Before you begin reading this chapter, I just wanted to say that I highly recommend reading the Author's Note at the end of this chapter.
With that in mind, I don't own either Jojo's Bizarre Adventure or My Hero Academia.
Please enjoy this story to your heart's content!
Chapter 9: Stylo
Midoriya stared at the sight of the now smoking robotic bus driver before his eyes shifted quickly to the oncoming sharp turn. He didn't need a second to realize how dire the situation they were in before scrambling to reach the driver's seat. "I need to slow down the bus before—!"
Suddenly a loud screech echoed throughout the bus as it scraped along the safety rails of the mountain side, lurching the green haired youth till he slammed against a window. Letting out a groan, he steadied himself back up only to see Gyro rushing past him, a worried, but determined expression plastered over his face. Grabbing the fried robot out of his seat, the Italian hastily threw it to the bus's door before slamming his foot on the brake. Yet the bus didn't slow down one bit.
"What the hell!?" exclaimed Gyro. Needless to say that he wasn't the only who voiced similar responses as Midoriya heard the others gasp or curse beside him. Yet the one who was the clearest, as well the most desperate, of them all came from Johnny.
"Turn the damn wheel, Gyro!" he roared as the bus was now only a dozen feet away from the sharp turn.
Needing no further instruction, the long haired blonde grabbed ahold of the steering wheel and yanked it to the right. Midoriya only had a brief second to grab ahold of a pole before everything once again shifted as the bus veered desperately along the turn.
Suddenly everything tilted sideways.
He heard some of his fellow classmates screaming as they clung to whatever they could get their hands on, hoping to anchor themselves as the bus continue to become lopsided. Unfortunately some, like Mineta and Kaminari, weren't quick enough as they suddenly found themselves smashed against the increasingly cracking windows. Miraculously they managed not to break despite the ever growing weight of students and other equipment from the bus. At this rate, the bus was going to fall over the cliff no matter what.
Desperate thoughts and ideas buzzed around in Midoriya's skull as everything seem to slow down for a split second before he realize something. The bus was started to lean back into place. The fanboy only had a moment to blink before he was bounced up in the air when the tires connected once more with the road. He soon let out a gasp as he landed on the cold floor, his back taking most of the brunt force. Leaning forward into a sitting position, Midoriya quickly saw just why the bus balanced itself out.
Several sizable concrete blocks sat on the right side of the bus, each tied to a thick, iron chain that stood out of Yaoyorozu's body. "Jeeze, that was too close," she said as she casually took out of the chain from her flesh before tying it around one of the metal poles in the bus. "Any second later and I would've been too late…"
That was an understatement, but Midoriya didn't really care. They wouldn't be here right now if hadn't been for her quick thinking. "Good work, Yaoyorozu," said the fanboy as he pushed himself off the floor, using a nearby seat a support.
"Yeah, nice job!" beamed Kirishima, giving the black haired girl a thumbs up. "We would be flat as pancakes if it weren't for you!"
"It was nothing," Yaoyorozu said, wiping a bit of sweat of her brow as she turned towards her handy work. "It's the least I can—." Before she could finish her sentence, the bus jolted as something collided into its side with a loud bang. Everyone stumbled around once more as fragments of glass scattered everywhere from the now destroyed windows from the right side. It was an effort for Midoriya not to fall back to the floor, but he was able to manage to keep his footing this time. Whipping his head around, the boy's eyes widen when he saw the black car swerving away from the bus before jolting back, crashing into it once more. Sparks hissed off both the car and the bus as well the guard rail as the latter was grinded against it, bending the once protective metal till it looked ready burst apart like a ripe melon.
"Would someone deal with this asshole already!?" demanded Gyro, his grip like an iron vice as he held the wheel, desperately trying to fight back with what little he had to work with.
"No need to tell me twice!" yelled Johnny, climbing up off the floor till he prompted himself against a nearby seat. Midoriya immediately saw Tusk materialize over the young American shoulder as he proceeded to stick a hand out a shattered window. Three nail-bullets flew off the paraplegic's fingers as they sailed towards the front-left tire of the malicious car. Yet fanboy blinked when the nails, instead of tearing apart the wheel like they should have done, they ricocheted off it, boring holes in the concrete road as a result. "W-What the hell?!"
Rising dread filled Johnny's voice even as he raised up his hand and shot off several more bullets at the masked driver. Like mere seconds ago, however, they bounced off the window as if it were made out reinforced steel.
"No way!" yelled Ojiro, his eyes glued to the Camaro. "Is that car entirely bullet proof!?"
"Is it a result of a reinforcement Quirk?!" suggested Kirishima, indignation filled his tone at the mere thought of a Quirk similar to his own only used by a villain.
"But he just shot lightning out of his fingertips!" Tokoyami pointed out. "He was also able to meld himself through the car's windows… I can understand if he has a hybrid Quirk, but I doubt that this is the case."
Midoriya had to agree, the powers shown by the villain were too abnormal to be a regular Quirk. So what was it? A key tactic to any fight with villains was to identify their powers in order to exploit their weaknesses. Yet this masked figure's power eluded him. "I doubt it's a mutation type, and emitter and transformation seem unlikely since both would strain the user if he used them at the same time… So what is this power?" Suddenly his eyes widen till became like mini saucers as a dreadful thought popped into his head. Whirling around, he locked on to Johnny's form, or rather the little pink elephant now floating above his right ear. "That's it… that's why his power is so strange!"
"What are you talking about, ya nerd!?" Bakugo demanded, though his eyes never left the black car.
"It's not a Quirk, it's a Stand!" That immediately got everyone's attention as nearly all of them turned to face him with questioning looks.
"Are you sure, Midoriya?" Ida asked dubiously. "I mean, it could be a Stand, but it's doesn't even look remotely like Johnny's Tusk."
"It is a stretch that a whole car is a Stand…" commented Tsuyu as she turned her gaze back to the Camaro.
Doubt started to fill Midoriya's mind as the rest of his classmates started to mutter their own thoughts on the matter. "Maybe I was overthinking—."
"No, Midoriya's right." The fanboy blinked before he, and the rest of his classmates, turned towards Johnny. "The way that a head and a pair hands floating inside of a car doesn't make any sort of sense if was simply a Quirk. Combined with the way it's tanking my nail-bullets, there's no way this is a Quirk." Suddenly Tusk let out sober chime as it suddenly hugged the American's face, though its beady eyes never left the black, misty car. "Besides… I've been feeling something rather malicious coming from the car for a while now… Almost like how Oyecomova's Stand was when we fought him two days ago..."
"…If both Deku and Johnny say it's Stand, then I'll believe them," said Uraraka, a confident smile beaming on her face.
"Well, if you put it like that, then it's gotta be a Stand," Sero agreed.
The others quickly added their own thoughts on the matter, all of them starting to come to terms with the proposed theory, which in turn made Midoriya's doubts quickly disappear.
"Ok, so now that we agree that it's a Stand," said Jiro, warily eyeing the Stand, "how do we beat it?"
"Since it was able to withstand Johnny's nail-bullets, it might be invulnerable…" Todoroki pointed out.
"Hmph! We'll see after I blow that piece of crap car to smithereens!" Bakugo said with a menacing grin, mini explosions popping to life within his hands.
"Well, whatever you guys do, make sure it's soon!" yelled Gyro, causing everyone to blink before turning to face him. "The damn brakes aren't working and if that son of a bitch continues to ram the bus, I don't know how much longer I can—!"
Whatever he was about to say was drowned out by the sudden roar of the car-like Stand's engines, causing everyone to whip their heads back towards it. Speeding forth, the Camaro quickly overtook the bus, changing lanes till it was now directly in front of it. Before anyone could even twitch, the back of the floating head and hands pressed themselves against the back window. It didn't take a second before the black-stained window started to give away like gooey, melted plastic as the head and hands pushed out of the car. Once more a tattered cloak shrouded the Stand's body, but only most of it. While black attire clung to most of its form, such as pants and pointed boots, not everything was covered up. And what wasn't, was truly unsettling for the young students. Where once there was nothing, grayish dead skin now clung to newly formed skeletal limbs as it slowly stood up upon the rear of the Camaro. The blood red glow continued to shine out its gas mask as it stared at the students, its cloak flapped wildly in the wind.
Midoriya stared at the menacing figure for a moment, before noticing the Camaro underneath its feet starting to dissipate into black fog. Barely having a moment to think, the Stand suddenly leapt forward, the car disappearing entirely in a cloud of mist that was swiftly left behind as the bus sped forth.
"Holy shit!" exclaimed Gyro, yanking the steering wheel to the right, causing everyone to shift around as the bus tried to avoid the freakish figure. But it was too late.
With a loud thud, the Stand slammed against the front windshield, huge cracks appearing on the glass even as its black cloak blocked out all sight. "Stylo…" it hissed out in a rasp.
Swerving the bus blindly around so it didn't collide with the guard rail and rocky mountain side, Gyro tried desperately to drive carefully without falling off the mountain. "Get the hell off the windshield, you overgrown bloodsucker!"
Whether it was in response to the Italian or not, the Stand raised a talon-like hand before jabbing it through the window. The young jockey quickly leaned his head out of the way, narrowly avoiding both flying fragments of glass and the razor sharp fingers.
"Gyro!" Johnny roared as he raised a hand, reading to unleash another volley of nail-bullets. He wasn't the only one ready to help Gyro, as the others immediately readied their own Quirks. Yet before they could take a single step forward, the black cloaked figure raised a finger up before it started to glow ominously.
Remembering what had just happened not too long ago, Midoriya's eyes went wide as he realized what the Stand was about to do. "Get down!" he exclaimed, jumping forward to push Johnny and Uraraka to the floor. The others quickly followed the fanboy's example, ducking to the ground just a lightning bolt was let loose over their heads. It sped across the bus until it slammed into the back, tearing open a small hole in the emergency exit. Lifting his head up, Midoriya noticed electric residue crackling from where it struck before quickly fading away in mere seconds.
