Author's note : As always, don't hesitate to leave a review !
On a side note, you are all lucky. On the other place where I post this fic, they didn't have their weekly chapter because I was sick.
Anyways, have your chapter !
As for the Architect, who already did an apparition and appears again.
He is actually from a TTRPG game I animated for my friends. Actually a few OCs are from that game.
Chapter 23: Brawn and Brains
Hatsume, with her exo-skeleton, was ready for the fight. At first, she had thought about trapping a student of the Heroic Course in one of her babies, before she and Izuku had a discussion about it.
————
A bit earlier, before Hanta's fight.
"I am nnot sure it is a good idea, Mei."
"Mmmh? Why that?"
"Well… It doesn't prove their strength or utility. It just proves you make good traps and can convince people to do dumb things."
"Oh… Oh, you might have a point there."
Mei had tried to measure closely, but a growl coming from an invisible girl convinced her otherwise. It would not be easy to get exact measurements for the costume… Until Izuku told Mei his aunt had his measurements. Neat. However, it didn't solve her current dilemma.
"So… How should I advertise them?"
"Win."
Izuku explained the straightforward solution to her, since Compress often said that geniuses always had the same problem: they over complicated things.
"Win?"
"Win. You are a support student and that means you probably don't have combat training. Therefore, if you manage to score a few wins with your gear, you are going to show their power! A student who is effectively quirkless, since, let's be honest, your eyes won't help there, who beat students from the heroic course with solely her gadget? Now you are selling something!"
"If I might add, it also shows your determination, personal ingenuity, and ambitions to your sponsors, no? I mean, outside of Momo."
"… Why? Is she rich?"
"MOMO! CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO MEI WHY YOUR PARENTS MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN A CRAZY GENIUS WHO DO WELL IN THE TOURNAMENT?"
——————
Power Loader, during the meeting, felt something like liquid doom that was crawling up his back, as if someone was giving Mei unlimited resources.
No one was that crazy, right?
——————
Because of that, spider-legged Mei was now standing in front of Itsuka, with various contraptions ready, and she wanted only one thing, victory.
The ginger president of the 1B smiled, since she loved a good fight. Maybe not as much as her uncle or the duo of Katsuki and Yui, but she loved when she could use both brawn and brains. The moment where she could be herself, fully.
So, Itsuka took a battle stance, a Kung-fu one, ready to jump when the signal was given.
"Ready girls? Go!"
Midnight was having the time of her life, watching the fights in this tournament. They were usually meeker than this and having students showcasing themselves was intense.
Mei opened, as Itsuka expected her to, with her flamethrower. She had the intensity checked beforehand, to avoid causing burned skin and death, for obvious reasons. However, you would feel worse than hell if the flame reached you.
"HELLO SPONSORS! HERE IS A FAN FAVORITE: MEI'S BURNER! VARIOUS INTENSITY, DEPENDING IF YOU NEED TO NEUTRALIZE A VILLAIN OR MELT DEBRIS FOR RESCUE!" The dreadlocked girl yelled into a mic that is hooked up to speakers on her back.
Itsuka had to admit the idea was nice, especially if Mei could control the form of the flame, but now wasn't the time to think about that. Instead, Itsuka grabbed one of the tiles of the ring to throw to obscure Mei's vision. However, unlike what one might think, she didn't rush in for a follow-up attack.
Good idea, as the spider legged abomination exploded the tiles, as Mei explained her babies.
"THE SPIDER ARMOR! USEFUL FOR HEROS WHO NEED MORE MOBILITY, AND AS SHOWN EARLIER, USEFUL TO CARRY CIVILIANS TO SAFETY! It even detects threats automatically!"
Mei was having the time of her life, as she grabbed a few round things in her back to throw them at Itsuka, who was still thinking about how to attack her.
Gracefully, Itsuka dodged the slime explosions with a rondo, as Mei ordered the legs to get closer, to attack her with them.
The martial artist had to admit it was fun to think about what Mei could use for their fight. Also, her personality was fun, and Itsuka had trouble understanding why she was feared across the campus.
"NOW! SPIDER KICK!"
