"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Hey! Do not touch that! One Photon Conductor Coil could send this whole lab up in smoke!"
"WHAT THE FU-"
The Support Course, outside of the General Course, was generally the first to finish out of the whole school. After all their practicals were RnD specific as opposed to the Hero course. The Support Course exams for students were all done at once, as opposed to the Hero exams which were still in effect.
This left the students of class 1-H, specifically the class-proclaimed Psychopath Mei Hatsume and the newest transfer student everyone had already grown to be afraid of.
Everyone except Hatsume herself.
Which left Peni stuck with her, as she was the host for her 'Cousin'. For whatever reason she didn't know that conjoined them at the metaphorical hip, and without even knowing the pink haired inventor followed her around campus to the storage building.
And now here we are, with said pink haired inventor exploring any and every nook and cranny of the red and black mech who sat cross legged and nonchalant. Meanwhile his partner-in-crime was ready to blow her lid.
"You don't know anything about Personal Space, do you?!" The tsundere groaned, crossing her arms with a huff.
"Tell me, how thick is this plating?!" Mei questioned from on top of Crawler, sitting on his shoulder and grabbing hold of his metal cranium for her eyes to focus better. Though Peni wasn't so appreciative, The machine in question gave audible buzzes of laughter, optics squinting at her frantic touches. "And it's fully autonomous, right?!"
"That's what I said...I built the thing after all...Co-built, anyway." The small tsundere rolled her eyes while the madwoman twisted her attention back down to her. And the gaze was almost unnerving. "Okay, what?"
"It's awe inspiring! Between your cousin's suit, Mrs. Stark's power armor, and now this!" Hatsume gawked happily while gesturing to the humanoid machine she sat atop the shoulder of. "I didn't even know this level of technology was possible today! Let alone existed! It's amazing! Oh you beautiful thing!" Her praise for the metal being was just short of a nosebleed as she leaned over his head to hug. Of course he gave a low purr of acceptance of her 'love', as odd as it was to anyone else.
For Peni however it was less an aura of weirdness and more slight irritation.
"Don't get all buttered up! She literally begged me to put a bomb in you!" She called out up at the two, more bratty than anything else.
"Oh it's only a bomb if you need it to be." Mei waved off the accusation.
"WHEN WOULD WE NEED THAT?!"
Crawler simply wheezed in a chuckle of humor. As short tempered as he knew his partner was, if played off the right person it was quite the little show.
"You laugh now, but you wouldn't be all giddy if she was in charge of your maintenance." The black haired tsundere scoffed, ahoge swishing from side to side atop her head as she looked away in annoyance. Much to her fellow mechanical engineer's delight.
"Maintenance?!" Her grin grew wider at the premise, getting on her feet before jumping off the sitting mech's shoulder onto the ground, right in front if the transfer student. "I accept! I've been itching to learn more of how Stark Academy tech ticked!"
"I WASN'T BEING SERIOUS!"
"Eh?...Hm...But you're saying I can do maintenance on him later!"
"How the hell do you get that?!"
As infuriating as it was for the ahoge headed tsundere to be talking seemingly to a brick wall, she had to admire the tenacity on the girl. She obviously had no social skills, and was a walking disaster waiting to happen, but her genuine interest in the sentient metal giant was refreshing for the duo. Most people upon meeting him resorted to either screaming or attacking him, if not unease. And since the two arrived that was what most people's first impressions chalked up to. Except for Daisy, Jemma and now Mei.
Crawler let out an electrical whine looking down at the two geniuses, tilting his helm. Something his partner wasn't completely happy to hear.
"Oh don't you start! You've only known her for five minutes and you wanna let her rummage around in there?!" Peni was in complete disbelief as she spoke. "Besides, she's not a Mary Sue..." She grumbled that last part, getting a soft whine from the robot in response.
The short exchange, while under normal circumstances wouldn't get her attention, did interest the punk haired inventor.
"You understand it? Even though it doesn't have a voice?" Mei questioned, bending over some and leaning inches apart from the short Parker, before frisking wildly at her, much to her extreme dismay. "Is that your Quirk?! Or is there a device you have on you that translates its noises to words?"
