Chapter 8: Carnage

Tatsumaki awoke. She looked to her side.

"Teacher!"

It was Genos.

"Where are we?" Tatsumaki mumbled.

"You just killed some members of the House of Evolution, and then you collapsed. I've been tending to you, but we have to find a way out of here soon."

"Oh," Tatsumaki faintly remembered a tiger, or something. "Right. Why can't we just fly?"

"You're wounded, and so am I."

Tatsumaki looked closer at Genos. He didn't have a shirt on, so his inner core was exposed. That was interesting. She'd never seen it before. He was also standing—no, sitting?—on the base of his torso.

"Jesus fuck! Shit!" Tatsumaki dizzily tried to sit up, but fell back down.

"Relax, Teacher! I need to finish tending to you."

Tatsumaki felt metallic hands on her chest.

"What are you doing, you pervert?"

Genos drew his arms back. He held a strip of black cloth in his hands.

"Apologies. You are still bleeding somewhat heavily, and I need to close the wound."

Tatsumaki became aware of a dull pain somewhere on her body.

"Fine," said Tatsumaki reluctantly. She looked apprehensively at Genos' arms around her body underneath her dress. A black shirt was also wrapped around her legs. And it was pouring. Tatsumaki saw a flash of lightning in the distance. One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thou—BOOM. It was about three miles away.

"Genos, did you see my-my…" she started.

"Your what?"

She glanced back at the shirt on her legs.

"I meant to ask, was that your shirt?"

"Yes."

Tatsumaki nodded.

"Alright, I've finished wrapping up your wounds. I wasn't able to find your phone anywhere near here, and my long-ranged communications have been damaged. Extraction is not an option."

"Good to hear. What do we do?"

"I do not want to burden you, but if you can eventually regain your ability to fly, we can head back to a more populated area of Z-City. Or, you can walk and carry me with your telekinesis."

A helicopter passed overhead. Genos looked surprised

"Wait, is that not Hero Association?"

"No, they don't have the insignia. That must be the House of Evolution. I didn't see anyone else until now, but it seems they've stepped in. I do not know what other monsters they have in store for us up the air either."

"Lift me up."

Genos gently raised Tatsumaki off the floor. She gradually stood up and peeked out of the alleyway. She saw an armed patrol that must've been from the House and quickly retreated. She didn't think they saw her. Out of the other end of the alleyway was a forest.

"Do you see those trees there? I think we should make a run for it. I'll lift you."

Tatsumaki picked up Genos with her telekinesis. She rested him on her back with some psychic energy to support his weight.

"Hey! Stop!"

A voice shouted from behind. Without looking, she felt her ESP launch itself at the armed patrol as she ran to the woods.

"Teacher, there's going to be a focused effort on this forest now. Whatever your plan is, we must be expedient."

"Yeah yeah, I know."

Tatsumaki's delicate slippers were barely a match for the relatively worn trail they were on right now. She could not imagine going off road. Would she risk taking to the air in her current state? She didn't even know how she was still alive right now. She decided to keep running.

The House of Evolution Headquarters.

"What?! You idiots told me she was weak!"

"This was an unexpected—"

"Beast King and Armored Gorilla, two of our strongest creations, wiped off the map in an instant! In an instant!"

Dr. Genus held up his hand, his index finger and thumb pressed together for emphasis.

"I'm telling you guys to fix this shit! She can not escape!"

The building started rumbling.

"Is that her?" Dr. Genus whispered.

The men in the room all looked around nervously. There's no way Tatsumaki knew where they were. Then, something more dreaded blared on the intercom.

"Alert, Carnage Kabuto has escaped containment. Evacuate the facility immediately."

Somewhere outside.

Tatsumaki saw an explosion in the distance, and heard a blood-curdling yell.

"What the hell was that? Intentional?"

"I do not know."

Tatsumaki took some time to rest. She liked to think of herself as athletic, at least when she was in her prime. But in her state, it was a miracle that she was running at all. Her time for thinking ended quickly.

"Teacher, a large object is approaching. Brace yourself."

She prepared to unleash her telekinesis. Vaguely in the distance she could see trees being knocked down and snapped by something strong. It approached quickly. A small brown head on a hulking brown body came into view. Tatsumaki let loose a bubble of swarming psychic energy, but just before the thing could touch the barrier, it stopped. A cloud of dirt sprayed up as it halted its momentum.