Suddenly an intense glow caught the fanboy's eye. Feeling a shiver run down his spine, he turned around to see a talon-like finger pointing directly at him before another charged shot was fired off. Feeling a spike of panic and adrenaline rush up his spine, Midoriya tried to rise up while simultaneously trying to lift both Johnny and Uraraka off the floor, but he knew he wasn't fast enough.
Just then, Kaminari jumped in-between him and the electric blast. The glowing bolt engulfed his form, electricity running wildly off his body before quickly being absorbed by the blonde's Quirk. "Heh, is that all you got?!" he demanded with a growing smile. "I put out more wattage than that, you—!"
More charged shots interrupted the youth's gloating, smacking into his body without pause. Kaminari took only a single step back from the first impact, but after that, he yielded no inch. He continued to smile intensely, while his classmates quickly got back onto their feet.
"Great work, Kaminari!" Midoriya exclaimed after he helped Uraraka and Johnny off the ground. "Just keep it up and we'll handle the Stand!"
"Okay…. Okay…" Midoriya blinked as the lightning haired blonde turned slowly around, his face twisted into an expression of pure idiocy as snot dripped out of his nose while drool leaked out of his mouth. "Okaaaaaaaaay….. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy!" He gave everyone a thumbs up even as the lightning bolts stopped flying into his back.
"God damn it," said Jiro, slamming a palm to her head as she watched the electric user started to do a jig. "His brain's fried! All those bolts must have exceeded Kaminari's wattage limit!"
"How long is going to be stuck like this?" Hagakure asked frantically.
"About an hour, but that's not the problem. He told me once in our first battle training that if he continued to receive any more voltage after he becomes like this, then he'll become permanently brain dead or worse!"
Midoriya's eyes widen at the declaration before he noticed the gas masked Stand was about ready to release another volley. Yet as the charge started to glow once upon its finger tips, Gyro grabbed ahold of its wrist. The black glove twisted unnaturally as the Gyro rotated his hand, channeling the power of the Spin through his movements, while his other remained clamped onto the steering wheel.
"Not so tough now are—!" the Italian tried to say, before being silenced as another talon-like hand punched through the windshield and wrapped itself around his throat. Gasping for air that couldn't enter his lungs, Gyro flailed as he almost immediately let go of the other hand to claw at the one that had his throat in a vice grip. Yet that was a mistake as the other hand quickly wrapped beside its pair, now completely choking the life out of the young foreigner.
Suddenly the four nail-bullets slammed into Stand's chest, shattering what was left of the windshield. It staggered back, relinquishing it grip around the Gyro's throat, which he immediately let out several hoarse coughs as he tried to gulp down fresh oxygen. The Stand didn't fall off the bus, however, as it quickly clung onto whatever grip it could find.
Yet that soon changed when Bakugo jumped forth to slam an explosive fist right into the Stand's gas masked head. The fiend head was engulfed in fire as it was flung backwards, letting everyone get a view of the road once more, before crashing into cold pavement. It didn't have time to get up before the bus rammed right into it was a loud thump.
Midoriya winced at the sight. It was a gruesome way to go, even for someone who was just moments ago trying to kill them. He pushed aside such dark thoughts, at least for the moment, when he heard Gyro start to speak up.
"D-Did you get it?" Gyro hoarsely coughed out as he rubbed his throat before fixing his grip upon the steering wheel.
"Yeah," said Bakugo, a cocky grin on his lips, "blew it to hell and back."
"B-But doesn't that mean its user's dead as well?" asked Kirishima, looking momentarily sick. "Mountain Tim Sensei said that if a Stand dies, so does it user…. I mean… well…" He couldn't even bring himself to finish what he had to say, though everyone quickly caught his meaning.
"That freak was trying to kill us, Kirishima," Johnny stated simply as he lifted himself into a seat, his tone completely void of remorse.
"You don't have to say it so coldly, Johnny," Tsuyu pointed out bluntly.
"All I'm saying that its dead, were not. And we're lucky that we managed to deal with it before it fried us all."
Though as much as Midoriya hated to admit it, Johnny did have a point. But that didn't mean he liked it all. The mere thought that someone dying in front of him, and in such a brutal fashion, was enough to make him feel sick. That is until a sudden thought occurred to him. "Wait a second…" he said, causing everyone to turn towards him. "That Stand was able withstand Johnny's nail-bullets earlier… if it's that durable, then perhaps it's not d—!"
A loud screeching, tearing sound erupted from the back of the bus, cutting of whatever else Midoriya had to say and causing everyone to whirl themselves around. The back emergency door was nowhere to be seen; looking completely torn off if the missing hinges were any indication. Suddenly a black, talon-like hand appeared from outside before slamming down to sink right into the cold, metal floor. Rising up from underneath the bus, was the gas-masked head of the Stand they all previously thought dead.
"Stylo…" it hissed as another hand appeared to claw at the floor, dragging itself into bus.
"Y-You… You got to be kidding!" screamed Mineta, gaping as the seemingly invincible Stand slowly started to stand up. "It's like that terminator!"
"Is there anything that can stop this thing!?" Uraraka asked she watched the dead-looking thing warily.
Midoriya tensed as the Stand had yet to move once it stood to its full height, which was a hand short from reaching the ceiling of the bus. "This is bad… We're at a serious disadvantage in this bus," he thought to himself. "We're too bunched up too use all our Quirks to our fullest and with how invulnerable this guy is… We're like cornered rats… and yet why hasn't it already attacked us? Is the response time between the user and the Stand too long? No, that isn't the case, the way it responded earlier, it was too fluid for anything else but total control. So why then?"
Suddenly the fanboy noticed the Stand tilting its head sideways for a split second, its gaze shifting side to side, focusing on one student to another, before moving to the floor and then back up. It was in that moment that realization hit Midoriya like a punch to the gut. "Of course, it's judging how much of a threat we are, as well the distance between us… It's being cautious… If it's doing that, then that means that it's not entirely invincible! It must have a weakness that we can exploit!"
The fanboy's musings were interrupted as the masked Stand's fingertips started to glow once more, pointing directly at the center of the students. Gritting his teeth, Midoriya prepared to move, but he paused when Yaoyorozu jumped in-between the Stand and her fellow classmates. Several bolts of lightning blasted forth, but instead of hitting their target, they submerged themselves in a huge blanket that popped out the girl's navel. As the blanket fell to the floor, Midoriya was a little shocked since there was no discharge coming from the fabric or spreading further into the bus.
"Insulated blankets," Yaoyorozu explained, as she produced another large sheet from her stomach before holding it up in front of her. "Good protection against static and electr—." A long slash mark appeared within the fabric, cutting the high classed girl off as well causing her to stumble back a step as the Stand now towered over her.
"Yaoyorozu!" Almost everyone exclaimed at once before immediately trying to scramble over each to stop the villainous Stand.
Yet they all stopped when a blue gloved fist smashed into the Stand's head, causing it stumble backwards. "It's a good thing I stayed behind for a little bit," Hagakure said as she appeared beside the student vice-president. "Are you ok, Yaoyorozu?"
"Yeah, I'm fine… Though it did graze my clothes." She gestured to the long slash across her vest, miraculously missing the exposed skin around her chest. "I got careless…"
"Look out!" yelled Shoji, rushing forward to grab ahold of a black gloved fist that was directed towards where Hagakure's head should be. The multi-armed boy let out a grunt as he held the Stand back, though just barely as he had to use two of his spare arms to keep it from inching ever closer to its target. Yet he had to let go when two clawed finger tips aimed to blind him. He quickly leaned back, but wasn't completely unscathed as the Stand slashed his right temple, causing crimson fluids to run down his cheeks till it stained his mask.
The creepy Stand lunged forward, a clawed hand poised low and ready to finish of Shoji, yet two heavy fists collided with its face, sending it flying back. "Don't think you're going to off us that easily, ya creep!" exclaimed Kirishima, smashing together his harden fists as he watched the Stand land just short of the exposed exit.
"It's going to take more than being invincible to beat us!" Sato added as he got into a stance beside the spikey red head.
Once more, the villainous Stand jumped back onto its feet before charging right at the boys, its arms held out wide. Kirishima and Sato didn't hesitate to step forward, quickly grabbing ahold of the arms and tackled the Stand to the ground. "Hah! Is that best you—!?" Before the redhead could finish that sentence, a sudden glow quickly engulfed the masked figure's form. As quick as a flash, both boys let out cries as they were shocked back by the villain's shockwave.
"Kirishima! Sato!" Midoriya watched in dismay as the two slammed into open seats beside him. They groaned as they tried to sit themselves into an upright position, their movements slow, unsteady, and twitched every so often. Yet Midoriya couldn't tell if the damage was severe or not. His focus, instead, was solely on the Stand as it too got back onto its feet. "This is bad. Nothing seems to be slowing that thing down and those electric blasts are starting to take their toll on us… We need to get it out of the bus right now or we're all going to get killed! But how?" He looked down at his right hand for a split second, a frown quickly morphing on his lips. "I could use a Detroit Smash with my fingers, the shockwave should force it out of the bus… but I risk tearing the bus in half... I've got no choice and I can't spare another second thinking up a different plan. I just have to imagine the egg in the microwave constantly to keep One For All in check."
Hardening his resolve, the fanboy clenched his hand into a fist as he raised it towards the malicious creature before him. He paused, however, when he saw Todoroki step in front of him and the rest of his classmates. "Stand back and don't take a step closer," said the white and red haired youth, "I'll handle this."
"What're you planning to do, Todoroki?" asked Uraraka, though Midoriya already had a good idea what the youth might have in mind.
Instead of answering, Todoroki swiftly slammed his foot down onto the floor, just as the Stand lunged right for his throat. Waves of icy spikes and walls formed underneath the boy's foot, almost instantly engulfing the entirety the backend of the bus. The black clad figure's lower half quickly started to freeze over, pinning it to the floor just a few feet away from the young U.A. student.
