Hi there everyone, UltimateDemonBeast65 back again with the next chapter of MVA: Symbiote's Justice! The follows and favourites are growing fast and I thank you all for being on this journey with me and my co-writer. This took less time than the previous chapter, but that's because I wasn't away like last time. Without further ado, I will respond to your reviews and any reviews made after this chapter will be answered next time.
Trux-Killer: We will address that soon, maybe not the next chapter but soon enough. Your comment was a bit strange though, but either way thanks for the feedback.
SpideyFan2001: Glad you thought so, dude.
SamukaiGaming: This is a Venom story, not a Moon Knight or Ghost Rider one, so unfortunately no that won't be the case.
Crossroads of Illusions: Basically yeah, they did.
Digidestined0252: It will be a recurring gag, yes, as for love-hate relationship I am not sure, maybe Bakugo.
Guest: Thank you!
With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!
Eddie had a bit of trouble trying to fall asleep last night for a multitude of reasons and issues. He was shocked by how callous Aizawa and the other Pro Heroes could be around these children, and though he understood they had Quirks and were stronger than a regular human it didn't change the fact that it sometimes felt more like a military school in how harsh they were with their studies and physical education. He also was thinking about home, his universe and San Francisco, as well as Anne who he hoped that Dan was treating well given that the last time he spoke to them the wedding would be happening very soon. Eddie was also concerned about that boy Kota, as ever since meeting him up on that road he could tell there was a darkness within him, one created by the tragedy of losing his parents and essentially disowning Hero society in general.
"Hey Eddie, wasn't it hilarious seeing that Kota kid deck the broccoli boy in the nuts last night?" Venom asked with glee.
"Glad to see you're treating this with the utmost seriousness, pal." Eddie said sarcastically. "I just feel as though that kid could be on a bad path if someone doesn't try and help him, and I don't mean save him, I mean like professional help."
"So does that mean we're going to help him then?" Venom asked with a groan.
"Maybe, but right now…" Eddie said as he saw all of Class 1-B in their PE uniforms looking tired or scatterbrained. "...let's just watch and see how these kids train."
"We're focusing on our Quirks?" Kendo asked, one of the few members of the class not looking visibly tired or annoyed.
"Class A is already training, you all need to catch up." Vlad King said as he motioned for them to walk with him. "Last semester, Class A was in the spotlight, next semester it's Class B's turn."
"Once again, they're treating that attack on the USJ like it was just some show, even though people could have been killed." Eddie said with an annoyed expression as he walked near them. "Don't they realise these are kids they're talking about?"
"I think these kids are no better, they treat it like a game too, Eddie." Venom remarked. "Especially Class 1-B."
"From now on, you're shooting for the top, don't let me down!" Vlad said to his class.
"We're such disappointing students!" The metal shifting Tetsutestsu thought as he and two other students were putting their heads in their hands and others had their heads low.
"I get that you want everyone to improve their Quirks, we have 20 unique powers in our class. What kind of training will help all of us get better." Tokage asked curiously.
"Yeah, can you be more specific?" The insectoid Kamakiri asked their teacher.
"Yeah, I'm curious too as to what crazy ass training you're going to put these kids through." Eddie said passive-aggressively, which Vlad King noticed but chose to ignore.
"When your muscle fibers are overused, they break and grow back tougher, thicker. Quirks are the same way." Vlad King explained. "They improve the harder you push them, stronger after every workout. In other words, there's only one thing to do…"
Vlad King had arrived at the training site with his class and Eddie, to which they stumbled upon quite the sight.
"...You'll have to break yourself!" Vlad King exclaimed, much to the shock and horror of his students who got a glimpse of what was in store for them.
As they and Eddie could see, Class 1-A was already doing their training, each following a special regiment to augment and push their Quirks in an effort to make them stronger and more resilient to their weaknesses. Bakugo, after letting his arms sit in a barrel of boiling hot water, screamed at the top of his lungs and shot out a large explosion into the air while nearby Todoroki in a barrel of water while rapidly switching between using his ice and fire powers. Sero meanwhile was on a hill shooting out his tape continuously despite the physical pain was under while down below Kirishima and Ojiro were sparring, having Ojiro hit Kirishima with his tail while hardening his arm for defense, and close by Kaminari was holding onto a generator and allowing his electricity to surge through it, channeling massive amounts of voltage into his body.
Koda was practicing vocal exercises and shouting to improve his Ani-Voice's range of effect while Aoyama meanwhile was shooting lasers from his stomach towards the sky repeatedly, all while his stomach ached more and made him feel extremely nauseous. Underneath Aoyama inside a cave was Tokoyami who was trying to control Dark Shadow while submerged in darkness, as the absence of light make his Quirk go berserk and on a nearby hill Uraraka was inside what appeared to be a zorb ball, using her Quirk on it to strengthen her ear canals. Iida was running long distances as a way of increasing his leg strength and stamina while Asui was scaling a mountain using her tongue as a rope to improve her muscles.
Sato was eating pieces of cake while lifting weights in order to build his strength for when he uses his Quirk, with Yaoyarozu also eating food to augment her creations and decrease the time between creating objects. Jiro was stabbing her Earphone Jacks into solid rock to strengthen them and increase their sound quality, Ashido made acid against a rock to increase her skin's resistance to it and Mineta continuously took pops balls from his head to decrease his scalp's vulnerability. Lastly, Shoji was quickly creating multiple Dupli-arms in order to hunt down Hakakurge, who was trying to improve her stealth.
Class 1-B were speechless to say the least while Eddie and Venom were either shocked by the intensity of the training or impressed by their dedication.
"Oh man…this is pretty intense…" Rin trembled.
"You said it, kid…" Eddie remarked, putting his hands on the back of his head.
"Talk about pushing it to the limit." Venom said grinning subconsciously.
"Operative types will be raising your limit, maxing out your power. And the rest, you'll mostly focus on strengthening body parts related to your Quirks." Vlad King explained sternly. "Now normally, these changes happen gradually as you grow."
"But we don't have time for that." Aizawa stated as he walked up towards Class 1-B. "Your class has a lot of work to do."
