The Buu Incident

by Droseralex

An ancient terror manages to survive his untimely annihilation, but it comes at a cost. Strewn across realities, the amnesiac and troublesome Majin awakens in a new world full of strange and strong people who seem to be hell-bent on keeping him from his sweets and fun. Alternate/divergent timeline. Rating might have to go to M later for obvious reasons.

4. California Dreamin'

The Buu Incident

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CHAPTER 4: CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'

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-Rio Del Mar beach-

[ California ]

There was nothing else in California like Monterey Bay. Boasting over 30 miles of mostly uninterrupted and pristine coastline, its mesmerizing blue waters practically called out to every adventurous soul in the Golden State. The weather was fantastic this afternoon: clear skies, minimal rip currents, and a pleasant breeze. It was hot, but not exceedingly so—it was one of those days where you just had to get in the water or let the day go by while relaxing on the sand.

For these reasons, the public had flocked to Rio Del Mar beach in larger numbers than average for the season. Oblivious to the unfolding incident overseas, happy chatter continued to resonate throughout the bay. The satisfying smell of burning charcoal and sizzling meats on portable grills was unmistakable. A well-aged fisherman sat over at the pier, trying his best to catch a nice meal. Families laughed, friends shared stories and life went on—

A tiny hand dropped a toy shovel in the sand.

"Mommy, what's that?" The young boy—no older than 5 perhaps—asked in alarm, a distant and strange splash that produced a low-frequency hum over the otherwise calm ocean sending red flags through his Quirk-enhanced senses.

His mother didn't look up from her favorite magazine as she lazily flicked through another page, opting to ruffle his spiky hair as she tried to placate his concern. "Probably some kids playing. Just keep working on your castle, sweetie."

That wasn't it. He peeked back and the waves were getting larger. Scarier. Louder.

Shaking his head, he tugged at her arm to get her attention, his ears ringing and his little heart pounding like crazy as he tracked the growing waterborne disturbance. His feet accidentally trampled his elaborate sandcastle apart as he moved closer to her—he didn't care about playing anymore. "But mommy...it—it's coming this way and it's making big waves!"

His urgent and fearful tone made her look up with the slightest hint of worry. As she did, she caught a glimpse of the ocean parting ways as if being sliced open with a house-sized knife. A few others in the water had stopped what they were doing to stare at the distant commotion which wasn't so distant anymore, opting to retreat to the shore as a sense of dread crept through them. Was it a tsunami? Her mind drifted to her fear-struck son as her instincts took over.

By the time she sprung to action, it was already too late. For the briefest of moments, the sun was blotted out as a large pink entity zoomed by uncomfortably close to them all, producing what sounded like a shrieky and juvenile "wheee" as they flexed a minute portion of their powers to defy physics and instantly alter their trajectory to bounce skyward.

She could have sworn she saw a purple cape rippling before it blurred away.

Everything was eerily calm and quiet for fractions of a second, the raw energy discharged above the beach forming a swirling ring of heavily displaced air and moisture.

The monstrous hyper-compressed downburst then plunged like lightning and it spared nothing.

Whoosh-boom. Chaos erupted throughout the beach as the vicious thunderclap sundered it with unrivaled fury, its power swirling and worsening as it mingled with the delayed shockwave coming in from the Pacific Ocean.

She shouted her son's name as she was blinded by the sand and rocks relentlessly pelting and cutting at her face. Facing tornadic winds, her body was sent aloft, twisting and bouncing painfully through it all until she crashed into the raging ocean. Her son's cries for help went unheard through the roar of water and terrified shouts from fellow beachgoers facing a similar fate, their defenseless forms getting launched dozens of feet away and battered by chairs, umbrellas and other assorted equipment on the beach.

Facing forces it wasn't designed to handle, the aging Seacliff Pier shattered and went airborne, its reinforced structure becoming a lethal cloud of aerial shrapnel. The remains of the broken and sunken concrete tanker SS Palo Alto didn't fare much better. With their violent upheaval, enormous mounds of sand and deadly debris blew away, spiraling upwards and into small waterspouts as they hit the oncoming rush of water and hot air.

Everything in an eighty-foot radius was completely torn off the shore, leaving a gouge on the beach itself devoid of dirt and sand as the larger and much slower tidal swell surged inland. The beachgoers further from the scene scrambled away from the rushing waters in a panic, doing their best to help those that were randomly falling back to the ground as the windy tempest subsided.

Those with useful Quirks did their best to help, but it just wasn't enough.

Frantic calls poured into the American Hero Network, and Pro Heroes rushed to the rescue.

---

-Santa Cruz-

[ California ]

A gruff man with intrinsic antisocial tendencies stirred awake, sharp amber eyes snapping open as his wait on the raggedy and well-shaded rooftop serving as his abode came to an early end. His radio was abuzz with conflicting and worrisome reports coming from Rio Del Mar beach.

An airborne object unleashing a tsunami and windstorm?! It sounded like a heinous Villain that needed to be taught a lesson. It'd take him a few minutes to get to the small community at top speed. Stretching the stiff muscles in his limbs, he readied to dash towards the beach and render assistance—

—until his heightened senses went haywire. Not a moment sooner he caught the unearthly scent of something large and pink as it flew by, its great traveling speed setting off a violent wave of gusty wind in its wake.

Every honed instinct screamed 'danger' and for him to give chase, so he did.

An animalistic howl rumbled through the rooftop as his body transformed, his human features twisting and changing with wet snaps as he grew in size into a towering beast, fully embracing his powerful Quirk and the adrenaline rush that ensued.

He sniffed the air, locking onto the sickeningly sweet and devilish stench of his quarry. They were not too far off.

Coiling his powerful leg muscles, he leaped off the roof and into the next in a single bound.

The hunt had just begun.

---

Flying hundreds of feet over the unraveling chaos, Buu was feeling quite giddy watching all the people run and scream in a senseless fashion as the wind battered them and the churning water rushed inland. They always acted like that when he was around and it was so much fun.

Growing bored with the spectacle rather quickly, he resumed his speedy flight with no set destination in mind, his senses wholly focused on finding what he desired the most. Everything here looked different compared to that place he had woken up at not too long ago. Even the air itself felt different. This place was extremely large and flat, and there were so many interesting areas for him to eventually explore. It was just a matter of—

Buu widened his stance, the blazing aura around him exploding forward into turbulent fading wisps as he put on the brakes mid-air, his cape fluttering wildly in the aerial tumult. The folds where his nose should have been twitched rhythmically, his antenna dancing back and forth as he tracked the tantalizing scent that put him into a trance.

There! Tasty sweets!

The building was large, blocky and painted a vibrant blue, the words 'Bayside Bakery' brightly and craftily emblazoned around giant cupcakes on a flashing billboard above the structure. Countless roof-mounted exhaust fans wafted the wonderful aroma his way through the coastal breeze.

"Yum yum!" Buu beamed, licking his lips expectantly as he recklessly head-dived straight into the middle of the busy street to land with a thunderous thump, his eyes dead set on the bakery doors—

A large cargo van heading his way was unable to swerve or brake in time with his sudden appearance. The driver yelped when he saw the pink humanoid land before him, fear gripping his heart as he braced for the worst.

Crash.

Most of the van's front end collapsed into itself like an accordion upon hitting Buu's rippling yet unyielding form. A portion of the wreckage sank into the Majin's rubbery flesh, harmlessly dispersing the inertia and inadvertently saving the driver's life—at least for a fleeting moment. Every activity in the city block halted with the commotion, the screeching of braking cars echoing throughout. Two more vehicles piled onto the van's rear end with ensuing crunches. Countless eyes stared in awe and shock at the crash scene, morbidly expecting to see a gruesome and unfortunate sight.

However, nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the spellbound Majin only shuddered upon being struck, his body skidding and shifting a few inches over the asphalt with the transferred momentum, his eyes still fixated on the storefront.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, you came out of nowhere! Are you okay?!" The concerned driver that struck him asked, his speech somewhat muffled through the deployed airbag.

As the device deflated, the man caught sight of the Majin, physically unharmed and barefaced about the whole ordeal. "What the—you aren't even hurt! Why the hell did you do that for? I'm so getting fired for this. Are you even listening to me?!" The driver roared out in indignation as he tried to get out of the damaged van to no avail. Portions of the front end had mangled the doors beyond usage and the handles hung loose.

Buu did not respond. The inaction escalated the trapped man's rhetoric, his waning concern spiraling into full-blown obscenities. More voices soon joined the uproar as the rear-enders and pedestrians standing by moved in to rip onto the humongous and heedless jaywalker.

"This ain't funny! Once I'm out of here I'm going to beat that smirk off your face!"

"What's wrong with you? You could have hurt someone!"

"The heck are you even supposed to be? A ball of gum? That's a dumb Quirk!"

"You ruined my new car, fatso! You're so gonna pay for it—"

Through the building cacophony of hollering, insults, and accusations, Buu tried his best to ignore the annoying people. Unseen by the crowd, a pink brow twitched sporadically as his happy thoughts dwindled.