"GET OFF OF ME!" Peni barked in response, going as far as to push her face away with a hand to try and draw distance. To no avail. Even hearing footsteps make their through the storage building entrance, she didn't stop.
"I should come back at a better time..." The shorty heard, and while trying to push her newest colleague away turned her head to the source, Mina Ashido.
"Ah, you..." Peni muttered under her breath while turning to the 1-A student. "You're my...cousin's friend righ-CAN YOU KNOCK IT OFF!"
"I'll just talk to you later-" She grinned nervously, turning to walk away.
"Get back here! Help get this Psychopath off of me!"
"Don't be silly little Peni!" Mei grinned as she spoke in a depraved tone. Even with a boot against her cheek trying to shoe her away. "You have to tell me how this works! Is it a neurological implant?! Is it sending signals directly to your brain to translate into your native tongue?!"
"I WILL DROPKICK YOU!"
It took about three minutes before the two got their pink haired acquaintance calmed down, quite the surprise since the mech in question attempted to pull her and Peni away from each other, being unsuccessful. She was a lot stronger than she looked, that was for certain.
It was only until Peni reluctantly agreed to let her peek 'Under the hood' of the mech that Mei let go and spun her attention back to Crawler, who's chestplating opened to reveal the miniature cockpit inside. She was almost as happy to see it as she was when with Peter.
While she rummaged around the humanoid machine with complete haste, the 1-H Foreign student gave a heavy sigh of frustration and exhaustion, bending down as she exhaled. "How does Peter handle that?...Thing?"
"I'm asking the same thing...Every second!..." Mina spoke with gritted teeth. Because despite her best efforts through the whole week to get close to her personified comic book crush, a single-minded airhead with no regard for personal space was potentially leaps and bounds ahead of her. "Speaking of Peter, can I talk to you?"
"Ah c'mon..." Peni gave another audible groan. "I swear if I have to hear anymore rambling!...What's up?..." She breathed out a sigh of defeat.
"It's nothin' like that!" The pink skinned young girl smiled down at her sincerely. "I just wanted to know a little more about something...You think we can go someplace more private? Without...Y'know..." She suggested while gesturing to the mad inventor sitting cozily inside Crawler's cockpit.
"I'm distinctly certain if I leave she's gonna end up turning my best friend into spare parts." The ahoge headed inventor deadpanned while looking up at the 1-A student with a look of dejected exhaustion. "I'm pretty sure she'll be occupied for a while. Pretty focused on him. So ask what you wanna ask..."
"Oh...Well..." The Hero course student cupped her chin in her hand in thought, looking up at the red and black metal giant. "First off, what's that thing?! A Mech or something?!"
"It's a Bipedal All-Terrain Maneuverroid Unit: Cr430. But his name is Crawler if you wanna know..." Peni let out a soft huff. "And yes, he thinks for himself."
As she spoke the mech shifted his attention to the two girls, optic lenses squinting as he lifted a hand to give a gentle wave. Small as it was, at least for a person of his size, unbeknownst to everyone else it got the attention of the very rival Mina wanted to get ahead of.
"Anything else?" The Parker questioned.
In her short time in this twisted new world was odd, to say the least, had been an understatement. Ever since she arrived she had been enrolled in a prestigious Hero school in Japan, had undergone an incident involving a flamed demon, and not even a week later was grinded nearly into paste three times by a man on super steroids.
And yet the weirdest thing for her had to be Peter, who for most of her existence she knew as a frail and shy individual who's arm would snap like a twig, sitting right across from her mere hours after getting beaten worse than her. And aside from the bandages over his arms and right hand, and the bandage patch on his cheek, he was right as rain! And surrounded by a bunch of other girls no less!
Not that it mattered, but it was so drastic watching him in such a position. In a good sense, but still. It almost made her crack her monotone expression as she ate at the cafetería table calmly.
