and seeing what else the three of them have to face next.
Guardian-Sigil: Since you enjoyed Tiger so much I hope the rest of the WWPCs' trials were just as enjoyable. AlsoI hope you like SHocksquatch's new abilities. Need some way to not make him that redundant. Also it's gonna be repetitive with Brainstorm, AmpFibian, and Frankenstrike. So no need to add Shock Rock or whatever
DeadCool14: Oh hell yeah, Shocksquatch! Tho it sucks that I didn't share my idea for him before this. I think that he should play more the Canadian thing, like he's very nice and he wouldn't immediately start a fight he tries to talk down his opponents first and fights if it doesn't work, like Xander from Power Rangers Mystic Force
Is there gonna be a new member for Class 1-B?
Yeah true, Gutrot can literally win almost anything by using knockout gas, tho I imagine he's more useful against crowds
I hope more Anur aliens show up soon, it is the season of spooks after all
Speaking of which, what do you think of the Halloween aliens Tom Perkins made?
What happened to the S.A.G.E gun?
Are you gonna make Omakes of Big Chill's babies?
Speaking of which I know you said you wouldn't do ships, but honestly I think it would be great if you did something with Jirou and Kaminari or Tetsutetsu and Kendo, like with Gwen and Kevin in the actual episode, mainly because I want to see Momo and Deku being moms and eating pickles together lol. You could literally do it like in the show, like even though Gwen and Kevin are dating, they never say it, she referred to him as her boyfriend once in the whole franchise, they never go on dates and when they kiss it barely lasts a second before they cut to Ben making a joke XD XD XD
What do you think of Atomix's design? I like it but it could be better, especially the head, that's my main gripe with the design. I personally think that the perfect design for Atomix is a fusion of his canon design and the 5YL design, along with the head from fluttershynegre's design, they're on instagram, and theres this drawing of Atomix that has a really great head design
Would there be a running gag of when Deku comes up with actually good names Tsu won't believe he was the one who came up with them? Like:
"Hey is that plug transformation, what was it's name again?"
"Oh, it's Feedback!"
"Hmm. That's actually a really good name"
"R-really?! *happy*"
"Yeah, who came up with it?"
"Why, yours truly of course"
"…Yeah right"
"EEEEEEEHHH?!"
Oh alright, it's a simple mistake don't worry, but I think you could still do both. I have a theory that Zs'Skayr has a birth defect which causes him to not be able to create a second skin like the rest of his species and when he was trapped in the Omnitrix he was turned into the average version of an Ectonurite complete with the second skin, but when he escaped the Omnitrix his body rejected it when he turned back into his real form, you could do something similar; since this Ghostfreak it's Zs'Skayr he is very powerful and the skin is really just for decoration, and when Deku gets Ghostfreak after Zs'Skayr he has sun immunity but is less powerful, not enough to be a pushover to not enough that they need Shinso to stop him.
Guardian-Sigil: I get the nice thing but then again not sure how actual Canadians would take that. I think I'm already pushing it, Eh? (See what I did there?)
No. Class B is not getting a new member.
I have something in mind for the Anur aliens. But it's not for a long while. Sorry. They're some of my favorites too but we can't always get what we want immediately
Also haven't seen Tom Perkin's Halloween aliens yet.
The S.A.G.E. Gun is back with Hisashi. Because bringing a blaster to a camp with hyperactive teens isn't exactly a good idea.
I'll give the Big Chill babies a full chapter…maybe
I get it! You want ships, please stop bringing this up just respect my decision if I want to do ships then I will let you all know
Although Atomic's design is weird…I like it. He reminds me of Buzzlighter (design wise) so I feel a little nostalgic when I look at him.
Also I got it all figured out for Zs'Skayer already.
DeadCool14 (again): I love the Rath vs Tiger fight and the character development, it's great seeing those two as friends.
And now since Shocksquatch has appeared I can share this.
These are suggestions on how to change the powers of certain aliens to make them more diverse:
AmpFibian: "Can alter brainwaves and "turn on/off" the electricity in one's brain and make them disoriented, possibly even able to affect their memory as well. Basically giving them electro shock therapy. This could be a fun spin on the whole "jellyfish being brainless" thing"
Shocksquatch: "When grounded, can create electrical force fields and massive thunder claps. I toyed with the idea he'd be able to shoot electricity that freezes you, but I think it's been done before. I'd still like for his to be "colder" compared to others." I suggested that it could be something like this: .gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/13sep_electricice the inside of his body could be really cold and that's when he generates electricity and he's able to make it turn into ice when he rubs his hands together, if he chooses to.