Itsuka seemed apparently defenseless from the incoming attack, until she smiled and activated her quirk. People had trouble grasping how strong she was, since she appeared to be built for agility and flexibility.
Her quirk seemed to make her hands big and nothing else. A side-effect most people overlooked was the extra strength it gave her overall, her whole body was coiled muscle fibers! Did they think that growing gigantic hands made them lighter or something? They were the size of her body and somehow, she could still move her arms. She could lift several times her own weight, and she trained with Tetsutetsu for a reason: he was the only one who could lift as much as her.
When the steel crashed against her hand, Itsuka stood her ground, cracking the tiles with her sheer might. It surprised Mei that Itsuka was that strong!
——————
"Remember, dear listeners: More and more quirks have what is called secondary required mutations to work. Not everyone has them, but simply having them might bump your quirk to a higher class. As an example, let's take the Hero Ingenium and the late Thunderbolt. Theoretically, their quirk functions in the same way. However, Thunderbolt's strength came from the fact that he could also react lightning fast."
"However, training might allow you to control and lessen your weakness. It is also important to know that some quirks can be dangerous to yourself. That is why Quirk Counselors are a thing and help you learn your limitations."
"Still, what a show of strength!"
"To be fair, according to the result I have under my eyes, Kendo was fourth on the practical exam, only 9 points behind Midoriya and Bakugou. I guess Vlad taught her correctly."
———————
Mei was surprised, but she had learned from the cavalry fight, and had already loosened her harness, to avoid being crushed under her own armor. Also, she still had her flamethrower and dammit if she wasn't going down with a fight.
"BRING IT ON!"
Mei carefully torched the surrounding area to give herself breathing room. As her gramps said, her brain was a weapon, but she needed the time to create a plan.
Resources: none. Her enemy was smart, strong, and skilled.
Armament : down to her flamethrower. They limited her arsenal under the pretense it would give her too many options to counter her opponent.
Why was Izuku allowed to have his decks then? Or Yui her weapons? Maybe because they hid them better? Hmmm… It was probably that, now that she thought about it. Anyway, her enemy had… Many advantages over her.
——————
"Doesn't it look like Mei is a badass Helen Ripley versus Itsuka the Alien?"
Everyone looked at Mina, who stared at them, and Izuku nodded.
"I thought the same, but I am not sure everyone would get the reference."
"I did because my mom loved the series."
Both nodded, concentrating on the match… That ended quickly after that.
Why? Because Itsuka threw another tile.
——————
When the tile came toward her, Mei knew she wouldn't be able to dodge it. So, she braced herself and blocked it with her arms. People often forgot how strong she was and it was clearly not enough to beat her down. However, it was strong and heavy enough to send her into the ground.
As soon as Mei opened her eyes and tried to get up, she felt Itsuka's foot against her neck. Her tone was serious, just like her blue eyes.
"Do you yield?"
Mei thought once again of her gramps.
——————
The Architect, the most wanted weapon dealer in the world, who happened to also be an art thief on the side, was playing his grandchild's favorite game with her: "how to disarm a bomb". He wasn't dumb, and the bomb was only Chantilly cream, Mei's favorite.
Well, one of his bodies did that. It had been a long time since he transcended his mortal shell to become more of an AI than an organic being. However, he still loved his family dearly.
So, while one of his subject bodies was playing with Mei, the others were watching a fight he had in Paris, in the Louvre Museum.
"Grampy! Why did you stop fighting heroes? Weren't you strong enough to win?"
The Architect was pleased to see she had already eaten her cream, and put her on his knees.
"I was, but here is something many people never learn. The cost/reward balance. For example, in this fight, Capitaine Baguette, Le Chevalier Ch'ti and le Vieux managed to best my men. I could have pushed through by joining the engagement directly, with my arsenal… But, then I would have destroyed the Louvre and I cannot do that. Instead, I preferred to strike a deal to lower my losses. Know this, Mei. There is no shame in losing, if the only consequence is you learning from your mistakes."
Mei looked at the screen, nodding.
Even if she wanted to be a hero and knew that she would probably clash with him, she loved her Grampy who always let her have fun with toys! How he was always making her think of harder, better, faster and stronger things.