"Once we team up with Class A, there will be forty students here. That's a whole lot of Quirks for our two home room teachers to manage on their own." Kendo said as she turned to Yanagi, who was standing next to her.
"Which is why we called them." Aizawa said matter-of-factly.
"That's correct! Four kittens in one litter!" A green haired woman in a yellow cat costume, Ragdoll, said excitedly.
"Your feline fantasies are here! Say 'meow'!" Mandalay began their motto.
"Allow us to lend us a helping paw!" Ragdoll continued.
"We're champion's serving of justice! With our tails!" A muscular man in a brown cat costume, Tiger, said as he flexed his arms.
"Purrrfectly cute and cat-like heroes!" Pixie-Bob said.
"We're the Wild, Wild Pussycats! Full version!" The four cat-heroes finished as they struck their pose, while Bakugo let off another explosion behind them.
"Damn it!" Bakugo shouted.
"I'm Ragdoll and my Quirk is Search!" She said, introducing herself. "I can look it up to a hundred people and know everything about them! Like their location and weakness!"
"With my Earthflow, I can create the ideal training ground for every student!" Pixie-bob said as she created a small wave of earthly matter and rock behind them, which launched Uraraka inside her zorb ball up into the air.
"And my Quirk is called Telepath, I can give advice to multiple people at once!" Mandalay said.
"The name's Tiger and I'm here to beat you guys to a pulp." He stated.
"I have questions about him…" Kaibara said with concern.
"He sounds like fun, Eddie!" Venom said with a grin.
"He literally just admitted to wanting to beat up kids." Eddie said, looking away in disbelief.
"Damn it!" Bakugo yelled again as he shot another explosion into the air.
"All you kids with strength Quirks, time for Tiger's boot camp!" Tiger said as he pointed at the students of Class 1-B. "Class A's already sweating, so catch up quick!"
The students looked over towards what sounded like panicking and saw Midoriya doing what appeared to be a pose repeatedly as some sort of exercise.
"Come on! Show me what you got!" Tiger shouted as he moved next to Midoriya.
"5% Detroit Smash!" Midoriya yelled as he channelled One For All's energy throughout his body and tried to land a strong punch on Tiger, however the only male of the Pussycats evaded the blow by contorting his body into an arch shape.
"This dude can contort his body despite being so muscular?" Eddie said in amazement.
A split second later, Tiger then landed an left handed uppercut on Midoriya, a move dubbed the "Cat Punch" by some fans, which sent the green haired boy hurling into a nearby tree before falling to the ground.
"If you don't push yourself, you won't shred your muscle fibers and then you won't get stronger!" Tiger said.
"Right, sir…" Midoriya said, groaning in pain.
"I can't hear you!" Tiger shouted.
"Right, sir!" Midoriya shouted back.
"He's scary…" Kaibara muttered under his breath.
"You wanna be Plus Ultra, don't you?" Tiger asked as he gave off an intense aura. "Then show me what that means!"
"Yes, sir!" Midoriya yelled in response.
"That guy is way more intense than I expected." Kaibara thought.
"These guys are nuts…" Eddie said quietly.
"These guys are crazy, and I like it!" Venom exclaimed.
"There's a lot going on at U.A., so it's hard for us to spare much staff for the Hero course first-year's." Vlad King explained.
"Based on their experience and range of powers, these four were the most logical choice to help you enhance your Quirks in such a short amount of time." Aizawa added.
"Don't fall behind Class A! Make me proud!" Vlad King said.
"Yes, sir!" All the Class B students responded.
Midoriya fell on his back trying to catch his breath, panting heavily with each exhale as thought about all of the important moments in his life regarding One For All.
"The Quirk All-Might passed onto me was more than I deserved. And then Gran Torino taught me how to use it in a way that wouldn't destroy my body.." Midoriya thought, as All-Might's words flashed in his mind.
"You're overflowing with energy at the moment. With training, your body will hold it better."
Midoriya clenched his fist as a more determined look appeared on his face.
"I've come a long way in such a short time." Midoriya thought. "It's up to me to move forward, and make this power my own!"
Midoriya then soon stood back up and faced Tiger before starting to yell and flex with determination, something that impressed the cross dressing powerhouse.
"That's right! Tear that weak Quirk apart and make it stronger!" Tiger yelled.
"Yes, sir!" Midoriya yelled.
"Looks like the broccoli boy is getting fired up, Eddie!" Venom said as he sprouted out of Eddie's back, surprising those who had never seen the symbiote before or caught them off guard due to the moment.
"I almost forgot he could do that…" Kendo remarked, sweating nervously at the sight of Venom.
"Woah, that's one funky looking goo monster coming out of your back!" Ragdoll commented.
"Well, someone with manners for once…" Venom said with a grin.
"Because they didn't call you the P word?" Eddie asked.
"Exactly!" Venom replied.
"So you admit it." Eddie said, scratching his head.
"I never hid that I detest being called a parasite, Eddie, you just like to think that I did out of some sort of attempt to act macho." Venom said with a chuckle.
"As per usual, you're just here to observe and monitor their training." Aizawa said to Eddie. "And even if they look completely drained, don't intervene. As Vlad said, they need to strengthen their Quirks like a muscle, break it so comes back stronger and tougher."
"Yeah, I know." Eddie said with a nod as he began to watch the students train.
After an intense day of training, the students of Class 1-A and 1-B were asked to prepare curry for dinner for themselves using ingredients provided by the Wild Wild Pussycats, and though they struggled at first they did successfully make the curry and happily ate it despite a few complaints about the taste. Eddie had refrained from helping on account of the fact that it wasn't his place to help them, not to mention didn't want Venom to try and cook anything after the disaster that was his attempt at making breakfast on the day of Kasady's execution. Rather he was sharing the dinner table with Aizawa, Vlad King and the Wild Wild Pussycats, chowing down on a delicious meal they prepared while also serving Venom up a plate of chicken, nuts and a mug of hot chocolate for the two to share.
"Hey, give me a swig!" Venom barked, to which Eddie poured the hot chocolate down the symbiote's mouth. "Thank you!"
"Thank you for making dinner for both of us, it would have been a nightmare if I had let him cook." Eddie said before having more of his food.
"I did fine!" Venom insisted.