Upset with the Majin's absolute indifference, the mob's hurtful uproar reached a crescendo.

What remained of Buu's cheerful veneer withered, his patience running dry.

The moment his composure cracked, a deceptively plain and lazy jab was hurled right into the van that had crashed onto him.

The ki-embued hit sent the twisted bundle of steel, aluminum, and rubber spinning and rolling through the street, its terrified driver crying out bloody murder as both himself and the totaled vehicle disappeared into a building with the sound of glass breaking and crumbling concrete. The rear-enders barely made it out unscathed, being forced to throw themselves onto the road in a mad dash for safety. Shaking themselves out of the shock, the two men stood up—

—just as the van ignited within the store and its very flammable contents. Their bodies disappeared in the ensuing explosion that rocked the street, debris and blazing chunks of building materials raining down throughout.

The spell keeping the shocked onlookers glued to the spot fell apart with a single terror-stricken scream, and then all hell broke loose.

With those inconveniences out of the way, Buu moved towards the bakery with tunnel vision, dimly aware of the worsening chaos on the street and the foul stink of smoke nearby. Automatic doors slid open as he stepped through, and he was thrilled to see the bewildered workers making a beeline for the emergency exit to give him room to feast. He disregarded the faint sound of approaching sirens behind him as he loomed over his tasty rewards with glazed eyes. His belly grumbled fiercely through the abandoned bakery as the delightful smell of freshly baked delights overwhelmed him and lightened his mood again.

Buu paused. The unexpected, wide availability of sweets before him made him hesitate with indecision. Where to begin? Everything looked so good; there were many cakes, puff pastries, donuts, and cheesecakes. To his right, there were countless varieties of cookies, truffles, and big brownies and items he had never seen before. He was going to have a big-big feast! "Hum. What do Buu want to eat first?"

Fifteen seconds passed before he gave up that taxing mental endeavor. Shrugging as he ripped off the nearest display case, he dug into the sweets like a ravenous dog. Buu's mouth stretched to fit a whole cake in a single bite. Then another, and another.

"So-so yu-mmy!" He mouthed between messy bites, chunks of icing and cake splattering everywhere and dripping down his gold-laced vest and baggy pants. All cheesecakes were devoured next. Once those were gone, the cookies faced his wrath. The brownies were then taken.

After the tenth emptied display case, his waist circumference had distended considerably, enough to push his vest and belt to their breaking point if they weren't imbued with his unholy power. By the fifteenth, he was feeling somewhat sluggish with the sugar rush but he did not stop. He couldn't; there were so many sweets left and he had been waiting for this for so long. "This so good. So so good. More!"

Behind him, the entry doors slid open with a rush of light footsteps and street noise. His antenna twitched in recognition at the intrusion, but the threat was instantly cataloged as insignificant as he sensed their unease and negligible energy presence.

They didn't matter.

Hushed voices spoke in disgust at the display of gluttony and sloppiness. Then the click of weapons being unholstered and aimed sounded. "This is the police! Drop the food right now and turn around! You're coming with us!"

"Nuh-uh, nuh-uh," Buu responded through muffled chewing, walking in further to assault the next food display while he shook his head frantically.

"Suit yourself!" The leading officer warned gruffly, the threat clear in his voice as he pulled the trigger.

Buu heard a click as a projectile was launched, its insignificant prongs lightly piercing his vest and upper back painlessly. The officer pressed the trigger a second time to discharge the capacitors, sending thousands of volts through the tiny conductive wires and into his body. The Majin felt his extremities shudder lightly with the voltage, but the ache was nothing compared to what he felt earlier with the metal birds as they tried to trap him. It did not dampen his movements, so he did not stop his feast.

"That ain't enough!" One of the men cried in dismay. "Hit him again!"

Another set of prongs struck Buu's back. Then another. Three Tasers engineered to immobilize Quirk users then went off as one, making his jaw spasm open. The impulses forced him to spit out a mostly uneaten cinnamon roll, his arms jerking up hard enough to hit and wreck the shelving and sweets in front of him. In slow motion, they all splattered across the room into a mushy mess. Creating a cascading failure, six shelves and glass displays collapsed into themselves shortly after, crushing everything inside with the sound of breaking glass, snapped steel, and crushed dreams.

The Majin's crinkly lids snapped open as he gaped at the tragedy. Deep, dreary shadows began to overtake his eyes. He paid no attention to the random leftover twitches racking his body anymore, his ample shoulders hunching as he let his body expel a minute wave of energy to slap away the nagging prongs still embedded on his skin.

Pink cheeks flushed with a hint of red, Buu waddled around to face the spooked police officers, his towering form and sheer body mass dwarfing every man and woman present. They instinctively took a few steps back as they felt the heavy, oppressive energy building up like a black cloud around them, their hairs standing on their ends upon sensing mortal danger.

Handguns were drawn—

—but far too late. Buu had already taken a deep breath to shout "Go away!" at the top of his lungs.

Hot and sickly sweet gale-force winds blasted out of his mouth to hit the retreating officers like a speeding bus. Their bodies were no match for the invisible front of energy, which promptly expelled them mercilessly through the glass windows and right into the street. Some of them did not get back up. The few officers that made it out with less severe injuries rallied together to recover the others, and most of the cruisers disappeared out of sight as quickly as they arrived, the situation succinctly escalated to Pro Heroes.

Pleased with their forceful eviction, the Majin turned back to the few shelves that were still standing, taking in mouthfuls of whatever was left as fast as he could. He'd have to hurry up before more annoying people showed up—

The damaged doors made a pleasant ringing noise again as they struggled to reopen. This time heavy, thumping footsteps moved purposely towards him, the ground beneath Buu shaking considerably as they neared. He could feel this one was different from the others but he didn't care enough to regard them.

"You dare attack my town and its good people," A deep, raspy, and guttural voice indicted him as they invaded his personal space. The anger was palpable and unmistakable in their accusations.

Buu huffed in exasperation. He shoved a final handful of truffles into his mouth before whirling around to yell—

—but his actions were stopped by a muscular shoulder that was driven right into his overfilled gut. Air blasted out of his orifices with the sudden pressure assaulting his body, his last mouthful of chocolatey goodness spewing explosively into the walls and ceilings of the store.

Razor-sharp claws pierced through the vest and skin on his sides, gripping onto him to hoist and toss all of his substantial weight away with startling ease. Shocked at the sudden weightlessness, Buu found his surroundings quickly changing as he was thrown out of the bakery through what remained of its entryway. He bounced like a rubber ball as he rolled over himself multiple times, crashing back on the street to eventually come to a stop by the two crunched up cars from earlier, his purple cape ending up tangled all over his head and arms.

Asphalt cracked and split as the Majin dug his gloves in to stabilize himself. A scowl overtook his previously neutral demeanor as he wrestled the twisted cape away to glare at the looming shadow of his attacker stepping out through the shattered bakery entryway.

The hairy creature was massive, easily a head or two taller than Buu. Grey, matted fur covered most of his body, and the bits of hypertrophied muscle visible in his limbs was stone-like and gleaming. Thick metal chains were wrapped over his wrists, and what remained of a tattered black uniform covered his bulky chest and legs. A distinctive canine-like face seethed with barely restrained fury, countless sharp teeth salivating as he leered at Buu through slitted amber eyes.

"Why you hurt Buu?!" The Majin blurted out indignantly, wiping away the remaining stray bits of food stuck on his chin and cheeks. "Mean wolf-man pay for that!" He slammed a closed fist against his palm to emphasize the threat as he looked up to meet his opponent's perpetual glare. As he did so, he repressed the urge to yawn. He was getting so sleepy after eating so much.

The lofty canine scoffed as his clawed feet twinged in annoyance, the action burying his hardened keratin claws into the road. "You overgrown, gluttonous brute. You know not who you deal with, do you? My name is Gunnolf, and I am the Beast Hero. I am going to teach you a lesson and make you regret your actions, Villain." He proclaimed derisively, pure scorn and aggression oozing off his being as his eyes tried to burn right through Buu's own.

Hearty, mocking laughter busted out of the amused Majin. He wouldn't catch him unaware next time. "Funny Wolfy! Buu do nothing bad! You no strong and you sneak on Buu! Buu will beat Wolfy silly—"

Wolfy?! Gunnolf was done with the inane ramblings. Hearing the ridiculous claim of innocence stirred a new wave of righteous anger in him. Shifting into high gear, he cocked a closed fist back as every bundle of hyperdeveloped muscle in his body coiled up with raw power. His 8'6 frame sprung forward, the road cracking beneath his every step.

Buu was still snickering to himself, his ongoing arrogant spiel distracting him from the fact the incredibly tall Pro Hero had already cleared the distance between them with a speed unbecoming of someone his size.

A solid fist connected and compressed Buu's gum-like cheek inwards, his body skidding along the street for a few feet.