Meanwhile her fellow 'classmate' from Class 1-B was one of those girls surrounding Peter, wide eyed beside her in awe as she looked into his briefcase for the first time. Not to Momo's knowledge.
"Woah! This is so cool!" Kamala declared, swiping the mask from inside with an open grin. She lifted her head to her fellow exchange student, who happily gulped down his udon. "And Tony Stark made this? It's so well crafted!...Eh, except for the arm..."
Hearing that Peter slurped up the noodles dangling from his mouth, chewing quickly and gulping it all down once again. "That's from Mei, actually...My host, she did the best she could."
"Oh, that's sweet!..." She perked up some, only to lose her smile moments later in place of a frown. "I didn't even bring my suit with me...It's not as cool as this either..."
"Speaking of which, how are you three enjoying your stay here?" Momo questioned while setting her chopsticks down on her tray.
"You mean aside from the incidents in Hosu?" Gwen chimed in dryly, not bothering to look up from her Souba.
"Yes, aside from those moments..." The creator nodded softly.
"Hm..." The red and blue arachnid leaned back in his seat, looking up a moment in thought. "It's been good. I mean, the part about getting blown up wasn't so fun, but I...have been stepping out of my comfort zone."
"Wait, you got blown up?!" The Pakistani young woman questioned, wide eyed with Peter's mask over her face out of curiosity.
"A few times..." He replied with a nervous grin while scratching his cheek with a finger. Much to the three girls varying dismay, surprise and subtle amusement.
"Of course you did." The blonde crossed her arms while looking upwards.
"A few...How many times exactly?" Momo pressed some, leaning to the young man with a look of concern. "How frequently do you get hurt?!"
Already he could feel the soft tingle down his spine, numbing and putting him at ease just like the last few times. But he was getting used to it, just playing it off along with the question. Though one was played better than the other.
"I-It's not that much! It was like, two years ago! At least." Peter declared, keeping his soft smile as he spoke.
"What happened two years ago?" The three heard from away, all turning their attention to the source in the direction of the lunchtime buffet.
Walking towards the three was the representative of class 1-B, Itsuka Kendo. And with her was Setsuna Tokage.
"Class Rep!" The eyes of Peter's mask widened to show her sense of glee.
"Sup, Miss Embiggen?" Setsuna grinned while reaching out to grab a chair beside the hazel haired exchange student with bouncy tempo, her borderline unnatural green eyes on Kamala. All while Peter focused his gaze on the orangette.
"You're the Representative of 1-B, right?" He raised a brow for clarification, getting a nod while she stepped behind Gwen to pull out the chair beside her.
"Yes, but I...haven't properly introduced myself. Which is my fault..." Kendo spoke softly, looking away a moment while rubbing the back of her neck. "I just figured you were too busy saving damsels from high heights..."
To that Peter gave a look of confusion. If his memory was serving correctly, he hadn't really saved anyone. Especially not from high heights. Except from his first outing getting here during the Elemental Hosu Incident. Where he caught Midoriya, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu in his webbing. And upon thinking back on it, looking into her genuine and warm smile, something clicked.
"Oh, you were there! That night..."
"Yup!" Kendo nodded, before reaching a hand to the exchange student. "I'm Itsuka Kendo. Representative of Class 1-B, and I'm glad to properly meet you."
"Me too!...Uh, you..." He lifted his hand to take hers. And with a firm grip from both they both shook.
Though before he could pull his hand away and continue eating the green haired young lady darted inches from him, allost making him jump out of his seat. "So what happened two years ago, eh? Don't just bring it up and leave us in the dark!"
"Tokage! Don't be rude!" Kendo spoke up sternly, only really deflected by soft giggles.
"It's his business and his alone. Momo chimed in, taking her cup of tea to sip. "Whether or not he shares it is entirely up to him."
"But I'm curious! He's been getting into so much trouble lately. You can't blame me for being interested, YaMomo." The lizard themed hero-in-training leaned over Peter still grinning. Of course he grew red in the face more out of instinct than anything else.