"Of course! If we can't hurt the Stand, then the next best thing is immobilizing it!" said Midoriya as his breath turned to steamy mist in the now chilled air of the bus. It was amazing how simple yet brilliant the plan was and—
A sharp smash cut through the curly haired youth's thoughts, forcing his attention back to the enemy Stand. A clawed hand dug into the icy casing around its feet, causing splinters to fall off while cracks hastily formed.
"No you don't!" Todoroki slammed another foot down, blasting forth another wave of cold at the vile foe, but it was too late.
Swiftly delivering another stab at his feet, the ice shattered like glass. Tearing himself away from the remaining frost, the Stand quickly jumped back as a pillar of ice formed where it once stood. Yet it didn't stop hopping back until it reached it the torn open emergency exit. Midoriya watched as the ice quickly encroached upon the masked freak, but was puzzled when it suddenly grabbed ahold of the metal doorframe. Just as the icy wave was about to imprison it, the Stand flung itself out of the bus. This surprised everyone as they mutely watched their foe floated in midair with its dark cloak before moving further and further away from them.
"Out of the way, damn nerd!" Midoriya blinked as Bakugo suddenly hopped over his head before rapidly tearing apart the icy walls that Todoroki formed.
"Kacchan!?" the fanboy yelled out in confusion, but the explosive blonde didn't slow down in the slightest.
Exploding his way to the back of the bus, Bakugo didn't hesitate before leaping out of the emergency exit, stunning his classmates. Before his feet could touch the cold pavement, two powerful explosions erupted from his palms, sending him flying forth towards his prey. The Stand looked surprise as it floated closer to the ground, its body twitching as the blonde blazed forth like a rocket. "Die!" roared Bakugo, as he suddenly spun in midair, his explosions speeding up his rotation till he became a fiery tornado. "Howitzer Impact!" The Stand could do nothing as a gigantic explosion engulfed itself and everything around it. The shock of the climatic blast tore apart the road while chunks of the mountain side were blown to bits. Even the bus was lifted off the ground for a split second before colliding back with the pavement, sending everyone roughly colliding into each other or slamming against open seats.
Even Bakugo himself was forced back by the power of the blast, before quickly descending to the now ruined road. Yet just as his face was a few feet away from meeting the pavement, a thick, sticky thread of tape struck his back before yanking him into the air once more.
"Geeze, Bakugo!" yelled Sero as he stood at the bus's emergency doorway before flinging his tape back like a professional fisherman. "Warn us next time when you something that crazy!" With another flick of his arm, the lean youth managed to reel in his explosive classmate. "If I was a second slower, you could've been road kill…"
"Shut it! Even if you didn't reel me in, I would've used my explosions to cushion the fall!"
"Did… Don't you think you over did it with that explosion, Bakugo?" asked Ida, his eyes glued to the utter destruction that was left behind. Even as they got further away from it, the devastation and black smoke could clearly been seen by all.
"Tch! It was only the way to deal with that freak. It might have been tough, but there is no way it could have survive one my most powerful explosions!"
As the rest of his classmates gave Bakugo deadpanned expressions, Midoriya let out a sigh as he slowly stood back up. It was no surprise how much power the explosive boy has, but still it amazed him none the less. Though his manners, as usual, could be more desirable, especially after someone saved his life. "But that's just how Kacchan is…" thought Midoriya as he stared at the wreckage that Bakugo left in his wake. "He wouldn't be himself if—."
Suddenly something moved within the thick, black smoky cloud, cutting off the curly haired boy's thoughts as well capturing his complete attention. "What…?" His sudden declaration caused the rest of his classmates to turn around and see what he was focusing on. With a great mighty roar, the black Camaro form of the Stand burst out of the smoke, speeding after the bus with nary a scratch on its body.
"You got to be fucking kidding…" muttered Johnny, sweat dripping down his face as he stared with wide eyes at the encroaching Stand. A sentiment that everyone seemingly shared as they couldn't tear their eyes away from the vile car.
It was then that a hand morphed out of the Camaro's windshield, its fingertips glowing brightly that immediately shook Midoriya out of shock. "Everyone get down!" he yelled before jumping to the floor as several electrical beams flew right for the bus. His classmates quickly followed suit as they dodged and took cover from the onslaught that tore holes in the metallic walls and shattering what remaining windows that were left.
As glass flew everywhere, Midoriya looked up and saw the Camaro rushing forward. Bracing himself, he let out a grunt as everything was once more shifted around by the sudden impact.
"God dammit!" grunted Gyro as he clung to wheel, desperately trying to keep the bus under control. "Will you back the hell up, Bastardo!?" As if listening to his request, the Camaro removed itself from the bus's rear, before ramming back into it a split second later. "Oh come on!"
As Gyro continued to keep everyone from falling off the cliff, Midoriya tried to regain his footing once more, but paused when he noticed the broken end of a guardrail right next to him. See this, he quickly swiped up the discarded piece of metal before jumping to his feet. Quickly forming an image of an egg in a microwave, Midoriya pulled his right arm back before flinging it forth. As if shot out of a canon, the broken guardrail flew like a rocket before smashing into the windshield the Stand. With a sharp screech, the Camaro was forced back, shivering left and right before righting itself. Though it wasn't enough to stop the seemingly invincible Stand, let alone leave a scratch, it was enough for small reprieve.
Gritting his teeth as pain spread across his now broken index and middle fingers, Midoriya quickly turned to the rest of his classmates as an idea popped into his head. "Mineta, Sero! Use your quicks on it!"
"What good will that do?!" Mineta demanded as tears ran down his eyes. "Bakugo threw his biggest explosion to date at that thing and it didn't leave a dent in its paint! There is nothing that can stop that thing!"
"Maybe… but if we can't hurt it, then we can try to immobilize it or at least slow it down."
"Huh!?"
"I get it…" said Sero, realization dawning upon his face. "Both my Quirk and Mineta's are best suited for capturing villains due to their sticky quality. If we both throw everything we got, then that thing will be glued to the road!"
Mineta stared blankly at the two boys for a second before an ecstatic expression quickly morphed across his face, glistening tears streamed down his cheeks like a flood. "Why didn't you say that at the start!?" he demanded before jumping onto one of the seats and leaned out of a broken window.
Without any hesitation, the little boy started to throw the spheres from his head at the Camaro. Immediately one of them struck the right side of the car, clinging to it before several more joined it. The Stand immediately swerved out of the way from the rest of the sticky barrage until it scraped along the side of the mountain. Letting a smile touch his lips, Midoriya watched as the Camaro clung to the side of the mountain, its tires letting out a hissing screech as its pursuit came to a sudden halt.
For a split second anyway.
With a raging roar from its engines, the Stand burst forth, tearing a small chunk of rock from the mountain as it burned rubber after the bus once more.
"It's not working, Midoriya!" Mineta screamed before ducking as a lightning bolt sored over his head. Tentatively he patted his head down, checking if anything was missing, before jumping back up and started to frantically throw his balls at the Stand. Not making the same mistake as before, the Stand careened left and right, expertly maneuvering around the sticky barrage before ramming the bus's rear once more.
"Quit firing like a mad man and actually aim!" said Sero, steading himself before heading towards the emergency exit. "Try some of this!" Whipping his arms around, he shot two ropes of tape at the Stand. Yet before it could reach its mark, the Stand suddenly braked just a hair's length away from the tape, narrowly missing it. Letting out a sharp curse, the youth continued to shoot at the Camaro, whipping his arms around even as the Stand swiftly dodged his and Mineta's attacks.
Midoriya watched as his classmates tried their best to tie the Camaro down, but he knew it wasn't going to work. Despite being in its car form, the Stand proved to be too agile for them. "Not to mention it's starting to keep its distance…" he muttered out. "At this rate, nothing—."
"Give us a hand, Midoriya!" The curly haired youth blinked before turning to see both Ojiro and Shoji placing up thick, white sheets over the broken windows. Beside them, Yaoyorozu produced one after another before handing them to the two boys. "With these insulated sheets, we'll at least be safe from the Stand' electric attacks.
"R-Right!" With an enthusiastic nod, the fanboy immediately went over to grab several sheets and helped his classmates fortify the bus the best he could.
As he was busy putting up the sheets, with Ida, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Koda, and Jiro quickly joining him, the rest of the class threw all they had at the invincible Stand. Johnny unleashed shot after shot of nail-bullets at the raging car, but they continued to bounce off it, tearing about the road in the process. Sweat dripped down the American's head as panic became ever so clearer upon his face, yet he continued to unleash everything he had.
Ashido also added her own contribution, spraying huge globs of acid at the Stand, but those that manage to land on the black covered car simply slid off without a single burn mark on the already rusty metal. "What the heck is this thing made of!?" she yelled, but never the less continued to throw her acid at the vile creature.
"Allow me, Madame," said Aoyama, stepping up beside the pink skinned girl before unleashing his laser at the Camaro. The powerful blast carved in the mountain side like a hot knife through butter, but it missed its mark by a mile as the Camaro raced forth. "Well… this is proving unfortunate."
"You think?!" yelled Johnny even as he launched another volley at their foe.
As things grew ever bleaker, Midoriya noticed something growing closer towards the front of the bus. His eyes widened at what it was, but before he could say a thing, he was beaten to it by Gyro. "Hey guys there's a tunnel ahead!" This caused almost everyone, to turn around to see the dark mouth of the mountain opening.
"Things just keep getting better and better…." Johnny dryly said before returning to shoot at the vile Stand.
Midoriya couldn't blame the American's snide comment since the tunnel meant low visibility. Combined with the Camaro's own dark color scheme, the tunnel was basically a death trap waiting for them to enter. "Gyro, can you control the acceleration yet?!" he asked.
"No! The damn thing is still stuck at over one-hundred kilometers per hour!" Gyro answered irritably, slamming his foot on the brake to emphasis his point.