"That's enough blathering from you, you dimwitted hog." The Beast Hero breathed out, his words warbled through the rising bloodlust. His eyes did not leave his dazed quarry, who was awkwardly wobbling in place.

No, he would not give this 'Buu' any breathing room to recover. Pouncing forth once again, he sent a flurry of devastating left and right hooks across Buu's misshapen face and torso; hits that would have knocked most Villains out.

The Beast Hero was not pleased to find how easily his fists were sinking into the Villain's pliable flesh, which wavered and rippled as it absorbed the damage, showing little to no signs of bruising or injury. It felt as if he was punching a damned sandbag. What in the heavens was he made out of?

No matter. He would not relent...

---

Beale Air Force Base

[ California ]

Minutes earlier

"God damn it all." The sound of leather gloves stretching and creaking echoed through the uneasy silence overtaking the war room, the remains of a snapped cigar falling on the polished floor below.

To say Lieutenant-General Wayne Hayes was furious was a great understatement. Not only did they tragically lose two of their airmen in a matter of minutes, but they had also lost over 350 million dollars worth of vital warfare tech in that timeframe. He could almost feel the few remaining dark hairs in his head turn gray the moment he found out.

He lit another cigar, the third so far in the last twenty minutes. Men and women sat in front of a wall stocked with a myriad of computer workstations, digging through every sensor relay, surveillance system, and local broadcasts to figure out what in the hell they were dealing with. The moment he stomped past them, they shrank right into their stations to avoid his worsening wrath.

Baffled at the preposterous scenario, he had personally reviewed the radar and flight data over and over again in the hopes the geeks had missed something. They didn't. He started pacing again.

The offshore radar tracked the threat entering United States airspace as they flew on their own accord, to take on three F-35 head-ons. Somehow, against those mathematical and downright lethal odds, the shithead had downed them all in exactly fifty-two seconds. Then they happily skipped over into the mainland at a low altitude, their signature quickly lost to the city's bustle and background noise.

God damn it. He demanded to see the latest data just recovered from the fighter's black boxes, his concerns flourishing further as he digested the information. It wasn't a fluke or glitch; the telemetry didn't lie. A minimum of four to six AIM-120 missiles was deployed, all detonating on-target. Over 460 25mm shells had been fired. He wasn't sure what bothered him the most. Was it the fact the foreign hostile tanked some of their deadliest air weaponry or was it the fact they had failed to uphold their duties?

Likely both. Homeland Security would be in an upheaval in a matter of minutes.

"We need to find him, now." He barked, snuffing out the spent cigar against the partially melted armrest.

The sound of a chair shifting nearby drew his attention to an operator standing up in attention and waiting for his acknowledgment. He did his best to rein in his impatience. "Out with it."

"Sir, I...I believe we got something." The operator nervously blurted out.

Hayes nodded towards the large screens. "Show me."

"Yes, sir." With a crisp salute, he scrambled back to his station to type a few commands before speaking again. "Local surveillance and emergency reports are coming in from Rio Del Mar, in Santa Cruz county. There are several dozen wounded and at least eight casualties at a local beach."

Hayes did not blink as he observed the data getting transferred to the larger monitors above the workstations, a flat map taking over most of them to display the airspace near California and a portion of the state. A red x marked where the group of F-35 went down over the Pacific Ocean.

After inputting another long string of commands onto his console, the operator continued. "Flight data shows our fighters had an outbound path that had them passing over the location of the incident, so it's likely the hostile followed the contrails back inland." To help visualize it all, the operator superimposed a dotted line—labeled as the outbound F35s—snaking back from their final resting place, to the mainland, and then right to the base. A red circle sat on Rio Del Mar beach; the fighter's path only missing it by a mile or so.

The screen flickered, switching to display live drone footage from the beach in question. Large areas of the shore had been obliterated as if a giant had gone through it all and claimed a chunk of it with a building-sized shovel. The famous fishing pier and old concrete ship were gone. Even the nearby parking lot—which sat nearly a football field away from the sprawling sandy coastline—was covered in leftover saltwater, debris, and mounds of sand, making it look like a formidable tsunami had battered it.

In the distance, Pro Heroes with water-based Quirks were scouring the ocean for survivors. A slew of busy emergency vehicles sat by the street, where victims were being tended to and loaded into ambulances. News crews were everywhere.

"Shit," Hayes seethed in dismay. They had to resolve this before it escalated any further. If the General got involved, shit would really hit the fan. "Were you able to track them down after this...Stewart?" He pressed, stomping his way to the subordinate as he read his ID badge.

Sensing the restless and looming presence of the Lieutenant-General over him, Stewart shifted in discomfort. He tried his best to focus on the walls of digital data from the Hero and Police Network to summarize the intel for the demanding man."Y-yes sir. Not long after this, t-the Hero Network went off with a report of a developing situation on Newman Avenue, about ten miles away from Rio Del Mar beach in Santa Cruz. Eyewitnesses claim the suspect fell out of thin air and caused a car accident. When confronted by civilians, they proceeded to punch the van that hit them through a building. The explosion killed multiple civilians."

Even more casualties? Damn it all.

The time-delayed footage of the latest incident spread over the monitors, all compiled into two large screens. This time, it was a security camera mounted on top of an apartment building and a shaky and rather frantic live stream from a civilian's social media account. A store in the distance was on fire, its front caved in and utterly broken. Two other vehicles were crushed on the street, and a police cruiser sat abandoned nearby.

"After that, the hostile went into...Bayside Bakery. Right now they—they're...burglarizing it." The young man said, his tone flat and borderline incredulous as he quietly read the following sentences in the report.

What in the hell? Hayes frowned, his glove gripping onto Stewart's headrest as he tried to make sense of it all. "Of all places, they choose to rob a goddamn bakery?"

The operator shook his head nervously, double-checking the live data before speaking."Sir...actually, the Police claim they were eating everything inside."

Hayes' brow quirked. He did not know how to respond to that tidbit. He took a deep breath, "Okay...go on."

"The Police tried to arrest them; their attempts failed and many were wounded by some sort of emitter-type blast. Some fatalities have been reported. The police immediately evacuated and removed themselves from the encounter to allow Pro Heroes to deal with them. One Pro just arrived and he's about to confront the Villain. Another is on the way," Stewart finished.

Smart move on the cop's part. Hayes focused intently on the monitors, searching for their target. Nothing happened for a moment—

—until an obese, pink body was unceremoniously thrown out of a building and into the middle of the road. They bounced around like a damn rubber ball until they came to a stop, their upper body tangled up in the ugly cape wrapped around their neck. Seconds later, the familiar form of the infamous Pro Hero Gunnolf stalked out of the bakery. In a matter of seconds, the hero had closed the distance between himself and the hostile, decking them hard enough to send them into an uncontrolled stumble, his onslaught relentless.

Hayes enjoyed the visual. "Can we verify this is who we're looking for?"

"It's a match, sir." Another operator chimed in with conviction, a spare monitor zooming on the target and freezing the frame to scan it. "Their appearance matches Captain Jenkin's first contact description."

That's all he needed to hear. Lieutenant-General Hayes straightened, staring down at the screen with the hostile's image with palpable fury...and damned embarrassment. What in the heavens was he looking at? If he wasn't aware of their tally of destruction and death so far, he would have thought they were a parody of a pink Sumo wrestler, a genie, and a wannabe hero thrown into a blender.

For Christ's sake...this was getting ludicrous. He resisted the urge to pull at his hair as he spoke again. "Summon as many of the Special Forces as you can get on short notice and bring an Iron Maiden! Do whatever you need to help take the fucker down and throw them in The Crypt for good measure. Now!" He hollered, his mortified tone obvious to everyone present.

The underground war room descended into controlled chaos as orders were barked and plans were set into motion. Above them, engines roared to life as seasoned men suited up and marched into armored vehicles. On the runway, three heavily customized VTOLs spooled up for takeoff, their open cargo bays filling with vehicles, men, and a monstrous Iron Maiden.

"What will we do with the Pro Heroes and the Police?" A female voice behind Hayes queried. He did not look back.

It was a valid question. Pro Heroes did have an unyielding chokehold of society and a significant portion of the judicial system. They'd try to take over the scene if given the chance. However, these events went over and beyond petty squabbles for power and he'd refuse nothing but full cooperation and complete control. Unlike the far East, they still had a viable military body and some of the highest security incarceration facilities in the country to keep unruly shitheads from seeing the light of day.

He'd be sure to put one of them to good use today.

Unfortunately for the hapless foreign Villain, he also had some of the most powerful Quirk users waiting to be called to duty if things went south. This was a matter of national security—with International ramifications—and they could not show a shred of weakness or hesitation to the public eye. The moment they did, it'd likely their relevance would be questioned, and that wasn't happening in his watch.

Hayes' response was downright sinister and shrewd. "As it stands, the Air Force had jurisdiction the moment they invaded our waters and butchered two of our airmen. They're a foreign hostile entity, and therefore ours to do as we please with."