"Doesn't mean you can prod it out of him." Gwen let out a huff while putting hwe feet up on their table. "Even we don't know what he's been through. Isn't that right, Kamala?" She turned her head to Ms. Marvel. Though her voice was as monotone as ever, it held deadly weight along with her gaze, making the recipient freeze in terror.
'Follow my lead and keep your mouth shut, or I'll beat you into a coma to shut you up.'
The 1-B exchange student gulped as she leaned away from such an intense gaze, only giving a nod of agreement without a thought.
"Oh, that's no fun at all..." Setsuna's grin switched into a playful frown. Sitting up straight once more she leaned back in her chair while looking at the two exchange girls. "You tell us all about your other classmates overseas and Cap but you don't know anything about Peter?"
They all swore they could see the Pakistani young woman grow paler. The result of Gwen's unwavering glare growing sharper and more malicious.
"W-Well it's not that I know nothing! I just respect his privacy is al-" Kamala suttered out of her skull, before abruptly being cut off by the blonde's hand slapping over her mouth.
"It doesn't matter. We won't be the ones to say it."
To that the green haired woman crossed her arms, turning back over to the Parker. "Didn't hear a no from you~" She spoke, almost seductively, but ultimately in a playful manner. "C'mon big guy! I'm dyin' to know!"
"That's enough, Tokage. He's a guest, he has no obligation to speak about his personal life." The 1-A Vice Representative declared sternly, not bothering to look at the perpetrator or the red-faced exchange student. Until she heard him chime in.
"Guys, it's fine..." Peter let out a subtle soft chuckle while looking towards Momo. And upon her gaze meeting his he looked away while scratching the back of his head. "I mean, it was my first actual villain experience..."
"Ah! No wonder you're in 1-A." Setsuna giggled while looking down at her food. "So like an internship thing? Just stumbled on it?"
"Uh...Not really stumbled..."
"Oh? So you and a hero were doing an investigation." Momo inferred, only for him to shake his head.
"Nope...I actually sorta...did it all on my own...Without a hero really knowing."
"Hm...So when you had your provisional Hero license then?" Kendo tilted her head. Admittedly in confusion. "Two years ago...You'd have to be fourteen or fifteen then. So young..."
It was such a feat to them. It was astonishing enough for someone their age to get a Provisional licenses, and seemed so attuned in it to go out fighting a Villain alone.
And then a smack to the face.
"I...didn't have a license at the time..."
"Of fucking course." Gwen deadpanned.
"So you were a Vigilante?!" Yaoyorozu was wide eyed a moment. Though it did help explain his headstrong approach to the recent incidents he was a part of, confirming such a thing was like a slap to the face.
"Oh! And just how long did that phase last?" Setsuna cooed softly, leaning forward on the table with a genuine look of curiosity. Beyond the first generation, she'd never heard of a Vigilante becoming a licensed Hero.
"About...six months. A few weeks after..." Peter halted in his verbal tracks. "It happened after my Uncle died..." He let out a low huff, almost dejected for a second. It was noticeable to everyone around the table, especially Gwen.
"Peter..." She spoke softly. How couldn't she have figured such a thing out sooner? She was so observant but didn't consider it. His origin could have been similar? Was it a chip on his shoulder?
"You lost your Uncle, then..." The 1-A Vice Representative spoke softly, solemnly. It was easy to put two-and-two together. And it was a sorrowful fact. "I'm...sorry for your loss."
Without even realizing for a moment the table became racked in silence, all the girls attempting to process what he told them all. It was only Kamala's voice that lifted them all from the void.
"How'd he die?...Your uncle?..." She spoke up. Though her sorrowful tone dissipated from the blonde's side glance. "I-If you wanna share, I mean! Don't wanna make you uncomfortable no-" She sporadically stuttered before getting moderately bonked on the head. While the dim and heavy air was uplifted by Peter's stiffled laughter.
"It's fine, guys. Thinking back on it actually...I don't know, it helps?" He hesitantly attempted to explain to his classmates. "He had a saying about power. That if you knew something was going to happen, and you could stop it, you had an obligation to try."