Gritting his teeth, the fanboy stared at the tunnel as it was now only several yards away before they finally crossed the darkened fresh-hold. Bracing himself, he turned around to face the inevitable attack from the Stand, but paused when he noticed the car suddenly slow down. He wasn't the only one who abruptly stopped what they were doing as the rest of his classmates turned to stare in disbelief as the Stand screeched to a halt just short of the Tunnel's entrance.
"Why did it suddenly stop?" asked Ojiro.
"I-Is it giving up?" Uraraka tentatively suggested.
"Please oh lord let that be the case!" begged Mineta, clasping his hands together and held them up high.
"No… that doesn't make sense…" thought Midoriya. "After everything we threw at it, without putting a single scratch on it, I doubt that it would give up now. So why…? Could it be running low on fuel like an actual car? Is this related to its weakness?" Midoriya shook his head as he racked his mind, trying to make sense of this bizarre situation. He would've asked Johnny about the vile Stand's behavior, but he knew deep down that the American would be just as clueless as he was. There only source of information was Mountain Tim, but unfortunately he was still miles away from where they were. In the end, the villainous Stand had given his class a moment to recuperate. Though whether it was its intention or not, he couldn't say.
Turning his head back towards the Camaro, Midoriya watched as it got further and further away. Yet despite the growing distance, he couldn't shake the gloomy feeling of its blood-piercing eyes lingering on him and his classmates.
"Well… that's irritating," said a pale-green skinned man as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his black jeans before lighting one. "I was so close to ending those little buggers, but they just had to reach the tunnel first…. God, if the Doc finds about this, I'll never—." The sudden jingle from his phone cut him off. Letting out a drag, he pulled out his phone, careful not to scratch its delicate form with his sharp, black nails, and grimaced at the caller I.D. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear to troll you." Taking another long puff, the sickly-looking man answered his phone. "Hey, Doc! I was just about—."
"Where the hell are you!?" The Phone screamed at him so loudly that he had to yank it away from his ear. "You were supposed to be here hours ago! And don't you dare say you 'ran out of gas'. I know how your Stand works, so don't try to pull that bullshit on me!"
"N-Now, Doc, I know you're upset, but I'm on my way right now! Just got a little… sidetracked. Yeah that's it! I got a little distracted and got sidetracked." The man felt cold sweat build on temple as he prayed to the devil that his partner would buy his excuse.
"... Sidetracked, huh? Your little distraction wouldn't happen to be related to the explosion I just heard a few minutes ago would it? I could hear that all the way from here…"
"…Shit…" The man knew now that there was no way around this, so it was best to come clean and tell the truth. Just like ripping off a Band-Aid. A very sticky Band-Aid over a festering wound. "…Yeah, I kinda ran into… the U.A. students along the way to our meet up…"
"….What the hell, Murdoc!?" Once again, Murdoc had to lift the phone away from his ear least he go deaf. "You know those kids are secondary to our main mission! So why the hell would you go out of the way to try to go after them when our main goal is within our grasp?! You know what the boss would do to us if we fail! "
"I couldn't help it! With the huge reward placed on their heads it was too tantalizing to pass up! They were just sitting ducks on that bus just waiting for me swing by and throw them off the cliff!"
"Well, are they dead?"
"…No…"
"God dammit, Murdoc! First you cause a scene in the city, now this crap?! I swear it feels like I'm dealing with a three year old with a massive case of ADHD!" The Doc let out a huge sigh before taking a deep breath. "Ok, where are the kids right now? Do you have a visual on them?"
"No. They entered into the tunnel portion of the road they were taking and you know that my Stand wouldn't do well in there. But don't worry, there is only one exit to that tunnel and I'm having Stylo take the… scenic route to catch up with them."
"I see. It's a shame that you couldn't kill them quickly before they could take shelter, but it doesn't matter now. I'm sure that some of the civilians around here heard the explosion you created as much as I did."
"To be fair, that was the one kid with the explosions."
"My point is that they'll be calling for heroes soon. That means we'll have to speed up our schedule. I'm assuming that you managed to at least follow that part of the plan?"
"Hey, I'm not a total greedy Tosser, Doc—at least give me that much. I'm currently at the central communication tower at the top of the mountain."
"Good. You know what to do you. And once you're done, go finish what you started and end those kids, since I know you're just going to ignore me and go after them anyway."
"Heh, you know me so well, Doc."
"Unfortunately…" With a sudden click, the conversation ended.
With one last drag from his cigarette, Murdoc flicked the bud onto the cold, stony ground before turning to rummage through a duffle bag that sat next to a boulder. After a few seconds, he pulled out a large remote. "Well, I guess it's time for the warm-up band to make their exit while the main attraction gets underway." His smile split across his face, revealing row upon row of razor sharp teeth as he pressed the big red button on the remote. He then grabbed his duffle bag before giving a great mighty leap as a huge explosion ripped behind him, tearing apart the massive communication tower and letting it crash down the side of the mountain.
Midoriya barely suppressed a scream that was bubbling up inside of him as Gyro tended to his broken fingers. "You know it's best that you let it out of your system now than later, Midoriya," the Italian advised as he carefully set the broken digits together, not bothering to look at the fanboy's questioning gaze. "Screaming is a good indicator for where you're hurt and helps me figure out what to fix. Plus you'll feel slightly better after you do." He then let out an irritated click of his tongue. "Wish I had proper splints and painkillers with me. But I guess we'll just have to make do."
"I don't know the exact materials for painkillers, but I can make you some splints," said Yaoyorozu, quickly morphing a small metal splint from her body before handing it to the Italian.
It was only five minutes after they had entered the darkened tunnel, but Midoriya was still amazed how fast the pair tended to nearly everybody's wounds. Since Gyro was the most experienced in medicine and first-aid, he quickly swapped places with Ida; the class president insisted that he help out in some way to ensure the safety of his class. The Italian quickly got to work, mending the cut Shoji received along his temple before quickly examining Kirishima and Sato for nerve damage. Thankfully it didn't seem the case for the two boys as they flexed their muscles around. Yet everyone's worries only escalated when a loud rumble echoed throughout the tunnel just after they entered. At first everyone thought it was a cave in, but since they hadn't run into a pile of rubble yet, they thought that perhaps the Stand sealed the entrance behind them. As for why, no one knew the answer.
After Gyro finished wrapping the splint to his fingers, Midoriya carefully flexed the rest of his hand, wincing slightly at the movement but figured that the pain wasn't overwhelming as it was just seconds ago. "Thanks, Gyro."
"No problem. Just stop trying to break yourself, Midoriya. Otherwise I'm starting to think you're trying to give health insurance agencies heart-attacks! Nyohoho!"
Though it was a poor joke at his expense, Midoriya decided to let it pass in favor for focusing on more important matters. Yet before he could say anything, Johnny beat him to the punch. "So… anyone have any ideas why that bastard gave up chasing after us?"
"I'm also curious about that as well," commented Todoroki, folding his arms as his brow furrowed in thought. "With how durable and relentless that Stand was, it's obvious that its user wouldn't stop unless there was something that prohibited it from following us into the tunnel."
"Maybe it ran out of gas?" inputted Mineta as he carefully swept broken glass off the seats with his cape.
"Is that how Stands work?" Ashido asked before turning to face Johnny. "Does Tusk need to take a rest every now and then, Johnny?"
"No," answered the American, his expression completely deadpanned. "I don't know how other Stands work, but I wouldn't be able to get into U.A. if I rested every five minutes for Tusk."
"Uh…right, sorry." The pink skinned girl rubbed the back of her neck as she let out an awkward chuckle.
"But that still doesn't answer the question," Kirishima pointed out; his chest now wrapped in a several bandages, but he mostly recovered from the Stand's electricity. "Why did the Stand stop? If it did run out of gas, then maybe it's weak right now! We should go back and kick its butt!"
"You think this big bath tub can make a U-turn inside a tunnel?" Gyro pointed out. "Besides, the brake doesn't work at the moment. Why do you think I couldn't stop this thing?"
"Oh right…. Forgot about that."
"What if the Stand simply ran out of the user's range?" asked Tsuyu, a thoughtful finger scratching her chin.
"That could be a likely reason," said Jiro, "but… that would also imply that the villain is close by. But since we haven't seen anyone since we started up the mountain, I don't that is the case."
"Not necessarily," Tokoyami chimed in. "Since it's a Stand we're fighting, it's possible that the limits of its range is further than that of normal Quirks. But like Quirks, even it has a limit. So once it reached the tunnel it simply couldn't proceeded further without its user."
"Yeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" agreed Kaminari with two thumbs up, though the drool leaking out of his mouth told all that his mind was still mush.
Midoriya couldn't deny that was a good theory, but something still felt rather off about it. "I don't know… the way Camaro stopped… it felt too precise."
"What are up talking, Midoriya?" inquired Hagakure as she sat across from him.
"If the Stand—let's call it Stylo due the way it keeps repeating that word—Stylo had really reached the its range limit, then the way it should have stopped would've been more abrupt, like a piece of rope that became too taut or like meeting an invisible wall. Instead it slowed deliberately just before making a complete stop at the entrance of the tunnel… With that mind, I can only think of two things currently that would explain the Stylo's behavior. The first is that Stand stopped because that something about this tunnel is related to its weakness…. As to what it is, I… I currently have no idea…. Although there are several possibilities that could be related to it. Such as that it might be unable to see the darkened tunnel due the way the Stand is designed. Like its mask could be hindering its vision along with the blacken windows and windshield. Maybe it can't operate in the dark. Or—!"
"Quit your muttering and get on with your other explanation, ya damn nerd!" Bakugo roared at him with an explosive pop from his right gauntlet.
"R-Right, sorry!" Midoriya immediately shrunk back from the spikey haired blonde as his classmates let out audible sighs. Clearing his throat, he resumed his explanation. "As for second idea why Stylo acted the way it did… it's because it might be laying a trap for us."