A corner of his thinning lips twisted upward. He couldn't wait to watch his men use this miserable foreigner as a guinea pig and beat them to a pulp. They'd find what made them tick and extract every bit of information out of them. Perhaps even that handy Quirk as well. It'd be a fantastic asset.

They'd also pay for the death of his men and the humiliation they wrought to the Army in that mishap.

---

After what felt like an eternity, Gunnolf landed a weighty and broad swing that thundered into the Majin's enormous belly, finally loosening his footing enough to make him collapse into the unfortunate sedan in his path.

Steel whined and buckled underneath Buu's bulky weight, the vehicle's broken innards warping and twisting themselves around him as he sank in further. His eyes fluttered closed for a moment as he almost let the lull of sleep beckon him right there and then.

However, a noxious odor roused him back as it began to spread around his metal prison; gasoline fumes.

He furrowed his brows at the familiar scenario about to unfold, the unpleasant and painful sense of déjà vu stirring him to action. Drowsily swinging his arms into the wreckage, he caved in the pieces keeping him tangled within the ticking time bomb. He wouldn't get tricked into sitting on a car going boom a second time! He grunted in annoyance at Wolfy's ploys, his big boot kicking away the final bits of warped alloys trapping him. Feeling a foreign object in his body, his eyes roamed down to find a stray rod impaling him through his elbow; he pulled it off with ease, the gouge mending itself in seconds.

The Beast Hero watched the regenerative feat with clinical interest and mounting concern. What kind of Quirk was behind these feats? When the piercing wound in their arm healed, he could see no blood or bone within. Did this mean vital organs were displaced, bypassed or completely nonexistent? Too many variables and possibilities to account for right now.

This would be interesting regardless.

Buu stomped toward Gunnolf, a triumphant smile on his round face as he pointed at the smoking car behind him. "Ha-ha! Buu no fall for trick again today! Buu so smart and you big ugly dumb-dumb Wolfy—"

Kaboom. Two engines went up in flames, catching Buu celebrating far too early as he stood within the fiery blast radius. His back took the brunt of the explosion and he was thrown towards a surprised Gunnolf, who wasted no time to take advantage of the brief opening.

A right hook sank into the pink Villain's stuffy cheeks, the impact making the tissue ripple and buckle. Coated in burning fuel, Buu hissed in pain as his momentum was increased and redirected right into a building, his flaming body easily piercing the thick concrete beams before coming to a stop in the dark, collapsed storefront.

"Gunnolf." A curt voice not heard in months called out.

Looking up, the werewolf caught sight of Electoplant dropping from a nearby roof, his red and yellow cape spread open like a parachute to slow down his descent. His dark bodysuit, twisting circuits, and elaborate helmet were already lit up and buzzing with tendrils of self-generated electricity.

Gunnolf scoffed, his earlier suspicions getting confirmed with his arrival. He acknowledged the electric-themed hero with a sharp nod and a dig, as usual. "I thought I caught the stench of fresh ozone earlier."

Electoplant chuckled to himself, following his fellow hero's caustic gaze. A newly formed hole in an office building had a fresh line of smoke that trailed back to the burning cars, all courtesy of the Villain's burning cape and combusting rear end. Hundreds of sheets of loose paper were lazily drifting out of it in the breeze.

"Before you ask: the answer is no. I got this." Gunnolf interrupted him before he could speak, forcing the last words out with a surly growl as he stepped into the path between Buu and himself possessively. He did not like others meddling with his quarry.

Electoplant stepped back to appease the morose hero, well aware he couldn't change his mind. "As you wish. Who are they?"

"That I know not. What I do know is that he was likely involved in the beach incident and what unfolded here, and that is all that matters. He killed there," Gunnolf glanced back to the remains of the charred store, where he knew the helpless driver's body lied still. Two other bodies had yet to be recovered from the explosion. Many of the officers evacuated moments before his arrival was severely wounded and it was likely a few wouldn't make it as well. "and he killed here. For that, I am going to pummel him into oblivion—"

Manic shrieking erupted out of the Buu-sized hole in the storefront, and soon enough the Majin's form resurfaced through it as he launched himself towards Gunnolf with a burst of fiery ki. Electoplant cursed, scrambling out of harm's way to focus on chasing away a group of nosy bystanders poking their heads at an intersection.

Gunnolf braced for impact. Settling both arms against his chest and his center of gravity slightly forward, he was truly confident he'd be able to take anything this pink buffoon could throw his way. He had strength, leverage and high mobility on his side, not to mention his reinforced armored skin making him highly resistant to damage.

Lacking any significant muscle tone, he was all but sure the plump Villain wasn't that strong—

—a flash of unexpected pain blossomed deep in his abdominal muscles, an annoyed Buu managing to land a closed fist past his defenses. The Villain's stubby arm had stretched and coiled around like spaghetti to bypass his guard. His Quirk-reinforced flesh held strong, but he felt a trickle of fear coursing through his mind when the smallest of cracks formed over his skin.

A second fist struck him—this time much stronger than the first. He spat saliva as most of the air came rushing out of his lungs, his muscles spasming protectively as he doubled over.

The Majin's grin deepened. He shouted "Buu!" as he drove another fist into Wolfy's abdomen, joyous to notice the miniature clouds of pulverized fleshy armor coming off in droves as he directed more power through each hit.

Pushing through the pain, the Beast Hero wrapped his hands together above Buu, hammering them deep into the back of his grotesque, bald, and tentacled head with a roar. The sickening sound of snapping bones or tearing tendons was not audible as expected, and the pink bastard only flinched for a moment before merrily slamming another fist in his gut. This time, the gloved fist sank much deeper into his flesh as abdominal plating buckled in, the internal damage making him taste copper a breath later.

Gunnolf grit his teeth and clobbered Buu again, his animalistic scream of blended fury and pain echoing through the street. Then he hit him again for good measure. And again. Each hammering impact made the pink Villain's shoulders, head, and neck pancake down like melted plastic into his gumlike body further, and he only stopped when Buu's arms dropped harmlessly by his sides.

Unsure as to how grievously he had wounded him with such a heavy displacement of tissue, Gunnolf drove a clawed foot into his blubbery chest to create some distance between them and critically reassess the engagement. He tried to reign in his fast breathing as he ran a hand over his abdominal muscles, the crushed outer skin moist with seeping blood that would soon clot and harden.

A deep growl pushed through his ragged teeth as he looked over his shoulder, his sensitive hearing catching his fellow hero just as he was approaching and opening his mouth to yak in protest. "Zip it, I said got this!" He snapped vehemently, his voice inhumanly loud and rasped through the pained battle frenzy.

Electoplant raised his arms in defeat. When Gunnolf was like this, he knew to back off at once. Done with the moody werewolf, he turned his back to focus on keeping civilians out of harm's way until his assistance was needed. Backup would be here soon anyway.

---

Buu's senses were wacky as he staggered back, his compressed upper body returning to its rightful place with a wet plop as he tugged at his head tentacle with one hand. His thin mouth was steadily drifting downward.

"Had enough yet? Surely not, you murderous twit." Gunnolf taunted, loud pops rippling through the street as he cracked his neck and fists bellicosely, a chuckle ringing deep in his chest as his heart quickened with the thrill of battle. Through the reality-distorting rush of adrenaline, the nasty unease that was trying to take a hold of his thoughts got subdued and forgotten, the flashes of pain spreading up his sternum grounding him with brewing aggression and battle lucidity.

This brute's appearance was truly deceiving. That Quirk of his was going to be quite problematic if he could inflict significant damage with mere punches, especially if he was being wounded at a faster rate than his body could repair itself. Worst of all, he had a nasty suspicion he was being toyed with if the ever-increasing power thrown his way was anything to go by. He'd have to get the upper hand by driving Buu to act erratically, taking advantage of any openings given by mistake.

Otherwise, he'd be finding his regenerative breaking point today.

His mild taunt worked—far too well. The pink Villain's cheeks had flushed red as he attacked, setting off a small booming shockwave behind him, his forward motion noticeably faster than before. A fist was cocked and aimed at the Beast Hero's vulnerable abdominal area, but he nimbly sidestepped the pernicious hit thanks to his Quirk-enhanced muscle attunement and sharp reaction times, countering with a fist of his own that hit true on the Villain's gelatinous face, right between those annoying squinted eyes.

Buu did not dodge or wince in pain this time, and he simply retaliated with an aimless punch that got promptly blocked by Gunnolf's intact and ultra-dense plating on his left forearm.

Crunch.

Not so intact anymore. Hardened, multi-layered dermal armor burst into pulverized fragments with a single hit, taking out a significant portion of his skin. The violent force behind it seeped into his very bones to rattle and spread microfractures up to his shoulder, his clawed feet splitting the asphalt as he was unwittingly shifted backward.

Buu jabbed a fist into his forearm again. A sudden wavering of alertness dropped him to one knee. Misery blossomed through the open arm wound, shards of skin piercing the nerve and muscle tissue beneath, his vision blurring as his mind was briefly flooded with white pain. Not good. Every damned hit was getting exponentially stronger. Soon enough he'd outright break a bone!