Hearing that, something clicked for all the girls. Whatever idea Setsuna or Kendo or even Gwen had that he put himself in harms way for glory or attention and recognition all but went out the window.
"I was the only one in my family to get..a Quirk, so I figured why not take that to heart?" He concluded while rubbing the back of his head.
Until he felt a hand over his unscarred hand with a gentle touch. And glancing over he saw it was Momo, giving a soft smile of comfort to him. "I'm sure he's proud of you. Certain of it."
Hearing that the young man could once again feel that comfort wash over him. It was the first time he actually shared such information, for reasons he didn't know why. And he was glad to think he was living up to his memory that he tried so hard to live by after that night.
"I don't mean to sound insensitive n' all..." Setsuna chimed in with a soft slap on the chest. "Back to that Villain! C'mon, I'm dying to know!"
"Setsuna, you're hopeless..." The 1-B representative sighed lowly while speaking under her breath.
"I'm intrigued! It's not everyday a student apprehends a Villain all by himself! You gotta spill!"
"Yeah!" Gwen spoke up, a small smug grin upon her lips. Much to both her classmate's surprise. "Don't spare us a single detail. I actually wanna hear it."
The hazel haired exchange student let out another low chuckle in response, tilting his head some. "I guess I have an audience now...Okay, so the very first bad guy who got me on the radar was Tombstone. His skin was nearly indestructible..." He began to retell his first official takedown as the Wallcrawler, all the girls in awe as he spoke. Even his blonde counterpart. It was like looking her old friend in the mirror one last time. And his ending seemed so much brighter than her own. At least with one version of him, he could have that.
And while he spoke his fellow classmates in 1-A Denki and Mineta watched from around the corner. The latter clenching his teeth in complete and utter jealousy.
"Dammit!..." He growled with a balled fist, tears in his eyes. "Look at him! He hasn't been here two weeks and he's stealing all the babes..." Minoru whimpered under his breath.
Meanwhile Kaminari just shook his head with a huff. "C'mon man, get your head out the gutter. I get how ya feel but there's plenty of fish in the sea..."
"Not if he ends up catching them all!"
"Okay now you're just being dramatic..." The walking battery shook his head. Unlike his perverted friend he wasn't so concerned with the competition the accidental ladies man. "Just stay cool, like me!" With that he walked in the ways of the small group, putting on his most charming grin.
"Hey, Parker! Stacy!" The group heard, Peter looking over his shoulder with everyone else shifting their attention to the source that was the walking battery.
Kaminari leaned his head between Peter and Momo with his award winning grin, putting his arm around the exchange student's neck. "I heard ya did pretty good on the practical!"
"Yeah, if you call getting impaled and swung like a ragdoll a success." Gwen deadpanned while tilting her head to the side until they all heard an audible crack. "We passed with flying colors..."
"Nah, I'm sure you did great!" Denki shrugged while tilting his head some. Snd his attention switched completely to the second exchange student of 1-B. Putting on a surprised look he stood straight and took to Kamala across the table.
"Haven't seen you around here! What's your name cutie?" He raised a brow with a flirtatious tone, much to the recipient's delight as her cheeks burned up some.
"K-Kamala...Kamala Khan..." She spoke shyly while giving a gentle wave. "F-From Stark University-"
"Stark Academy." Gwen chimed in from next to her.
"R-Right! Stark Academy!"
The young heroine-in-training was terrible under pressure, which in this scenario was constant and ever growing. And what's worse, she was a train wreck in the department of flirting under normal circumstances. So being hit on at the moment wasn't the best feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Heh, so you're new around here then? Probably don't know your way around the place, amiright?" The bolt streaked blonde leaned over the table in an attempt to get closer to the Pakistani young girl, much to her dismay. "If ya want, I could show you around the school. Think of it as a private tou-RAAH!"
Almost suddenly the walking battery seized up, back arching while he spasmed aggressively, causing Kamala to screech in shock and horror, much like Peter in shock, and to a lesser extent Gwen. Though no one else was that surprised, seeing the rock punk of 1-A's earphone jack slithered into his ear.