"You burnt literally everything, the smoothie was wet garbage and you broke the ketchup bottle." Eddie argued.
"Sounds like that one time Tiger tried to make burritos, nearly burnt the house down." Ragdoll commented gleefully.
"Oh please, I put out the flames before it spread past the oven." Tiger said defiantly.
"You're missing the point, fire could kill me and yet I tried to cook anyway knowing I could have died!" Venom exclaimed.
"Oh, so that's your weakness then…" Pixie-Bob said with a devious smirk. "Good to know."
"And sound!" Both Eddie and Ragdoll chimed in.
"Eddie! Why have you betrayed me?!" Venom roared angrily.
"Oh relax, I'm not going to let them hurt you." Eddie assured as he finished his food.
"Kota! It's time for dinner!" Mandalay called out. "Where are you?"
"I think I saw him outside." Eddie said as he stood up. "I've finished eating, so I'll go and look for him."
"You don't have to do that, Eddie." Mandalay insisted.
"No it's fine, I'll be right back." Eddie said as he went outside the log, to which he saw Midoriya standing near the doorway staring off into the distance.
"Wake up, broccoli boy!" Venom shouted, causing Midoriya to snap out of his thousand yard stare.
"Midoriya, you doing okay there, buddy?" Eddie asked.
"Huh? Oh Eddie, I didn't see you there." Midoriya said, scratching his head nervously. "I just think I saw Kota walk off into the woods by himself."
"Mandalay just made him dinner, so I was going to fetch him for her." Eddie said.
"Hey Eddie?" Midoriya asked as his tone got more serious.
"What's up, kid?" Eddie asked back.
"Have you noticed how distant Kota has been since we got here?" Midoriya wondered.
"You mean because of how his parents died fighting a Villain?" Eddie retorted, surprising Midoriya. "I'm guessing they told you what happened to him."
"Yeah, and so I understand why he's not a big fan of Heroes, but I just wish I could show him the good that they've done, that it's not a lost cause." Midoriya said, looking to the ground.
"Tell you what, go grab a bowl of curry and we'll follow him to wherever he's headed to." Eddie suggested.
"Alright." Midoriya said with a nod as he went to dish up some curry and soon enough he and the symbiote host headed after Kota, following his footsteps towards what looked to be a cave on the side of a mountain.
"I could have sworn we saw this cave before." Eddie thought as they soon approached where Kota was, whose stomach was growly loud enough for all three of them to hear.
"We heard that." Midoriya said, getting Kota's attention as he turned around and scowled angrily at him and Eddie.
"No way! How'd you two find this place?!" Kota exclaimed.
"Oh sorry, we followed your footsteps." Midoriya said as he approached Kota with the bowl of curry. "I thought you might want some dinner before it gets cold."
"Your cousin was concerned when you didn't show up at dinner, so I volunteered to come find you." Eddie said, putting his hands in his pockets.
'Whatever, I'm just fine. Get lost and mind your own business, freak." Kota retorted venomously.
"Woah, that is uncalled for, young man!" Venom exclaimed, angering the young child more.
"I don't want to hang out with you, so forget about my secret hideout!" Kota said, turning his head away from both Midoriya and Eddie.
Midoriya looked around the cave before speaking to Kota again.
"This is a secret hideout?" He asked, making both Eddie and Venom cringe.
"Dude, that was just dumb what you said there." Venom said bluntly,
"Hmph, spending your entire life trying to improve your Quirk? It's dumb!" Kota snapped at Midoriya. "All you want to do is show off!"
Midoriya lowered his head while Kota then looked at Eddie and Venom with the same level of resentment.
"And you! I overheard what my cousin and the others said, that you're a criminal trying to keep yourself out of prison! You're just a no good thug with some disgusting quote on quote alien inside your body, trying to pretend that it's not just some living Quirk Get lost, both of you!"
Though Eddie was hurt by Kota's words, he kept his composure, but Venom was furious as he formed a scowl on his face.
"Why you little shi-" Venom growled before being silenced by Eddie.
"Hey about your parents, I was wondering…were they the Water Hose Heroes? With the water Quirks?" Midoriya asked, to which Kota became visibly uncomfortable as he widened his eyes.
"Did Mandalay tell you?!" Kota demanded.
"No, it's um…well…sorry…" Midoriya said, lowering his head slightly before scratching his head. "But I heard a little about what happened to them, and based on that information I figured…I remember reading about that horrible incident a few years ago."
"Go away." Kota said angrily as he turned away from Midoriya and Eddie. "Everyone here is so crazy, calling people stupid names like "Hero" and "Villain" and then killing each other because of it, always focusing on their Quirks. If they hadn't been showing off, they'd still be here. Idiots."
"Is that what you think of your parents? That they were idiots, kid?" Eddie asked, to which Kota looked visibly disturbed by this question but did not relent.
"It's not just Heroes, Kota hates Quirks and this entire superhuman society." Midoriya thought sadly.
"We're done here, go back to camp with the other losers!" Kota roared.
"Um, hey…my…my friend…" Midoriya tried to say, only to be cut off by Eddie.
"I think that's enough, kid, he doesn't want to hear your story." Eddie said, as he stood in between the Hero in training and the superpower hating youth. "Isn't that right, Kota? You heard enough sob stories as it is and heard so many times how your parents were brave and died honourably-"
"Will you two just leave me alone already?! GO AWAY!" Kota yelled angrily.
"I'm sorry, I guess I-"
"Midoriya, don't apologize to this little punk." Eddie said with an assertive tone as he looked at Kota. "You know, kid, you're not exactly wrong, all this talk of Heroes and Villains and powers, it all sounds so ridiculous, doesn't it? And yet it's nothing like the romanticized tales you'd hear growing up, it's brutal and cruel."
Kota got more visibly frustrated and angry by Eddie's words.
"Are you deaf? I told you-"
"No, the grown ups are talking now, kid! So listen up." Eddie interrupted, raising his voice at Kota which caught him off guard slightly. "You hate Quirks and anything that's related to them because in your mind, it's what took your parents away, and if this world was just full of normal Quirkless people then they'd be alive and you wouldn't be alone up in this cave hiding from the people who still care about you."
"You don't know anything, so just shut up!" Kota roared.