Change of plans; he needed to cripple this mongrel now—

"Ay, you lardy!" A heavily accented voice shouted over Buu's shoulder, drawing his undivided attention with the offhanded insult.

That red shell-loaded bandolier and the American-themed bandana over his balding head was unmistakable. Gunnolf instantly recognized the colorful and moderately overweight gun hero Musket.

Instead of feeling relief, he felt trepidation.

Buu turned to come face to face with Musket's massive arm-mounted gun barrel, which went off with a deafening report, spewing a wave of heavy metal slugs into his upper body. The arriving gun-themed pro hero moved in closer to send another volley from his weapon, baring his teeth challengingly. "How do ya like that fatso, huh?!"

More shots rang through the street, empty shells clattering about everywhere. Buu's expression remained impassive as his pink flesh ripped open with the buckshot splashing against him, the newcomer none the wiser to the futility of his attack as he moved within striking distance.

Gunnolf saw it all. He could feel the predatory and malicious intent oozing out of the Villain. Did Electoplant or the Police call in for reinforcements without giving them critical details of his physiology? "Musket, fall back!" He implored, his actions delayed and stagnant as if he were treading through dense oil. That trigger-happy fool didn't know what he was dealing with!

His warning went unheeded. "For Pete's sake, calm down Gunnolf, will ya? Sit your hairy self down for a minute. This sucker's done for!" Musket hollered brashly, jumping in to slam his robust gun barrel on the Villain's shiny head once the chambers ran dry, confident the strike would surely knock them out.

Buu let the hero's wild swing hit him, the hardy steel resonating with a fleshy clang upon impact, his pink head fluttering lightly with the absorbed recoil. A golden glove seized the barrel shortly after, collapsing the entirety of it with a casual squeeze and a mischievous grin.

Being a biological extension of Musket's arm, the weapon's destruction elicited a mind-numbing howl of pain from the hero as the bone and tissue within were crushed.

"You call Buu fat! You get pow-pow!" Buu chirped bitterly, his head tipped to one side as he wrapped a humongous hand around Musket's neck to hoist him off his feet and meet him face to face. His mean mug brightened further upon seeing the pathetic look of fear and misery in the burly man that dared insult him.

The vengeful Majin waved him goodbye as he loosened his iron grip, his free tubby arm slamming into the falling hero's unprotected torso with the ferocity of a rushing truck as he uttered a final "Pow!".

Musket's eyes bulged out, the unrestrained impact eliciting a cringe-worthy crack through his chest as he was launched away like discarded trash.

"Musket!" The electric-themed hero called out in distress, shaking himself out of his stunned trance upon hearing the sickening sound the gun hero made as he slammed into the building closest to him, his body quickly disappearing in the haze of aerosolized concrete. He shooed the remaining bystanders still ogling and snapping pictures of the scene with an intimidating crackle of electricity from his hands, dashing towards the wounded hero the moment they dispersed safely, the Police officers nearby trying to pull them to safety finally regaining control of the stragglers.

A sharp swing of his cape ushered a blast of wind that removed the rising clouds blocking his sight. Cringing at Musket's woeful physical state, Electoplant cautiously removed his body from the man-sized indentation. Most of his sternum and ribcage had collapsed inward with the blunt force trauma, and he had to repress the urge to gag the moment he noticed the grievous injury and crimson stains seeping through.

He laid two fingers on the downed hero's carotid artery as he picked him up to take him to the emergency crews. Balking within his dark helmet, he shook his head sorrowfully before departing with the unresponsive body. This would need a miracle.

Seeing Electoplant's mournful body language, a fresh swell of invigorating fury overwhelmed Gunnolf. Every drop of pain and vertigo plaguing him vanished at once. Forcing himself to stand, he blitzed towards the distracted Majin with a guttural scream, burying a fist on his gut with every shred of strength he had. It sank deep and elicited a small blast of compressed air out of Buu's chest and arm vents as he staggered back.

Not enough.

He unraveled the heavy chains around his wrists, swinging the 80-plus pounds of steel into the Buu's upper body. The vicious lashes plucked deep gouges of pink off his shoulder and chest. The Villain whined as he hobbled away from the impromptu weapons tearing at him.

Not enough!

A massive pile of rebar and concrete sat by Gunnolf's feet. It was promptly slugged upward as a makeshift hammer into Buu's face, the material splintering on impact as it flattened his fat head pencil-thin as if it were soft Play-Doh. The distorted Majin grunted in discomfort as he swayed, his gloves frantically rubbing away at the itchy, powdery cement coating what remained of his eyes.

NOT ENOUGH!

Taking advantage of the Villain's impaired senses, he pounced forth again to seize the disgusting and abnormally elongated tentacle on his head. He twisted the rubbery tissue around his hand a few times for a good grip, and then he tugged hard. The top-heavy Majin lost his balance as his head was mercilessly brought down low into an oncoming spiked knee twice, the serrated tissue stabbing through and rupturing his blobby head into splattering goop with the final hit.

Buu collapsed onto his knees, his body going slack as his head melted into a jelly-like sludge that lazily dribbled down his shoulders. Gunnolf fought the urge to recoil and retch after witnessing the gruesome wound, reminding himself that the Villain's unholy body bypassed the typical vulnerabilities of flesh and bone.

As if on cue, a disembodied and rather irked eyeball regrew on the bubbling tissue on Buu's neck, the splattered pink globs on the road floating up to merge into the reforming head—

Shuddering at the disturbing sight, the Beast Hero dashed to the small alley a few paces behind him, setting his sight on a sturdy steel ladder that connected the street level to a second story. A portion of its upper rungs was enkindled by the fires consuming the building nearby. The bolts holding it up gave way under the strain after a few pulls, and he hefted it over his shoulder with some effort. He bit back the agony running down his gut and arm, wasting no time to run back towards the recovering Villain.

Buu observed Wolfy's impending attack amusedly through regrown eyes. Grinning at the last moment, he widened his stance, willing the energy he could wield to surge forth and coat his body with a layer of unyielding ki as over a ton of accelerated iron smashed into him.

Instead of tearing the Majin into unrecognizable bits, the semi-molten metal exploded into small shards that pierced the street as it hit his gut and forearms, where only mild scuffs and hot, sizzling moisture remained as a monument of the hero's fruitless efforts.

'He can harden his body at will too?!' Gunnolf did a double-take, glowering at the unforeseen development and feeling rather dispirited and weary of his worsening odds in this fight.

Uttering a growl, the Beast Hero raised his fists in preparation for imminent close-quarters combat, his posture hunched as the collection of injuries and mental exhaustion started to take their toll.

As expected, the Villain didn't disappoint, and he immediately dashed blindly towards the unsettled werewolf. He managed to shake himself out of his bewilderment just in time to take advantage of the Majin's blatantly open and unpolished offensive, burying another fist under his double chin and halting him in his tracks.

Buu tanked the damage head-on, giggling wickedly at the hero even as his face contorted away with the force. Wolfy thought he was clever but he fell for his ploy!

In the blink of an eye, Buu's facial features melted away, all of the amorphous pink tissue surrounding Gunnolf's fist liquefying and sloughing off to allow the offending limb free passage through his head. The now over-extended arm was taken with an iron grip as the whooping Majin transformed what was once his head into a set of hands. He pivoted on the spot and swung the werewolf overhead with a move similar to a Judo throw.

By the time Gunnolf processed the great feat of anatomical manipulation—and the shameful fact the Villain had tricked him—it was too late to counter. Now airborne, his spinning body crashed right through the burning car wreckages. The flaming remains were triturated by his massive weight, and he struck the ground once on his back before he was able to use the momentum to flip over and set himself upright like a springy feline, leaving a trail of bulldozed asphalt and dirt in his wake as his damaged claws held onto the road.

Hacking coughs shook his frame as he steadied himself. His lungs were burning something fierce with the noxious fumes invading them. His fur was badly singed and still ablaze, but his armored skin managed to shield him from the worst of the heat and debris wherever it still held strong.

Leery of the uneasy stillness around him, he frantically scanned for movement through the haze of smoke and fire—

—until the pink Villain emerged through the flames separating them like a demonic, screeching speeding bullet. A terrible headbutt clashed against his snout before he could dodge, the impact carrying enough force to break multiple teeth and snap his head back in one fell swoop.

Sweeping Gunnolf's feet with a kick, Buu then proceeded to pull him up by the legs just as he smashed the road apart with his falling body. "Wolfy go fly now!" The Majin cried out with excitement, whirling around on his feet like a spinning top, quickly gaining speed with his concussed cargo and only letting go when he had enough momentum to send the dazed werewolf sky-bound with a thrilled "wheee!".