"Knock it off!" Jiro grumbled from behind him, tray in hand and a furrowed, annoyed look in her eyes. "Keep your pants on for at least a day! You can't just flirt with every female Exchange Student you say, nimrod..."
"Hasn't flirted with me..." Gwen chimed in monotonously. The only response she received were stares of dumbfoundment from her fellow Americans, along with another childlike screech of horror from Kaminari. But it was partially overshadowed by the soft fits of laughter from the girls class 1-A and 1-B. And most remarkable of all, Gwen herself.
It would almost be unsettling, but it wasn't. It wasn't forced, much like that rate smile on her face. It was a dying breed, she was sure it went extinct.
"G-Gwen, are you alright?..." Kamala questioned slowly, leaning back in the process. Most moments of the blonde seeming happy was a catalyst for bloodshed, and she didn't want to be caught in the crossfire. Unfortunately her response didn't put at that much ease.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." She let out a low sigh while leaning forward in her seat, looking ahead to Peter across from her. A near reflection of who she knew to be so timid and weak so long ago. It was like a reflection staring back. A brighter reflection she never thought she'd see.
"Sir Shockley just got me thinking about how big Pete's harem just got this afternoon is all. Pretty hilarious really."
Hearing that the young man in question perked up, wide eyed at the insinuation, much like the 1-A classmate beside him. Out of everyone their faces by far burned the reddest and brightest.
"I-I don't know about Harem-" He dejected with a slight wave, only to stop in his verbal tracks as the 1-B girl on his other side leaned against him, grabbing his wrist and wrapping his arm around her.
"Ah c'mon! Don't tell me you're scared having five ladies in the same bed~" Setsuna teased with a cheeky grin. Much to her representative's dismay.
"Six actually." Gwen chimed once more. "Or is it seven? Or eight?...Probably nine. Kyoka, you want a piece of this?"
"No!" The punk rocker grumbled while the half-braindead blonde simply gave a half-hearted thumbs up of agreement.
"T-That...Seems like a bit much, don't you think?..." Kendo turned to Gwen and her unsettlingly happy expression. "We just met him after all..."
"So did Mina, and she's all over a false perception of him." She retorted. "Figured since he saved you it'd be the same, but for the real thing."
"Eh, don't think it matters." Setsuna spoke up while leaning against the Parker's side lightly. "From what I've seen, don't think I'd be disappointed. If you can take down an indestructible Villain, you can handle a couple of girlfriends, right?~"
At this point Peter's face was red as a tomato, sliding down in his chair in an effort to escape this terrible moment of embarrassment forced upon him.
Even with superhuman strength he was just as sheepish as she remembered.
Yaoyorozu simply turned her head away from them all, just red as her counterpart.
"Can we change the subject?..."
The pitch black void was filled of nothing but silence. The only light illuminating the figure he'd begrudgingly call his partner. Untraditional sparks of flickering red electricity lighting his sadistic grin.
It'd almost be disturbing to the spiky haired blonde, seeing him act so aggressively. But brushing the back of his hand against blood spilled lips he gave back that same smug smirk.
"Nice little trick you got!" Bakugo spat while looking on at what looked to be his childhood friend. "Let me guess, ya got an illusion Quirk. What, is this all in my head now? Or are you just projecting that nerd onto yourself? Cuz I know that punk can hit harder than that!"
Hearing that the red-lit illusion only tilted his head, grin growing wider. "Well aren't you observant, Kacchan?" He sneered with a taunting tone, lifting his arms over his head in a nonchalant stance as he stretched. "So cool! Most Villains would just think you're a sweaty amalgamation of insecurities at first glance! They'd never suspect you could think beyond your own ass!"
"Oh, this is gonna be fun..." The Explosion-Quirk user lifted his hand, the spark in his open palm igniting and lighting the darkness surrounding them with the power of a condensed rocket from the explosion that sent him flying forwards. "I'VE BEEN WAITING TO KILL YOU!"
"But in the end you're far more brawns than brain!" As the green haired young man spat the flickering red sparks enveloping him lit bright.