"How?" asked Sero, flicking a questioning finger at Midoriya. "It didn't follow us into the tunnel, so how can it lay a trap for us?"
"Because the tunnel eventually has to end," Todoroki pointed out seriously. This immediately caught everyone's attention as they turned to stare at the red and white haired youth. "All the Stand has to do is wait for the bus to exit the tunnel, then proceed to ambush us."
"B-But, can the Stand, this Stylo, reach the exit before we do?" asked Sato as he sat with an arm wrapped around his chest. "I mean… can it even do that? This is the only road up and down the mountain."
"Doesn't matter if it's the Stand or not since we don't know where the user is. They could be waiting at the top of the mountain or at the base of it for all we know. Our opponent has proven that they're willing go to any lengths to take us down, so it's not unlikely they would have a backup plan in case we escaped their initial assault. Either way, we need to be ready to face whatever awaits us at the end of the tunnel."
Midoriya could see growing anxiousness on the faces of most of his classmates as silenced followed Todoroki's declaration. That is until some of them decided to voice their frustrations.
"So what if that bastard is waiting for us?!" yelled Bakugo as he smashed his fists together. "If that Stand appears again, I'm going to crush it! No way some shitty villain going to bring me down!"
"As always, you have a way of words," Johnny commented, causing the blonde to whirl around to glare at him. "Whatever the case, Todoroki is right. We need to at least to make sure that bastard doesn't get back into the bus. If that thing gets inside, I don't think we can get it out so easily like last time."
Suddenly Midoriya's eyes widened as inspiration crashed into him like a mighty tidal wave. "That's it! That's how we beat it!"
"Huh? What are you talking about, Midoriya?" asked Gyro, raising an eyebrow at him.
"If we don't know its weakness and we can't tell if it's placing a trap outside of the tunnel right, then we'll make our own trap inside of the bus."
"I'm not following, Monsieur," Aoyama confessed as he flicked a sparkly finger Midoriya' way.
Taking a deep breath, the fanboy calmly collected his thoughts before proceeding to explain his plan to this classmates. "Remember how Stylo kept trying to avoid Todoroki's ice? Not to mention Sero's and Mineta's Quirks? It's afraid of being of being caught. It may be strong, but I doubt it can break free from being covered in thick layers of ice or wrapped together in sticky tape. So all we need to do is get it back into the bus and then capture it before it can run rampant."
"Are you seriously suggesting that?!" Mineta screamed as he jumped up to grab ahold of Midoriya's collar, shaking him furiously. "Don't you remember how difficult it took to get rid of that thing in the first place?! It'll kill us if we let it back in!"
The young curly haired youth felt his head start to spin as the little boy continued to shake him, but he knew he couldn't back down now. "Maybe… but that's a risk we have to take. One way or another that Stand is going to attack us, but I believe we have a better chance facing it in its human form rather than its car form. Plus, we'll block the exits and barricade the windows so that it can't get out…. It's gambit, but we need to give it a shot."
Everyone stared at him for what seemed like the longest time. Some had dubious expressions, others concerned, while the rest were simply worried.
"It's a good plan," Uraraka said suddenly, causing the fanboy to blink before turning to face her. "With all our powers combined, I'm sure we can get the drop on it this time!"
"I can get behind this plan," Johnny also agreed as he sat himself back up onto his seat. "It's only a matter of time before it tries to get back in the bus anyway and I'm not going to sit around for it to kill me, so let's use that to our advantage." It was then that Midoriya noticed the burning dark flame spark forth once more within the American's eyes. He shivered slightly at the sight of it, but at the same time, it was welcoming in a way.
"They're right!" yelled Kirishima. "Let's show that bastard who their messing with and make sure that freak doesn't leave this bus!"
As if a dam broke forth, the others quickly voiced their own support to the plan, though some more enthusiastically than others. Seeing they're support warmed Midoriya's heart and any doubt he had in the back of his mind was swept away by the hardened resolved that took its place. Without another word, everyone went back to their tasks and barricade every opening, nor matter how small, with whatever they could find. By the end of it, the walls were practically covered in sticky tap, insulated sheets, and purple balls while the main door to the bus was covered in ice. The only thing that was left untouched was the emergency exit. After all, it was simpler to let the Stand enter through a spot they could prepare for rather than jump through a window. They tried to fix the bus's acceleration control while they were at it, but it proved far more complicated without knowing what the actual problem was. Midoriya suspected that maybe Kaminari would have fixed it with his Quirk, but with how his mind was at the moment, it was best to simply wait till the bus ran out of energy. Once everything was finished, they waited silently as the bus continued throughout the darken tunnel.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as they sat around anxiously, but suddenly a bright light poked through the darkness, announcing to all that they finally reached the end of the line. Bursting out of the tunnel, the young students were once more greeted by the dizzying heights of the cliff side. Peering out of a small slit in the barricades, Midoriya carefully surveyed the back of the bus yet found nothing but empty road. Seconds quickly turned into minutes, but there was no sign of the malicious Stand.
"Where is it?" Johnny asked as he propped himself beside him. Though his face was a perfect mask, Midoriya could hear an edge of wariness leaking out of his voice. "It should have attacked by now."
"Maybe it went home?" guessed Mineta, clasping his hands together as if he was praying. The American merely gave him a flat look, but said nothing.
Midoriya too felt it was strange that Stylo hadn't resumed its chase yet. He wanted to believe that the theories he thought of were just his imagination, but he knew deep down that wasn't the case. So where was it?
"I hear something." Midoriya blinked at the sudden declaration before turning to see Shoji with one of his arms turning into a giant ear. "It's faint, but it's getting closer."
"Are you sure you're not just hearing the engine of the bus?" asked Gyro.
"No. The engine has a quieter tone to this…" His eyes suddenly widen as he spun towards the back of the bus. "It's coming from behind us and gaining speed!"
Whipping his head around, Midoriya was once more greeted with nothing but the pavement of the road.
"There's nothing there." Jiro asked as she turned back to stare skeptically at him. "Are you really sure you're not hearing things?"
"Positive! I still can hear it getting closer." Suddenly his brow narrowed as he looked up in confusion and growing dread. "That's odd… Now I'm hearing it above the bus…"
Blinking in surprise, Midoriya instantly unhooked one of the barricades before opening a window on the right side of the bus, poking his head out to get a good look at what was coming. He felt his entire body stiffen as he looked up only to see the black-clad car driving along the sheer face of the mountain. With a mighty roar, the Stand suddenly leapt off, flying right at the unprotected bus.
Even as his mind tried to process the bizarre scene, Midoriya felt himself leaping back, falling onto his butt with a thud. "Turn right now, Ida!" he screamed. "The Stand is flying right at us!"
Needing no other prompting, the class president tugged at the wheel just as the rest of the class grabbed onto something least they get shifted around again. With a screech, the bus swerved out of the way from the flying car, nearly colliding into the side of the mountain in the process. Sweat dripped down the side of Midoriya's face as he turned to the back of the bus, yet he blinked when he didn't find any sign of the Stand.
"What the…?" he uttered before a loud thud overhead interrupted him. Whirling his eyes upward, he watched as the ceiling of the bus pressed downward followed by a loud tapping as the Stand moved around. "I was being careless! I should have thought that the Stand might have foresaw our trap and attack from above!"
Suddenly three nail-bullets flew across the bus before puncturing through the ceiling. A loud slam was immediately heard afterwards, but the Stand refused to fall off the bus. "Get the hell off!" roared Johnny as he unloaded more nails into the ceiling. A high pitched screeched answered the paraplegic as claw-like gloves pierced through metal casing before ripping open a small hole on top of the bus. Peering its head through, the blood-red gaze shined brightly as it stared at the astonished students.
"Stylo…" it hissed before jutting a glowing hand though the opening.
Staring wide at the thing, Midoriya only had a moment to duck before volleys of electricity were shot wildly throughout the bus. Everyone tried their best to dodge the onslaught, with Yaoyorozu using what leftover sheets she had left as covers for her classmates, but unless they did something fast, it was only a matter of time before they were overpowered.
Suddenly a chill filled the air. Turning his head back, Midoriya watched as two streams of ice quickly slid up both sides of the bus as they raced towards Stylo. Yet before they reach their mark, the Stand quickly retreated back from whence it came, leaving the hole to be covered up by a thick layer of ice.
Mere seconds passed before everyone noticed masked figure jumping off the bus. It landed with a small bounce before rolling away as the bus continued onward. This confused Midoriya as he would have thought that the Stand would've fought harder than that. Maybe it's regrouping to—
"Everyone! We have a situation here!" Ida yelled, causing everyone to whip their heads around to the strict boy. About a kilometer or two away was a massive wreckage of what looked like a radio tower or something similar, and it was completely covering the road. Staring incredulously at the mess of bent and flames, Midoriya realized that they have been duped. "Stylo wasn't trying to kill us, it was just keeping us distracted from its real trap!"
"Ida, can you stop the bus yet!?" yelled Ashido as she frantically waved her arms around.
"NO!" Ida answered as he futilely slammed his foot on the brakes. "The brakes still don't work!" Gritting his teeth, he tried to turn the bus, but it was pointless as they was no way to truly turn around or punch through the wreckage.
Suddenly a loud pop went off.
The bus suddenly slanting to the left, causing everyone to slam into each other at the unexpected shift. As Midoriya tried to push himself off the floor once again, he wondered if the stress from the sudden sharp turns from the bus finally caused its wheels to burst or perhaps Stylo shot off one of them before he fell. In the end it didn't matter as he watched the bus crashing into the protective guard rails on the cliff, causing whatever glass that was left to fly everywhere, before breaking it apart. Within a few seconds the bus and its passengers were sent flying through the air.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Mineta screamed as he clung to Ashido's backside who in turn hugged her seat for dear life. They weren't the only ones desperately grabbing anything they could get their hands on as Koda, Jiro, and Yaoyorozu gripped onto Shoji's spare appendages, who in turn used what remained to tie himself to his seat. Some students like Hagakure and Kirishima hugged Ojiro's tail, while others like Tokoyami and Tsuyu used their Quirks to wrap Sato, Aoyama, and Kaminari, preventing them from falling out. Sero's tape proved the most invaluable however, as he weaved ropes around his classmates to prevent them from flying out the emergency exit.