"I know you stare at the world with eyes clouded by hatred, and that all you want to do deep down is find some way to just smash and break things, and maybe even get revenge on the bastard who killed your parents." Eddie said without hesitation or pause.
"Stop talking, you freak!" Kota yelled.
"And there you go, deflecting and insulting me and everyone else just because you can't love yourself, that you hate everyone and everything, but especially you hate what you are, the son of Heroes." Eddie spat at Kota.
Kota screamed as he tried to punch Eddie in the groin similar to what he did to Midoriya, but Venom created a tendril out of Eddie's body and wrapped it around Kota's arm, locking on tight to it so that he couldn't break free.
"Let me go!" Kota shouted as he tried to pry the tendril off with his free hand but to no avail.
"Eddie, what are you doing-" Midoriya before Venom glared at the green haired boy to silence him.
""I'm sorry for your loss, I know what you're going through, they were so brave and so strong", no doubt people have fed you those lines to death now, but I'm not here to offer bullshit condolences, Kota, I'm here to actually talk to you, to make you realise that what you're doing right now is dangerous." Eddie explained sternly. "You have so much hate and misery in your heart, so much pain, and that's going to grow and spread until you're nothing but a bad day away from making the worst mistake of your life."
Both Midoriya and Kota were taken aback by Eddie's harsh but well-meaning words.
"Yes, I've done some things I'm not proud of, and I often wonder if I'll make up for the times I hurt people or disregard others' feelings and wellbeing. But I know wallowing around in spite and anger isn't going to fix anything. Stop trying to push people away, Mandalay cares about you and yet you act like such an ungrateful brat towards her. But I'm not you, Kota, I'm not going to make decisions for you, only you can decide what happens next." Eddie said before turning around and looking at Midoriya. "Come on, kid, let's leave him alone for now."
Midoriya slowly nodded before leaving the bowl of curry there.
"I'll just leave this here in case you want it." He said before he and Eddie walked off, leaving Kota alone to his own devices.
Kota was not expecting such a lecture, especially from someone who was more or less a criminal on parole. However, he would be lying if he didn't think the words didn't make him feel something, even if he was still angry.
Several miles away from the summer camp, a small group of Villains working under the League started to gather. One of them was Dabi, who was the self-appointed leader of this small squad, as well as Toga, a schoolboy wearing a gas mask called Mustard and a hooded cloak figure with a white mask on, who was actually a mass murdering Villain known as Muscular.
"You know, I'm even more glad I found you, Carnage, because now I don't need that ugly gear that they wanted me to use, all I need is you." Toga remarked with a smile as she morphed one of her hands into a red and black claw, feeling the organic matter around it with admiration.
"You're too kind, sis~" Carnage said with a giggle.
"They were engineered from the black market, from what I hear. You should have been more worried about if they worked, not if they looked pretty." Mustard stated. "But I suppose it doesn't matter now since you do have that creature inside of you."
"Well, it could have been more stylish, but either way I have the perfect gear right at my fingertips." Toga said before changing her transformed arm into a curved blade and swung it at the air before retracting it back into her body.
"Hi, darlings! Sorry to keep you waiting!" A woman with a muscular build, known as Magne, called out as she was walking towards the group.
"Get to work! Get to work!" A man covered in a black straitjacket that only revealed his mouth, known as Moonfish, muttered.
The last newcomer was a reptile-like man with purple hair and was sporting a white mask and red scarf, who gave off a menacing smile as he adjusted his mask and looked out towards the camp.
"That makes seven of us." Dabi stated.
"I don't care, just let me loose!" Muscular said, clenching his fingers restlessly. "I'm too pumped up to stand by, could have at least let me fight you and your red and black goo monster, little girl."
"And I would peel the flesh off your bones and gnaw on your skull and brains, you muscle-bound moron." Carnage hissed after sprouting out of Toga's body.
"Shut your mouths, you crazy bastards." Dabi hissed, turning his head to face them before facing forward, continuing to speak. "We wait. We're expecting three more people to join our little party. The League of Villains made a mistake going after them with a bunch of random thugs at the USJ. Better to use a small group of elites. The first thing we have to do is take away their sense of peace. And show them that their lives rest in our hands."
Carnage looked off in the distance where the summer camp before started to growl and hiss, catching Toga and the others' attention.
"What's wrong, girl? Don't like it up here?" Toga asked.
"I sense him…" Carnage replied in a serious tone.
"Him?" Mustard wondered.
"...The one who made me…my father….he is here…and when we find him, he will DIE!" Carnage roared.
The next day of the camp started, with Class 1-A and 1-B getting back to working on their Quirks with the sound of Koda screaming at the horizon being one of the many sights to see. However not everyone did well on their final exams, and so Sato, Kaminari, Sero, Ashido and Kirishima were given extra lessons that took up more of their time and left them exhausted the day after. Eddie was watching the training happen while sitting on a fold-up chair drinking coffee.
"Hey remedial group, keep at it." Aizawa said as he pulled Kirishima back by the head with his binding cloth.
"Yes, sir!" Kirishima grunted.
"Youch, that's gotta hurt…" Eddie said, cringing at the sight of the cloth pulling against Kirishima's head tightly.
"He'll pull his head off if he's not careful." Venom commented.
"Sorry…but I need more beauty rest…" Ashido said tiredly.
"Who knew yesterday's extra lessons…?" Kaminari muttered.
"Would go on until two in the morning…?" Sero whined.
"And start back up at seven…?" Sato continued.
"I told you it'd be tough. Remember, you're not just improving your Quirks, you're also working to overcome many weaknesses I saw in the finals." Aizawa explained, to which the five students jolted at what he said, before he began to pull his cloth harder on Kirishima. "Think carefully about why you're more tired than the others before you start whining. You have much to improve here."
"Right, yes sir!" All five of them exclaimed.
"Ever the drill sergeant, Aizawa." Eddie called out.
"Zip it, Brock. Uraraka, Aoyama, the same goes for you." Aizawa said, addressing the two as Aoyama got out of a portable toilet and Uraraka carried a rock with her Quirk. "Your team didn't fail, but you were very close. I'd say you passed the proverbial finish line by a hair."