Twisting and turning uncontrollably during his forced ascent, the Beast Hero grasped the depth of his worsening predicament as he found himself suffering from severe vertigo, his jumbled body clearing a few high-rise rooftops with incredible velocity and nothing to hold onto on the way down. Once he regained a semblance of control, he shifted himself to face the city as gravity reclaimed him, his widened eyes searching for the Villain and most importantly, a way to slow down his fall.

Buu was nowhere in sight once again. How could someone so large and conspicuous be so stealthy? What in the hell was he planning?! He eyed the closest building, perhaps he could reach—

-Whizz-

Gunnolf's ears twitched upon sensing the unnatural sound and sudden air disturbance above himself. He stiffened, mindful that he could do nothing but brace his body for what would come.

Misery flourished down his spine to a degree he hadn't felt before. Some of the thickest dermal armor buckled and yielded, the merciless kick splashing across his spine and broad back hard enough to damage vertebrae and compress the air surrounding him, blasting out a sonorous shockwave that hastened his trek back to the surface. Trying his best to control his fall, he let his instincts take over, readjusting his body to land flat on his back while focusing every bit of his remaining hardening ability on that area to absorb the impact and avert mortal wounds.

The crash was as agonizing as he expected, and it sent vibrations down the road as thickening cracks spread out through it, the street cratering and almost sinking into the sewers below as every drop of air rushed out of his lungs.

Buu remained aloft and hovering menacingly over the wounded hero, his chubby arms wrapped around his chest as he observed his handiwork with unabashed satisfaction. But he was nowhere near done yet!

The battered werewolf coughed up blood as he struggled to sit up in defiance, still unwilling to yield and accept defeat. Hairline fractures were now running along with his shoulder blades and most of his back, where bloody, beige-colored skin was starting to show beneath the missing armored plating. Most of his energy was now flowing into his wounds, significantly limiting his stamina and threatening to pull him from his Beastly transformation.

He spat two broken canine teeth as he glared at the dangerous foe descending like an unholy hellion. It infuriated him to no end to see that every single blow he had dealt so far—even to his clothing—was gone. Even his burnt cape was in a pristine state. How was that even possible?!

"Bye-bye!" Buu chirped in a far too pleasant and ominous tone as he aimed a lone finger at the downed Pro Hero, a shimmering consolidation of ghastly light swirling into existence inches from it as the ancient Majin brought forth a minute portion of his esoteric power to bear.

Whatever the Villain was forging was as alluring as it was alien, its surreal fuschia glow almost bewitching him in a moment of vacillation. But Gunnolf always trusted his instincts above all else. That's why the moment he felt a shiver running down his spine, he did not hesitate to act.

Drawing upon every ounce of stamina left, he pushed his burning muscles to their very limits to dodge the baseball-sized sphere of whirring light aimed his way, his side missing it by a hair's breadth. Nary a second later he realized the terrible danger he had faced as the air around the miniature sun visibly warped and sizzled, its chaotic outer rim irradiating so much thermal energy it seared and melted through his armored shoulder and upper back with little effort. He bit his tongue to hold back the influx of agonizing pain, his burnt and spent body collapsing into a cringing heap of misery.

Forcing himself to lay on his good side to trail the deadly sphere, he was vaguely aware Electoplant had returned, his blurred silhouette moving towards him through a narrow alley. Both heroes watched with bated breath as the erratic attack finally made contact against a sidewalk a few blocks away, the pink sphere easily tunneling through and disappearing underground—

—Boom. For the second time ever, earth and its denizens experienced a little taste of the irrational and preposterous power of weaponized ki.

The detonation was terrible and unexpectedly fierce. An instantaneous wave of awfully radiant light spread forth from the expanding dome of roseate energy to bathe the whole neighborhood in its sickly pallor, its intensity so great it succinctly blinded the unprepared heroes. Building foundations began to rattle, the road beneath them quavering in protest as every single window around them shattered with the cyclonic force walloping them.

Gunnolf dropped flat on the crater to avoid further harm, his claws digging deep into the dirt and gravel underneath to fasten him in place. Electoplant was out in the open, and he haplessly crashed through an upturned car when his cape unwillingly snapped wide open, the windy shock front dragging him away as it pummeled him ruthlessly with heat and debris.

When the howling wind and heatwaves subsided, the men stirred warily.

The Beast Hero had ended buried under a thick layer of rocks and dirt, but he was otherwise unharmed by the explosion.

Electoplant wasn't as lucky and he was flung further down the street, his back slamming painfully against a curbside retention wall. He concentrated a small electrical discharge around his body to shatter the concrete keeping him immobile. Once freed, he stumbled to his knees, his bones aching and sore from the impact, portions of his onyx bodysuit and cape laying in tatters and burnt from the heated shrapnel that struck him. The left side of his helmet had cracked open with a particularly nasty hit, and the lightning decals over his ears were torn off and missing.

The dreadful sound of an evacuation siren started to wail in the distance, drawing their attention. Both heroes looked up simultaneously to face the aftermath of Buu's attack, a chill creeping down their spine as their eyes beheld the destruction that laid beyond.

Where a two-story mini-mall previously stood, there was nothing. Not even rubble. Every building material had been obliterated, and the surfaces on its spherical outer rim were still glowing red with leftover heat. Steamy water spewed out of broken city mains and sewerage, the destructive sphere sinking underground just as high as it had spread skyward. The buildings nearby didn't fare much better, their exposed surfaces torn apart by the sheer force of the detonation.

Gunnolf glared at the Majin, who was giggling to himself as he beheld his macabre handiwork. How was a paltry sphere of light capable of such unspeakable carnage? Was this his full power? He had no other option but to grudgingly acknowledge the fact they were horribly outmatched. They could die here. Where in the hell were the other Pro Heroes?

Another debilitating wave of blood came up through his mouth, a spell of dizziness threatening to buckle his knees as he tried to get up. They had to find a way to take this Villain down, or at least incapacitate him until the others arrived. His exhausted eyes briefly rested on Electoplant.

The electrokinetic had recovered, limping his way towards Buu's field of vision, his body language tense with trepidation. He powered through his reluctance to take advantage of the Villain's engrossment and abysmal situational awareness. "Pink fiend, catch!" He shouted, flinging a small object at him.

Buu's manic laughter paused as he instinctively turned to the sound, the miniature sphere of ki that had begun to shimmer on his finger dying away the moment he caught the peculiar metal disk. He eyed the device curiously—

"Thunderbolt!" Electoplant exclaimed, unleashing a torrent of lightning through his arms. Tendrils of pure yellow light snaked through the air, their power crackling with sonorous snaps as they honed on the conductor disk and their intended target.

The Majin let out an awful screech as his body lit up like a Christmas tree, his gloves, cape, and clothes catching on fire instantly. Bits of pink skin and ashy fiber over his chest boiled and popped until a final surge of concussive energy blew him away and into the same eight-story office building he had struck earlier, a shockwave of smoke and Buu splattering everywhere.

"H-how's...Musket doing? Where...where's our backup?" Gunnolf hissed through pained breathing, spitting more copper tasting fluids through his fractured snout as he scanned the extensive property damage overhead for any signs of movement.

Electoplant shook his head as he approached the werewolf. "They managed to stabilize him for the moment, but it doesn't look good. I don't think he's going to make it. As for the others, most heroes were responding to the incident at Rio Del Mar, and that's a good five to ten-mile trek even with Ferry's help getting here. They should arrive anytime now." His vision then settled on the panting and bleeding Beast Hero as he assessed the collection of significant wounds he was dealt with, especially the atrocious one that almost took his shoulder. It was not often a foe could get through his tough skin or his fists. "How are you doing?"

Some good news, at least. Gunnolf thought Musket had died right then and there. If he was alive, he still had a chance. He spared another troubled glance at the crater and the flattened edifices around it before dismissing the electrokinetic's concerns with a lazy shrug, the adrenaline still numbing the absolute misery he knew would come soon. "I—I'll live. Were those buildings fully evacuated?"

Electoplant pointed at his helmet and the radio within. "That's what they said, at least most of them. The neighborhood is in full lockdown. With the evacuation siren going off, it's probably going to be a much larger evac zone now, and rightfully so." His head shifted to look up to the hole Buu last disappeared through. "That was a significant zap and way more power than what I normally use. Do you think that was enough?"

Gunnolf cracked his stiff neck, blood still pounding loudly through his ears as he chuckled bitterly. His vision was getting somewhat blurry. "Highly doubt it. He's a—"

Speak of the devil. His sensitive ears twitched upon sensing a disturbance, and without delay, everything surrounding Buu's resting place exploded into a blooming veil of ethereal pink smog. Concrete and steel splashed outward as it got mauled by concentrated ki, a large portion of the battered building's outer frame crumbling apart to rain down on the desolate streets below.

Shit. "He's a regenerator! Hit him with everything you've got or we're dead!" Gunnolf hollered, his voice cracking with a sense of urgency and direness.

This time, there was no hesitancy from Electoplant. He steeled himself, pushing past his self-imposed restraints on lethal-grade Quirk usage. The cells and muscles throughout his body thrummed and buzzed rhythmically as his dynamo-like Quirk went into overdrive. Every drop of self-generated electricity surged and trickled painfully down his arms, focusing on a single point beyond his shaking palms.