Bakugo could barely register his casual stance shift into a lunging position, before propelling forward and sliding under him as he flew overhead. And then grabbing him by the ankle to jerk him backwards and slamming him into the ground below with enough force to crack and break the cement. Much to his very surprise, the speed and force was on par with that of All Might in his battle against Peter; enough to feel the arm he landed of squish, and the bone inside it crack.
Without missing a beat the Super-Strength-Quirk User let go of Katsuki, jumping up with a front flip while extending his leg for an overhead kick.
"Manchester..." The spiky haired blonde heard past his groan of pain, and looking up his eyes widened. The attack was barely perceivable to him, simply a lit red silhouette ready to slam his raised foot down on top of him. Only the outline of his villainous grin truly visible.
"SMASH!"
In a split second reaction Bakugo ignited the nitroglycerin in his palm, propelling himself to the side just as the imposter's boot crashed down where his head was, drilling deep into the material and compressing the air around into a shockwave, sending his rival flying further than anticipated with a grinding halt of his hands and feet.
"Dammit...YOU CHEAP BASTARD!" The hothead roared, shooting himself back towards his opponent at high velocity fueled by a growing frustraron. But still he was as level-headed as could be.
He anticipated the imposter, knowing if he acted like Deku he'd be repetitive. Telegraphed.
He extended his arm in front of him as the Fake Midoriya prepared to charge forward, opening his palm for the nitroglycerin to ignite. But instead only a blinding white light erupted, causing his opponent to wince and flinch.
In the same breath Bakugo aimed his other hand down to the ground to propel himself upwards in addition to the forward momentum he carried, sending him overhead with a third explosion to parallel and halt his airborne movement.
Just above and behind the imposter he aimed his closed fist at the back of his head, reaching for the pin in his grenade-shaped gauntlet to ignite the compounded nitroglycerin inside in a concentrated blast. One far bigger than the rest. Grabbing hold of the pin he yanked it out powerfully to set off the chain reaction with a wide smirk.
However, before he could even register it the fake moved again, swing his leg backwards and into Katsuki's outstretched arm to knock the gauntlet's sights off of him just as it fired, lighting the pitch black room further.
Bakugo's smug expression turned wide eyed in shock and horror, while the red-lit illusion glanced up at him with his arm reeled back. The malicious light illuminating his near demonic grin.
Not a second later the Explosion-Quirk user was sent flying through the air with the force of a high-speed dumptruck.
"Cheap, huh?!" He could barely hear through the abrupt ringing in his ears, the Fake launching into the air after his prey. in the blink of an eye he was back in the blonde's line of sight, right above him with a fist reeled back once more. Before he could even spark his palms he was met with another concussive fist to the cheek, breaking through the air around in a massive shockwaves. It only aided in Bakugo's rapid descent into the ground, breaking through the material that seemed to be the fabric of this new reality.
Not long after the imposter landed some yards away, on all fours before standing tall. Perhaps he overdid it? But whatever -he thought. In the end he knew what he was: a shadow of another person. Still as a shadow it felt great letting loose.
"If there's one thing I hate more than a Villain, it's a hypocrite!" He called out as he stepped closer. The bright red streaks of lightning died down around him. "Luckily...the only thing I hate more than that's a coward."
With one last step he stood over Bakugo, laying faced down and halfway buried into the mineral. The broccoli haired shadow of a boy crouched down and reached out to grab a handful of his childhood friend's hair and pull his head up to look him in the eye. "And you're far too dense to be a coward."
The young man sprawled into the ground could only grit his teeth. It wasn't even a fight, not even breaking a sweat for this mirror -One seeming so far ahead of the original.
"You said something about beating the guy behind this; 'I don't care if it's All Might himself' right?" The imposter questioned with a raised brow. "You had a fixation for the guy, like me. That much I know. You wanna be the best, and you used him as a postmark for your progress. Think that one day you'll take his place in power and status."