"That bad?!" Uraraka exclaimed.
"Don't lose focus. Each of you could move faster." Aizawa continued. "And no matter what you're doing, just remember where you started from. Don't forget who you were before U.A. Always keep in mind why you're sweating and why your limits keep getting tested. That's what it means to improve."
"Where I started…" Bakugo thought.
"Who I am…" Todoroki thought.
"How I got here…" Midoriya thought, to which he realised something and decided to approach Aizawa. "That reminds me, Mr. Aizawa, it's already the third day of camp."
"Weren't you listening? Stay focused." Aizawa said, landing next to Midoriya.
"I was just wondering if All-Might- I mean, if the other teachers from U.A. will be joining us." Midoriya said.
"You really worship that blonde herculean idiot, don't you?" Venom remarked with a groan. "I swear it's nearly all he talks about. All-Might's the best. All-Might's invincible, he's the coolest in the universe! Well can he beat Superman? I don't think so!"
"Superman isn't real, dude." Eddie said before sipping his coffee.
"But if he were real, he'd send All-Might into space, and throw him into the sun!" Venom exclaimed
"Like I said before we came out here, to keep the camp a secret from the Villains, hardly anyone knows where we are." Aizawa said.
"That's why you get to work with us four Pussycats!" Ragdoll shouted excitedly.
"And think about it, we believe All-Might is one of the League's targets, so we can't have him here. It's for your own safety." Aizawa explained before he began to walk away. "For better or worse, that's what he gets for standing out so much."
"Seems like it's mostly for worse these days…" Midoryia thought, then looked down as he closed his right hand into a fist. "So that's it, All-Might won't be here to help me."
"I wish we could help out with their training, but we aren't allowed to interfere plus some of the students' Quirk would leave us at a disadvantage." Eddie said.
"What if we did what they were doing?" Venom asked.
"Meaning?" Eddie asked back.
"Tearing muscle fibers! Maybe we could train to better resist fire and sound." Venom suggested.
"And how do we do that without killing ourselves?" Eddie asked with a brow raised.
"Well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, plus I'm saying we have someone blast fire or sonic waves at us, maybe start small, like a candle or a speaker." Venom explained.
"Hmm, that doesn't sound half bad." Eddie remarked.
"Meow, meow, meow, meow! More importantly, tonight's gonna be fun!" Pixie-Bob exclaimed excitedly. "We're pitting classes against each other in a test of courage! I know you've been training hard today, and later you'll get to play hard! How's that for a reward?!"
"It just sounds like more training…" Kendo groaned.
"And training in the dark no less…" Jiro sighed.
"Revelry in the dark." Tokoyami simply said.
"Ha! Edgelord!" Venom roared as he sprouted from Eddie.
'Shut up!" Eddie said, shoving coffee down Venom's throat.
"How much can we do in one day…?" Rin asked.
"Hehehe…at least we get to beat Class A, am I right…?" Monoma remarked exhaustedly.
"Don't slack now! Make sure you keep pushing yourself as you work!" Pixie-Bob called out.
"Yes, ma'am!" The students near Pixie-Bob shouted back.
"Remember…where I came from…" Midoriya mumbled before Tiger snapped him from his thoughts.
"Hey." He said with his intimidating aura radiating from his body once more. "You're not Plus Ultra yet."
"Ah! Right!" Midoriya said before running back to continue his training with Tiger.
"So do you want to try it, Eddie?" Venom asked.
"What? No, we're only allowed to do that back at school outside of class." Eddie insisted.
"Can't we just practice with a match or candle?" Venom suggested.
"You're gonna scream like a bitch if I stick a flame near you." Eddie argued.
"No I won't!" Venom shouted.
"Yes you will!" Eddie argued.
"I won't!" Venom roared.
"Alright, then let's prove it." Eddie said as he picked up a set of matches, and began to light one of them, creating a small flame. "Show me you can have this lit match near your face for more than a minute. Ready?"
"Ready!" Venom responded as he slowly moved his head towards the match, feeling its heat more and more as he got closer.
Eddie moved the match closer, to which Venom started showing visible discomfort being in front of it, flinching at first before staring at the flame with a glare. Venom however stayed close, despite feeling the sensation of pain rushing through his black amorphous body, while Eddie kept holding the match to his face.
"See? I told you I could-ARRRGGGH!" Venom screamed as part of his face caught on fire.
"Oh shit!" Eddie exclaimed as he started to use a towel to try and put out the flames. "Stay still!"
"THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!" Venom roared in pain.
"I told you we should have waited till we got back!" Eddie yelled as he kept trying to douse the flames and apply water to Venom. "Okay, okay…I think it's out…no, it's still going, shit!"
In the distance, Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob couldn't help but laugh at Venom's and Eddie's expense. Students had mixed reactions with some being concerned, some were slightly annoyed while others thought it was quite funny too. Eddie successfully put out the flames by dunking Venom's head into a nearby well, creating an audible simmer as smoke and vapor rose from the water. Venom rose back up, coughing and gasping like Eddie was also doing.
"Alright, Eddie…we'll wait…" Venom panted in exhaustion before retracted into Eddie's body.
Night fell on the summer camp, and after dinner the Wild Wild Pussycats organized the "Game of Courage" they spoke about. The game was basically a makeshift horror attraction where one class provides scares and the other class has a duo of students go around in a circle and try to brave through each of the students' attempts to scare one another. However, five of Class 1-A's students were not allowed to complete due to remedial lessons which made the count uneven and led to Midoriya being by himself. Eddie and Venom chose to remain at the log, sitting on the balcony as he looked towards the night sky.
"Didn't want to watch their little game, Eddie?" Venom asked.
"Nah, just some kids trying to scare each other, nothing special about that…" Eddie said with a sigh. "I hope Anne is okay, wherever she and Dan are…"
"She'll be fine, Eddie, let her go, she's safe back in our universe…" Venom said.
"I know, I know, I just…it feels like it's been ages since we were home where all we really needed to worry about was cops…" Eddie said, before letting out a yawn. "Maybe we should just hit the hay early tonight and maybe see what tomorrow brings…"
However, a large purple fog could be seen emerging within the forest, with rising black smoke and several blue flames burning the trees behind the fog.