Clinging to a rail guard, Midoriya tried to think of something, anything, that would save his class, but he couldn't. With how fast they were falling to the forest below, there wasn't enough time to form a plan, let alone time think of anything that he could do that save his friends.
He barely noticed Uraraka clinging the seat beside him, but he paused once he saw her expression. Fear was written on her face, but the fanboy noticed there was also something else. Her eyes held a determined fire that mirrored Johnny's own dark flame, only it was bright like the burning sun. Suddenly she stood up and yelled, "Everyone! Hang on!" Whipping her hands forward, before slamming them onto the floor. The bus gave a jolt that would have bounced everyone around if they hadn't already prepared themselves seconds earlier. Blinking at the brown haired girl, Midoriya turned towards a window and noticed that their descent got remarkably slower till it seemed like the bus was floating like a feather in the wind.
"Nice going, Uraraka!" The fanboy cheered as he stood up to help his friend, but paused when he noticed her expression. A sheen of sweat dripped down her face, which started to turn a particular shade of green, as her brow furrowed considerably in concentration. "Are you alright, Uraraka?"
"Midoriya… I… I don't know… how much I can hold it…" she barely panted out. "It's so heavy… my stomach feels like a rollercoaster doing constant loop-the-loops…. I'll try to set it down, but… I don't know if I can manage another minute…."
It was at that moment that the curly haired youth remembered his friend's weakness when it came to her Quirk. "Hold on, Uraraka! Just try to get us close enough to the ground and we'll be ok! I know you can save us! Just like how you saved me at the entrance exam!"
"Yeah, you can do it, Uraraka!" cheered Ashido.
"You got this no sweat!" Kirishima added.
As if opening a flood gate, the others quickly added their own cheers and encouragement for the brown haired girl's courageous heroism. The bus continued to float down steadily. Five-Hundred Meters slowly became two-hundred meters. Then Fifty. Twenty-Five. Twenty.
"No good…! I can't… I… I….!" Her hand slammed over mouth as Uraraka released her control over the bus before also releasing her lunch all over the floor. Yet before anyone could resume their terrified screaming, Todoroki suddenly stood up.
"You did well, Uraraka," he said before slamming his palm onto the floor. Instantly a thick layer of ice slid across the floor like a frozen tidal wave before leaving the bus through the emergency exit. Peering outside, Midoriya watched as it flew towards the forest floor, forming a thick icy pillar that held the bus up in the air. Yet Todoroki wasn't done as layer upon layer formed underneath the pillar until it created a reasonable slope that almost resembled a playground slide.
"Oh my god…" Gyro said as he slowly sat up, warily eyeing the floor as if he wasn't sure it was stable. "That… That was too close." He then turned to the ice boy, giving him a toothy grin that showed off his grills. "Quick thinking, Todoroki. Without you and Uraraka, we would have been cartoonish pancakes right now. Though that begs the question, why did you wait so long to use your Quirk? Hell, why didn't you use it to stop the bus earlier?"
"If I tried to use my power at a higher altitude, I would have exhausted myself trying to reach the ground. My ice pillar wouldn't have had the same support it has now if that was the case. Not to mention, if I truly went all out at that height, I might have fatally frozen everyone here by mistake."
"Oh… well, I don't think I would like being made into a giant, banana flavored Popsicle." Everyone would have groaned at the Italian's weird humor, but the heart pounding the experience just moments ago left them feeling a bit numb at the moment.
"As for why I didn't use it on the bus… At the speed we were going, everyone would have either flung out of the bus if I used my powers or possibly snap their necks as they collided with my ice or anything in here."
Midoriya felt a bit of sweat roll down the back of his head at the almost casual, deadpan way Todoroki explained how things could have been if he used his powers earlier. Still, he felt relief flood every cell in his body. Resting his head on his arm, he relished in the fact that everyone survived such an awful encounter. Though he knew deep down that had yet to truly escape the villainous Stand, it didn't matter at this moment. They were alive and that was what counted.
"I thought I just saw the gates of heaven…." Mineta said as he continued to cling to Ashido. A lecherous smile then morphed onto his face as he rubbed his head along the pink girl's butt. "But I think I'll settle for this kind of hea—!"
He was then slammed into a frozen wall, his eyes bulging as he experienced the bone chilling sensation. "Don't touch me like that, Mineta!" demanded Ashido, another angry fist raised in case the little pervert got back up.
"…He recovered surprisingly fast from screaming like a madman…" Johnny dryly commented as he pushed himself upright on his seat.
With that said, everyone else also started to slowly get back up on their feet. Some stumbled a bit, causing them to grasp at anything to maintain their balance, but for the most part, everyone got used to the unnatural angle the bus was in.
"So… what do we do now?" asked Ojiro, his tail flinging bits of ice and glass off his costume.
"Well, we need to get down from here for starters," Kirishima said simply as he cracked his neck. "We can't stay up here forever."
"I already created a gentle slope that can get us to down," Todoroki explained as steam rolled off his body.
"I meant what do we do about Stylo?" clarified the long tailed boy. "Do we call for the police and wait for them to arrive with heroes?"
"That's the most likely option," Yaoyorozu said before pulling out her phone. "Give me one moment and…" She suddenly frowned before putting device back her in pocket. "No signal…"
"Shit…" cursed Johnny. "That means were on our own..."
"Won't someone notice us missing?" asked Hagakure. "I mean, once Mountain Tim Sensei notices how late we are to his class then surely he'll send some heroes to find us."
"Are you willing to wait for that gas-masked freak to appear again?" That immediately caused the invisible girl's hands to droop as the American's words sunk in.
"We can't stay here," Tsuyu pointed out as she scratched her chin. "Johnny's right, if that Stand is still chasing us, it only matter of time before it reaches the ice pillar and tries to destroy it."
"Then what do we do?" asked Jiro. "Hide in the woods and hope that the villain goes away?"
"Screw that!" Bakugo angrily interjected. "That bastard isn't going to simply let us go and I sure as hell am not going to let him slip away! We'll go out and find them and smash their face in! There is no way I'm backing down after being thrown of a damn cliff!"
Midoriya let out a sigh at Kacchan's brash idea, but he had to agree with one thing. That Stand isn't going to give up. It must have noticed by now that its prey didn't get crushed under the weight of the bus collapsing after falling off the cliff, so that meant they were working on borrowed time. The question was where did they go from here?
"If I may make a suggestion!" Ida said before holding up what looked like a local map for all to see. "I found this in one of the emergency panels along the driver's seat. If I'm reading this correctly, I believe that there is a nearby town not too far away from where we are at. If we keep heading north of the mountain, and follow the road of course, we'll reach it in about a couple hours. Less if I went on ahead with my Quirk. Once there I'll use a landline to call the police and bring the heroes!" Silence filled the bus as everyone mulled over the strict youth's plan.
"Sounds like a solid plan to me," Gyro agreed as he adjusted his hat, wiping of bit of melted ice off its brim. "We'll just wait here for you—."
"No, Ida going ahead is a bad idea," Tsuyu bluntly cut in.
"Eh? Why not? He's prefect for the job!"
"I have to agree with Gyro," said Ida. "I'm the most suited for this job. It'll be like at the USJ, I'll go get help and—."
"You'll be ambushed the moment you hit the road." The class president paused before frowning at the frog girl. "At the USJ, the League of Villains were too focused on us to really give chase after you, Ida. This Stand, however, is fast. Maybe faster than you are. Since it probably knows we survived our fall, it will more than likely be looking for anyone trying to make it to the road and then run them down. Our best option is try to head to the town together and through the forest."
Ida wasn't the only one silent as everyone stared at Tsuyu in astonishment. Her words, while blunt and to the point, rang true. And judging by the frown and the furrow of the strict boy's brow, Midoriya could tell that Ida was having trouble accepting that fact. Finally he took a deep breath before releasing a sigh. "You're right, Asui. That villainous Stand will probably be watching our every move from now on. It was selfish of me to needlessly think of only myself." He then gave her a deep bow.
"You weren't being selfish, Ida. Also, call me Tsuyu."
"At any rate," Tokoyami suddenly spoke up, "we're all in agreement that making our way to the town is our best option at this point?"
"All the other options suck, so we don't really have much a choice…" snarked Johnny.
"Then let's grab whatever we can and leave before Stylo catches up with us."
Everyone nodded in agreement before quickly scavenging the bus for emergency supplies. It didn't take long before Yaoyorozu and Ojiro had two standard issued first aid packs strapped to their backs. Unfortunately for Johnny, his wheelchair was bent out of shape from the fall, making it practically useless to use. Though before Midoriya could offer to help the paraplegic, Gyro immediately lifted him off the ground despite the light-brown haired youth giving him a flat look. Once everyone was ready, Todoroki melted the ice barring the main door, allowing everyone to slide down the slope he created. Bakugo was the first to jump down, carefully balancing himself as he practically skated down the slide. One by one the others followed suit, with Gyro carrying Johnny down in his arms while Jiro helped a still brain-fried Kaminari, before they all reached the forest's floor.
Without another word, the students of U.A. all started their journey towards their destination. At the vanguard was Bakugo, demanding to be the first to fight the malicious Stand if should appear. Beside him was Todoroki, his eyes scanning the nearby trees and bushes for any sign of movement. Shoji had two of his arms morphed into ears once more, listening for the loud rumble of the Stand's engines. Kirishima insisted that he cover the rear, saying he would make up for failing to protect his classmates from the vile Stand. Ojiro joined him along with Sero, all three boys kept a wary eye behind them at all times as they proceeded further into the forest. As for the rest, they all huddled together in middle, yet even though some of them were out of commission or injured, they refused to let down their guard.