A little orb composed of rotating golden filaments formed. He knew it wasn't enough, so he dug deeper. Circuits throughout his suit glowed red-hot as all of the capacitors overheated, becoming imbued with the raw power of lightning past their intended load. Within seconds, every insulating layer in his gloves withered away as the excess heat began to sear the skin in his hands.

The unstable orb crackled and distended dramatically to the point he couldn't contain it any longer, multiple electronics in his bodysuit short-circuiting and falling apart with brilliant sparks as he shoved his arms forward. "Stormburst!" He willed the electricity to seek the Villain with a strained shout.

One chaotic line of devastating energy unraveled into dozens of screaming comet-like projectiles, hurtling downrange into the walls of smoke—

—and right on target. Electrical lances flared up as they locked-onto Buu, merging into one massive stream just as they made contact with him. A warbled howl of pure anguish erupted through the haze. Close to a billion joules of energy drilled into his midsection, boiling away the tissue and tearing him apart as he collided against the building once again, the secondary and much larger shockwave produced blasting him out and through everything in his path.

Unnerving silence followed as the rubble settled below. The electrokinetic hero stumbled, the smell of charred circuitry rising around his overheated and dizzy body. He moved ahead to stand between the wounded Beast Hero and the Villain, fading wisps of electric currents wriggling through his spasming arms as he gazed at the wafting clouds of plaster and smoke obscuring the upper floors.

"I-I think I got him this time," Electoplant murmured reassuringly after another half-minute of stillness had passed. He was practically running on steam now. Luck was on their side, though. He had yet to face a Villain capable of handling half of that move's electrical output—

—the rubble at their feet began to shiver. No, it was the street itself.

"Sparky really hurt Buu..." A disembodied voice gurgled, its pitch disturbingly warped as it echoed through the abandoned streets.

It was as if a bucket of ice-cold water was poured on Electoplant. "N-no way..." He whispered with dawning horror, the tremors racking his spent body worsening.

A low-pitched hiss blared through every wall and surface surrounding them. Its tone was like an old, discordant steam train whistle going off and just about to blow apart with pent-up pressure. What remained of Gunnolf's fur stood on its ends, the intensity of the static electricity snaking through the very air and street setting his senses on edge. How was Buu able to come back from that so easily?!

"Buu now really really make you go... BYE-BYE!" The livid Majin screamed the last words at the top of his lungs, and it was as if a hundred ear-splitting grenades had gone off at once. Six stories worth of high-rise proceeded to glow a sickly pink as the shrill hollering and hissing reached an unnatural pitch. Structural beams and mortar detonated and flash-melted in an instant, the remaining structure crumbling into itself as potent tremors rumbled through the city with the Villain's terrible and worsening power outflow.

Waves of dust and debris buffeted the two heroes as they tried to crawl back and retreat, but they found their bodies refused to comply, completely paralyzed and afflicted by a distinctly malevolent force targeting them. The toxic rosy miasma permeating the air had them anchored to the spot.

Whatever it was, it was trying to crush them—not only physically but mentally.

Clouds of ash blew away with Buu's final and rather dramatic re-emergence, his mostly reconstructed cape and clothing fluttering madly through the self-generated tempest of hateful ki swirling around him, his imposing form deliberately descending towards the two that harmed him. Parts of his face and upper body were still partially melted and deformed, his healing somewhat hindered as he focused on summoning his otherworldly power. Billowing steam spewed out of the pits on his skull, his yellow gloves fully balled up by his sides as he bared his teeth.

Electoplant climbed to his knees and raised his arms, every muscle in his body feeling like they were encased in heavy lead. Sweat was starting to drip down his face as he attempted to draw upon his Quirk once more. First and second-degree burns dotted his torso and limbs wherever the suit's enhancements had failed, and his nerves felt like they were full of liquid fire. Every instinct in his mind demanded him to flee and avoid certain death.

Physical combat was out of the question for both himself and Gunnolf. If they were to make it out alive, he'd likely have to strike with a ranged attack, but he had nothing but fading embers left.

Buu was now only a few dozen feet from them, his golden boots hovering just above eye level. The road beneath the behemoth was melting away as the corrosive pink energy bubble surrounding his body made contact with it, its outermost edges cleaving everything in its path like a hot knife through butter.

Next to him, Gunnolf collapsed under the pressure.

They had to run. Electoplant widened his kneeling stance, pulling at every shred of leftover energy his Quirk could generate to produce a burst of blinding energy. Hopefully, it'd give them enough time to fall back. "Flash..." He intoned, frail lucent tendrils of arcing light flourishing into his hands—

Buu moved closer to them. Now the heat being produced by the raging pink sphere surrounding him was starting to blister the electrokinetic's skin. In seconds it'd burn them alive, no doubt.

"...bang..." Slivers of solidifying white light twinkled in his palms. He just needed a bit longer—

—something curious happened. Electoplant paused, puzzled. He stood still and held his breath, the collected energy for the Flashbang roiling through his fingers expectantly.

Buu's forward movement faltered, his irate expression going blank and vacant as if all life had left his body. All of the dreary and oppressive tension trying to crush them died away the moment the rosy bubble scattered, the constant flow of steam on the Majin's head sputtering into puffs of fading vapors.

The pink Villain's mouth then distended considerably as a...boisterous yawn reached their ears.

Calmly dropping onto the razed and cratered street, the sleepy Majin cast a final pouty glare their way before throwing his arms in the air. "Buu tired. Sparky and Wolfy go bye-bye soon. Buu...nap now." Stubby limbs were stretched with baffling indifference before he whirled around and wobbled away from them, all signs of previous injuries already gone.

Buu proceeded to plop down without a care in the world, his back slouching as he went still. In a few seconds, all that could be heard in the devastated city block was the sound of fires, evacuation sirens, and bone-rattling snoring.

Snoring...what?

"...Sparky?" Electoplant repeated, his thoughts heavily scrambled by the ludicrous turn of events and neurons under-firing.

"Is...is he...?" Gunnolf stammered breathlessly as he observed the slumbering Villain from his prone position, unsure as to whether he felt deeply insulted or greatly relieved at the unexpected development. What kind of Villain fell asleep in the heat of battle?! He remained tense regardless of Buu's inactive state, his trembling body still reeling from the ominous aftereffects of the noxious energy and serious injuries.

If the last minutes were anything to judge the Villain's breadth of power by, perhaps this was a better outcome for them all.

Electoplant's shoulders slumped as he regained his composure and higher thought processes, letting out a long-held breath. The other heroes could wrap things up momentarily. He dropped onto his back, letting the excess electricity arcing through his suit to scatter harmlessly into the ground before answering Gunnolf's question. "Asleep? Sure seems like it. I...I am okay with this outcome."

Before the two could rest or ponder any further, a ringing hum filled the air behind them.

A needle-sized spacetime distortion roared to life just above the street. Within it a turbid void came to be, broadening into a portal to the unknown.

Gunnolf growled, untrusting as to what would come through. He forced himself up into an unsteady crouch, a hand resting protectively over his wounded back as he wobbled in place. He had a spinal injury, no doubt. Electoplant hobbled past him and moved ahead, his posture stooped with exhaustion and aches but he was just as unwilling to give up.

Was it another ploy of Buu's? The Beast Hero looked back; the snoring Villain had not moved an inch, his body was still slumped facing away from them and he could not sense that dreary aura of his anymore.

The Warp-like anomaly fluttered and moaned, its event horizon rippling outwards as a woman brandishing a bulky and intricate shield-themed staff hastily stepped through its stretching surface. Her piercing gaze was heavy and rigid as she took a defensive stance the moment she laid eyes of Buu.

"A-Aegis?" Electoplant blurted out. "What are you doing here?"

"You know what I am doing here," She snapped without skipping a beat, shifting her deep blue eyes to the electrokinetic hero before marching past him to assess the Villain that caused everyone so much grief.

Electoplant noted her costume had changed dramatically, shifting from the cheerful bright blues and yellows of years past to simplistic and downright utilitarian muted grays and blacks. A logo adorned her chest plate, the letters AFA elaborately stitched onto it in a crimson hue. She had even cut her famous waist-length blonde hair, which barely reached down to her ears now. Everything about her new suit and movements screamed militaristic.

"How did you subdue them?" She queried cooly, her steely eyes scanning every inch of ravaged structure and the Majin's deceivingly harmless appearance as she neared him. Faint filaments of blue light were traveling down her shoulders and into her arms as she activated her Quirk, the staff's hollow channels slowly filling with it.

Gunnolf sensed the dubious and critical undertone in her question and it stung. What had really happened? Was it the Villain's massive sugar intake that wrought this positive outcome? Or was it a side effect of a time-limited Quirk, or perhaps the wounds inflicted being too much?