Frankenstrike: "I think it'd be neat for him to not be able to feel pain. I think it'd also be neat for him to be able to reassemble himself via electromagnetism."
Eatle: "For my take, the Oryctini are very abrasive and have a need to feed, what they eat turns into thermal energy able to tear through anything like tissue paper and makes them twice as strong. When conserving this energy, it allows them a special charge attack they use against each other in combat. The force is enough to create an explosion, sending both opponents flying. They are not a smart species."
Arctiguana: "I think he'd definitely be able to make a continuous ice bridge akin to Marvel's Iceman, as well as hurl icicles or maybe hock out giant snowballs?"
Spitter: This is my idea, his spit works like an oil slick, whatever or whoever it comes in contact with becomes frictionless and making them very slippery and being unable to get a grasp on or be grasped on, the only way to get rid of it is by either water or letting it dry on it's own, Spitter take a deep breath and blow to make it dry faster. This one is on his voice; he would speak like he's always salivating and so he's always sucking up spit, like how kids with braces do in cartoons.
Fasttrack: The way his fur grows on his arms and legs helps keep his balance while running. If his fur is damaged, it can impact his aerodynamics and balance. This is from 5 Year Later, I really like this one, specially how they make reference to cats balancing themselves using their whiskers.
Aside from the Spitter one, none of these don't belong to me, they all belong to Insane-Mane he makes some damn good Ben 10 art, he's on deviantart if you wanna check him out and also on Tumblr if you wanna ask him for permission to use his ideas.
Guardian-Sigil: If you liked Rath vs. Tiger how did you like the other fights?
Also some of these powers were already included with the aliens. And I rather come up with new ones myself. Like I did with Shocksquatch in this chapter. It's nothing personal, it's just I pride myself on my creativity. Also I'm already gonna change some of these guy's powers at least functionally like Fasttrack's
DeadCool14 (again again): Also no, the Pyros-Pisscis War was a thing since the classic series, and it could work with your story, after the war Kraab was offered a new cybernetic body by the Weaponmasters of Techadon. I honestly though that it was part of the story since Heatblast was the one who defeated him.
Guardian-Sigil: I literally never heard of this. When was this ever mentioned?
Guest: Hey Dude, I think I saw an idea from something that can help retcon this "Accident" you made with Ghostfreak and keep things consistent, like what if when Ghostfreak possessed Denki and used his Electricity Quirk on the others, what if the weakness of Denki's Quirk had a side effect on Ghostfreak's skin and damaged it's protective layer, since it was shown that Denki was fine even after using his Quirk that would normally fry his brain, what do you think, will this help amend what you did with Ghostfreak, because I think if done right, it can explain why Ghostfreak was vulnerable to the sunlight, and teach Izuku to be more careful of who he possesses, because their weaknesses can have a side effect on Ghostfreak if he's not careful
Guardian-Sigil: Yeeeeaaahhh…I'm not gonna retcon it. Sorry but I actually like the change. Also to be fair I did warn you all in Ch.1 that I would change some aliens' powers and weaknesses. Besides, he already has to be conscious. He can already get zapped when he possess Kaminari and now he knows if he uses Ghostfreak during the day that he needs to play it smart.
DragonicDoom: Awesome chapter, love that you're trying to actually give Izuku and Bakugou moments to bond and its great to see that Izuku has enough of a backbone that he doesn't cower from Bakugou all the time.
To address the oopsie from last chapter, yeah its a mistake but whatever they happen. Plus you could just say that in this continuity Ghostfreak's 2nd skin only slows down the effect of sunlight, and it won't fully protect him until he's an adult. Still works well enough since without the skin, Zs'skayr burned up in seconds while Ghostfreak took a while to really start feeling the effects in the last chapter.
I'm also really looking forward to seeing how you address Zs'skayr escaping the Omnitrix and how it works. I always headcanoned that the original Zs'skayr was killed at some point and Azmuth used his DNA because Zs'skayr was the peak specimen of an Ectonurite, unaware of their insane regeneration. Then each time Ben transformed into Ghostfreak, it gave the Ectonurite time to regenerate and "wake up" little by little before finally escaping. But whatever, you can really bs anything you want.