Minutes quickly came and passed by without any sign of the malicious black clad car and its driver. This worried Midoriya as he would suspected the Stand to appear by now. Was it having trouble finding them? Or was it simply watching and waiting for the perfect time to strike? He doubted it was the latter since the masked boogeyman clearly demonstrated its unrelenting endurance and would have attacked the students on sight, but it didn't stop the feeling of eyes following his every step.
A sudden snap caused everyone stop mid-step before quickly whirling around. Shade from the trees covered the entire area, giving an ominous feeling as their eyes wandered over every twig that stuck of the trees and bushes. Finally their eyes zoned in on a sizable shrub that twitched softly. Without a word, a grinning Bakugo immediately rushed forward before slamming an explosive fist into the foliage. Leaves and branches exploded everywhere before a terrified fox scurried passed the boy's feet, fleeing deeper into the woods. Everyone relaxed visibly as the tension quickly dissipated.
"Hahaha. Nice work saving us from the bad ol' fox, Bakugo," teased Ashido, grinning even as the spikey haired boy turned around to glare holes at her.
"Shut it, Pinky!" he roared before stomping forward in a huff.
Midoriya had to hold back a small grin at the exchange, but a sudden snap from behind quickly caused him to freeze up. Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise up, he quickly spun around just in time to see Stylo lunging forth with a clawed hand aimed to rip out his throat. It only took a second for his mind to catch up with what was happening, before hastily jumping back as adrenaline rushed through his veins. The gas-masked Stand rolled to the floor before springing back up. Without so much of a glance back at the young students, it leapt away, narrowly escaping Kirishima's hardened fist that slammed where it once stood. Several nail-bullets followed after the Stand, scrapping at its cloak, but it was no use as it quickly hid itself amongst the trees.
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Sato. "How did it sneak up on us?!"
"Probably when we were all distracted by that fox," Shoji stated before turning to Midoriya. "I should've been more vigilant and heard him approaching. I'm sorry, Midoriya." He then gave him a low bow.
"I-It's fine, Shoji," said Midoriya, scratching the back of his head as he felt a bit awkward seeing his classmate bow so formally to him. "I'm just glad I was able to dodge it. If it had attack me with its… car form…" Suddenly his eyes slowly widened as realization dawned on him, causing him to mutter to himself. "Why didn't the Stand attack us in its car form? We're in a sizable area for its car form to move around in, but it instead it used it humanoid form. Now that I think about it, Stylo's movements also seemed… slower. It's still fast, there is no doubt about that, but compared to how it moved in the bus earlier… its movements looked sluggish, as if something was weighing it down…"
"Hey guys, check this out!" Hagakure said, cutting off the boy's quiet ramblings as he turned to face the invisible girl. Yet his eyes grew even wider when he saw a torn piece of black cloth in her palms. "Isn't this part of Stylo's cloak?"
"I think it is," said Jiro as he walked up to examine the dark fabric. "I think it might have been torn off when Johnny shot at it."
"So what? What's so important about it?" Sero asked as she stared skeptically at it.
"Up to this point, we couldn't hurt that monster, Sero," explained Midoriya, now convinced that his budding theory was correct. "Nothing we threw at it could scratch it, let along rough up its clothes…. But if its cloak was torn apart then—."
"Then that bastard is no longer invincible," observed Bakugo, a malicious grin sprouting across his lips. "Guess that explains why it tried to side-blind the damn nerd just now."
Midoriya winced at Kacchan's remarks, but couldn't deny that he had a point. "The only reason I can deduce why the Stand is no longer invincible or in its car form is that is related to its weakness."
"Alright, but what is its weakness?" asked Uraraka, she held her stomach as her face still tad green from over using her Quirk earlier. "I mean… why now? We couldn't do anything to it before! So what could have caused its weakness to come into effect?"
Midoriya rubbed his chin for a moment before another theory quickly came to him. "For some Quirks, environments play a huge role how they are used. Some are stronger in a favorable environment, while others are severely limited. This is just a guess, but since its main form is a car, perhaps it's weakened when it's off the road."
"Is that really the case?" Yaoyorozu asked dubiously. "Stands aren't Quirks, so it might be something else entirely. Plus there's also the fac—."
"It doesn't matter in the end!" roared Bakugo as explosions popped to life in his hands. "Whatever the case, I can finally break that gas-masked asshole once I get my hands—!"
Suddenly Bakugo leapt back a step just as a bolt of lightning shot of the forest. The explosive youth let out a growl and prepared to charge, but was halted as several more electrical blasts sprung forth, causing the students to scatter least they get fried.
Letting out a yelp as a bolt flew dangerously close to his head, Midoriya ran for cover behind a nearby thick tree. Yet before he could he take his third step, he noticed a huge wall of ice form behind him. Todoroki blew out a stream of mist as he crouched down to the once grassy floor, now completely frosted over. "You're not getting away this time." A wave of huge ice spikes rushed forth as they hunted for their prey. The trees groaned as they were uprooted from their soft soil before quickly becoming encased in ice.
The powerful display from the youth was simply incredible to Midoriya. "Such power…" he thought silently for a moment before pausing as something caught his eye. Turning to his right, he saw a shadowy figure moving between trees and bushes before several more blasts shot forth, heading directly to the young red and white haired boy's blindside. "Look out, Todoroki!" yelled the fanboy as he ran over to help his classmate, but once again he was stopped when another wall of ice formed around the two of them.
"…You alright, Midoriya?" Todoroki asked coldly as he quickly stood up.
"U-Uh, yeah, just fine." Midoriya said as he eyed the icy wall. If had been any farther away from him, he would have been encased in it.
"You guys get to cover!" exclaimed Ashido as she waved the two of them over.
"Doesn't matter if we take cover," said Todoroki, his eyes scanning for the malicious Stand or any thunderbolt that might suddenly appear. "It'll can't out run me if I freeze the entire area."
"B-But you'll also freeze us as well, Todoroki!" exclaimed Midoriya, causing the other boy to blink, as if he didn't consider that possibility, before turning to face him. "And there's no guarantee that you'll get it if you freeze everything. Stylo has proven crafty and could use some sorta trick to get away from your attack."
"…Then what do you suggest that I do?"
Midoriya gaped at him for a moment, thinking of anything that could help their current situation, before spotting Jiro covering a still addled-brained Kaminari as they hid behind a tree. Feeling the gears in head quickly spring to life, he quickly thought of a plan to beat the malicious Stand. "Keep it busy, Todoroki. Make sure it doesn't lose interest in you!" The red and white haired boy stared at him for a moment before giving him a nod. He then lowered one of the ice walls before shooting out several smaller streams of ice into the woods. He wasn't the only one who joined in on the fray as Bakugo started to blast apart several trees and bushes all around him, causing a mini clearing to appear.
Midoriya didn't waste any time before rushing towards the duo. ""Jiro! Can you use your Earphone Jacks to locate Stylo from this distance?!"
The dark-purple haired girl stared at for him for a moment before comprehension dawned on her face. She gave him a grin before saying, "Yes. Despite the racket that Bakugo and Todoroki are making, I can easily locate it." She then plugged in Earphone Jacks into the grassy floor before closing her eyes and covered one ear in concentration. "…I can hear movement north, that's the boys, but I don't hear anything else… wait… there… it's faint, but…" Suddenly her eyes shot open as she turned around. "It's behind us!"
Bursting out of a nearby bush, Stylo stood before the three youths, its piercing red gaze zeroing in on the young students, the shadows from the trees giving it an even more menacing presence. "It predicted my plan?!" Midoriya found himself frozen where he stood as he stared wide eyed at the Stand. "But how?! Does it know of Jiro's Quirk…? No way… then its attacks were nothing more than a distraction?!" He barely had time to finish that line of thinking as the Stand quickly lunged forward, a clawed hand raised to strike at the purple haired girl's eyes.
Shaking off his shock, Midoriya jumped in front Jiro, who quickly shielded Kaminari with her own body. Closing the distance between them, the malicious Stand didn't hesitate as the fanboy now stood in its way. Like the crack of a whip, its claw-like hand sped forth, changing its intended target towards the young boy's throat. Midoriya felt streams of sweat rush down his head as he tried to defend himself, but it he knew he wasn't fast enough to block the killing blow. His only option left was to use One For All, but he missed his shot then either he or his classmates would be killed.
Yet he blinked when the Stand's claws stopped just short of neck, its tips nicking at his skin. Stunned, he looked up and saw that a long, pink tongue wrapped around Stylo's waist, preventing it from taking another step.
"Move, Midoriya!" yelled Tsuyu as she yanked her tongue back along with the villainous Stand.
Yet as the masked foe was pulled back a couple of steps, it roughly grabbed her tongue before yanking it off its body. Before the frog girl could even twitch, the Stand then swung her around till she collided into to a thick tree. As she collapsed to the ground, Stylo turned around once more to finish off its prey. Yet it paused when the fanboy held up his right hand just a foot away from its chest, his ring finger pulled back.
Taking advantage of the Stand's hesitation, Midoriya flicked his finger. A smashing shockwave shot Stylo back like a cannonball, tearing apart not only its cloak, but also its gasmask in process. Several thick branches and thousands of leaves were also sent scattering everywhere as it was flung through them before it finally colliding into a particularly large tree. Glass from its lens scattered to the ground before it too crumbled to the floor, twitching slightly before going still.
Midoriya stared at the fallen Stand for a moment, his messed up hand raised once more in case the fiend got back up, before realizing that the Stand wasn't moving at all. After everything that has happened in the last hour, the invincible Stand was finally defeated. His knees gave as way the realization hit home, barely acknowledging the pain screaming at him from his now third broken finger. "We won..." he thought in relief as he knelt to the ground. "After everything, we finally beat it… but only by mere luck. Even with its powers weakened, it was still able to think ahead before we could even form a plan. If Tsuyu hadn't appeared—." It was in that moment that the curly haired youth remembered his frog-like classmate. "Tsuyu!" he yelled before letting out a hiss as the pain of his broken bones could no longer be ignored.