"What the hell is that…?" Eddie said, standing up as he widened his eyes.
"Where there's smoke, there's fire…" Venom said nervously.
"I think you were right, pal…" Eddie said with a glare. "...they did find the camp."
"Everyone!" Mandalay called out with urgency through her Quirk. "Two Villains attacked us! It's possible that there are more coming! Everyone return to camp immediately, we're regrouping! Do not engage any enemies!"
"That's Mandalay's voice." Eddie said, surprised. "I heard she had one-way telepathy, so this must be a message from her."
"Do we stay put? Remain at the camp like she told us to?" Venom asked.
"To hell with that, we made a promise in case a situation like this happened." Eddie said as he clenched his fist. "Time to suit up."
"Oh yeah! The Lethal Protector is back!" Venom exclaimed as he transformed, covering Eddie's body in black organic matter as he became his large muscular self and quickly sprinted off.
Up near Kota's cave, Midoriya was down on the ground beaten up and was starting to bleed from the top of his head after attempting to defend against Muscular's attacks. Midoriya was the only other person that knew about Kota's hideout and quickly made his way to bring Kota back to the camp safely, but then had to protect Kota from being killed by Muscular, diving in to grab the younger boy and barely avoided Muscular's punch. Meanwhile, Muscular recognized young Midoriya and remembered that he and the others were told that they were allowed to kill him. And so used his Quirk to enhance his right arm and punched Midoriya with a right hook, to which Midoriya blocked but ended up crashing into the side of the cave. Muscular then asked Midoriya if he knew where Bakugo was, but Midoryia didn't respond and Muscular continued to attack him until he was knocked to the ground.
"Hahahaha! Yes! Blood is exactly what I wanted from you!" Muscular said excitedly, before proceeding to mock Midoriya. " What did you promise? That 'everything would be okay'? How's that working out for you, huh? Don't just lay there, stupid!"
"That muscle Quirk of his is too powerful! I need a plan!" Midoriya thought as he was starting to stand up, but shaking as he was in severe pain. "If I worry about Kacchan right now, I'm dead! I have to focus on the enemy in front of me!"
Midoriya then charged up his Quirk and tried to punch Muscular.
"SMASH!"
However, his punch was blocked by Muscular's arm and had no effect on the Villain at all.
"What? Is that all you got? You're fast but not strong enough to hurt me!" Muscular remarked before shoving Midoriya away with his arm hard enough to make him tumble across the ground.
More muscle fibers then started to grow around and protrude from Muscular's arms.
"My Quirk increases my speed and strength so exponentially, that my muscle fibers can't even be contained by my own skin!" Muscular stated. "I know I'm bragging a bit, but come on! I guess what I'm trying to say is…YOU'RE JUST AN INFERIOR VERSION OF ME!"
Muscular then rushed forward and punched down towards Midoriya, but then the Villain's punch was caught by a black clawed hand, as in between Midoriya and Muscular stood a fully transformed Venom, much to the surprise of the Hero-in training, Kota and Muscular himself.
"Mind if I cut in?" Venom said as his grin widened.
"Hey…I recognize you." Muscular said as he continued to try and push against Venom's grasp. "You're that Vigilante during the Hosu Incident."
"Is that….Venom?" Midoriya thought in shock, realizing where he had seen this form before. "Throughout the entire time he's been at U.A. he never showed us what Venom was capable of….and now I understand why…"
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, you 'roided up freight train?" Venom remarked before pushing Muscular back. "Broccoli boy, you okay?"
"I'm…still alive…" Midoriya replied as he slowly stood back up. "But…Eddie, no Venom…you-"
"Do you want to protect that little brat or not? Stay focused, we'll talk later!" Venom roared.
"Finally! I was wondering if I would ever get an actual fight on this mission, and I just so happen to run into the Vigilante who's been pissing Shigaraki off this whole time!" Muscular yelled with a psychotic smirk.
"So the League sees us as enemies too…" Eddie thought. "Makes sense, those Nomu monsters that Venom ate came from them…"
"Let's do this!" Muscular exclaimed as he used his other hand to punch Venom in the face.
Venom ducked out of the way of the punch, feeling the force of it move past his shoulder, before landing an uppercut into Muscular's torso, striking with enough force to knock him off his feet before hitting him with a punt kick that put against the mountain. Muscular quickly recovered in order to block another punch from Midoriya before attempting to fight him again, only for Venom to leap in front of the punch and create a shield that redirected the force back at Muscular, making some of the muscle fibers on his arms snap off. Muscular smiled however at this more impressive foe and was able to grab Venom by the neck and started to slam the symbiote warrior into the ground a couple of times, leaving a small crater from the impact. Venom fortunately broke out of his hold and side-stepped out of Midoriya's way who aimed his hands at the mass murdering Villain and flicked his fingers, creating high pressure blasts of air that struck Muscular's body, pushing him back but did not penetrate his muscles' defenses.
"You're starting to bore me, kid, why don't you run along so me and this black behemoth can have a real fight!" Muscular roared with delight.
"No, I made a promise to Kota, and I intend to keep it!" Midoriya proclaimed as he took a stance next to Venom.
"Not that I'm agreeing with the literal musclebound psycho, your attacks haven't really been helpful so far." Venom said before clenching his fists and licking his teeth.
"I have to keep fighting, otherwise I can't call myself a Hero!" Midoriya yelled as he rushed towards Muscular and channelled One For All's energy into his arm, throwing a strong punch on the Villain's torso. "SMASH!"
However, the blow did not damage him, just like most of Midoriya's attacks so far. Muscular chuckled maniacally as he prepared to strike the green haired student again.
"I can't help but laugh at you, kid!" Muscular exclaimed as he struck Midoriya with a punch that sent him flying towards Venom, who was able to catch Midoriya before he could hit the ground. "You really think you're a Hero, don't you?! How are you going to save him, huh? Don't make promises you can't keep, live up to your words or they don't mean anything! You're no Hero, you're just a fraud, and you'll die that way! Shigaraki wanted to kill you himself, Vigilante, but I think I'll just help myself to you instead!"
"Yeah? You want a piece of me, tough guy? Then come get some, for we are Venom!" Venom roared after putting Midoriya down.