Guardian-Sigil: If you liked that, how'd you like their interactions in Part 2?
And yeah we can just say that the second skin helps for a limited time or something. Honestly it doesn;t really bother me. I mean it doesn't even make sense since he's from a planet where it's night time 24/7. It's like me wearing a second skin that allows me to walk though lave. It's not a thing.
And I have a backstory for Zs'Skayr in mind
Dreadbot: I like this chapter I liked how izawa said that if they failed they would be joining the remedial class I liked how they were fighting tiger and am happy you included shock squash he is a very cool alien in my opinion can't wait to see where you go next please keep writing
Guardian-Sigil: I hope the wait was worth it!
ToastFreak: r/Ben10/comments/qgt2jz/fun_fact_with_xlr8_meme_template_by_ulb1234567890/
So according to this reddit post, The protoype name for the Omnitrix was the megadeoxyribonucleic transdimensional transforaminal numerator. It was even mentioned by a Youtuber named Jordan Fringe. I think this can be a hilarious easter egg when Izuku meets Azmuth.
Azmuth: The Omitrix? That's what they're calling it now?
Izuku: Um, Yeah? What did you first call it?
Azmuth: Kid, that thing on your wrist is called a megadeoxyribonucleic transdimensional transforaminal numerator. A level 20 piece of tech.
Izuku:...huh?
Azmuth: Forget it, Omnitrix it is...
Guardian-Sigil: I'll keep it in mind
Guest: I miss Dr Animo, when are we going get Mutant Ray episode or Ditto beach epeisode?
Guardian-Sigil: Honestly I should have had a chapter with him during the Road Trip Arc but I ditched it because I was taking forever with that arc already. Maybe it'll be an OVA one day. But don't worry i have plans to bring Dr. Animo back into the fold real soon
Guest: HAHAHA! Rath vs Tiger Real Catfight! HAHAHA
Guardian-Sigil: I know, Eh?! Hahahaha!
Guest: I actually think maybe you scale back some of the outside media references, the "Eye of a Tiger" bit did not really work for me.
Guardian-Sigil: Sorry but what can I say? That's where I get my fun
Guest: So now that we officially know what Hagakure's face and hair looks like, plus what colour her hair is, what will this mean for this series, will you keep her invisible or will she train her Quirk to the point where she can make herself visible and show everyone what she looks like?
Guardian-Sigil: Not sure yet
Guest: Hope a moment comes when you use this gag
/YJmreMXHhS8
Guardian-Sigil: It'll come, it'll come
BlueRanger-Lyric: Wow, that chapter was both awesome and funny, I loved everything since bit of it, especially seeing Bakugou being a team player, and I especially love the troll interaction he and Rath had and that fist bump was gold, and I like the idea of them beating Tiger in his own game, and "Electricyeti" I see what you did there, very clever, and the way Shocksquatch got his name from Bakugou of all people was just hilarious, I hope more of Izuku's alien names come from his classmates saying a dumb name and thinking he won't take them seriously when he does, but I also would like to see Eri name one of his aliens, and when he tells his classmates about it, they all think it's a dumb name but quickly change their minds when they find out Eri was the one that named it and then they talk about how great the name is, I really hope you do that, and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next buddy
Guardian-Sigil: Oh that's for sure gonna happen again. How do you think Izuku will get the name, Eye Guy? Hint: Bakugou. Also I love that idea too of Eri naming an alien or two.
Guest: Don't worry, I understand you forgot some alien power because it a lot of alien power to remember is easy to be forgetting something like that. Hay even writer in Ben 10 series forgot power like Chromastone electricity immunity, Terraspin magic immunity, and even Humungousar size alteration it not your fault it happens. Beside it so easy to fix it. How, because recalibrated to help/fix/upgrade the omnitrix and them alien problem and error. Plus want to see the similar scene Ghostfreak in daytime like Whampire in Blukic and Driba go to Area 51 episode, but unlike Whampire, Ghostfreak is completely okay to cause confused to everybody (Ghostfreak most of all) ask a question why his doesn't hurt in the sunlight this time. I hope this help you to fix the problem and don't worry I think everybody will stick around and totally enjoying the story it is a very good.
Guardian-Sigil: Thanks for understanding. And yeah, I definitely want a scene like the one you're describing for Whampire. For some reason that scene is just so hilarious to me