"I'm alright, Midoriya…" said Tsuyu, rubbing her left arm as she walked slowly over to him. "Just a little bruised is all… That Stand didn't have much power when it swung me around, so I'm alright for the most part." Her eyes then zeroed in on his hand. "Though I wish I could say the same for you…"
"You broke your fingers again?" Jiro asked as she walked over before kneeling beside the boy, carefully examing his fingers. She frowned for a moment, before letting out a sigh. "Nice job taking out that jerk, Midoriya."
"I-It was nothing…" he said, though he winced as he tried to cup his increasingly tender fingers.
"Midoriya, Jiro, Tsuyu!" The fanboy turned to see the rest of his class running towards them.
"Are you alright, Deku?!" asked Uraraka, quickly kneeling beside him in panicked rush. "What happen to your hand!? Did Stylo do this you?!"
"N-No, Uraraka…" Taking a deep breath as he tried to ignore the increasing pain he was in, Midoriya quickly explained what happened to the rest of his students. As he finished his tale, they all looked relieved knowing that their foe was finally beaten.
"Wait, where is Stylo?" asked Yaoyorozu, scanning the area around them in search of the black-clad figure.
"Oh, he's over there." Midoriya turn around to point at the fallen villain, but blinked when couldn't find any trace of the black cloaked figure. "W-Where'd he go!?"
"Didn't anyone see anything moving?" Todoroki asked as he also scanned the area around them.
"No, nothing moved an inch when we got here!" attested Kirishima.
"...Maybe it returned to its user," Johnny said, causing everyone to turn towards him with questioning eyes. "Tusk can phase back and forth into me, so it's possible that its Stand simply returned to its user once it was beaten. At least unless Midoriya destroyed it."
"I did not!" Midoriya couldn't imagine doing such a thing. Even if the Stand just tried to kill him and his friend mere moments ago, he made sure to regulate his power least he literally tore apart the Stand along with its user.
"Then it went back to its user." The American then let out a fiendish grin. "And if what Mountain Tim said is true… then its user must have experienced the full brunt of your attack, Midoriya."
"Then… we don't have to worry about Stylo anymore?" asked Ida, waving his hand around hopefully.
"Let's hope so…" muttered Midoriya as he leaned back for a moment. It was a grueling experience facing an enemy Stand for the first time and one that proved almost lethal. But in the end, they managed to secure victory, even if it was by pure luck. And for the exhausted fanboy, that was enough for now.
Author's Note: First off, I want to say that I'm deeply sorry for making you all wait two months for this chapter! I wanted to finish last month, but college kinda got in the way. I had to write two long essay papers before Spring break and that kinda took it out of me somewhat. And when I actually got back into writing, I kinda got distracted half the time by the internet and Stellaris... first time playing that game and it devoured my time. And then there's the fact that I didn't actually intend for this chapter to get this big. Yeah, it was supposed to be shorter, but I wanted to get some things done rather than have them take up time in the next chapter. More on that in just a moment. For now, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for keeping you waiting.
As for this chapter, I really hope you all enjoyed it. As much as I got distracted while writing this, I had a lot of fun with it. This chapter emphasizes are truly inexperienced Class 1-A is when fighting not only an enemy Stand, but a villain that is actually clever enough to plan head of our heroes. After all, fighting a Stand User is tricky business compared to normal villains, though normal Quirk villains can be just as dangerous if they are really clever and/or powerful. It shows that they still have a long way to go on their journey to the top and the only reason they won this round with Stylo is because of luck. Now some may see this a cop out, but keep in mind that Stylo, at that point, was weakened due to its weakness coming into effect, (More on that in a moment), and the other students were trying to keep an eye out for it, which Tsuyu happened to spot it just in time. Not only that, but luck is also a key factor in fighting, which I will further discuss in future chapters as it was also discussed in the actual Steel Ball Run part of Jojo. Not to mention I also want to point out that the chapter, from start to finish, has been rather fast paced, at least for the students' prespective. They had barely any time to prepare for their foe and the moments they did, their foe was also planning and preparing ahead as well.
Still I also wanted to show off how smart and quick some a lot of the students of Class 1-A are when fighting this monster, even if they couldn't really beat it with their initial plans. Midoriya of course, able to deduce a lot about Stylo in the short amount of time facing the Stand. Yaoyorozu also is quick to counter some of the Stand's more dangerous aspects, creating tools to fight against the boogeyman on the fly and saving everyone's lives with righting the bus before it could fall of the cliff at the start of the chapter. Todoroki is also quick on the upkeep, being one of the only people who force the Stand back on his own. Bakugo as well proved to be rather fercious, which is as expected from him, but his hair trigger anger and pride, at this point, is still his fatal flaw and thus can't predict as far like the others at the moment. Granted he constantly looking towards the future for his goal of being Number 1, but at this point in the story, he's constantly focusing on the "Now" of a fight, limiting him from getting on the level of his foe. Granted he's gotten better at this, and I tried to show that he was one of the first to keep on attacking Stylo and forcing it back, despite his damage practically doing nothing initially.
In the end, I wanted to display the students as what they truly are: Rookies. They will get better in time, there is no doubt about that, even for aces like Bakugo, Gyro, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu, but they are still fledglings in the hero world.
Now for Stylo itself. It was defeated for this round, but who can say where it went after it was blown back by Midoriya? Or that of it's mysterious user? Or even the user's equally mysterious partner? After all, the arc has only begun and things are only heating up. And with that I will shut up least I spoil the rest of this arc. I will also withhold Stylo's stats for now until the end of the arc, because, again, spoilers. For now, wait and see, my friends. Wait and see what will happen next time... Yes I'm a tease. :P
Also a special Thank you to The Infamous Man for helping me out with designing Stylo! Thanks again TIM, you're help is, and as always, really appreciated! :D
Now for the title of the chapter: Stylo. If you haven't already figured it out by now, Stylo is based off the song of the same name by the band Gorillaz. In its music video, the Gorillaz are chased in a Camaro by Bruce Willis, YES THAT ONE, while in the subplot the boogeyman gets ever closer to the band. I really love the song itself and its visuals, giving off a really tense vibe as an oncoming unstoppable force chases after our protagonists, much like what has happened in this chapter. You can say both the Stand and the start of this arc were inspired by this song.
Anyway, the next chapter will be either in April or May. Probably May, since both my birthday and finals for college are in April. I will try to get something done, but no promises will be made on when things will be ready for your pleasure.
At any rate, time for some review responses!
gold crown dragon: Yep. It's the Gorillaz! Now if we only can get the BATH in this arc, it will be complete... And I think I know how do that. *Laughs sinsterly!*
Hercules8: Thank you so much for the support and sticking with this story! :D
reven228: Oh yeah, big Gorillaz fan here myself and I knew I had to get a few references in this story for them! And yep, its Stand battle time and a Stand related arc! :D
cryja922: Don't worry! I won't kill this story. This has become my most favorite story to work on and I doubt that I'll ever leave it. And also don't worry, I know exactly when to have Johnny reach Act 2 for Tusk.
jalen johnson: Oh All Might isn't upset with Johnny, just had a mini panic attack that transfered over to Midoriya for a bit. Don't worry though, he'll have a talk with Johnny as soon as this arc is finished. As for the students, that's exactly what I wanted to show via this chapter. That some are clever, but still rookies when compared to their elders. Anyway, thanks for continuing to read my story and I hope you continue to enjoy it!
echoSMOKER: Gorillaz are one of my favorite bands as well! When I first writing this story, I knew the first Stand for this story, whether it be for a villain or hero, would be named after a Gorillaz song!
NCam42: I always like the calm before the storm moments myself. Really sets a mood of safety before shit hits the fan as in the case of this chapter. As for your Question, no. Stylo isn't modeled after Wheel of Fortune. It's based on the music video Stylo from the band Gorillaz. As for Diego... don't worry, he'll make his appearance sooner or later! :D
Guerrerowalker: Indeed it is a Gorillaz reference! :P
The Infamous Man: I've already PM'd you in regards to your review, as usual, but as always, thanks again for your helpful and constructive comments. They are really useful to me and help me grow this story in a glorious tale! I hope you continue this story as much as I do! :)
lolrus555: Wow! Thank you so much for such an incredibly detailed review! This really warms my heart and helps me push forward when I'm feeling down. I can't express this enough, but I really appreciate your words and I hope you continue reading my story! Also, yeah. Johnny is like a cuddly teddy bear compared to the more "Savage" bear in the class that is Bakugo. As for Johnny's tutalage under Gyro, don't worry. I'll have times dedicated to the both of them training and learning together on how to be better with their powers and be better people as a result. Also with Class 1-A helping them from time to time, mainly Midoriya. Also yeah, TIM's story helped inspire me to write my own story, but I didn't want to be a copy of his work. Rather I wanted it to be my own thing and move at my own pace. Johnny here is different from TIM's version, not to say that is a bad thing, but it's just a different interpertation of what I've read from the 7th Jojo in Steel Ball Run. Not by much, granted, but enough not to feel like a shot for shot dublicate, if that makes sense considering this story is fanfiction. Still, I though that Jojo and My Hero Academia would work really well, and here we all are. And I'm glad that things have grown since then. As for the rest of your comments, unfortunately I can't go any further without giving spoilers. Until then, I do hope you enjoy this story and thank you once again for your support!
Well that about wraps that up! Once again, I hope you all enjoyed this story and again, tips, tricks, and constructive criticism is always appreciated! Until then, please wait for the next chapter, "Rhinestone Eyes", in the coming months. For now, farewell and I hope you all have a wonderful day!
Sincerely, Count Chaos.