As for him, the Architect knew he was more or less impossible to contain, as he was more virtual than physical. If being a hero pleased Mei, he would support her, even if it means having to make a deal with Nedzu.
Their chess games were always fun, though.
—————
"I yield!"
Mei had no way of winning this, not in this position. She was pretty certain Itsuka could react faster than she could use the flamethrower. It was pointless to get beat down further.
Itsuka took her foot off of her opponent and smiled at Mei.
"You owe me stuff now!"
"I will love making equipment for you!"
—————
"Daw, too bad little Mei lost there, boss."
"Yes, yes, I know. However, she put up a good fight. I wonder if I should send her some schematics to improve her exo-skeleton, though…"
"Boss! Don't make the heroes too powerful!"
The Architect was busy watching the TV in his air fortress with his men. One reason he could never stand All For One? That asshole felt nothing. Meanwhile, he knew the name of all his henchmen and was friends with them.
He never regretted that one day where he gave some of his tech to the heroes in Paris, if it meant his gang was safe.
It also appeared that Mei understood that sometimes a loss was an excellent opportunity for friendship.
"I can't wait for the day we have to fight her!"
"Yes, it is going to be fun to make her deal with all your stuff, boss!"
"I can't wait for an enjoyable challenge!"
And that is how they watched the rest of the tournament, while enjoying excellent beer.
—————
Enji, locked in a teacher's office with Rei, was forced to stop his investigation for the day.
"You are going to watch your son's fight!"
"But, Rei, I can do that from my office and I am half thinking he would have a panic attack if he knew I am on the campus when I shouldn't be."
"… I think you being trapped by me is an excellent reason, don't you think, Enji?"
Currently, Enji was restrained by ice. Nothing he couldn't melt if he wanted, but his wife's smile let him know her decision was final. In some sort of way, he wondered if her spending time with him was another form of torture and punishment, as she knew he wouldn't dare to think that it had any meaning behind it. If he was alone, however, he would have been able to ignore the fact, if only for a moment, that they weren't together anymore.
It was a likely reason, and he knew it.
"I also think Shouto would prefer his mother cheering for him somewhere he could see her. If I tried to say "SHOUUUUTOOOOO" from the sidelines… I am fairly certain he would try to smash me with an icicle."
Rei grumbled, as Enji had a point.
"I will do that for his fight."
"Oh? You're certain he'll win?"
"For all your faults, you were a decent instructor with Touya before his incident and I am pretty sure you put a lot more effort into our boy since then."
Silence followed, as both adults didn't know what to say after that. The only thing still speaking was the TV as the festival continued…
———————
"AND NOW, ON ONE SIDE THE PRODIGY TODOROKI VERSUS… IRON MAN TETSUTETSU!"
"Seriously, you missed your calling as a WWE announcer."
"… I actually got a contract with them for the next Japanese season."
"WHAT!?"
"…"
"So… Ice and fire?"
"Yep."
"… Do you…"
"My father once told me how he beat Metallica, the giant of Metal, by heating with his flame and when he proved to be fireproof, he made him fall into water to cool it instantly."
Shouto had both halves already activated, and the fight had already started.
"Yes, but you wouldn't do that in a friendly fight, right?"
"My teacher is Bakugou."
Tetsutetsu took the last argument in stride and nodded.
"Mood. Nonetheless, I SHALL FIGHT LIKE A MAN!"
"Duly noted."
When Tetsutetsu tried to grab a tile, akin to Itsuka, to block Todoroki's subsequent attack, he failed. Mainly because this time, instead of making a glacier, he made a single pillar of ice that hit Tetsutetsu in the face as he kneeled down.
Usually, Tetsutetsu could have withstood the attack pretty well. This time, since he was crouching, he stood perfectly still. So still that his whole body was encased in ice, except for his head, and he couldn't move even a finger.
"HEY! Not manly!"
"… Sorry, but I don't think it is manly to fight someone way stronger than me on his favorite domain. I preferred to end it quickly."
Yes, it had been a brief fight. Not all of them could be epic. Shouto is pretty sure that in another universe where he had to face Hanta, that would have ended quickly too.