As he spoke he let out a low snicker, leaning in until his face was a few inches away. His eyes narrowed and his overzealous smirk desisted, while his prey let out a feral growl through his teeth. Seemingly without the red-lit illusion noticing his palms readied to spark and ignite his sweat.
"So you must hate it. The kid you ridiculed for 16 years because he had no Quirk of his own; He's the best successor to your Number One! I'm the best successor to our Number One!"
"It may not seem it now, but I'm at a height you'll never reach...So I hope you enjoy second place!"
"You really think a self-destructive hypocrite like you can cut it as a hero?! We all know what you are; a wolf in sheep's clothing. Your Quirk says it all! You're the Villain, hanging on to the false hope of being a Hero!"
Izuku's voiced echoed, throughout the black void or inside the blonde's head he wasn't sure. Over and over his taunting tone repeated, almost deafening in the increasing volume that he couldn't get away from. It was maddening.
And it reached its peak with the next words ro leave the faker's mouth.
"In the end you're nothing to the rest of us. You're just a pitiful ticking time bomb waiting to blow. And when you do, no one will remember you!"
The void drew to a grinding halt, silence enveloping everything around them, leaving only the accumulated rage seething from the two occupants. As if the vast nothingness was but pure malice that fed and ate away at them in an endless cycle.
"Fuck...you!..." The blonde winced through gritted teeth. For a split second his focus had faded and his temper blew. Hearing the boy who was once powerless against him, calling him nothing, sent him over the edge. "Fuck you!...You fuckin' poser!"
His palms sparked, muscles tensing to ignite as much of his sweat as humanly possible. And at the last second before everything could blow, he lifted both arms up and forwards. Point blank into the imposter's chest.
The Fake Midoriya's grin dissipated staring down at Bakugo, with no time for him to leap back before becoming engulfed in the massive force of combustion that sent the creator flying back through the air to land on his feet with a sliding stop. His breathing was rapid and near animalistic while he looked on at the massive smoke cloud that accumulated from his evasive attack. A blast that intense was enough to blow through half a small building, let alone a person.
The spiky haired blonde snarled lowly, looking upwards into the endless abyss looming over him. "You don't know a damn thing about me! You say you hate cowards, but I'm not the one hiding behind that nerd's stupid face!" He called out. His frustrated scowl slowly twisted into one of satisfaction. Lowering his head he stared ahead towards the smoking crater he left the mirror image in. "Now why don't you come out and show me you actually have some balls?..."
But all at once his victorious demeanor subsided, and in its place was shock.
Within the smoke the familiar figure stood tall without much strain, head tilted and face barely readable through it all.
"Oh Kacchan. You don't get it..." The imposter slammed his foot forward and into the ground, cracking through it while he became further enveloped in thick red streaks of lightning. "You can't beat me...You'll never beat me."
Hearing that Bakugo's shocked quickly became overwhelmed by anger. His focus became foggy once more, enraged by the statement, regardless of who said it. Not even a second later the Explosion-Quirk user ignited the nitroglycerin in his palms to shoot himself forwards at breakneck speeds, reeling his arm back opened his hand wide and ready to swing. "DIE!"
He couldn't process the Faker's movements, shooting forward straight for him faster than the human eye could register. His leg outstretched and reeled back from his wind up, using his momentum to only further the attack.
The only thing his mind could register was the bone shattering impact of Deku's iron sole swung into his arm at the elbow, sending bending it backwards.
A split second from rage to panic while the imposter grinned down at him.
Okay, the burnout is setting in. Which is mostly my fault, since I put more attention into this story than any other spin-off, and combined with school work and trying to do some freelance work and get my back in working order its a lot. But I'm gonna be considered an adult in a few months so I should get used to it.
I wanted this to be longer, but I already put it off for a month for college stuff and I don't wanna do that to you guys again. I'm hoping that I can get a longer chapter out in a shorter timeframe, but with said spin-offs to the series I'm not sure.
I'd make a joke about getting paid to do this but I've been told both in real life and online that it's hard to distinguish my humor from my seriousness.
Anyway, I'm gonna leave you with that. And if I don't make another post until January: Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays.