But before Muscular moved forward to attack the Symbiote again, he suddenly felt a small rock hit the back of his head, then turned around to see Kota with tears in his eyes.
"Remember Water Hose? My mom…and my dad…did you torment the two of them too? Before you killed them?!" Kota asked while slowly starting to sob.
Midoriya and Venom were both shocked at the revelation that Muscular was the one who killed Kota's parents, both having a mix of anger and surprise on their faces.
"Huh? Seriously? Those losers were your parents?" Muscular asked as he turned to face Kota. "Well then, this must be fate. The Water Hose Heroes, they're the reason I have an artificial eye in my left socket right now!"
"This is all your fault! Nothing in the world is right any more and it's because of crazy people like you!" Kota cried out.
"Little kids are always so quick to say it's someone else's fault." Muscular said, shutting Kota up and filling him with more dread. "Don't get the wrong idea, it's not like I took them out because I was mad about the eye thing. I wanted to kill people, it's as simple as that and those two tried to stop me. What happened was the result of all of us doing our best. The real travesty is promising something you aren't able to do. THAT'S WHY YOUR DEAR OLD MOMMY AND DADDY DIED!"
Muscular then built up more muscle fibers and was about to kill Kota with a full power punch he felt something wrapped around his feet and pulled him down to his knees, to which he looked down and saw black tendrils tightly around him that were coming out of Venom's arms.
"You think you can stop me from killing this brat by holding my legs down? My muscle fibers can break out of anything, you no good Vigilante!" Muscular roared as he grinned with delight.
"Now, Midoriya!" Eddie/Venom yelled, to which Muscular saw Midoriya leaped toward him at blinding speeds.
"Nice try with the sneak attack, but I'm ready!" Muscular yelled as he tried to break out of Venom's grip, but the Lethal Protector simply tightened it which surprised the Villain.
"You ruined his life! And you won't take the blame?!" Midoriya exclaimed. "Got you now! Doesn't matter how quick you are!"
"But what's your next move?" Muscular asked as he was about to punch Midoriya with his other fist. "You gonna punch me with that puny Quirk of yours again?!"
"It's not a matter of whether or not I can do it!" Midoriya yelled as he reeled his arm back while building up energy. "A Hero's job…is to risk his life to turn his promises into a reality!"
"What?" Muscular thought.
"One for All…100%!" Midoriya thought before the right part of his shirt was ripped off from all the power that was being put into his arm.
"Wait! There's something different about him!" Muscular thought, being caught off guard by the sudden change from the Hero-in-training.
"SMASH!"
The impact of Midoriya's punch created an intense shockwave that split the rock and ground beneath them, blowing debris in each like a powerful hurricane. Venom leaped in front of Kota before anchoring his body and shielding the young boy from any rocks that blew past them as well as the strong current created from the punch. As the smoke cleared from the split rock's collision, Midoriya landed near Venom and Kota, his right arm broken and heavily bruised while his shirt was torn in half.
"Shit, glad to see you're still alive!" Venom remarked.
"Is Kota…is Kota okay…?" Midoriya said as he grasped his broken arm in pain.
Venom gestured behind him, as they saw that Kota was fortunately unharmed.
"T-Thank you…both of you…" Kota said, then noticed the damage on Midoriya's body.
"Let all get back to camp, it's not far-"
Before Midoriya could finish his sentence, Muscular burst out from underneath the debris that was piled onto him using all the muscle fibers on the upper half of his body, before they retracted back into his skin.
"What the fuck?!" Venom exclaimed in disbelief.
"No way! It can't be!" Midoriya thought fearfully as he turned back to Muscular. "I was at a hundred percent…the same as All-Might's power!"
"Ah…a bit too obvious. But hey, not too bad Midoriya!" Muscular remarked as he then walked towards him.
"No! Stay away!" Midoriya shouted.
"Nah, attacking sounds more fun!" Muscular said back, getting closer and closer.
"It's no good! What am I supposed to do now?!" Midoriya thought frantically. "I just need some time to think!"
"Midoriya!" A familiar voice shouted, to which Midoriya in question as well as Muscular turned to see Venom with half his face open, revealing half of Eddie's face underneath. "Take Kota and get the hell out of here! Leave him to us!"
"But I can't leave you here to fight him alone!" Midoriya shouted back.
"Don't be a dumbass, kid! You're in no condition to keep on fighting! Protect the boy, that's what matters!" Eddie retorted. "Aizawa will be pissed if you end up dead on my watch, so just go already!"
Midoriya wanted to object and keep fighting, especially because he wanted to give Kota someone to hope for, to break him out of his darkness. But he knew Eddie was right, and that staying here would only lead to him risking Kota's life again. Midoriya nodded towards Eddie before looking at Kota.
"Quickly, get on my back, Kota, and hold on tight…" Midoriya said, not taking his eyes off Muscular as Kota complied with the request as he climbed on Midoriya's back.
"Who told you that you could leave? We're not finished until I split you open and see all your blood!" Muscular yelled as he surrounded his body in thicker muscle fibers before attempting to land a punch on Midoriya, however his torso was grabbed by black tendrils and he was pulled towards Venom who threw him against the side of the mountain and left a decent sized impact.
"Don't die on me, Eddie, Venom!" Midoriya yelled as he activated Full Cowling and as quickly as he could, rushed down the mountain with a surge of green electricity.
Venom's face fully closed back up as he turned to face Muscular, who pulled himself out of the indent the Lethal Protector made before he grinned once more.
"I'm so glad that the League finally let me off the leash!" Muscular then reached into his pocket, with a couple of artificial eyes falling out before attaching a large red one on his left socket. "Because I was just messing around with Midoriya earlier! Having fun! But now? Now, I'm serious! Truth be told, he's stronger than I thought he was, but you'll have to do instead since you've stopped me from fighting him!"
"A grown man trying to kill a bunch of kids, now that's just low!" Venom roared before taking a stance. "But since they're gone now, we can stop holding back too, so bring it on, you son of a bitch!"
"Come on then!" Muscular shouted before he made his muscle fibers cover his torso and arms and charged at Venom, winding up his right arm for a punch against the Symbiote.