"The Villain…he...he just—" The Beast Hero spluttered, racking his muddled mind for a rational answer in an irrational scenario. No matter how he tried to spin it, he found it incredibly hard to come to terms with the absurd outcome and his miserable failures today. How often did Pro Heroes apprehend a Villain just because they nodded off? He was beyond furious with himself.

Electoplant knew Aegis cared little for subtlety and he didn't feel like sugarcoating things today. Not after all of this. "He fell asleep just as he was about to tear us apart." He answered bluntly.

Gunnolf deflated, grumbling with pent-up frustration before nodding.

Aegis fully tilted her head towards them, a brow raised quizzically. The bizarre offshore Villain had tanked and trashed three state-of-the-art jets, torn up a beach and this part of town without breaking much of a sweat, causing at least sixteen casualties and millions in property damage. To think this pudgy thing could cause so much mayhem was unreal.

It was truly a miracle these two fools had made it out with their lives, and it was no wonder the military wanted the Villain out of sight and locked away. "Target appears inactive and ready for containment. Move-in." She barked the order into her earpiece, her staff already raised to point its cerulean crystal towards the snoring Villain as she moved into his personal space.

Currents of swirling azure energy traveled down her hands and into the high-tech staff's recessed grooves, where they coalesced into a thin lance of hard-light upon nearing the ragged crystal. The energy shot out and splashed inches away from the Majin's head tentacle, spreading down to form an impervious spheric containment barrier.

She walked around to face the corpulent Villain, her shoulders tight and tense, expecting him to awaken with the disturbance and put up a fight. There was no physical response. If anything, his slumber appeared to deepen; drool was now slipping down his open mouth.

How disgusting.

"Thank you for your help, heroes. You are relieved of your duties and may seek medical attention now. We got it from here." A dull, gravelly voice drew their attention to the open portal, where a sickly, long-haired man had phased through the inky fluid. Upon laying his boots on the road, the pervasive hum of the gateway died out, the dark energy dispersing to return to their cheerless creator.

His outfit matched Aegis' own, built out of heavily modified dark armor and black underlayers, although he appeared more technologically advanced. He hid most of his identifiable facial features behind an oversized domino mask. Dark bags rested under his sunken eyes, his skin tone a few shades shy from looking downright anemic. Portions of his suit were laden with mobility enhancers, its servo motors whirring as he moved closer to the Shield Heroine.

Electoplant nor Gunnolf could recognize the arrival, but they did know of the powerful Hero Agency branded on their breastplates.

In response to Aegis' radio order moments prior, the deafening roar of turbines announced the imminent arrival of backup in the form of three Air Force-marked VTOLs. The heavily armed aircraft maneuvered through the gaps between buildings and landed on the debris fields as close as they could to the downed Villain, their heavy frontal weapons swiveling to lock onto Buu as their loading bays opened. He did not move an inch.

Out of the largest of the three vessels, a gargantuan Iron Maiden emerged.

A multitude of Humvees arrived moments later, and more armed men poured into the scene to surround Aegis and Buu while the Iron Maiden was moved.

Aware of their limited usefulness at the moment, the two wounded heroes wasted little time limping out of their way to observe everything from the sidelines. Two men approached them to inquire about their encounter. It wasn't an enjoyable story to retell, but they elaborated on every aspect of their battle and the Villain's abilities and psychological profile.

Electoplant soon went off to seek medical aid, while Gunnolf refused any assistance until he saw the containment process through.

---

It didn't take long for the influx of Pro Heroes involved in Rio Del Mar beach to finally make it there, their frantic search for the Villain in the vicinity of the incident proving fruitless. By the time they had received the assistance request from Electoplant and the Police, it had been too late for most to make it in time.

Musket had been one of the first to arrive, and he paid the ultimate price.

Lieutenant-General Wayne Hayes landed in his helicopter shortly after to inform them and the local authorities of the Villain's international origin and his heinous attack on three Air Force aircraft, immediately claiming full authority and jurisdiction over his apprehension and containment. After that, there was little for the large group of heroes to do but to watch and assist the emergency crews as they searched nearby buildings in the unlikely event any civilians had failed to evacuate in time.

The specialized Iron Maiden now sat feet away from the slumbering Majin, its innards open and waiting for its first occupant. It was easily as wide and armored as an M1-Abrams battle tank, its interior housing top of the line containment systems. Four men dressed in medical garbs moved in, carrying an assortment of handheld devices towards the containment sphere Aegis created. They injected a gaseous solution of heavy sedatives and tranquilizers, ensuring the Villain would not wake up for a good while.

After some careful planning and use of pertinent Quirks, the Villain was slowly and painstakingly loaded into the awaiting Iron Maiden, where restrictive Quirk Dampening Devices snapped into place around his gut, arms, and head. Emerald fields of dampening energy flowed through his body as multiple layers of reinforced alloys finished coiling around him, the maws of the Iron Maiden snapping closed with the whirring of dozens of high-security locks. Through it all, he did not awaken once.

It was only then that Gunnolf relented, allowing himself to be tended by the medics just as he collapsed from his wounds and exhaustion, his Beastly form dispersing to display his battered human form.

As quickly as the massive group of military personnel had arrived, they departed. The VTOL aircraft took to the skies again, only leaving a few men on-site to scour through and analyze the gruesome scene.

Local news crews flocked to the tragic scene looking for answers. For the first time in quite some time, the authorities and heroes alike were as clueless as the public.

---

-! AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY !-

Accessing FILE A-302 01. . .

PRELIMINARY REPORT 01

As of 18:00 hours, subject A-302—identified as "Buu" by Pro Heroes that engaged him at the scene—has been successfully contained. Currently, we are en route to the Crypt complex. Special Forces agents Aegis and Dark Tide are escorting us.

In a matter of hours, the subject managed to wreak havoc on three separate incidents, each ending with an unacceptable death toll and significant property damage. The loss of civilian and Air Force assets coupled with their foreign origin increased the capture priority beyond typical thresholds for our involvement. Fortunately, the Special Forces were able to swiftly contain him without further incident. Ground teams are interviewing those on the scene for further combat and ability data.

We have reviewed footage from the two incident locations and our teams are perplexed. The Villain appears to be capable of moderate damage through some sort of directed-energy emitter-type Quirk. Not only that, but he demonstrated hyper-healing, drastic control of their body mass and density, and enhanced strength. They also possess the ability to fly or levitate at will. They appear to have an unhealthy obsession with sugar-laden foods, although we are uncertain as to how—or if—this connects with any of his abilities yet. Multiple reports claim the subject lost consciousness during the final engagement against two Pro Heroes.

At this moment, for all intents and purposes, they appear borderline comatose within the Iron Maiden.

Further research on their abilities and physical attributes will follow once the subject is secured within the facility.

ADDITIONAL DATA: The newly redesigned Iron Maiden is being utilized for their transport and final imprisonment, and so far, all new containment protocols appear active and 100% effective. For primary physical containment, a fully hermetic and layered eight-inch wall composed of steel, chromium and iridium alloy is being deployed. The composites should provide outstanding heat and kinetic force resilience within the vault.

Separate Quirk Dampening Devices are installed within the Maiden and cradling the subject at all times. Brain pattern scanners and tranquilizer dispensers are set up and active. Secondary and tertiary redundancies are in place to ensure continuous power supply to locking mechanisms and escape countermeasures. We should not have any incidents.

UPDATE: Still en route. We are somewhat concerned about the fact preliminary Iron Maiden bio-scans are struggling to find a heartbeat and other life signs to obtain a baseline. They appear to be 'breathing' and are clearly snoring. We are troubleshooting our systems to ensure the issue isn't on our end. Due to the unknown nature of the subject's multi-faceted Quirk(s) and metabolism, the team just utilized blend B-32, which includes high-end gaseous tranquilizers and additional Quirk Factor dampeners out of caution.

The Villain appears to still be unconscious and unresponsive. We will be arriving at the base in the next half hour.

We have so many questions. We'll make sure we find all the answers, even if we have to tear him apart for them.

[ LOG END ]

---

A/N:

I'm back! This took so much longer than expected. It's a whopper of a chapter and so much fun to write. At first, I was going to split it into two, but it didn't feel right. No worries, his trip to America won't last much longer.

Buu's seemingly 'contained' for now, by people who know nothing about him and severely underestimate him and what he is capable of. Unfortunately for them, things will go south rather quickly. Soon enough he's going to encounter a party interested in him and willing to do anything to have him join. Things will get really interesting next chapter.

Some unfortunate souls will end up finally facing a certain sugary magical beam too.

I'll be going over these chapters again over the next week to ensure I didn't miss anything. I'm changing the formatting on the other two but it should be mostly the same(especially removing the italics on names). Please do remember this won't be an outright curb stomp, for now, I want heroes to try their best and will try to make a few interesting/amusing challenges. I want to make it enjoyable, and I want to push them all to their mental/physical breaking point and see what they're willing to do when the stakes keep getting higher. I hope you enjoyed this mess! Until next time.