"Are you this 'Terrible Tornado' I've heard about?" the thing bellowed. "I am Carnage Kabuto, the greatest creation of the House of Evolution. Prepare to die!"

He irked her. Something powerful flowed out of her and surrounded the bug before it could react. She let it do as it pleased; it constricted. Soon enough, Carnage Kabuto was a puddle of guts.

"I'm sick of this, Genos." A newfound fire burned within her. "I've been sick of being weak for so long. And now I'm strong."

Tatsumaki rose into the air above the forest, Genos still on her back. House of Evolution aircraft and flying monsters surrounded her. Tatsumaki just exhaled and a spherical pulse vaporized them all.

"Genos, do you understand now?"

The cyborg could only dumbly open his mouth.

"I am the I am."

"Is that Terrible Tornado?"

"No, you're seeing things. That obviously has to be Hellish Blizzard."

"Yeah, the HA doesn't want to come out and say that she died. That's why they're keeping it ambiguous."

A crowd in A-City murmured. Then a wandering tourist pulled out his binoculars.

"Wait, guys! That's her! I've got binoculars! It's Terrible Tornado!"

Tatsumaki and Genos were flying high above in the air to the Hero Association Headquarters. After an intermission at Dr. Kuseno's place to fix up the cyborg and a check in with Fubuki, who had decided to 'temporarily' move in with Tatsumaki, the pair went to announce the results of their House of Evolution mission.

"Jesus, Tatsumaki," Sitch aggressively and insincerely hugged her, getting formalities out of the way. "This is terrible for our image! There's going to be hysteria! I'm glad you're up—I couldn't be there when you woke—but you've got to be more… considerate."

"I apologize, Sitch," said Genos.

Tatsumaki looked over at him, and then back to Sitch.

"Fine, sorry. Shoot me. But we took out the House of Evolution."

Sitch was mildly stunned for a moment.

"Ok, well, just‚ I don't know. I'm glad you're alright, Tatsumaki."

"… Thanks."

Tatsu and her sister were cuddled up in bed. It was late. Fubuki doted on her.

"Mmm, you're such a big girl now… I'll try out your 'unleashing technique,' just for you," Fubuki teased. She playfully bit her sister on the arm.

"OW!"

Tatsumaki reversed and went on the offensive, snapping her jaws at any of Fubuki's exposed flesh. She gave up after her sister easily held her back. They lay in silence for a while.

"Remember when we were in school?" Fubuki mused.

"Mhm."

"Middle school was so weird. High school too, until we dropped out. Remember when Noah and his friends bullied you for a bit?"

"I hated that kid."

"Yeah, but then he found out I was your sister, and he switched up so quick! That was hilarious."

Tatsumaki snorted.

"It was also funny when you told Evelyn that you were 100% lesbian to get with her. You came to school with, like, a rainbow badge or whatever."

"Shut up, Tatsu! You're the one who wore knee-length skirts like a good 'Christian' girl until sophomore year! You should've embraced yourself way before. Do you know how many guys stared at you when you finally started wearing leggings? At you and your fat ass."

Fubuki started spanking her sister.

"Nghh, stop!" Tatsumaki groaned. "I'm not gonna let you forget about Halloween, sophomore year! You wore literally the most revealing thing ever. Red super-crop top? Devil horns? Slut! Plus, your ass is definitely fatter than mine."

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

Tatsumaki moved on top of Fubuki and sat on her sister's butt. She started wedgying her sister's panties.

"Oh my god, you're so immature."

Tatsumaki turned Fubuki over and pressed their bodies together. They remained like this while playing with each other's hair.

"Sis, wait." Fubuki pushed Tatsumaki off her chest and rubbed her big sister's flattish pecs. "Did these get bigger?"

There was a slight bump in their definition.

"Uh," Tatsumaki felt them herself. "The fuck? I suppose it makes sense, actually. I bet you don't know why men are worse at telekinesis than women."

"Why?"

"It's got something to do with estrogen. Ah! So my new technique is working! Yes!"

"Slut! My big sis is a fat whore!… Teach me this tomorrow."