——————
As Bakugou woke up, he looked at Yui.
"You better win. A loss feels more acceptable if it is against the champion."
"AH! Of course I'm going to win this! Just so you know, I think only two others dudes would have the fuckin possibilty make me doubt my victory. You're now the third one."
Yui looked at him and nodded. Katsuki was stating a fact. Not something meant to make her feel better, and somehow, it was what she needed to hear.
"Also, Yui… Do you want to join us in our after-school training? I could use another sparring partner, one who isn't afraid to bring the big guns!"
"… My pleasure."
"Perfect! Now, excuse me, I have to show my respects to the Christian Girl."
"Oh?"
"EXACTLY AS THE ROMANS DID AT FIRST!"
"Show her the Greek fire" Yui mused.
"HA! Maybe I should make it my hero name at this point!"
That almost made Yui cackle, and when Katsuki left, she just sighed quietly. At the very least, she did her best and her opponent was one of the best fighters of the tournament… And it allowed her to establish herself as a fighter, too.
She hoped Ibara would love her fight as much as she loved the one she had with Katsuki.
—————
Ibara hoped and prayed that Katsuki's injuries from the last fight didn't have time to heal, so she could have a small head start.
Sadly for her, Katsuki had a lot of energy, as he was mainly powered by spite, anger and determination.
"GIMME A GOOD FIGHT, BITCH! A GOOD DEUS VULT!"
"… The Lord is love?"
"Well, I love to fight, so… FIGHT ME!"
Most people in the stadium felt bad for her, as unlike Momo, Katsuki had the means to attack quickly and had the area of effect needed to fend off Ibara's vines.
So, Ibara tried her best to use her hair to attack Katsuki from various angles, but this time, the tactic didn't work: For something like that to work, she would need to attack quicker than the opponent, to restrain his movements before finishing him. Here, she was facing Katsuki, who could simulate flight and move almost as fast as Iida with his explosions. In short, a highly mobile and offensive opponent. Meanwhile, despite the strength in her quirk, Ibara was more of a crowd controller. While she was very useful against mobs, and as part of a team team, but alone, she would quickly become a target for an opponent who knew her attacks.
It was not a reason to stop fighting, however, and Katsuki noticed a quick increase of her prayers… and of her attacks. Interesting, she knew she couldn't outrun him, so she decided to just concentrate on her quirk to increase her abilities? Now, that was an idea! A powerful one!
Now, the plants were looking more like vicious snakes than simple vines he could side-step. He launched himself into the air as hydras formed and started to attack him from every direction.
He fell into a rhythm of exploding a vine, twisting to dodge another two and landing an explosion on each as it passed before slamming a larger explosion into a new vine coming for his face only to repeat from the start.
The dodges and maneuvers pulled more and more smoke around him with the scent of burnt cinnamon. The vine's spikes didn't help his already battered uniform, though for now he managed to avoid being grabbed and hurt as he landed on the stage that looks more like a graveyard of plant matter.
The thing that was saving him was that Ibara didn't have Yui's vicious blood lust.
It felt more like he was fighting an upgraded mob rather than a full-blown boss. Yui was that damn boss in Dark Souls and Ibara was an elite mook.
Katsuki also learned from Momo's fight that the longer he took to defeat her, the stronger she would become. That was the reason Katsuki grabbed his finger with his other hand and a concentrated spray of mist turned into an explosion.
This way, he could aim a powerful explosion with precision. Sadly for Ibara, while she had created an automatic defense technique, there was a problem with it. It was not nearly as fast as it needed to be to block Katsuki's incoming shot.
People thought of him as a medium/close range fighter. In reality, he was suited for all ranges, as he aimed to be the best combat hero there ever was. It meant fulfilling any role at any moment, and damn right if he didn't train with Izuku to improve his arsenal of attacks!
The second mistake Ibara made was not training herself to build up a pain tolerance, to avoid being broken out of her concentration easily. As a result, when the explosion burned her legs, she winced, yelping for a second and stopping her prayer, her concentration broken.