Venom weaved around the punch before he struck Muscular with a hard punch to the Villain's chest and then started to make fists fly, continuously landing fisticuffs across Muscular's body with each strike meaning to try and hit with enough force to break through his muscle fibers. Muscular's smirk grew as he powered through each of Venom's strikes and punched the symbiote, launching him to the other side of the mountain and then leaped over to follow him. Venom's impact site had a small crater from the force, but he couldn't admire it as he quickly dodged another punch from Muscular before grabbing both of the Villain's hands, forcing the two powerhouses to push against one another like two sumo wrestlers. Muscular added another layer of fibers while Venom tensed up his body and gained slightly larger muscles as they kept pushing against each to try and see who would fall first. They both then let go in which the force blew both Venom and Muscular back, both then wound up a punch and threw it to one another, causing the fists to clash and create a strong shockwave that carved up more of the mountain they were standing upon.
"This is madness! Those muscle fibers keep growing back thicker each time!" Venom snarled. "If only I could make weapons to pierce him with!"
"Wait a minute, Venom, I have an idea! You in?" Eddie asked within Venom's body.
"Oh, I see what you're getting at, but are you sure it will work, Eddie?" Venom asked before he countered another one of Muscular's punches with one of his own then ducked out of the way of yet another attack.
"We just need to get a good shot, find an opening and strike it!" Eddie replied, to which Venom nodded in agreement as he formed two tendrils and ensnared Muscular with them.
Muscular tried to free himself from Venom's grasp, trying to grow more muscle fibers on his body in which he tried to pry the tendrils off his body with his increased strength. Venom could feel the organic matter slowly tearing around his tendrils as he finally let go of Muscular and lunged at him with a shoulder charge as he formed more tendrils on his back. Muscular was knocked into the side of the mountain again but quickly recovered and decided to fire off his own flurry of punches, each one hitting with more force than the other as Venom formed a shield to block them. Venom gritted his teeth as he saw each punch was weakening the shield and so he moved the tendrils forward and began to spin them in rapid succession, as he leaped away from Muscular's uppercut, though felt enough force from the attack brushed against his body.
"Is this all you got, Venom? If so, then I'm not impressed!" Muscular roared as he formed several layers of muscle fibers on his right arm and threw it forward as a megaton punch.
Venom then quickly side-stepped the attack as he wrapped the spinning tendrils around his arms before he plunged the makeshift drills into Muscular's arm. Muscle fibers were drilled into it, tearing away layer after layer until the spinning tendrils reached his true arm, spraying blood from each entry point as the muscle fibers began to fall off.
"What the fuck?!" Muscular screamed as he felt the sensation of pain rushed throughout his body from the symbiote's drill attack. "He hardened and spun those tentacles fast enough to turn them into a drill strong enough to pierce my muscles!"
Venom let out a roar before he drilled the tendrils in deeper and with a strong grip he tore Muscular's right arm clean off its socket, spraying more blood and muscle fibers on the ground. The pain forced Muscular to his knees, grunting and growling as he grasped his freshly made nub before Venom kicked him with enough force to knock him back over to Kota's cave and then landed soon after near the mass murdering Villain. Muscular tried to stand back up, only for the Lethal Protector to punch him to the ground and after digging his clawed hands into his remaining arm, he ripped it clean off too, spraying more blood from the new nub created from his mutilation as Muscular screamed in pain.
"Hurts, doesn't it, asshole?" Venom said before lifting Muscular up by his neck. "We were going to play nice while with these kids, but they're not here right now."
Muscular then started to chuckle faintly before looking at Venom.
"Looks like you got me, Vigilante…guess that means Shigaraki will get to kill you yet…But are you really going to kill me? Aren't you friends with that Midoriya brat who wants to be a Hero? Good guys don't kill people…"
Venom's face morphed into an angry scowl as half of his face opened, to show that Eddie wore the same scowl.
"I'm no good guy…" Eddie said coldly, as Venom's face closed back up.
Before Muscular could register what happened, Venom bit down on the Villain's skull, splitting it in two before yanking his entire head off its body and swallowing it, leaving a bloody and visceral mess everywhere as he dropped the now headless Muscular's body. Venom looked at the forest in front of him, hearing chaos unfold around him as he used his senses to see that there were more students in danger.
"Let's feast on some Villains!" Venom roared as he sprinted off and leaped into the night to battle with the rest of the Vanguard Action Squad.
Did you enjoy the chapter? If so, please favorite and follow the story and give me your feedback! Now let me explain some of my decisions that I made in this chapter.
So I might probably get some criticism over how I handled Kota as well as choosing to have Venom defeat Muscular given that it was a triumphant moment for Midoriya and was what snapped Kota out of his nihilism. So let me explain myself.
I do think Kota is sympathetic and I can understand the reason behind him hating superhuman society, but in my opinion, he was also extremely stand-offish and also came off as ungrateful to Mandalay and the Wild Wild Pussycats. While Midoriya's attempts and efforts are well-meaning, he is more or less doing what everyone else has done and that's trying to offer misguided sympathy and understanding which in my opinion only makes Kota resent them more, so I chose to have Eddie to talk to him on realistic grounds and also not attempt to convert him into liking Heroes but simply told him that latching on this hatred and bitterness might make him into a monster. He wasn't going to coddle the boy, he was going to give him a reality check.
I chose to have Venom fight and kill Muscular because I wanted to show that Venom hasn't gone soft just because he's been forced to go on a diet or pull his punches, also Muscular is a scumbag, a one dimensional psychopath who just kills, especially when he becomes Jailbreaker later on in canon, so him killing Muscular would save all the lives he took later on. Another part of it is because Venom is there, he can minimize damage and casualties, allowing Midoriya to not be hurt as badly and still save Kota's life. While the 1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash was epic, it was impractical and made Midoriya more of a liability in the attack, and so I wanted to be more pragmatic and have him just take Kota and run while Venom fights Muscular.
And yes, while it's true that very fight and determination to protect him even when he was underpowered was what changed Kota, a combination of Midoriya coming to his rescue and Eddie's talk will set the boy straight in this story.
If that is all, then I will see you guys next chapter! MVA: Symbiote's Justice, Lethal Protectors away!