A second was all that was needed for a genius like Katsuki to close the distance with a large explosion and use the increased speed to hammer her in her face. One second when he threw himself forward at maximum speed with his explosions, destroying his shoes in the process.
Ibara felt the shock of his fist resonating in her skull and before she could try to summon her vines to defend herself, his palm was on her face and he smashed her into the ground.
Knocked out, Ibara didn't move. Katsuki got up and took his victory pose, before looking at the public.
"AS I SAID EARLIER, GOOD LUCK, BUT IT WON'T BE ENOUGH AGAINST ME!"
This time, everyone could see it wasn't bravado or arrogance. Well, not fully that. It was also pure and unadulterated pride, the one you had by working for it and establishing your dominance.
——————
Somewhere else, a certain bunny hero prepared an internship form. Well, more like she ordered her overworked secretary to do it for her, but it was the same thing, really. She had found a mini-her and oh boy; the training was going to be extremely fun!
——————
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
"Precinct 78, do any heroes copy?"
"Ingenium here, I copy. What do you need, officer?"
A hero's work was never done, and even at the Iidaten Agency, the demand was constant. While some heroes ran their company as if it was some kind of private security company (which was actually kind of accurate, now that Ingenium thought about it), Ingenium didn't like that way of doing things. He loved being on the field to help as many people as possible. He also had big shoes to fill, with the recent tragedy of Thunderbolt's demise.
As a result, he worked ten times harder, and he had rounded up several small-time criminals affiliated to criminal organizations. It caused the police to call his agency more and more, and while the cash flow was appreciated, the work kept increasing.
Thankfully, he had sidekicks like Koichi to ease his burden.
"An attack has been reported in a dark alley nearby the Ichiraku Ramen restaurant. Can you go check on that?"
"I'm nearby, it should be done quickly."
Smiling under his helmet, Ingenium was once again on the road to protect the innocent.
When he arrived at the location, the elder son of the Iida family double checked if he had the right coordinates. It was at that moment he knew something was fishy. It was the right place, but something, some feeling on the back of his neck, made him dive to the ground. Live long enough as a pro-hero and you learned to trust your gut feeling a lot. The number of times an investigation began because Ingenium saw a man beat his dog to death, and when asked why, answered "It is mine, I do what I want"… Well, the number was two.
There were already two horrible cases.
Nonetheless, back to the issue at hand. Ingenium was able to dodge knives that ended up in the wall.
"TODAY, ANOTHER FAKE HERO SHALL MEET HIS PENANCE!"
What a coarse voice, coming from above him. Still, Ingenium had managed to get away from the first attack. It was going to be a fight, and he knew it: the hero killer didn't have a reputation for listening to reason.
However, something disturbed the hero. According to Koichi, who knew the man from his past, and if he understood his ideology correctly, technically speaking, he shouldn't even be on his radar. Or under investigation, but as he was clean, he doubted the Hero Killer had anything against him.
"SURRENDER NOW!"
Still, proper procedure should be followed, and Ingenium was already pressing the emergency button when Stain jumped on him. He quickly felt the sword tearing through his armor, and was suddenly sure that Stain probably stole a sword from a museum or someplace like that for it to be of that high quality.
—————
However, the hero couldn't know that a certain agent was activating his jamming quirk. On paper, it wasn't even a real jamming quirk. It simply allowed him to phone people without a phone. However, thanks to the HPSC's training, he learned how to fill all lines at the same time. No trace of jamming would be found.
All he had to do, now, was to check upon Foxtail and make sure she did the job. Though he did have a backup plan, just in case.
His promotion was on the line, after all.
—————
Ingenium was winning, and he knew it: while Stain was clearly experienced, strong and fast, he seemed more determined to draw blood rather than kill him. Unless it was part of his quirk? No one had discovered it before now, and it could be important.
However, unlike many heroes who used ablative armor to protect themselves from emitter quirks, Ingenium preferred a heavier and thicker armor, with an ablative suit underneath. It offered less protection against emitters and bullets, but at the very least, it blocked blades and mutant attacks well.
On the other hand, while Stain failed to find a problem in his armor, Ingenium had punched him a few times in the face. Taking Muay-Thaï lessons was one of his best ideas, and it showed, as the Hero Killer suddenly had to face a competent hero who didn't rely that much on his quirk.
He totally didn't do that after spotting one or two of his analyst support heroes with an "analysis" quirk had a "villainous quirk" that they couldn't use or in one case, a quirkless person who managed to pass his muscles as a quirk.
"THERE WILL BE BLOOD SHED!"
Meanwhile, Toga was on an exhilarating trip. Might have she gone insane, finally? Somewhere in her mind, she could almost feel the old her nodding sadly. Who cared? All that mattered in the present was that only one of the two fighters could walk away from this fight.
The taste of the blood in her mouth, and the blood still in Ingenium's body… It was the only thing she knew was real.
Taking two knives, she suddenly abandoned her sword. Something the real Mr Stainy would never do, but she wasn't him, not yet.
Ingenium must have felt that the flow of the fight changed, as he suddenly adopted a more defensive posture.
It was not enough, as Toga got closer to stab him, not slash him. There was a fundamental difference now. Before, Toga was like a matador trying to slash a bull who was rushing him. If you didn't have the build and a sword for that, you were going to be in a world of pain quickly.
However, right now, Toga was a matador, trying to stab her opponent in heropening. Well, that would have been accurate if the matador was crazy enough to rush the bull to stab him, but honestly, she managed that. After all, the HPSC's training was nothing if thorough, and they knew how to make someone go above their limits without breaking them.
So when Ingenium raised an arm, she shifted her attack angle to stab him under the shoulder. Her attacks were serpentine, and faster than him. Or maybe, just maybe, it was also the combat drugs kicking in. He still managed to punch her with enough force to give her a black eye. She was going to be in a world of sweet pain after all of this.
————
Seijin wondered if she had done well to rewire Toga to mistake pain and pleasure? Oh well. Not her problem. It was Ingenium who should be worried.
————
As a result, Ingenium had the sense that Stain was a crazed maniac so high he couldn't feel pain and would not fall unconscious easily. In other words, the Motorized Hero would have to take some risks if he wanted to win this and bring the Hero Killer to justice.
Toga didn't expect him to block her arms by locking them, while she had a knife stabbing him in the shoulder. Clearly, it couldn't feel good for him, and why did he stop punching her? It was so much fun!
Wait, was he lifting her by overclocking his motors? Oh craps basket! In a posture that was commonly called a german suplex, more than in a world of pain, Toga was suddenly on the verge of losing consciousness…At the very least, just before she felt Ingenium's powerful arms beginning a blood strangulation.Yes. It exists. The principle is to make the target lose consciousness by cutting off their blood to the brain for a few seconds. It is a very common move in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Her last words before losing consciousness were…
"Harder…"
Before going limp in his arms, sleeping peacefully, with a demented smile on Stain's face. Ingenium was breathing heavily because of the fight and the blood loss. Oh fuck, it hurt like a bitch. Why did he have so many knives?
Relaxing because of his win, Ingenium noticed the second Stain in the alley too late, when he high-kicked him in the jaw.
Before he could process what was happening, he was pummeled into the ground.
—————
Agent K was finishing his smoke, when a man wearing a white and black mask brought to him the unconscious body of Toga.
"Thank you, Tanuki. I take it that Foxtail almost messed up?"
"No, she was close to beat him alone./ FUCK THAT NOISE, WE HAD TO FINISH THE JOB!"
"… Well, I will schedule her for more training, and that should be it. As for Ingenium?"
"Right. The problem was he was disturbing the organized crime in this area too much. They were channeling their resources into place we couldn't reach in response, and we cannot allow that. Also, this way, we will have a chance to de-legitimize even more vigilantes. If citizens freely use their power to make their own justice, it will be a second dawn of the quirk era."
Honestly, it was a messy job, one which left a bad taste in his mouth. However, sometimes what was right wasn't what was good, and Ingenium didn't understand the principle of necessary evil. So, yes, the HPSC might do evil things on the side, but they were all for the name of stability
"Let's call the ambulance. He is still a selfless hero, and who knows? Maybe the outrage will be great enough to change things thoroughly."